I Love Hippy Crafts
68Fun things to make
I Love Hippy Crafts
I was a mere child when the hippies were spreading philosophies of free love, non-violence and flower power. But it influenced my creative spirit and filled me with original and colorful arts and crafts ideas.
Last Sunday I got some startled reactions when I was doing a demo of macramé with hemp. Many people thought macramé had died out with the ‘70's. It certainly had its heyday in the 70's. I remember making plant hangers, wall hangings, vests, belts, purses and jewelry with macramé. Now it's mostly hemp jewelry popularized by college students trying to earn spending money. That is no reason we cannot use it for grand things like we did in the 70's.
And actually macramé has been around for a very long time and was once popular with sailors as both a form of self-expression and a practical tool.
Other crafts that were big in the 70's and still enjoy popularity include candle making, tie-dyeing, leather crafts, pottery, weaving, crochet, embroidery and embellishing on denim, and beaded jewelry. You can see many hippy crafts on http://www.etsy.com/. My favorite place to get dye is http://www.dharmatrading.com/. They also sell plain silk and cotton and hemp garments and other accessories so you can dye them or wear them as is.
Of course there are also many books on making your own dyes from botanicals, and that is well worth exploring.
My favorite hippy craft hangout is here: http://hippiehandcrafters.tribe.net/
But there are many more over on tribe net.
I wish you many hours of happy hippy crafting.Mandolin case made from recycled denim jeans.
The case was made from a pant leg. The little pocket holds the mandolin pick.
Crocheted button bracelet.
Moonmaiden's Blogs
- Happy Memorial Weekend
I feel mostly better today. I'm sad I missed all the big Memorial weekend events like Portrero and the Petaluma archery shoot. But I think I'm well enough to do art today. Thanks to all our vets past and present. You know who you are. Remember that peace should always be our first choice. But until everyone else makes that their choice, it's good to have a back up plan.
- A.C.E.O.'s for a Mere $1. Plus Postage
I think I just about have this cold whipped. I'm planning on making some ACEO's (Art Cards Editions and Originals). In the hopes of getting lots of my art out there and making it affordable for anyone to have original art, I'm dropping the price of each miniature art creation to $1 for the card and $1. for shipping and handling. These aren't prints. They are mini drawings, paintings, or collages. In the past I've sold these from $8 to $20 per card. But I could never find steady buyers. I'm thinking of making a million $1.00 ACEOs. Of course if you want to buy 100 of them, I'm not going to charge you $100 for shipping. LOL. I'm sure I can do combined shipping. If you do buy A.C.E.O.'s from me or anyone else, read the descriptions carefully. Make sure you know if you are getting a print or an original. And a print (as made on a copy machine or computer printer) is not considered an original piece of art, whereas a linoleum block print or a letterpress print or a Gocco print is an original work of art. If the artist is applying ink to a surface, then pulling prints one by one those are considered originals and are often numbered like 1/100 (one of one hundred). I haven't started the new ACEO's yet, but here are some I've done in the past. Remember, if it's not 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" it's not an A.C.E.O. If this is all new to you, I wrote an article on it here: Designing and Collecting Art Cards.
- Used Tool Swap Meet
The weekend was kind of a bust as I managed to get sick and missed the archery event. I stayed home and read A Cast-Off Coven by Juliet Blackwell instead. I want to finish that one before I start reading the Hunger Games. I did go to a used tool swap meet on Sat. We had to get up at 5 AM to be in LA as soon as possible. My boyfriend got five or six draw knives, some calipers and some odds and ends. There was one vendor selling old rusty tools for $1 each would have been great for assemblages and restaurant decor.
I would love to see it as well.
I love macramé. When we were little, dad used to make wall hangings of intrcate designs. Glad to know there are others who still do it. I think I'm going to go find some hemp and tie a knot.
Thanks for the reminder of the "hippie spirit." Crafts were such an important part of that era.
I have recently started spending more times with my kids making crafts - I think it is a wonderful way to bond with them and is a very positive experience. We started with friendship bracelets - very much like the hemp bracelet - and my daughter loved it. In fact we had a party and taught her girlfriends how to make friendship bracelets.
www.howtomakefriendshipbracelets.blogspot.com
Thanks for the tribe.net website. Your hub brings back mems of my high school daze in the 70's! I love crafting!
moonmaiden
You free spirit you! Thank you for sharing and bringing back some awesome memories for me. I was also a little too young for the entire "Hippie" scene but I still do remember the antics of that era. I loved doing the macrame plant hangers and candle making (we even made Happy Face Candles, sand candles etc. lol). In fact, I was asked to help with a craft for a girls camp and we made Soda Can belts. Anybody remember the hats like that? It was a kick. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
Those hats were so popular. And remember pop-top art. That went the way of the dinosaur with the new and improved cans.
Dharma Trading is one of my favorite resources too! And they've got the most dye-paint knowledgable staff I've ever consulted.
I use to make things from the jeans. It was a fun time in my journey!
I remember making bead necklaces in the middle '70s as a pretten. Those were better days (or daze?).
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348 Feet 0.5mm HEMP CORDS Thinner for Macrame 12 Colors
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MACRAME PLANT HANGER 28in Bead Button Knot CHOOSE COLOR
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Two 2 Cranberry Handcrafted Macrame Plant Hangers 32" 3-Arm Made In U.S.A.
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MACRAME PLANT HANGER 24in Vintage BEADS**CHOOSE COLOR**
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jimmythejock Level 4 Commenter 5 years ago
I was lucky enough to visit Ibiza in Spain and visit the Hippy Market there,their wares were amazing the prices were so inexpensive for the hours it must have taken for them to create them.....jimmy