Busy all the time

I am ridiculously busy right now. Unfortunately, none of the busyness is due to crafting. :( I am currently studying to take the bar exam. This takes up most of my time. To top it off, I am away from my husband during the week to take a class to help with review. YUCK! But enough pity party!!! I thought I would make a list of the many things I want to accomplish craft-wise in the next year. Some of the goals are personal, and some of them shop related. So here are 9 Goals for 2009:

2009 Craft Goals

1. Scrapbook all wedding photos
2. Catch up on other scrapbooks (a monumental task, as I am years behind!)
3. Make more consistent products (more than one of each item)
4. Make aprons
5. Promote shop more
6. Organize supplies/ craft area
7. Sew more bags
8. Keep better track of spending on supplies
9. Try new and fun crafts!
   

Do you have craft goals you would like to meet this year? Share them in the comments!
Happy Crafting!

Helpful Tutorials

Today I have picked a few tutorials that I have found helpful and used in the past. These tutorials all use various methods of crafting and have helped me in different ways.

1. Lined Zipper Pouch - I previously posted about this tutorial and it is great!
   
2. Pouring Resin - This is a three part video on how to pour resin to make pendants. This is for making pouring into pre-made blanks (not using molds) and it can be a little slow in places, but it is helpful for the beginner.
   
3. Casting Resin in Molds - This is for using resin in molds such as ice cube trays! I wish this tutorial would've been around when I first started pouring resin into molds.
   
4. Felting Soap - I haven't actually tried this one yet, but I am planning on it! This one seems the easiest tutorial and includes pictures of all the steps in the process.
5. Classy Pleated Clutch - I have used this tutorial when I wanted to make a quick clutch for an event. It was pretty straight forward and easy to follow.

Have you used any particularly helpful craft tutorials? Leave a comment with a link to the tutorial and share helpful tips with everyone.

Happy Crafting!

Hearts Me Discount

I am offering a special discount to those who mark my Etsy shop as a favorite! Everyone who had all ready marked me as a favorite received a message with the details. For those who mark me as a favorite this week (Monday January 19th-Friday 23rd) you can get $1.00 off the price of any one item. (1 item per person only). Please contact me with any questions!

Happy Crafting!

Fellow Etsyers

Today I decided to feature some Etsy sellers who have just started up and/or have yet to have a sale. I used Etsy's "Pounce" feature to find these artists. I'm going to feature five sellers who have quality work that I like.

The first one is Sarah Murray Photography 'N Things. She has some beautiful photography. Her pictures are in both black and white and color. She sells jewelry in her shop as well.

Second is PDXCraft. She sells beautiful crochet and hand knit items including slippers, aprons, and sandals.

Third, is The Butter Flying. This store features artist Sylvie B., who designs mobiles, garlands, and wall art.

Fourth, is a supply shop called Melangerie. She has beautiful beads and jewelry supplies for sale. Many of the beads are in bulk lots for low cost.

The Fifth and final featured shop of the day is Tsunrise Designs. This shop has beautiful folk jewelry made from fused glass and antique silver plated forks! The designs are truly unique!

Hope you enjoyed this discovery of new artisans and shop owners with me! Check out some undiscovered artists yourself on Etsy.

Happy Crafting!

Craftster Best of 2008

If you are not familiar with Craftster, it is a great website where people can post their crafts, discuss methods and generally get together around the wonderful and expansive topic of crafting. At the beginning of every new year, Craftster puts out the best of posts from the year before. This year is no exception. Craftster has now posted the Best of 2008. It is compiled of the "best" 10 projects in each category. Check out the link for more information! I have picked five of my favorites to show you here as well...

*Please Note that the above picture belongs to Craftster.Org and the following pics are property of the individual posters.

1. Goldfish in a bag

2. Where the Wild Things Are










3. Wine Bottle Cheese Plate










4. The Anti-Curtain










5. Fridge turned outdoor storage













There are many, many more fabulous and amazing crafts to look at on the list, so snoop around and you just might find some great ideas for your next craft project!!!

Happy Crafting!

Posts may become sporadic

Hey all. I thought I would write a quick note to say that my posts may become a little more sporadic in the next two months. I know that's a long time! I am currently studying to take my bar exam at the end of February. This means that I should be studying more and crafting and blogging less. However, what will probably end up happening is I will blog about the same (since I haven't been posting on a set schedule anyway!) but the posts will be more about other people's awesome crafting. There will be more posts about great Etsy finds, other people's craft blogs, stuff on Craftster, etc. I think this will be a great opportunity to show off other people's crafting talents, and I am rather excited about it. I am going to try (no promises! ;)) to make at least one tutorial in January and one in February. In addition, I am for sure doing a Valentine's Day giveaway. I am going to try and get together a January one, but I'm not sure I'll have time to organize this. More on all of this later next week.