Today I browsed the new releases & best sellers books in Amazon’s Crafts & Hobbies section. I want to stay on top of what’s new and continue building my personal library.
For my next purchase, I’m considering Photojojo, 100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet, or Chain Style. What artsy/crafty books do you recommend? What new or old books are must-have’s for your bookshelf?
images from Amazon.com
I really enjoyed shopping at Oddmall this past Saturday. I went to support Devona & Jenn, plus to connect with other talented local artists/sellers. The event was really charged & had a fun, quirky vibe. It was well-attended. And I loved the variety & uniqueness of the handmade items…no grandma crafts and lots of adventurous art. I’ll definitely go to Oddmall next time around (sometime in May). Here are some of my fav’s:
Eve of Rats Live On No Evil Star made gorgeous velvet butterfly & flower pins which are hand-sewn & beaded. They’d be perfect on a sweater, coat, purse, or scarf.
Sarah of SpaceDog Studios sold hand-bound notebooks where each page is a different recycled paper (some coloring book pages, graph paper, maps, math equations, and various scrapbook papers). My husband bought one for his creative musings. He thinks blank pages are daunting and liked the idea of working around the uniqueness of each page.
The husband-wife team, Melissa & Lew, of Whimsical Wonders turned old kitchenware & utensils into wind chimes. Lew hammers the utensils flat, and Melissa drills & assembles the chimes…recycling, art, and gentle metallic sounds for the neighborhood! (Their website isn’t working today, but perhaps it’ll be up soon.)
Plus I really liked Devona’s wild yo-yo headbands, and Jenn’s crazy monster buttons, which were perfectly appropriate! Sorry, I didn’t get any photos to share…perhaps you’ll find these items in their Etsy stores soon though.
Here’s a street view of the Renegade Craft Fair. It took me about three hours or so to weave my way around both rows of tents. There were just so many fabulous things to look at! Plus it was pretty crowded.
I discovered my friend Mandi of Squeaky Queen had a tent at the fair. (Aren’t her hat & apron darling?) Mandi recently quit her day job to persue Squeaky Queen full time! Her soaps & perfumes are so well-rounded…they bring together visual, verbal, & tactile art & her love of quality ingredients & good perfumery.
I love these journals made from recycled books by Overdue Industries. The outside is the book cover, and there are blank pages and book pages throughout the journal.
Finally, for an honorable mention, I didn’t get pics but grabbed a business card for Catia Chien, Her fine art prints are deep, thoughtful, and somewhat other-worldly. I can’t help but wonder what’s going on in the characters’ lives.
The only problem for me at the craft fair was shopping. See, we left our car home and depended entirely on public transportation and walking. So everything I bought we needed to be able to carry on our long commute back to the Amtrak train station, along with our bags, Ian & his stroller. Needless to say, we didn’t buy much, and by the end of the trip we were even looking through our bags for things we could leave behind!
I’m so excited & thankful to go to Renegade Craft Fair this past weekend! There were over 300 artists, and the streets were jam-packed with shoppers. I found so many wonderful handmade items to share, and here are a few favorites.
Vintage-inspired pottery by Pink Kiss Pottery. I enjoy the combination of colors, story-book feel, and practicality of the pieces.
Typewriter Key Jewelry by The Weekend Store. Here, the stylish jewelry displays caught my eyes.
Contemporary Art with a Southern Accent by Dolan Geiman. The guitar here is a wood cutout! I love the colors, collage designs of all the elements, and how each piece is perfectly interesting.
And finally, I found these greeting cards by Circle Street. I enjoy the combination of feathers, sewing, and type-written elements.
I’ll share more pics later…I need to snag them from my hubby’s camera.
The Swap was a blast! We had 12 adults plus many kids. Everyone was really friendly, and it was great meeting more local creative people. We had a fun time digging for useful items, and everyone was very generous with what they brought to the event. All the leftovers were donated to the library in Highland Square.
For the handmade gift exchange three people brought items. Devona received this purse from Martha. Martha received my bracelet. I received Devona’s apron.
We’ll have our next swap in February. So plan ahead for items to swap and an item for the handmade gift exchange as well. Looking forward to doing this again!
About two years ago Anna Maria Horner was on Martha Stewart teaching how to make a fabric silhouette painting (the “crafting with fabric” segment) and I’ve wanted to do it ever since. In fact I bought the canvases about a year ago and have been putting it off since. I knew that I wanted to put the artwork in our newly remodeled bathroom, but I didn’t know what I wanted to silhouette.
Then I watched the fabric painting project on Reconstruct, and I got the itch again to make this art. I didn’t have enough fabric to use Anna Maria’s method so I sort of blended the two projects into one.
I cut out the silhouettes from the fabric and pasted them to the painted canvas with Mod Podge. Then to give it a little bit of detail and contrast I went over the fabric with acrylic paint in a sort of drop-shadow fashion. I like the look over all, especially since I’m not really a graphic artist and usually work in 3-D. I do sort of wish I had done the canvases in the red and the drop-shadow in the green. I may end up changing it since they are on my blue walls and blend in a little too well.
It was pretty quick to work on. I made it over the course of a few days to allow for paint drying time. I will most likely make this again, probably smaller and for gift-giving purposes.
I’ve sorted through my craft supplies & chose items for the Creative Supplies Swap on Friday. There’s paper, silk flowers, ribbon, candy molds, stamps, stickers & rub-ons, book binding wire, some beads, carpet samples books, and other misc. Plus, I’ll have more items to add because all my garage sale items are still in Devona’s garage, and I know there’s some crafty stuff in there.
Clever Nesting is hosting a swap! Bring art & craft supplies, books/magazines, plus anything else that may be repurposed or reused creatively. This is an opportunity to clear out unused supplies & get some new ones, plus network with other creatives over great coffee. Extra supplies will be donated to local nonprofits.
Immediately following the swap, you’re welcome to participate in a handmade gift exchange. You’ll share your creative work & take home a gift as well. All you need to do is bring an original handmade item with your name, contact info, or business info included.
When: Friday, August 7, 1-2pm
Where: Nervous Dog Coffee Bar, 1530 W Market St Akron, OH
When I worked at the craft store I encouraged kids to make everything the adults did. They often needed extra help or a variation, but they did it. I don’t like when people think “kids crafts are only what you find in the kids isle” or “kids can only make ugly crafts that you have to display but don’t really want to.”
At this place called Moomah in NY, parents & kids work together to create art they’ll actually want to display. The interior atmosphere is sophisticated, the projects are interesting & challenging, and you can buy healthy food at their cafe. They have classes, DIY projects, an artist-in-residence program, and a store that sells local & handmade items. I’d love the see this place in person!
At Feed Your Soul you can download & print artwork for free. Here’s how it works: artists have submitted prints for free download, and in return their art gets exposure and you get some great wall decor. Two new prints are available each week. I think these would be great greeting cards as well!
