Day Six of CRESCENDOh and Saturday TastyLinks!

It's day six of my guest curator stint at CRESCENDOh! One more day to go! Today's featured artists are two awesome creative dervishes Sister Diane of CraftyPod and Traci Bautista! Follow this link!


I participated in Fave Crafts "Finished on the 15th" blog hop this month along with an array of crafty folks who shared links to their favorite projects from October! You can join the fun too next month, it's easy! Visit Fave Crafts blog to see the projects and find out how to participate!

The delightful Lisa Crone of A Bead a Day Blog fame wrote a terrific post about my new gig at Jewelry Television. Lisa has a really terrific blog, go visit her and tell her Madge sent you!

We're knee deep in the big move and it's just amazing how much stuff I had ferreted away in my studio. I gave things to the local schools, the local library and some to our local Goodwill. Still, I've got craft supplies coming out of my hoo ha. Yup, I said it. I'm looking forward to being settled into our new home soon and be on the other side of the big relocation.

And now, without further ado, here's what the crafty bloggers have for your craftertainment:

About Family Crafts
Sherri is hosting a Make-It-Over crafts challenge and is calling for people to submit their Halloween crafts made using recyclables!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen invites you to jump in the Wayback Machine and revisit a past Halloween Card tutorial.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi figures out how to use paper to decorate an apron.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there is a chance to win the new big and beautiful book Quilts Around The World by Spike Gillespie, a knit boxed eyelet pattern, a bunch of ways to get a "handle" on your books and journals and tips on painting realistic blood just in time for Halloween.

Crafty Princess Diaries
There is a call out for professional crocheters, scrapbookers, and quilters.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Calling all totes! Eileen is looking for tote bag decorating examples. If you need some inspiration first, watch the video on how to make a recycled tote bag.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge muses about choices, consequences, regrets and living out loud.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi has a really fun book to give away this week: Create Colorful Aluminum Jewelry

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how to make paper pom pom pumpkins inspired by the book Page Maps 2

Book Review: A Bead in Time by Lisa Crone

Book Review
A Bead in Time by Lisa Crone
North Light Books
Copyright 2010

Lisa Crone has written an absolutely charming book for the novice beader in search of inspiration.  With a decidedly clever window to design, she focuses on the personal and that's the perfect way to entice readers to move beyond the copycat phase of jewelry making into exploring their own design eye.  Through inspirational photographs and objects mined from the experiences of her daily life, she shows the reader how to explore color, texture, pattern and motif.  This approach to design is right up my alley, my second book explored a similar concept using a variety of inspiration images and objects to guide the new designer into new pathways of creativity.  What I love about Lisa's approach to the topic, is the personal, memory inspired, storytelling focus.  In fact, I think it really quite brilliant.

Even if you're a seasoned designer, this book will offer you a fresh set of ideas to explore in your work.  The designs are all pretty, wearable jewelry and not so artsy that they'll overwhelm the wearer.  This is jewelry you'll reach for over and over again.  It's the kind of jewelry that garners compliments because it compliments you so completely. 

The photographs do a wonderful job of illustrating the concept and you can really see the jewelry which is important if you're trying to figure out how to reproduce it.  The photo stylist and book designer did a wonderful job of letting Lisa's work shine.  There are a surprisingly wide variety of techniques explored in the book and a wonderful cross section of materials.  Lisa dabbles in a little bit of everything here from basic stringing, to wire work, to macrame, to bead weaving, to exposed wire concepts and even a little taste of mixed media.  It's fresh and cheerful and a wonderful addition to any jewelry designer's library and I guarantee you'll be inspired and delighted.

Visit Lisa's A Bead a Day Blog for her regular dose of beady inspiration.

Until next time...craft on with your bad selves!

xoxo
Madge