I Love Hippy Crafts

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.