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What happens when seven clever crafters join forces to share projects, ideas and their crafty pursuits? You get a wonderful site like And Sew We Craft. The site owners and invited guests offer a variety of mostly sewn and quilted projects. Join Amy, Tonya, Talia, Cate, Anne, Alyce, Anorina and Belinda as they share their crafty endeavors, host craft swaps and lead quilt alongs.
Quilting Tip
Tonya's quilting tip is to use the longest straight pins you can find so that you can weave the pin in and out of the fabric several times. This helps to keep the fabric from twisting and getting out of square. It's the best way to ensure curved patterns, like the Dresden plate come out evenly.
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Kristin Baird is the blogger behind Kit's Crafts. Her site is full of wonderful sewing, knitting, crochet and other crafts with a few great recipes thrown in between. Her projects are wonderfully illustrated and the instructions are designed to be used for a variety of sizes. She combines extreme creativity with a dash of frugalness to create a myriad of original works as well as some clever adaptations of things that inspire her.
Crafting Tip
I've found that when cutting a pattern piece out of felt or other thick fabrics, bobby pins, rather than straight pins work best. They keep the pattern secure on the fabric and don't bend or distort the shape of the fabric like the pins can do.
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little woolie is just one of the creative outlets of this crafty Mom from Australia. Her blog is full of delicious crocheted pieces that will have you longing to grab your hooks and make up something as bright and colorful as she has. She has a way of putting colors together that really work well together and makes items that anyone would be glad to call her own. Share shares her on-going projects, a few free patterns and the latest lovely yarns she has stocked in her online yarn store.
Crochet Tip
When making an afghan of separate squares, take the time to weave in the yarn ends as you go. It will make joining your pieces much more pleasurable and less daunting.
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Kelly is a self-proclaimed nerdy DIYer who graciously invites us to join her on her adventures with the world. This mommy of one little girl and one very large, but lovable great dane, offers a variety of helpful DIY how-to projects for turning your house into a home that you love. Get a cup of coffee before you visit though, because you'll find yourself drawn into her adventures and won't want to leave.
Crafting Tip
I can tell you from personal experience that you should always read a paint bottle label. If it says there's a brush or other applicator included, open the bottle very carefully otherwise you might find yourself running around the room with a paper towel cleaning off your walls before the paint can dry.
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Ruty is a jewelry artist from Israel who specializes in Steampunk style jewelry. Her inspiration comes from fantasy books and movies, nature, the Middle Ages and the Victorian era. She combines metal and clay to create unique wearable statement pieces.
Crafting Tip
Draw on paper what you want to create before you start.
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The folks at Greenleaf Dollhouses host a popular and active forum for miniature enthusiasts. Get help with assembling Greenleaf products as well as your own designs. You'll find advice on kitbashing, electrifying, interior decorating and just about anything and everything related to building and decoration a doll house.
Dollhouse Building Tip
Want the look of real hardwood floors in your dollhouse? Head to your local hardware store and look for wood veneer iron-on edging. It comes in rolls between 8 and 25 feet and can be picked up for around $7. Use a piece of cardstock as your floor substrate. The veneer can be cut with a scissor and stained like any other natural wood product. But, beware, the glue stinks when it gets hot.
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She gets to live in Paradise (the Gulf Coast of Florida) and play with the latest paper crafting materials and tools too. Jule is an artist creating a wide variety of projects that you can purchase and/or be inspired by. Crafters in her area can also attend one of her many classes. Her altered art blog is sure to provide you with hours of crafty inspiration.
Crafting Tip
When working with inks, paints, and/or pigments save the paper towels that you are using for blending, dabbing or clean up. Put them between two pieces of waxed paper and run them through a die cutting machine. You'll have a unique tie-died die that exactly matches the piece you are working on. I like to coat them with Hellmar's Textured Effects to seal them and make them a bit more durable too.
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Michelle C. likes the little things in life; particularly things at 1/12th their original size. She's the miniaturist who runs a site called Butterfly Dreams which is full of wonderful information for other folks interested dollhouse miniatures. Michelle shares a number of her completed dollhouses and roomboxes and provides a number of fully illustrated tutorials. Learn how to make a no-sew kimono, a picket fence shelf, a shaker bench and a number of other projects. She also offers a nice selection of dollhouse printables and a tutorial on using them.
Miniatures Tip
When making miniatures and using glue, keep a small bowl of water and a paper towel nearby. When glue starts to build up on your tools or fingers, simply rinse the glue off in the bowl.
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Sue Griffiths studied art and fashion illustration at colleges in Wales and London. Based on the Island of Anglesey, she combines her love of textiles, illustration and craft in her pieces of mixed media, sculpture, collage and altered art. In a conversational style, Sue shares her art, offers her advice on selling handmade items and provides lots of lovely eye candy; most of which is available in her Etsy shop.
Selling Crafts Tip
When selling your altered art or any other handmade item, think about the questions customers ask about your items. When attending craft shows or fairs, save table space for cards or signage to explain the materials used, construction methods and anything else that may help someone in their buying decision. That way you answer the questions that browsers might not want to ask as well as encourage people to ask other questions about your work.
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You'll meet Stephanie, her husband Ryan and their oh so cute little girl Myla. The three of them work together on this wonderful crochet and Amigurumi blog. Stephanie shares her own original amigurumi patterns, crafty projects and joy of life and crafting. Her work has appeared in a number of print and online magazines.
Amigurumi Tip
Having trouble coming up with cute faces for your ami's? Look at cartoons and commercially-made stuffed animals for inspiration. You'll get ideas about placement, proportion and facial expressions to make your Amigurumi creations even more cute.
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