Carnival of the Creators - next edition
Posted by Leah on Apr 27, 2007
I’m hosting the Carnival of the Creators on my blog in May. If you blog about creativity, feel free to submit an article to the carnival. The deadline for submissions is May 8th, and the carnival will be posted here on the 10th. I already have several great articles, but I have room for a few more!
Metalwork In Progress
Posted by Leah on Apr 25, 2007
I started a new fused silver pendant last night. Since metalwork is such a mysterious process to many people, I thought I’d post a picture of what it looks like on my soldering pad at the moment. It definitely still needs some work, but I think it will be a good one when it’s done:
Thanks Maven!
Posted by Leah on Apr 25, 2007
There’s a nice little write-up about me on the Maven Blog. While you’re there, you can read about some of the other talented Mavens who will be at the May 12th show.
Color on Metal
Posted by Leah on Apr 24, 2007
A few weeks ago I wrote about a Tim McCreight book I own, and mentioned that I hadn’t read any of his other books. I just realized that isn’t true! Color on Metal: 50 Artists Share Insights and Techniques
This book isn’t exactly a how-to, although it does discuss many ways of coloring metal. Instead, it profiles jewelers using various different methods to add color to their metalwork. Some of them are quite innovative, and although I would have liked more explanation on how to acheive some of the (gorgeous) pictured results, I enjoyed reading about each artist’s work. It’s very inspiring, and several of the methods discussed got me thinking about how I could incorporate more color into my metalwork.
If you want a how-to book, I recommend Jinks McGrath’s book, which I reviewed a while back, The Jeweler’s Directory Of Decorative Finishes
Crochet Basics
Posted by Leah on Apr 18, 2007
I found some great tutorials on crochet basics. If you want to learn the stitches that I use in my tutorials, head over to The Purl Bee’s Crochet Basics. There are great pictures of each stitch!
Crochet Flower Tutorial
Posted by Leah on Apr 18, 2007
Here’s my second crocheted pendant tutorial. For this one, I used a sport weight yarn called Craft from the Vickie Howell yarn collection. The red color is called Chica. I used a 3.75mm crochet hook.
To begin, chain 8 & join with a slip stitch to form a ring. Single crochet 14 times into the ring, then slip stitch to join to the first single crochet. Now you have a sturdy-looking ring with single crochets all around it.
Now make the petals - if you have 14 single crochets, you will end up with 7 petals. To make a petal, single crochet, double crochet, triple crochet, double crochet, and single crochet into the first single crochet. Then slip stitch into the next single crochet to make a space between the first petal and the next. Repeat making one petal and one space all around the ring.
If you want a pendant, you need to make a bail. Chain about 7 stitches, then slip stitch to join to the center of the flower, making a loop for a bail. If you don’t want a pendant - say you’re making the flower to sew onto a scarf or something - skip this step and just weave your ends in when you are finished making all the petals.
Resin Jewelry In Progress & New Crocheted Pendant
Posted by Leah on Apr 17, 2007
I’m really excited about this batch of resin pendants I’m working on. I love the contrast between the old hardware parts and the fake flowers, and I even like the background color I mixed.
Here’s a new crocheted pendant, which I think is pretty cute, although it would be a lot cuter if I had used really thin yarn:
I’ll have a tutorial for this one written up later in the week. It’s easy, and made from a very small amount of sport weight yarn - but as I said, I think it would be cuter in an even thinner yarn.
Tax Day Tomorrow
Posted by Leah on Apr 16, 2007
People often ask me what the hardest part of owning a small business is. Easy answer - doing my taxes! They were so much simpler when I just had to enter in my W2 and maybe an interest payment.
Luckily, this year I saved all the important paperwork in one place, organized and everything, so it went pretty smoothly. Just answered all the questions my tax software asked and printed my return. I highly recommend getting professional help or at least specialized tax software to *anyone* with a small business, especially the first year in business. Now that I’ve been doing this for a few years, I have a system that works well for me, but I’d still be lost if I tried to do it all on my own!
While trying to de-stress during this process, I’ve been working on more resin and crocheted jewelry. I’ll post some pictures of my progress tomorrow!
Maven Fair
Posted by Leah on Apr 13, 2007
Adjowah, the organizer behind Maven Fair, sent me the cutest little animated graphic for the fair. Click on it to see the Maven blog:
Trunk Show Report - Links to craft sites
Posted by Leah on Apr 10, 2007
I had a wonderful time at the trunk show this weekend, and got to spend time with some very talented and fun people. Just so you can see what I’m talking about, here are some links to a few of their websites, blogs, and etsy stores:
Indie*Galore blog, written by Jenn of Rosebud Designs. Jenn can do just about everything crafty - she knits and crochets (check out the cute crocheted wallets on her site) and even spins her own yarn! She also does some graphic design and jewelry making. We shared a table at the show and I had a great time getting to know her. Check out the blog post she wrote about me - thanks Jenn!
There were quite a few jewelry makers at the show, and if any of them are reading and want to point me to their sites, I’d appreciate it. The one jewelry site I know of, which has amazing bold, colorful beaded jewelry, is Designs By a Hummingbird. Jeannine is one of the first people I met when I joined the Pleasanton Craft Mafia, and I always like seeing her new work.
Besides Jeannine and me, there were several other jewelry makers doing really nice work, including fused glass, precious metal clay jewelry, silver jewelry, polymer clay food-themed pendants, and more. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find links to all of their websites, so if any of you are reading and have a site, please point me to it!
Jessica, of Whimsy by Jess, makes the cutest crocheted crowns and flowers ever (and lots of other really cute things - check the link above to see some of them). A big thank you to Jessica for organizing this show - she did a great job, and it really was a lot of fun! She also collaborated with Lauren of Lauren Smash on some half crocheted/half sewn mermaid plushies. Speaking of cute, Lauren makes the cutest little monster and animal stuffed toys, and having seen them in person, I can vouch for how soft they are. Each one comes with its own story so you can get to know their personalities.
Anni of Make a Scene Photography was selling wood boxes with her own amazing photographs on the lids. I’ve meet Anni at other events with the Pleasanton Craft Mafia, but this was the first time I’d seen her work - I was very impressed! Her site has lots of examples of her photography, and apparently she’s available to shoot weddings and other events in the bay area.
Chel, the talented mixed media artist who came up with the idea to start Pleasanton Craft Mafia, had mixed media art as well as collage supplies - you can see more of her work in the ZNE store as well as her personal art website.
Gila was selling her fused glass home accessories, which are beautiful and functional. I’ve seen her work before, at a big craft show at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, and I really liked her photo holders.
There were more crafters at the show, but these are all the sites I could find - if you want to see even more crafty talent, check out the blogroll on the Maven Fair Blog and the Pleasanton Craft Mafia member links.
