CRESCENDOh Day Three and I've Got That Fallish Feeling!

Verdigris Mixed Media Necklace by Margot Potter for Jewelry Television Jewel School

I'm still feeling fallish, imagine that! I found these yummy green striped agate beads at Jewelry Television and I've combined them with faceted freeform carnelian nuggets, copper Artistic Wire coils, a hand forged brown Artistic Wire hook and aged copper textured chain. The front portion of the necklace is strung on 20 gauge copper Artistic Wire instead of beading wire which provides a stiff and structured result. I quite like the whimsical elegance of this design and the earthy qualities of the color palette.

Perfect for that fallish feeling, don't you think?

What would you do with these striped agate beads? I want to know!

Don't forget to visit CRESCENDOh today to see my two extraordinary featured artists: Bernie Berlin of A Place to Bark and Drew Emborsky The Crochet Dude!

xoxo
Madge

Crochet it. Love It. Wear It. Book Review!

I must confess, when I think of crochet, I think of granny square quilts and open weave slouchy berets with boho floral accents. What I don't think of is Haute Couture. This is perhaps the 70s kitsch prejudice that all crochet enthusiasts battle. Crochet is often perceived as knitting's kooky cousin. Yet, Drew Emborsky has once again created a collection of crocheted designs that defy any misguided stereotypes about what you can actually do with a crochet hook in his gorgeous new book Crochet it, Wear it, Love it!

If you don't know The Crochet Dude yet, trust me, you will. Drew Emborsky is poised for crafty superstardom. His talent, passion, enthusiasm and pithy prose pulls you in from page one and even if you, like me, have beginner skills, Drew is the perfect teacher to guide you on your journey from novice to expert. This book is jam packed with fashion forward, runway friendly ideas that I'd sport in a hot second.

I want the saucy Hesperas corset dress in the worst way possible and I'm completely smitten with the outrageously impressive Budapest Nights faux fur trimmed full length coat. The Angel of Music jacket is so perfectly proportioned...heck even I might take a stab at making something bigger than a crocheted flower!

I'm a huge fan of Drew's and it's been such fun to watch his meteoric rise in the craft industry. He's one of the good guys and he's an immense talent. It's really nice to see nice people succeed.

To order the book, follow this link to Amazon. To read Drew's absurdly popular blog click here. Look for Drew's Crochet Dude product line to debut soon at a craft store near you!

The Crochet Dude Mystery Word Clue: Granny Square (yeah, it's two words, so?!)

Tawdry Tales and Pleasing Pics from CHA Winter 2010!

Brini and Madge for iLoveToCreate

 

I'm still decompressing. These shows are a huge amount of work. We have to be on like a 1000 watt light bulb from the time we wake up until the last call at the bar...okay well maybe we don't have to be at the last call at the hotel bar...but sometimes that's where we end up. There's no time for chatting and catching up with friends during the show, so after the show, the meetings, the dinners and the schmoozing...we get to cut loose a little.

Here's a plethora of pics from the show and I've got plenty more so I'll be posting them until I get through them all. I'm starting with the three big projects I did for the show floor. The jeans and sneakers were created for EK Success and they were delighted with the results, which is fabulous because I worked mighty hard on the designs. The rainbow is hand applied with a hot fix applicator tool and there are crystal transfers and sew on stones. The shoes use glue on flat backs and hot fix crystals. The canvas was a UTEE design challenge for Ranger. This is one of those projects that need deeper inspection to fully appreciate. I'm particularly excited about the way I made the UTEE look like water droplets on the smaller ticket. Also the layers of old and new magazines in wax that I reheated several times with my heat tool adding sprinkles of metallic Alcohol ink. I added layers of metallic UTEE to create the look of rusted metal and the dimensional elements are cast from vintage Spirograph elements and a vintage skeleton key with dry UTEE sprinkled in the molds to again give a rusted metal look. The image is from my private ephemera collection and I adore her, look for her in my project for the new book Steampunk Style I'll share next week. She was fused on the surface of the encaustic background, I hope to share these techniques in future classes...so stay tuned.  Finally there's the Carmen Miranda/Brazil themed design with the display I found to coordinate and the bracelet I made with wire coil accents.

Lots of pics of my crafty friends too...

...until next time...craft on with your bad selves.

xoxo,
Madge

CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE DETAILS!

Project for EK Success CHA Winter 2010

EK Success Project Detail

Ranger UTEE Designer Challenge CHA Winter 2010

Carmen Miranda Project for CHA Winter 2010

Madge and Brini for iLoveToCreate

Brini, The Crochet Dude and Madge

Brini and Madge for iLoveToCreate

 

Brini for Streuter Technologies

FG3: Rebecca Peck, Robin Beam and Madge

Pretty Ladies: Candie Cooper, Madge, Cathie Filian and Traci Bautista
Madge and Suze

Crafty Rock Stars Mark Montano and Crafty Chica

Book Reviews: CraftCycle by Heidi Boyd and The Crochet Dude Little Books Series

Book Review
CraftCycle
Heidi Boyd for North Light Books

Craft designer Heidi Boyd is perhaps best known for her best selling Simply Beautiful beading series, but that’s only a small part of her crafty repertoire. Heidi spent a number of years designing for a major craft magazine and she’s got some serious crafty skills. She puts them to good use in her wonderful new book CraftCycle that serves up crafting with an eco conscious focus.

There are great project ideas running through every page and a generous sprinkling of tips and hints for sustainable living. The book is broken up into the four seasons and Heidi shares a variety of seasonally themed green minded activities, recipes and ideas at the end of each section. I loved so many of the projects it’s tough to pick just a few, but some of my favorites include a whimsical bowl made from melted colorful plastic cowboys and Indians, a stunning avant garde hanging lamp fashioned from water bottles, an ingenious old slide lampshade and an adorable bracelet watch fashioned from used colored pencils. She covers everything from home décor to pet accessories to jewelry using a huge variety of techniques and materials and every idea, even if it’s familiar, is given a distinctive Heidi Boyd spin.

Craft enthusiasts will love these fresh ideas for upcycling and repurposing and eco minded folks will love finding new ways to stay green. This is a book for all ages and for both sexes, and includes some great garden and furniture projects that should get the men folk excited to get back into the workshop. “Recycle, reuse and recraft!” and have a darned good time doing it with Heidi Boyd’s inspiring new book CraftCycle.

Book Review
Leisure Arts The Crochet Dude's Little Books Series
Drew Emborsky aka The Crochet Dude

Drew Emborsky has four fab new crochet pattern books for the crochet enthusiast or the enthusiastic novice. These straight forward value packed portable tomes are filled with appealing designs, great pictures, easy to follow patterns and detailed back material that supports the skills you need to create the projects. Each book focuses in on a specific topic with a nice variety of designs to suit a wide variety of tastes.

I like that these are small bites rather than big meals, because it lets you pick the design focus that suits your needs. Drew has a gift for taking crochet and making it look totally fresh and modern. You won’t find any doilies here, but you will find a bevy of beautiful ideas. Sweet Pet Comforts has seven crochet designs for your furry friends. All Washed Up shows you how to make charming crocheted kitchen accessories. Must Have Handbags has 6 fetching purses that are perfectly sized for a gal who likes to carry her crafts along with her and are stylish enough to use every day. In All Caps focuses on cozy crocheted headgear for cooler weather. There’s a title for everyone in this series and they’re so affordably priced, you may just want to scoop them all up.

If you are looking for new patterns or if you’re looking for a new hobby, Drew’s new ‘little books’ are the perfect fit. I can’t wait to give some of these designs a spin with the yarn I stocked up on last winter!

Extra Linky Love Shower!

I’m throwing in an extra Linky Love Shower this week. Grab your slickers and your Wellies, unless you live in the Southeast because you’ve probably already got them on. I’ve got some errands to run this morning so this is a quick post. Here’s hoping you have a craftacular day!

My friend Christopher Nejman made even more fab videos for me you can see at his website http://www.christophernejmantv.com/ Thanks Christopher, you are awesome! If you live in the Tampa area Christopher is auditioning people to appear on his website in filmed dynamic craft segments produced and edited with the same flair he used for mine. Whatever your crafty focus, he wants to see if you’ve got the skills to be on Christopher Nejman TV! Here is the contact info at the hair salon where Chrisopher works to set up an appointment, call between Wednesday and Saturday. The number is 813-818-1088. The website is http://www.hairmatrixtampa.com/

Amy of Mod Podge Rocks blog is having a big giveaway. It’s already garnered a ton of interest, but go ahead and throw your name in the hat. If you love Mod Podge like I do, you’ll want to check it out!

My friend Ana Araujo and her daughter Megan have a great crafty website called When Creativity Knocks. If you haven’t already, you may want to go see their huge library of crafty videos.

Big shout out to the fab Tammy Powley of The Crafty Princess Diaries for posting our new The Impatient Crafter™ video. If you want to post our video too, let me know when you do and I’ll post a link back to you here.

If you crochet and you're looking for some inspiration my friend Drew Emborsky has some really wonderful new pattern books out with Leisure Arts. He's got a knack for making crochet look fresh. Also if you want more crochet fun, Vickie Howell's book Pop Goes Crochet is super clever and the projects are amazing!

The folks from Friendly Plastic are having a design contest! Go here to read all about it!

My pal Andrew Thornton of the Green Girl Studios gang is destashing. He's got impeccable taste, so don't miss out on this opportunity!

Hooked on The Crochet Dude's Designs for Guys!

Book Review
The Crochet Dude's Designs for Guys
Drew Emborsky
Lark Books 2009

Drew Emborsky has a subversive and irreverent sense of humor that is right in line with my own. He writes like I do, from the hip. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting him at a large industry show a few months back and decided immediately we were kindred spirits. His designs are intriguing and his word stylings are equally so. You have to love a book of crochet designs focused on guys, because let’s face it that’s a niche begging to be filled. Drew fills it with total panache.

I have to be honest here, I don’t crochet. That being said, I recently bought a fancy crochet needle set and some new yarn in the hopes that I might find the time to explore a new hobby. My husband already happily sports the incredibly kooky hat I made him on the Knifty Knitter, so why not a crocheted companion piece? Interestingly enough my husband’s name is Drew too, talk about serendipity!

I like this book because it’s straight forward and it’s easy (and enjoyable) to read. Not every craft title has those qualities! The instructions are well written and the pictures show the designs as they would look on a body and not simply artfully draped over a series of props. The book design itself is appealing and easy to navigate. Drew’s lively voice encourages and prompts you in a manner that makes you feel as if you really can master a new hobby. Some of my personal fav projects include Pure Comfort a nauticalesque boat neck sweater I’d wear too and the Jock Block Hat and Scarf with its earthy and delicious color palette. Drew provides you with a basics section in the back of the book that gives you all the tools you need to master the book designs and even forge out on your own. There are skill levels, materials lists and stitch lists along with meticulous pattern guides for every project.

If you’re looking for a book that will spark your creativity, teach you some valuable skills and make you smile in the process, you’ve found it with The Crochet Dude’s Designs for Guys.