The Crafty Princess Diaries

Tammy Powley’s Crafty Weblog

April 13, 2014
by Tammy
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Beading and Crafting Around the Web

A Bead A Day
Spring has finally arrived which means time for new jewelry! Lisa shares her beach inspired necklace. What are YOU making?

Resin Crafts Blog
It is wonderful to know that you can embellish any blank surface with some Jewelry Clay. This shawl pin needed a little bit of bling.

Carmi’s Art/Life World
I am very excited to share my recently published necklace project in Perles et Cetera magazine!

Art Bead Scene
Take a peek at Mary’s etsy picks, inspired by this month’s challenge piece from Degas.

Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!
Jean reviews PATINA by the wonderful author Matthew Runfola! What a book!

Spring and Easter Craft Projects for You Crafty Peeps
Find directions for everything from unique Easter eggs to holiday table décor and jewelry at The Artful Crafter.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi puts the finishing touches, including beads, on a small slashed and woven quilt.

Beading Arts
Cyndi shares a tutorial for a pair of chain and pearl earrings that have now become her favorites!

Blue Glass Sculpture With Glass Beads
Cherie makes a glass sculpture with dollar store beads, bud vases, and blue charger plates.

April 12, 2014
by Tammy
2 Comments

Cute Crochet World Book Review

Cute Crochet World: A Little Dictionary of Crochet Critters, Folks, Food & More by Suzann Thompson is published Lark and has a copyright date of May 2014. It retails for $17.95 (though, of course, you can get a discounted copy from Amazon.com). The book concentrates on making motifs and embellishment items, so the majority of the projects are two dimensional. They are made with the idea that you can then take them and add them to items like clothing and blankets or you can turn them into ornaments or jewelry items. There is a section in the book where the author gives lots of ideas for using the finished projects.

While I tend to prefer three dimensional projects, I have to say that I was impressed with the large number of projects in this book, over 50, as well as the variety. I’ve seen books like this before that are filled with one or two types of projects, like leaves and flowers, and that’s it. However, she has everything from cupcakes to mushrooms to televisions in here.

Most of the projects are small and not overly complicated, which means they are good short-term projects to attempt. Plus, another huge “pro” for these types of projects is the amount of yarn needed is minimal. In fact, if you are looking to bust out some stash or want to use up all those scraps you’ve been keeping because they were just too large to throw away, this is a good place to look for project ideas. For example, you could make some cute cupcakes using lots of different yarn colors and sew them (which is explained in the book) onto a pre-made baby blanket, and voila! You have a very fast baby shower gift that has a little hand-made quality to it.

i would feel comfortable recommending this book to anyone who already enjoys making embellishments, and I would even go so far to suggest beginners will enjoy this as well since none of the projects require a huge commitment as far as time.

April 10, 2014
by Tammy
3 Comments

Never Been Stitched Book Review



Never Been Stitched: 45 No-Sew & Low-Sew Projects by Amanda Carestio is published by Lark and came out in February of 2014. Its publisher’s retail price if $17.95, and it is a 128 page paperback book that includes full-color photographs of the finished projects, some drawn illustrations to assist the how-to text, and templates in the back section of the book.

The subtitle says it has no-sew as well as low-sew projects, so this suggests very little sewing skill is needed to complete the projects in the book. Generally, I think that is true for most of the projects. If they do require sewing, you will be doing a lot of straight seeming. One project that I just can’t see as being “low sew” with the idea that the sewer would not have a very high skill level is the Teddy Bear Backpack. It’s adorable, but it requires a zipper to be sewn in, something a novice (I think) would find challenging. Otherwise, most of of the projects are very simple.

The projects are divided up into Wear, Decorate, Play, Carry, and Give. I would have to say the wearable projects were not to my personal taste, but if you are into refurbishing and pushing fashion boundaries, they may appeal to you. I think the Play and Carry projects have more going on to my liking. Though, in the Decorate section there is a cute project where you cover cardboard boxes with fabric, great idea! In fact, probably a lot of these project will get you thinking of other possibilities.

The list price is a lot more than the price available at Amazon, which at this point is running around $10 and even less for used copies. With that in mind, I would recommend this to anyone who likes working with fabric but whose sewing skills may not be that high and also to anyone who likes crafting with children. There are plenty of project in here they you could do together with a child around eight years of age and up.

April 7, 2014
by Tammy
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Finished a Flamingo!



I posted a teaser recently, and here he is, Gordon, the Pink Flamingo. This is another pattern from Freshstitches.com. I’m not 100% happy with how my legs turned out, but I’m happy enough with it that I plan to make this at least once more. He is adorable!

April 6, 2014
by Tammy
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Colorful Crafts!

Resin Crafts Blog
This week I have two special posts showing you how to make truly one of a kind candle holders with EasyCast.

Carrmi’s Art/Life World
I have a new kumihimo experiment – a rat tail plus sari yarn braid.

Take A Trip to Northern Ireland
Andrew shares the latest creations made for the March selection of the Inspired by Reading Book Club, “An Irish Country Doctor” by Patrick Taylor.

Spring and Easter Craft Projects for You Crafty Peeps
Looking for Easter and Spring crafts? Find directions for everything from unique Easter eggs to holiday table décor and jewelry at The Artful Crafter.

Art Bead Scene
Check out March’s Challenge Monthly Recap – lots of beautiful jewellery made by some of our lovely readers!

Beading Arts
Using a mixture of bead stitching techniques, Cyndi finished a whopping big turquoise necklace that still needs a name!

Mixed Media Artist
Do you love flowers, birds, and happy animals? Check out “My Enchanted Garden” for an eyeful!

April 5, 2014
by Tammy
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Simple Soldered Jewelry & Accessories, Book Review


Simple Soldered Jewelry & Accessories: A Crafter’s Guide to Fashioning Necklaces, Earrings, Bracelets & More is published by Lark Crafts and written by Lisa Bluhm. It retails for $17.95 in the US and includes 40 projects that use a soldering technique similar to that used in stained glass. According to the data sheet that came with my review copy, this is a paperback edition of a previously published book that has been republished in this new form to accommodate a lower price point.

Often people new to soldering are afraid of using a soldering torch because they don’t want to deal with an open flame. With the technique used in this book, you use a soldering iron instead of a torch. While it is still very hot, you do not have to deal with a flame, so it might be a good alternative for those who want to work with metal but do not want to use a traditional torch. One big difference between the solder used in this technique versus that used in most glass work like stained glass windows is that the solder it lead free. In fact, it has to be since some of the projects are wearable pieces. This is explained in the beginning section of the book that covers the tools and supplies needed.

After a discussion of the tools required, many of which are not overly costly, the technique section covers the basics needed for making the projects in the book. This includes cutting the glass and working with the metal foils. Full color photographs are included here along with step by step instructions. Then there are a few pages of instructions and illustrations that cover the wire work you will need to be able to master like making loops and wire curls. These are used to connect many of the jewelry pieces.

Most of the projects are jewelry, everything from earrings to bracelets, though mainly pendants. However, there is a chapter called “Beyond Jewelry” that includes other types of crafts to make like bookmarks, frames, and candle holders.

While I think most of us are familiar with the idea of taking two glass slides, putting something in between them like decorative paper, and then soldering them on the sides to form a pendant, and you will find this common technique in here, there are a lot of other ideas for creating jewelry and other items using this soldering iron technique. I have played around with doing this myself, and I like the fact that you did not have to invest a ton of money into equipment. The biggest challenge I found was not to have the solder getting gloppy on me and end up with messy looking pieces. Like any new-to-you technique, this will take some practice, but Simple Soldered Jewelry & Accessories: A Crafter’s Guide to Fashioning Necklaces, Earrings, Bracelets & More is a good place to start.

March 30, 2014
by Tammy
6 Comments

Ceramic and Crystal Owl Necklace



I have been plotting this necklace design for some time and finally managed to get a little time to play with my beads and “get er done!” Yeah, now I can wear and enjoy it.

The ceramic owl pendant is from Blu Mudd, and I already had the other supplies in my stash: rondelle shaped topaz colored crystals; green glass Japanese seed beads; and copper spacer beads. I strung this on .014 beading wire and finished it off with copper crimp beads. I added a few inches of chain on the end so that I can change length from 16 to 18 or so inches. If you are ever not sure how long you want your finished necklace to be, the addition of a few inches of chain to one end is a good option so that you can change the length depending on the top you are wearing. Plus, of course, I made some simple earrings to create a set.

March 30, 2014
by Tammy
2 Comments

Weaving, Earrings, & Giveaways

A Bead A Day
Wishing for spring brings on a little bit of inspiration involving spring flowers!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
There’s a NEW metal clay in town! White CopprClay! Andrew shares his experiences working with the latest innovation in this versatile medium.

Resin Crafts Blog
This is part one of a three part post which focuses on containing resin in a flat wire wall.

Carmi’s Art/Life World
I wanted to share this special blog hop I coordinated with 12 different designers. All their projects are so unique and different! They received Neo Chain from Dazzle-it come to play with.

Eggs in Nest Beaded Charm Bracelet
Three blue-speckled eggs nestled in a wire-wrapped charm make a great focal charm. This bracelet features three nests. Click for directions. There are matching earrings as well.

Snap out of it, Jean! There’s beading to be done!
Review by jean and GIVEAWAY as well of the stunning book, 1000 BEADS, Kristina Logan, Juror ! see Jean’s blog!

Mixed Media Artist
The weaving technique that Cyndi used in an art quilt was successful enough for her to try it again…and see if she can get it right this time!

Beading Arts
Cyndi hasn’t played much with chain maille, but after making this easy pair of earrings, she might have to change her ways! Here’s the tutorial 🙂