Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! Here's wishing you lots of love in your life!

Here's a quick heart that you can make today. I made it for Amate Studios with a Mardi Gras theme, but if you choose pink and red sequins, it would look great for Valentine's Day! For the instructions, go to their website at http://www.amatestudios.com/. It's under the February projects.

As a member of Amate Studios' Design Team, they provide me with the pendants, and in return, I provide them with the design. All other materials are purchased by me.

Getting organized!

I'm back from a week at the CHA show, and the first thing I noticed when I stepped into my "studio" is that no one had cleaned it up while I was gone!! Too bad! So, it's back to my perennial New Year's resolution: Get organized!

Luckily, one of the things I brought home from the show is this nifty bag from the Nantucket Bagg Co. The vendor gave it to me to try and to give it a mention on my blog. I am happy to do so, because it really is well-designed.

Here it is zipped up and hanging on my fence. It would make a great outdoor activities bag like this. Take it on a picnic or to the gym. You can't see it in this photo, but on the other side are straps so you can wear it like a backpack.

But, this bag can be unzipped and laid totally flat, so that you have access to all the pockets on the other side of the bag. You can hang it up this way. Or, you can zip it up with all the pockets on the outside as shown in this picture. Here I've put all my knitting needles and yarn in it (and only used half the pockets!) It's ready to go for my next knitting group.

And, in the process of organizing my knitting, I found a pair of scissors and some crochet needles that had been lost under all the yarn!

Now, at least my knitting is organized!

Happy crafting,

Terry

To learn more about these bags, check out their website at www.nantucketbagg.com.

More CHA Show Stuff!

This year's theme for the Craft and Hobby show is Crafting Around the World. In the Global Gallery, the designers will have pieces that reflect the theme with crafts inspired by the country they chose. I can't wait to see all the fantastic pieces.

I chose Mexico. I love the art and crafts from our southern neighbor. It was hard to choose a craft because there are so many that I like--metalwork, bright painted bark paper, intricate cut-out banners, tooled leather. In the end, I chose a terra cotta sun plaque. It doesn't use terra cotta clay, but it is inspired by the colors and textures of Mexican pottery.

Here's the final result. I say "final result" with my fingers crossed, because I keep playing with it--adding a little paint here or there. We'll see if it stays as is. There is a point where I'll have to let it dry and wrap it up for travel, but I am taking my paint with me!

It was so much fun to try a new craft. I don't work much with clay, and I really enjoyed sculpting with paper clay. I hope you'll try a new craft this year. You never know what you'll achieve!

Happy crafting!

Terry

New Amate Studios pieces!

Hi everyone!

I'm really looking forward to the big Craft and Hobby Show this year. It's always exciting to see all the new craft materials and tools. I'm like a kid in a candy store!

Amate Studios will be there with new metal pendants to fill up with whatever you like. They've come out with some new shapes that are different from others I've seen. One is a shape they call a T-shirt. But, I thought it looked like it could be a Kimono, so I took some beautiful origami paper from Yasutomo and folded it around cardboard with some padding in between. I added a contrasting paper and some glittery gold Kreinik ribbon, and I'm really happy with the result. I can think of several things that I want to do with this shape. What would you create with it?

I am really liking padding the space inside the pendant trays and covering it with paper as in the Kimono, or with fabric, as in the Snowman shown below. He's got a stitched face and I tied a strip of plaid fabric around his neck before I glued the padded shape into the head-shaped form.
You can find the instructions for these designs on the Amate Studios website(www.amatestudios.com). Drop by the booth if you are at the CHA show and say hi!

Happy crafting,
Terry

Only two weeks before the show!

Yikes! Where does the time go? It's only two weeks before the Craft Super Show and Craft and Hobby Association trade show. And, I have a whole list of things to do.

Number 1: Finish my gallery piece for the CHA Designer Global Display. It's only cracked and fallen apart once, which is pretty good for working with materials I haven't worked with before. I like a challenge, but sometimes I give myself a little bit too much of one. I'm on version 2.0 right now. My country is Mexico and I'll show it off when it's finished.

Number 2: Put together a display of stunning designs that will awe and amaze the editors and publishers who stop by to look at all the Designer Showcases. Hmmm...

Number 3: Practice my yo-yo skills. No, not the Tommy Smothers kind of yo-yo--the fabric kind where you stitch around a fabric circle then pull up the stitches into a smaller, finished circle. After all, I am going to be helping at a workshop where I will need yo-yo skills. Karen Wiant obviously has those skills in abundance and a little innovation, too. She's designed a wreath with four different kinds of yo-yo's--one for each season. You saw that darling snowman in the last post. Then, there's a spring blossom yo-yo, a Fourth of July firecracker yo-yo and a pumpkin yo-yo for fall. Each one is a little different design. Here they are on the grapevine wreath held on with Velcro Press & Fasten, which makes them removable and interchangable. Pretty nifty!

Hope to see you at the show!

Terry

Happy New Year!

January is an exciting month in craft-land. The Craft and Hobby Association trade show is on for later this month in Anaheim, California, and it's as exciting as Christmas as all of us designers and retailers and manufacturers prepare to display our wares.

For the first time at the Winter Show, there will be a Craft Super Show(http://www.craftsupershow.com/). This show is open to the public. With your ticket purchase, you can see some of the newest crafts, meet well-known designers and do free make it-take its.

You can also buy tickets for workshops ranging from sewing to jewelry-making to scrapbooking and much, much more. I'll be helping out at a workshop showcasing the new Press and Close Fasteners from Velcro(R). My friend, Karen Wiant, has designed a super cute wreath using yo-yo's that you can use for all four seasons. It's got interchangable motifs that you fasten to a grapevine wreath.

I'll be highlighting each motif in the following days and talking more about the show. Here's the winter motif-an adorable little snowman!

I hope you'll check out the website and plan on being at the Craft Super Show.

Happy Crafting!

Terry

Very merry plastic canvas designs!

Yes, Virginia, there are still designers who are creating new designs in plastic canvas. No, not a lot, but we have hope that there will be a resurgence, because we can't help ourselves, we just love to stitch on it and bend it and shape it and build funny things out of it. There's nothing quite as versatile.

I have been stitching on plastic canvas for over 20 years now, and it's been great fun! I've had 14 or so booklets published and many, many designs published in magazines and hardcover books.

This Christmas, DRG has come out with a hardback book called Christmas Traditions in Plastic Canvas and it's filled with cute designs for gift-giving and decorating your home for the holidays . I'm proud to say that I have several designs in the book and I hope you'll take a look at it if you love the craft as much as I do. It's on the Annie's Attic website - http://www.anniesattic.com/ - where you can also see my booklets.

Here's a photo of the Christmas Ornaments that I did for the book.

Happy crafting no matter which craft you enjoy!

Terry