Making Valentines with Little Matchboxes

The idea to create and post activities for parents, teachers and librarians on ArtyPantz.com was a good one. But I've really only managed to put about five of them up since last year. I'm hoping to make that once a month from here on out. Check out this month's project. Matchbox Valentines!

I've made this really easy with printable directions and templates

Have fun!

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Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen Crochet Rug Making Workshop

My mother taught me how to sew in the third grade, and many thanks to her, I can really make just about anything that involves a sewing needle, sewing machine, etc. Most of my fiber art experiences have been extremely positive, including cloth dolls, toys, clothes, mobiles, costumes, puppets, curtains, flags, quilts, hats, upholstered furniture, and sew on and sew forth. I just finished making a big stuffed ball out of old sweaters for my grandson for his birthday today!


But in spite of my best efforts, all attempts have failed with crochet. Got a CD. Failed. Took a class. Failed. I’m so sick and tired of hearing people say how easy it is to crochet. I HAVE CROCHLEXIA, but am bound and determined to overcome this learning disability.

I’ve always wanted to make one of those crochet rag rugs, so was delighted to find out about the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen’s Crochet Rug Class coming up in February. It's in Narberth, a sweet town to spend an afternoon in. I signed right up for it.



Hoping for the best! It appears to be just one stitch and you just keep on doing it, creating a long rope which you sew together! Easy! We’ll see.

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Handmade Snowflakes

We had fun making big 3 dimensional paper snowflakes with our grandsons and grandnephews last week. They are so easy to make. All you need is paper, tape and staples.

I learned how to make these several years ago after stopping by an elementary school classroom to marvel at a flurry of them hanging from the ceiling. The kids had made them! The teacher graciously offered one of the students to show me how.

Snowflakes can be made with all kinds of paper. I've seen some beautiful ones created with junk mail,scrapbook paper and magazines. You can easily make the white ones with regular copy paper, but my favorite is 65 lb cover stock. It's stiffer and holds its shape really well, for a truly everlasting snowflake.

Here’s a tutorial! Go ahead and create a snowstorm.

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Love That Smeill

Ahh….My Christmas morning was spent curled up in a nice hot bathtub with a new book and a fresh bar of handmade goat’s milk soap, from the hearts and hands of 13th Moon Creations

I discovered them in their booth at the Phoenixville Firebird Festival this year, and was lucky enough to leave that evening with an assortment of six bars of heavenly soap.

 When I smell something good I just can’t get enough of it. My whole studio is infused with the combined scents of those soap bars! They are tucked into a basket right next to my sewing machine, intoxicating in the purest sense of the word.

I’m really sensitive to smells and when someone smells good I just have to get closer and inhale with my eyes closed. It’s such a simple pleasure! I kept thinking that certain people in my booth at the Firebird Festival smelled so good and kept commenting on it, until I realized it was my next door neighbors’ booth permeating the air with their heavenly scents.

So, I just had to pop over there and meet the sweetest couple behind 13th Moon Creations Luxury Handmade Artisan Soaps and other fragrant wares, including Purse Sprays, Air Freshener/Linen Sprays & Sachets, Whipped Body Butters, Propriety Blend Perfume Oils, Solid Sugar Scrubs and more.

13 Moon Creations, LLC is the collaboration between the husband and wife team, Selena and Dan. Fueled by their love of all things from the 1940’s & 1950’s, fantasy, and mythology, they decided to combine their skills to create something they could share with the public.

Selena makes the goods and Dan designs the colorful and inviting packaging, ALL HANDMADE IN PENNSYLVANIA! Luckily you can order right off their website, and there is a list of PA stores on their website that carry their products., and they have their own brick and mortar store now too.

Jim and Selena just opened a store in Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania called Venus & the Moon at 31 Race Street in Jim Thorpe PA 18229. In addition to their merchandise, they also feature the work of local artisans. They are open Monday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 267-884-5583. Email to VenusNtheMoon@gmail.com





You can find Venus and the Moon and 13th Moon Creations on FaceBook

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handmade Holiday Cards

Designing and making your own holiday cards goes hand in hand with being an artist. I’ve been making mine forever, in one form or another. I did a few silkscreen ones over the years, and some block prints. Among others, I’ve made some birds out of sheet music and salt dough mermaids. It’s nice to make your card serve double duty as an ornament, which can be easily achieved by simply tying a piece of ribbon on it, or inserting an ornament hook.


A memorable card one year was a painstakingly carved linoleum print cut with a picture of Santa and what was planned to be Ho! Ho! Ho! Uh Oh! The entire thing had to be carved all over again when the first print out of the gate shouted !oH !oH !oH. That was a hard way to learn to carve words in reverse. Ha! Ha! Ha!

 

Here is the beginning of my card for this year. Technology has made things a little easier. If I knew how to use Photoshop it would be real easy, but I don’t. Instead I drew this birdie with my own real hands and a pen, and colored with Prisma markers and used a rubber stamp to make the words. The words were stamped on a piece of paper, then cut out and glued into place. The bird was scanned into my computer, and copied and pasted to put three on a page. Then printed!



All those pencil and eraser lines don’t matter because each one will be cut out. I’ll be punching a hole in the tail and tying on a piece of ribbon or raffia. These will be going into the envelopes along with my annual winter brouchure mailing next week. Anybody out there making cards this year?

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Birds for The Firebird Festival!

Gearing up for the Artisans Bazaar at the Phoenixville Firebird Festival. This final week beforehand, I'm in the process of cranking out bird wands!

If you would like to march in the parade with the flock of birds that we made at the workshop, and you don't have one, you can stop by my booth and get one! Then go join the flock across the street from The Children's Plaza by 7:25 on Saturday Dec. 10th. The birds will be ceremoniously welcomed into the parade as it passes by on the way to the bird site.

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Hand Turkey

Here is an except from my Creative Blast column on Handmade in PA today.

 While drawing this hand turkey for today’s blog post, I just had to laugh. At the age of 16 I picked up a pen one day, started to draw, and knew how.  At the time it was generally assumed by all that I would grow up and become a writer one day, which come to think about it does seem to have come true after all. But drawing kind of took over there for awhile, and then onto painting, and fiber art and on and on.
Anyway, I illustrated many of my teenage poems and stories with simple line drawings. A family artist friend, the now famous Pennsylvania born and bred Kitty Wallis (known for her beautiful pastels and pastel paper she invented) commented that there were no hands on any of the people. Look Ma! No hands!

Click HERE to read the rest of the article.


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Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Have been busy getting ready for some markets this season, mostly making one of a kind wearable art scoodies, which consists of a hood with an attached scarf ....and matching arm warmers.

Here is a sample! This set is gone,but I have about seven new ones that will be at the market....They range in price from 85. to 125. for the scoodies, and 30. to 40. for the arm warmers.

 This scoodie set, is made with assorted cotton sweaters, and lined with cotton made from recycled T Shirts.......There is a ceramic bird button on the scarf.

Here's a close up of the arm warmers...........

This Saturday I'll have a booth at the Phoenixville Farmers Market. Hope to see you there.

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Families Making Wands for the Firebird Festival

We had a nice steady flow of people coming to make bird wands yesterday for the eighth annual Phoenixville Firebird Festival. There is just nothing that makes me happier than a group of people getting together and being creative. We had some amazing birds, so colorful. And many smiling faces. It will be such fun to see them all at the Festival Parade.

Many thanks to Reverend Linda Gruber and St. John's United Church of Christ for letting us use Gruber Hall for the event this year. It was a nice big space and we were very happy and comfortable there.

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