Monthly Archives: November 2008

Pineapple Star Ring Bearer Pillow

November 12th, 2008 in Inspiration
By Megan Scott

Sharon Rexroad, author of Pineapple Stars: Sparkling Quilts, Perfectly Pieced and Pineapple Stars Paper Piecing Patterns sent me an adorable Pineapple Stars project that one of her pineapple enthusiasts sent her. Here is what recent bride Jen Mazza expressed to Sharon:

Hi Sharon, I wanted to send you a picture of my star, I used your pattern to make the ring bearer pillow for my wedding! I loved the pattern and the book made it so easy! It was the first really complicated square that I have ever made, and it came out perfect! The book gave great advise on picking fabrics as well as showing all of the different ways you could use the same pattern to come out with a variety of totally different quilts!

Congratulations, Jen, and thanks for sharing with us!

Happy Birthday, Teacher!

November 12th, 2008 in Papercrafts
By Kerry Graham

All the kindergarten students were asked to bring a flower and a card for their teacher’s birthday.

I remembered that Sue Astroth did these really fun big cards with our display boards. I asked her to refresh my memory on how she would make it and of course she had a lot of great ideas that she is so willing to share. How lucky are we to have people that we can talk to about craft ideas, sewing, quilting, knitting and crocheting? I feel so fortunate to be a part of the C&T family.

I took Sue’s ideas home and along with Livi came up with our own version of a giant birthday card.

As you can see Alivia was so proud of this card.

I told Livi that for the flower I thought she could pick some fresh mint from our herb garden.

Her reply: “Can’t we just buy a fresh flower at the farmer’s market? You know, they have really nice flowers there…”

I explained to her that it will smell nice and be special since it’s from our garden and I’ll even wrap a pretty pink ribbon around it then add a tag: “Fresh Mint from our Herb Garden”. I just needed to explain the idea a little more, because then that sounded like a good idea to her.

That night we were in the kitchen, making our card. I cut the pieces while Alivia stamped the edges. After she placed the pieces on the cover I told her that I’ll write “Happy Birthday” very nicely on the cover. My daughter puts me in place, “I can write Happy Birthday on the cover, mom. The card is supposed to be from me, you know.”

Sometimes I tend to get a little carried away with the craft projects, and she was so right, the card was from ALIVIA not ME. I said, “Of course you should write it.” She did a beautiful job and she made all the embellishment decisions.

Here’s our Teacher’s Birthday Card instructions:

Materials

READY-TO-GO Blank Board Display Board, 12″ x 12″
Pink and purple stamp pads
Princess Mirah’s Crafts Wild Rose BatiKit fabric with adhesive backing
White cardstock
Princess Mirah’s Crafts Ruby 1/4″ flannel ribbon yarn
Embellishments: hearts, flowers, gems, sparkles
Pens

Preparation

While parent cuts the child can apply the purple and pink stamp to all edges of front and back cover.

Cut 2 pieces of BatiKit 5 1/2″ x 11 1/2″

Cut a piece of white cardstock 3 1/2″ x 9 1/2″

Instructions

Use pens, paints, crayons or what ever your child wants to draw a picture on the inside of the card for their teacher. TIP: My daughter and I realized, after making the card, that this step should have been done first, so that the outside embellishments don’t get messed up while you’re decorating the inside.
Let your child peel and stick the BatiKit, one piece to the front and one to the back.
Let your child write Happy Birthday on the white cardstock and embellish it.
Glue the white cardstock to the BatiKit on the cover
Tie a ribbon around the spine to finish off.

Quilt Market: I Never Looked Up

November 12th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Gailen Runge

I spent three full days on the floor at Quilt Market, meeting with people, trolling the aisles, studying booths, running from one end of the convention hall to the other. It wasn’t until tear down that I looked up. There was the largest flag I think I’ve ever seen.

How did I miss this flag?!

I don’t know how it could have slipped my notice until then.

Perhaps there was too much beautiful, exciting, fabulous new stuff at eye level for me to really take in my surroundings.

I made Lynn Koolish (editor, author, and fellow-tear-downer) stand directly under the flag for perspective. Wow. That’s one big (and beautiful) flag!

Waiting for Addison

November 11th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Casey Dukes

For the past few days, those in Production and Editorial have been popping their heads in Tim’s cube to see if he’s still there. Every time his phone rings, we hold our breaths. Could it be time yet!?

You may remember that a few weeks ago, we held a baby shower for Mr. Awesome Production Coordinator, Tim Manibusan and his wifey Jen. Well, today is baby Addison’s due date, and we’re all very excited (though not nearly as much as Tim, who’s been at the edge of his seat all day long).

We’re very exuberant here at C&T and we love babies, so no doubt there will be hooting and hollering when news comes that Addison is here!

(Photo from an upcoming baby-themed book.)

Fun Creating Cards and a Cardkeeper

November 11th, 2008 in Free Projects, Papercrafts
By Amy Marson, Publisher

I have a confession to make. I am a serial crafter.

Show me something new with great colors and textures, and I have to make it. Now. Today. I am a sewer, quilter, knitter, scrapbooker, and papercrafter. I love creating handmade gifts, and I rarely keep what I make.

The other night my sister Antoinette and I spent the whole evening crafting. This time we were papercrafting. In 3 hours, we made about 20 cards each.

The cards we made were inspired by a gift from Sue Astroth, one of our authors. They are super simple to make.

Materials:

C&T’s Card Keeper

K&Co’s 12˝ x 12˝double-sided Scrap Pad To Go

Some 4″ x 6” cardstock

Assorted yummy ribbons

Color Box Cat’s Eye ink (for that finishing touch!)

Instructions:

Be sure to start with double-sided 12″ sheets of paper.

Take a 12″ x 12″ sheet and cut (2) 5″ x 12″ strips. Take the remaining piece and cut it into (2) 1″ x 12″ strips.

Fold the 5″ x 12″ strip lengthwise so that you have a card that is 5″ wide and 7″ tall. Take the reversible 1″ strip and wrap it around the card like a belly-band. Tie or glue a piece of ribbon or yarn around the band.

Take a matching 4″ x 6″ piece of cardstock and to create additional texture and depth ink around the edges.

Slide the cardstock into the 5″ x 7″ card and voilà! You have an adorable slide-out card. Make 10 of these, put them inside a box you’ve decorated, and you have a wonderful gift to give.

Happy crafting!

Inside a DVD Shoot: Mary Stori Teaches You Beading on Fabric

November 10th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Blog Team

Ever wonder about the glamorous goings-on at a film shoot? Check out these photos from the filming of the DVD Mary Stori Teaches You Beading on Fabric: At Home with the Experts #4.

Not a good sign when the talent starts pulling her hair out.

Setting up the Beading on Fabric DVD shoot

Our star is ready.

The expert sharing her expertise.

The perfect angle.

C&T Takes home the Silver for Gift Box Studio® Lively

November 10th, 2008 in News & Events
By Megan Scott

It always feels great to be recognized for your hard work. We are celebrating our win in the 2008 Gold Ink Awards. Gift Box Studio® Lively, a book of ready-to-use, pop-out paper gift boxes, envelopes, tags, and embellishments, won a Silver award in the Softcover Books category of the 2008 Gold Ink Awards print production competition, hosted by North American Publishing Company.

A panel of distinguished judges rated entries on their production quality, including difficulty of production, paper choices, binding and finishing techniques, and quality of manufacturing.

Snacks Are the Glue That Holds This Office Together

November 7th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Sue Astroth

From pretzels to the always-favorite chocolate, from Brach’s to See’s (a California favorite); from hot cider in the winter to ice cream bars in the summer, this office is fueled by goodies, snacks, and treats of all shapes and sizes.

Chocolate in various forms and intensities is available in our office at all times. Between the holiday specialties and the ever-popular snacksize, ready-to-eat candy bars, rarely does someone want for a sweet diversion. A Production Coordinator, in order to expose us to more adventurous chocolate treats… brought us a chocolate bar—get ready for it—with BACON in it! We all enjoyed the opportunity to taste test… but most decided they’d stick with the less unique varieties.

We are equal-opportunity snack consumers. Our fondness for snacks is not limited to chocolate. We are fortunate in that we have a couple weekend bakers on our staff. Every now and then some fresh cookies or zucchini bread straight from the oven make their way to the office—such a decadent treat.

On occasion, though I admit less frequently, we go for a healthy snack. If someone recently made a trip to a local Farmers Market, they might bring in a bunch of the fruits in season. Some of the group has a big backyard, or at least a green thumb, and they, too, share the bounty of their gardens throughout the year.

Cheating on an Interfacing?

November 7th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Gailen Runge

I love fast2fuse. Can I love Timtex, too?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with fast2fuse, it’s a stiff, double-sided fusible interfacing, perfect for use in any and all 3D crafts. Some quilters, including Laura Wasilowski, use fast2fuse instead of batting on their wallhanging quilts.

Timtex was fast2fuse’s forerunner. It’s a heavyweight interfacing, but without the fusible. When our fast, fun & easy Fabric Bowls book (by Linda Johanson) first came out, there was only Timtex. (And I bought a bolt!) So you had to use fusible on your fabric to fuse it to the Timtex on both sides before you could make your bowl. More time and more product to buy.

So we developed fast2fuse to cut out that adding-fusible step.

And I embraced it! I love to use it in Halloween costumes (check out Super Simple Creative Costumes by Sue Astroth to see the possibilities), bowls, boxes… anything. For awhile, Timtex was unavailable, and I didn’t give it a second thought.

But now Timtex is back, and I don’t always need to fuse in my fast2fuse applications (like in purse bottoms). So I’m being tempted away from fast2fuse. I feel guilty. Yes, I will readily admit that I’m the queen of anthropomorphizing! (Knowing in my rational mind that inanimate objects don’t have feelings doesn’t stop me from feeling bad for them…)

So here’s my questions: Is it possible to cheat on a substrate?

Les Femmes: Embellished Beauties on Canvas Book

November 6th, 2008 in Free Projects, Surface Design & Mixed Media
By Blog Team

This feminine and flirty fabric book celebrates beauty, glitz, and glamour. It provides a great opportunity to showcase all the lovely embellishments you already have on hand and is so much fun to create.

Materials:

C&T Publishing Ready-to-Go!® Blank Canvas Book 8.5″ x 11″
A selection of ribbons and trims of varying width, about 9″ in length
Beaded fringe, 9″ length
Vine trim, 24″ length
Ink Jet Printable Cotton (iron-on)
Vintage images of women
Acrylic paints in regular and iridescent colors (designer used both Jacquard Lumiere paint and Golden Artist Acrylics)
Silk flower petals (starburst shape, such as from a daisy or chrysanthemum)
Embellishments: flat-backed rhinestones and pearls, feathers, and exotic trims
Fabric glue

Step-by-step Instructions:

Lay your trims along the bottom edge of the Ready-to-Go!® Blank Canvas Book pages, starting with the last page (inside back cover). With a pencil and a ruler, mark where the trim edge stops on the page. Tuck the bottom edge of the previous page in and up, shortening it so that the trim you just positioned on the next page will be visible. Pin and stitch. Repeat this with the middle page and front cover.
Paint each page using iridescent acrylic paint. A bristle brush is good for scrubbing the paint into the canvas and providing even coverage.
Using a computer graphics program, size your vintage images to fit your pages. Print these images on to iron-on printable cotton. Also print the book title, the names of the women (your choice), and Au Revoir.
Cut out images and titles (options: decorative scissors, coloring with ink pad or misting sparkle spray). Following manufacturers instructions, iron all images and titles in place on the pages making sure to allow space for the trims.
Glue or sew (hand or machine) the trim to the bottom edge of each page. (Sew the heavier trims for stability and glue the lighter ones).
Cut two starburst flower petals in half. If you are using a silk flower on a stem, you’ll need to take the
flower apart first. You only need two rings of petals.
Color the semi-circles of flower petals if desired, then glue one half above each title and the other half below. Glue a rhinestone to the center edge of each semi-circle. Do this for the inside pages only.
Paint over the clothes of each vintage photograph. As long as you are adding more “fabric,” you can use your artistic license and modify the model’s original clothing however you like. Feathers can become fans, rhinestone strips can become long necklaces, and embroidered trims can become exotic shawls. Have fun with it!

C&T Publishing is a group of quilters and crafters dedicated to publishing products tailored to our audience. This blog is where we break away from book schedules and marketing campaigns to focus on what drives us to be creative and how this creativity manifests itself in our every day lives.