Altered book tutorial and Crafty Blogger Links

Back in this post I did a project from the book Collage Playground: A Fresh Approach to Creating Mixed-Media Art that used a "block out" technique.

Well over at this post at Memory Makers there is a full download of a design tutorial that uses this technique and incorporates it into a great altered page. Pop on over to download the full PDF file! You'll love it. Thanks Julie for sharing this great post.

More Crafty goodness from my fellow Crafty Bloggers:

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Here are some more ideas from Eileen for decorating canvas tote bags.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside announces the new Qbookshop.com along with a chance to win a copy of 1,000 Poses in Fashion, there is also a tutorial on how to make a rubber stamp out of a garden kneeling cushion, and a couple of quilt border ideas.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi has a copy of "The Fine Art of the Tin Can" to give away! Pop on over and sign up to win!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how I used the stitch doodle technique from The Big-Ass book of Home Decor to embellish a skirt with a jackalope.

The Crochet Dude
Drew unveils the July purse from his Purse Pattern of the Month club. And it looks like there is still room to sign up!!

About Family Crafts
Sherri has fond memories of making and playing with paper dolls when she was young. Perhaps that is why she was so excited to create these printable paper dolls.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen is offering a crafty blog giveaway. She offers 4 different ways you can enter to win her Tic-Tac-Toe 3 in a Row Blog Giveaway! Hurry over and enter today!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi creates some glamorous shaker cards with her sewing supplies.

Cathie Filian
Surf's up and Cathie has a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a beach towel roll up. It even has a secret pocket!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy is crocheting squares and totally missing her old yarn connection!

Stitch doodling embroidery from the book The Big-Ass book of Home Decor

How the crafty planets collided in my world today.
I had a bunch of these plain black skirts that were just screaming for some embellishment and I had the new book The Big-Ass book of Home Decor full of great ideas that were on my "to try" list. Within seconds the plan was formed. I would try the "stitch doodle" technique pictured here as a butterfly motif. I'm not too much of a butterfly girl, I'm more of a jackalope type.

So I put the skirt on to figure out where I wanted my jackalope to be. (You can see the dressmaker's chalk square still there a bit in the lower photo)

Then I printed out my jackalope image to size and cut it out.

I traced the image onto the skirt again using the dressmaker's chalk.

Then all that was left to do was two laps around the outline with some white thread in the machine. Once the dressmaker's chalk is brushed off it will be a bit more crisp but I like the imperfect look. Really doable by every type of sewer I think. Oh, and fast!

More about
The Big-Ass book of Home Decor:
More than 100 Inventive Projects for Cool Homes Like Yours
By
Mark Montano
from the publisher Stewart, Tabori & Chang

"You have a problem. Your current home “décor” is ugly, shabby, and boring, but you can’t afford lots of new stuff. Or maybe your house is filled with tired old junk that you just can’t bear to throw away. Or maybe you bought all your furniture at a big box store, but it irritates you that it all looks like you bought it there.

You have a solution—or, rather, a whole houseful of solutions. In this newest Big-Ass Book, do-it-yourself guru Mark Montano presents 105 practical, simple, and decidedly unboring projects for every space in your home. Montano’s wizardry—accomplished with masking tape, spray paint, and glue—transforms everything from accessories, to walls and windows, to lighting, to major pieces like headboards, tables, dressers, and chairs. (And there’s even a chapter on turning the anonymous items you got at IKEA into one-of-a-kind treasures.)

About the Author
Mark Montano is a designer and well-known host on TLC’s While You Were Out and 10 Years Younger, We’s She’s Moving In, and Style Network’s My Celebrity Home. He is the author of CosmoGIRL Cool Room, The Big-Ass Book of Crafts, Super Suite, and Dollar Store Décor. Montano is based in Los Angeles and New York."

Crafty link-olas 4 U

Cathie Filian

Cathie shares a template and design ideas for creating snapuit themed baby shower invitations.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy has her fourth earrings kit and tutorial up, and it has a lovely vintage feel to it.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Turn your 'worst' traits into positives, Madge shares how in this post about The Tao of Success.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi shares the results of her needle felting experiment.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Read a book recommendation (and not just because I am included!) Craft Corps by Vickie Howell.

The Artful Crafter
Yikes! Eileen learns she can't doodle.

The Crochet Dude
Drew is giving away two copies of the new book "Crochet Prayer Shawls" that features ones of his designs! Just leave a comment on his blog to enter!

About Family Crafts
Have even more fun doing painting projects with kids by whipping up one or more batches of paint using free recipes.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen is excited to announce 4 new videos uploaded. Stop by and check them out, and share them with your friends!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi uses a stencil to silk screen this faux necklace t-shirt.

Tons of inspirational stories (and me!) in Vickie Howell's new book Craft Corps

So I just got my copy of

Craft Corps: Celebrating the Creative Community One Story at a Time

and I quickly flipped through it to find....me! I had submitted my story what seems like forever ago. In publishing it does take quite a bit of time unlike this magic blogging world where you can practically be living it and telling the world about it simultaneously. My little story follows one of my all time fave designers, Jay McCarroll. His fabrics are positively wonderful.

So after I found myself, I started back at the beginning and read all the "Actor's Studio" Q & A's aptly called "The Crafter's Studio" sections. Total hoot!

I know it's just a tad past graduation season but I think this would make a spectacular gift for a recent grad. All the stories of how we all got where we are and what inspires us is truly a fascinating read. I think young people looking for a direction would see that there are lots of paths to a creative future.

I am looking forward to reading all the in depth stories.

Thanks Vickie for including me, it is truly an honor to be included with so many really talented people!

More about Craft Crops: Celebrating the Creative Community One Story at a Time
By Vickie Howell
from Lark Books:

"A celebration of the great—and growing—crafting community by everyone’s favorite crafty grrrl: the fabulous VICKIE HOWELL

Bestselling author and stitchery dynamo Vickie Howell puts down her needles to pay tribute to her fellow crafters! Her extraordinary new collection features interviews with 30 successful professional craftspeople as well as profiles of a diverse group of approximately 60 amateurs. And every interview includes a photo of the subject, plus a peek at their work or their studio.

This project—a true labor of love—also documents how social networking sites, groups like Stitch ’n’ Bitch, and alternative sales outlets such as Etsy have helped create a close community of crafters passionate about their work and each other.

Includes interviews with such influential crafters, designers, and business people as:

Renowned quilter Denyse Schmidt

The Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano-Murillo

Artist and designer Mary Engelbreit

Emmy-nominated host of Creative Juice, Cathie Filian

Indie craft documentarian Faythe Levine

Scrapbooking legend Sandi Genovese

Project Runway winner and fabric designer Jay McCarroll

TV Host and author Mark Montano

Craft pioneer Carol Duvall

Famed fabric designer Amy Butler

Vickie Howell is a designer, writer and a voice for this generation's craft movement. She founded successful chapters of the irreverent but socially conscious knitting group Stitch 'n' Bitch. Vickie was the host of DIY's Knitty Gritty and has written three books: New Knits on the Block; Not Another Teen Knitting Book; Knit Aid and Pop Goes Crochet!"

The hand that holds the sparkler.....

I hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July. Here is my hand holding a sparkler. We all commented that they didn't "write" in the sky like they used to.

The Artful Crafter
Look how easy it is to personalize a canvas tote bag with Quick Fuse fabric sheets.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside's got the cutest retro style fawn softie pattern and how-to, a free pop-up staircase template download, a bunch of beaded bling inspirations and throw in a bit of fashion with a redo spin all for your crafty pleasure.

The Crochet Dude
Drew reviews the new book "Crochet Prayer Shawls" and reveals the design that he contributed to the project.

About Family Crafts
Are you planning a trip that will keep the family confined to the car or airplane for a long amount of time? If so, these travel games and crafts might be just what you need!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen shows you how to create a faux aged metal look on Anaglypta wallpaper.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi coats some paper with resin to make these pretty wired pendants.

Crafty Princess Diaries
There's more, more, more to do on the jewelry making book! When will this process end?

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge gets some much needed inspiration from the divine Cecil Beaton and Gigi.

Mixed Media Artist
Want to get your feet wet with altered books?

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See 2 fun mixed-media altered book techniques I tried from the new book Collage Playground by Kimberly Santiago.