I Love Hippy Crafts

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By Moonmaiden


Fun 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.

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jimmythejock profile image

jimmythejock  says:
2 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

Moonmaiden profile image

Moonmaiden  says:
2 years ago

I would love to see it as well.

Bud Simpson  says:
15 months ago

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.

painternc  says:
10 months ago

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

Tiddledeewinks profile image

Tiddledeewinks  says:
9 months ago

Thanks for the tribe.net website. Your hub brings back mems of my high school daze in the 70's! I love crafting!

In The Doghouse profile image

In The Doghouse  says:
9 months ago

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.

Moonmaiden profile image

Moonmaiden  says:
9 months ago

Those hats were so popular. And remember pop-top art. That went the way of the dinosaur with the new and improved cans.

relache profile image

relache  says:
6 months ago

Dharma Trading is one of my favorite resources too! And they've got the most dye-paint knowledgable staff I've ever consulted.

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