Craftside

Polymer Clay and Mixed Media Together at Last! Hey, where did all the forks go?

OK when they say mixed media, they REALLY mean it!
Check out this project:

It's from:

Polymer Clay and Mixed Media — Together at Last
Incorporating Craft Materials and Found Objects in Clay Figures
By
Christi Friesen

Polymer Clay and Mixed Media—Together at Last is about making polymer clay figures—jewelry pieces, focal beads, décor items, knick-knacks—and incorporating beads, fibers, fabrics, glass, stones, etc. to create special effects. Embellishing polymer clay with mixed media adds a sophistication and richness without making the projects complicated or inaccessible to the average crafter.

Christi Friesen works in mixed media and combines polymer clay, glass, acrylic, found objects, gems, and semi-precious stones, glass beads, pearls, precious metals, and pigments to make her sculptural pieces and art jewelry. She is an award-winning artist and her work has been featured in magazine articles, books, galleries, exhibits, and juried shows as well as on her Web sites: www.CFOriginals.com and www.CFJewelryArt.com.

I just think it's amazing what can be combined with polymer clay! Be sure to pop on over to Christi's 2 sights www.CFOriginals.com and www.CFJewelryArt.com for more of her magic!

Oh and if you want the full step by step instructions for this cool project and tons more cruise on over to Amazon to grab yourself a copy of Polymer Clay and Mixed Media—Together at Last!

Sneak Peek into Paper Puppet Palooza Positively Stupendous!

So you thought I was out of my alliteration phase, NOT!

This book brought it back, just like the 80's style!

This book is soooooooooooo fun! (It will be released in February but is available for pre-order now)

Paper Puppet Palooza:
Techniques for Making Moveable Art Figures and Paper Dolls
By

Norma V. Toraya

There is nothing more enchanting than the simple, funny movement created by a flat, two-dimensional paper puppet. Puppets are automatically, and inherently, amusing. Paper Puppet Palooza will show you how to make a wide variety of moveable paper puppets, marionettes, shadow puppets, charming toys, and novel, artful gifts.

In addition to each of the basic puppet construction styles, exciting variations include instructions for making a puppet theatre, moveable greeting cards, rod puppets, and more. An enjoyable cast of puppet characters the famous Paul Palooza, a dashing Zebra known as The Great Zesby, and the lovely dancer, Ananushka Pupehklova, and many others will guide you through your puppet-making adventure.

Norma Toraya, aka Crankbunny, is an animation director for Curious Pictures in NYC where she works on commercials, music videos, TV intros, documentaries, and projections for different clients. Her animation work and charming puppet work can be found online at www.crankbunny.com. (Great name by the way!)

Which you just have to go check out for tons more fabulous paper goodness!!!

But here I have for you a fabulous project that uses one of my favorite themes-the egg!

 

Pop on over to the Paper Puppet Palooza website for more!

The Last Crafty Blogger Links of 2008! and Voyageur Press-Save 25% on Everything!

With  a tiny tear in the corner of one eye I say farewell to 2008 and with a gleam in the other for what we all have up our crafty sleeve for you all for 2009!

About Family Crafts
Here are 50, simple winter related activities for you to try - everything from simple arts and crafts projects to tasty snacks.

Aileen's Musings
Aileens shares her tasty pretzel perfect recipe and offers you a treat for New Years-free shipping!

Crafty Princess Diaries
The Crafty Princess is excited about the fact that crochet is becoming more and more popular these days, catching up to knitting finally!

Cross Stitch at About.com
Stitch Connie's Cross Stitch Tile Patterns individually, repeat motifs to create a border or bookmark, or collect several charts and create your own sampler.

Layers Upon Layers
Cyndi shares the steps to creating a simple quilt using a vacation photo!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Check out a GIANT Christmas tree made from the GIANT Spider web, one made from shopping carts and a fun inside peek and interview with Rosemary Hill, author of Elements of Style: Knit + Crochet Jewelry with Wire, Fiber, Felt + Beads.

The Impatient Crafter
Join Madge for her final free holiday craft project, an idea you can store away for next year!

Thanks for a Great 2008 from VoyageurPress.com!

Save 25% on Everything
Just enter promo code THANKS in your shopping cart to receive a 25% discount
off all products in your order.

Save 50% on all 2009 Calendars
Save big on 2009 calendars while supplies last. Calendars priced as marked on each item's Product Details page.

Don't forget to check out our selection of recommended titles for 2008. Plus, here's a look back at the year's bestsellers.

Order Today as this offer ends midnight, Wednesday, December 31!
Happy New Year!

And one last bit of info:

If you missed any days of our 15 (actually 16) days of our Holiday Goodness Giveaways go on back to posts from Dec 3 -Dec 24 and leave an answer to that day's question. While you're there read what your fellow crafty peeps had to share. Some mighty fine reading full of ideas and good stories!

You have till the end of the week (Jan 1, 2009) to leave your comments to be entered to win free books!

Melting Tyvek Technique from Creative Cloth Explorations by Patti Medaris Culea

OK, it is the day after Christmas and in between all the sale shopping, returns and putting the holiday decorations away there just might be a little time for crafting. So I thought this looked way-cool! I have some shipping to do and I think some of those envelopes available at the shipping stores are made from Tyvek. I think I'll try to score some to try this out:

Click on image to enlarge)

It is a page from:

Creative Cloth Explorations
Adventures with Fairy-Inspired Fiber Art

By

Patti Medaris Culea

This book is the fifth installment on making creative cloth fiber arts from popular art doll designer, fiber artist, and workshop instructor Patti Culea, following Creative Cloth Doll Making, Creative Cloth Doll Faces, Creative Cloth Doll Couture, and Creative Cloth Doll Beading. Readers will learn to make flat figures, fabric books, and a fairy-style fan.

This book builds on the previous four by delving into how to make fun and elaborate-looking projects using similar materials for unique projects and book structures. Culea covers the basics and provides new techniques–such as using Shiva paint sticks and stencils, working with silk rods and waste, and using lace and trims–while teaching you to how create a flat-figure doll, a memory journal with embellished cloth pages, and a beautiful fan. Professional tips, ideas for embellishments, cutting-edge techniques, and complete patterns for all the projects are included.

Patti Medaris Culea studied art in Los Angeles and Japan and began as a painter and portrait artist. She has a full-line of cloth doll patterns and her work has appeared in books, magazines, and galleries. She is the author of Creative Cloth Doll Making, Creative Cloth Doll Faces, Creative Cloth Doll Couture , and Creative Cloth Doll Beading.

And today is the first day of Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa is a holiday that celebrates African-American culture. Kwanzaa lasts for seven days; it starts on December 26th, and ends on New Year's Day. The word "Kwanzaa" means "first fruits" in Swahili. Maulena Karenga, an African-American scholar and activist, founded Kwanzaa in 1966.

Kwanzaa celebrates seven principles ("Nguzo Saba" in Swahili), including: 

• Unity (umoja), signified by the gathering of family, friends, and community

• Faith (imani)
• Purpose (nia)
• Collective work and responsibility (ujima) - the commitment to the high ideals of the African community
• Cooperative economics (ujamaa)
• Self-determination (kujichagulia)
• Creativity (kuumba)

Pop on over to this sight for some Kwanzaa crafts!