Make It

Warning: Disaster zone

My craft table - I don't have a craft room- is a disaster zone.

I really need like 2 more tables, one for printing, one for paper cutting and one for packaging. Right now I do it all from my trusty Ikea Norden table (just looked on the website to find the link and it looks like they don't make this anymore). This was one of my proudest Craigslist finds- $50. It's now got ink on it and we drilled holes in the side for my hinges to hold my screen. I don't think I'll ever give this table up. I should do a tour of all the items in my home I've gotten from Craigslist, it's about 80% of my apartment, including the apartment itself!

I mixed up some inks today to print my Jigsaw pattern (the original) in sky, butter and rose. A magazine contacted me late last year and I sent them samples of this paper. I had to fill out a bit of paper work for the mag but I won't know if I've made it in the issue until later this month (the March issue). So I want to get these items up in my store in case I do in fact make it in the magazine and someone wants to purchase. Fingers crossed. Is it totally bad form to spill the name of the publication before it comes out...? I really want to tell you guys because I'm SO excited they contacted me.  When do March issues start hitting the news stands?

Drool

Check out this amazing studio space, belonging to Moop, the current Etsy featured seller. The interview is here. While you're over there, take a look at this really good interview with Ashley G as well.

Lovely Studio

I love this tour on Apartment Therapy: SF of the Lovely Design studio in Vancouver. Talk about an inspiring workplace!

Inspiration: Lotta's Studio

I adore Lotta so this peek into her Brooklyn studio is a treat. More pics at the Adorn blog.

All about sewing machines

Lots of good stuff over at the CRAFT blog. And actually very timely for me, I've been having issues with my sewing machine as of late. I've been trying to do patchworks with tshirts and it seems to be jamming the machine. Does this have something to do with the tension? The tshirt fabric is soft and slightly stretchy. Any expert sewers out there who can assist? I've rethreaded the bobbin and the needle several times but continue to have the same problem.

This is why it's quite a coincidence that when checking out CRAFT today I saw several days worth of posts devoted to sewing machines. Including a peek at the sewing machines of some of our favorite craft bloggers and also recommendations on how to purchase sewing machines for different skill levels, which could be very helpful to me if I simply get too frustrated with the machine I'm using now. Nice work Natalie Zee, you've read my mind!

One other note about CRAFT: They are accepting submissions for issue #3. The theme is Japanese crafts so go ahead and pitch them articles and tutorials on this theme. Good luck!

I Never Get Tired of Craft Studios

Here are some pictures from blogger Anh Minh's trip to the Heath Ceramics studio in California. It's on a slightly larger scale than what most of us are used to, but hey, we can dream right?

Karin Eriksson's Studio

Check out this photo tour of ceramicist Karin Eriksson's workspace.

Reader Question: Is a blue tent ok?

A reader named Bob contacted me with a question regarding his recent purchase of an E-Z UP tent. I'm not sure of the answer so I'm putting this out there in the hopes that some of you may know.

I have just purchased a E-Z up tent with 4 walls all in blue. I would like your opinion if the color choice was a mistake. My main concern would be if white is a requirement of many shows.

Thank you,
Bob

My guess is that it would depend on the kind of show. I've been to several outdoor craft fairs that featured tents of varying colors, including some participants with no tents. I have never attended a fine arts show or an upscale crafts show though I imagine they may be stricter about their policies. Do any readers have first-hand experience with this?

P.S. You can always send your craft fair/packaging/copyright/etc. questions my way and I'll post them for discussion and comments.

This would have added a whole new element to that SATC episode

How cool are these massive post-it notes from Megasticky!

I see lots of potential for this in a craft studio setting. Jot down ideas and sketches in full-size and slap 'em right up on the wall. 80 sheets is $12, which seems pretty reasonable to me as you probably won't have all 80 post-its up on your wall at the same time...right?

via Apartment Therapy

(You guys know what Sex and the City episode I'm talking about, right? It's a classic!)

Using thrift store finds for storage

I love looking at the craft spaces of other people, see the craft spaces category at right for more examples. Unfortunately, I don't have enough room in my home to dedicate a space only to crafts. What I do have is a very nice large dining room table that allows me to spread out. It's not my own personal space though and so it's a constant battle to keep things neat and presentable for guests, keep the table usable for things other than my crafts, and have enough space to work on my projects. I dream of the day when I can have a room totally devoted to crafts, but for now I have little patches of storage all over the apartment. Here are a few pics of my totally random storage, including some of my latest thrift store finds that I'm putting to use.

I have a few shelves on our make-shift credenza to store jewelry supplies. The green metal box at right was a thrift store find. It says Xerox on top and looks like it is intended to store photographic slides. I have no such slides, but for now it's good storage for beads.

These are a couple of great ceramic pieces I'm using to store markers and pliers. I like storing items like those vertically as it allows me to see everything with one quick glance. I'm a big fan of using thrift store finds for storage. It's cheap as heck for one thing. And secondly, the things you find are totally random and unexpected, which is all part of the fun. Who knew I'd be using a Xerox slide holder to store my beads?!

Finally, since I'm in a sharing mood, here are pics of one of my weekend projects. I used batik techniques to make these, waxing directly onto the cards, then painting in the outline and scraping off the wax once everything dried.

This is my favorite card:

For more craft space ideas and inspiration:

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=180whipup

http://www.supernaturale.com/glitter/viewtopic.php?t=19278&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2006/06/making_progress.html

http://chrysti.wordpress.com/2006/06/22/pretty-organized-atc-giveaway/#comments