2010: My Year in Crafts
2010 was the year I ventured far from my yarn-crafting comfort zone, which is not to imply I was uncomfortable doing it. Inspired by my cousin’s jewelry making, I learned how to make earrings. Armed with a bag of implements I bought off Craigslist and knowledge gained from a workshop at the Summit of Awesome, I started screen printing. And I finally, finally, progressed from thinking about sewing to actually learning how to do it. In fact, as I write this there are four newly completed zipper pouches in front of me. They aren’t perfect, but I know what I want to do differently...
Read MoreVideoblog the First: Summing Up My Screen Printing Bonanza
Remember back when I launched a podcast? You know, the podcast that only ever had one episode? Yeah. Would you believe that I’ve wanted to play around with web video for years? I bet you would believe that, yes. And I bet you’d also understand why, given my one-episode podcast, I may have shied away from diving in. Novelty junkies shouldn’t be trusted to make long-term commitments. So take this all with a grain of salt, but here’s the deal. I was finally kicked in the patootey to take up my digicam when the lovely marketing director at Adobe Ideas asked me to....
Read MoreScreen-Printing Extravaganza!
Last week I spent quite a lot of time wondering what on earth I was thinking telling my mother-in-law we should screen print 75 bags for hotel guests coming to my brother-in-law’s wedding. It wasn’t so much the 75 bags as it was designing the image. I can do words. Yes, words I can do. But bags for wedding guests need more than words. And draw well I do not. I do not draw well! Early on I decided I’d try my best to draw my brother- and new sister-in-law as peas in a pod. Because they complement each other so beautifully. They’re a fabulous and wonderful couple. But...
Read MoreWhat Would the Picard Do: A Screen Printing Test
A few months ago on a slow work day I bought a bunch of screen printing supplies off Craigslist. I’d never actually screen printed anything, but I was seized by the crafts monster that lives in my occipital lobe, constantly searching for good crafty bargains. In June at the Summit of Awesome I took Christy Petterson‘s screen printing workshop. Serendipity. That woman changed my life, I swear. On Saturday I had a chat with my mother-in-law, who’s in the throes of final plans for Greg’s brother’s wedding later this month. She needs to put gift bags together for...
Read MoreThat Summit Really Was Awesome
All I really want to say is that I hope the people at Hello Craft invite me to next year’s Summit of Awesome. Because the one last week was fantastic. I’ve got my work mojo back. And there are lots of ideas I want to tell you about. But for now, I’m just going to sum up the conference, and the extra day I spent in Portland, in photos. (I’ve written about my Mighty Ugly experiences over on the MU blog.) I’m very grateful to have attended and hopefully to have contributed a little to the greatness of the Summit of Awesome. I had fun, I made stuff, I...
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I write here about creativity, business, crafts, publishing and books.
