Posted
on 5/16/2012, 6:00 am,
by MrXStitch,
under Mr X Stitch.
I’m Beefranck, Queen of Ironic Stitching and Editor-in-Chief at Mr X Stitch. I know a thing or two about cool stitchery and it’s my pleasure to share my finds with you. So let’s do it!
—–
Hi everybody! This week I want to show you some work from my new craft crush, mina.s.m.
I’m not sure how long she’s been embroidering, but she posted these pieces earlier this month.
I like her style.
I like her subjects.
And her stitching is lovely.
See more from mina.s.m. by visiting her Flickr photostream. You’ll be glad you did!
Posted
on 5/15/2012, 9:13 am,
by rackycoo,
under General Projects.
Sometimes a craft project can be completed in record time, but what happens when someone sets aside a hours, days, or even weeks to work on a single project? You know, those projects that obviously took just about forever, and are mind-blowingly awesome. Here are five labors of love that you should definitely see.
First, there’s this incredible felt typewriter, with hand dyed felt and embroidered details, created by blueblythe. The attention to detail in this piece is phenomenal. Get this: the roller actually rotates so that a piece of paper can be added with some typed words on it. Just, wow.
This beautiful display of paper cranes was created by Miss Whitney to honor and celebrate the life of a loved one. 598 cranes are displayed in a lighted case that is 5 feet tall by about 1.5 feet wide and deep. It’s truly a stunning memorial.
This looks like someone’s vacation photo, but it’s actually a fully furnished miniature pub, created by Knickertwist. There are so many charming details inside; for example, the pub tables have been carved with runes, and if you look underneath, you will even find gum left by some of the tiny careless patrons.
Here’s a great way to get rid of scrap yarn: a crocheted afghan. talli_1985 started out thinking this would be a lapghan, but it just kept on growing until it because a king sized blanket. I love all the patterns and bright colors she used.
This pixelated portrait by alphabits never ceases to amaze me. She created this likeness of her son using 3072 tiny (1 cm square!) pieces of colored paper cut from magazines. I don’t think I would have the patience. She reports that the project took her over a year to complete.
Worth all the effort? You bet! Thanks to everyone for sharing these projects that you put hours of intensive labor into.
Every two weeks we pick our favorite 15 projects that Craftster readers have voted for with the “This Rocks!” button. Here are our latest picks which were lovingly and painstakingly chosen (so many amazing projects to choose from!), this time by sweet4ever. We hope you enjoy them!
Posted
on 5/9/2012, 6:00 am,
by MrXStitch,
under Mr X Stitch.
Welcome to the Cutting (& Stitching) Edge! I’m Mr X Stitch and I’ll be your guide to the best in contemporary embroidery. Each week I’ll showcase someone who is rocking the world of embroidery and textiles.
Harriet Maxwell is an embroidery artist from London, England. She creates machine embroidered portraits.
“My current work is focussed on the portrait, on the subtleties that can amount to the representation of a person. By looking closely at the face, I concentrate on the layers of pattern, colour and contours that create the subtle qualities of the skin. I like the idea of looking so closely at a face that factors such as gender and age become ambiguous and unimportant. I am more interested in small, gestures, how a slight turn of the head can reveal new details, how a change of lighting can transform colours, altering the perception of a face.
“With the use of the Irish sewing machine, I am able use stitch as a drawing tool, to create both fluid patterns, dense areas of rich colour and thick textures, allowing the stitches to combine to form a sheen evocative of flesh. I use stitch in much the same way as paint, creating marks with the needle in the same way that I would with a brush. Yet rather than simply focussing on the surface of the skin, I feel that stitch allows me to construct the flesh, building up thread to reference layers of skin, mapping out lines and contours with the direction of the stitch.
“Embroidery enables me to create a dense, indulgent and tactile cloth that I believe not only refers to surface, but to the composition of the surface. The direction and density of the stitch contribute to a rippling effect, a rising and falling, which produces an almost sculptural outcome. Depending on the light, this can create an ever-changing portrait, light and shade emphasizing and diminishing details, creating alternative portrayals, just as in life.”
We’ve seen portraiture quite a few times at the Cutting (& Stitching) Edge, and Harriet’s work elicits comparison with the work of Cayce Zavaglia. However Harriet’s faces have amplified caricature; the perspective and light emphasize the shapes and contours of the faces and revitalise interest in subjects that might otherwise be taken for granted. I like ‘em.
Connect with Harriet at her blog and visit her etsy store to buy pieces of her work.
Mr X Stitch is a manbroiderer, cross stitch designer and runs www.mrxstitch.com, the number one contemporary embroidery and needlecraft blog on the planet.
Posted
on 5/8/2012, 10:35 am,
by rackycoo,
under General Projects.
I love meeting people through Craftster. Last weekend, I loaded Mr. ‘Coo up in the car and headed up to Virginia to meet some new friends.
cackle and I have organized several swaps together, and we always chat on the phone both when we plan the swap and then again when we partner people up. Generally, those “short” conversations last a couple of hours or more, so we decided it was only right for us to finally have a face to face visit. MissingWillow lives close by, and Killam Creative was willing to make the drive from her house, so the four of us decided to have a Craftster meetup last weekend, filled with a little swapping, a little junk store shopping, great eating, many bottles of red wine, and lots of laughter. Here are a few highlights of our visit. Special thanks to Killam Creative, who took all of these beautiful photos, with the exception of the one to the left.
When I arrived at cackle’s house, she was in the process of frosting an amazing six layer chocolate cake. It was so beautiful we felt the need to dig right in. Here we are with forks, spoons and fingers at the ready. From left to right, that’s Killam Creative, cackle, me (rackycoo), and MissingWillow.
Of course we couldn’t meet without swapping, so we each picked a theme, and then made each other tins. It was so much fun to exchange the tins in person! Here are all the tins together.
If you want to see some larger photos, I posted the tins I made here. To see MissingWillow’s posts about her tins, click here and here. cackle posted here, and Killam Creative posted here and here. Whew, that’s a lot of tins!
Every meal was delicious. Both cackle and MissingWillow are accomplished chefs. Here’s cackle cooking up some mushrooms for some quesadilla appetizers. Doesn’t this picture look like it came out of a cooking magazine? Killam Creative has a great camera and some wicked photography skills.
We visited Missing Willow farm on Saturday night. It’s so beautiful! Before dinner, we took a little tour of the farm and met the animals. We all got a chance to help milk the goats, and then we met the farm babies: lambs, goats and baby turkeys. So sweet! Before we went in to dinner, we gathered eggs from the hens. Aren’t the colors beautiful?
Saturday was shopping day. They have some wonderful antique/junk stores nearby. Perfect for altered art supply shopping! We had to split up a bit during the shopping, in order to avoid ugly fights over the best items. Here’s my stash of goodies; that empty clock case on the right was a highly coveted item. Don’t worry, though, everyone had some great finds. When we got back home, we all shared things we bought in multiples, like trading stamps, doll arms, and funky old hardware.
I always love meeting other Craftsters! It’s especially nice when they live within driving distance. We had such a wonderful time together that I can’t wait to host our next get together in my home town.
Posted
on 5/7/2012, 12:17 pm,
by sweets4ever,
under Holidays.
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 13! If you haven’t already started crafting, you’ve still got time to whip up something amazing for a mom in your life. Check out these projects you can make this week, or hop over to the Mother’s Day board for more crafty inspiration.
Wee House and Decorated Frame
Phizzychick created these adorable wee houses in a variety of frames.
Mother’s Day Cake
Surprise mom with a sweet treat such as this Mother’s Day cake baked by Belladune.
Melted Crayon Art
jsb22 melted crayons into a funky art piece.
Posted
on 5/7/2012, 11:54 am,
by sweets4ever,
under Craftster Crush.
This month, our Craftster Crush is SevsOnlyGirl! Sevs has been a member of Craftster since 2005 — seven years of Craftster love! She’s not only an amazing volunteer Moderator. She’s also an epic Swap Organizer and participant. As of today, she’s completely 111 swaps! When she’s not inspiring on the Craft Swap boards, you might find her on the jewelry, bags and even quilting boards.
Here are some random crafty facts about SevsOnlyGirl!
This month’s Craft Challenge was Spring Cleaning! The challenge this month was to to get cleaning and sorting! Your mission was to find at least one unused item in a drawer of your home and repurpose and revamp it into something useable and awesome.
Our winning entry was created by flutterbysee! Her entry titled, Galaxy Dress, is an amaazzzing transformation from a dress she’s had tucked away in a drawer for 15 years! Check out her winning entry here.
Congrats, flutterbysea!
For winning, flutterbysea, will get to choose an item from one of Craftster’s online shops:
In this episode of Craftster Quickies, kittykill teaches you how to make subway style art for Mother’s Day! With just some stickers, wood, and paint, you can make simple, meaningful statements and great pieces of art, too!
Posted
on 5/2/2012, 6:00 am,
by MrXStitch,
under Mr X Stitch.
I’m Beefranck, Queen of Ironic Stitching and Editor-in-Chief at Mr X Stitch. I know a thing or two about cool stitchery and it’s my pleasure to share my finds with you. So let’s do it!
—–
Hi everybody! This week we’re looking at awesome examples of needle felting from Glass Camel.
These tiny Invader Zim characters are perfect.
This is Toothless, a character from How to Train Your Dragon. It looks like quite an ambitious piece!
I heard about Glass Camel through Mr X Stitch, who nerded out over these Transformers pieces.
I don’t blame him – these are simply amazing.
This triggered my own nerdgasm, however.
See more wonderful stuff in Glass Camel’s deviantart gallery – great things await!
One of my favorite things about Craftster is participating in craft swaps. Through swapping, I’ve met so many great people and have received so many wonderful handmade treasures from all over the world. Even though there’s no way I can participate in every swap, I still enjoy looking through the swap gallery to see what sort of swaps are being held, and what sort of great things are being made and exchanged. Here are some current swap galleries from some of the swaps I’ve been keeping an eye on.
I’ve been amazed by every single badge sent in the Felt Badge Swap and posted in their gallery. In this swap, organized by LimeRiot, members send their partners small felt badges tailored to their partner’s themes. This badge, by Leslieshappyheart, represents her partner’s love of trees, the color orange, and poppies. All of the badges that have been posted so far are so creative and well done. Take a look! HINT: If you’d like to quickly view the photos, don’t forget to use the “Show Images Only” button at the top right corner of the thread. This way, only the photos will be displayed, and you won’t have to read through all the comments.
Do you have a taste for international goodies? Members of the International Snack Swap, hosted by scarlet_nights, have been sending each other treats from their home country, plus some small crafted items. Look at all the loot scarlet_nights sent her partner. Mmm, tasty!
Oodelally is currently hosting the second round of the Make My Collectable Swap. In this swap, each person sent something for their partners to add to their collection. I love this adorable fox scarf that legatostroke made for her partner!
Here’s a fun one! teachart hosted a One Smallish Stuffie With A Function swap, where small stuffies were transformed from being just something cute to look at into something more… a stuffie with a function. That’s no ordinary monster by suereal; it doubles as a needle book! This gallery is full of fun and functional tiny friends.
The Ongoing Wish Swap has been going on forever. It’s currently in Round 81. babalina58 has been organizing this swap since its 61st round. Whew! In this swap, which runs in a chain fashion, a participant posts a wishlist. When someone chooses something to make off that list, they, in turn, post their list of crafts they’d like to receive. These adorable knit dolls were made by spikefan.
Take a look at the swap galleries. You’ll find all sorts of wonderful craft ideas and inspiration; there are all kinds of swaps for all kinds of interests. If you haven’t tried swapping, what are you waiting for? Read through the Swap Info Guide and see if swapping is for you. If you are a swapper already, what are some of your favorite swaps? If you’re like me, it will be hard to name a favorite.
Posted
on 4/30/2012, 3:14 pm,
by sweets4ever,
under General Projects.
In this installment of Master Craftsters, five talented Craftster members – cackle, jillybeans, LimeRiot, noooitaremybirthday, and Stifflersmom – received twelve different Elmer’s products.
Here‘s a quick look at what they received and what they crafted!
Posted
on 4/25/2012, 6:00 am,
by MrXStitch,
under Mr X Stitch.
Welcome to the Cutting (& Stitching) Edge! I’m Mr X Stitch and I’ll be your guide to the best in contemporary embroidery. Each week I’ll showcase someone who is rocking the world of embroidery and textiles.
Her anatomically inspired fibre pieces intrigued me and I sought to find out more:
In some of my work, I depict the body’s interior, challenging conventions of beauty. Inner organs are often presented as a subject of horror or, perhaps, clinical interest. But organs are as beautiful as the contours of our exteriors. I depict components of the digestive, circulatory, and muscular systems using organic materials such as felt and needlepoint to emphasize the delicacy and fragility of inner organs. They transform those parts that we least like to see into objects of exquisite and gentle intrigue.
“Handmade felt and needlepoint have been denigrated as craft media, rather than media of fine art. I reclaim these marginalized media by using them to depict things that have traditionally been displayed in medical academies rather than ladies’ dressing rooms. The soft textures and delicate patterns serve to redefine body parts as objects of art, which can be viewed without repulsion by those who have been shielded from them.
“Media and subject matter take on new meaning when taken from their usual context and brought together. Rather than clashing in an uncomfortable tension, the soft materials coalesce with the body’s interiors and give rise to forms that are approachable and even inviting.”
We’ve seen, from the fantastic work of Moxie, that when felt is used to recreate realistic objects it provokes unusual reaction. The contrast of hard and soft forces a reconsideration of the original form, and Rachel’s work deploys this same mechanism. The content is macabre but the felt negates that feeling and literally softens the impact.
To explore Rachel’s other work, including her fascinating installations, visit her website.
Mr X Stitch is a manbroiderer, cross stitch designer and runs www.mrxstitch.com, the number one contemporary embroidery and needlecraft blog on the planet.
Posted
on 4/24/2012, 9:19 am,
by rackycoo,
under General Projects.
April showers won’t bring you down if you celebrate the rain with bright colors and fun accessories. Here’s how some Craftsters are enjoying the rain this month, while waiting for those highly anticipated May flowers.
mezcraft created this wonderful painting which depicts a girl who is stuck in a grey world, but is on her way to finding the color within. What a perfect spring theme!
Brighten up your rainy day with a colorful raincoat, boots, and umbrella. graverobbergirl was inspired to make this ensemble when she found the wonderful laminated fabric for her raincoat online.
Personalize your plain umbrella with paint markers! Redforkhippie created this cute honeybee design to match her rain boots.
With some rain boot cuffs, you can customize your boots to match any outfit. They’re easier to make than full linings, and bromimeoke includes a description of how she made these cuffs in her post.
Don’t forget your doggie. When walking your dog, keep him dry with a raincoat of his own, like this one that Crafty_Kat made from a vinyl tablecloth.
To find more rain themed projects, check the Craftster tags! There, you’ll find lots of great rainy day crafts.
Posted
on 4/23/2012, 2:34 pm,
by sweets4ever,
under Featured Projects.
Every two weeks we pick our favorite 15 projects that Craftster readers have voted for with the “This Rocks!” button. Here are our latest picks which were lovingly and painstakingly chosen (so many amazing projects to choose from!), this time by sweet4ever. We hope you enjoy them!
If you haven’t already started crafting, you’ve still got time to whip up something amazing for a mom in your life. Check out these projects you can make this week, or hop over to the 
you.
