Crafty Blogger

Can that be right? The 18th? Wow! Time is just flying by. Anyway, I finally remembered to post the artsy blogger roundup links, although I forgot to send mine in! Here is what is going on in my blogging friends’ lives right now:

Beading Arts has an entire month of fast and easy tutorials for handmade jewelry gifts to share with us. Sounds like a great resource for those, “Oh, no! I completely forgot to get Aunt Betty a gift!” moments.

Creative Dreamer is sharing a Christmas Nail ornament.

Eileen from The Artful Crafter invites us to join The Artful Crafter Christmas Parade of Crafts. She says, “Pssst … don’t miss the fabulous freebies at the end of the parade.”

Cherie suggests you check out Gifts for Your Favorite Crafter, which has ideas for things to buy for that crafty person on your list.

And, last but not least, we have Pine Cone Craft Ideas, which is a list of 12 fun pine cone craft ideas kids can make. I gave my pine cones to a neighbor last year, but I see plenty under the trees again. Looks like we’ll have plenty of crafts to keep us busy this winter!

What are you up to in your studio this week?

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been out shooting photos instead of in the studio, but what’s happening in the rest of the art world? Here’s a glimpse:

Auntie’s Beads supplied some wonderful faux sea glass beads for Cyndi to use in a new design!

CreativeDreamer says, “Oops… I forgot to include the wrap up next week, so here it is… the Boo Pumpkin wrap up…”

Eileen, The Artful Crafter, says, “Don’t let the rotten egg smell or safety concerns keep you from discovering the wonderful burnished effects you can create on a thin metal sheet with liver of sulfur.”

Halloween is coming up, so this post on drawing a troll from a picture and then doodling the background using markers is very timely.

Hope you are enjoying your Mother’s Day weekend and that you have some time to do some art in between all the hustle and bustle of cleaning up after your breakfast in bed and handmade Mother’s Day cards. (Why is it that cleaning up after those particular kid activities feels like opening another present? I guess because they are messes made with love?)

Cyndi from Beading Arts has launched the first installment of her brand new e-book on bead embroidery…and it’s free! Hurry over for your copy!

Creative Dreamer says, “June is setting up a monthly creativity prompt, and would LOVE having you play along…come see how it works and join in the fun!”

Kidsfunreviewed.com has a review of the awesome new Cricut Cake – “Have you seen the latest machine from Cricut? It’s not for scrapbooking, it’s for cake decorating!”

The Gadabout Media DIY wedding series continues with tips and tricks for making your own wedding favors.

Hmmm… the tooth fairy takes teeth and leaves money, so what does the Menopause fairy take and what does she leave behind? Well… hopefully a sense of humour and delight. Noreen has designed a fun homage to the Menopause Fairy, and has also uploaded a very neat new video tutorial on how to adapt a 4 peg spool knitter into a 5 peg spool knitter. So cool!

The Artful Crafter tells you how to make your own puzzles.

Want some tips for making an inexpensive comforter? Then you won’t want to miss frugal ways to make a quick and easy bed quilt.

I am spending a lot of time in the garden and doing less in the art studio just like I do every spring, so I haven’t been doing much. Not all artists are slacking in the craft room, though. Here is what the artsy bloggers have been up to:

Tottie Talks Crafts has a giveaway. 60 Quick Knits is just wonderful, and, you can win a copy of it! Just leave a comment.

Beading Arts has a quick little tutorial on how to create a barnacle texture with seed beads!

Creative Dreamer says, “Yummies…my version of strawberry tiramisu…come see!”

Kidsfunreviewd.com has step by step instructions and photos for making a cross cake for a First Communion, Easter, or Baptism.

It’s wedding season, so to celebrate Chloe is writing a series of articles on creating your own special DIY wedding!

Love scrapbooking? Here are some homemade gift ideas to make using scrapbook supplies and techniques.

The Artful Crafter asks, “Do companies offer free craft products to the general public for testing?”

Cyndi from Beading Arts has just finished up a floral necklace that features fabric!

Creative Dreamer says “Violets are everywhere! Let’s sugar some for sweet goodie decorations!”

Gadabout Media shows you how to make bandanas for your favorite fur kid.

Kids Fun Reviewed has Gone Fishing Cupcakes that are super quick and easy. Perfect for dad on Father’s Day.

Cherie is sharing Mirrors and Poetry. She uses lines from her poetry to create one-of-a-kind mirrors.

The Artful Crafter shares a tutorial on how to make an envelope book for little treasures or clutter.

This week, Noreen from Tottie Talks Crafts made 3 new video tutorials showing different techniques for spool knitting with 2 pegs – great for jewelry making and lots of other things, too!

Cyndi from Beading Arts has found a *lot* of seed bead tutorials lurking in her blog’s archives!

Gadabout Media DIY asks, “Do you have a beloved piece of fabric, but can’t decide what to make out of it? How about making a piece of jewelry? It’s quick, easy and very pretty!”

Home and Garden Cafe says, “For Earth Day try making a toad house by recycling an old clay pot.” Oh, that sounds like fun. We love our little toads and salamanders and the kids will get a kick out of making a special home for the toads.

The Frugal Home shows us ways to make an old desk come to life.

The Artful Crafter asks, “Does your craft space need some decluttering? Here are some ways to donate your excess projects and supplies.”

Noreen from Tottie Talks Crafts has figured out several different ways of weaving triangles on the pothholder loom, using yarn. Here’s a video tutorial for the bias or continuous weaving technique.

Have you done something artsy this week? I’d love to hear about your projects!

Did another week really pass? I feel like I somehow missed it! I have been working on my Gut Art class book and doing a bit of doodling, so I don’t really have much to share. Makes me feel downright slackerish compared to all these talented artsy bloggers!

As artsy as I got this week! (I am suffering from a teensy chicken obsession.)

Cyndi from Beading Arts shares how she constructs her bead embroidered cuff bracelets for the Bead Journal Project.

Creative Dreamer says, “With spring springing up all over, and I want to share my favorite cake recipe for spring. It goes PERFECTLY with fresh fruit…or, candied violets….”

Chloe from Gadabout Media has posted a tutorial on how to make your own stamped scrapbooking ribbons. (And they are lovely. I almost got sidetracked and started making some, but then I remembered I was in the middle of a blog post!)

Cherie is sharing her lovely poetry mirrors – Lines from poems, craft paper, and paint create one-of-a-kind mirrors.

The Artful Crafter has some glass etching tips from master etcher Eric Robert to share with us.

The Kid’s Fun Review has a Sweet Pea Cupcake Topper and Scrapbook Page to share.

Tottie Talks Crafts says “Nostepinnes are an ancient way of winding flat, stackable, center pull balls of yarn. There is a knack to learning the skill of winding yarn on the nostie, and Noreen has made a video tutorial to show how it’s done.”

Have we really gone through an entire week already? I’m still on my Monday to do list! I guess that’s what happens when you spend too long in the art studio and out taking photographs of all the spring things, huh? Speaking of art studios, there are some really fun things going on in the artsy blogger studios this week. Let’s take a look:

Cyndi from Beading Arts worked out a pattern for a simple but pretty floral seed bead chain!

Creative Dreamer says, “It’s a month of give-aways over on my blog…and I’m half way through. Come see what’s going on and toss your name in the hat!!!” I slipped over to take a look and wow! Gorgeous little pieces of art.

Gadabout Media DIY helps you turn a fabric remnant into a pretty and stylish fringed scarf in an afternoon.

Home and Garden Cafe helps you whip together a lovely Easter decoration with directions for an easy to make paper mache egg Easter table centerpiece.

The Artful Crafter asks, “Looking for canning jar art ideas and supplies?” Let Eileen help you out with resources and tips.

Tottie Talks Crafts says, “Doodling is so much more than mindless twiddling with a pencil- it can be the source of all kinds of design inspiration.”

I used to be a member of the talented Artsy Blogger Friday Round Up when I was the Stamping Mad blogger at b5media. When the blog was axed, I stopped participating. I am excited to report that I have rejoined the group and will be putting a Friday round up here and co-posting it over at Gadabout Media, where I’m blogging about holidays.

Don't forget to get your kids crafting, too!

Creative Dreamer is finishing a book and says, “Here’s the last part of how I created the latest book…come see how it was done!”

Gadabout Media DIY says Easter is coming soon, so why not use your sewing machine to help decorate for Easter?

Gadabout Media Holidays (That’s me!) is springing into warmer weather with mixed media wooden letters.

The Artful Crafter recommends that we take a spin with Eileen and Shaaron on the Craft-N-Spin crafting turntable.

The Kid’s Fun Review has some fun St. Patrick’s Day craft ideas for kids.

A friend of Noreen’s mentioned that she uses her doodling for inspiration in crochet. That inspired Noreen to make a Doodle Doll with spool knitted arms and legs. Tottie Talks Crafts tells how to make a Doodle Doll.

Now that you’ve browsed through all these artsy links, I know you’re filled to the brim with inspiration. Happy weekend crafting!