I Love to Create Recycled Denim Book Covers

Recycled Denim Book Cover Margot Potter for I Love to Create Copyright 2009

When I asked my daughter if she needed to make book covers for her school books she looked at me what that, “Are you daft?” expression on her face. Yes, it’s official, I’m daft and I’m old. Undaunted by these facts, I was certain that book covers hadn't gone the way of record albums and After School Specials and then we saw some ready made stretchy covers at our local Big Box store.

A ha! Maybe I'm not so daft after all!

I thought we'd try and make some recycled covers instead of buying ready made. Back in my day, we whipped up covers to protect our school books using brown paper shopping bags. Those brown bags aren’t as easy to score these days. No worries! I have a huge stash of recycled jeans from a class I taught last year and that’s where this project was born. I got these jeans for pennies at my local Goodwill. You can do this for school books or for any books that get a fair amount of use to protect them. I love the little pocket for your pencils and pens or anything else you want to take along with you. Teens can personalize these any way they like and make a different one for every book.

Recycled Denim School Book Covers
Margot Potter for I Love to Create Teen Crafts
Copyright 2009

Materials
Pair of recycled stretchy jeans (You’ll be using a pant leg and a pocket)
Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue
Aleene’s Patch and Applique Glue
Tulip Fabric Spray Paint Emerald and Fuchsia
Tulip Soft Matte Fabric Paints in Azalea, Ebony and Glacier White
Tulip Pearl Dimensional Fabric Paint Clover Green
Tim Holtz idea-ology Mini Masks Regal
Star Stencil
Hero Arts Writing Stamp

Tools

Ruler
Stencil Brush
Fabric Scissors
Foam Brush

1. Cut a leg from a pair of old stretch jeans. Cut a pocket off of the back of the jeans, leaving the backing so it’s still a pocket.

2. Place your book on the jeans and determine width and length of your material. You want the material to be able fold over on both sides about 2.5” and to be able to overlap the edge of your book cover about 2.5”. The fabric when folded top and bottom should hit at exactly the width of your book. Measure twice and then cut to size.

3. Run a bead of glue along the top and bottom edge of your folded fabric, stop gluing approximately 2.5” from each edge. Allow to dry.

4. Slide the front of the book cover into each side of your folded and glued fabric, creating protective sleeve.

5. Adjust the fabric tension and glue the edge down on each side. Repeat for the back cover. Allow glue to dry.
6. Glue pocket on front of cover with Patch and Applique glue. Allow to dry.7. Decorate the pocket using a variety of fabric paints, stencils, rubber stamps and splatters. I used the Tim Holtz flourish mask with pink and green fabric spray paint, the Tim Holtz flourish stencil with the azalea paint, smeared and flicked on the green paint on the pocket with my pointer finger and stenciled the stars on with the stencil brush and black paint. 8. Use a foam brush to apply fabric paint to a rubber stamp with text and stamp on the center of the pocket. Allow to dry.

Book Review: Kanzashi in Bloom by Diane Gilleland

Book Review
Kanzashi in Bloom
Diane Gilleland
Watsun-Guptill

Diane Gilleland is known in the 'craftiverse' as Sister Diane, the mastermind behind the wildly popular blog and podcast CraftyPod. Diane has an innate gift for taking a simple and striking idea and making it fabulous. I had never seen Japanese fabric kanzashi blooms prior to getting this book and I was immediately excited to try making some of my own. Diane offers 20 gorgeous ideas here that are beautifully photographed and meticulously stepped out so you can see step by step, petal by petal, how to recreate them.

I was utterly impressed with her considerable writing skills and the painstaking research she did to give this lovely art form a context and meaning for the Western crafter. Many craft books are pretty to view, but lack depth of information and high quality writing. Diane gives you both along with cleverly fashioned projects that leave you completely inspired. Every design has a brilliant variation concept. Not only are the projects well crafted, the book itself is a beautifully crafted work of art.

I can't wait to try the techniques out for some jewelry and mixed media designs. The best kind of craft book leaves you inspired to create. Diane has achieved that with a brilliant book that I think every crafter should add to their collection.

Margot Potter
The Impatient Crafter
Author The Impatient Beader series
Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed
Beyond the Bead

Saturday TastyLinks™!

Well galdangy, it’s that time again! I don’t understand how it could possibly be Saturday already when I could swear it was just Monday. I’ve managed to finish the projects for my new book along with the instructions and all of the written material that I can complete prior to the shoot. There will be some small tweaks after my editor reviews things and then I’ll pack it up and ship it out. I can’t believe I did it a month ahead of deadline! I am the world’s biggest procrastinator. No seriously, I am. I’ve learned to fight that tendency by forcing myself to work ahead. It’s quite easy for my attention to be diverted by shiny things or deep thoughts about the meaning of life and why gum loses its flavor so quickly.

I have to assemble kits for the Zig Zagged Necklace class I’m teaching at CHA and the segment I’m filming for Fiskars TV. I’ve been asked to teach this fall at two different places, so that means classes need to be designed and then there’s the cruise this fall for When Creativity Knocks. One of my manufacturers just backed out, so I have to redesign the classes on the fly. It’s always something, isn’t it?!

But before I blather on endlessly about my never ending straw pile...I shall leave you to your weekly linky love shower! Enjoy!

My friend the immensely talented Lilian Chen is hosting a week of jewelry making classes in Tuscany in 2010! What fun! Here’s the 411.

Here’s what the Crafty Bloggers have going on this week:

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love Vickie's 10 Craft Tips for Busy Parents!

The Impatient Crafter Madge shares the 411 on how she made a gorgeous crystal, rubber and exposed wire collar inspired by African jewelry.

The Crochet Dude See a sneak peek video of Drew's new pattern line that launches August 1st!

The Artful Crafter If you’re a polymer clay beginner or just want a quick professional looking project, use molds!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Dada Mosaic, or is it surreal? You be the judge.

Mixed Media Artist Do not fear...making altered books will not cause lightning to strike you!

Cross Stitch at About.com What do you do with odds and ends of embroidery floss? Read these ideas and share your own.

Crafty Princess Diaries Have you thought of starting your own craft weblog? Here is why crafting rocks when it comes to niche blogging.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there is the latest episode of Look, Learn & Create featuring the fabulous cloth doll artist, Patti Medaris Culea, a fun vegan recipe for Frushi (fruit sushi), a how-to on making a tennis ball training tool, and an Illustrator tutorial to make a digital word ATC and as always a bunch of questions that if you answer you are entered to win a free book!

Cathie Filian When you need a crafty break - whip up this quick and easy snack of homemade hummus and baked bagel chips.

Aileen's Musings Aileen gives you a sneak peek at some felt banners she's making for a swap, and tells you how to make easy rolled felt flowers to use as embellishments.

About Family Crafts As a parent, one of the biggest crafting dilemmas you may face is what to do with all the wonderful masterpieces your child creates. How do you display each piece so it gets the attention it deserves?

NYC Bead Buy!

Some of the new stash!

My Personal Assistants Avalon and "Penguiy" sort and tray the new beads!

Vintage goodies.

Howdy Campers!

We had a great day in NYC yesterday, but somehow we managed to get a rather late start. When we arrived at our first bead buy location I realized we had about 40 minutes before we had to go meet a friend for lunch in Greenwich. Oops. So I shopped fast and with an unrelenting sense of purpose. I needed smaller beads, more gemstones, a variety of colors and lots of new and different. I also needed chain...lots of chain...at good prices. I was able to score some great discounts, which helped immensely. I still managed to spend a small fortune and I have a few more things yet to buy...egads!

I'm planning on getting some nice focals from art bead makers. So far I've got a pretty good stash rounded up and my lovely daughter is traying it all this morning. I hit a regular haunt for some chunky vintage plastic I'll use for my over the top pieces I wear and will also hopefully start selling here soon. Yup, I've been amassing vintage goodies and I plan to share my stash in the near future! Stay tuned.

We met a friend for lunch at had an AMAZING meal at a place in Chelsea called Vynl that I HIGHLY recommend if you're in NYC. The head chef is a past Iron Chef winner and he takes diner fare to a whole new level. Our friend took us down the road for delicious cupcakes at Billy's Bakery. I was stuffed to the gills, but what a treat! Thankfully I did a crap load of walking yesterday so I've rationalized that I worked off the calories. Sure, sure ya did Madge.

And no, I can't share all of my NYC sources...but if you come along next year on my Beads and the City trip, you'll learn them all. I'll keep you posted on the details as they get firmed up!

I'm off to work on the new book! Until next time...craft on with your bad selves!

Cheers,

Madge

Madge's Spicy Cajsian Shrimp

Madge’s Spicy Cajsian Shrimp
These spicy grilled shrimp have both a Thai and a Cajun flair. Enjoy with a loaf of warm crusty bread or cook up some brown rice. Try them with a side of mango salsa for a hot and sweet combo. Highly recommended with a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Ingredients
1lb. medium frozen or fresh shrimp
2 large cloves garlic
2 limes juiced
½ lemon juiced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp. red pepper flakes (to taste)
½ tsp. Franks Red Hot sauce (or other red pepper sauce)

Side salad/garnish
3 large leaves Romaine lettuce
3 thickly sliced Campari tomatoes
Paper thin sliced Vidalia onions
Diced bell pepper
Lemon wedge



1. Peel and devein shrimp leaving tails on.
2. Squeeze two limes and ½ lemon into a large bowl.
3. Chop two large cloves of garlic and place in bowl.
4. Chop 1/3 cup cilantro and place in bowl.
5. Add pepper flakes and hot sauce to taste. (We like it really hot around these parts.)
6. Marinate shrimp for an hour.
7. Skewer and cook on grill.
8. Prepare garnish.
9. Bon appetit!

TastyLinks™ Saturday!

Click here to get the instructions for my Simply Lovely Bracelet at the Beadalon Website, you'll learn how to use scrimps and wire guardians! Copyright 2006 Margot Potter for Beadalon (You can find the bird charm at Ornamentea)
Join the Beadalon Fan Page on Facebook!

What a wild week! Up and down and all around and by Friday I was feeling like crawling under my covers with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and a trashy novel. Then I got some stellar news I can share as soon as the ink is dry and that perked me up a skootch. I was still feeling kinda bleh until I got an email from my publisher. Both of my new books Beyond the Bead and Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed have sold through their first printings! Beyond the Bead sold through within the first three months! That’s rockin’! Plus the email included a little Press Release they’d whipped up that said some awfully super nice things about me. I’m a Leo, we love compliments. In fact we eat them for breakfast every morning. Please pass the ‘pretty please with brown sugar on top’ and a side of ‘gee you’re swell’s.”

So thank you to everyone who has purchased both of the books, thank you to folks who’ve written up some great reviews and helped get some buzz going. Kudos to my fabulous co-authors Fernando DaSilva (check out Nando's great post on pricing your jewelry line) and Katie Hacker (Katie's got a great post on Bead Artists against Breast Cancer)! We popped the cork on some bubbly last night and celebrated. This just confirms my belief that folks are hungry for inspiration and for creativity in these trying times. So if you’re a creative, take heart.

I'll be riding on a horse drawn carriage in a fancy (and probably soggy due to the rain) hat this Sunday! My SIL invited us along to schmooze with the uber elite at a prestigious horsey event. As Joan Rivers would say, "Fohn, fohn, fohn...fohn." Just call me "Lovey" dahling.

Super Linky Love thank you to the gals from ScaryCraft for featuring my Mixed Media pin last week! Check out their craftalicious blog!

Ms. Jennifer Perkins did a very fun blog round up of crafty red heads this past week. She included yours truly, I'm a red head at heart no matter what color is on my locks. Thanks Jen!

A Linky Love 411: The folks from Max and Chloe emailed me a hot tip on a great giveaway! They carry some really innovative costume and fine jewelry lines. Click here to enter a sweepstakes for a 500 dollar shopping spree!

My friend Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood Studio did a gorgeous design for Rings n Things last week. She was inspired by my simple wire wrapped lava rocks to make a mind blowingly cool wrapped design integrating her beautiful keyhole pendant as a focal element. Plus I love how she showed you first hand how to be inspired by something and then make it your own. Great work, Melanie! Also check out her thoughtful post about artists’ rights and copyrights here.

Without further ado...here’s this week’s sampling of TastyLinks™ open wide and say “AH!:”

Vickie Howell Create customized cards out recycled fabric and keepsake images!

The Crochet Dude Drew talks about his latest hook/needle find in an All Boye Review!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery See how to make stitchless embroidered fabric from the cool new book: Fabricate by Susan Wasinger.

Naughty Secretary Club Jen does a little painting, searches for vintages images and boils a pair of eyeglasses all in the name of creating a necklace with a little specs appeal.

Cross Stitch at About.com Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Connie's latest fun, fabulous, and did we mention FREE Cross Stitch pattern.

CraftyPod In her latest podcast, Sister Diane interviews Sarah Hodsdon about the future of the design profession in a global, digital economy.

Crafty Princess Diaries Go shopping in style with your own crocheted tote bag. The Crafty Princess shows off her latest finished fiber project.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world Craftside's got a crochet pattern for a pop art roll of toilet paper cozy, a detailed tutorial on how to make a photo based painting, a free dress silhouette template from the new book: Cloth Doll Artistry, and a couple of necklaces made from some very unusual recycled elements.

Cathie Filian Cathie volunteered to make 40 centerpieces for an Awards Gala - Check out her trip to the flower district and step-by-step instructions on how to make the arrangements.

Blisstree Arts Cyndi has rounded up all of her favorite posts on making background papers and fabrics for your projects.

Aileen's Musings Aileen offer's another great Mothers or Father's day gift idea using more bottle caps!

About Family Crafts Help needed: Looking for creative graduation decorations... Ideas anyone?

The Impatient Crafter Learn how to make beaded wire circles with Madge!

Link to Free Jewelry Project Confetti Collar for Beadalon

Confetti Collar Copyright 2007 Margot Potter for Beadalon

One of my design specialties is exposed wire work. I use soft wire to create woven designs that utilize tension to suspend the beads on the wire. They’re architectural and dimensional and doing them with soft wire creates a unique set of problems to solve. I started exploring this when we had our retail shop ten years ago. In typical Impatient Beader™ path of least resistance fashion I was looking for a way to get the appearance of an illusion necklace without having to knot, crimp or glue the beads in place. I discovered that by weaving wire in and out of beads you’d get the same suspended look without the futziness of the other techniques. Since then I’ve done countless designs like these ever exploring the idea of tension and suspension.

Beadalon began buying my pieces almost ten years ago when one of their employees Yvette Rodriguez discovered them in our shop window. They’ve used them for catalogs, packages, ads and newsletters and eventually I became a Design Team Member. My challenge in that role is to constantly devise new techniques and innovations to showcase their materials. We have a really great trio of designers at Beadalon and I’m honored to be among them.



Over the past two years I’ve been playing with the soft wire circle. I’ve created a lot of variations on this theme, still seeking the perfect expression of this idea. The design above was featured on the cover of the Beadalon catalogue two years ago. I’ve been waiting for the instructions to go live so I could share them with you. If you follow this link, you can get the step by step instructions for this Confetti Collar. It’s a very simple concept, mostly a matter of repetition of pattern and variation of size. It does require some patience to create, because it takes a lot of time to make that many circles! Once you start making these wire circles, you’ll want to make more, they’re very addicting. I have a simple wire bracelet in Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed that uses a variation on this technique.

I find this work really challenging and exciting. It’s easy to keep doing the same old thing again and again, or to use techniques that already exist, but creating new techniques is far more exciting to me. Keep looking out for more of these ideas here over the next few weeks.

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

xoxo,
Madge

Copyrights and Artist's Rights

Permission Free Image Dover Books

I work really hard each and every day to come up with unique and inspiring ideas. My goal in life is to inspire creativity. I love seeing people riff on my ideas, because that’s a dialogue. In the classical music period, musicians had musical dialogues with snippets of music called motifs. They were expanding on each other’s ideas in creative and fascinating ways. Jazz musicians also do this. That’s the sort of dialogue I want to have with my readers. I also love knowing that they’re making the designs I’ve created and enjoying them as is. That’s a really wonderful feeling.

I don’t so much love finding out someone has co-opted my work as their own. That’s...the complete opposite of the point. It’s a subtle distinction, but let me see if I can’t clarify.

My blog, my books and my magazine projects all have a common thread. They’re protected by copyrights. That means if you want to reproduce a project I’ve shared with you for yourself, that’s my intention. I want you to do that! That’s why I make and share projects! If you want to give said project to a friend or family member as a gift, that’s fabulous! But...and here’s the big but...if you want to copy said project and make it into a kit, a class or a design for profit...that’s not okay. It’s okay to take a technique I’ve shown you and make your own unique design and sell that, because then you’ve engaged in a dialogue. Can you see the distinction?

If you copy and paste the picture of my project or an entire post into your blog or on your website without my express permission, that’s also not okay. The internet has created a free for all when it comes to horking intellectual property and I’m here today along with other artists to start staking our claims to our work.

The problem is that everything is so easy to take from the internet, so it seems less wrong to take it freely. It is, however, wrong.

If you copy someone’s art work and sell it for profit, you’re stealing. Do you steal regularly? Do you feel entitled to walk into a store and take things off of the shelves without paying for them? Do you hork stuff from your friends’ houses? If you visit them and see a vase you really like, do you feel entitled to plunk it into your purse?

Intellectual property is property. Artists and musicians and creative people work incredibly hard and they deserve to be paid for their work just like everyone else. Illegally downloading a movie or a song is stealing. Pirating software is stealing. Copying and pasting a copyright protected image into your blog without permission or credit is stealing. Uploading a segment from a TV show to YouTube is stealing. Copying an image that is under copyright, printing it and reproducing it in your artwork is stealing. Copying a design, reproducing it and selling it for profit is stealing. (On a side note it is okay to use images you cut out of books or magazines in collages, it’s just not okay to copy them and use them multiple times. See the difference? One is recycling, the other is theft.)

Anytime you co-opt someone else’s professional creative output for personal gain or profit or even for your personal pleasure without paying for it, you are breaking copyright laws. These laws can be very expensive to enforce, so you may just get away with it. Lots of people do. That doesn’t make it right. Because it is theft and theft isn’t right. It’s becoming a rampant and serious problem with the boom of the internet. People who create for a living have the same right to make a living as everyone else.

I see my work in projects sold to magazines and in ads for manufacturers and even winning design contests, only it’s actually other people copying my work. What incredible audacity it must take to steal someone’s work and claim it as your own. The way I see it, if you aren’t creative enough to make your unique designs or to give due credit when you are inspired by someone else’s work; you probably shouldn’t be selling your work. I’m just sayin’.

This topic gets everyone all kerfuffled. Even artists can’t agree on what is and what is not copyright infringement. If we can’t agree or if we’re so afraid of being unpopular we can’t take a public stand against copycats and copyright infringers...well I’m afraid this sort of activity will continue.

For the record, I am taking a stand. I have no interest in making lazy people easy money. If you want to sell kits, classes, projects for publication or finished goods, use your fertile imagination. I want you to make my designs and wear them and enjoy them. I want you to be inspired by my work to expand into new directions and most of all I want to see you become empowered to make your own unique designs. If you want pictures to post on your blog, take them yourself, use stock photos, permission free images or credit the source, if you’re thinking about taking my pictures or text from my blog or website make sure you ask permission and that if I grant it...you give me credit.

So every time you illegally download a song or a movie or copy software or sell a copy of someone else’s work in your Etsy shop or copy and paste a picture from a Google search into your blog, think about what I just told you. It’s not okay.

If you'd like to participate in educating the public about this topic, please post a blog this week and I will share your link with my readers in a group link post. We can't complain if we aren't willing to take a stand.

Cheers,
Madge

Linky Love Showers!

Image Copyright Gil Elvgren

We interrupt this blog for the following newsflash! The folks from ArtBeads are having a $1.00 Super Bead Sale! Run don't walk!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled post.

This is a hearty and heartfelt THANK YOU to the following talented folks who posted our new The Impatient Crafter I do, YuDu video in their blogs this past week. All of these artists are people you should visit. I’m so incredibly blessed to have so many amazing friends scattered like wildflowers across the planet. No one can live in a bubble, though we all know I’d like to this time of year. Wah, wah. We're here to connect and to celebrate those connections.

We put a lot of love into our humble video offerings. It’s our intention to educate, empower and entertain. We try not to take them or ourselves too seriously. I mean...it’s crafting. We’re not saving the universe, but we are doing all we can to make it a prettier place.

Grab your slicker and your wellies folks! Linky Love Showers are commencing for the following friends of The Impatient Crafter™:

The Technicolor Crafty Goddess Ms. Jennifer Perkins of The Naughty Secretary Club

Thoughtful, Talented and Thought Provoking Mr. Andrew Thornton

Ever Inspiring and Inspired Leslie Smith Gidden of Mad Maggie Designs

Porcelain Bead Master and Steampunk Genius Ms. Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood Studios

Delightful and Endlessly Eclectic Designer Candie Cooper kindly added us to her weekly link round up.

I’m also sending a whole lotta Linky Love to the O June Jewelry Blog for posting a fabulous original project utilizing a fun chipboard technique from my new book Beyond the Bead.

If you linky love us, we’ll linky love you back. It’s only fair. If I’ve neglected to mention you, just shoot me an email at theimpatientcrafter@gmail.com so I know in case Google Alerts don’t pick it up.

Until next time...Carpe Gaudium!

xoxo
Madge

TastyLinks Saturday

It’s a gorgeous day in Amish country and I’m enjoying the view from my studio immensely. I’m busy working on a giant plastic bubble I can take in the yard so I can be outside without being miserable. I’ll let ya know how that works out for me.

I must clean this mess of a studio today. I had some deadlines this week and it got out of control yet again. Plus the files...the files must be filed! Egads the papers pile up quickly, don’t they? Sometimes I feel as if I’m buried in papers.

I wanted to remind everyone that on April 22nd I’ll be posting here about copyrights and internet piracy. I’d love for artists, writers, designers, musicians, directors and a;; creators of intellectual property to chime in on the topic on their blogs. I feel it’s important to educate the public about what is and isn’t acceptable. Just because it’s on the internet, doesn’t mean it’s free for the taking. We can’t complain if we aren’t willing to take a stand. If you post and send me your link, I’ll gather the links into a single post later that week. Email me at theimpatientcrafter@gmail.com with your link.

Jaime Guthals from Interweave asked me to remind everyone that there’s still time to enter this year’s Bead Star competition. The deadline is May 1st. It’s a fun competition because the public votes on the winners. Here’s the link to a video with the 411.

And without further ado, please enjoy this week’s springtastic sampling of TastyLinks™ from the Crafty Bloggers Gang:

Crafty Princess Diaries Become a professional crocheter with the help of an organization designed for those who are interested in make yarn craft a j-o-b.

Cathie Filian Cathie Filian is calling all Colorado crafters! Stop by the Colorado Women's expo April 25th & 26th. She will be doing presentaions on both days - the topic is...Living Creatively by Re-Crafting and Recycling.

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner Create a very cool, colorful accent wall on the cheap using scrapbook paper!

Cross Stitch at About.com See how Kitchinstitchin used an old window and a piece of crazy quilt for an unusual framed Cross Stitch project.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery You'll have a "ball" stitching yarn scraps into beads with a little help from the new book: Strands by Jacqueline Myers-Cho.

The Impatient Crafter Check out the new YuDu home screen printing machine in this brand spanking new The Impatient Crafter video hosted by Madge. While you're there, follow the link to her interview with fellow crafty blogger Sister Diane of CraftyPod on personal branding!

Vickie Howell's Pop Goes Crochet Vickie's latest book, Pop Goes Crochet, hits stores in 2 weeks! Get a sneak peek of 5 accessory projects now though, including designs by The Breeder's Kelley Deal, The Stitch Diva and The Crochet Dude. Give 'em a gander and enter to win a free, signed copy!

The Crochet Dude Drew recaps an amazing Southern Caribbean Crochet Cruise!

Naughty Secretary Club Jen shows you how to wear your stuffed animal collection as a bracelet. Plus enter to win a free copy of her book The Naughty Secretary Club!

CraftyPod Sister Diane reviews Betz White's new book, Sewing Green.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world Craftside is in full bloom with an inside look into the soon to be released: Collaborative Art Journals and Shared Visions in Mixed Media by L. K. Ludwig along with a full tutorial on stitching a bird cage on a card, a how-to for embroidering barbed wire, cleaning and cutting Acrylic and how to paint a checkerboard floor.

Blisstree Arts Miriam Schaer makes books from materials that you would never think to use! Come see how she pushes the boundaries of bookmaking.

About Family Crafts Discover many creative projects all made using paper plates.

Free Jewelry Making Project!

This project from my new book Beyond the Bead is available as a free download at the MyCraftivity site until April 24th! Learn how to turn poly clay into faux metal with a fun and simple technique. I still need to make a necklace for this set...hmmm...better get on that!

I've got a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes here and hopefully soon some of it will be solidified for announcement status. At least it's keeping me out of trouble! Tom Petty was so right when he said the waiting is the hardest part!

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

xoxo
Madge

Good Day, Sunshine

Copyright 2008 Margot Potter

I made this necklace last spring and posted the pic on my Impatient Blogger blog. It's been so dismal around here this week, I decided to reshoot it and post it again. The lovely ceramic flower, ice cream cone clasp and striped square beads were my focal points. Jennifer Heynan of Jangles does whimsical better than anyone I know. The colors in the ceramic beads worked perfectly with the saturated pastels of these vintage Lucite moonglow effect beads(you can find similar beads at The Beadin' Path.) I added a smattering of Hill Tribe Thai silver pendants that looked like rays of sunshine to continue the sunny vibe. I played around with a few other Thai silver accents, moving things around the bead board until I was satisified and ended up with this delightfully asymmetrical design.

For me, each design is a journey. I’m trying to make the beads sing. I want every element to make sense and propel the story of the design. When I use art beads, I am particularly mindful of creating a design that celebrates them and doesn’t compete with them for attention. Every element has to support the focal pieces. Though this is a simple, strung design, it was a creative journey.

Every design is a journey. A designer isn’t just a person who slaps paint on a canvas or plops beads on a string. A designer is someone who thinks deeply about every element of the design and takes the time to really see it and to translate what they see into something that makes sense and is wearable. Everything should work with perfect synchronicity, even if it’s a dissonant concept it still needs to be controlled chaos. I try to picture the person who would wear every design I create. This one is for a gal who loves Lilly Pulitzer dresses, straw hats and bare feet. She’s got immense amounts of joie de vivre, an infectious laugh and a sunny but not cloying outlook on life.

I’d quite like to meet her, wouldn’t you?

I called this Good Day, Sunshine. Insert Beatles’ song here. I’ve not been able to find this necklace a home in a publication, which surprises me because I think it’s a very well executed idea and the colors are so unique and different from the dark, drab, rusty, serious stuff that seems to be taking over as of late. We can’t always be gothically delicious, even if it is wicked good fun. I rather like feeling like a cartoon character some days.

I’m officially retiring this to my personal collection. I have to get another ceramic circle so I can remake the earrings, one of them got broken (you can see them below.) So this design is apparently not everyone’s cup of tea! So it’s not Earl Grey...a little Red Zinger with a slice of lemon is a nice change of pace now and again.

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

xoxo
Madge

I do, YuDu!

Image and text copyright Margot Potter 2009

It’s been ages since we created a new The Impatient Crafter™ video. So on Saturday we hauled out the lights and the camera and got to work. Drew worked his editing magic and we posted it last night on YouTube, you can watch it below!

When the wonderful folks from ProvoCraft sent me a new YuDu home screen printing system to explore, we knew it would make a great video topic. We did this on the fly working from the instructions that come with the machine and we found it very easy and super fun. It took us about 6 hours to film since we were working in live time. I also spent about 2 hours fine tuning my sketch you see above, it took about ten versions to get to this one, and I'm really happy with it. Provo has images you can purchase and of course you can mine Dover books and other permission free sources, but I really wanted to make something from scratch. You can use this machine to screen print on a wide variety of materials and items, t-shirts are an obvious choice...but check out the YuDu site for some really fascinating ideas including book shelves, belts, shoes...

It’s an investment, but screen printed items look so much better than the decal style items you can have made online. If you've got a team or a troop or a group event or a fundraiser, why not make your own shirts? I’ve got a lot of plans for this machine...

While you’re here, please check out my interview with the inspiring Sister Diane of CraftyPod on branding. If you’re trying to navigate the complexities of creating a personal brand, we’ve got some insights to share with you. These days, in an ever expanding sea of talent, branding is the key to standing out. Diane is a savvy lady whom I greatly admire and I was honored to be invited on her pod cast. Thank you Sister Diane!

My muse awaits...so until next time...craft on with your bad selves!

xoxo
Margot

Siren Song Necklace by Avalon Potter

I managed yesterday to clear off the long desk in my studio that has been totally covered with crap for weeks. Most of my studio cleaning involves moving piles of crap from one spot to another spot...I guess that's what most cleaning involves when I think about it! Cleaning...is not my thing. I do it when I have to, but mostly I ignore clutter and hope it organizes itself when I'm not looking.

I’m not made of the stuff that easily organizes seemingly disparate elements into cohesive groups. I’m impatient, have I mentioned that? At some point though the chaos begins to make my brain stop functioning properly and I have to buck up and get to organizing. It’s absolutely insane how many craft tools, machines and supplies I own. Okay maybe not what since I craft for a living, but dang if it isn’t tough keeping it all organized!



While working on organizing and getting the final details of one of my TSPs* finished, my daughter Avalon was given the task of creating a necklace around an extraordinary miniature canvas pendant from the folks at Art Beads. She's my new intern, but she's far more talented than I could ever hope to be! I love the sleek simplicity of her necklace design featuring Beadalon Quick Links and chain and CRYSTALLIZED™-Swarovski Elements jet black briolette pendants. Stunning! Oh and that gorgeous shell is one she just plucked out of the water in Jamaica and she insisted it be in the picture. She's a designer and a stylist! Love that kid of mine!

I fell madly in love with this artwork. It’s like a Rorschach test! When I look at it I see a large ship being engulfed by an octopus, while my husband said it looks like a tropical island with big palm trees...what do you see? There is an entire collection http://www.artbeads.com/pendants-canvas-on-wood.html of these miniature masterpieces on the Art Beads site all created by surfer and artist Charlie Clingman and each one is both stunning and incredibly inspirational. They are evocative and provocative and exquisitely fashioned.

I’ve got some podcasts pending. I’ll let you know when they go live. I’m slated for CraftyPod with Sister Diane on Thursday of this week and CraftCast with Alison Lee sometime in the very near future. They’re both interesting interviews with women whom I greatly admire. I was humbled and flattered that they each contacted me. I’m also slated to be on Reclaim U with the inspiring Sandy Fowler sometime in the near future, so look out for the 411!

I have a lot of straw to spin today so I must away! Until my most auspicious return...craft on with your bad selves!

Cheers,
Madge

(*Top Secret Projects)

TastyLinks Saturday!

It’s time once again to spread the Linky Love across the blogosphere! Here’s this week’s sampling of TastyLinks™ with a few bonus links for your reading pleasure.

Huge shout out to Jean Yates for posting this thoughtful and stellar review of my new book Beyond the Bead. Thank you, Jean!

Check out this beautiful line of hand crafted glass jewelry from Italian born glass artist Angelo Tiozzo.

And without further ado, here is your weekly sampling of crafty goodness from the Crafty Blogger Gang. Please welcome our newest member Sister Diane of CraftyPod fame:

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery With inspiration from Cathi Milligan's new book Mod Knots a soda bottle goes under the knife and becomes a mod cuff.

Naughty Secretary Club Get felt up with Jen and her customized felt baby booties how-to.

Cross Stitch at About.com Would You Stitch With Scented Floss? Vote in the poll and be sure to read the comments and add your own.

CraftyPod Learn how to turn an old paperback book into a cool picture frame.

Crafty Princess Diaries Expose yourself....in a good way that is...Tammy tells her thoughts on the process of creative exposure.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week there is an Andy Warhol inspired scrapbook page and ATC's, an interview with Lisa Kettell author of Altered Art Circus!, a super cute clay pot hedge hog how-to, and a link to two free bottle cap graphics.

Cathie Filian Blythe and Barbie can now have their cake and eat it too! Cathie whips up some mini cakes and pies perfectly sized for fashion dolls with sponges and seed beads.

Blisstree Mixing two of Cyndi's favorite things: fibers and books!

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner Swelldesigner gives new life to a plain paper lantern with tissue paper!

Aileen's Musings Check out which names won for Aileen's Color Mist Sorbet Collection and help BREAK THE TIE by voting once more! An additional winner will be chosen once the tie is broken.

About Family Crafts Discover how you can create an entire fairy village using items from nature.
The Impatient Crafter Madge shares one final project from her new book Beyond the Bead! Plus she's giving away a free copy of the book and a crystal stash!

Final Free Mixed Media Jewelry Project from Beyond the Bead

Nice and Naughty Shrink Art Charms Copyright 2009 Beyond the Bead by Margot Potter
Nice and Naughty Shrink Art Charms Variation Copyright 2009 Beyond the Bead by Margot Potter

(Click on images to view close up!)

It's time for the final free project from my fabulous new mixed media techniques for the beader book...Beyond the Bead! Insert cries of unfettered glee and joyous abandon here.

This 'charming' project has a tale to tell. Originally these little flappers were a little more...shall we say...naughty. I was asked to consider covering them up just a skootch more and I agreed. It was never my intention to offend, I just have an affection for vintage pin up art. But only if it's naughty...and nice. It looks as if the Dover book I used is no longer in print, so I've provided a link to a fashion illustration title from the same period with less risque images. I've also included some variations I made using colored pencils and vintage Vogue pattern images from the 1940s. This is a pretty straightforward idea, you pick bold pen and ink images and you trace them on the shrink plastic. I'm all about make it easy and make it fun...this is a great project to do with kids (using kid appropriate images...of course!)

So without further drivel...here's your free project! Leave a comment and I'll randomly select a winner to be announced on April 1st. No fooling, tee hee. I'll be sending you a signed copy of the book, a jaunty Beyond the Bead promo button and a stash of CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski Elements sparklies for your collection! Good luck! Oh and if you're on Facebook, would you consider joining my Fan Page? I'll announce upcoming events and airings on QVC there, share project debuts and links to what's new in Madge's world. Pretty please?

Nice and Naughty Shrink Art Charms
Copyright 2009 Margot Potter
Beyond the Bead for North Light Books

Are you a naughty girl? Do you love to dance on the edge of decency? Do you ‘rouge your knees and roll your stockings down’? Well, my little flapper girl, these nifty little shrink art charms are certain to suit your style. Vo dee oh doh!

*Any clean and simple black and white inked illustrations will work here. The bigger the better so you can really get the detail in before it shrinks! It’s important to use a very, very fine tipped market so you can really get the lines clean or the finished result could be lacking in definition. You can add more or less color depending on your mood.

Supplies
Dover Spot Illustrations Book
Rough and Ready shrink plastic
Ranger Adirondack pen red pepper
Ranger Archival Ink black
Micron 005 fine tipped black marker
4mm gun metal jump rings
Krylon silver leafing pen
Sheet of brown kraft paper cut to fit oven tray

Tools
Hole punch
Craft dedicated Toaster oven
Metal spatula
2 pairs chain nose pliers

1. Select images from book. Remember that they shrink a lot, so pick large detailed images for best results.
2. Trace images on rough side of plastic using a fine tipped marker.
3. Accent images with red marker.
4. Cut out images with sharp scissors making interesting shapes.
5. Create hole in top of image with hole punch.
6. Place images in preheated toaster oven on top of precut brown paper bag liner on oven tray.
7. Allow to shrink, use spatula to flatten any still curled images before cooling.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
9. Use metal leaf pen to edge images. Allow to dry.
10. Attach jump rings to charms.

Supplies
Rough and Ready Shrink Art Plastic Shrinky Dinks, Spot Illustrations Dover Books, Adirondack pen and Archival Ink Ranger, Micron pen Kuretake, Silver leafing pen Krylon, gun metal jump rings Rings n’ Things.

Scout's Honor.

Lacy Bridal Set by Margot Potter for Beadalon Copyright 2007

It's a whirlwind of activity here at Studio Margot. I'm knee deep in deadlines and feeling the squeeze. I will have one final free project from Beyond the Bead for your entertainment and edification tomorrow along with a giveaway and maybe I'll see the light at the end of the tunnel sometime soon! I'll also post some travel pics on my other blog sometime this week too. No really, these aren't just a bunch of empty promises!

...really...I pinky swear promise. Scout's honor.

So you don't feel totally neglected, here's a link to a set I designed for Beadalon. This is all about tension, so you'll have to find the right beads and diameter of wire to make it work just right, but it's a very pretty, open and lacy look that's really great for the looming warmer months!

If only I had more arms and more hours in a day...or magical helpers. Heck maybe a few leprechauns will have some free time tomorrow...

xoxo
Madge

The Not Very Miraculous Miracle Suit and the AC Moore Event

With The Fantabulous Robin Beam at AC Moore

Hi Gang!

Two more days until we leave for Jamaica and I am SO looking forward to it. I really need a tropical getaway to refresh and refocus. We're all counting the minutes here at the Potter Homestead. Got our house and animal sitter lined up, clothes picked out to pack, gallons of 50 plus sunscreen for our fair skin and hats...ya gotta have hats! After the AC Moore event on Saturday we zipped over to Macy's to pick up a bathing suit for moi. I had ordered a few from Newport News last week and paid for expedited shipping, only to discover that they'd neglected to let me know two of the suits were on back order. Hullo. So I cancelled them and did some online research. Macy's seemed to have a decent selection.

Avalon is my style advisor so she bravely joined me in the dressing room for a parade of ill fitting and highly unflattering swimsuits. I hope that one day she recovers from the experience. Good LORD what is it with the people who make bathing suits?! I think they're sadists. If you can't rock a bikini, you don't have a lot of options. I like a swimdress, but give me a little cleavage action and make the skirt long enough to cover my arse! If it was worth revealing, I'd rock a bikini! Let me accentuate the positive! Show me some retro fabulosity that has colorful and lively fabrications and all of those little details that divert the eye from things we don't wish to hilight! I've decided that I need to design a line of bathing suits and resort wear for real women, meaning the majority of us who aren't built like 14 year old boys with huge boobs. Just because we aren't a size 2 doesn't mean we want to look frumpy. Seriously, I think that's a gold mine!

But I digress...

I tried on a 'Miracle Suit.' The only miracle is that I managed to get it on and get it back off again without a large shoehorn or a team of mules. It got stuck half way over my tushie and I was seriously worried we might have to have it surgically removed. We were laughing so hard we both collapsed on the dressing room floor while I flailed about like a beached sea elephant! I finally managed to get it on and looked like a very lumpy sausage stuffed into a tiny casing! Thankfully the retro 40s style shirred 'vamp maillot' Jantzen suit fit like a glove and shoved the lumps into a delightful hourglass shape. Huzzah! I plan to bedazzle it, because it was only available in black and it needs a little pizazz. This is why I love being crafty, I can trick out any fashion item in a flash. Break out the hot fix crystals and the sew on stones and call me Esther Williams!

I had a great time with the AC Moore folks and everyone who made the earrings seemed really pleased. They were easy to make and they looked quite fetching, so it was a win-win. Most folks aren't going to sit down for too long, so I made it a short attention span concept. My bestest buddy Ms. Robin Beam came to support me, which was super sweet of her. I just adore Ms. Robin!

I'm finishing up some samples for a new book query and fine tuning the concept so I can hopefully get it off in the mail before we go along with a couple of magazine projects that are due. Then we're off to Jamaica to unwind for a few days. No worries, mon.

xoxo
Madge

TastyLinks Saturday!

Illustration Copyright Enoch Bolles

I'm off to my special appearance at the Moorestown New Jersey AC Moore grand re-opening! Every AC Moore in the country will be offering a free make it/take it today designed by yours truly! So if you've got an AC Moore in your town, go whip up a pair of swingy little earrings! Before I go, here are the links from the crafty bloggers! I'll be back Monday. Until then...craft on with your bad selves.

xoxo
Madge

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.

Naughty Secretary Club Every Monday in March Jen is giving away a different craft book! Read the book reviews and then leave a comment for your chance to win titles like Sew Darn Cute, Plexi Class, Canvas Remix and more

Layers Upon Layers This is "Book Arts month" on Layers Upon Layers!

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

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

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!

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

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner Swelldesigner shares a childhood craft memory all about Scribbles Paint!

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

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

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!