In Which Our Intrepid Blogger Goes on a Cruise

Featured below, you see all the reasons why I wanted to go on a Crafty Chica Cruise: Of course, there'd be crafting, a trip to Mexico, and a shot at sunshine in April, but the big draws? Getting to hang out with the Crafty Chica Herself - Kathy Cano-Murillo (right) and the ever-delightful Sister Diane (left). Add sun, surf, and stuffed iguanas, and I was totally in!


Now, it turns out that I'm not much of a cruiser. Seasick? Check. Mildly claustrophobic? Check. So overwhelmed by the possible shore excursions that I actually didn't spend any time in the surf? Check. A little freaked out by the floating Las Vegas casino atmosphere of a Carnival Cruise ship? Double-check.

But I still had a great time! Why? Well, Kathy Cano-Murillo is just as fun, generous, and crazy glitter sweet as her books, blog posts, and awesome craftiness would lead you to believe. Not everyone lives up to their on-line image but the Crafty Chica does it - plus some! (And man, did she score us some serious swag!!) Here she is modeling the amazing apron she decorated during the cruise!



I also had an incredible time being roomies with and generally geeking out with Sister Diane. She was there creating an epic podcast about the Crafty Chica Cruise - I haven't seen sign of it yet, but I'll let you know when I spot it! In the meantime, she chronicled our adventures at the Mexican fabric store and the Mexican paper store in nerd-a-rific technicolor detail! Here's a shot of us heading ashore - with no idea what wonders lay ahead!
But the thing is, vacations are generally made great by the things you don't expect. In my case, it was towel animals.


Yes, towel animals. Finally, I understand why hotel towels are always so darn stiff and scratchy - its because they have to be if you're going to fold them and roll them and twist them into loveable animals!


Apparently, towel folding or towel origami, is popular on cruise lines and tropical resorts. Having spent no time at either before, they were brand new to me!

If you're feeling inspired - and maybe in need of a vacation at an exclusive resort - try venturing into the land of towel-folding with Ian:




Of course, if towel-folding seems too mundane or you're looking to get really fancy, you may just need to hop over to Amazon and order this book:


And no, no-one did anything fancy to our toilet paper on the cruise. But if you want to go on your own crafty cruise, the Crafty Chica is already accepting reservations for an 8-day cruise next spring!

Love Letter to Social Media: A Tale of Crafty Inspiration

A while back, I posted a link on Twitter to this awesome tutorial for making little notepads from recycled cardboard from Sister Diane over at CraftyPod. A few weeks later, I ran into my Sweetie's mom and her friend at the bookstore. Sweetie's Mom's Friend (we'll just call her "Donna"*) was giddy with excitement.

Donna had seen the link, gotten inspired, and made a bunch of notebooks! She had one in her purse, and had a whole stack at home ready to give as gifts.

She showed me how she'd used lined paper - she's a writer - to make it easier to jot notes, lists, and ideas.


Donna even used an envelope to add a pocket inside the notebook to hold receipts or business cards or other odd paper bits.

Donna was excited, and I have to admit, I was excited, too! Sister Diane put the tutorial on her blog, and I saw it on my Google reader. I tweeted about it, and that tweet got forwarded to my Facebook. Donna's my friend on Facebook, and she saw the link to Sister Diane's tutorial, and the rest is crafty inspirational history.

And this is the reason I love social media. Because it inspires us and connects us to people and ideas, and ultimately, gets us making things. And I'm happy to be one of many crafty worker bees spreading the creative digital pollen.

*Donna is not her real name. Names have been changed to protect the craft addicted.

Art Squirrel Goes Back to School Shopping . . .

Something about the shift in the weather makes me want to shop. I tell myself it's because of lovely memories of back-to-school shopping as a wee one, but I suspect it's really because I'm part squirrel and am feeling the need to store things up for the winter . . . you know, Just In Case.

Of course, squirrels aren't generally tucking mustard yellow corduroy pants or really cute layering tees or beautiful collage papers next to the acorns in their hoards. Squirrels stick to the basics - food. Me? I tend to stockpile clothes. And art supplies. You know, Just In Case. I might get invited to a gala art opening or need to cast plaster at 2 a.m. You Never Know.

Thank heavens, Portland is an amazing place for out-of-the-big-box art and craft supplies. There's Collage, in both Southeast and Northeast Portland, the only art store in town that really gets mixed media artists and what they need. Of course, there's also Muse over on Hawthorne, which has been going all out to beef up their encaustic art supplies - amazing selection and prices as good as what you can get online! Art Media and Columbia Art Supply carry the basics, I've Been Framed covers the discounted bits and the odd ends. SCRAP is home to all kinds of discarded crafty goodness just looking to be creatively re-purposed.

Last, but not least, there is Knittn' Kitten. Portland has more cool indie yarn, bead and fabric stores than I can throw a walnut at (you notice I didn't even try to list them here), and random fabrics and yarns do find their way to the bins at SCRAP . . . but no place in Portland has the beautifully curated and cleaned selection of super-cheap second-hand craft supplies that the Kitten has. Imagine if someone hit every good yard sale and got all the really good crafty stuff and then cleaned it up and packaged it and put it all for sale in one place. Yup. WOW.


Witness my most recent haul. Bamboo crochet hooks (I really do want to learn how to crochet), beautiful yarn (ditto), polyester eyelet perfect for creating patterns in encaustic, cotton faux batik fabric, and doilies! I also picked up some gorgeous Czech glass seed beads . . . other past finds have included vintage buttons, dress patterns, zippers, and more . . . Treasure! Happy Art Squirrel!

Of course, like a lot of the local indie shops I mentioned, Knittn' Kitten has been struggling. So, some local crafters are getting together to show the love - and give away free crafty patterns in the process! Just in time for serious holiday gift making. Yes - I did say "free." My pattern won't come out until November - but - Big Hint - it involves doilies.

Heather of Croqzine and DollarStoreCrafts fame developed the first pattern for this awesome Anthropologie-inspired necklace! Learn more about it here.

How do you get the pattern? Just go to Knittn' Kitten and ask at the front desk! Be sure to share your version of the project, as well as any spoils from your own Knittn’ Kitten trip at the Knittn’ Kitten Flickr Group!

Stay tuned for more free projects, every Tuesday through November 10 from the following designers:

September 29 – Teresa Sullivan

October 6 – Diane Gilleland

October 13 – Joey Groendes

October 20 – Christine Blystone

October 27 – Susan Beal

November 3 – Lee Meredith

November 10 – Bridget Benton

Of Men and Crafting . . .

So today while I was working in the studio, testing out some fabric techniques for an upcoming DEMO, I was catching up on some podcasts. CraftyPod recently had a podcast on men who craft (and one of the guests was our own Michael5000, quilter and State of the Craft blogger) and it really got me to thinking.

Most of the people I teach in my classes, and most of the people I know in the mixed-media art and craft world, are women. But in my own childhood, both my parents were crafty, and so was my grandmother. My grandmother - my dad's mom - knit, crocheted, sewed, cooked, did needlepoint and painted china. My mom sewed and quilted and cooked. My dad cooked, did latch-hook rugs (I remember one he made featuring the "Love is" characters), worked with leather and wood, knit (he learned by watching his mother) and even made chainmail from split rings! Here I am, wearing a coif, or chain mail hood, that my dad made.



Thinking back on this, I'm so glad that I got to work with my Dad in his shop growing up. I got to be as comfortable with a scroll saw as I was with a sewing machine. And I'm glad that I got a chance to see my Dad working on a latch-hook rug while he watched John Wayne movies. Talk about challenging gender roles.

Let the Mad Making Begin!

The turkey soup is made, and now begins the official mad dash to make holiday gifts . . . the crafty among you know what I mean . . . the plans to make ornaments or handcrafted individual cards or fleece hats or whatever for each person on your list . . . the plans which frequently come to naught and mean ordering gifts like chocolates on-line for next-day delivery . . .

Add to that the fact that I signed up to sell at two local holiday craft bazaars - the main point of which, for me, is to promote my classes. But that also means I need to have a few things to sell. I have a tin full of jewelry samples - not a problem - but I wanted to have some other things as well: magnets, switch plate covers, pillows. Fun, gifty items. As a result, I have gone into production on both fronts.

Some of these are for gifts, some will be turned into magnets, and some will become "pin-up girl push-pin sets." Curious? To buy jewelry, magnets, switchplates, original art and more from me, check out the Secret Society Sale tomorrow - pillows and a few other non-jewelry items will also be ready for the Dinnergrrl's Holiday Bazaar at Cubespace on December 2nd.

And hey - if you think you might be on my Holiday Gift list - feel free to come by, check out the goods, and drop a very large hint . . .