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Showing posts from 2011

See you in a week!

Love you all! I'm taking the week off and will see you in 2012!!

Merry Christmas!

More artsy links!

  Mo(o)re Whimsies Merry Christmas! Beading Arts It can be a bit hard to find nice ornament cover patterns that are free, so Cyndi has rounded up a few goodies for you!   Eileen - The Artful Crafter Learn how to make cute little patterned rosettes to embellish your paper crafts, including where to download some pretty patterned papers which can also be used for tea bag tile folding.   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Make these cute clothespin Christmas ornaments. Eileen shows a skier, but you could also do a nutcracker or skinny Santa. Aileen's Musings Aileen gussied up a shipping tag for Christmas with a beautiful stained glass look. Check out her step by step tutorial.   Carmi's Art/Life World This week I have a great rubber stamped project - that can be showcased as an ornament! Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy reports on a crochet (and knit) friendly local yarn store in Florida.    Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Paper for gravestone rubbings (reader question)

  Brian & Dawn at Wild World Gene Hammiel , who shows his wonderful colored pencil work on the Colored Pencil Society of America website for Washington DC, asked me about paper for gravestone rubbings. He was looking for some lightweight paper that he had found years ago, but could no longer locate. The only thing I knew to suggest to him was the standard Aqaba paper which is specifically made for gravestone rubbings. There are lots of sources for it online, but that's not exactly what he was looking for.  Gene wrote: I found some Aqaba from Gravestone Artwear on-line in York Harbor,Me., but it was thicker than what I had before years ago. I have been using calligraphy paper in the meantime. It worked pretty good. So, at least Gene has something to start with, but do any of you have more experience at this?  Any recommendations? Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

For the calendar next year

Wish I'd known about this art market well ahead of time, and also wish I lived closer to Indiana so that I could go!  This year in November, the second annual Do It Again Art Market was held in central Indiana. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Sundown tonight...eight crazy nights!

If you forgot to go out and get a Menorah, here's a perfect solution for you, thanks to Paula Biggs !

Marbled fabrics

To marble fabrics, you're going to need some specialty materials that you might not use for anything else: carrageenan and alum (bought at hardware store).  I used plain unbleached muslin for my fabric, tearing it into rectangles that would fit flat into my kitchen sink. The fabric must be laundered and treated with alum ahead of time so that it can thoroughly dry.  The carrageenan also needs to be mixed up ahead of time, at least 24 hours in advance, so you can see that a good deal of planning goes into a marbling session.  Day one will consist of prepping the fabric and the size (that's the jelly-like carrageenan mixture that you'll float your paints on), and on day two you can do all your marbling.  Plan to do a lot: this is a lot of work to go through for only a few marbled pieces. I used Pebeo Setacolor fabric paints , but any fabric paints will probably be fine. I recommend Carol Taylor's Marbling Paper and Fabric for it's easy to follow in

More artsy links!

  Creative Dreamer June has created 15 ornaments for the season, and you can too because she's sharing the patterns for all of them! Eileen - The Artful Crafter Make these cute clothespin Christmas ornaments. Eileen shows a skier, but you could also do a nutcracker or skinny Santa.   Beading Arts Every new year should bring a new challenge. How about getting inspired by the Ring A Day challenge...and maybe win a copy of the book?   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy is able to spill the beans about a new jewelry business adventure she is exploring.  Eileen - The Artful Crafter "Santa Claus is coming to town." Are you ready for The Artful Crafter's annual Christmas Parade of Crafts?   Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter Madge turns some styrofoam and sparkly things into a Retrofabulous Suzy Snowflake Snowlady!   Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery How to make a yarn ball and dpn Christmas tree.   Aileen's Musings Aileen shows you how she took pre made cards and embellished them to make her own Christmas cards she mailed out this year.   Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi enters the Friendship Bracelet world and learns a thing or two.   Craft. You. Meet Jenny Barnett-Rohrs of Craft Test Dummies this week on Craft. You.!   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there is a double giveaway featuring books and Styrofoa

Quote of the week

Guys, click for a larger version so you can read all the real color names! Image: The Doghouse Diaries

Recent publications: December

The Best of Quilting Arts: Your Ultimate Resource for Art Quilt Techniques and Inspiration by Patricia Bolton How to Draw and Paint Water and Sky by Sarah Hoggett Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts: A Stress-Free Journey to Original Design by Rayna Gillman 50 Little Paper- Pieced Blocks: Full-Size Patterns to Mix & Match by Carol Doak Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World by Christine Mason Miller The Adobe Photoshop Layers Book by Richard Lynch Simply Creative Quilts by Maya Chaimovich Learn to Make a Quilt from Start to Finish by Carolyn S. Vagts Tapestry: A Woven Narrative by Tom Howells, Timothy Wilcox and Caron Penney Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Quote of the week

Mobius scarf in a couple of hours

Making a mobius scarf took me just a little longer than the football game.  I didn't have to pay too much attention to either one ;-)  By the end of the second game, I had two scarves...at this rate, I know what everyone will be getting from me for Christmas!  Use a really large crochet hook, and you'll be amazed how quickly you can make one of these.  1. Leaving a long tail of yarn (about 12 inches), crochet a chain as long as you want your finished scarf to be.  I chose a shorter cowl style for this one.    2. Stitch along the chain in double crochet and recheck the length.  Add a few more rows of DC. I usually add three or five, any odd number so that I end up back on the end with the yarn tail. 3. Using the yarn tail, slip stitch the two short ends of the crocheted strip together, putting a single twist into the strip.  Tie the yarn tail to the working yarn, but do not clip yet. 4. Begin to crochet in single crochet around the outside of the strip.  Since you&#

More artsy links!

  Beading Arts Wanna learn to work with chains in your jewelry designs? Cyndi has a copy of "Chains Chains Chains" up for grabs!   Eileen - The Artful Crafter "Santa Claus is coming to town." Are you ready for The Artful Crafter’s annual Christmas Parade of Crafts? Felt Eiffel Tower Ornaments Cherie makes some more ornaments out of felt.   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there is a fun new video on how to tint gesso with pastels by Traci Bunkers, tutorials on how to draw Christmas trees and poinsettias, tips on cleaning glassware and a yummy recipe for vegan maple bacon doughnuts.   Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy takes a look at a craft book packed full of projects.  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Do you know about yarn bombing? Whimsical hand knit and crocheted art is circling the globe!   Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter It's a video! It's two craft projects with instructions! It's RETROFABULOUS! Yay!   Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery How to make a recycled sweater wreath with a candy style bow.   About Family Crafts Play along with the current craft challenge and submit an angel craft or two.   Aileen's Musings Aileen not only offers you a fantabulous Glitzy bleached Christmas tree project but also a giveaw

Artful package wrapping

It used to make my kids howl with laughter sometimes, but I always loved to write little "hints" about what was inside the package on the tags.  The clues were so oblique that they weren't really much use in helping them figure it out, at least not until after they'd unwrapped and seen what it was!  Here are some beautiful and creative package wrapping ideas that won't take you all day to accomplish...who has time for that? The Wrap Artist Wooden spool gift tags Card boxes More card boxes 24 Creative wrapping ideas 10 Green wrapping ideas 15 Frugal wrapping ideas

Calls for entries and submissions

 Metal Clay Design Competition 2010 Crafts National 2012 Deadline: 01/06/12        Time Flies reader challenge Deadline: 01/09/12       Small Expressions Deadline: 01/25/12       Metal Clay Design Competition Deadline: 01/30/12       Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Quote of the week

'Nuff said

An autumn leaf bouquet

I apologize that this post will come after most people no longer have quite such easy access to the raw materials, but our autumn was soooo late this year, that I only just got around to making these!  I saw the tutorial for these autumn leaf flowers on DesignSponge , written by Kate Pruitt .  You need to go check out here tutorial, because even if you can figure out how they're done, you owe it to yourself to see examples that are far more beautiful than mine.  Part of it was that my leaves were a bit dry and crispy, and part of it was that Kate is just more talented than me! There were more of them, but I gave some away! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

More artsy links!

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Do you know about yarn bombing? Whimsical hand knit and crocheted art is circling the globe! Wooden Birdhouse Necklaces Cherie makes some necklaces for holiday gifts.   Beading Arts Cyndi is featuring an entire month of tutorials to get you ready for the holidays! Creative Dreamer First the patterns... now the ornaments! Now June's givin' 'em away, be sure to get in on this!     Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Craft. You. It's hectic around the holidaze, don't forget to take a moment to enjoy and exhale. Zuzu's Petals. Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside we have our Fabulous Book and Yarn Holiday Giveaway-enter 3 ways to get yourself in the running for 10 books and a basket of goodies! There is also a free knit stocking pattern with monograms, a whole bunch of cool gift topper tutorials, how to embellish antique gift tins and a recipe for Asian turkey and rice soup.   Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy gives you some tips for finding fun and yarn friendly project bags. Eileen - The Artful Crafter Do you craft for profit - or would you like to? Here are some tips for reaching your target market.   Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter Need a craftacular gift for the holiday season? Fret not, Madge has got you covered! Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery See how to make a recycled die cut sweater Christmas

Handmade ornaments and decorations

When my children were young, I was always looking for easy projects that we could do together to decorate for different holidays.  They may be grown up and gone, but there are now GRANDchildren to think about!  Some of these lovely ornaments would be a bit much for small people, but others could easily be adapted to working together to decorate the tree. Crochet chain trees Plastic bird ornaments Tweed wreath  15 ornaments in 15 days Holiday table decorations Felt ornament houses Fabric pinecones  Angry Birds felt ornaments Quilled snowflake Fond memories ornament Kirigami paper snowflakes Ribbon ornament 3-D folded paper star Photo ornaments Gingerbread house book Fabric trees Great family photos

Recent publications: November 2011

Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed-Media Artists: Experimental Techniques for Composition, Layering, Texture, Imagery, and Encaustic by Ann Baldwin Inside the Creative Studio: Inspiration and Ideas for Your Art and Craft Space by Cate Coulacos Prato Metal Artist's Workbench: Demystifying the Jeweler's Saw by Thomas Mann Personal Geographies: Explorations in Mixed-Media Mapmaking by Jill K. Berry Photoshop Brushes & Creative Tools: Ornate Letters and Alphabets by Alan Weller Create Your Own Printable Scrapbook Papers: 135 Vintage Designs for use with Photoshop Elements by Jodie Lee Patterson Sew to Swap: Quilting Projects to Exchange Online and by Mail by Chrissie Grace Stitching a Culture Together: African American Quilters of Ohio (Ohio Quilt Series) by Carolyn L. Mazloomi Firefly's Step-by-Step Encyclopedia of Needlecraft: Patchwork, Embroidery, Quilting, Sewing, Knitting, Crochet, Applique Plus Dozens of Projects with How-to Instructions b

Quote of the week

At First Light - part four

Woo hoo!  It's finished!  Let me introduce you to At First Light , companion piece to As Daylight Fades .  They are both approximately 3 x 2', all hand painted silk except for the batting and backing fabrics, and all hand stitched. I started by stitching down the top-most pieces, that is, any pieces that were not covered on any sides by any other pieces.  I then moved on and worked more or less from the center outward so that I could trim pieces as needed as they shifted slightly.  I used a single strand of embroidery floss and stitched through all layers of silk and the batting layer, using a blanket stitch. The backing fabric was added and cut to size.  I stitched all around the outside with the same blanket stitch.  Even though the image at the top shows straight edges, they are not completely straight: wherever the blocks jutted out slightly around the edges, I allowed them to stay that way. I added buttons to the back in strategic spots, sti

More artsy links

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Do you craft for profit, or would you like to? Here are some tips for reaching your target market. Felt Ornament Houses Cherie makes little felt ornaments for the tree.   Beading Arts Beautiful toggle clasps are meant to be seen, not hidden away! Creative Dreamer Exciting news!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Artsy blogging round-up!

  Carmi's Art/Life World This week I have a little card tutorial featuring Popcorn the bear digital images. Craft. You. This week on Craft. You. we feature craft activist Corrine Bayraktaroglu a.k.a. Jafabrit   Crafty Princess Diaries The Crafty Princess attempts to design her own cotton market bag with mixed results. Eileen - The Artful Crafter It's that time of year to harvest (or buy) hard shelled gourds for crafting. Here are some ideas to get you started.   Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter Retrofabulous Christmas Craftabration marches on with some upcycled holiday greetings inspired by a 1966 Christmas Helps magazine!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Best way to darken fabric pattern (reader question)

Image via Wikimedia Commons I received the following question recently, and I thought I'd share it with you along with my answer.  I am unfamiliar with textiles from Uzbekistan, so I did a little searching around before answering.  I don't know if my answer was "correct" or not, but it was my best guess.  Anyone have a better idea?  [Note - before doing anything to ethnic fabric, you should really read Caroline's comment below] Dear Cyndi, I purchased an antique suzani from Uzbekistan on ebay. When it arrived, some large areas of the design are grey, not black. I need the grey to be black. I am willing to take the time to make the grey black. The design is intricate so I will need some kind of brush. I am going to have this framed when I finish. So no worry about it being washed and used over time. My only concern is appearance. I am thinking that I will probably have to do the black areas too for evenness of color. I believe the thread

Book reviews: Push Paper and Push Stitchery

Push Paper Make way on your bookshelf for a new series by Lark Publishing .  Containing Lark's usual fine attention to detail and color, the first two books of the series are ones that you will savor!  The purpose of the new series is to explore artwork that pushes the boundaries of tradition in various media; the first two books tackle paper and stitchery.  Just in case you think you know everything that can be done with these materials and techniques...you're wrong!  Push Paper will introduce you to artists who are doing things with paper that you'll sometimes find hard to believe can be done with...well, humble paper!  I was already familiar with the work of a couple of the artists, but this book introduced me to many many more that I wish to know better.  Thirty artists in all, to be exact.  I was particularly enamoured of what Chris Gilmour is doing with cardboard.  It sent me searching online for more, and I was so happy to find that he's got a wonderful

Quote of the week

At First Light - part three

Trying to get the layout right for my new quilt.  This was not a fast process! Log cabin style?  Different centerpiece? Reverse the colors? Strips instead of block? Move colors around? Bottom colors too dark?  Oh, duh...it was upside down!  And needed a better frame. Part one Part two Part three Part four Copyright 2011 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals