Hello Craftsters,

I am a basic kind of crafter. Give me some glue and some elegant card stock and I'll make you something lovely. But my sewing envy could not go on forever unchecked. I collected fabric and notions and petted them. I acquired a sewing machine and today! At last! I completed my first project. I took lots of pictures because I'm so proud. I'd love tips from veterans and aesthetic critics alike. But be kind: it's my first ever! (and I am a bit awful at photography)


The completed project front. I got this Beatrix Potter toile in a scrap bag from Repro Depot. The yellow was a hobby lobby sale. Woo hoo!


Completed project back. The ribbons came on a wedding gift (a year and a half ago!) and matched the toile perfectly. I stitched those on by hand with embroidery floss after the case was done.


The inspiration: a 7 year-old pillow cover from Pottery Barn--showing it's age.


What the heck--how about a side view? I'm so proud.


Welllll....mostly. Tips for keeping stuff from ripping the first time you take the case off the pillow? It didn't seem too small, but my seams were definitely wobbly!


Taking its rightful place on the bed.

Thanks for looking!

Hi everyone,

I need your help! I am the director of education for a small museum and at Christmastime, we have a series of workshops/events for the community, each of which features an art project for kids and their parents. But the old projects are tired and frankly, not that fun. Sure, we can stick to rubber stamping leftover bits of cardstock as holiday cards, but I'm yearning for something neater!

So here are the conditions though:
-not a lot of cutting or sharp tools (kids here, people)
-doesn't take more than 20 or so minutes to assemble
-no exceptionally expensive supplies (we love paper and glue and glitter here!)
-does not suck

I know, saying does not suck is really vague, but I think people have lost a lot of interest in the Museum activities because they're like "uh, I don't want anymore of these half-assed, non-craft things in my house." I think the people who held my job before were just not that enthusiastic about the projects and didn't put thought into them, but I am!

So far, I have some ideas.

1. Giant butcher paper mosaic in the hallway. I will draw some design on it (Santa and reindeer, for example) and the kids/parents will glue little tiny pieces of cut construction paper to "color in" the picture. Thank you, my second grade teacher!

2. Cardboard "gingerbread" houses. This might be somewhat hair-brained. What else needs to be involved besides the cardboard and glue? Cotton for snow? What kind of decorations? Beads? Glitter? Would this be easy for kids?

3. The old stand-by, but somewhat tired reindeer candy canes with pipe cleaners and pom-pons. Also, maybe reindeer with clothes pins, but I dunno...

Anyone? Anyone? All suggestions are welcome and none will be judged as sucky by virtue of the fact that you are all awesome for helping me out! Thanks friends!

Hi everyone,

This past summer, a friend of mine and fellow crafter was undergoing radiation treatment for a tumor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston. For her, one cool thing about spending so much time in waiting rooms (she always sees the silver lining!) is that some organization had donated baskets of self-contained craft packets. For example, one kit contained  a simple patter, various colored thread and so forth so that worried patients and friends could craft instead of fretting. Great idea, right? My same friend noticed that there is nothing like this in the waiting rooms of the hospitals and nursing homes in our town. So, this month, our craft group wants to make a bunch of these self-contained craft packets to donate.

My question to all of you is: what are some good crafts that are easily contained and simple enough that anyone can do them? I welcome all suggestions.

Thanks! Oh yeah, and the Crafty Renegade Brigade of ETX thanks you, too!

I'm looking for a material called fablon that I read about in a post (search for "furry flying ducks") that is kind of a sticky-backed plastic that can be used to make DIY wall stickers as seen on VERY EXPENSIVE interior design sites and catalogs. That was the magic material other craftsters suggested to use. Apparently it is very cheap and comes in a variety of colors. And in the UK, you can buy it at the hardware store. But in the U.S.--not so much? Lowe's doesn't have it and a google search didn't turn up much either. Does anyone have insight into this versatile and elusive material? Does it have another name?

Thanks!

From the Maker Faire web site (http://makerfaire.com/):
"Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It's for creative, resourceful folks who like to tinker and love to make things. We call them Makers."