Embracing Rejection

Design from our Ye Olde School Video that was part of a rejected book concept

COPYRIGHT MARGOT POTTER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!

I helped to coordinate a teleclass yesterday with editor Julie Stephani from Today's Creative Home Arts magazine. She is an accomplished woman with a wealth of information to share and the class was fascinating. It was all about creating and presenting effective proposals, which is something everyone needs to know. You can have all sorts of grand ideas, but if you can't organize them and present them in a way that other people can understand, chances are your grand ideas are going to remain ideas. The pitch is everything and having a good pitch and knowing to whom you need to pitch it is key. This class got me to ruminating about today's blog post.

The first step to taking an idea and creating an effective pitch is research. I can't understand how people don't seem to have the vision to research their way to being sure that their idea is fresh and timely and marketable. It always baffles me how creatives can live in a bubble of creativity and forget the business part of the equation. Yes, your idea may be the most brilliant idea ever and your work may be exceptional, but if it's been seen before or if it's too far ahead of the curve or if you can't tailor your work to suit the current style, it's not going to sell. Success is being in the right place at the right time with the right idea. (I'm of the mind of having as many great ideas stored up as possible so I'm ready when the right time and right place occur.)

Even if you have a great idea and a great pitch and you've done the research and you feel it's timely and you present it with conviction and panache, sometimes the answer is no. In fact, often the answer is no. If you give up after the first no, you're not made of the stuff it takes to be an entrepreneur. I've pitched and reworked and repitched ideas multiple times until finding the right fit. If Hemingway had given up after his many, many rejections we'd have missed out on some mighty fine literature. In fact, some of the most treasured literary masterpieces met with a slew of rejection letters before finding a publisher who had the vision to take them on. Authors like Dr. Seuss, Beatrix Potter, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, Nabikov and many, many others were presented with sound and stark rejection letters over and over again. It was their belief in their ideas and their tenacity that resulted in their success. I truly believe that there is no real failure if you make the effort. You live, you learn, you grow and if you keep throwing stuff at the wall eventually something is gonna stick.

So even if the answer is no, don't hesitate to ask why and take that advice for what it's worth and keep on swinging. Keep fine tuning, keep doing your research, keep working on your presentation so that when the right moment arrives, you'll be ready. Think about how you can repurpose your ideas, maybe break them apart and use them elsewhere, like I did with my mixed media necklace above in our video. Sometimes no is the best word you can hear because it will force you to take a good hard look at what you've got and that can result in the changes you need to succeed next time. I keep a file of rejection letters, some of them have ended up being quite ironic and I've even ended up working with and for the people who rejected me at a later time in another capacity. I love when that happens! Sometimes no means, not this time or for this project. If you didn't give it a shot, you'd not be in their mind for another time and another project.

You can't just rely on your artistic talent. There will always be people more talented than you. That's a tough pill to swallow, but it's a humbling one. What do you have that they don't? How can you use the talent you have along with your smarts and your street savvy to market you and your big ideas successfully? That's the question you need to ask yourself every single day.

Love
Madge

CSN Stores Giveaway WINNER!!!

Copyright Dover Books 120 Degas Paintings

I'm happy to report that I'm feeling semi-human today. That's something upon which to hang my jaunty beret!

Blogger has decided to type my blog in Hindi unless I post in HTML mode. Super. Yesterday it arbitrarily switched me over to Blogger in Beta which made it impossible to upload photos. I was able to switch back, but I suddenly no longer have the ability to size my photos. Gosh Blogger, what fun filled fantastic pain the fanny feature will you fling at me in the future? I can hardly wait to find out.

The anticipation is killing me.

I wanted to announce the winner of the CSN Stores contest! Irene Lenihan of Flight of Fancy Creations blog...you won! Please email me at margot@margotpotter.com so I can connect you with the folks from CSN and you can collect your prize.

Thanks to everyone who left comments.

Hi ho, hi ho,
Madge

Attack of the Pollen Monster

Gentle Reader

I'm afraid Madge is down for the count this week.  The pollen has been relentless.  She is resting and hoping to be back in the saddle soon.  No need for medical advice, believe you me she's tried it all and soon she's going to get some real help.  It's spring in the Northeast Corridor and even folks who don't usually have problems are miserable.

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

Snork.

xoxo
Madge's Personal Assistant
Okay...really Madge

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Sparkle and Shimmy Earrings

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Sparkle and Shimmy Earrings
Margot Potter for ILoveToCreate
“Mom crafted, kid approved.”

Avalon just got her ears pierced this year, so it will be a while before she can wear anything that swings and dangles.  Still she’s been observing my jewelry box with a glint in her eye. Teens love bold jewelry and these earrings fit the bill.

These feature the new Katiedids™ components my friend Katie Hacker created for Beadalon. They have empty chambers that can be filled with a variety of items. I don’t know why I thought wired tinsel when I saw these, but Aleene’s Platinum Bond Glass and Bead adhesive made quick work of this project. You can whip these puppies up in twenty minutes or less, which is the perfect project if you’re an impatient crafter like me! Try filling the chamber with fibers, crystal chain, regular chain, gemstone chips...just be sure you thread the head pin through so you can turn them into fun jewelry components.

Materials
Aleene’s Platinum Bond Glass and Bead Adhesive
4 Katiedids™ 1” open center circles
2 10mm black faux pearls
2 10mm acid green moonglow Lucite rounds
Wire sparkly tinsel
2 silver plated or sterling ear wires
4 thin gauge silver plated or sterling head pins

Tools
Wire cutters
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers

1. Cut tinsel to fit half of chamber. Repeat four times.

2. Thread the wire through the holes in the edge of the components and the center bead and back through.
For the green beads, you need to leave equal amounts of wire exposed on both sides, for the black beads bring the head pin flush to the bottom of the component.

3. Place a thread of glue into one of the components. Gently place tinsel into glue, compressing into chamber on either side of center head pin, repeat with second piece of tinsel. Repeat for all four components. Allow glue to dry.

4. Use round nose pliers to create loops at the top and bottom of both green bead components. Bend wire flush to component at a 90 degree angle, grasp wire end with round nose pliers and form a loop. Cut off excess wire with wire cutters.

5. Use round nose pliers to create wrapped loops at the top of the two pearl components. See my YouTube Channel for a video on how to do this.

6. Attach pearl components to the bottom of each green component. Attach the ear wires. Adjust loops so earrings hang properly.

South Beach Friendly Recipe: Roasted Veggie Whole Grain Pizza

Taking asthma medications has resulted in my gaining about 15 extra pounds over the past couple of years.  I eat well, lots of whole grains, veggies and fruits.  I don't eat sweets or fatty snacks, I eat low fat cheese and meats.  I do drink a cup or two of coffee with sugar every morning and a half of a small glass of OJ and I like to drink wine.  I recently stopped drinking lemonade and went to water.  No matter how much I cut back the weight remains.  Steroids create belly fat, I think it has to do with cortisol production because they are corticosteroids. They're not the same steroids that body builders take...or I'd be buff instead of puffy!  It's also hard to do cardio when you can't breathe...so I'll be doing resistance training again.

The weight gain has made me increasingly frustrated and I decided to suck it up and try the South Beach Diet.  Many of the meals I make are already South Beach friendly because my husband was on South Beach for two years before going to Burn the Fat.  He doesn't like me to discuss his diet...so I'll leave it at that.  Let's just say he's living proof that it works.

For the first two weeks I can't eat any whole grains or drink coffee or wine. I'm not really excited about the next two weeks to be honest, but it's two weeks. I can do it.  After those two weeks I can add in whole grain rice, pasta and bread and enjoy wine again and I'm thinking I'll just give up coffee because I don't like it without sugar and I'm having to bid sugar goodbye and I refuse to eat fake chemical sugar.  I'm blogging this so I'm accountable to someone besides myself and my family.  I'll keep you posted!  I just want to lose 15 pounds, which seems like not very much but when you're small boned like I am, it makes a big difference in the way your body looks.  I like curves, I just don't like cellulite and muffin tops.  Well I like muffin tops, but not the ones at the top of my pants.

This is a Phase 2 recipe that I made on Saturday which I'll be able to enjoy again in two weeks.  We have pizza once a week and this is a way to do that and not be totally indulgent.  Use a whole wheat flat bread of some kind (naan, pita, whole wheat thin pizza crust) and load it up with roasted veggies and a smattering of low fat or fat free cheese. (Make sure you check the ingredients on your breads and crackers, it's important to avoid processed and enriched flours.  You want 100% whole grains.) 

Roasted Veggie Whole Grain Pizza
South Beach Phase 2 Friendly
Margot Potter
Serves 2-3 People


Ingredients
2 Whole wheat or whole grain flat bread (I used a Wegman's naan)
1 Red, green or yellow bell pepper
1/2 medium sweet onion
3 cloves garlic
5-6 campari or other slicing tomatoes
Fresh basil
Lo Fat or Fat Free Shredded Mozzarella
1oz. Lo Fat Goat Cheese (if you can't find lo fat, full fat is okay since it's such a small amount)
1 tbs. Extra Virgin or Light Olive Oil

1. Slice onions and bell pepper into thin strips.  Mince garlic.  Toss veggies and garlic into a mixing bowl, add olive oil and toss.  Place veggies in a thin layer on a baking sheet.  Roast in a 450 degree oven until they begin to brown, turning once.

2. Use about 1 cup of mozzarella and spread on top of the flat breads.

3.  Thinly slice tomatoes and arrange on top of cheese.

4. Liberally sprinkle roasted veggies on top. Dice or cut strips of basil and scatter across top of veggies.

5.  Break goat cheese into small clumps and dot across top of veggies on pizzas.

6.  Place pizzas on a baking tray in a 450 degree oven and cook for approximately 10-12 minutes or until crust begins to brown.

SuperSized Saturday TastyLinks!

 Image from 133 Authentic Art Deco Patterns in Full Color Dover Books

Ah, Saturday.  Here we are again. 

I'm not feeling terribly chatty, I've been oversharing all week on both of my blogs and today is a more introspective sort of day.  I think people would be surprised to know how much time I spend in total silence.  I don't play music when I'm working because it distracts me, I don't listen to the radio or watch videos or chat on the phone.  The only noises are the sounds of trucks and motorcycles passing through our quiet little valley throughout the day, my rooster crowing and the occasional glass shattering barking of my snarky but lovable terrier Mrs. Fellerbee.  I like quiet.  It's easiest for me to dive into my work when I can give it my full attention.  I'm trying to be more mindful of being in the moment and that includes focusing on things with a little more singularity.  Multi-tasking isn't actually very good for your brain, though it's a useful skill when you do as much as I do every day.

But wait...here I am chatting on and on about not chatting.  What the what?!

The folks at ReadyMade magazine have a new travelcentric blog called Escape Hatch and the lovely Helen Jupiter interviewed me recently.  The post is up and it's a lot of fun.  Go see!

My gal pal Brini Maxwell has been blogging up a storm as of late and this week she shares a recipe for rum punch, a needlework retrospective and some of her lovely flower pins from her vintage jewelry collection.

The delightful Andrew Thornton is having a big sale and sharing a one year Beadwork magazine subscription to one lucky shopper!  You can  read all about it here!

Here's what the creative dervishes of the Crafty Blogger's Gang have for your entertainment and edification:

The Crochet Dude
Drew's crochet purse designs are super cute, and now he's got a crocheted Purse Pattern of the Month program? You've gotta check it out!!!

The Artful Crafter
This week Eileen is offering some free striking vintage photos from the 30s and a chance to win the eBook “Altered Ancestors: 50 Techniques for Using Vintage Photos in Art”. 

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
How to make recycled sweater tags inspired buy the one in: Hand-Me-Ups By Lorine Mason

Mixed Media Artist
When dumpster diving fails you, here are some great online sources for cool stuff! 

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
A hot topic Facebook thread leads to a post about valuing your work. Madge ponders the problems of discounts and freebies.

Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style
Linda's finally going to intentionally make a quilt for herself! She's picked the pattern and is using fabrics she collected years ago. 

Cross Stitch at About.com
Connie made an oops with a stitching project when she laundered an item that wasn't colorfast. Have you ever had an oops like that? Vote in the poll and let us know.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy has added another charm discovery to her sterling silver charms and pendants sale page, 2 gorgeous mermaids. 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a sneak peek into the new book Mixed-Media Dollhouses, how to draw a Zombie Voodoo Doll, make 2 types of paper flowers from recycled book pages, and how to use white glue and tape as resists in fabric altering.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen has a wonderful Mother's Day project to help make it a banner day for mom! Find out what Canvasette paper is while you check out her easy background technique. 

About Family Crafts
If you are looking for a special, home-made gift for Mother's Day, check out Sherri's collection of 100 gifts to make for mom.

My Redesigning Oscars Jewelry Set

A Bit of the Bubbly Necklace Copyright 2010 Margot Potter

After the Oscars this year, I posted about the dearth of fabulous necklaces and a German manufacturer of extraordinary clasps called Claspgarten.  They sent me a generous sampling of clasps and I finally had some free time to work on a design yesterday.  I found some vintage oversized faux pearl multi-strand necklaces at my local Goodwill a few months back and I took them apart to repurpose at a later date.  The pearls featured in this design are a smattering of what I scored.  I've added CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski elements beads as end caps to solve the problem of the large pearl holes and to add a little sparkle that speaks back to the clasp.  This clasp is so gorgeous it simply had to be the focal element.

I played with very traditional Bridal sort of concept and then I decided I wanted to give this a more Justin Giunta Subversive inspired edge.  So out came the pearls and the chains and away went the precious idea of knots and perfect strands.  I would have gone with a more asymmetrical vibe or added pearls around the entire bottom chain row, but that would have taken away too much focus from the clasp.  After some prototype versions, I ended up with what I'm calling a vintage modern design.  I'm quite pleased with this one.  The chains and findings are all base metal and created by Beadalon.

(Note: The new materials used in this design were donated to the blogger, the faux pearls were a thrift store purchase.)

CSN Store Giveaway!

The fine folks from CSN Stores contacted me recently and asked if I would be share the 411 on the variety of products from wall sconces to diaper bags in their 200+ online stores. They offered a 100 dollar promotional code to be given to one of my lucky American or Canadian readers that can be used on any of their sites. So...gosh...of course I said yes, because I'm lucky to have such wonderful readers.  They've got a huge array of organizational tools for the crafter, so if you win, you could get that studio rehab started. 

Leave a comment here and next Thursday I will announce the winner!

Please note that this is only open to American and Canadian citizens due to shipping costs. 

Cheers,
Madge

(Note: This blogger is not being compensated for this giveaway, the prize is being given directly to the winning reader.)

Will Work for Glitter.

I posted a thread on my Facebook wall yesterday and it struck a nerve.  Here's a link to the post so you can read the comments.  There is some great stuff in this thread, so be sure to read it.  Then come back so we can chat further.  (Just FYI I can't approve anymore FB friends because of a Facebook imposed limit and I'm sorry about that.  You can 'like' my 'fan page', but I surely don't expect that!)

"I would rather not make a sale than undervalue my work. I'm tired of endless requests for discounts, freebies and favors. This is how I feed my family. I can't afford to give my work away and we can't eat glitter."  Margot Potter

Someone contacted me about making a commissioned design for them recently.  Though I generally don't sell my work at retail or do production work, I said yes and offered them a significant discount as a professional courtesy.  I actually struggled with what to charge and ended up quoting little more than the wholesale cost of materials, which is significantly less than even a wholesale rate when you factor in my time.  The piece they'd selected was created with fine materials and the cost reflected that.  I don't really know this person, but we're connected through a professional situation and I guess I felt weird about charging them retail.  I was trying to do them a favor, which was my first mistake.  The piece had several strands of chunky gemstone and sterling beads and it was one of a kind.  They balked at the price in a most diplomatic fashion, I countered by asking them what they had envisioned paying and they responded with a thanks, but no thanks.  This isn't the first time something like this has happened.

It wasn't a big deal on one level, but on another level it was.  It was a big deal because this person is a professional designer.  They get paid to design.  If I approached them about designing something for me, I imagine they'd charge me full price or offer me a slight discount, I would never expect them to design for me and just charge me the wholesale cost of materials.  They'd probably be insulted if I balked at their rate.  So what gives?  Is being a craft industry designer less important, less valuable and therefore unworthy of charging full price for your work? 

No.  My work has value.  My work is worthy.  I am not going to give discounts anymore.  If you want it, you pay for it.  You're getting not just the materials, you are getting my time, my vision and designer's eye.  I have worked hard for a number of years to get to where I am and I am no longer going to feel the least bit weird about pricing my work at fair value.  I get a lot of requests for discounts, freebies, donations and I'm quite frankly tapped out.

I decided last year that I'm not working for free stuff.  Unless there is a palpable and significant cross marketing benefit to it, I need to get paid in money.  My family can't eat glitter.  If you can't pay me for my services, I can't do the job.  If some other sucker is willing to work for glitter, I feel sorry for them.  Unfortunately it is the preponderence of people willing to work for glitter that has created a seriously sticky situation.  When other people undervalue themselves, it undervalues all of us.  That includes folks on Etsy who sell their work without factoring in cost of materials, cost of doing business, cost of labor and design.  They're losing money and they're making it hard for people who take it seriously enough to price their work so they make a profit to survive.  It's a lose/lose.

What baffles me is how often creative people compromise.  Perhaps it's because there is such a lack of value placed on creativity.  What's fascinating to me is how much we take for granted.  Without creatives, we'd have generic packages, no magazines, no music,  no movies, no tv shows, no cars, houses, artwork, home decor items, clothing and accessories, no websites or blog templates...  Creativity makes the world technicolor instead of beige.  Excellent creative output requires immense amounts of experience, thought, trial and error, planning and awareness. 

The gal who answers the phones shouldn't be your 'in-house' designer unless she can actually design.  Yet many, many craft companies are relying on cheap or free design sources.  There are magazines and book publishers that don't pay designers who have managed to convince them that it's such an honor to be within their pages, it's worth doing it for free.  Really?  Do the editors work for free?  Do the graphic designers in house work for free?  What kind of a magazine or book would it be without the work of the designers who submit?

It's up to all of us creatives to stop feeling guilty about asking to be paid fairly for our work.  It's up to those who work for free glitter to accept that they're making it hard for those who have to put food on the table to do so.  It's time we all stopped undervaluing our work because until we do, the manufacturers, publishers, retailers and magazines are going to keep expecting people to work for free glitter.

It starts with each of us taking a good hard look in the mirror and telling ourselves we are worthy.  Because we are.


Here's a video shared in that thread by the multi-talented Kathy Peterson that sums it up brilliantly.

Love
Madge

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Techno Garden Cell Phone Holder

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts
Techno Garden Cell Phone Holder
Margot Potter
“Mom crafted, kid approved.”

Avalon is finally not the “only kid” in her school that doesn’t have a cell phone. Lest you think us barbarians, we simply couldn’t see the point of paying for another line for a twelve year old. I think kids are too plugged in as it is. Little did we realize, due to a miscommunication with our cell phone carrier, we’ve been paying for a third line that we don’t use for a year now. Argh. So we gave Avalon a second hand cell phone and instructed her to only use it for emergencies. We’ll see how long that lasts...

She immediately started rummaging through my crafty coffers for my collection of hand crafted cell phone holders. I’ve been making these for the past few years for books and magazines. I love the irony of a kitschy retro craft being converted into a techno friendly item. Thusly this project was born.

Add the awesome fabric YoYo maker I scored last month at the craft store that I’ve been itching to use in a project, an upcycled gingham shirt with buttons that didn’t fit properly and some vintage plastic beads and...I present the Techno Garden Cell Phone holder. In case you didn’t hear, gingham is all the rage for spring and summer fashions this year. You will have to create a pouch that fits your specific phone, therefore I’ve not included dimensions here. Just measure the felt around your phone, making sure there’s room for the phone to slide inside. Cut, glue and decorate.

Materials
Craft felt sheet in red
Black and white gingham fabric (if you have an old shirt you want to use, feel free)
Three coordinating buttons (mine came directly from the shirt)
Pine green rick rack trim (mine was vintage, but this stuff is easy to find)
Snap set
Aleene’s Liquid Fusion Glue
Aleene’s Super Thick Tacky Glue
9 10mm yellow Beadin' Path vintage plastic beads
10 8mm green AB Czech glass beads
2 EZ-Crimp ends
.018 49 strand beading wire
White or light color thread
Red thread

Tools
Clover YoYo Maker Large

Chasing hammer
Snap setter
Steel block
Mighty Crimp Tool
Chain nose pliers
Wire cutters
Scissors
Needle

1. Create beaded strand by attaching wire to EZ Crimp using Mighty Crimp Tool. Add your beads beginning and ending with a green glass bead and alternating between the two colors. Use chain nose pliers to pull wire through EZ Crimp end, keeping wire rounded to prevent from being too stiff, use Mighty Crimp Tool to attach wire and cut off excess with wire cutters.

2. Measure and cut your pouch leaving a 1” edge for your flap.

3. Glue the sides together up to the bottom of the edge using Aleene’s Super Thick Tacky Glue. Allow to dry overnight.

4. Create Yo-Yo following instructions on Clover YoYo Maker package. Begin by inserting fabric into receptive end of tool and then snapping the cover into place to secure the fabric.

5. Use fabric scissors to cut fabric edge to approximately ¼”.

6. Keep edge folded as you sew around the template from the bottom of the tool. See photo.

7. When you reach your final hole, sew through the first hole again. Carefully remove the snapping component from the receptive component and remove fabric.

8. Gently pull thread end tucking fabric edge into the center as you create your YoYo. When you have it formed, sew the open thread into the fabric edge, knot and cut off and tuck excess thread. Create two yoyos.

9. Mark and cut rick rack trim to create flower stems. Fold a bit of trim to form leaf. You can tack this with thread if you like.

10. Glue the components to the front of the pouch starting with the leaf, the stems and the flowers with Aleeene’s Fast Tack Tacky Glue. Allow to dry overnight.

11. Use Aleene’s Liquid Fusion to attach buttons to front of flowers. Allow to dry.

12. Attach snap following directions on snap packaging. You can also opt to use Velcro tape here, but tack it down for strength. My snaps use a small tool and a hammer to attach to the felt. After attaching snaps, glue a button on top of the exposed snap back on the front of your pouch using Liquid Fusion glue. Allow to dry.

13. Use red thread to sew the EZ Crimp ends on the strap to the back of the pouch. I positioned my strap ends just inside of the glue line on the edges of pouch. Tie off thread and hit with a tiny dab of glue. Repeat for second strap end.

Saturday TastyLinks, Musings and Sundries

 Madge's Thrift Score

I believe that when you're moving in the right direction, the universe supports you entirely.  When things get too tough and I find myself smacking my head against the rocks, I remind myself that it's okay to change direction and swim right around them.  It's easy to become so micro-focused you forget to look up and see what's happening around you.  Some times things just don't work out and it can be tough when you've poured time, effort and energy into something to watch it fall apart, but it's a co-creation.  You dream the dream and take the steps to make it real and then it's important to try not to be so relentlessly specific that you get stuck on the details.  The details will work themselves out if you're navigating the boat in the right direction.  I'm telling myself this and sharing it with you.  It's how I work schtuff out.

I had a week of things falling apart and it's been a little tough, but other things are coming together and I'm being reminded that it's okay to let some things go.  Even things that on the surface seem pretty good can be holding you back.  I'm making some decisions about what to let go and what to hold on to...it's a process.

I scored some goodies at Goodwill today.  A small pile of vintage patterns from the 1960s and 70s, in my size!  The unfortunate thing about Goodwill is that they stick a frickin' sticker on the front of the patterns and album covers and taking it off ruins them.  Argh.  What is that?!  I also got THREE vintage 60s Monopoly games...huzzah...and a really horrid yet adorable apron dress from the 70s with a garish neon floral print.  Yay!

My dear friend Brini Maxwell has the most delightful new blog filled with fun and fabulosity.  You simply must go check it out.  This week she shares a recipe for Cheese Souffle from a cookbook written and signed by former Cosmo editor, author and feminist icon Helen Gurley Brown.  Too fun!

Here's what the Crafty Bloggers have in store for your craftertainment this week:

The Artful Crafter
Do companies offer free craft products to the general public for testing?

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how to make recycled thigh high socks inspired by the book Color Knitting The Easy Way. 

Mixed Media Artist
There's a lot to be learned about texture when you work with a monochromatic palette!

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Mother's Day is coming soon and Madge has you covered. Check out her mom friendly card project, recipe and jewelry design! 

Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style
The organization continues, but the craft room is very close to finished.

Crafty Princess Diaries
While doing some spring cleaning, Tammy made some interesting jewelry discoveries. You just never know what you might find when you try to get organzied. 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to crochet a "no-chain" foundation row, 17 ways to crop a photo, draw flames with Drew Brophy, change the color in a free cherry blossom print download and a call for entries for 1000 Steampunk Inspirations.

Cathie Filian
Cathie is doing back flips over the release of her new book, 101 Snappy Fashions! 

Aileen's Musings
Are you in need of a royal crown? Aileen has an oldie but goodie tutorial she's sharing with you.

About.com Cross Stitch
Connie's sharing a free pattern that was inspired by a piece of artwork she saw in an episode of Monk. You never know what the source of inspiration will be. 

How To Write and Publish a Craft Book Title Part Three

I am so, so, so excited to finally be able to share my new book cover with you! Insert trumpet flourish here...Bead Chic is now available for pre-order on Amazon! The book debuts this summer and it's a fresh approach to jewelry design for the novice. There are 36 core designs each with a variation for a total of 72 designs! I have a wonderful roster of celebrity guest designers who created variations of many of the projects and I think you're really going to love this book. Each chapter shows you another way to approach designing and changing various elements of a design to surprising effect. I really wanted to help bead stringers become jewelry designers and stop copying other people's work and instead dialog with them through design. Also I've been hoping to help people get over the need to have 'that one bead'...because that is often impossible with the millions of beads on the planet and ever changing inventories to find the exactly same bead.

I have a few things to share today. Firstly it is crucial that your cover reflect the inside of your book. I had one cover that really didn't serve the book inside and it was sad to see the book not sell as well as I think it could have with the right cover. It took us several versions of this cover to find one we all could get behind. I loved having models in the book because it's a fresh approach to a jewelry title, but I wasn't loving the full shot of a model on the cover because the jewelry was getting lost in the shuffle. I love the way this cover looks. It's fresh and compelling and makes you want to pick it up.

There is one small nit-picky thing that bothers me with one of the memory wire segments on the necklace, but by the time I noticed it there was no time to Photoshop that error out. C'est la vie. I'm going to have to be okay with it. Ergh. Memory wire, why must you resist turning with such...resistance?

When you sell your book and you get your contract, try to insert a clause that allows you cover and design approval. I think many people don't realize that authors of craft books have very little input into the book design process. We often don't have a clue what the book is going to look like until we get our galleys for final review. Everything is done by committee and if you've not asked for design approval, you're not on the committee. I've often felt that a committee is the worst way to do anything, because everyone has a different agenda and a different POV. That being said, it is what it is and unless you're ready to write the book, create the projects, take the photographs, layout the images and text, edit the book, contact retail outlets, sell the book, pay for printing, store the books, ship the books, deal with book returns and consignments...if you're not ready to do all of that, you're going to need a publisher. You're also going to have to find a publisher you trust and trust that they want your book to sell as well as you do. So that means shopping around, asking questions, digging deep to find out what the 411 is about working with a particular publisher.

If you can find a publisher that you trust who will get behind you and support you, they'll most likely respect your vision and try to support it with a lovely design. They want to sell the book too. I think a lot of authors sort of forget that they are also responsible for how the book turns out and how it sells. That means being sure your contract affords you the ability to have input. It means promoting the book. Which I will start doing in a few months when we get closer to the publishing date. Artists sometimes aren't so great at the business side of things, but that's a matter of focus. If you want your book to do well, you can't work your arse off making it and then sit back and wait for people to find it.

Like most things in life, you get out of them what you put in.

I have shipped off my samples for the next book proposal. The acquisitions editor is working on a pitch and I should know if I have a hit or a strike out by the end of this month. Stay tuned...

Cheers,
Madge

To Mom, with Love: Free Mother's Day Card, Recipe and Jewelry Project!

Mother's Day is right around the corner and if you're struggling with what to do to make mom feel special, I've got some ideas for you!  Here is a card I made using the fabulous Blue Hills Studio Magnetic Multi-Shaper punch, a recipe for a healthy and delicious chicken dinner and a jewelry design that's sure to set her heart a flutter.

Wings Mother's Day Card


Materials
Turquoise medium weight cardstock
K&Company Que Sera Sera Designer Paper
K&Company Layered Accents Butterflies
Wired tinsel
Printed elements: "Soar, dare, dream..." "Thank you for giving me wings." turquoise Freestyle Script font 36pt.
Scrapbook Adhesives EZ Dots repositionable glue runner
Wonder double sided tape

Tools
Paper cutter
Bone folder
Ruler
Blue Hills Studio Magnetic Multi-Shaper Punch 'Tweet, tweet'

1.  Select area of paper you want to feature.  Using the square template on the punch, create a small square.

2. Cut cardstock on paper cutter to 5.5"x7.75".

3.  Fold card in center and crease edge with bone folder.

4. Measure center of card and use edge punch to create decorative edge, repeat on both sides of center punch.

5. Create the text and print.

6. Use paper cutter to cut out text leaving a small border.

7.  Adhere square to center of card front using glue runner.

8.  Adhere 'Soar, dare, dream...' across square using glue runner and 'Thank you for giving me wings.' to center inside of card with glue runner.

9.  Adhere butterfly to top left edge of square.

10.  Cut tinsel to fit width of card.  Cut tape to fit the width of the tinsel.  Adhere tinsel above punched edge.

Almond Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Campari Tomato Salad

Ingredients
1 cup almonds
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
2-3 cloves garlic
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1/2 cup Light olive oil

Pour olive oil into a bowl.

Use food processor to crush almonds and garlic.  Place in a second bowl.

Add parmesan cheese and whole wheat bread crumbs and blend with fork.

Dip chicken strips into olive oil and coat with crust mix.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until brown and crispy, turning midway to crisp both sides.

Serve on a bed of Spring Greens with a side of sliced Campari tomatoes sprinkled with feta cheese and basil and a light olive oil and balsamic vinagrette.  Add a side of asparagus with lemon and butter substitute spray.

Blackbird Fly Necklace
Copyright 2009 Margot Potter

Materials
Blue Moon Beads ceramic bird pendant
12mm jet Crystallized-Swarovski Elements pearls
2 vintage plastic striped beads from Beadin' Path
2 12mm chalkwhite Lucite filigree beads
20 gauge silver plated Artistic Wire
Black and white satin cording
36 silver plated 6mm jump rings
.018 49 strand Beadalon wire
2 Scrimp cable ends
1.5" thick black and white polka dot wired ribbon


Tools
Scrimp tool
Wire cutters
Round nose pliers
Chain nose pliers
Scissors

1.  (If you can't find this specific pendant at a local craft chain, substitute a different bird themed pendant and suspend it from the center of the beaded segment on a jump ring and tie ribbon to front of ring.) This pendant has two holes drilled in the front.  Thread a 5" segment of wire into the right hole, leaving a little more than 1" exposed on one end.  Thread the wire into the left front of pendant.  Thread wire across front of pendant and into the right hole.  Bend wires flush to back of pendant.  Use round nose pliers to create loops at the top of the wires, the wire ends with loops should each measure 1" in length, cut off excess wire.

2.  Attach a Scrimp end to a 6" strand of 49 strand wire.  Thread the beads on in the following order: pearl, 2 jump rings, pearl, 3 jump rings, striped bead, 3 jump rings, filigree bead, 3 jump rings, loop at top left of pendant, pearl, 3JR, pearl, 3JR, pearl, loop at top right of pendant, 3JR, striped bead, 3JR, pearl, 3JR, pearl, 3JR, filigree, 3JR, pearl.  Thread wire end into Scrimp and attach.

3.  Tie 3" ribbon bow at front of pendant around wired section.

4.  Attach a jump ring to the Scrimp on each side of the beaded segments.

5.  Tie a 25" black satin cord through Scrimp at the center of the cord, repeat on opposite side with white cord.  Tie a knot in both ends of each satin cord.  Cut off any excess cord with scissors.

Note: Several of the products featured in the craft projects in this post were donated to the designer by the manufacturers.

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Jeepers Peepers Headband

IloveToCreate Teen Crafts
Jeepers Peepers Headband
Avalon and Margot Potter
“Kid crafted, mom approved!”

Avalon has the most fabulous imagination! We scored every last box of puff ball baby chicks on clearance at the craft store recently and she came home and glued one chick to a black leather headband that day. The kids at school went nuts for it! I loved it, but I suggested she add a few more...which she did and it was an even bigger hit. Then I asked her if we could use it as a teen craft project for ILoveToCreate. I added some lavender ribbon, daisy trim and glued her chicks back on to make a super cute spring headband. I am seriously considering a chicks tiara...

I think the best thing about kids and teens is that they don’t get limited by ‘rules.’ They’re willing to take creative risks and because of that they come up with really creative ideas.

It’s fun to design together and Aleene’s Liquid Fusion glue makes quick work of any craft project!

Materials
1” thick leather headband
2 small yellow puff ball chicks
2 large pink puff ball chicks
3/8” Textured Trios lavender polka dot satin ribbon
Wrights Creative Classics 7/8” Daisy Trim
Liquid Fusion Glue

Tools
Scissors

1. Glue one end of ribbon flush to back of one end of the headband. Spread a thin bead of glue along the inside center of the headband. Wrap ribbon one time around and begin wrapping slightly overlapping each time working your way around the headband. Make the final wrap, cut off excess ribbon and glue the end down. Allow to dry.

2. Measure the space for your chicks.  Glue the daisy trim on either side of the space down to each end of the headband with a thin bead of glue.  Allow to dry.

3. Glue the chicks to the space on the headband using a thick glob of Liquid Fusion glue. Allow to dry.

Monday Morning Musings with Madge

No rest for the wicked!  I spent the weekend cleaning house (with a LOT of help from my hubby) and working on my website.  I had a gorgeous website once upon a time, but it was totally static.  Every little change that had to be made meant waiting for someone else to do it.  I loved the way it looked, but I didn't love the lack of dynamics.  Have I mentioned that I'm impatient?  So I decided to ditch that lovely website and forge my own.

This weekend I changed the website banner to match this blog template, reworked the layout of all of the pages, added some fresh content and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  I got a quick Photoshop layers lesson from my uber talented mom and played with a couple of pics for the main page and the 411 page, they turned out pretty cute, but I'm just stumbling around in the dark really.  The swirls on the picture above are layers of letters in various opacities in the King and Queen font.  I am dying to learn more about layers, it's  fascinating.  If only there was more time!

We don't have the money to pay someone to build a new website from scratch right now.  I'm using SquareSpace and I like the platform but it has some limitations in terms of layout capability, fonts and colors unless you really understand HTML code.  It would be nice to be able to add a pretty frame for the site pages and I hope I can figure that out soon, but for now it's clean, easy to navigate and dynamic.  I can add new information anytime I like and that's the way I like it!  Check it out and let me know what you think! The banner is from the fine folks from The Cutest Blog on the Block.  Love their templates! 

I had lunch with my dear friend Robin Beam last week.  She crocheted two gorgeous flowers for me and added a bonus felted flower to the bunch!  How sweet was that?  Robin can do anything.  She's like a crafty super hero.  Plus anything she does, she does meticulously.  She is not an impatient crafter at all.  Robin is the director of education for AC Moore stores and I can't think of a better person for the job.  She's endlessly creative and smart and funny.

Speaking of friends, the one and only Andrew Thornton was in town for WireFest and we invited him out for a visit.  We had a delightful evening that was capped off by some divine cheesecake Andrew brought.  Andrew is a fine artist and a jewelry maker, his work is nuanced, subtle and layered.  He's thoughtful and smart and has a wonderful calm nature that is diametrically opposed to my frenetic personality.  Spending time with him forces you to slow down, breathe, dive in a little deeper.  We're going to hang out a little bit this morning and then he's heading home.  It's nice to see my friends 3-D every once and a while.

Avalon came up with the cutest project for tomorrow's teen crafts blog, wait until you see it!  I love that kid!

xoxo
Madge

Super Size Saturday TastyLinks!

Oh where do the days go?  I simply don't understand how it could possibly be Saturday...again.  Sometimes I swear I've slipped into a time wrinkle and missed the entire week.  Do you ever feel like that?!

A while back I went to visit my good friend Ben Sander in NYC and we shot two fun filled Brini Maxwell webisodes together with her partner in crime Thom Hansen as the irrepressible Mary Ellen.  The second video features a recipe I found in a 1965 Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  I collect vintage paper, as many of you know, and I have a nice collection of fashion and home magazines.  I found this issue at a local antique market and when I turned to the Weiner Loaf page I fell off of my chair in hysterics.  Not simply because shoving some weenies into corn bread mix and calling it a meal was funny, but because the picture in the magazine was so horrid one wonders how the art director let it slip into the issue.  Still this wiener loaf intrigued me and I decided to whip up a batch for a family gathering two years ago.  After the initial recoil, a few brave souls dug in and I have to admit, we all found it quite tasty!  Now you can make your cornbread from scratch and you can arrange your weiners in a more artful manner and serve this with a variety of flavored mustards, but I wanted to be true to the original recipe...and so...without further blather...here's a brand new Brini Maxwell vidcast offering with yours truly showing how to make weenie loaf!  Don't miss Mary Ellen's wanton antics in the background, she's hilarious!

Don't forget about the Crafty Cabaret Cruise this September with Brini Maxwell and me!  We're going to have such fun taking classes, open studio time, two full days in the Bahamas, a cabaret show starring Brini and Madge and we've got an amazing line up of sponsors.  Beadalon, ILoveToCreate, Fiskars, Ranger Ink, Create Your Style with CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski Elements, Sizzix, Scrapbook Adhesives...and more to come!  

Vickie Howell is doing a month long giveaway in her blog for her fabulous new book CraftCorps and today I'm the featured crafter! Leave a comment in her blog for a chance to win a signed copy of Beyond the Bead and a generous sampling of metal pendant frames from HHH Enterprises!


I had a most interesting week.  It feels good to have reached a point where people value your professional opinions.  Lord knows I've got a lot of them and I'm not afraid to share!  It's easy to forget when you're toiling away all by your lonesome in your studio that you're making an impact and you're building a name for yourself and people do pay attention to you.  It's a one woman show here at Studio Madge, some days I swear I hear carnival music in the background.  


Without further ado, here are this week's links from the crafty gurus in the Crafty Bloggers Gang:


About Family Crafts 
If you cannot wait for April showers to bring May flowers, here is a collection of flower crafts you can make now. 


Aileen's Musings 
Back in November Aileen posted about an Erosion Bundle Project she's participating in....yesterday she opened her bundles after 5 months! Stop by and see her after pictures...


Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world 
Craftside's got a great tutorial on how to sew tie style straps, a peek at how to turn ideas into inspired design, identifying different types of metal, a thread painting tip, a lace detail and a bit of ballerina brilliance from the hot new book Mixed-Media Dollhouses. 


Crafty Princess Diaries 
Knitters will be happy they know the Crafty Princess after finding out about this great 40% off deal on the new book entitled In the Loop. 


Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter 
Madge reviews metal clay artist Kate McKinnon's amazing new book Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry. 


Mixed Media Artist 
Duotones can give a whole different look to your photos than plain black and whites! 


Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 
Check out my summer knitting project from Toe-Up Socks for Every Body by Wendy D. Johnson 


The Artful Crafter 
How to make an envelope book for little treasures or clutter. 



The Crochet Dude 
Drew reorganized his garden this spring using squares, and the results are fantastic! 

Book Review: CraftCorps by Vickie Howell

Vickie Howell is the kind of woman who appears to have it all.  She's smart, creative, industrious, driven, funny, successful and beautiful in every sense of the word.  She's the kind of woman other women envy, until they get to know her and realize just how down to earth and gosh darn friendly she is.  She's a mom to three lovely children, writes best selling crochet books, blogs for a variety of heavy hitters including PBS, hosts TV shows, cross promotes with other creative powerhouses and now she's spearheading a revolutionary craft movement.

Vickie recently became spokesperson for Caron yarn and I can't think of anyone better for that job.  One of the founding members of the Austin Craft Mafia, a cooperative of wickedly smart creative women who figured out just how powerful we can be when we work together. Vickie has built a crafty empire by lifting up and sharing her success with other women.  How she does it all with such panache and seemingly effortless style is beyond me, but she inspires countless other women on a daily basis to defy convention and do what they love.  Vickie's got Super Girlie Good Power in spades.

When Vickie contacted me about an interview for a new book she was writing called CraftCorps I simply couldn't refuse.  What an honor to be among so many people whom I admire so greatly.  For a moment I thought to myself, "Really?  I'm a craft celebrity?  Wow!"  Then I let that go.  Because hell's yeah I'm a craft celebrity and I've done the hard work to achieve it!  So have every one of the people featured in this book.

Thank you, Vickie Howell for everything you do to promote the church of craft.  You're a dynamo!

Book Review
CraftCorps
Vickie Howell
Lark Books


There are books you peruse slowly, picking them up now and again, taking small polite bites of information.  They are nice books, well mannered books, happy little books you enjoy and then promptly forget.  Then there are books like CraftCorps.  It's the kind of book you can't stop devouring from the moment you open the cover  and when you've finished reading you're hungry for more.  I got my advance copy this week and although I had a pile of other things on my plate that were screaming for attention, as soon as I cracked open the cover I was hooked.  I kept saying to myself, okay put the book down and get back to work...but every time I tried it was only a moment or two before I had the book in my hands again.

Vickie Howell is a tour de force in the craft community.  She's not only written a brilliant and inspiring book, she's become the pied piper of a crafty revolution.  This series of interviews with a wide variety of craft and creative industry celebrities is riveting.  Every person has a fascinating story to share and the threads that run through them all speak to the innately human desire to create.  Each interview is a peek into the trajectory of a career of a creative person who figured out that we really can do what we love and have the money follow and when we do life becomes a celebration.  Every person in the book stood in the face of the people who told them, "You can't." and said, "Oh yeah, watch me."  These stories will inspire, entertain, educate and amaze you.  The additional profiles of up and coming crafters scattered throughout the book make it clear that this movement is here to stay.

This book asks again and again the nebulous question, "What is the difference between 'art' and 'craft'?" and the answers given defy conventional wisdom.  Ultimately this isn't merely a book about crafters or crafting, it's really a road map to creating success by defying the rules.  Every person in the book has stood at the crossroads of the road less traveled and taken the wild path.  Anyone who longs to break free of their pedantic existence will be inspired by this book.  If you've often wondered what might happen if you ignored the naysayers and did what made you happy, you'll find out what might happen here.  Anyone who crafts for fun or a living will be kicked in the ass by this book, in the best possible way.

The people featured in this book along with the author are all creating their own realities on a daily basis.  They'll make you laugh and they'll make you cry and most of all they'll make you think.  Deeply.  This is the kind of book that changes lives.  There is a power in creativity that transcends definition, but this book manages to not only define it, but to show the reader how to harness that power for good.

Margot Potter
Author The Impatient Crafter Series, Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed and Bead Chic