Unleash Your Inner Designer with KLUTZ!

Why go to the mall when your child can create her very own fashion right at home? In Amy Mascott’s blog post about our new book, “My Fashion Portfolio,” she shows how your child can create and share dozens of looks, no fashion experience necessary. 

Amy explains just how awesome this book is for young fashionistas. Not only does the blog show us step-by-step how the book works, but there is also a super-cool video demo too!

This blog post doesn’t miss a thing about our new absolutely adored book. It highlights all of the key aspects in “My Fashion Portfolio,” including the fun fact that no sewing kit is needed to design outfits with the 100+ paper patterns included in the book. Just your child and her imagination are required for this book; Klutz covers the rest! Check out Amy’s blog, get the book, and let the fashion imagination run free.

Fairy Tale Dress-Up with Fashion Forms

We're welcoming Klutz Marketing Assistant Devin MacDonald to the blog today to share her experience with a Klutz classic. 

While I’ve graduated from the baggy hoodies, baseball caps, and cargo pants of my middle school tomboy-hood, I’m still pretty much the antithesis of a girly-girl. I can’t apply makeup to save my life, I wear the same pair of scuffed boots every day, and I harbour the not-so-secret hope that I will live to see the day when it is socially acceptable to wear nothing but monochrome jumpsuits (think construction worker, not chic and catwalk-ready). But, despite my tendency to shy away from the frilly, blingy, and otherwise fabulous, I will always have a soft spot for pretty princesses.

With a shiny new take on Cinderella hitting the silver screen this week, I found myself with a familiar urge to indulge in a little bit of fairy tale dress-up. So, I grabbed one of the Fashion Forms kits that have been staring at me from our conference room for weeks, and I decided to get my design on. 

What I find so neat about Fashion Forms is that it’s all about combining basic shapes in creative ways. So, with patterns for six tops and three skirts, you can pretty much make any no-pants look that crosses your mind. It got me thinking about which classic princess costumes I could recreate with those shapes, and—after inspiration struck—how I could transform those outfits into modern-day ensembles.

I mean, can’t you totally picture the Little Mermaid roaming the beach in romantic, flowy ruffles and a sweetheart halter on her land-dwelling days?

Can’t you see Snow White rocking a Peter Pan collar and a cute-but-classy pencil skirt while holding court with her woodland friends in a cozy little home?

What about a fit-and-flare number for everybody’s favourite Frozen queen?

It’s amazing how scraps of paper can transform into miniature outfits for a princess with a dab of glue, some imagination, and a few sparkly embellishments. It’s also amazing how time flies when you let your inner little girl out to play; I was surprised to find that I’d been at it for a couple of hours when I finally shook the sequins from my fingertips to check the time, but I enjoyed every second of it. My craving to experiment with adorable attire: satisfied. I feel like I just played the ultimate game of dress-up.

Now, to find a fashion-forward little friend so I have an excuse to crack my kit open again . . .

A Few of My Favourite Things (with Nail Style Studio & Nail Art from Klutz)

Yesterday was officially the first day of fall. And though the weather seems to be a bit confused as we finish up the last week of September, there's no denying it anymore. Summer is gone!

Don't get me wrong, fall has it's perks--Halloween, pumpkin spice and scarf season, just to name a few--but this warm-weather girl will be mourning summer's end for the eight long months till it's back again.

Whenever I'm feeling blue, a good art project always cheers me up! So, I grabbed Klutz's Nail Style Studio and Nail Art and painted my tips and toes in all sorts of pics and patterns. Forget raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, here are a handful of my tried and true remedies for when I'm feeling sad!

Exploring a new neighborhood in my city.

A good stretch and centering on my yoga mat.

 

Getting lost in a book.

Warming up with a hot drink.

 

And painting my nails with patterns and pictures that make me smile!

(No) Signs of Spring, with My Style Studio

In case you haven’t heard by now, here in Canada, We are Winter. Me, I’m not much for winter sports but I show my true Canadian colours by bucking the cold weather and wearing skirts and dresses year-round. It can get chilly, but I’m not gonna let a little thing like snowy, blowy weather keep my style at bay.

But even us crazy Canucks start to feel winter dragging by the time March rolls around. And since the snow shows no sign of stopping, I need a little warm-weather inspiration to cheer me up. So I grabbed a copy of the boxy new edition of My Style Studio to sketch up some spring fashions to look forward to. And with visions of T-shirts and maxis and bare legs (oh my!), I think I just might make it through.

For a peek at more of my Klutz-made style inspiration, check out My Fabulous Book of Looks, My Style Studio fall line, Paper Fashions summer style and holiday wear, my Fashionably Me back-to-school style, and more!

New Year's Eve Night in with Klutz

Happy New Year fellow crafters!

How did you celebrate the start of 2014?

This crafty girl decided to ring in the New Year in DIY style! I had a Klutz crafternoon with some favourite friends and a special surprise for our party at night.

Choosing my favourite Klutz books of 2013 was easy: Make Clay Charms, Nail Style Studio, Beaded Bands and Toolbox Jewelry. I pulled out my copies, spread them out on the table and we each got to work beading, painting, knotting and sculpting fun accessories for the night ahead.

We put on our party outfits and as the countdown finally drew near, it was time to reveal my special surprise. With my laptop, a bed sheet and some printed props, I set up a makeshift photo booth so we could snap pics of our fancy new accessories and get a little silly!

It was an amazing night with good friends and great crafts—and I didn't even have to leave the house. Who could ask for more? The best part was the next day, as we headed home to 2014, we had fun accessories and hilarious pics as souvenirs of our send-off to another great year!

Toolbox Jewels with Klutz Toolbox Jewelry

For this Christmas crafter, there is no better treat than a Klutz kit that will help you to create a ton of cool gifts!

Last year, I hit the jackpot with a bounty of Beaded Bands, so I couldn’t wait to see what my not-so-secret Santa had in store. As usual, Klutz did not disappoint.

All summer, I’d been Pinning and pining for those cool nut and washer bracelets that were popping up everywhere. So my holiday joy skyrocketed to find that they were now within my reach with Toolbox Jewelry. This pretty kit is a collision of Tiffany’s and my dad’s toolbox, and the finished product is as pretty and polished as all of these Pins.

I fixed up an armful of hot hardware with just nuts and washers, ribbons, and string! I’m wrapping up these precious toolbox jewels to deliver with love!

With just a month to go, the Christmas crafting is underway! Looking for more ideas? Check out what I’ve been up to in Christmases past, and stay tuned for Christmas crafts to come!

Stay Warm for Winter with Klutz Knitting

When I was younger, I used to hate getting bundled up to go outside. My parents would send me to school in a hat, scarf, mitts, and snow pants. I was safe from the chill, but feeling pretty darn uncool because the cool girls would strut around the playground unbundled, in  only a jacket and jeans. Even though they probably lived on the edge of catching pneumonia, all I saw were rosy cheeks and a streamlined silhouette, next to my snowman-like proportions.

So one day, I screwed up my courage and shed my winter wear for lunch. I was feeling pretty cool and free to move as we played around in the snow, but soon I felt a chill creeping in. I was officially over it by math class, doing multiplication with soggy jeans and wet hair.

Later that week, I paid the price even more dearly when I came down with a pretty wicked cold. Since then, I’ve stopped caring about looking cool, and I have embraced cold-weather accessories with style.

So, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that Klutz had a kit that would help me save my hard earned money by making my own winter wear. Knitting is the easiest how-to-knit kit ever and comes with everything you’ll need, from needles, yarn, and buttons to instructions for making scarves, hats, a sunglasses case, a cell phone sock, and more!

I've knit so much winter wear that I’ll never be cold again!

Nail Art Evolution with Nail Style Studio

When I was a girl of nine, I wanted nothing more than to be able to paint my nails. So, when I received my first bottle of nail polish as a birthday gift, it was all I could do to not shut the party down and get to it.

My parents weren’t so keen on their little girl painting her nails like a grown up, so before I was allowed to break into that bottle of polish, I had to prove my commitment to the cause by cleaning up our disastrously messy playroom, from top to bottom.

It seems like a strange task, but I set my little mind to it and spent an entire weekend sorting and organizing and, okay, sometimes hiding, every little toy in that giant room. On Sunday night, I finally emerged triumphant and was rewarded with permission to get painting. My little sis' was granted the privilege, too (ah, the joys of being the eldest sibling), but I couldn’t even find the time to care because I was finally allowed to paint my nails!

Since that fateful night, I don’t think more than a week has passed without some sort of polish on my fingernails. So, you can imagine my delight when Klutz Nail Style Studio arrived on the scene to shake up my nail art and take this long-standing relationship to the next level!

I mean, Klutz and I are no strangers to Nail Art. 

Last year, we celebrated Valentine’s Day with some seriously cute painted tips, but those designs have got nothing on the pretty patterns and bold prints of Nail Art’s big sis'. With the super-precise dotting tool and tons of fun sticker stencils, my nails are getting some serious style evolution. Better yet, since this kit comes complete with six cool colours of peel-off practice polish, here’s to hoping you won’t have to clean any rooms to show your love of nails, too!

My Style Profile (with Fashionably Me)

It’s official… 

Fall has arrived and, with it, the first week of school!

My first week of Dot Jewelry was such a hit that I’m ready to build on my back-to-school fashion and create a style profile that will take me though the rest of the school year.

So, I grabbed Fashionably Me, Klutz’s latest and greatest fill-it-yourself journal packed with style prompts, fabric swatches, and lots of space for imagination!

I filled it with patterns, prints, jewels and a all my style idols! Now, whenever I’m not sure what to wear, I just have to open this little black book and be inspired to be fashionably me!
 

Pretty Summer Suits (with My Fabulous Look Book)

The season of swimming is upon us, yay! 

But with it comes one of summer's most aggravating rites of passage...

The search for the perfect swimsuit.

To find it, you have to brave fluorescent lights, bunched up underwear underneath, and the inevitable comparisons between the way you look in the suit to how the model on the poster right next to you looks in it. Swimming season has its downsides…

But when you find a winner, oh boy, is it great! There’s nothing like hitting the beach, playing in the waves and soaking up the sun (through a thick layer of UV protection, of course!) without a care for too loose straps or a recurring wedgie.

So, in preparation for my summer swimsuit search, I grabbed a copy of My Fabulous Look Book to try and pick out my ideal styles before I hit the stores.

I mixed and matched bright neons with classic black, a retro high waister with a bustier top, a daring strapless beauty with a pretty gold accent, and a Minnie Mouse inspired skirt suit that I absolutely love!

So many choices, so much time in the change room avoided. Knowing what you’re looking for is half the battle. Now my only problem is deciding which I like best!

Straight On to Summer (with Scoubidou)

This week we got our first glimpses of the warm weather we’ve been waiting for. Sure, it was short lived, but I soaked that little bit of sun right into my soul and now I'm filled with summer dreams of swimming in lakes, bunking at summer camp, and roasting marshmallows over a campfire. I'm choosing to ignore the warnings of hail(!) ahead and am hunkering down with some Klutz that was made for summer fun.

Whether you know it as gimp, lacing or boondoggle, Klutz give new life to this summer-camp fave with its original name, Scoubidou. (Fun fact: it was a fad in France in the 1950s!) Sure, there are instructions for the classic bracelets we all know and love, but it doesn’t stop there... Pretty ponytail holders, cool Celtic knots, flip flops, and more all get the scoubidou- treatment too! And with enough cord to make all 12 projects, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy till those sunny summer days actually arrive!

Charmed, I’m Sure! (with Clay Charms)

Klutz and I have been besties for almost two years now, so we’ve started to settle into a familiar rhythm. Whenever I'm free, I give Klutz a call and can always count on some good, crafty fun. But every once in a while in our steady relationship, Klutz does something that totally knocks my socks off and this, my friends, is one of the times.

May I present to you... Clay Charms!

I will try to keep the gushing to a minimum but, you guys, this book is the COOLEST! A pretty little bracelet base, nine brightly coloured bricks of clay, and endless combinations of clay charm cuteness!

It wasn’t hard to decide what my first bracelet would be about. I mean, the only thing I love more than crafting is food, so I stacked it up with some yummy snacks. Cinnamon buns, tacos, s’mores, and a crunchy carrot for good measure! Then it was into the oven for a bake, a quick layer of glaze, and my tasty treats were ready to rock!

After my first bracelet went so well, I just had to share. So I packed it in my bag for a weekend away and my friends and I all went Clay Charm crazy!

 

Now I’ve got a whole tree of clay charms to mix and match to my moods. But have no fear, I’m not done yet. These colourful little bricks of clay sure do go a long way! So if you wondering when my Clay Charm obsession will end…

Well, you know!