Lucky Skins review: my iPad gets outfitted

Something happy came in the mail yesterday: an iPad skin from Lucky Skins. They sell decals for phones, tablets, laptops, and mp3 players, and kindly offered to send over the design of my choosing. My choosing had a tough time since there are lots of patterns to pick from, but I opted for Confection.

The skin is essentially a big vinyl sticker, and applying it was simple. I lined it up at the top—you can lift it up again to reposition if you don't press it down firmly—and the air bubbles smoothed out easily as I worked my way down. I even managed to take a one-handed photo while doing it.

My big concern was whether this thing (printed on 3M Controltac™) will come off again if I get tired of it. It's stuck on quite firmly, but peeling up a corner as a test seemed to work okay. I'm guessing the vinyl will stretch a bit as you peel it off, since you have to tug fairly hard to remove it from the back of the iPad. So it's probably not reusable.

The set also comes with a skin for the front of the device, so I threw that on, too. It's a little crazy to look at, but fun. Like my iPad is having a party. This sticker peels off easily from the glass if you want to remove it.

The corner radius isn't a perfect fit on my antique, first generation iPad, though that was the skin size. But it's quite close.

You can even go nuts and download matching wallpapers for most of the device skins on the website. Choose your device, select a design, and help yourself!

Free, printable gift tags

Presentation is half the battle, so if anybody is interested in making yesterday's hoop earrings to give as presents, here's a little tag you can print out. Punch a couple of tiny holes and you'll look like a professional.

These are multi-purpose, so you could also punch the corner and tie them to something. Download the printable PDF right here.

Easy DIY beaded hoop earrings

My practical self tends to buy only silver earrings since they match everything. But it would be good to add some color, so I made a few beaded hoops to add to the mix. These only cost a couple bucks, so you could do a rainbow array.

Find seed beads and plain wire hoops at a craft store or on Etsy. These hoops were $1.50 a pair at a local hobby shop, but you can probably find them even cheaper.

To make the earrings, thread beads onto the hoop. I found it fastest to cup the beads in my palm and pick them up with the wire hoop, the same way you'd stab peas with a fork.

Then with a pliers, bend about 1/4" of the end of the wire back at a 90 degree angle. (Don't make the angle any sharper, or it will be too difficult to feed the corner through your earlobe.) Hook the bent end through the "loop" end of the earring to close it.

It might be fun to have a ladies jewelry party some night (with cocktails, if you really want to test your hand-eye coordination). Buy hoops in bulk, get a rainbow array of seed beads, and invite everyone to make zillions of pairs for themselves or to give as gifts.

Download a printable tag for these right here for gift giving.

Printable bookplates from Helen Dardik

Illustrator Helen Dardik has created another batch of free, printable bookplates in her signature style. Grab these quirky critters right here on her blog.

New website for The Needle Shop

This has been a fun week, work-wise—I finalized logos and business cards for a few different clients, plus two websites that I designed went live. There's nothing as satisfying as finishing things.

One of the finished things is a revamped website for The Needle Shop, Chicago's DIY sewing school and fabric store in Bucktown. While mulling over the initial design concepts, store owner Rachel Epperson had the brilliant idea of commissioning Ward Nipper to produce some custom illustrations for the site. (Ward often draws elegant, bare-chested ladies like these, but since The Needle Shop is in the business of selling fabric, we agreed it would be counterproductive and a tad too racy to start a shirtless trend.)

My favorite thing on the site? This ottoman. It's my Frond print. So meta: I sketched out that design, digitized it, had it printed on fabric, which was made into an ottoman, which was digitally photographed, sketched by Ward, then digitized again, colored, and ultimately uploaded to the internet. Next, maybe I will make a drawing of my computer monitor displaying this post, then scan that and email it back to Rachel.

Zak Hardage, coder extraordinaire, programmed the new Needle Shop site in Shopify, and Rachel spent a zillion hours loading it up with delicious fabrics, books and patterns for us. Enjoy!

DIY origami-style necklace

Here's an origami jewelry experiment that's useful if you're broke, or if your eyeballs enjoy looking at folded paper. (Speaking of crafts for the fiscally challenged, Amy Sedaris' book Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People is hilarious. But I digress.)

This pleated paper necklace is made with paper, glue, and inexpensive jewelry parts. I bought this length of chain for $1 and the lobster clasp for 45 cents at a local hobby store. Jump rings were a penny each, or available in a package like this. Attach the clasp to the chain using the rings and a pliers. You could also find a necklace at a thrift store or use an old chain you already have, cutting it at the center to create two loose ends. Set it aside until the paper pendant is ready.

Cut an odd number of squares of paper, any size you like. Mine were 1.5" square, and I cut 7 of them.

Accordian-fold each square. (I fold the square in half, then fold each panel in half again until the panels are too small to continue folding.) Fold the accordian in half and secure the adjacent panels with glue to create a fan shape.

Glue the fans together, alternating them right-side up and upside-down.

I added a coat of clear Krylon acrylic spray as a sealer, which seemed to have no visible effect. Maybe a coat of Hard Coat Mod Podge or clear nail polish would be a good experiment?

Attach chains to each end of the paper structure. Sandwich the chain inside the outermost accordion fold, add a dot of hot glue and press the flap shut.

Of course I had to try an orange necklace, but if it reminds you of deer hunting or construction zones, white or metallic paper would be nice. Or try making one out of stiffened fabric.

For other paper jewelry projects, see here and here.

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.