Saturday, March 6, 2010

Pretty Pretty DIY Crochet Bowls!

Happy Saturday Everyone - I present to you my very first crafty DIY!
You will need:
crocheted fabric doilies
cornstarch
water 
balloons
in total the materials cost under $5

depending how much fabric stiffener you want to make - mix 1 part corn starch with 2 parts cold water to make a thick paste, then add 16 parts boiling water.
(i used 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup cold, 4 cups boiling)
this is the same recipe used for turning any fabric into wallpaper - 
but i dare not do that to the peeling walls in this apartment.
 blow up your balloons to the size of your doilies, while letting the cornstarch mix cool off 
so you don't burn your fingers ;)
when the mix is cooled, immerse the doily and get it coated in the gooey mess. 
then lay it over a balloon, smoothing out any bubbles.

let the balloon rest in a mug to keep its balance.

i also used a little bowl to make a smaller shape, but learned the hard way that i should have placed a layer of plastic wrap between bowl and balloon. oops.


let everything dry. (this took about 24 hours)

removing the balloons was trickier than expected.  at first i just poked a hole in the balloon, but the doily stayed stuck and warped in shape.  it worked much better to slowly pry the balloon away with my fingers while it was still inflated, popping it after. 

and voila! you can use them to store all kinds of little things.  i think they'd be really pretty filled with candies, mini ones as wedding favours or as centrepieces.
send me a link if you make them, i'd love to see yours.
oh! and an extra cool feature - if you wash the doilies out in water they will return to their original flat state.  which means i can put them in my suitcase and bring them to canada when i move :)

25 comments:

  1. Oh, wow. These are so gorgeous. I never would have thought of that!

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  2. i've wanted to try making these for quite some tume but never come around doing it. yours look beautiful! perhaps i should look through my doily stash and give it a go.

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  3. wow! how clever, and very pretty!

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  4. Hi, Stopping by from SITS. These are so beautiful. It's a great idea that doesn't cost much and take too long to make. Keep up the good work.

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  5. They turned out really pretty! I love making doilies, despite the fact I'm not really a doily kind of person - you may just have given me the answer ;)
    Thanks for the tutorial!

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  6. oh my goodness! these are so cute! I'm definitely going to make some!

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  7. They're gorgeous. What a good idea!

    Now i just need some doilies to try it out!

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  8. so adorable! might just have to make some at some point in the near future

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  9. There's no end to human creativity.
    Very nice!

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  10. They look great! Visiting from SITS :)

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  11. OH WOW! This is looks great!!! Thanks for sharing! Have a lovely Sunday ma belle!

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  12. Cool idea!! And I love the naturally lit photos :)

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  13. thank you for the idea about the children's hospital and the supplies. after this class is over I think I might just do that.

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  14. How lovely what a great ideal. Look fun and inexpensive at the same time, but they came out so great you would have thought you bought them like that. Nice job!

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  15. Thanks for posting this - I was just telling a friend about your bowls and she interested in making some (she also crochets) for her daughters...tiny ones for tea parties :)

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  16. I love this. my head is swimming with deas. I will let you know if I act on them lol.

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  17. Those bowls are adorable. I have some doilies I'm going to try this with. And I have some pretties to put in them too. Thanks.
    Mary

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  18. Visiting from SITS, and thanking you for stopping by my blog!

    What a fab idea! It might even be doable for someone like me, who COMPLETELY lacks the crafty gene! Adorable!

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  19. How fun is that? Love it! :)

    Thanks for sharing your Flickr account, I added you as a friend on there. Love your pics!

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  20. Thanks so much for this great tutorial! Your little bowls are adorable :) I can't wait to try it. I'll need to do a bit more research into the fabric wallpapering, I'm intrigued!
    Thanks again for the suggestion,
    love cait

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  21. OH. MY. GOODNESS.
    this is the coolest thing ever! you are so creative! i absolutely adore your blog!!

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  22. Such a cute DIY!! neat idea! -Katie

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  23. Hi! Great tutorial! I've always wanted to do this but was not sure about which stiffener to use. Yours is an easy one so I'll definitely be making one or two :)
    If you don't mind, I'll like to link this tutorial to my blog for my 'Daily DIY' post. Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Really a terrific idea! Thanks for posting!

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thank you for leaving a comment! i love to know what you think :)

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