Book Reviews: CraftCycle by Heidi Boyd and The Crochet Dude Little Books Series

Book Review
CraftCycle
Heidi Boyd for North Light Books

Craft designer Heidi Boyd is perhaps best known for her best selling Simply Beautiful beading series, but that’s only a small part of her crafty repertoire. Heidi spent a number of years designing for a major craft magazine and she’s got some serious crafty skills. She puts them to good use in her wonderful new book CraftCycle that serves up crafting with an eco conscious focus.

There are great project ideas running through every page and a generous sprinkling of tips and hints for sustainable living. The book is broken up into the four seasons and Heidi shares a variety of seasonally themed green minded activities, recipes and ideas at the end of each section. I loved so many of the projects it’s tough to pick just a few, but some of my favorites include a whimsical bowl made from melted colorful plastic cowboys and Indians, a stunning avant garde hanging lamp fashioned from water bottles, an ingenious old slide lampshade and an adorable bracelet watch fashioned from used colored pencils. She covers everything from home décor to pet accessories to jewelry using a huge variety of techniques and materials and every idea, even if it’s familiar, is given a distinctive Heidi Boyd spin.

Craft enthusiasts will love these fresh ideas for upcycling and repurposing and eco minded folks will love finding new ways to stay green. This is a book for all ages and for both sexes, and includes some great garden and furniture projects that should get the men folk excited to get back into the workshop. “Recycle, reuse and recraft!” and have a darned good time doing it with Heidi Boyd’s inspiring new book CraftCycle.

Book Review
Leisure Arts The Crochet Dude's Little Books Series
Drew Emborsky aka The Crochet Dude

Drew Emborsky has four fab new crochet pattern books for the crochet enthusiast or the enthusiastic novice. These straight forward value packed portable tomes are filled with appealing designs, great pictures, easy to follow patterns and detailed back material that supports the skills you need to create the projects. Each book focuses in on a specific topic with a nice variety of designs to suit a wide variety of tastes.

I like that these are small bites rather than big meals, because it lets you pick the design focus that suits your needs. Drew has a gift for taking crochet and making it look totally fresh and modern. You won’t find any doilies here, but you will find a bevy of beautiful ideas. Sweet Pet Comforts has seven crochet designs for your furry friends. All Washed Up shows you how to make charming crocheted kitchen accessories. Must Have Handbags has 6 fetching purses that are perfectly sized for a gal who likes to carry her crafts along with her and are stylish enough to use every day. In All Caps focuses on cozy crocheted headgear for cooler weather. There’s a title for everyone in this series and they’re so affordably priced, you may just want to scoop them all up.

If you are looking for new patterns or if you’re looking for a new hobby, Drew’s new ‘little books’ are the perfect fit. I can’t wait to give some of these designs a spin with the yarn I stocked up on last winter!

Free Halloween Craft Project: Drop Dead Gorgeous Mixed Media Necklace!

All designs, images and text copyright Margot Potter

(Click on images to view in close up)

Drop Dead Gorgeous
A Darkly Romantic Short Story
Copyright Margot Potter

She was walking home from an evening of dancing with her friends. It was late. The streets were empty. Perhaps she'd had one too many glasses of chardonnay...perhaps...okay definitely. Her hips swayed in a syncopated rhythm as she struggled to maintain the illusion of sobriety. In the city, a girl needs to have her wits about her. One never knows what might happen if she doesn't.

She heard the faint sound of footsteps about a block behind her. Slow and methodical and most definitely male. She casually turned her head and saw him. Tall, dark, pale, dressed head to toe in black. He was strikingly handsome and she was sure she'd seen him before, but where? He smiled slightly and she quickly turned around. Something about this felt off. She was only a block away from her apartment and she needed to focus. Where was that key...she reached into her purse and began rummaging. Five different shades of lipstick, two lip glosses, a wallet, some breath mints...damn...she knew it was in there. She tried to ignore the footsteps behind her as they quickened.

She wanted to stop so she could find that damn key, but he was getting closer and she didn't dare give him any indication of vulnerability.

"Just keep walking, you'll find the key." She told herself.

He'd been watching her for months. He had spent centuries looking for the perfect red head and she fit the bill. His first love had been a red head...and...well...they'd had a complex relationship. That was in the past and this girl, this girl was most definitely the future. He'd waited patiently for an opportunity to get her alone. He would make her his. He would show her things that would blow her mind. They would travel the world, seize every moment, drink every last drop of every evening from sunset to sunrise...for eternity.

She heard him begin to whistle. Soft and slow. She recognized the tune. It was an old song that was meant to be darkly romantic...and one she happened to love...but it took on a darkly sinister tone here in the quiet of the city night. Then he began to sing softly. Find the key, find the key...

"I put a spell on you..."

Damn where the hell is that key? I know it's in here. Fine tip marker...subway ticket stub...another lipstick. Why do I have so many lipsticks? I always wear the same color. Still no key.

"Because your mine."

He was right behind her. She was only a few feet from her front door. She could hear his raspy breathing and the song was crawling under her skin. Should she yell? Was she being paranoid? What if he was just a guy, walking home? He probably lived in the neighborhood, they'd probably stood in line at Starbucks together. Sure. Calm down. He's just a guy. The key...she found it.

Then she felt his hand slowly slide around her left arm...

"I put a spell on you."

She tried to break free, but his grip was too strong. She started to scream, but his right hand covered her mouth in an instant. She felt his hot breath on her neck...then she felt his teeth...

"Because your mine."

"Drop dead, gorgeous."

Ah, Halloween.

I don't usually like horror flicks or shows, but give me a good twist and a complex hero or heroine and you may just have me. There is nothing quite like a villain who has redemptive qualities, something in the human psyche finds that endlessly compelling, which is why vampires are iconic and Dexter is a hit show. We are simultaneously drawn towards and repulsed by these dark characters. So here is the first in my bi-weekly offerings of Halloween themed projects...BOO!

Drop Dead Gorgeous
Copyright 2009
Margot Potter
For inspiration purposes only and not intended for resale

Materials
Tim Holtz Fragments large square pendant
Tim Holtz Ornate Plates
Tim Holtz Foliage Flowers in gun metal
Tim Holtz link chain in gun metal
Tim Holtz link chain toggle clasp circle only
Tim Holtz Grunge Paper
6 5mm CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski Elements rounds
18 gauge dark annealed iron wire (Metalliferous)
Beadalon BeadFix Adhesive
Traci Bautista Collage Pauge Matte
Crafty Chica paint in red
Aleene's Liquid Fusion
Edwardian script font size 12 "Drop Dead Gorgeous" printed on white paper
Dover Books permission free Great Anatomical Drawings skeleton image printed on white paper

Tools
Scissors
Computer
Round nose pliers
Memory wire cutters
2 pairs chain nose pliers
Hole punch (1/16")
Pencil

1. Create the words Drop Dead Gorgeous in a document on your computer using Edwardian Script ITC font in size 20. (Or similar vintage style font) Print. Trace with acrylic pendant and cut paper.

2. Mark and punch a small hole in paper so it’s in the same spot as the hole in the tile.

3. Adhere paper to back of tile with a thin layer of Collage Pauge. Seal back of paper with another thin layer of Collage Pauge. Allow to dry.

4. Use an old toothbrush or a small paintbrush to flick a small amount of red paint across surface of acrylic tile. Allow to dry.

5. Print Dover skeleton image. Place metal frame over image, centering skull. Trace around inside edge of frame using a pencil and reaching under the lip. Cut out image.

6. Place frame on grungeboard paper. Trace around inside of edge as before and cut paper. Adhere image to grungeboard with decoupage medium. Allow to dry.

7. Glue image edge to lip on frame using a thin bead of Liquid Fusion. Paint a thin layer of decoupage medium on image. Allow to dry.

8. Use the Beadalon jump ring making tool to create 2 15mm jump rings with the iron wire. Cut rings with Memory Wire shears (iron wire will ruin your regular cutters.)

9. Attach pendants together with jump rings.

10. Glue small flower on top of the hole in fragments tile with jeweler’s glue. (Make sure you don’t cover the hole!)

11. Glue a second flower on the lower left side of the pendant. Glue a crystal in the center of the flower. Allow the glue to cure.

12. Create a large hook using the iron wire

13. Thread five crystals on a length of steel wire. Create loops on both sides.

14. Attach loops to chain on one side and your hook clasp on the other.

15. Slide chain through top jump ring on your pendant. Attach the circle end of the toggle clasp to the open end of your chain.

Free Halloween Craft Projects Version 2009!

I'm super excited to be gearing up for a month of devilishly delicious designs here at The Impatient Crafter blog! I spent the morning sketching up concepts and soon I'll be sharing a bevy of 'boo'tiful ideas with you. I'll be posting a free project for I Love to Create for the next four Fridays and then sharing links to fabulous Halloween themed ideas from across the blogosphere on Terrorific Tuesdays! I'll throw a few more ideas into the cauldron for good measure along the way.

In the meantime, I've got an RSS Feed filled with great Halloween themed ideas from last year you can peruse. I'll be adding more there as the month progresses.

Mwahahahahahahaha!

Don't forget to throw your name in the hat for my Friendly Plastic giveaway. I'll announce the winner next Monday.

Oh and check out this fun new video offering from my friends at When Creativity Knocks.

Goulishly yours,
Madge

TastyLinks Saturday!

Image Copyright Gil Elvgren

Another week bites the dust! It's time once again for my weekly blog link round-up. Here's what the Crafty Bloggers gang have for your craftcentric education, entertainment and edification:

About Family Crafts Never run out of Halloween crafts, activities, and motivation. Get new Halloween projects delivered to your email box every day for 31 days! Find out how...

Aileen's Musings Aileen has a crafty Halloween project and template just for you.

Cathie Filian Cathie has a quicky way to jazz up plain glass candle holders and it uses scrap ribbons!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world Craftside's got a crocheted pumpkin pattern, how to sew a shower curtain and towels, an interview with Tracie Lyn Huskamp author of Nature Inspired and a Mixed Media Dada Dolly TP cozy.

Crafty Princess Diaries A granny square dress? Is it over the top or a true crafty fashion statement?

Cross Stitch at About.com Louise is proud to show off her first project, a Peter Rabbit Cross Stitch Bookmark by Anchor. It's a great first time effort.

Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style Do you sell your crafts? Have you ever? Read Linda's musings and share your stories in the comments section.

Mixed Media Artist Give your favorite building a new look by creating a fractured photograph!

Naughty Secretary Club Join Jen on a week long screen printing adventure as she reviews books, plays with a YuDu, puts a unicorn on a onesie, plays with vinyl records and more.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Army men are melted into service to make this cute coaster using the wonderful tutorial from the new book Craftcycle by Heidi Boyd

The Artful Crafter Recycle artificial flowers into frilly fairies. Teens, tweens and kids-at-heart will love making and “hanging around” these little creatures.

The Impatient Crafter There's a brand new The Impatient Crafter YouTube video to inspire you to declare yourself an artist! Madge explores the Cricut Expression in this quirky new video offering.

Friendly Plastic Product Review AND Giveaway!

Runic Mixed Media Necklace by Margot Potter for Amaco Copyright 2009

(Leave a comment to be entered to win a Friendly Plastic Prize Package!)

One of the best parts of my job is getting to play with new or rediscovered materials. Recently the wonderful folks from Amaco invited me to explore Friendly Plastic. I’ve never actually used this medium, my crafty forays in the 80s revolved entirely around things I got at the thrift store and the occasional jaunt to the local costume shop. I’ve been meaning to try this medium, so this was a great opportunity to check it out. I googled the topic to see what other folks had done with the material, visited the Amaco website, the Friendly Plastic blog and other blogs and videos. Then I took some of what I learned and in typical Madge fashion headed off in my own direction. I grabbed my non-stick craft sheet and my heat tool and started making what I like to call glorious messes.

Friendly Plastic has a fairly low melting point, so it’s pretty easy to quickly get it to a soft stage using a variety of methods. It’s also pretty easy to overheat it and melt it into a gooey mess. A lot of folks use a non stick baking mat section in a griddle; I didn’t have those handy so I opted to use my trusty heat tool. You can see the foil begin to change; as soon as that change is consistent the Friendly Plastic is soft and pliable. I realized fairly quickly that overheating it makes it harder to work with because it gets super sticky like taffy. Once it’s at the optimum ‘just turned soft’ stage you can cut into it with metal cutters (you can even make your own cutters using the sheet metal Amaco makes), you can stamp into it, you can carve into it, you can fuse it together and you can mold, bend or shape it. I embedded things in it, but I suggest you put the item in with a dash of glue after creating the indent and allowing it to cool. Some sites suggested that you dip your tools and fingers in cold water, others in oil. I didn’t do either and my rubber stamps held up just fine after repeated uses. It’s important that you let the plastic cool before you try to remove it from your stamp. I used a small spatula end of a clay tool to gently pry it off of the stamp. It’s easy to cut when solid, so I’d suggest waiting to use scissors until it’s solid again.

The downside to the low melt point is that several people told me it melts in a hot car. So you won’t want to make a steering wheel or dashboard cover with Friendly Plastic. Also don’t leave your Friendly Plastic jewelry in your car or say on a sidewalk in the desert in the summertime. I think wearing it in the heat should be okay, if your car is hot enough to melt it while you’re wearing it, I think you should be more concerned about breathing!

Landscape Mixed Media Pendant Copyright 2009

I've shown samples of designs I made after a lot of experimenting. I played with stamping into it and cutting it into organic shapes and then mounting it on tim holtz’ Fragments acrylic tiles with the new Beadalon BeadFix glue squares. I really love how this turned out...what about adding decoupaged vintage text behind it? Archival or alcohol inks on the back of the acrylic? It’s one of those ideas upon which it’s easy to expand, but I’m loving how striking and simple this is. It looks like archeological finds mounted on glass. I also made an Amate bezel pendant by fusing two colors together and then stamping into them and fusing a third sliver along the seam to make a landscape, I’ll share a full how-to on that here next week.

I tried adding alcohol inks on the surface of the cooled plastic, which looked great. I also played with embossing powders. If you do use embossing powders, my advice is that you add them to the surface of HEATED material and get it pretty soft before you add the powder and hit that again with a heat tool. Come in on it slowly and don’t just blast it. I had holographic powder all over me for two days. Sparkly Madge! Also remember if you do this on acrylic that it’s not the best plan to heat acrylic tiles because they’ll melt too. Yes, I figured that out the hard way. Get the Friendly Plastic elements finished before you attach them to the acrylic. Also take care not to get fingerprints all over it; I did on a few trial pieces.

If you like exploring new mediums, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. You can use it to make beads, you can create mosaics, you can stamp and mold it...and it doesn’t have to be too shiny if you add things to the surface. I’m definitely adding this into my standard bag of tricks and hoping to discover more ways to use it in the future!

I’d love to see what you do with it and hear about your experiences. In fact...if you leave a comment here the fine folks from Amaco have offered to send a box of samples to a random winner! I’ll select and announce the winner here next Wednesday! Good luck!

Cheers,
Madge

Better late than never!

Alas I did not have time to blog today, but gleefully I have already completed tomorrow's post! Tune in tomorrow for my exploration of Friendly Plastic. I had a lot of fun exploring this medium and I'm going to share what I discovered here.

I am frustrated with YouTube today. It turns out that YouTube freezes video counts on occasion at around the 300 mark if your video seems to have too many hits in a short time period. I'm not sure how long our new video will be frozen at 303, but the most frustrating thing is you apparently lose any hits that occur while the view counter is frozen.

Seems kinda lame, doesn't it?!

We work hard on our videos, it'd be nice to know what kind of traffic it's generating. Sigh.

It's always something!

Not a biggie...but still...

Until tomorrow...craft on with your bad selves!

Cheers,
Madge

Extra Linky Love Shower!

I’m throwing in an extra Linky Love Shower this week. Grab your slickers and your Wellies, unless you live in the Southeast because you’ve probably already got them on. I’ve got some errands to run this morning so this is a quick post. Here’s hoping you have a craftacular day!

My friend Christopher Nejman made even more fab videos for me you can see at his website http://www.christophernejmantv.com/ Thanks Christopher, you are awesome! If you live in the Tampa area Christopher is auditioning people to appear on his website in filmed dynamic craft segments produced and edited with the same flair he used for mine. Whatever your crafty focus, he wants to see if you’ve got the skills to be on Christopher Nejman TV! Here is the contact info at the hair salon where Chrisopher works to set up an appointment, call between Wednesday and Saturday. The number is 813-818-1088. The website is http://www.hairmatrixtampa.com/

Amy of Mod Podge Rocks blog is having a big giveaway. It’s already garnered a ton of interest, but go ahead and throw your name in the hat. If you love Mod Podge like I do, you’ll want to check it out!

My friend Ana Araujo and her daughter Megan have a great crafty website called When Creativity Knocks. If you haven’t already, you may want to go see their huge library of crafty videos.

Big shout out to the fab Tammy Powley of The Crafty Princess Diaries for posting our new The Impatient Crafter™ video. If you want to post our video too, let me know when you do and I’ll post a link back to you here.

If you crochet and you're looking for some inspiration my friend Drew Emborsky has some really wonderful new pattern books out with Leisure Arts. He's got a knack for making crochet look fresh. Also if you want more crochet fun, Vickie Howell's book Pop Goes Crochet is super clever and the projects are amazing!

The folks from Friendly Plastic are having a design contest! Go here to read all about it!

My pal Andrew Thornton of the Green Girl Studios gang is destashing. He's got impeccable taste, so don't miss out on this opportunity!

I Love to Create Girly Boyfriend Jeans

Girly Boyfriend Jeans by Margot Potter for I Love to Create

(Click on image to view close up!)

Girly Boyfriend Jeans
Margot Potter for I Love to Create Teens
Copyright 2009

Boyfriend jeans are back and I’m a happy camper. Luckily my hubby had this pair of perfectly worn in jeans he was going to take to Goodwill. Okay so technically they’re husband jeans, but stick with me because I’m going somewhere with this! The ‘boyfriend jeans’ in the stores are all artfully distressed and shredded and absurdly expensive, but you can find worn in jeans just like them at thrift stores for a song. Since these were kinda raggy looking, I thought I’d gussy them up a bit.

Enter Tulip Dimensional Paint, Tulip Fabric Spray, Tulip Glam It Up crystals, Fabric Fusion and my Sizzix Big Shot machine. Add some fun fabric I scored in Tokyo (don’t fret my pet you can find plenty of fab fabric on the interwebs and in retail stores.) Mix it all up and this becomes a project a teen will love to make their own.

Materials
One pair thrift store ‘boyfriend jeans’
Durable fabrics in coordinating colors with paints
Tulip 3-D Slick Fashion Paint (purple, coral, yellow, blazin’ blue, ‘lectric lime)
Aleene's Fabric Fusion
Tulip Glam it Up™ Crystals (clear in two sizes)
Tulip Fabric Spray (neon pink and yellow)
Sizzix Hello Kitty Bigz Die Daisies

Tools
Tulip Cordless Heat Setting Tool
Sizzix Big Shot

More Madge, More!
Add more crystals in a variety of colors. Decorate both sides of the jeans. Use fabric sprays and stencils to add layers. Paint more planned patterns and dots instead of splatters. Use masks to leave unpainted areas you can embellish in different ways. Add some blanket stitch with colorful floss around the flowers and the pockets. If you want more rips, use a razor blade (carefully) to slash holes across the fabric and then pop the jeans in the washer, instant fray!

Less...please.
These jeans looked cute just with paint splatters. You can opt for a single color or to use black and white. Skip the crystals and just leave the flowers simple and folksy. Just paint the cuffs and the back pockets.

1. Get a pair of ‘boyfriend jeans’ from the thrift store. If you want to distress them more use the razor blade tip above.

2. Begin with a layer of splattered paint. Cover the area under the jeans with plastic and gently squeeze and flick the paint on the front of the jeans until you’re happy with the results. Allow to dry.
3. Use Fabric spray in neon colors to add further color layers to the jeans.
4. Use the Sizzix Big Shot and the Hello Kitty Bigz daisies die to cut out fabric flowers.
5. Spread an even layer of Fabric Fusion on back of flowers and adhere to jeans. Allow to dry. (You can opt to tack these down further with some colorful embroidery floss.)
6. Place three crystals randomly in center of each flower. I used three large crystals on each large flower and three small on each small. Attach the crystals to the flowers by holding the hot end of the heat setting tool on the top of the crystals for 12 seconds.

* Next week my I Love to Create post will be on Friday because I’ll be joining in the fun of Terroriffic Tuesdays. So be on the look out for four free Halloween Themed teen craft projects on Fridays starting on October 2nd and a post with links to fab projects all over the internet every Tuesday! BOO!

The Impatient Crafter Presents Le Cricut Artiste

We promised you a new video and here it is! We had to laugh when ten minutes after we uploaded the video someone had already given us a 3 star rating, wah, wah. Admittedly these videos are not for everyone, but we do our best to keep them fun! We tried to make this short, sweet and...well not neccessarily to the point but hopefully infotaining.

I'm loving the Cricut Expression. It's got a lot of potential and I think I'm seriously going to enjoy exploring it. Having a variety of tools at your fingertips makes creativity far easier. We're hoping to get the longer cutting mat and the transfer tape so we can add some words to other walls in the house. Definitely get the transfer tape if you attempt this, we had a heckuva time lining the letters even with a laser level. I'm brainstorming ways I can use this machine for the holidays...

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Madge (and family)

Saturday TastyLinks™

Rainbow Road copyright 2009 Margot Potter. Rainbow Calsilica beads courtesy of HHH Enterprises

This week has not flown by for me, it has crawled by like a giant sea slug. I've been juggling a variety of looming deadlines, quietly saying goodbye to a longtime job that I love and dealing with an unneccesarily complex professional situation.

No matter what they tell you, everyone has an agenda.

I'd like to believe I've been transparent about mine. My agenda is to succeed by doing what I love and sharing that passion with others and to do that in a way that doesn't require screwing other people over in the process. My vision is far bigger than crafting. My plans are far bigger than the job that I lost or the situation that arose last week. Sometimes these growing pains are what we need to experience to propel us to take bigger risks. Sometimes we have to do the dirty work and face the tough stuff. Sometimes the things that feel like the end are really a beginning.

Actually all things that feel like an end are really a beginning. It's just that when we rip off a band-aid, we're going to feel sore for a bit afterwards. Then if we're smart, we'll be stronger and we'll embrace those changes and let go of the need to have everybody like us. No matter what we do, other people will view us through their own lenses and we can't fix that. We simply have to let go and trust that the universe has our back.

Life isn't a popularity contest. It's a journey. Even when you're tired and you feel like saying, "F*^% it!" and giving up, you have to find the strength to stay on your pathway. You have to cheer yourself on. You have to love yourself enough to make up for those times when you're misunderstood or not feeling the love from the world around you. No one can give that to you.

Then if you're wise and compassionate, you will pay what you've learned forward without ever expecting a return on that investment. That's a tough one, but an important one to remember.

I don't mean to be opaque here. I'm merely sharing with you, gentle reader, the bumps in my road so that when you hit yours perhaps my words will help you get around them with whatever grace and dignity you can muster.

Crafty shout outs to:

Christopher Nejman for his delightful reworking of our Oo La La Pendants Video!

When Creativity Knocks has a fun new upcycled water bottle hummingbird feeder video!

And so here is this week's generous serving of TastyLinks™ from the Crafty Bloggers:

About Family Crafts If you are trying to find creative costume ideas for couples or groups of peoples, check out the lists I have compiled with the help of visitors like you.

Aileen's Musings There is less then 14 days until the Ties That Bind Art Doll Raffle is done. Stop by and read how you can help us spread the word !

Cathie Filian Dry hands and feet season is just around the corner...Time to whip up some handmade lotion bars. Cathie has a yummy DIY recipe!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world Craftside's got a chance to win a copy of Nature Inspired along with some original artwork by the author Tracie Lyn Huskamp, a fun Halloween ghost decoration delivered to you by Fedex, creatively photographing your shadow and a sneak peek into the soon to be released 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse.

Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy shows off the preemie baby blanket she started not that long ago. If you are looking for a super easy crochet project, this is a good place to start.

Cross Stitch at About.com Go Team! Make some sports-themed gifts or decorations using the free Sports Motifs Pattern Collection. Your fans will think you are "Number One"!

Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style What did I find at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo? Check it out!

Mixed Media Artist Cyndi shares her finished quilt...and swears she is ready to start the next one!

Naughty Secretary Club If it will sit still long enough Jen will find a way to make it into jewelry, even iron-on T-shirt transfers are not safe.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery See how to make a patch with a rubber stamp project inspired by the Super fun book- Bend The Rules With Fabric by Amy Karol

The Artful Crafter If this isn't a green craft, we don't know what is! Let Eileen show you how to make desktop organizers from junk mail. Saving the planet - one catalog at a time.

The Impatient Crafter Madge talks about crafting a life of joy, which is a crafting of a sort indeed. The best sort.

Blackbird Fly

(Design copyright Margot Potter 2009)

It's gloomy today so I only have this one photo to share from the four pieces I created yesterday for a manufacturer. I quite like this design, it's clean and simple with a touch of whimsy. The striped and filigree beads are vintage plastic from The Beadin' Path. The pendant is from Blue Moon Beads Manor House line. As much as I adore color, I've always loved the striking simplicity of a black and white palette.

Six years ago, I was at the end of my professional rope. I had already survived so much in my lifetime and to be there...in a space where I felt utterly stuck and totally isolated was a very tough place to be. I had a bunch of beads and wire, a kitchen table and a computer between my stove and refrigerator. After smacking my head on the rocks for a year...figuratively...I found my inner Zen master. I realized that within the things I had previously seen as flaws were the keys to my success. I realized that the only person who determined my worth was me. Then I reached deep down inside and I made it happen. I made this career.

I know that some people may think that I don't deserve to be here. They may think I'm not worthy. They're wrong. They don't see the bigger picture. They're just insecure people who act superior because they actually feel inferior and they don't want anyone to know. We are all worthy. We all deserve as much joy as we can create. Everything I've created came from giving myself permission to shine.

I spent a lot of years feeling sad. I did sad really well. I wore a lot of black. I sang sad songs. I wrote sad poems. I hung out with sad people. I mulled all of the bad things that had happened to me in lifetime over and over and over again.

Then one day, I got to the bottom of the sadness and I saw that it wasn't real. All of those years spent clinging to a mirage. I released my attachment to the illusion of sadness and I embraced joy.

You can do it too.

Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't. You can. You can do and be anything you can imagine. It starts with believing and it unfolds with daily effort. There will be sad days and there will be joyful days, keep on keeping on.

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly,
Blackbird fly,
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise" The Beatles

xoxo
Madge

Spinning the Straw Into Gold.

(All designs copyright Margot Potter and are intended for inspiration and not for reproduction for resale.)


ACK! I'm buried!

Here are some sneak peeks of what I've been working on for the past week. These are 'in-use' designs for a manufacturer. I may be innately impatient, but when I'm doing this sort of work I have to find my inner Zen master and focus relentlessly on the task at hand. These designs need to be eye catching but not distracting. They should serve the materials which they're showcasing in a way that they are highlighted and not lost in the shuffle of too much design. Because I'm testing the materials to see what they can and can not do, there are a lot of misses before I hit the sweet spot. My job here is to showcase the materials in innovative and interesting ways. It's an ongoing challenge to come up with a new spin on the materials, techniques and concepts. I like a good challenge!

Eventually I'll be able to share links to the instructions for these designs, so stay tuned...

I have to dive back into my straw pile today. Someone has to spin the straw into gold! Until next time...craft on with your bad selves!

xoxo
Madge
(Please come and visit my website for more Inspiration: www.margotpotter.com)

I Love to Create Recycled Magazine Mixed Media Decoupage Bangle Bracelets

Designing Diva Pattie Wack had a super fun make it/take it for I Love to Create at CHA Summer and on the last day of the show I sat down with her and created a one of a kind decoupaged mixed media bangle. I ran out of time and had to leave it unfinished...and fast forward to yesterday morning when I decided to make a similar project and finish the first one.

I adore these wooden blanks from DIY Bangles and I’ve been playing with images from magazines since my second book The Impatient Crafter Gets Inspired. I’m particularly fond of using a section of a fashion image and adding layers on it to see how far I can take it while still being able to tell what the original image was. If your teen has a pile of fashion or teen mags sitting around gathering dust, this is a great project for them to do and to personalize with images and embellishments they love. The base layer is made from thin tissue or handmade fibrous paper.

This same idea would be fab for frames or other room décor items...so don’t be afraid to take it to a bigger scale. Think how cool a dresser would be layered up like this!

So...without further ado...let’s get started!

Recycled Magazine Bangles
Margot Potter for I Love to Create Teen
Copyright 2009

Materials
Wooden bangle
Recycled magazines
Fuzzy yarn
Patterened and solid tissue paper in coordinated colors
Tulip Iron-On Crystals in 2 sizes
Traci Bautista’s Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage™ in glossy
Traci Bautista’s Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage™ in sparkles
Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue™
Jet Black Archival Ink
Flourish rubber stamp

Tools
Foam brush
Tulip Cordless Heat Setting Tool
Scissors

1. Tear small pieces of your tissue paper and adhere to the wooden bangle. Spread a thin layer of Collage Pauge glossy on the back of the paper with a foam brush and use your fingers and the brush to apply to the bangle. It’s okay if there are some wrinkles. Spread a thin layer of medium on top of the paper as you work.

2. Cover the entire bangle inside and out with collaged tissue. Allow to dry.


3. Cut out images to fit the flat oval surfaces on your bangle. I pressed the image on the surface and used my pointer finger to press it along the edge, then removed the paper and cut along the indentation I made so the image fit the surface.


4. Adhere images with a thin layer of Collage Pauge glossy and allow to dry.


5. Put a thin smearing of Extreme Paint in Paradise Pink on the front of each image. Allow to dry.


6. Paint the entire bangle inside and out with Collage Pauge sparkle. Allow to dry.

7. Stamp images using archival ink and a sparsely detailed flourish stamp.


8. Run a thin bead of glue along a length of yarn and work your way around the bangle wrapping and adhering the yarn to the spaces in between the images. Allow to dry.


9. Use heat setting tool to adhere crystals to images. I used two sizes and two on each image, alternating their placement.

Let Us Craftertain You!

Copyright Margot Potter and Alexa Westerfield

Hey Howdy Hey Boys and Girls!

It's Monday, Monday and I'm gearing up for a busy week at Studio Margot. I'm still working on the 'in-use' designs, I've got a post for I Love to Create to finish for tomorrow and the instructions and step outs to work on for a contributor book. We shot a new The Impatient Crafter video yesterday. It took six hours...egads! Now come the hours and hours of editing.

A lot of people who make YouTube videos just sit in front of a camera and shoot the footage from start to finish. We could do that, but we want our videos to stand out from the rest. We shoot a lot of raw footage, doing several takes of each segment and then we edit that 15-30 minutes of video down to 3-8 minutes. We wade through the footage and create a story board. My husband dives in and makes cuts with bleeds, sound effects, music, text...it's hours and hours of work. We are totally making it up as we go along. Every video represents hours of effort and we make no money on them. So why on earth do we do it?!

Well, we're building something that will hopefully one of these days result in a real show. As we work on each video we learn something new about the process. We see what works well and what isn't so effective. We fine tune, we carve away the excess...we add a dash of this and a sprinkle of that. We try to maintain a balance between entertainment and information. It's not always as easy as it sounds!

Soon, hopefully by next week sometime at the latest, we'll have a new video for your entertainment and edification. I'll keep you posted. For now...I'm afraid I must get back to the craft mines.

Until next time...craft on with your bad self!

Cheers,
Madge

TastyLinks Saturday and What I did with the Core Necklace!

Ingognito Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

It's positively gloomy around these parts this week, which always sends Madge into a funkity funk. It would help immensely if that damn raven would take a hike from my windowsill. It's positively Poe-esque.

I need the sun, I'm a Leo. As much as I love the night life...I love blue skies with fluffy clouds. Yes, it's true, I'm a girl of many needs.

If you read yesterday's post, you saw my design disaster turned around and above is the other half of what I did with the mismatched parts. I started with the beaded core strand and moved from there. You could easily attach these strands to the clasp so they were tangled in one another for a more au currant effect, but I love the vintage Coco Chanel inspired vibe here. Use a multi channeled bead board to make strands that nestle in one another and as you're working, try the design on your body and on a neck form to make sure it falls right when worn. I actually switched up the woven wire strand a little after I shot this, so now it's three strands into one in a repetitive pattern, it's more consistent and works better with the rest of the piece.

Linky Love Shout Outs to:

The divine Ms. Dawno for her fab review of Beyond the Bead! Thanks, Dawno! You ROCK!

When Creativity Knocks has a super new video with artist Cindi Bisson sharing a recycled beach themed keepsake project. Check it out!

Without further ado here's what the talented folks from the Crafty Bloggers Gang have for your entertainment and edification this week:

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love Join Vickie & Lands' End for a Twitter Party to celebrate the FeelGood campaign to benefit the homeless!

The Crochet Dude Check out Drew's super cool Crochet Word Search that he has as a free download on his blog! I wonder how quick I can finish it!

The Artful Crafter Do you know how to make a secret box book? It’s not hard – well – except on your fingers. Eileen shows you how. She took lots of photos since she won’t be able to type for a while. LOL.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery How to make a Cone Candy Holder Candelabra inspired by a pretty project from Paperie for Inspired Living by Karen Bartolomei

Naughty Secretary Club Jen is in the midst of wrapping paper week with clever how-to idea, uses for wrapping paper that have nothing to do with gifts & a Wrapagami book giveaway.

Mixed Media Artist Cyndi has a copy of "The Art of Fabric Collage" to give away!

Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style I may have to tackle a t-shirt quilt---I'm getting ideas from all directions.

Cross Stitch at About.com Do you find solace in your stitching? Vote in the poll, read the comments, and share your own experiences.

CraftyPod Check out Sister Diane's newest ebook - Creating a Blog Audience: An Unconventional Marketing Guide

Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy shows the beginnings of a baby blanket in progress, a super easy crochet project to consider for those who make charity items.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world Craftside's got a fun skull quilt tutorial inspired by a quilt in the new book Quilting Art, how-to's on painting rocks like skulls, eyes and more for Halloween, tips for re-purposing in the studio and the correct terms for the parts of a book.

Cathie Filian Melt up some soy wax and make some easy candles with Cathie.

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner It's the return "Terrorific Tuesdays" on Swelldesigner's blog! Learn about how you can participate in all the fun, spooky Halloween action!

Aileen's Musings Have you heard the term Altered Art or Altered Artist and wondered what exactly that means? Aileen has given her explanation of what Altered art is and how YOU too can become an Altered Artist!

About Family Crafts September is National Sewing Month! Why not celebrating by making one or more of these easy sewing projects.

The Impatient Crafter Get your teens ready for Back to School with these recycled denim book covers from The Impatient Crafter for I Love to Create!

The Evolution of a Jewelry Design

Almost...but not quite...take one...La Cage Prototype One (Before) Copyright Margot Potter 2009

La Cage (final) Copyright Margot Potter 2009

Incognito First Strand Copyright Margot Potter

Yesterday I started working on some 'in-use' designs. These are designs created for manufacturers that showcase their products in innovative and interesting ways. This work isn't easy because there are perameters and limitations you have to navigate. I've been working with architectural and sculptural wire designs for many years. My brain likes to think dimensionally, which is why I should really study casting and soldering and jewelry making techniques that would allow me to fully expand on that tendency. For now, I spent a lot of time making wire do what it doesn't want to do naturally and making a lot of glorious messes in the process.

There is value in those glorious messes, because that's where my brain is formulating new pathways. I began with a series of woven wire bits and pieces working on some ideas I had for dimensional designs and eventually I created this pendant, which I really like. It's basically a concave 'cage' in which I've suspended the new CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski Elements disk. It's created from a single core wire wrapped with a thinner gauge of binding wire and crystals. After I finished the pendant I needed to create a foundation. I began with this intuitive beaded design and realized when it was finished that...it wasn't quite gelling. So I put it out there for other folks to see and got some great feedback. In the meantime I began reworking the foundation and came up with this.

I hammered some of the metal components and left others shiny. I created a small hook with the same wire I used in the pendant. I really like how the foundation supports the pendant without detracting from it. Everything leads the eye towards center and this looks really fabulous on a neck.

I know that seems sort of silly to state, but I can't tell you how many times I've created something I think is awesome and then tried it on and realized it didn't work on a body. It's a really good idea to try on your designs or throw them on a jewelry form as you're working just to be sure they're wearable.

I'm using the core beaded necklace for a multi-strand idea. (Forgive the lighting, it's dismal here today and I had a heckuva time getting decent shots!) I added a little felt flower from ArtGirlz I embellished with a sequin and a crystal on a head pin. I'm seeing chains and exposed wire strands layering down from this top strand in a bib effect. I'll show you the final result when I get there.

Back to the bead mines!

xoxo
Madge

Get Yer Red Hot Patterns!

Stars and Stripes Copyright Margot Potter for Simply Beads

Gossamer Moonlight Copyright Margot Potter for Simply Beads
Ride 'em Cowgirl Copyright Margot Potter for Simply Beads

Some of my designs that I created for Simply Beads magazine are available for purchase on e-PatternsCentral. Here are a few you can check out by clicking on the images! Easy, fun, fast, fabulous...but some fun color combinations and concepts to explore.

I'm thrilled to announce that I turned in the last vestiges of my manuscript on my new book yesterday. I can't wait to share the 411, which I'll do when I have a cover. I can tell you that it's tentatively titled Bead Chic and that it includes designs created by some of my favorite jewelry artists...ooo...mysterious.

Until next time...craft on with your bad selves!

xoxo
Madge

Yes, I have no free project.

Today I'm not going to post a free project or a picture of a project or anything even remotely related to...a project.

Did I mention I'm not posting a project today?

Just so we're clear, I will reiterate. There will be no free project in today's post.

I've got so much to do in the next two weeks my brain hurts. Even so, there are two project ideas that aren't on the docket that seem intent on nagging me until I explore them. What is that? Is that just some sort of subconscious passive-aggressive procrastination or...am I really the Craft Whisperer? It started with a small bottle from my backyard vintage bottle collection. Suddenly and without warning this bottle started suggesting I turn it into a mixed media necklace. I tried to ignore it, but alas my efforts were in vain. So it's sitting on my desk now and I've promised to address it when I get caught up, but it's an insistent little vintage bottle. I also have this idea for inked and altered acrylic charms that has been running through my brain in cleats for three weeks now. Why can't I just sprout two more arms and get on with it?

Why indeed.

I'm trying to set up and fine tune some future appearances and engagements, but every one of them requires me to make samples and map out plans and it's becoming increasingly apparent that I'm not Super Crafter and I can only do so many things in any given day before I start to hyperventilate. Why can't I have minions to do my bidding? Is that asking so much?!

I've got boxes filled with samples from companies waiting for me to test them out and present them with projects and ideas. I've got a big deadline from a manufacturer for about 15 innovative designs looming and an overdue project for a book that's totally out of my comfort zone that will require immense amounts of craftastrophic potential before it's finished and book worthy. I've got to finish the text for my book and send out the materials for the front matter photo shoot, labeled and ready to roll. There are boxes that need packing and shipping and other boxes that need unpacking and organizing. We haven't made a new video in months and I'm slated to go out of town and film a promo for the cruise...

Thus is the story of what I do every day. In case you were wondering. The life of a freelancer is a tricky one. We have to take the work when it comes, because it's never consistent. Then we have to know when to say, "No." Which sounds fairly simple, but is not. It's hard to say no when your income pays a big portion of the bills. On the plus side, we schedule our own breaks and we can work in our PJs. So there's that!

I have officially hit the wall, so until I get caught up, I'm afraid that I will have to say, "No!" to any future requests.

Mrs. Potter regrets...

xoxo
Madge

I Love to Create Recycled Denim Book Covers

Recycled Denim Book Cover Margot Potter for I Love to Create Copyright 2009

When I asked my daughter if she needed to make book covers for her school books she looked at me what that, “Are you daft?” expression on her face. Yes, it’s official, I’m daft and I’m old. Undaunted by these facts, I was certain that book covers hadn't gone the way of record albums and After School Specials and then we saw some ready made stretchy covers at our local Big Box store.

A ha! Maybe I'm not so daft after all!

I thought we'd try and make some recycled covers instead of buying ready made. Back in my day, we whipped up covers to protect our school books using brown paper shopping bags. Those brown bags aren’t as easy to score these days. No worries! I have a huge stash of recycled jeans from a class I taught last year and that’s where this project was born. I got these jeans for pennies at my local Goodwill. You can do this for school books or for any books that get a fair amount of use to protect them. I love the little pocket for your pencils and pens or anything else you want to take along with you. Teens can personalize these any way they like and make a different one for every book.

Recycled Denim School Book Covers
Margot Potter for I Love to Create Teen Crafts
Copyright 2009

Materials
Pair of recycled stretchy jeans (You’ll be using a pant leg and a pocket)
Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue
Aleene’s Patch and Applique Glue
Tulip Fabric Spray Paint Emerald and Fuchsia
Tulip Soft Matte Fabric Paints in Azalea, Ebony and Glacier White
Tulip Pearl Dimensional Fabric Paint Clover Green
Tim Holtz idea-ology Mini Masks Regal
Star Stencil
Hero Arts Writing Stamp

Tools

Ruler
Stencil Brush
Fabric Scissors
Foam Brush

1. Cut a leg from a pair of old stretch jeans. Cut a pocket off of the back of the jeans, leaving the backing so it’s still a pocket.

2. Place your book on the jeans and determine width and length of your material. You want the material to be able fold over on both sides about 2.5” and to be able to overlap the edge of your book cover about 2.5”. The fabric when folded top and bottom should hit at exactly the width of your book. Measure twice and then cut to size.

3. Run a bead of glue along the top and bottom edge of your folded fabric, stop gluing approximately 2.5” from each edge. Allow to dry.

4. Slide the front of the book cover into each side of your folded and glued fabric, creating protective sleeve.

5. Adjust the fabric tension and glue the edge down on each side. Repeat for the back cover. Allow glue to dry.
6. Glue pocket on front of cover with Patch and Applique glue. Allow to dry.7. Decorate the pocket using a variety of fabric paints, stencils, rubber stamps and splatters. I used the Tim Holtz flourish mask with pink and green fabric spray paint, the Tim Holtz flourish stencil with the azalea paint, smeared and flicked on the green paint on the pocket with my pointer finger and stenciled the stars on with the stencil brush and black paint. 8. Use a foam brush to apply fabric paint to a rubber stamp with text and stamp on the center of the pocket. Allow to dry.