The Crafty Princess Diaries

Tammy Powley’s Crafty Weblog

March 11, 2009
by Tammy
1 Comment

Crochet-A-Long Starting Up at Lion Brand

The Lion Brand Yarn Blog has another crochet-a-long (CAL) starting up, and after allowing the pattern decision to be selected by their blog readers via a poll, the selected pattern is this Moderne Jacket (pictured). The jacket pattern is free for members of the site (which is free…you just have to sign-up for it), but it will only be available as an on-line freebie until March 23rd. So even if you are undecided about joining in on the CAL, you may want to pop over there and download the pattern for that time in the future we all think we’ll have some day to make all the free patterns we download!

This pattern is an intermediate level, which I have to admit intimidates me a bit, but I don’t really have time now to participate so I have a perfect excuse. It’s not that I couldn’t make this jacket; it’s just that I don’t have the time 😉 Yeah, that’s it!

March 10, 2009
by Tammy
2 Comments

Writers’ Links for Book Proposals

This Saturday, 3/14/09, I’ll be in Fort Pierce, Florida at the Indian River State College Writer’s Weekend giving a presentation on “Creating Book Proposals.” Below are some links that attendees or really anyone who is interested in publishing non-fiction or fiction works might find helpful:


Web sources:
Nelson Literary Agency
Predators and Editors
Writer Beware
About.com Freelance Writing
The Fiction Editor, the Novel, and the Novelist
Writer’s Digest
How to Write a Query

Small Presses/Publishers:
American Short Fiction
The Journal
Glimmer Train
Pineapple Press

Books:
Your Novel Proposal: From Creation to Contract by Blythe Camenson & Marshall J. Cook
The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers by Betsy Lerner
Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent’s Eye by Katharine Sands


March 9, 2009
by Tammy
0 comments

Star-Studded Etsy Shop Time

I was so caught up on my grading this weekend that I managed to make some jewelry just for fun for a change. That is so unusual for me! Usually I’m making jewelry because I’m working on projects for a writing gig, so to just sit and play was a welcome change. I ended up make four pieces, two of which I’ve added to my Etsy shop.

This necklace was originally going to be much more involved with three stars and some crystals in between them, but after attaching the first star to the center of the chain, I thought it looked really cute just like this. The star is one of my fine silver charms that I made using metal clay and then lightly textured with a hammer. I also added a sterling hook to the end of the chain along with a jump ring to the other end, but you can adjust it by slipping the hook into one of the longer links in the chain.

The earrings each have another textured star dangling from the same type of chain, and then I just added sterling silver ear hooks. Again, this is super easy and simple, but I think they are pieces that have a lot of “wear” potential, and honestly, this is the type of jewelry I normally wear very often myself. The designs are comfortable and go with anything.

March 8, 2009
by Tammy
1 Comment

Bear It for Charity

I saw this charity listed on the Red Heart Yarn website and thought it was another good one to list here for those yarn-crafting animal lover out there:

Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation have made it their mission to rescue and rehabilitate bears used for medical research purposes. Rescued bears immediately undergo surgery to assess and treat any damage. Like humans, the bears lose heat through their extremities during surgery, and the organization has requested huge thumb-less mittens to help keep the animals warm during surgery and recovery.

This site links over to a web site called Twisted, which is a shop located in Portland, Oregon (and where the bear image also came from). The shop has knitting instructions for the bear mittens that you can download for free, and it also has information on where to send them when finished. For those who crochet, you could probably make something similar by making a very long tube of sorts. According to the web site, the “Finished mittens are about 7″ wide (14″ circumference) with a 12″ foot and 6″ cuff.”

It’s just heart-wrenching to think about these wonderful animals being tortured for and by humans. It’s hard to believe we live in the 21st century when you learn about idiotic stuff like this!

If anyone know of a crochet pattern that would work for this, please provide a link in the comments section.

March 7, 2009
by Tammy
0 comments

Craft Project Brainstorming for Teens

My sis is planning camp craft projects for a group of young women from her church, and she’s looking for ideas. So far, she’s got some jewelry projects planned as well as some simple crochet ideas, but she’s got 40 teenage girls for four days!

Some I ideas I suggested were to use scraps of paper like I did for the little book pictured to make their own little books. A similar ideas is to create altered books were you use old books and alter them into art journals. They can write and paste in visual images from their time at camp.

But, the more ideas the better, so I’m opening this up to the crafting blogosphere. If you have an idea, either post it here in the comments or post it on her blog where she is also soliciting for ideas. Think easy and cheap. Her funds for supplies is very limited, and very few of the girls have done much crafting, so this might even be a first time craft experience for many of them.

March 6, 2009
by Tammy
0 comments

Craft Bloggers Unite 03/06/09

My weekend starts today, TGIF, beginning with a trip to the local Greek Festival, Opa! and then home for crafting. On the craft menu this weekend is resin and yarn, not necessary mixed together, though who knows?!

The Impatient Crafter
Check out this video to kick off Craft Month at Crafty Nation. Madge shows you how to make a jaunty mixed media nautical pendant!

About Family Crafts
Discover how to make your own craft supplies.

Aileen’s Musings
Make it a banner day and enter Aileen’s blog challenge and giveaway!

Cathie Filian
Get poppy and modern with Cathie’s easy technique for making one-of-a-kind “Warholesque” art.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
There are a couple of fabulous tutorials on how to sew a cuffed hem and a paper bead, wild photos from my night with the stars at Robert Vetica’s Book launch party for Good To Great Hair, an interview with Garth Johnson author of the upcoming 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse and if you want to be a part of the book the deadline for submissions has been extended to March 13th!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Exercise your brain by crafting. That’s right. According to a recent study, you can make your brain smarter by crafting.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Connie has charted her favorite Irish Blessing for you to stitch and enjoy.

Layers Upon Layers
This is “Book Arts month” on Layers Upon Layers!

Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery
Cell phone car chargers get revamped with help from Jennifer Perkins’ New Book-Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girl’s Guide to Handmade Jewelry.

March 5, 2009
by Tammy
3 Comments

Jewelry Validation!

It has been many years since I worked the art show circuit selling my jewelry. Now, I concentrate more on writing about jewelry making, and though I have the sale here and there. Of course, I do have my Etsy shop, but originally I opened that with the idea of de-sashing. Recently, however, just to see what happens, I put a few finished jewelry pieces up. I did a little marketing by putting something on here about it, and posting in Twitter and Facebook, but that’s pretty much it. Then, to my amazement the other day, a pair of earrings I made sold!

I couldn’t help but think back to my art show days and the sales I made and people I met and the experience of having someone actually like something you made so much that he or she would buy it, and wear it! I guess that is why so many people sell their jewelry and crafts in general. Sales is one way to get some major validation!

March 4, 2009
by Tammy
1 Comment

Crafty Star Jewelry Component Video

Margot Potter is all over the net these days. Right now you can find her over at Crafty Nation with another of her crafting videos. She shows how to make a star pendant using a poker chip, wooden star, and lots of fun crafting products. The finished jewelry component would also work great as a pin. You just would need to glue a pin bar to the back.

(The above pic is a screen capture, so no biggie, but you’ll need to go the the Crafty Nation site to view the video.)

March 1, 2009
by Tammy
0 comments

Picturing Future Craft Writing Projects


I still see the occasional book review or mention of one of my last books show up via google alerts now and then, like the one published at Associated Content recently for Picture Yourself Creating Metal Clay Jewelry. When I do, I can’t help but think about the next book deal or writing project that might be in my future.

Since both the low-fire metal clay book and my book Jewelry & Beading Designs For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)) came out, I’ve had a few different craft writing projects pop up as possibilities, but nothing has been a good fit yet or it just fizzles before anything really develops. Very often, I seem to get requests to write for next to nothing (this has been on-going since Web 2.0 has been such a big Internet trend) or I get queried about a project that sounds like a crafting nightmare that I wouldn’t want to wish on my worst enemy (if I had a worst enemy, which I don’t) or it’s such a big and on-going commitment of time that I don’t have that I have to turn them down.

Other than writing for fun here, working on my About.com Jewelry Making site (a massive job as it is, though a great one), and my real job of teaching, I do have other writing related projects going on, just not really craft related or money-making gigs. For example, I’ve got a presentation on how to writing a book proposal that I’ll be giving at a local writer’s conference next month, and I also have a presentation on Emily Dickinson and her fascicles – which remind me so much of a type of book-art – also scheduled for next month.

I know, eventually, the stars will align correctly and my next project will flutter in, but it is hard to wait just the same.