The Crafty Princess Diaries

Tammy Powley’s Crafty Weblog

March 14, 2011
by Tammy
2 Comments

Michael’s Clearnace Yarn

I went to Michael’s recently in hopes of using my 40% off coupon on some Sock-Ease yarn, which normally coast about $10 for a 100g skein, ouch! I downloaded a very cool looking fingerless glove pattern from Lion Brand’s web site, and it requires Sock-Ease. I don’t have anything similar since it’s a wool and nylon mix, and I mainly use acrylic or cotton yarns.

Of course, I struck out on the Sock-Ease, but I discovered a number of yarns on clearance, not just on sale, but marked way, way down. Sold colors of Bernat Baby Softee, tangerine and aqua, were $1.99. Baby Jacquard in berries and cream was also $1.99. Normally, these yarns range from 4.50 on up to 5.50, so these are awesome prices!

I also got a few skeins of Red Heart’s Heart and Sole yarn, which has the wool and nylon mix I need, for $2.99 a skein.

There were lots of other brands and types of yarn marked way down, but they are all mixed in with regular and sale priced yarns. If you go, keep an eye out for the yellow tags on the shelves. I’ve heard that different Michael’s have different types of yarns marked down too, so this clearance may be on-going for awhile (finger crossed).

March 13, 2011
by Tammy
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Craft Link Time

About Family Crafts
Looking for some St. Patrick’s Day printables? Sherri has some coloring pages, games, cards, and more!

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi makes a gatefold card…with a gate embellishment.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there are videos on how to use henna stencils in your art journals and the 365 skull a day project and tutorials on how to make a recycled sweater clover for St. Patrick’s Day and a stitched 2 fold postcard book.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Black Dog is offering 50% off on two books that paper-artists will enjoy.

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
Eileen shares some of the pleasures … and perils of working from home.

Mixed Media Artist
Bicycles as art! See what happens when an avid cyclist gets snap-happy with his cell phone camera!

Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery
See how to lengthen the straps of a tank top with a recycled t-shirt and little help from a Simplicity Power Rotary Cutter.

March 12, 2011
by Tammy
0 comments

Some Free Pattern Sites for Yarn Folks

Who doesn’t love free patterns? Of course, sometimes you get what you pay for, but very often I’ve had pretty good luck with many free patterns I have found on-line. There are a number of sites that work as databases where you can search for free patterns, and some are not all that user-friendly, but I found two that seem to be a little better organized than others I’ve used before:

All Free Crochet

All Free Knitting

March 9, 2011
by Tammy
0 comments

Fiber Art Free Trial Issue

It seems like lately every craft magazine that exists is offer free trial issues. The latest one I’ve seen if for fiber folks. Fiber Art magazine is currently offering a free issue:

For more than thirty years, Fiberarts has been the world’s leading textile-art magazine. Edited by Marci Rae McDade, an accomplished embroidery artist and independent curator, each issue covers the best and most interesting work in wearable art, fiber sculpture, surface design, and more! You’ll get profiles of recognized and emerging artists, reviews of key events, and the latest art news from around the world. Indulge your passion for fiber and order today!

The cost of a year subscription is $26 for 5 issues, so it must come out quarterly, and they are throwing in an extra issue with this offer. After my last few issues with magazine invoices coming in and me losing them before the actual magazine made it to my mail box, I’m going to hold off on this, but I plan to keep an eye out for it on news stands. It sounds very similar to Piecework.

March 7, 2011
by Tammy
3 Comments

Discounted Paper Crafting Book Offer

Black Dog is offering a 50% discount on some of its popular art and design books: Paper: Tear, Fold, Rip, Crease, Cut and Outside the Box: Cardboard Design Now. This offer is until the 31st March 2011!

To order, simply email jess@blackdogonline.com with your delivery address and the book(s) will be despatched with an invoice.

Here is some information from the publisher about each text:

Paper: Tear, Fold, Rip, Crease, Cut shines a light on the beautiful world of paper in art, fashion and design. From the traditional art of origami and paper cutting through to contemporary experiments in conceptual paper installations and modular folding, Paper celebrates one of the world’s oldest and most widely used materials in all its visual glory. ”This richly illustrated and beautifully designed book shines a light on the world of paper in art, fashion and design.” – Crafts Review.

Outside the Box: Cardboard Design Now is the first book dedicated to exploring contemporary cardboard design, surveying its many creative and practical facets as a medium. From minimalist packaging to children’s toys, decoration to furniture and small and large-scale interior architecture, cardboard is now being embraced by designers around the globe, and hailed as a sustainable and durable material with endless potential. “[The book] features a parade of funky chairs, punch-out animal models, milk cartons, birdhouses – and even a record sleeve that (with craftily concealed needle) can play its own contents.” – World of Interiors.

March 6, 2011
by Tammy
2 Comments

Craft Link Day

We enjoyed some Chinese Spaghetti and meatballs this weekend and have just been hang out, crafting, writing, and relaxing. Here are some craft links for you to also enjoy this weekend.

Aileen’s Musings
Aileen shows you how to make a colorful springtime tote.

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi gives herself a Graphics 45 paper challenge!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to make a yarn wrapped bead necklace, create a story and art about your favorite thing and sketch a sitting woman, a podcast about the book I “heart” design, and a font made from allen keys.

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
Writing and journaling – whether prose or poetry – can help you move forward as an artist. Here’s an example from Eileen that turned out to be quite prophetic.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi explores mixing traditional embroidery with her beadwork.

Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery
How to make a recycled t-shirt and wire hanger St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks.

March 4, 2011
by Tammy
1 Comment

Piecework Magazine?

I recently received one of the magazine offers in the mail from Piecework where you are offered a free trial issue. If you decide you don’t like it, you can simply write “cancel” on the invoice, but if you like it, of course you pay the invoice. Of course, as most magazine do for some weird reason, I was sent the invoice before I got the free trail issue, so now I have no idea where the heck that invoice is at. I so wish these magazines would either send the invoice with the issue or wait until after I received it. There is only so much paperwork I can keep track of, and magazine invoices for magazines I don’t even have yet are very low on my radar.

As I search around for the invoice and get another in the mail at some point telling me I’m late with it, I will hopefully figure out what I think about this magazine. Like most products published by Interweave, the layout is beautiful. I received the March/April 2011 issue, and content in it is organized by color: reds, purples, and blues. Most of the articles, as I suspected, are history-related. In fact, there is one article (which I will probably read first) about the embroidery of the Mexican Huipiles that has some fabulous photos of traditional costumes.

On the down side, there are three knitting patterns in this issue, and I don’t knit. Of course, there are also some embroidery patterns too, and I no longer do that either, so I’m on the fence. The subscription rate is $24 for six issues, so that’s $4 each, which is not that bad as far as cost. However, my reading time is so limited, and this is definitely a “reading” kind of craft magazine, not a browsing kind.

March 2, 2011
by Tammy
2 Comments

Berry and Cream Baby Aghan Finished!

The granny square baby afghan I started a while back using Bernat Baby Jacquards in berry and cream is done! I trimmed it with a single crochet edging using left over Vanna’s Baby yarn from a previous blanket I made. I ended up using two skeins for the berry and cream, and the finished afghan is about 30×30 inches.

I like how this turned out, and plan to make another only with some slight changes. I’m going to go up a size from an F hook to a G hook. And I am going to make it bigger, using three skeins and see how large the finished baby afghan is. 30 inches is about as small as I like to go unless you are talking about premie blankets, which are tiny.

March 1, 2011
by Tammy
0 comments

Granny Square Crochet Video

It is funny that the granny square is one of the first techniques I learned when I started to crochet. I can’t remember who taught me, probably my mother, but it is a staple of any crocheter’s repertoire. I looked at a number of videos on YouTube for this and was surprised that I do them a little differently. For example, I add three chain stitches in the corner, not two. Still, I guess they pretty much end up the same. Here is one good video I found that shows how to make one version of a granny square.

February 27, 2011
by Tammy
0 comments

Hot Soup and Hot Craft Links

We cleaned out the frig and pantry this weekend and made this yummy vegetable soup – kale, potatoes, carrots, and garlic cloves! Here’s some hot soup and some hot crafting links to go with.

About Family Crafts
Discover how you can create your own music crafts and then amaze your friends, your family, and yourself with all of the beautiful music you can make.

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi creates a circular collage as a memento of her trip to the big Paris cemetery.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there are directions on how to make a hammock, tips on matching paint colors, a cool story about a wind powered knitting machine and a unique calla lily fishbowl flower arrangement.

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
Time always seems to get away from us, doesn’t it? Eileen reminds you not to forget to scrap those special moments.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge finally reveals her project for the JoAnn Fabrics Spring Press Kit!

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi was introduced to a book artist’s video that will take your breath away!

Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery
See how to transform a Rubik’s cube with inspiration from the book Photojojo!