http://kingraham.tumblr.com/

Merry Christmas, little Riley! Since she was born her favorite...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 19:37:51 -0500

Merry Christmas, little Riley! Since she was born her favorite animal has been an owl. She used to “whooo whooo” when she was a baby. I made her this little hat for Christmas this year, and she said “owl hat!!” when she saw it. She then promptly wore it around the house for about 30 minutes. I used this pattern, which says it fits 2-4 year olds, but it was pretty big for her (and fits my 23 year old best friend…) She’s still a little peanut of a 2 year old though, so hopefully she’ll grow into it!

So, I got this cool book for Christmas! My roommate gave me...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:58:00 -0500

So, I got this cool book for Christmas! My roommate gave me Strange Maps, a book by Frank Jacobs, since she knows I love maps! It’s an incredibly nerdy Christmas gift, but I’ve really enjoyed flipping through it. I haven’t been able to find my favorite map online yet, a subway map modeling different paths to eternity according to different religions, so I’ll settle for posting this “proposed” worldwide subway map. Even though there are some glaring geographic errors (traveling from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas and passing through LA?), it’s still cool to look at and imagine what it would be like if this could really exist!

Ursus Wehrli - The Art of Clean-up (2011) The artist channels...

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 09:59:48 -0500

Ursus Wehrli - The Art of Clean-up (2011)

The artist channels his obsessive-compulsive disorder into art with a project of deconstructing and reorganizing

Love this.

My living room - all decked out and ready for Christmas!...

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:10:56 -0500

My living room - all decked out and ready for Christmas! Presents, tree, and hand crocheted Christmas stockings! I love this time of year. It will probably look like this until about… Valentine’s Day.

Pattern for stockings here !

Cowl Inspiration

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:45:34 -0500

Most of the patterns you find for scarves these days are infinity scarves or cowls. Well.. they’re the exact same thing, but one is about as half as long as the other. They’re both made by picking a pattern stitch you like and doing it about a thousand times in a circle. I didn’t really know what a cowl was before this winter, but they’re pretty cool and are good at keeping your neck warm without having all the bulk of a scarf under your coat. Here are some I’d like to try in the future:

Two Colored Crochet Cowl

Brioche Cowl

Lovely Ribbed Cowl

Seed Stitch Cowl

Doodling.

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:06:00 -0500

Doodling.

My amazing friend Molly is fluent in sign language, and so for...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:01:00 -0500

My amazing friend Molly is fluent in sign language, and so for her birthday last year I made these shadow boxes for her. They each have a glove finger spelling M-O-L-L-Y. I wish this had been an original idea, but I knew a girl in college who had a similar concept hanging on her wall. All the same, I like how it turned out!

Very popular right now - a picture frame turned DIY key holder!...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:50:00 -0500

Very popular right now - a picture frame turned DIY key holder! I distressed the wood frame I found at Goodwill using candle wax and sand paper. First, I painted the frame a dark brown color. After it dried, I used a small votive candle and rubbed wax on the frame at places I wanted the brown to show through. To get an authentic “worn” look, I used the wax most heavily on corners and edges, the places where paint would naturally wear off wood. Then I painted the entire thing in the bright blue color. After that dried, I very gently sanded the places that had wax under them, and the blue paint easily came off to show the brown underneath. Not bad for my first distressing project, huh? Next step - painting and distressing the old desk that sits in my living room.

Each 4x6 canvas is a painted t-shirt logo from every year I...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:43:00 -0500

Each 4x6 canvas is a painted t-shirt logo from every year I attended Camp Chicago! This proudly hangs in our dining room.

Breaking into the Tumblr scene

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:37:00 -0500

So, breaking into the Tumblr world seems incredibly daunting to me. I see so many talented bloggers, most notably, my one follower and best friend, and know that I can’t do anything close to that. So, instead, maybe I should focus my blog on things I am good at. Like making things. My roommate and I are starting to toss around ideas about starting our own Etsy shop or private website to sell our knitted and crocheted creations. I love crafts: knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, doodling, painting, sewing, etc. You name it. I am constantly working on a new DIY project, and it might be nice to have a place to show them off and to collect inspiration for future projects. It’s going to be rough at first, and may never actually turn into anything, but I suppose it’s worth a try.

These are cardboard letters (probably 12 inches high) that I...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:32:00 -0500

These are cardboard letters (probably 12 inches high) that I painted and hot-glued silk flowers onto. These were Christmas presents for three of my friends (Melissa, Julia, and Chelsea). The whole process was very easy and didn’t take long at all! They are decorative and look nice sitting on a dresser or bookcase.

This was the first sewing project in a very long time. I found...

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:49:00 -0400

Mine!

Example from tutorial

Original from Anthropologie

This was the first sewing project in a very long time. I found this awesome tutorial and couldn’t wait to try my own.

I have never made a quilt, but this pattern seems like an easy...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:38:00 -0400

I have never made a quilt, but this pattern seems like an easy one to start with if I were going to start. I love the bright colors (and how they are sort of arranged in rainbow order - sometimes I think my stuff is too ordered), and the combo of solids and print. I also love how you see both stripes of color and chevron of pattern, it’s a cool concept to work with.

Quilling is a craft that must take ENDLESS patience. Not sure I...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:37:00 -0400

Quilling is a craft that must take ENDLESS patience. Not sure I have what it takes, but I think it’s beautiful.

invado:

Paper Typography

I might try these, come spring-time. vile-grotesque: Coffee...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:35:00 -0400

I might try these, come spring-time.

vile-grotesque:

Coffee filter roses!

You can find a pretty awesome tutorial here