Posted
on 11/20/2009, 6:16 pm,
by batgirl,
under reviews.
Many Craftsters love to read, sometimes as much as they love to craft. The problem with loving both of these rewarding activities is that it’s almost impossible to do them both at the same time. Many of us have to budget our time nearly as carefully as our money. Luckily there is a solution to this vexing problem: Audio books! You can focus your eyes on your craft, and unlike TV you won’t need to look away. This is especially great for crafts like embroidery and needle felting - ouch! The nice folks at Random House Audio were kind enough to send over some audio books so that I could check it out.
I have to say, I really enjoyed them. I was able to get lost in the story as well as focus on my crafting (embroidery). It was a very relaxing and engaging activity. I will admit I even brought the cds in the car when I wanted to know what happened next! Here are a few things to consider when selecting audio books. Know if it’s abridged or unabridged. When a book is abridged it means that some content has been edited to make it shorter. If you are looking for a more concise version, this may be right for you, but if you don’t want to miss a word, be sure you get the unabridged version. The reader can make a huge difference. Often you won’t know who that person is, but after listening to audio books for a while you will recognize names of readers you like and those that you enjoy less. If the author is a good reader or has a very recognizable voice, such as President Obama or David Sedaris, it’s nice to hear books read by the author. In some cases I even prefer audio books over print, because of the reader. Audio books are also a great gift idea for crafters, frequent travellers, and people with impaired vision (or busy people who like to multitask!). What do you like to do while crafting?
Posted
on 11/20/2009, 4:58 pm,
by batgirl,
under general.
Nothing smells as delicious as fresh baked bread. Why not make some for your holiday feast? There are lots of recipes on Craftster that are sure to fit in with your menu. We have picked out a variety of delicious recipes: traditional and no-knead bread, pumpernickel, dinner rolls, sweet breads, corn bread, soft pretzels, even plated made of bread!
When making bread you can form the roll or loaf into shapes such as the ear of corn and little piggies shown here, or the turtle bread posted in a previous blog. One year I made grape clusters by rolling dough into small balls and sticking them together in the shape of grapes. Add a bit of dough twisted into a stem and a dough “leaf”, and bake! It’s easier than it sounds and very impressive.
I hope are inspired as we’re going through the various elements of a holiday feast this month: salad, soup, sides, desserts, and vegetarian/vegan options. Just a few more days until the cooking begins! Save yourself time and stress by making what you can ahead of time, and enlist a kitchen assistant to help with the prep. Enjoy your feast!
For even more delicious bread recipes, click here to see all tagged projects.
Posted
on 11/20/2009, 11:31 am,
by batgirl,
under free to be crafty.
Who wouldn’t love this sasquatch? From his face to his cute little bellybutton, he is a sasquatch to be hugged. Averyg created this beauty, inspired by her love of cryptozoology, and the cryptozoology swap. She was very generous in sharing her pattern on Craftster, and now you can make one, too! It would be a great gift! Click here for the pattern. Thanks, Averyg!
Simple but beautiful! That’s Roethke’s crafty tat. Her black and white sewing scissors span her inner forearm with amazing shading detail! Gorgeous! You can a larger version of the picture shown here and one additional picture of her tattoo here.
Posted
on 11/19/2009, 5:00 pm,
by batgirl,
under Fiber Thursday.
Craftster member kiss-chasing made this beautiful woven to pillow to recreate the iridescence and colors of stained glass. Isn’t it beautiful? Click here to find out more about it. You can see lots more weaving projects on the fiber boards here.
Yay! It’s crafty music video time again! I love craft music video time. This time we’re featuring a video featuring zombie tigers. Not just any zombie tigers, mind you, zombie tigers made by two of our very own members, tesstessi and KeenBean!
Have you ever had the urge to make a swan out of an apple? No? Well, you might if you watch this video that shows you how! You can amaze your friends and family with your fruit sculpture skills. Make seven apple swans a-swimming, or serve them for a fancy but healthy dessert. They are a healthy and inexpensive way to add something fun and different to your holiday table this year.Click here to learn how!
As much as I hate to say it, the holiday season is pretty much upon us. So this week I wanted to share a super simple project to give you a break from the oncoming crafting bonanza you may bracing for. MissVan722 shared this easy way to upcycle newspaper into a great little bracelet. You can see the full thread here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=255119.0
If you make one for this (or any other) weekend, let me know in the comments!
Artist Gabriel Dishaw created this techy sculpture from circuit boards. The shoes, named the Blazer Pentium 1.0, weigh 15 pounds and are fitted to be Men’s size 9.5. Although this particular pair of shoes took three weeks to complete, Dishaw is actually working on an entire shoe series.
I think we might need a computer parts recycle challenge in our future!
Posted
on 11/18/2009, 2:07 pm,
by batgirl,
under general.
Video games, both new and classic, are hot around Craftster. It seems a lot of gamers love to craft and vice versa. If you are searching for the perfect gift to craft for your favorite gamer, there are hundreds of ideas on Craftster. We have picked out a few that we think would make fantastic gifts. You can click here to see hundreds more under the video game tag. Which ones are your favorites?
The holidays are approaching (and even if they weren’t, there are always birthday gifts to wrap!) I’m always looking for pretty, yet inexpensive wrapping solutions. I like the look of using newspaper to wrap boxes, but I really like the convenience and re-usability of gift bags. I did a little digging on the internet and found a few tutorials on how to make gift bags. I figured out what works best for me, and wrote up a tutorial on how to make gift bags like the ones pictured here.
These are really easy to make! Click here to see the tutorial so you can make some bags of your own.
Posted
on 11/18/2009, 7:00 am,
by batgirl,
under gamer wednesday.
This week on Gamer Wednesday we have an AMAZING Super Mario Brothers needlepoint made by Craftster member Shuko. We are in awe of the detail and the time it must have taken to make this incredible project! Thanks, Shuko, for sharing this crazy awesome needlepoint on Craftster! To see more fantastic video game related crafts, click here to see the tagged projects.
Posted
on 11/18/2009, 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.
——————–
Natalie Horton is a third year student currently at Bath Spa University studying a BA in Creative Arts. She makes cells.
Posted
on 11/17/2009, 5:42 pm,
by batgirl,
under general, holidays.
Are you in charge of dessert for your holiday table this year? Lucky for you, we have an entire board for just desserts! We have selected some tasty looking seasonal favorites (including a vegan option - chocolate mousse!). For even more great recipes click here.
Posted
on 11/17/2009, 3:23 pm,
by batgirl,
under general.
For the first time ever, Craftster will have booths at three simultaneous craft fairs the weekend of December 4-6, PLUS Bizarre Bazaar San Francisco Dec 13-14. That’s right, we are taking it coast to coast, Craftster style! Come to our booth wearing a Craftster TShirt and get 10% off your purchase!
First up, No-Coast Craft-o-rama Minneapolis - December 4 & 5. Meet Batgirl and Rackycoo, and buy a tshirt for yourself or your crafty friends. Craftster Tshirts make awesome gifts! We will be next to the 89.3 The Current booth in area A. Come say hi, and tell us if you are a member! We’d love to meet you!
Next up, Bazaar Bizarre Boston - December 6. You can meet our amazing founder, Leah, and her husband Dave, who designs our tshirts and fun little Kawaii guys. You can buy a tshirt and talk crafts with Lean and Dave!
And, concurrent with Baz Biz, Renegade Holiday Show Chicago - December 5 & 6. Come by and check out the merchandise, and meet Jungrrl and Kittykill! They are a great craft fair team and love to meet our members!
The following weekend Jungrrl and Kittykill will be hitting the West Coast for Bazaar Bizarre San Francisco - December 12 & 13. Again there will be tshirts for sale and the chance to meet the awesome ladies of Craftster. Come on by and say hello!
Happy Holidays from Craftster, we hope to see you there!
This time we’re featuring a video featuring zombie tigers. Not just any zombie tigers, mind you, zombie tigers made by two of our very own members, 
