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Knitting for absolute beginners
Indie arts and crafts: You may be tired of buying clothes that are made badly and rip or tear. You may be considering cheap and meaningful presents for Christmas. The chances are that if you don't knit, you'd like to, or will know someone that does. Knitting is no longer a symbol of the stereotype of the housebound woman - it's a wonderful and emancipating hobby. Learn to knit a simple rectangle, and we'll show you a few creative things you can do with it.
Got your own craft trading stall? Now build your clientele and find gigs!
Indie arts and crafts: Now that you've learned how to start an indie business, and how to build your own craft trading stall, Leslie explains her methods for finding gigs and building up a list of clientele.
Got your own craft trading stall? Now build your clientele and find gigs!
Indie crafters: Make your own craft stall!
Indie arts and crafts: Calling all indie crafters with an eye for business! Today's lesson will tell you how to build your own portable trading stall so you can start getting your business out there...
How to make a binbag dress
Indie arts and crafts: With Halloween coming up, everyone is looking for (cheap) original costumes. A binbag dress has an enticing aura of punk promise, it's more tacky than all the eighties put together and it's almost free!
The ancient paper mache art of cartapesta
Indie arts and crafts: An intricate process, Cartapesta was originally developed for creating church statuary and architectural detail. Use cartapesta to make sumptuous hand-torn roses or bead necklaces that weigh like popcorn but look like stone. Find out more.
How to shorten a pair of trousers
Indie arts and crafts: If you're shopping for second hand denim you usually get the dilemna - go for the right waist size or the right trouser length? Thus you end up with long hemmed jeans that fray to feckery as they get dragged underfoot. Pretend you always intended them to be that way - or do something about it.
Make your own paper
Indie arts and crafts: Making paper is rewarding and creative. DIY businesswomen take note - it can also be a great way to prevent identity theft, save the environment and cut rising business costs, all in one! Leslie Crews shows you how to make paper, spending as little money as possible.
Make your own decorative fairy lights
Indie arts and crafts: Most people (and shops) have cottoned onto the idea that fairy lights are a pretty, creative and inexpensive form of secondary lighting that shouldn't just be reserved for the Winter season. Here's a great way of making your own, with no need to sew.
How to make a cushion cover
Indie arts and crafts: A cushion cover is one of the easiest things you can make if you're willing to do a bit of sewing and stick in a zip. And it's high on the kudos - everyone will see your cushion cover the minute they walk into your room and look around for somewhere to sit down. Which will happen often - people are lazy that way.
How to make a pillowcase skirt
Indie arts and crafts: Pillowcases come in lovely fabrics, so why not make a skirt out of one - either elastic waisted or zipper? Oh, and it's probably a fine idea to make one out of a pillowcase that isn't see-through...
Get hooked: make your own beaded brooch
Indie arts and crafts: A wired brooch is cheap and easy to make, and can feature your personal touch - from tiny glass beads to lucky plastic butterfly charms. Esme from Paisley Chainsaw tells you how to make your own...
Rug hooking made simple
Indie arts and crafts: Rug hooking is a simple craft to learn. It recycles rags and old T-shirts to make pretty, decorative rugs and mats. Etsy's Islandsweet (Shawn O'Hagan' learned the skill in Newfoundland, and tells you how.
How to make a personalised leather belt
Indie crafts: Making a leather belt from scratch and personalising it with the right equipment could be cheaper than personalising it through a shop. And you get to keep the tools and work leather as a hobby! Allison from 'Sunny Rising Leather' shows you how.
How to make a felt fashion bug
Indie crafts: Felting is an ancient way of mixing fibres together. Learn how to make a felt fashion bug in bright colours, non caveman-style...
How to make a felt cupcake keyring
Indie crafts: Learn how to make an extra sweet cupcake key ring out of felt thanks to etsy crafter Dotty Ral. This cute felt cupcake is easy to make could also be used as a zipper pull on a coat, purse or bag...
How to decorate your room for a black light party
Throwing a themed party? Or want to turn your room/toilet into an unearthly glowing dream? The Mookychicks give you the lowdown on decorating your room so it glows under a UV black light...
How to make a cute message board out of egg cartons
Arts & Crafts: The only downside to making this charming message board is that you'll need to get through a lot of eggs. Mookychick suggests a massive cake-bake (then sell the proceeds to charidee. Or store the cake in your freezer. For a day will come when you're starving. And it's winter. And the wolves are scraping at your door).
A floral revolution: Basic flower arranging tips
Let's have a floral revolution! Let's take a semi-punk approach to flower arranging, where individuality is king! Flower-arrangements don't need to be perfect to be pretty - they just need to suit you and your personality. So here's our guide to basic flower-arranging on a budget...
Create beautiful, alternative flower arrangements with fake or fresh flowers
Alternative jobs: Vintage OOAK doll restorer
Meet DollyD, the mastermind behind Dollytopia OOAK doll restoration. Her workshop is stuffed with vintage and modern barbies rerooted with blue punk hair and customised with alternative clothes and accessories. View her work and find out more.
Mooky Tips for a DIY Halloween
If you don't have the cash to splash out on a cliché Halloween costume this year, why not dive in and make your own? From medieval maiden to burlesque tease queen, here are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling... the rest is up to you!
Make a Juice pouch bag!
This lunch bag is brightly-coloured, waterproof, easy to make and durable. It makes great use of Kool-Jammer or Capri Sun pouches.
DIY Gift ideas
From memory gifts for your best friends to party kits for tiny babybugs, Ruby Mae comes up with homemade gift kit ideas that won't cost a bomb and have a lot of heart. Make love, not war - DIY-style.
5 Ways to live green without breaking the piggy bank
Being a hippie doesn't have to be a dirty secret any more. Living green is a solid worldwide trend, opening up a new world to people who believe it's possible to combine their big-city 'live more want more' life with eco-friendliness and thriftiness. Check these five basic suggestions for green living on a budget, then check out our green-living articles below.
Craft tips: How to make your own kanzashi flowers
Kanzashi are hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. One of their main features is the application of intricate little fabric flowers. With a step-by-step photo tutorial and video provided by uber-craftette Spangle, we show you how to make your own cute kanzashi flowers. These can go on brooches, bags, hairpins, fridge magnets... oh, how kawaii!
Decorate your dorm room on a student budget
We all want a room like the one in magazines, but when you're a poor college student existing on handouts from the bank of mom and dad, those dreams are too many paychecks in the future. Creativeness can go a long way to making your room look chic and hot by transforming it into a proper hangout for you and your closest buds.
How to make a duct tape purse
When it comes to affordable DIY style, duct tape has always been a girl's best friend. It comes primarily in black or silver (tasteful), it's incredibly strong and it sticks to itself. Perfect for customising just about anything - jeans, bracelets, you name it... and this week, Stella Rivet shows you how to make an entire purse out of duct tape. Is there no end to its glory?
How to make a button bracelet
A cute button bracelet has a chunky vintage feel and is an easy gift you can make with all those leftover buttons you have lying around.
How to make and customise a denim belt
You don't need to be a genius at sewing to make customised and recycled denim belts. You do need to exercise your imagination about how to customise them. It also helps if you have a sewing machine - but a pair of scissors, some nail polish and superglue will do.
How to make a record bowl
A record bowl is recycled consumables so it's cheap and ethical to make and you don't need any special equipment. Record bowls make great gifts, plant pots or picture frames and they say something about who you are.
How to make a plastic bag rug
The wonderful Stella Rivet shows you how to make a rug that is pretty and really cool, it's extremely easy and it costs next to nothing to make. And it's ethical - because it's made entirely from recycled plastic bags!
How to make a choker and more... with velcro
You've seen velcro on trainers, sofa covers, clothing - the list is endless. It is a great way to quickly open and close something, and although it has an industrial look there are all sorts of ways to get crafty with velcro if you want to make your own clothes and jewellery.
How to go dumpster diving
The DIY ethic is an anti-consumerist stance that says you don't have to buy to get what you need. Dumpster diving is a legal, easy and much-fun way to start rejecting consumer sensibilities.
