Clara Lidstrom - Vintage Crafts: 75 Do-It-Yourself Decorating Projects Using Candles, Colors, and Other Flea Market Finds

75 Do-It-Yourself Decorating Projects

Using Candles, Colors, and Other

Flea Market Finds

Author & Photographer: Clara Lidstrm

Translated by Anette Cantagallo

Contents

To Make Something Out of Nothing

How do you have time to craft so much? is a question I am asked regularly, often with an almost reproachful tone. To me, the question is the wrong one. Rather, people should wonder how I can handle not tinkering and crafting even more than I already do. I relax with creativity and crafts. After an intense period of work, I wind down by setting up the sewing machine and putting together a skirt, or by taking out the paint cans and updating a picture frame. When my brain is so overworked that it overheats, handicraft comes like a refreshing bath. Im hardly alone in this experience.

But why do I spend so much time making things that I can buy in the store? Yeah, why? Why do some people tinker with cars when there are auto mechanics handy? Why do some people cook their own dinner when there are ready-made meals available in the grocery store? Why do some people insist on playing soccer when they can watch professional games directly on the television?

Maybe because people have always had a longing to do things themselvesto test their wings. At a time when most work assignments are abstract, when the results are often only visible on a computer screen, when theres a wide gap between those who make the decisions and those who are told to perform them, it can be a relief to do something that gives immediate, tangible results. I dont think its any more complicated than that. Before, crafting was done out of necessitynow out of desire. And this is the beauty of it. Creating and crafting should be fun! My Grandmother Bede once said that the best thing to do was to create something out of nothing. I share that mindset.

So what should I make when my fingers itch? How do I bargain at the flea market and how the heck should I make my home cozier? During my years as a blogger, Ive received many questions from readers seeking practical help, inspiration, and tips on how they can make their homes a little more personal and unique. Ive collected my best answers in this book.

I prefer projects that I can do without bankrupting myself at the craft store. When I improve my home, I use things that I bought at a flea market or something thats been lying around at homeknickknacks like little tin pots. They might not even be that nice looking. Magic is made when you make something unique out of nothing special. My wish is that my readers will be inspired to do the same. Look around your houseuse your imagination! Let your creativity run free and discover that crafting is actually purely therapeutic.

Commandments of Crafting

I hear many people say that theyd love to create something with their hands, but they dont know what to make. People seem to sit on a lot of pent-up creativity that never gets a chance to come out. I think this is a shame, and so Ive gathered my best advice to anyone wanting to get crafting.

Hoard materials. Its hard to be creative when you have nothing to work with, so its a good idea to have materials ready and on hand when inspiration comes. Actually, its required for inspiration to come at all. Personally, I hoard fabric pieces, picture frames, boxes, and ribbons from the flea market, even though initially I may not know what to use them for.

Collect scraps. Cans, gift wrap, ribbons, old shawls, newspaper clippings, and broken brooches... Old becomes new once you fix it up a bit.

Begin with something existing. Its much easier to start with something you already have instead of creating something completely new from scratch. Alter an existing skirt instead of making an entirely new one. Or why not make a miniskirt from a pillowcase? This way youll learn to create step by step, and nothing will become excessively difficult.

Shorten the distance to the start. Keep your crafting supplies nearby as often as possible. When I see a pile of thread spools, my imagination starts racing. And if the sewing machine is set up already, its much easier to get started.

Dont be too obsessed with how you ought to do it. I have no idea how I should sew a pillow case or repaint a chair. I try and seeit cant get worse than going wrong! If I follow instructions too strictly, I get so anxious that I dont dare do anything and the creative process becomes a chore rather than a joy.

Avoid craft stores. Or rather, go to be inspiredbut dont buy everything there. Craft stores are often too darn expensive. A dozen fabric flowers for scrapbooking can cost you fifteen bucks, but at the flea market you can find more unique options for less than a dollar.

New perspectives give new ideas. Try turning a lampshade upside down and see what happens. Drape a fun fabric on a chair you havent thought about dressing. Stack objects on top of one other and see if you cant find new uses for them. Put things in new places. Stand on your head and take a look at your home.

Accept that nothing will be as you imagined. The final result is not worsejust different.

And remembercreativity is a muscle that strengthens when you exercise it. Dont wait for a flash of genius; that will come when youre in the midst of creation.

Good to Have at Home

To create and be creative you need some tools and materials, so I put together a list of things that I think are good to have in the home. There are a lot of thingsbut you dont need to buy everything at once. Just like your wardrobe, you can build your inventory gradually. All of these items tend to be available for cheap at the local home improvement store. Or you could just borrow from a friends toolbox.

For Paper Crafts

Paper scissors, paper, glue, tape, wallpaper glue, applicators, brushes of different thicknesses, wallpaper remnants, scrapbook paper, bookmarks, and clippings from old newspapers.

For Textile Crafts

Pins, sewing needles, fabric scissors, thread in the most common colors, measuring tape, fabric glue, staple gun (a powerful model capable of stapling into woodto upholster a piece of furniture or headboard, for example), fabric remnants, fun ribbons, elastics, and buttons (remove these from old garments before you discard them).

Other Things that Are Good to Have