I have to be honest with you here.  There’s a part of me that wishes like crazy that I could be as snarky as the folks on either Craftastrophe or Regretsy.  Some of the handmade work that they feature is truly amazingly horrible.  But I just can’t do it.  Every time I go to start, I can hear my mother’s voice in my head saying, “Cynthia, if you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, don’t say anything.”  Nope, I don’t have one of those moms who said “come sit by me.”  My mom is nice, and she wants me to be nice.

So the closest I can come to being really really snarky is to tell you that I think Regretsy is a riot.  I think you should go visit it.  I don’t think you should ever ever ever make anything that will get you featured there.  But if you do get your stuff featured there, it often seems to sell!!

Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled blog posts.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

So what you’ll find are professional designers, whose names you’ll know from other magazines and books, who’ve created projects in all different media and for all different skill levels.  Sound interesting?

There were no wearables in this sample issue, but there may be some in other issues.  Covering a wide variety of craft media, the issue that I saw was organized around the season and its holidays.  There are projects to do with the kids, lots of home decor and gift ideas, a book and a product review, and a directory of online resources to help you actually be able to make the projects.  There are many fabric projects that could definitely be enhanced even further by your beading skills!

***FREE STUFF ALERT***

So here’s the giveaway: leave a comment below, telling me what your favorite craft or art form is besides beading, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a free subscription to Totally Creative for a year!  That is six issues, altogether    Next week, I will be randomly drawing a winner!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

I love polymer clay because of the immediacy of it as a medium. It is endlessly challenging yet among the simples of mediums to us. There are new techniques being developed daily and the excitement of trying new ones keeps it fresh and enticing. It’s great to be learning from other polymer clay artists(who are among the most generous of artists when it comes to sharing information) and a day does not go by when I don’t see something done in polymer clay that  intrigues me….

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Childhood experiences started me on a path of looking at nature with appreciation and awe. Collecting stones, shells, and pieces of pottery from trips around the world always kept those memories alive in a special way. Some tokens became necklaces or pins, as I learned new ways to create jewelry with different mediums.

The pieces shown are built with polymer clay and are embedded with pieces of pottery shards that date back to 165 BC, the time of Judah Maccabbee. No longer used to store wine, oil, or perfume, these shards come from Tel Maresha, in the 1,250 acre Beit Guvrin National Park which lies one hour southwest of Jerusalem. The darkest shards were used for cooking over and open flame.

I took part in an archaology “dig for a day” program, with members of my group uncovering chicken bones, pieces of pottery, and the top third of a wine amphora intact! We toured where the former residents raised doves, stored their crops, and buried their dead. At the end of the day, we were allowed to take shards of pottery that the archaologists determined were no longer of interest to them. These “relics” now have a new life and can be appreciated in new ways. Much like finding a new path on life’s journey.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Nope. Instead, I decided to start on another book idea I’ve had for about five or more years. I originally pitched it to this same editor many years ago, but I was told it was too narrow a topic. But, I still (after all these years) think it’s a good book idea, so I’m going on and even contacted another editor at another publishing house this past week.

This is a first for me. Other than writing books for Rockport, I’ve only worked for Wiley & Sons, who contacted me. But, I am beginning to realize it’s probably time for me to go out there and knock on doors, or in this case, knock on email addresses. It’s kind of scary because it means possible rejection (or even probable) and that sucks, but it’s past time for me to do this. I actually had a friend of mine suggest self-publishing, but I don’t want to do that unless I have no other options. There are so many craft book publishers out there, hopefully, it will never come to that!

On this same topic, I’ve just added a new jewelry and beading blog poll (scroll to the right and down). Do you ever buy self-published craft books?

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

This books full of practical information that really relates to anyone who has a craft-related business. She covers a lot of business basics too, like figuring out pricing, and marketing yourself.

Most libraries have this book because it pretty much a classic in the world of business crafts, but you can also click on the image above to shoot over to Amazon.com and read some reviews, view the table of contents, or read an excerpt.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Kathy Cano Murillo runs it, and you may have seen her on TV before. For those who have wanted to turn their crafting into a career, her bio is worth a read – very inspiring!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading