tutorials

It's spring! You know what that means. Besides boring spring cleaning, why not add some extra special touches to your home? We've got some super tutorials to get you started. Whether it's new throw pillows, conversational dish towels or custom colored switchplates, a few little accents can really make a room shine and show off your creative style. 

Ready? OK, we'll be loading up tutorials in the coming days so stay tuned.

DYED WALL SWITCHPLATES

PATCHWORK PILLOWS & YO-YO TEA TOWELS

COLORFUL BIRD NAPKIN RINGS

DYE-STAINED "SEED PACKET" TRAY

DYE-PAINTED WALL ART

UPCYCLED LAMP WITH MATCHING PILLOW

Well, I'm sure you've heard by now that Tangerine Tango is Pantone’s 2012 color of the year. We've been talking a lot about this lively reddish-orange that practically explodes with energy and grabs your attention. It truly is the “must-have” addition for every wardrobe! So, we've decided to show you how to get in on the action to add a little spicy, citrus to your look. Just take a peek at all the ways you can wear it! Best thing is, it's really easy to create with just a little dipping, tie-dyeing, batiking or painting.  Whatever your choice of expression, we've got the tutorial and dye recipe to get you going.  

Take it from Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®, “Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it, sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive.  Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.” 

Now, just how tantalizing is that!

It's time to jump on this fashion train becaues the enthusiasm for this color has been growing among fashion designers. If you had your radar on New York Fall Fashion Week recently, you'd see Tangerine Tango  was making a big splash down the runways. So it looks like there's no slowing down, we'll be seeing this zesty, color pop in fiesty summer dresses and going strong into Fall woolens as well. 

Come check out the custom recipe for Tangerine Tango we created just for you by mixing equal parts of Sunshine Orange and Tangerine.  You can find it in the Rit Color Formula Guide, color #98 on the Orange palette. 

We have the how-tos for all these great looks coming at you in the next few weeks. Stop back often as we'll be updating this post with all the step-by-step inspirations.

OK, here we go...

BATIK TANK TOP

UPCYCLED TANGERINE TANGO TOP

TANGERINE STRIPE BANGLE

TIE-DYED HOBO BAG

ITAJIME SHIBORI TIGHTS

DIP-DYED OVERDYE DRESS

TANGERINE TANGO BELT

TANGERINE TANGO JEANS

Love is in the air and you know what that means...   fun Valentine's Day crafting!   We've got some colorific lovey-dovey ideas for every flavor of DIYer imaginable. Come check out the tutorials and stop back often cause we'll be posting more all the way to V-Day!!

OK, let's get started:

TIE-DYED HEARTS

PARISIAN WOODEN HEARTS

"LOVE WITH ALL YOUR HEART" CARD

LOVE LETTER TEE

"LOVE YOU" CARD

HEARTS & FLOWERS WREATH

FELT SWEET-HEART GARLAND

The dog days of summer are upon us but that doesn't mean we're not crafting, right? Get the kids in on the DIY action with some fun summer camp-style projects that can be created right in your own backyard.

We have a super line up of tutorials for all ages designed by the fabulously talented, Jen Goode. She's the owner and “doodler in charge” of JGoode Designs , a Denver-based art and design studio. She specializes in handmade crafts, graphic design and illustration. Jen loves all kinds of color, multi-media, mixing textures and materials to create interesting pieces, often featuring her own illustrations and pattern work.

So look for all the fun in upcoming blog posts and we'll be updating this post as well to include the full gamut of tutorials as they come in. It's enough to keep the kids crafting til the school bells start ringing. 

OK, ready to brew up some frosty lemonade and jump right in?  Here we go...