Category Archives: Crafts

Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle

305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109

Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 11am  –  8pm
Friday & Saturday: 10am  –  8pm

GENERAL ADMISSION *Tickets purchased at the door are $1 more than below stated prices.
Ages 13-64 $19
Senior Ages 65+ $17
Youth Ages 4-12 $12
Child 3 and Under Free

So I had seen several of my friends post photos from Chihuly on Facebook and was amazed each time I saw them. I knew that the next time I went to Seattle, it was a must-go attraction. Unfortunately, for Sheepie who hadn’t seen any photos needed some convincing from me that the $20 admission was going to be worth it. I even said I would go alone and he could wander around outside. LOL. It turns out that he was pretty amazed and loved the place – and he’s a hard to impress guy.

As you can see, lots of great, colourful glass – fantastic for taking photos (but don’t forget to admire them with your own eyes too!). I’d never seen anything like it with glass – the use of colours, light and the scale! Each room you walked into never failed to amaze you.

If you have time, there is a small theatre that shows a film of how the glass are made, including interviews with Chihuly himself.

The exhibit does not end just indoors. Go out into the ‘garden’ to see the glass pieces integrated into the environment. With the lit Space Needle in the background, it’s a beautiful and awing experience.

A must see in Seattle!!!
idearabbit-chihuly idearabbit-chihuly2

Entrance to Chihulyidearabbit-chihuly3 idearabbit-chihuly4 idearabbit-chihuly5

So pretty!!idearabbit-chihuly6

Amazing craftmanship!

idearabbit-chihuly10 idearabbit-chihuly11idearabbit-chihuly15

idearabbit-chihuly12idearabbit-chihuly7 idearabbit-chihuly8 idearabbit-chihuly9

Nothing like it elsewhere…idearabbit-chihuly10 idearabbit-chihuly11Take home your own Chihuly glass! Ummm…if you have $5000 each for these small approx 10 inches glass work.

Turn your Broken Umbrella into a Waterproof Totebag!

idearabbit-brellatote

When you live in a city like Vancouver, you go through a lot of umbrellas. You might lose them, forget them somewhere, or more often, it breaks. Sheepie had given me this umbrella that had a really cute pattern, but broke only a few months. I was very reluctant to throw it away, so I decided to make a totebag with it.

The process is super simple. I had a lot of fun, and showing it to Sheepie after completion and seeing how amazed he was was priceless. He’s probably also happy to see that his gift isn’t going into the dump.

Carefully take the cloth of the metal frame with a seam ripper.

idearabbit-brellatote2idearabbit-brellatote3

idearabbit-totebag4
Then, cut out 2 large rectangles which will be the bag, and two narrow strips about 3 inches wide and 15 inches long – or whatever you can get out of the remaining cloth.

First, take the large 2 rectangles. On one of the short side, fold over half an inch and sew across.
Do this for both.idearabbit-totebag3 Sew the 2 large rectangles together with the inside fabric facing outward (so the outside pattern is touching face to face with each other) This is so that we can later flip the inside out, and you wont see any messy cuts or sewing. Remember to keep on side on the shorter side open!

Take the 2 long strips and fold them 3 times and sew across. These will be the handles.

idearabbit-totebag2

Then sew each handle on each side of the bag. Have the strip overlap at least 1 inch and sew a box with x inside so it’s durable.

idearabbit-totebag

Turn the bag inside out and tadaa! A waterproof totebag!!

Wait. I thought I was done, but when I thought about how it would be folded and kept in my purse, I went through the discarded umbrella cloth and saved the strap with the velcro. I took it off using the seam ripper. I attached it to the middle at the opening.

idearabbit-brellatote4
Done? The last thing I  thought of is something extra. Not necessary, unless you’re thinking of giving this totebag as a gift. If you still have the pouch that most fold-able umbrellas comes in, cut the top off to the length of the folded totebag. If you want the edges to be nice, you can fold in a bit and sew. For mine, I cut the bottom off instead since I liked how the opening of the pouch was sewn.

idearabbit-brellatote5 idearabbit-brellatote6Once folded, it is super compact! idearabbit-brellatote7 idearabbit-brellatote8 idearabbit-brellatote9Now you’re finally done! Not only did you save $20 buying a new waterproof totebag, you are reusing your old umbrella for a one-of-a-kind totebag! You can keep the landfills cleaner by reusing your umbrella and not getting/buying those plastic bags from stores.

Since making it and carrying it my purse, it has already come in handy several times weather at the library or grocery shopping. Simply the best!

Why You Should Do It:

  • Reuses old umbrellas that are going to end up in the landfill
  • Eco-friendly by not purchasing plastic bags from shops
  • Unique, one-of-a-kind totebag
  • Because the material is from a fold-able umbrella, the totebag becomes really compact once folded, and is super light
  • You can brag to all your friends what you did – everyone has been amazed so far :D
  • It’s simple and fun!

For those of you who have made other things with umbrellas, give me a shout!

Glenmore Printing: Promotional Piece

Recently at work, we received a promotional piece from Glenmore Printing. I couldn’t resist to blog about it, so here it is.

It came in a cute little box with 4 circles with 1950s illustrations of people. which opened up with 4 square boxes – 2 red and 2 yellow. Each with a tea bag inside which was supplied by Secret Garden Tea Company. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try out the tea…

idearabbit-glenmoreprinting

idearabbit-glenmoreprinting2  idearabbit-glenmoreprinting3

idearabbit-glenmoreprinting4

As you can see in the video they put together on how it was made (http://www.glenmoreprinting.com/packaging.php), the boxes were assembled by hand! Well, the boxes are really delicate, so I guess you would have to do them by hand.

I personally haven’t worked with Glemore, so I can’t really say about their service and print quality (other than the promotional piece), but if you need big print jobs, they are the printer to go to. Their website says they do custom printed paperboard, corrugated boxes, cartons & sleeves, large/small sized boxes or small, long run or short and much more.

“With full in house finishing, your packaging is printed and assembled locally under our roof to lower costs, improve turnaround times, and maintain high levels of quality. Our team of packaging experts can quickly provide you with a correct layout and printed samples to help you visualize your finished product.” – Glemore Printing

Website: http://www.glenmoreprinting.com
Tel: 604.273.6323
Toll Free: 1.866.333.6323
Email: sales@glenmoreprinting.com
Address: Unit 150 – 13751 Mayfield Place, Richmond, B.C. V6V 2G9