Don’t forget to share your photos with the rest of us at http://www.flickr.com/groups/fabricbookcover/ :)

On a different note, grad school is kicking my ass so theCrafties is taking a side seat for now. I hope to get things worked out and back to quasi normal after I get caught up (boo for late shipments on books!!). Remember that if you would like to follow my grad school adventures, you’ll need to email me because I will not be linking the site here.

I hope you experience great crafting days ahead and continue to share so that I can live vicariously through the internet!

Axis of Awesome is a band that has shown the world the power of understanding music in their 4 Chord Song. Did you know all the popular songs in the last forty years is played with 4 chords? Brilliant!

They led me to google Canvas Bag which led me to Tim Minchin who is another amazing (comedy) musician. I love this song, Rock n Roll Nerd – it is so honest!

3DSMiis.com is a new site in beta-test where 3DS users can upload Miis that they created. I am a huge Nintendo fan and this will be awesome to grab some of my favorite characters without having to do all the work myself of creating them. (This is Professor Layton, without his tophat :)

I am really digging Checkout Girl’s projects lately. I’ve started one similar to hers but I doubt I have the skill level to make it as awesome. It has actually been in the works for quite some time but life keeps getting in the way.
Do you have any interesting places to check out on the world wide web?

Giveaway Day ~ Handcrafted Item(s)

Giveaway Day ~ Handcrafted Item(s) + Supplies/Materials

Giveaway Day ~ Sewing + Knitting Supplies/Materials

Sew Mama Sew organizes this event in May and December. It is super awesome to gamble at winning, or to send away something you made/have to someone anywhere in the world (or both:).

You can see details of my previous giveaway here - i didnt win anything per say, but I sure felt like a winner with all the wonderful comments and shipping things internationally made me feel super cool.

And let us not forget how rad it is to find so many talented people you may otherwise not have known about! Im sorry i didnt post about this at the beginning of the week – hurry, its over December 17th!

Thanks again SMS :D

The site was suggested to me by both Megan from Princess Lasertron and Larissa from mmmcrafts. So many scrumptious colors to choose from! And much nicer than that cheap stuff at the craft store.

Though my photo is a bit overly blue, I did find the colors to be what I expected from the pics at their site. Seen here is the Plenty of Pinks bundle, Buttercream, Beige, Mac & Cheese, English Rose, Pink Grapefruit, Plum, Robins Egg Blue, and Peacock. Look at their site though to really see the colors : 12×18 Wool Felt Central.

Fast shipping + Excellent colors = I will buy there again :D

As you may have guessed, all crafting has slowed to a stop lately here. My craft room was taken over by furniture and tools. I got the tools out at least so now there is room to craft again and i can access my supplies. Our kitchen has a microwave, stove, sink, dishwasher, one wall cabinet and a silverware cabinet. The rest of the kitchen finds itself in random places. Once we are done removing the drywall, lights, and ceiling, then its just a waiting game for when the contractor can fit us in. Not ideal living for one such as myself, but now I can lock myself away in the craft room at least:)

I made curtains today – they dont hold up under close inspection, but they do their jobs respectfully so I like them. I still would like to add ribbon to them like i mentioned here. Some day maybe.

My favorite scrapbooking store is going out of business. This really bums me out but they have *everything* on sale for 50% off so thats pretty spectacular, eh? Lets just say i brought home lots of goodies. Which means that I plan on returning to scrapping in the near future. Ooh la la!

I did start a project to test something I read on the internet, but I decided to postpone it for now so this is all i got. I dont recall where i heard it, but the idea was that you can use a lazer jet printer and an iron to make a transferable image. I would suggest only using the very basic images (more plain than what you see here on the carebear) but it turns out to be true!

For all you mac users, boy found me this sweet program that keeps any window you want to stay on top while you poke around other windows: Afloat.

Around this time of year, you may see lots of donation options. Theres a million, I know – how do you choose? I dunno myself, but here are some I know like:

http://ibol.wordpress.com/ <— Iraqi Bundles of Love

http://www.heifer.org/ <— Animals for families to sustain a future (I participate through the World Builders Team Page which matches my donation, the mastermind work of Patrick Rothfuss)

http://www.wikipedia.org/ <— Knowledge for all – read about it and donate here.

http://ww5.komen.org/ <— I add this one in memory of one of my undergraduate teachers who recently passed away from breast cancer. She worked with me to gain admittance for the bioarchaeological field school in Peru. She really showed me how to write at a more professional level in just a few days (i had it in me, but hadnt learned how to hone it yet), staying late after her class with me or being available on the phone – even though we had never met before then. Later, she taught me about forensic anthropology in an adult education class. She also was a very enthusiastic member of our Anthropology Club. I will always remember her.

With that said, I do own something from PrincessLasertron but she makes me drool with her creativity of color combinations and embroidery choices, so why wouldnt i want more? She made a wedding bout for Boy and a wrist crosage for me and I love them both. Here is one of her recent creations that I stared at for entirely too long:

I love AnnWoodHandmade for making the sweetest little birdies out of vintage clothing she finds at local antique stores. She makes wedding couples, ballerinas, campers, pirates – all adorable. She also has owls and spiders and sailboats with wobblers, and offers some little trinkets that she finds while searching for fabric. My favorite so far has been this guy:

I dig LilFishStudios for the earthy context of her work. She makes felted acorns with real acorn tops, cute little fishies and birds in addition to other earthy items, and even wearable art. Namely the felted brooches with birch shells, like these:

I hope you enjoy the eye candy each crafter offers. I was recently asked how I find the websites I go to and its pretty simple. I usually start with a google image search (i am addicted) and find something I like – it could be something specific like “felt starfish softie” or more general “cute fish”. Then i quickly skim the photos on the first 3 or so pages of results, opening new tabs for anything that catches my eye. Then i quickly scroll through the site and see if its something i would like or not. If im not into it, i get what i need about the image, and close the tab. If i like it, i might add it to my RSS reader (I use NetNewsWire). If I really like it, i go through all the links on their site because typically birds of a feather flock together. Be careful though! There is so much good stuff out there that you could spend all your waking days drifting through it – but if you did that, you wouldnt ever have the chance to try it on your own – so be careful, as it can be addicting:)

And then just to throw you for a loop, here is a site that I often visit to stay up to par with what is happening in the world of anthropology. John Hawks teaches at one of the schools I might apply to for grad school and Ive been following him since the Homo floresiensis discovery. I really like his blog because in general his posts are summaries of larger articles so its like a crash course on everything I am missing while taking a break. But you expect crafty things from me, so Ill leave you with this idea: One day (probably far far in the future) I would like to blackwork embroider this (or one of his other sketches) on a tote or a wall hanging or a bookcover, or somewhere, but the point is, it would be a fun project and encapsulate both my purposes in life.

Ta-ta!

Putting the giant papasan chair in the craft room proved other difficulties. I reworked the layout quite a bit but only once I got my new craft table did the pieces fall together. Looking back at what the craft room use to look like and comparing it to now is amazing. It was so cramped and cluttered!

I still need to whip out some curtains for the closet and window, but tada!

The table placement is awesome because I can work from either side, and need I remind you its counter height? Love that!

The papasan chair still works out for my “reading nook” and ive moved some scrapping supplies to the shelving next to it from the closet.

That has allowed the closet to be a larger sewing space, since now the ironing board can go on the shelving in there.

The set up of the last shelving is interesting to me, and my cats love the stair-stepped aspect of it. I have an office section set up where I can do all my scheduling and office-type things; my “library”; and some odds and ends storage.

And while taking these photos, I came across some items that deserve to be blogged about. First, there is this ceramic piece i made in highschool. It even has a working drawer on it ;)

Then there is this primitive doll that my friend Leslie made for me a few years ago. She used an old quilt for the dress, patched a star on it for moi, named her Estell (the meaning is “star”), and what you definitely cant tell from the photo is that she has a faint cinnamon smell. Super clever!

This little jar is one of my favorite pieces. In addition to the faces reminding me of Brian Froud‘s artwork (one of my favorite artists – youll know him as the designer of the Labyrinth film with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly), they were handmade by my late great gramma. I dont know if there is a proper name for these dolls, but they are made from hosiery and each one is definitely unique.

I also was gifted this doll, Horse Medicine Woman, for my graduation present. Mik blogged about her here and here, where the light was with her for better photos. It was her first venture for a fully beaded dress and it is stunning (yes ladies and gents, the colors of her dress are tiny little beads)!

And now i must work to deserve the itouch Boy so graciously got me for doing taxes. Bleh.

Recognize the ladybug print? Its Heidi Grace – one of my favorite scrapping designers. Those little windows were fun. With the additional knowledge of interfacing, i have so many new ideas! And i used fray-check to keep the corduroy from fraying.

Pockets on one side are sized for my wallet, phone, itouch, and little things like my addiction to Avon’s Care Deeply chapstick. The other side is reserved for my dsi and checkbook. There is also a pocket that fits off to the side of the bag, for my lotion bottle (another addiction, Jergens Ultra Healing lotion).

Did i ever mention my wallet? I love him. I picked it up at the Bristol Renaissance Fair, from Grichels, a Wrinkle in Reality. She makes all kinds of leather goods, with awesome faces, reminiscent of the Necronomicon from the Evil Dead series.

But i digress. My new go-bag is awesome because it holds my book but there is still room for additional things when Im on the go, which my old one didnt allow. For instance, if I ever wanted to take my camera, now i can.

So, originally the pattern came from ArtsyCraftyBabe. I tweaked it so much that perhaps I shouldnt really advertise it as her creation, but this bag wouldnt have existed without her Phoebe bag pattern. The changes I made were the shape (mine is more squarish, and a different size – the same goes for the latch part) and mine has lots of pockets. If i did it again, i would widen the strap and attach the pockets just a tad differently. But overall, this will be my new go-bag for quite some time i think:)

She makes Native American inspired crafts so she made me a beautiful pouch from teal suede leather, and created a beaded rosette for it. Its so soft! I havent decided what Im going to keep in it yet, but itll be something good:)

She also made a little ornament type thing for package decoration.

You can check out what else she makes at Past, Present, and Future. I also received a catalog from Crazy Crow! They sell all kinds of things for historic crafts – from leathers, stones, and metals to knives, books, and dvds.