I've heard about a new collage book called "Art from the Heart", by Catherine Matthews Scanlon. I haven't seen this book "in person" yet, I can't wait to get my hands on it! The link for the author's blog is here.
On Michelle Ward's GPP Street Team blog, I came across her crusades. Michelle posts "crusades", challenges in which readers can participate. Although she's on about Crusade No. 11 now, I found a lot of her older crusades that I'd like to try. I think they will make good subjects for future blog posts, so you will be seeing more of those here!
This is Crusade No. 5, called "Kiss and Tell". Participants are supposed to show/tell about "Evidence of your Everyday", things you use/wear, things you love/have saved, etc.
Evidence of my Everyday can be seen here: Right now, my favorite health/granola bars are all the ones from Kashi. The little charms next to the bar are a record and a "Princess" phone - I've had that little phone charm since I was 5 or 6 yrs. old, and I really loved it as a kid (the record is old, but I got it more recently, in someone's box of cast-off buttons). The flowered fabric below is a favorite casual summer shirt. The black/gray plaid fabric is a comfortable, fleecy (though drab) winter shirt - it gives me a warm, comforting feeling when I'm cold or sick. The little round circles are sterling silver ear hoops, which I wear everyday when I'm not matching outfits or getting dressed up.
I'm not sure if this post fits in my creative-themed blog, but it probably says a whole lot about me! :)
The kind of websites and blogs I enjoy looking at the most are - you guessed it - arts and crafts related! This time, I have some information sites to share.
Craft Critique is website devoted to craft product reviews and product usage tips, provided by artists/crafters like you and me. The site is uncluttered, easy-to-read and find information.
Art and Craft Questions and Answers is a blog for Etsy shop owners, a place to discuss, ask questions and get answers, share ideas and techniques. You can sign up by join their Yahoo group, and you will receive an invitation to the blog.
Craftster is community where people share how they make things; they even have a "craftopedia", an encyclopedia of basic craft definitions and techniques.
CRAFT and MAKE magazines have a website which includes projects, a blog, a forum and preview of the current issue on the newsstands.
Whipup.net is written blogstyle, with the most recent entires at the top. For ease in finding topics, all the art and craft categories are listed along the right side.
Sneaky Lia of "Art Junk Girl" fame tagged everyone reading her blog to list seven things that ROCK, so here's my list:
1) Arts/Crafts - Just love 'em, I could spend all day and night working on all sorts of projects! Art really adds a lot to my life!
2) Lia's Artjunk Blog - Of course, Lia knew I would have her blog on the list, it was and still is my top favorite artsy blog of all time! If you haven't checked it out yet, you don't know what you're missing!
3) Old papers, books and magazines - My favorite stuff to use on my projects! Plus, hunting for those things is so much fun - I never know what "treasures" I'm going to find next!
4) New York Cheesecake Frozen Custard - I love cheesecake, so naturally my favorite flavor of frozen custard at Good Times is New York Cheesecake! That is, it's my favorite flavor so far - I haven't tried all the flavors yet!
5) Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Watercolor Crayons - I bought a 15-color set (actually, a 14-color set - one was missing) from a yard sale, and I think they are great! I think I'd better start saving up for the big set (84 colors)!
6) Summer - The warmth, the sun, the longer daylight, hopefully some extra time to do some fun, relaxing things - like art, maybe!
7) Art/Craft Blogs, Swap & Discussion Groups - So much fun chatting and swapping with like-minded creative individuals - it's great to get to know more and more of you nice, sharing, friendly people!
Okay, there's my list! You read this, I'd sure be interested to see what's on your list! (Am I nosey, or what?)
One of my favorite blogs is "Art Junk" by Lia, and today she wrote some things that struck a cord with me. Lia was wondering about why she loves "bits and pieces" and collage so much - she thought it might have something do to with seeing her mother working as a seamstress while she was a child.
Some of the things that Lia describes sound very, very familiar to me, like the part about her mother holding pins in her mouth (my mom used to do that all the time). There was always plentypins on the floor and fabric around our house, as well.
Although there are similarities in our stories, some situations were/are strikingly different. For instance, my mom sewed a lot of our clothes and household items, she sometimes sewed for other family members and occasionally was paid to sew for others. And since my mom sews now for fun and profit (for craft shows), she understands my desire to create for income, enjoyment and expression. Having a mom who supports my creativity makes me very lucky, indeed!
You probably have someone in your life who doesn't "get" art /crafts. They don't understand why you "waste your time" creating a project. If there are very many of these "art doubters" in your life, they can dish out a lot of negativity surrounding you and your art/craft. That's why you need creative friends - for positive reinforcement and to neutralize some of that negative energy!
To find creative friends, you could look in your city or town for groups, guilds or clubs in your areas of interest. If you have trouble finding local groups or want to connect on your own timetable, the Internet is invaluable. You already know about art/craft blogs; you may also want to try Flickr groups for picture-sharing (http://www.flickr.com/), and Yahoo! groups for discussion or swapping (http://groups.yahoo.com/). Also, try searching for art retreats, conventions, classes and consumer shows. Meeting and interacting with like-minded individuals is the most important part of attending a special art/craft event. Often, friendships made at these events will continue afterward through Internet contact. I have many wonderful friends made through conventions; we keep in touch, and our friendships are strong, although we don't see each other often. Here's to making more creative friends!
Welcome!
I love to go blog-surfing, looking at people's arts/crafts blogs. While I was doing this the other day, I was thinking about how many different kinds of creativity I saw. Everyone has their own unique talent. To me, an artist is someone who interprets what he/she sees. Since we all have our own unique vision, we all interpret things in our own special way. "Vision" doesn't only have to mean seeing with our eyes; we also see with our hearts, minds and imaginations. A group of artists can see the same subject, but each one would interpret that subject differently. That is what is so great about arts and crafts!
Hello, and welcome!
As you can tell by the title, this is my first post! I've been a fan of arts and crafts blogs for a while now, and I've read quite a few of them. The more I read, the more I wanted to start a creative blog of my very own. You see, I've had a lot of experience with many arts and crafts, and I feel the need to that with others. I don't know everything about all arts and crafts - I'm always learning and growing and trying new things. If you feel the same way, come back here and check out my blog again! Thanks for coming, leave a message any time, or just stop in and say hi!
So far, I have some of my very favorite arts and crafts blogs on my list (check 'em out!), I'll be adding more as I get organized.
