A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
Nothing brightens up a room like flowers. These are easy to make with kids and a fun way to use scraps. Make a bouquet or a table centerpiece or string them together for a flower garland or other wall decor. Use the patterns included in this PDF project download, or create new blossoms.
The download also includes the below Lily Pad or Poinsettia Centerpiece. You will make these the same as the flowers except layer the smaller flowers inside the bigger flowers. Make a lily pad or napkin base.
You will also find general directions for fast2fuse fusible interfacing in the download, complete with a list of three shortcuts that are sure to save you time!
This project is an excerpt from 100+ No-Sew fabric Crafts for Kids by Mary Link which includes oodles of projects you can do with kids and for kids, including bookmarks, coasters, mobiles, games and toys, party goods, room décor, and holiday goodies.
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March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
Paradise is more out of reach than ever these days it seems, so why not use this project to create your own little slice right in your own home. There are plenty of options with this project—it is bordered in an oval frame and could be used as a centerpiece for a quilt, pillow, or handbag.
Click here to download the full project sheet PDF, which includes patterns for the poppies. The finished quilt is 16″ by 20″.
This project is an excerpt from Paradise Stitched—Sashiko & Appliqué Quilts by Sylvia Pippen, which includes 6 vivid quilts inspired by tropical flora and fauna.
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March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
Do you love C&T Publishing books and products? Always looking for new ways to be inspired? Sign up to join the C&T Creative Troupe’s Reviewer Program and earn free eBooks. It’s just one more perk of C&T Creative Troupe membership.
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Here’s how the Book Review Program works:
It has been about a year since we launched the C&T Creative Troupe. We have been so impressed and thrilled by the excitement around the Creative Troupe and the amazing talent our troupers posses, that we have decided to add a few more incentives and rewards to it’s members. The first new feature of the Creative Troupe is the Pay for Publication Program. A program that pays Creative Troupe members to promote C&T Products in the media.
Get Paid to Play! If you are a member of the C&T Creative Troupe, you are already creating beautiful art with our books and products, why not get paid for it? If you haven’t joined the Creative Troupe yet, what are you waiting for? Become a member of our creative family today!
We have listed all the details of the program below, but the concept is simple. Get a project made with C&T products published in the media, and we will pay you.
Editor’s Note: Today’s craft month project of the day is the first post in an exciting new series called Junk to Jewel by C&T author and editorial team member, Sue Astroth. Junk to Jewel will chronicle Sue’s upcycling adventures with thrift store finds.
Unlike our other craft month projects, this post doesn’t offer a specific materials list or step-by-step instructions. What it does offer is a look inside the mind of C&T’s resident upcycling queen, and the inspiration needed for you to set out on your own thrift store expedition and find that perfect piece of junk to turn into a jewel.
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Once a week my friend and I go thrift store shopping…what a blast! As we help each other select our purchases, we brew up all sorts of creative uses for our finds. There’s nothing more exciting than visualizing the transformation of an item into something completely different! I thought I’d chronicle my journey of altering and upcycling thrift store items here on the C&T blog.
At lunch time a few weeks ago, I headed to the thrift store. I went through the housewares section and nothing was jumping out at me. I even went through the clothes to see if I could be tempted by a designer shirt for a fabulous price…but no such luck. I was about to gather my friend and leave the store when I saw IT.
Lying there on the pile of old notebooks and tupperware containers was a wooden tennis racket and frame. Now I wasn’t too interested in the tennis racket, but the frame…boy did I instantly see the possibilities. An oversize “pincushion” of sorts, it can hold notes, objects of inspiration, jewelry, and anything else you can tack to it. I just loved how the wooden frame was held together with a screw in each corner. So simple, honest and clean-looking.
Laura Wasilowski is doing something very interesting and cool over at her blog called Thread-u-cation Thursdays, where each week she introduces and demonstrates a new stitch with how-to photos and written instructions.
Laura is kindly letting us borrow some of her content for this week’s Technique Tuesday Craft Month blog post! The technique we are featuring today is Laura Wasilowki’s Blanket Stitch, and at the end of this post you’ll be able to download a free PDF with some additional stitching techniques.
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The Blanket Stitch always gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling. It tucks in around a fabric edge holding it safe and neatly outlining the shape. But it can also act as a decorative stitch across the surface of fabric creating rows of UUUU or MMMM depending upon orientation.
Here’s how I make my Blanket Stitches: With the thread on top at A, place the tip of the needle about 1/4″ up and to the right of point A. Insert the needle at B and exit at C, about 1/4″ to the right of A. Trap the thread coming out of A under the needle tip and draw the needle and thread slowly through the fabric.
Continue Reading…
Our friends at RIT Dye have given us 12 bottles of dye to give away to one lucky blog reader! We had to join the fun, so have thrown in some Ready-to-Go! Blank Canvas Books to get the winner started dyeing, as well as a copy of Rebekah Meier’s Fabric Art Collage!
Fabric Art Collage includes Rebekah’s dyeing and overdyeing techniques with RIT Dye so recently RIT featured Fabric Art Collage on their blog, Edie’s Fashion Factory. Check out that post here, then check out the rest of the site because there’s plenty of cool videos and dyeing how-tos.
the giveaway bundle
The RIT Dye colors included in the giveaway are: Fuchsia, Cherry Red, Sunshine Orange, Lemon Yellow, Cocoa Brown, Taupe, Apple Green , Dark Green, Denim Blue, Evening Blue, Purple, and Black. That’s ALOT of dye!! But there are so many uses for RIT—from fashion to quilting, sewing, mixed media art and more—I’m sure the lucky giveaway winner will have a fantastic time devising a plan for making use of it all.
To be in the running for the RIT Dye giveaway bundle, leave a comment here or on Facebook telling us which project or dyeing technique from the RIT website or blog you want to try most and why. Comments will be closed at 9am PST on Monday, March 22, 2010 and the winner will be announced later that day. Good luck!
Extra comment entries are available to you if you want to maximize your chances at being the giveaway winner! If you take one or more of the actions listed below, enter an extra comment for each, and in that comment tell us what you did and link to the proof where that’s possible.
Time to announce the winner and ooh…this giveaway was a good one! Let’s hear a big cheer for Suzanne Golden, the winner of the Jan Krentz prize package. She beat over 300 other comments and has won herself the latest book by Jan Krentz, Quick Diamond Quilts & Beyond, along with Quick Star Quilts & Beyond, Jan Krentz Teaches You to Make Lone Star Quilts DVD, Quilter’s Design Mirrors, and the fast2cut® Fussy Cutter Ruler Set! Holy moly Suzanne…you’re psyched!
Thank you to everyone who left a comment, posted our blog badge, subscribed to our YouTube channel or newsletter and all the tweets. We love hearing from you and appreciate your involvement in our online community.
Remember to tune in tomorrow for details of the next giveaway!
Whether you’ve got a sick friend to entertain, or it’s just a rainy, stay-inside sort of day, this cheerful checker pattern Game Board quilt can’t help but brighten spirits. It communicates love and caring, and of course spells fun.
This free project download includes the supply list and instructions for the above classic checkerboard quilt and the checker pieces and pouch below. We know that when someone’s sick, you may not have much time to spend making them a game board quilt gift, so the quick & easy roll-up variation project (pictured below) is also included!
Maybe checkers just isn’t your thing? We threw in some patterns for chess pieces as well!
This project is an excerpt from Comfort Quilts from the Heart by Jake Finch, which includes 12 quick projects to take care of others.
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March is National Craft Month and we are celebrating by posting one project every day this month! If you are joining us late, click here to see the full list of Craft Month projects that have been posted so far.
