The Crafty Princess Diaries

Tammy Powley’s Crafty Weblog

July 19, 2010
by Tammy
2 Comments

Jewelry Book Galley Pages aka The Fat Lady Still Hasn’t Sung

The galley pages of my book, The Complete Photo Guide to Jewelry Making, showed up late Friday afternoon. The galley copy (also called a laser copy) is a pile of pages unbound that has all the text and photos in it pretty much how it will be in the final book. Larger photos are not totally clear, but for the most part, you get an idea of what the final product will look like. I could have had this sent as an electronic file – these huge pages are a mess to deal with – but I read so much better on paper than I do on the screen that I opted for hardcopy.

I have a little less than a week to review and send them back to the publisher. This is the one chance I get to see it before it goes off to press. I can, at this point, make minor changes, like typos. I’m still going back and forth on a few things with the publisher, but we are now at the point that decisions have to be made, obviously! Hopefully, they will trust my judgment – err…yes…I’ve written a tad about jewelry before you know 😉 – and we’ll resolve some of the issue quickly, as in they’ll do what I am asking them to do!

I think that is one of the issues about books that a lot of people don’t know. The writer can often have limited control. Things like page count and layout can become so important that creativity and credibility go on the back burner.


That said, the book actually looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself. I forgot how much stuff is in this sucker, a lot!!

July 18, 2010
by Tammy
0 comments

Sunday Morning…err..Afternoon Craft Links

Ah, the day is starting to get away from me, and I have so much to do! Our Sunday mornings around here are normally pretty relaxed. We enjoyed some yumo Yorkshire Pudding this morning for breakfast. The recipe came from Jamie Oliver’s latest book, Jamie’s Food Revolution. As you can see, we (as in I) put a big dent in them already and it’s just shy of noon! Now it is time to get something accomplished today, and I’m starting with some great crafting links.

About Family Crafts
Sherri has fond memories of making and playing with paper dolls when she was young. Perhaps that is why she was so excited to create these printable paper dolls.

Aileen’s Musings
Aileen is offering a crafty blog giveaway. She offers 4 different ways you can enter to win her Tic-Tac-Toe 3 in a Row Blog Giveaway! Hurry over and enter today!

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi creates some glamorous shaker cards with her sewing supplies.

Cathie Filian
Surf’s up and Cathie has a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a beach towel roll up. It even has a secret pocket!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside announces the new Qbookshop.com along with a chance to win a copy of 1,000 Poses in Fashion; there is also a tutorial on how to make a rubber stamp out of a garden kneeling cushion and a couple of quilt border ideas.

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
Here are some more ideas from Eileen for decorating canvas tote bags.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi has a copy of The Fine Art of the Tin Can to give away! Pop on over and sign up to win!

Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery
See how I used the stitch doodle technique from The Big-Ass book of Home Decor to embellish a skirt with a jackalope.

The Crochet Dude
Drew unveils the July purse from his Purse Pattern of the Month club. And it looks like there is still room to sign up!!

July 16, 2010
by Tammy
0 comments

JoAnn’s Yarn Sale

Of course, just as I was complaining about finding some decent on-line yarn sources, JoAnn’s has yarn sale that I have to admit is pretty decent. It ends tomorrow, 7/17, so if you are interested, you’ll need to hop to it. I wasn’t too impressed with the Red Heart Super Saver prices, but the Bernat baby yarn and Vanna’s Choice yarns are well-priced. They also have free shipping if you purchase at least $25. I stocked up on baby yarn, and I plan to keep an eye out for the next sale.

July 14, 2010
by Tammy
4 Comments

Crochet Squares & Missing My Yarn Connection

After getting an email that Heartmade Blessings was in need of afghan squares, I pulled out my cherry red and soft navy yarn and got back to work. This is one of about a half dozen squares I whipped up over a week’s time. For me, a 6 squares in a week is fast since I mainly crochet in the evenings while watching TV, so that’s only a few hours a day.

As I started in on the project, I realized that my yarn stash was very low on the needed colors and type of yarn. They prefer acrylic, since it washable, and have certain colors from the Red Heart Super Saver brand designated for specific types of afghans. About 6 or so months ago, I could have just gone over to my then favorite yarn source, Crafts Etc., but no longer.

The old Crafts Etc. URL directs you to Hobby Lobby’s web site now, and they do not have the same yarn deals in any way shape or form. Back in the day, they had yarn sales anywhere from 25% to 30% off and free shipping on orders of $25 or more. Hobby Lobby never has anything near to this as far as sales and free shipping together, so I put a call out to my fellow yarn people via forums and emails. While I did find some interesting yarn sources, still none had the same deals.

This means the dreaded trip to Walmart, ugh! And I have to admit that the prices there were – not surprisingly – pretty awesome. I scored 7oz Super Saver skeins for $2.48 each and Bernat baby yarn for 3.28 (solid) and 3.97 (variegated). Of course, when I check out at Walmart, I always have to be careful that my yarn doesn’t get dirty. Once I was behind someone buying raw chicken, yikes! Usually the cashiers are pretty understanding when I tell them I’d rather not set my yarn down on their dirty counter and to please scan and set them directly in the bag, thank you.

I have no local yarn store at all, and though Michael’s is up the road, its sales are so-so at best when it comes to yarn. Since many of the items I make I give away, obviously it’s kind of important that I keep to a yarn budget as best I can, which is so hard so who doesn’t love lots and lots of yarn? I’m just going to have to get my nerve up every so many months and go to Walmart and buy a ton at each visit so I can keep my trips to a minimum.

July 10, 2010
by Tammy
0 comments

Celebrating and Crafting at Our House this Weekend

We have a lot to be thankful for at our house. I think it is important to stop every once in a while and say that out loud 🙂 We both have great jobs, fun side interests like jewelry making and other crafting, a furry family that we adore, and of course each other.

This weekend we are celebrating 5 years of dog freedom at hour house. It was five years ago that we adopted our “guys” and broke them out of the big house (aka the local Humane Society). This was just a few weeks after losing the last of three dogs who had been part of our family for many years. It was tough to think about bringing new babies into the house so soon, but we knew there were some other dogs out there who needed us. Admittedly, we needed them as well.

Our yearly tradition to celebrate Jasper and Rocky’s “rebirth” of sorts is to make them turkey dog snacks. Actually, I say “we,” but I mean my husband makes them. He also made some way too yummy lasagna today as well. The dog snacks are made with ground turkey, eggs, and a little breading and then baked. Of course, humans can eat them too. In fact, we joke about how we should bring them to a pot luck party sometime, stick toothpicks in them, and then after everyone has eaten them, tell them that they just ate dog snacks.

I hope your family has found something to celebrate as well this weekend. Okay, now for some crafty link fun.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Turn your ‘worst’ traits into positives; Madge shares how in this post about The Tao of Success.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi shares the results of her needle felting experiment.

Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery
Read a book recommendation (and not just because I am included!) Craft Corps by Vickie Howell.

The Artful Crafter
Yikes! Eileen learns she can’t doodle.

The Crochet Dude
Drew is giving away two copies of the new book Crochet Prayer Shawls that features ones of his designs! Just leave a comment on his blog to enter!

About Family Crafts
Have even more fun doing painting projects with kids by whipping up one or more batches of paint using free recipes.

Aileen’s Musings
Aileen is excited to announce 4 new videos uploaded. Stop by and check them out, and share them with your friends!

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi uses a stencil to silk screen this faux necklace t-shirt.

Cathie Filian
Cathie shares a template and design ideas for creating snapuit themed baby shower invitations.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Over at Craftside there are a bunch of hats from the new book 1,000 Fabulous Knit Hats with a tutorial on how to make recycled sweater giant curly pom poms, a tutorial on how to make a calligraphy award certificate, and a charming twig doll.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy has her fourth earrings kit and tutorial up, and it has a lovely vintage feel to it.

July 8, 2010
by Tammy
1 Comment

Win a Sterling Mermaid Charm!

Networking is one of the great things about the Internet. It is a way to get to know others who have similar interests as well as help each other out now and then. Andrew Thornton is helping me out today by hosting a give-a-way on his wonderful blog, The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton.

I have donated a gorgeous sterling silver mermaid charm that I cast myself, and Andrew is offering it up on his blog as sort of a drawing. Those who post a comment enter to win, and you can get extra entries by posting about it on various social networks too.

So head over there now, and enter to win it today! The deadline to enter is Monday 7/12 est midnight.

July 7, 2010
by Tammy
0 comments

Efreeme.com Got Me

Well, I told myself I wasn’t going to open another on-line store, no matter what, but I finally caved and listed a few of my pdf file tutorials over at Efreeme.com. It is free to list hand-crafted items, supplies, and vintage items, and while it is not as sleek as Etsy, hey, free is free. Now, it goes through PayPal, so there is that little fee to consider, but after listing my three items, I ended up selling one of the three shortly afterward.

Like I said, it is not as fancy as Etsy or Artfire. I found it a little kluggy even that I had to constantly stick in my email address and password while setting up a listing or making changes to my little shop, but it really only took me a few minutes to set things up over there. I think for anyone selling on-line that is worth checking into, and of course, buyers are welcome too!

July 5, 2010
by Tammy
4 Comments

Another Earring Kit Completed!

Finally! I have my fourth earring kit completed and listed on Etsy, which includes the complete earring kit (materials and pdf tutorial) or the supplies only version or the pdf tutorial only. By giving three options, I hope to have all my bases covered. I call this design “Vintage-Style Mother of Pearl and Crystal Earrings.”

For those who want the tutorial and supplies – aka the full enchilada version – they can buy the whole kit, but for those who are experienced enough to be able to make the earrings without the tutorial the supplies only version is a good way to save a little money but get everything necessary to make the earrings, and then finally, for those who may already have the same or similar supplies and just need the instructions, the tutorial is a good choice.

So far, I have sold a few tutorials and one whole kit, and considering I still have some major marketing to do for these, I am encouraged. This last kit is a special favorite of mine. The design morphed many time before I finally found what I want to use for the kit, and the result is a rich looking pair of earrings that have a vintage feel to them.

July 4, 2010
by Tammy
0 comments

Happy 4th & Crafting Links

Happy 4th of July! Here in the United States we are celebrating Independence Day. That usually means having an outside barbecue, enjoying time with family and friends, watching fire works, and thinking about how it is great to live in America. At our house, it has been raining for a few days, so the temperatures aren’t the usual 90s, but it is still kind of on the sticky side and soggy side.  Thus we are cooking indoors, and we are not having the traditional hot dogs and burgers either. Instead we are having broiled asparagus….

…baked fingerling potatoes….steamed broccoli (which is still in the frig right now)….

…and corn meal encrusted fried flounder. Yumo! Here is hoping you and your family and friends are having a fun 4th of July, no matter where you live. And here are some more things to enjoy, some crafting links:

About Family Crafts
Are you planning a trip that will keep the family confined to the car or airplane for a long amount of time? If so, these travel games and crafts might be just what you need!

Aileen’s Musings
Aileen shows you how to create a faux aged metal look on Anaglypta wallpaper.

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi coats some paper with resin to make these pretty wired pendants.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside’s got the cutest retro style fawn softie pattern and how-to, a free pop-up staircase template download, a bunch of beaded bling inspirations and throw in a bit of fashion with a redo spin all for your crafty pleasure.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge gets some much needed inspiration from the divine Cecil Beaton and Gigi.

Mixed Media Artist
Want to get your feet wet with altered books?

Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery
See 2 fun mixed-media altered book techniques I tried from the new book Collage Playground by Kimberly Santiago.

The Artful Crafter
Look how easy it is to personalize a canvas tote bag with Quick Fuse fabric sheets.

The Crochet Dude
Drew reviews the new book Crochet Prayer Shawls and reveals the design that he contributed to the project.