Look what I found! Cruising around looking for something new in embroidery, I stumbled upon this site announcing a new magazine coming in Fall 2010. According to their website they will have nationally know writers and designers, but are also looking for new designers.

“Any use of needle(s) and fiber with either an updated traditional look or an edgy twist is of interest.“

The magazine is in tabloid format, newspaper style sized at 11″ x 17″ and will be mailed quarterly. I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes. We can always use a new, slightly edgier publication in the needlework and crafts world.

So click on the Spool Quarterly logo and take a look. Subscription information is available and orders are being taken on the site.

What are your favorite crafting magazines?

Origami Dress Card

Card made with dress design from a Klutz Origami kit and general card stock.

Origami Shirt Card

The shirt pictured is made using a Klutz Origami kit, Mrs. Grossman’s stickers, card stock, and sequins.

Vellum Poem Note Card

The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends. (aka it’s a great day to share your paper craft skills, too!)

To celebrate, I crafted simple Vellum Poem Note Cards (pictured) to share with family and friends. A few brads, card stock, vellum paper, stickers, and an ink jet printer = viola! Easy card craft way to share your love of poems.

If you are looking for more ideas on how to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day, visit http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406

Take a day for poetry in April and join the Academy of American Poets in celebrating the third national Poem in Your Pocket Day, during National Poetry Month.

The idea is simple: you select a poem, pocket it, carry it, and then share it with family, friends, and coworkers throughout the day.

Here’s where we can get super-crafty… wouldn’t it be cool to create poetry cards for our friends to share too? Ooh… the ideas are flowing! I’m thinking of using the printer to create a vellum paper rendition of a favorite poem, then simply attaching it to a nice cardstock with brads or ribbon.

What are your ideas?

If you don’t want to go the “craft” route, you can still easily partake in this fun day by printing or emailing poems from a selection on Poets.org

For more ideas and pocket poems, visit poets.org/pocket

Make flower impressions on paper crafts with curragated cardboard and paint.

Join me on a journey this week fellow paper crafters as I test out ways to use corrugated cardboard for paper crafts.

Got a lovely corrugated cardboard envelope in the mail this week (containing a great read btw, “Corked” by Kathryn Borel) and instead of recycling in the paper pile, I’ve decided to challenge myself to find a way to use this box in creative ways for paper crafts.

Starting with today’s experiment… corrugated cardboard flower impressions. This technique for embelishment has probably been around for eons, but it’s new to me, so, here we go!

Corrugated cardboard flower impressions are uber easy. All you need is a rolled piece of currugated cardboard (pictured) and a little paint. I used a pearl pink fabric paint to start to add a little texture to the flower.

Use rolled corrugated cardboard to create a flower impression.

As you can see in the picture, it makes a pretty neat impression. I’m still testing the technique on scrap paper, but I’ll return to show you the results of a finished product (I’m thinking card or gift bag.) If you are inspired to try this technique out, too (and I hope that you are) send a link to your creations, I’d love to see them!

Also stay tuned for more experimentation with currogated cardboard paper craft embelishments. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please post them in the COMMENTS section and I see about giving them a go!

Stickers, Ric-Rac, and a little imagination make a heart-felt Valentines Day card.

It only takes a few minutes and a little creativity to arrange a few stickers, add a little ric-rac (or ribbon) trim, and create a hand-crafted card that looks like you put a lot of time and thought to it.

In the pictured example, pink linen card stock, a floral vase sticker, a series of heart shaped stickers with complimentary colors to the vase, a clear “sayings” sticker, and a white ric-rac trim glued on to the top and bottom with an inserted bow to finish the topping… create a very simply, yet elegant Valentines Day card suitable for a friend or significant other (just change the “sayings” sticker to reflect your sentiments!)

Make a matching envelope… or, dress up a plain white card envelopes to match. TIP: Keep a box of white card envelopes on hand always. They work with any card color and are great to turn to in a pinch when time is short and you don’t have the luxury of crafting a matching envelope or have a pre-cut card set on hand.

Put your “creativity” cap on, grab your paper supplies, and challenge yourself to create a Valentines Day card in 10 minutes or less! You’ll be surprised by the beautiful creations that come together quickly and you’ll have plenty of time to get your Valentines in the mail or hand deliver them on Valentines Day.

Charm Bracelet Supplies

A simple Valentine’s Day beaded charm bracelet makes a great gift for yourself or a friend. It is also a quick project, and perfect if you are new to beading. The main techniques used to make this bracelet are wire loops and jump rings.

You will need these common beading supplies:

Assorted beads in red, white, pink or any “Valentine’s Day” shape/theme.
7 inches of charm bracelet chain
Several headpins and jump rings
Needle nose or chain nose pliers (x2)
Round nose pliers
Wire nippers
Large lobster clasp
Beading mat, beading board or a towel so your beads don’t roll away

1. Start by laying the chain out on your beading board.
2. Choose beads and position them beneath the chain at the spot you where you would like them to go. Leave one to two links between each bead to avoid overcrowding.
3. Use the round nose pliers and head pins to make simple wire loops or wrapped wire loops on each of the beads you’ve chosen. This turns them into charms.
4. Attach the charms to the chain with jump rings. Use the two pairs of needle nose or chain nose pliers to twist open the jump rings and close them afterward. Never pull jump rings apart horizontally or you will distort the wire.
5. Use a jump ring to attach the lobster clasp to one end of the chain. The hook on the clasp will attach to any free link on the chain, making the bracelet adjustable. If the opposite end of the chain is too long after joining the clasp, trim the excess wire with the wire nippers.

Additional information to help you with this project:

Artbeads.com: How to make simple wire loops

Artbeads.com: How to make wrapped wire loops

SpottedCanary.com: Working with jump rings

To give your bracelet a little more pizazz, try this beading technique for your charms, demonstrated by our good friends at Auntie’s Beads:

AuntiesBeads.com: Drop beading

Additional inspiration for using charms in your jewelry:

Ehow.com: How to Make Beaded Charm Jewelry

HAVE A VERY HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Valentines Day Treat Bag

Easy Valentine’s Day Treat Bag (pictured) Easy-to-make paper craft treat bags to fill with love.

Friendship Blossoms Paper flowers with a sweet-surprise center.

Hearts and Blocks Valentines Simple and contemporary stamped paper cards.

Be My Valentine Wall Hanging Recycle brown paper bags into a gorgeous shabby chic wall hanging. This craft gets my “green” thumbs up!

Framed Filgree Heart An elegant idea for turning paper filgree into a long lasting memento of love.

Planning is fun, but sometimes it just gets in the way of doing. I was reminded of this when I read a recent blog entry called Sometimes Getting Organized is a Big Fat Waste of Time at Small Notebook for a Simple Home.

We often have to press ourselves to begin the next thing, as though it is something we haven’t done before or wouldn’t know how to figure out. Sometimes you just have to jump in and start in spite of misgivings or feelings of confusion about how to proceed.  So, stop planning and go do something creative and fun!