Can Tab Daisy Basket, or Bowl, for Spring

I was working on a tutorial for making the small pink flower basket I posted about a couple years ago, when I decided to make another one.  But, I wanted to try some new things with this one.



This one is larger with 12 petals instead of only 6.  I also opted to leave off the handle, so it's more of a bowl than a basket.  I was experimenting with the shape of the petals, too.  I closed the openings in the tips off this time.  And, the front row of 6 are slightly wider than the back row.



Though I could easily add a handle, I kinda liked it without.  It should be perfect for putting dyed Easter eggs in, but I may use something like this to put loose tabs and material for working, especially when I'm teaching others.



The two rows of petals overlap due to the way they are woven together.  And, the natural tendency for the tab weave to curl creates the nice flared bloom.



When I was turning it over for the pics, I noticed it kinda looks like a tree stump, huh?  It even has the appearance of rings where the rows of tabs are woven together.  This might make a cute pedestal for other items.



The daughter likes it turned inside out.  When I was tying off the ends, she said it looked like a lotus blossom.  Guess it kinda does.  Maybe with another row around the bottom.



I'm working on getting the tutorials done for the top hats and at least one basket tutorial.  But, I've got another big costume project to share very soon.  It's going to include a new design for a corset.  Can't wait to get pics ready of that!  Until then, be Can-TAB-ulous!

A tisket..a tasket...I made a pretty basket!! :D

I managed to make the daughter an Easter basket this year.  It took me a couple days to construct.  I normally like to buy the baskets 2nd hand.  You can usually get a nicer basket than what's available new in the stores around here.  And, they are pretty easy to paint and spruce up.  We also reuse the grass and any plastic eggs we get from school and such.  But, this year I decided to make her a basket with can tabs.



I've been wanting to make a tabistry basket for a looong time, but just never got around to it til now.  This basket is supposed to look like a flower with petals for sides.  (Didn't make the bunny, and had to use plain plastic eggs I found in the daughters room.)  The basket is pretty small at about 9 inches tall and 7 inches wide. 



I used polar fleece on the entire basket using a similar weave to the last corset I posted for the sides.  I think ribbon would probably be a better choice for this type of project.  Is kinda odd to have a fuzzy basket.  :)



The yellow bottom was an attempt to make the center of a flower like a daisy.  And, I was inspired on the handle by jewelry items one of our tabistry group member had posted in our facebook group.  It's worked really well for a nice sturdy narrow handle.



I tied a small flower, which is based on my favors, on the handle that I made from the scraps for polar fleece. 



I wrapped the darker pink around the end tabs to cover them.  I'm liking how it turned out softer than other edge treatments I've tried.  I think I might make some more of the flowers at a later date.  They's be cute on a headband or something.

 

If I had more time, I'd make some other sizes of basket.  There are so many ideas to try.  Just wish I could get things done faster.  But, alas, I must keep reminding myself I'm only human and have limits.  :(

On other projects, I'm still plugging away on the corset tutorial.  I've got some new pics that should work better, but I'd like to get a few more.  And, I've been a bad girl and started another corset that I'd like to get finished.  And, want to rework a couple other projects that I've put off. 

Have a Happy Easter!

A Bizarre Mutation for our Craft Challenge Entry

My daughter and I wanted participate in the Craftster's "Back to Basics" Challenge together. The challenge was to make something using one or more of the following supplies:

• Can tabs
• Pipe Cleaner (Chenille Stems)
• Pom Poms
• Popsicle Sticks

For the challenge we're now dubbing our creation a "A Fan-tailed Spider-fish Dragon". However, the daughter is referring to it as a "Spagon" now. I'm really surprised how few entries there are this round. (Not that we still have any hope of winning.) Some of the submissions are pretty neat ideas. Come check out the entries and vote!

You may, or may not, be wondering how we came up with such a strange creature. Well, daughter wanted to make a pop tab spider. And, since I already work with the tabs, I wanted to try my hand at make folding paper fans with popsicle sticks. So, we compromised. I helped her with the spider...



...and made my fans on the side by myself. ;)



My daughter was very particular about the spider project. I told her that we had to work with the supplies we already had, which it just so happened we had all four of. :) Though, I told her it wasn't necessary, she actually wanted to use all the supplies listed. (However, we couldn't think how to use the popsicle sticks in this one (until we added the fan fins and tail). ;) She made a sketch of her plan.



Isn't the drawing great?! She wanted us to deviate from the drawing as little as possible. I did manage to talk her into making it a container that opens on top. It was going to be a yarn ball holder. You'd put your ball in it so you don't have to chase it around while you knit, etc...

We wove can tabs together with the "shuneal" stem and attached the legs. She had to chose between orange and brown for the body. That was all I had enough of. It turned out resembling a small pumpkin before we added the legs and pom pom eyes. :)



After we finished the spider, I started to work on the fans the very same day. I can't remember making any fans since grade school. I had a lot of trouble with the first one:



I used some faux parchment paper experiments that I had leftover from another project. It was regular bond paper stained with coffee and tea. I stained the popsicle sticks with brown shoe polish and hammered a small piece of brass tubing into a rivet to hold the stick together.



For the last of the three fans, I used brown paper sack covered in black tissue paper. One side is brown and the other is black. I used some gold Rub n' Buff lightly over the black side. A gold keyring is holding the popsicle sticks together.

Since we were only allowed one entry in the challenge, we wanted to come up with a way to show off both projects. So, we decided to do one of two options. Either the spider-fish dragon or a spider-shaped fan holder. :)



We unanimously agreed the spider-fish dragon was much cooler. Wish us luck!

Don't forget to vote for your favorite!