Craftiness is Genetic

When you ask crafters where they find inspiration you get the standard answers of nature, other crafters, family, etc, etc. Makes sense. We are products of our environment and what we surround ourselves with. Which is why I decided to focus on my grandmother as a source of inspiration this week. My grandmother just celebrated another birthday this past Sunday and I am continually amazed at how spry she is. Since I am trying to be a good grand-daughter, I won't mention her real age, but let's just say she was school age during the depression. I won't say which school *grin*.

This is as messy as her work area gets.

Anyway, she is such an active person. Still heads up a local group for women trying to lose weight or keep it off (I'm convinced she joined because they get to put on little plays at the larger gatherings and she is in charge of the putting together the script and the costumes), works with the volunteer fire department and takes care of my grandfather, who is somewhere in the range of 10 years younger. Every Christmas she makes ornaments for the entire family and custom makes boxes for each of them. For holidays she has been known to make Santa or Easter Bunny place card holders for the dinner table and has sewn curtains to match the custom made sheets for the beds. Yes, she can make fitted sheets. My favorite is the ginormous Last Suppers she crochets during the winters for family member who are getting married. They are large enough to cover a good sized wall. She also keeps scissors all over the house. There is always a pair just a step away. She made holders for them all using those cheap pot holders you can get anywhere. She folded them into a cone, sewed them up and used the existing loop to hang them by.


To me, she is summed up by looking in her spice cabinet. She makes labels for all the jar lids, has them on a tiered shelf and each row is alphabetized. This is my grandmother. Organized, neat, precise and just a little spicy.

Rubber Stamp Carving via The WonderCraft

There is still room in my class next Wednesday evening. Such a flexible skill to learn.

I made all these stamps to work on a book making project. I used black ink and stamped them on white paper. Then, after the ink was dry, the images were scanned so they could be used on my digital projects but still maintain a hand made feel.


Rubber Stamp Carving - Adults - 8/26/09

Carving your own unique rubber stamps allows you to add a personalized touch to your paper creations. In this class you'll design and carve 2-3 small rubber stamps and create a set of note cards with them. Once you learn the technique, you'll be able to turn any of your artwork into a rubber stamp for use on stationery, gift wrap, your own business cards and more!

Here is a picture of the one tool you'll need to buy. I know I like to see what the tools look like before I shop for them. Makes it easier to know what you need :)

SXSW Fun!

Everyone in Austin and well beyond knows that SXSW turns this city into one big festival and party for the better part of March. All the music, movies and events happening can keep even the most energetic person going until they drop. Some of my favorite events usually aren't a part of the official line up but that what makes SXSW great... so many creative people joining in the celebration and turning it into something even better. I have a few things on my to-do list this year.

One, is the Flatstock Poster Show. I don't even have room on my walls for all the great posters I walk away with every year, but the images are so wonderful that I buy them anyway. When I clean out my studio, it is always like Christmas when I find my poster collection and go through it again. I end up going to the store and framing new ones to redecorate the house.

Two, is the Handmade Austin Market's booth at Guero's, March 19th-22nd. I'll be there with some of my belt buckles and prints along with tons of other local artists.



Three, is the Etsy Austin booth at Hill Country Weavers on South Congress, March 14^th, 15^th, 20^th, and 21^st noon to 7 p.m. This event features Etsy artists from Austin (obviously!) and is a good way to see what the Etsy community has to offer. Some of the artists will be hosting demos, some of the artists will be walking around downtown handing out some of the promo bags many in the group have spent days working on. They are really cute and were made using old t-shirts. Kim of Broken Ear Productions was great enough to post a how-to video for the bags.


Come out and join the festivities. You are guaranteed to have fun at SXSW this year!