Geometric desktop wallpapers

I made myself some quick desktop wallpapers that are simple and modern, designed with just criss-crossing lines. They remind me of diamond facets or constellations or spider webs. You can download your favorite color: orange, aqua, pink or gray. Files are 2560x1600px to accommodate big monitors. I use the "fit to screen" option.

Free needlework patterns and printables

Kitschy Digitals is an online shop offering all sorts of quirky, cute downloads: printables, digital scrapbooking kits, paper toys, cards, cross-stitch patterns, blog design elements, and more.

Check out the Freebie section. There are lots of printables and embroidery patterns, including Junecraft's excellent floral design, above. Stitch it up and you've got a great bookmark! To download the freebies, create an account, "purchase" the no-cost items, and you'll get links to download the files.

Here are some of the other goodies you can make using patterns purchased from the store.

Origami octagonal pouch

I had fun folding these octagonal paper pouches. They can be used as coasters or opened up to hold tiny, flat things. Um, like what... Paper clips. Guitar picks. A necklace. Tea leaves. Lint. Fingernail clippings. At any rate, they're cute. I used instructions from the book Practical Origami, but I bet you could find directions online somewhere.

Have a good holiday weekend, everyone!

Tutorials for small things to sew

For some handy coasters, cases, and bags, check out the following DIY sewing tutorials. Thanks for sharing these, kind citizens of the internet!

Felt laptop sleeve at Just Crafty Enough
Block coasters by Abernathy Crafts
Pieced hexagon coasters from Canoe Ridge Creations
Grocery bag that folds into a strawberry at Craft Passion
Gift card pocket from Making the World Cuter
Zipper pencil case by Craft Passion

Orange highlighter pencils

Some fun goodies from Stubby Pencil Studio arrived in the mail. They sent over samples of their eco highlighter pencils, along with other orange items including this sharpener and a round eraser that lives inside a shell so it won't get dirty. It reminds me of Babybel cheese.

The highlighters are essentially fat, neon colored pencils, so they don't soak through your page. Nifty! My photo doesn't do justice to the neon. I wish the pencils were just a wee bit less hard and more oily so they'd glide along the page more easily, if that makes sense. But they're fun and useful. Find them right here.

Free mathematician wallpapers

Michael Campbell has created a series of posters featuring Euclid, Fibonacci, Newton, and other geniuses of math and science. The poster backgrounds with their subtle gradations are available as computer wallpapers here. I just added the blue-green design to my desktop to change things up. (Briefly.) My desktop usually likes to be orange, of course.

Fabric origami business card holder

I thought it would be fun to try making the origami card case in the last post using fabric. I starched a piece of quilt-weight fabric and folded it into a case, then added some decorative stitching. For how to make your own, read on!

To make fabric stiff and crisp like paper, I used Stiffen Stuff purchased at Michael's.

After saturating fabric with the liquid, microwave it for 30 - 45 seconds to dry and stiffen it. If it's a bit wrinkled in the microwave, no problem. Just iron it flat, and you end up with a crisp sheet of fabric that stands up by itself. (Also see this post about using Stiffen Stuff.)

To fold the business card case or gift card holder, follow the steps here. Use an iron to press each crease into the fabric. When the fabric cools, the folds will be fixed in place.

Leave the finished case as is, or add some decorative top-stitching. To do that, unfold the case to the octagon stage and stitch along the diagonal corners on the right side of the fabric.

Stiffened fabric will now behave more like paper, so I found it's better to pull the loose threads to the back side and tie them off, rather than backstitching which makes extra puncture holes.

Flip the octagon over and fold the left and right flaps inward, exposing the square that forms the front and back outer panels of the case. Stitch around both panels. If it's hard to see where the folds are, lightly stick on some masking tape to make a guide for sewing.

Remove the tape and fold the case back up, giving it a final press with the iron again if needed.

The finished case has some exposed raw edges of fabric, but the starch glues the woven threads together and keeps them from fraying.

How to make an origami business card holder

Here's a quick and easy origami project: a business card case or gift card holder. Use patterned gift wrap (I like heavier-weight wrapping paper for a sturdier case), graph paper, a paper bag, magazine pages, or origami paper. Decorate the case with washi tape or stamps for a cute way to present gift cards. It will look like you put a lot of thought and effort into a gift that was probably the easiest thing you could buy. Slacker.

Just kidding. Sometimes gift cards are the very best present.

To make a holder for a standard 3.5 x 2" business card, start with an 8.5" square of paper. For a standard gift card, use a 9" square.

Place the paper pretty side down. Fold the sheet in half vertically and open it back up.

Fold the left and right edges inward to meet the center fold.

Open the paper again. Fold each corner inward so that the corner points meet the nearest crease.

Close the left and right flaps.

Turn the paper over and fold the top down so that the exposed diagonal edges meet precisely at the fold.

Fold the bottom up in the same way, tucking the bottom edge into the diagonal flaps. They should overlap slightly.

Insert a card to make sure it fits, then fold the case in half. All done!

To make a fabric version of this case, see this post.