The internet makes learning a new skill or craft easier than it has ever been.

Want to see how to do something? Cruise on over to YouTube.  There are all kinds of instructional videos.  Not interested in learning from a 14 year old at their bedroom computer?  Look for instructional videos by established names such as Annie’s Attic.

Learning a new Craft

For people who knit and crochet there is an amazing website called Ravelry.com.  It is free and too amazingly fantastic to adequately describe here.  If you knit or crochet, you need ravelry.  If you don’t, you totally should learn and once you’ve learned,  be sure to sign up for ravelry.  It’s that good.

One of my favorite websites for learning new stitches, is the website for a specific brand of yarn. Lion Brand Yarn have a wonderful website full of information and patterns.

Get inspired at a brand site

Whatever craft you are into, look for a brand site.  My daughter makes a number of items out of Duct tape.  Duck brand has an excellent website with instructional videos and cool project ideas.  Be creative!  It doesn’t even have to be the brand you actually use.

Christy Rogers

www.etsy.com/shop/sabiwabi

For Inspiration and Education

As makers it is important to not only seek inspiration, but also to continue to learn.

Learn a new technique, about a new tool, try an unfamiliar medium.  Often, by learning something new, we gain deeper understanding of our craft and have a new perspective going forward. Occasionally, we gain the valuable knowledge that , nope I’m not so good at (fill in the blank……..). Rarer still, we discover a brand new passion.

How do you learn something new?

There are many paths toward learning new crafting skills, more paths will be listed here throughout the week, but just about any new craft or skill or technique can begin at your local library.

Try to leave with no more than you can carry.

If you are fortunate enough to live, work or go to school in Tulsa County, you qualify for the wonderous pass to all sorts of knowledge, in your library card.  You take a piece of mail and an ID into the nearest branch and you are ready to attend craft university.

One of my favorite ways to find new books- is to look up the call number of just one book, walk to that item and look at the books around it to discover even more. The wonders of the Dewey Decimal System.

From home, or at your branch, you can visit the website and explore the catalog.  Click around.

A keyword search brings up many titles that are available through the system (with a thumbnail of the cover – I love that).  With a card, you can “request” to pick up a book from whatever branch you choose.  Its a sweet deal for learning a whole new craft.

There are all kinds of ways to broaden and narrow your search. At some point, you may want to engage the skills of the library staff, especially librarians, to get to that hidden gem that wasn’t on the self, or in your first broad search.

Start with a trip to the website, it’s fun.  www.tulsalibrary.org

Christy Rogers

Sabi Wabi:  May life be full of pretty

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sabiwabi

There is something just so fresh and elegant about white on white and white is such a great complement to every other color.

A few years ago I did a guest post (on a blog that no longer exists,) where I did a tutorial on how to make a homemade stencil to use for embossing a greeting card. I used cardboard from a cereal box and cut a design into it that would fit on my blank white greeting card.

Cardboard Stencil

Embossed Greeting Card

Using an embossing tool on the back side of the card, I pressed the image into the greeting card and voila! White on white art!

Another white on white art piece that is one of my personal favorites is a wooden wall poster that I made by gluing little white circles to a wooden board and then painting the whole thing white. This little beauty is hanging in my living room!

White Wall Art

And last, but certainly not least, white can be a great color to photograph. We don’t get big snow real often here in Tulsa, (but of course when we do, we get slammed with it,) and snow provides for some great white photo ops!

December 2006 Snow Storm

Sherri

Crochet by Sherri Lee

Image source www.artthreads.blogspot.com

I remember my first introduction to the color wheel.

I was in jr. high Art Class and our teacher brought out a poster that looked very much like this and commenced to teach us all about the primary and secondary colors and their relations to each other.

I find that when I am looking for colors of yarn to crochet with or colors of ink or paint to create with, this image pops into my mind as I mentally review what colors may complement each other or contrast with each other.

I must admit, I don’t know enough about the relationships of color to be your guide in any way, but Yay for the Internet!

I found a blogger and artist, Deborah Schlegel, who has provided some very helpful information on color relationships, so without further ado why not pop on over to Art Threads for a little lesson on color mixing?

(I’ll meet you over there!)

Sherri

Crochet by Sherri Lee

Photo source: www.Pantone.com

Did you know that the Pantone Color of the Year is orange? Or more specifically this reddish-orange shade shown called Tangerine Tango?

Does this surprise you? Have you been wondering why all of a sudden most of the clothing stores in the mall have been inundated with various shades of orange clothing and accessories?

This week I want to share a few thoughts with you about color.

As a make:Tulsa blog reader I believe it goes without saying that you are creative. Color is something that is a part of all of our lives, but it gets so much more attention when you are ready to use it to decorate and create.

Color is something that surrounds us all the time like the oxygen that we breathe every second of our lives.  Are you the kind of person that gets caught up in the busyness of the day and must remind yourself to stop and take it all in? Or are you the kind of person who sees all the color surrounding you at any given moment and must tell your brain to slow down and organize the flow of chaotic inspirations into manageable projects?

OK, I have to admit, I’m not one to make personal color choices based on what the “color experts” predict (or should I say dictate) the most popular colors of the season are going to be. But as a creative professional, I do need to be aware of what colors the “public at large” are being steered toward.

That being said, I do regularly reference the Pantone Color Report that comes out each spring and fall. These people do know a thing or two about color and I enjoy seeing the color combinations that they come up with each season.

So tell me, do you like…wear…use…decorate much with orange? I do like orange very much and have a few favorite clothing items that are orange.

And my bedroom is orange.

In fact, I found a couple of before and after photos that we took in ’09 when we painted!

Tell me about your orange!

Posted by Sherri

Crochet by Sherri Lee

Materials:

• 4-5 ounces of soap
• 2 cups washing soda
• 2 cups borax

Frist, grate or shred your bar of soap.  There are a couple of ways to do it.  You can use a hand grater, or my personal favorite, a food processor.  Then simply mix the grated soap with the other two ingredients and you’re ready to do laundry!  If you have essential or fragrance oils around the house, you can use those to scent the detergent.

A couple of notes for you:

• Soap choice is important.  We use and recommend a natural white lye soap.  Our personal favorite is made by Okie Scents.  Zote and Fels Naptha are usually available on your laundry aisle at the grocery store.  Zote is pink and does have a natural, rosy scent.  It may not be the best choice if you have extremely sensitive skin.
• Use 1 tablespoon in a traditional washer or 1/2 tablespoon in a high-efficiency washer.

• This laundry detergent will strip away old stains and detergent buildup, so expect some nasty water in your washer the first few times you wash things.

Stay tuned for recipes for your own fabric softener, stain remover and many more household cleaners!

Pinterest

Probably an obvious choice, I know, but take it from someone who knows: Pinterest is useful for way more than recipes and craft projects. Pinterest offers us a unique platform to curate the things we find inspirational, and there’s a nice little caveat here that’ll run through my other sources as well: it doesn’t have to be about what you do. My boards on pinterest, for instance, run the gamut between “awesome arts & crafts projects I intend to try someday” to “places I want to visit in my life” to “things that I just find beautiful”. It’s not just a place to find projects to work on (though it’s good for that). To me the parallel with an actual pinboard is strong — my bulletin board which hangs above my desk (and has continued to do so despite numerous moves over the past year) serves as my own personal gallery. It’s covered with ideas on scraps of paper, photos of friends, postcards and magazine clippings. To me Pinterest is no different. “These are things that inspire me, and I want to remember them and share them“. That’s the power of Pinterest.

Tumblr

Twenty billion total posts, over 50 million users. The numbers alone are staggering. Sure, a lot of it’s cats, but it doesn’t claim to be “home of the world’s creators” for naught; tumblr is a phenomenal resource for creatives. It was my pinterest before I had a pinterest, in fact, and in some way it surpasses pinterest as a marketplace of ideas — it’s really more of a blogging platform, which encourages conversation and commentary.

Another awesome feature (though not unique to tumblr, it does make it more straightforward than other sites) is its built-in filter abilities.

Using this feature you can track given tags or subjects and then browse them separately; at right you can see the tags I follow on a regular basis. Notice the counts next to the subjects; some tags, like “Tulsa” or “Travel Writing” may only get a few posts a day whereas “photography” pretty much updates faster than you can keep up with (and a word for the wary: tumblr can, in certain dark corners, be very NSFW) but the nice thing about tumblr is you can just stop in when you feel the need to immerse yourself in beautiful stuff.

It’s also a great way to promote your work — my first few Etsy sales came directly from people reblogging my posters on Tumblr — but more on that in a later post.

Life

It’s about the journey, right? Find ways to document the things that happen to you, the things you see, and the ideas you come up with — that’s the stuff that future inspiration is made of. Personally I use a variety of methods from photographs to journal entries to (mostly bad) drawings and watercolors or ticket stubs tucked into my notebook.

Keeping a journal is a great place to start — and don’t be intimidated. Over-thinking is a sure-fire way to ensure you’ll never actually use it, so don’t limit yourself. Maybe today you write a snippet of a favorite song lyric, tomorrow a sketch of an idea, the next paste in a photo of a friend. But more on that in my next installment: putting all those newfound ideas to paper, and then to good use.

So readers, what inspires you?

We’re on the countdown to Easter, and if you’re like me, you’re making plans for that fabulous mess known as dyeing Easter eggs. I can’t help you cut down on the mess made (although I do have some fabulous cleaning products to help you clean up after the mess), but I can help you make that mess, and the egg dyeing, much more naturally.

Here’s to one less thing to dread, right? First up, let’s touch on how to boil the eggs. There are a million different schools of thought out there on how to hard boil eggs, and frankly, I’m not an expert. Around here, we put the eggs in a pan and cover them with water. Then we bring them to a boil, reduce the heat, add a lid and let simmer for 10 minutes. Once the timer goes off, remove the pan to the sink and run cold water into the pan until the eggs are cool enough to handle. You can either hard boil all of your eggs at once, or you can hard boil your Easter eggs in smaller pans with the (natural) dye in the pan. If your kids love to help dye the eggs all kinds of pretty colors, I would suggest hard boiling them all together and then dyeing them. Now, instead of grabbing those little packets of colored tabs, let’s have some fun! The color possibilities are endless, so let your imagination run wild. Think of all of those beautiful fruits and veggies that you love to eat. In general, you’re going to take the fruits or veggies and boil them in a couple of cups of water to get your beautiful colors. When you’re satisfied with the color of the water, add 1/2 tsp. of vinegar and gently dip or soak the eggs in the water. Use shorter soak times for more pale, pastel colors and allow the eggs to soak longer for deeper, more vibrant colors.

Here are some of my suggestions for natural coloring.

Red Lots of red onion skins, boiled Purple cabbage, shredded and boiled Fresh cranberries, boiled mashed Ground paprika, boiled Beets,boiled Fresh raspberries, boiled Chili powder

Blue Canned or fresh blueberries, boiled and mashed Violet blossoms, boiled Purple grape juice

Green Spinach leaves, boiled Asparagus boiled

Yellow Orange peels, boiled Lemon peels, boiled Celery seed, boiled Carrot tops, boiled Ground cumin, boiled Ground tumeric, boiled Chamomile tea, green tea Yellow delicious apple peels, boiled

Purple Fresh blackberries, boiled Grape juice

Pink Ground paprika, boiled Peeled beets, boiled Cranberry or raspberry juice Fresh cranberries, boiled Fresh raspberries, boiled Red grape juice Juice from pickled beets

Brown Strong tea Strong coffee Black walnut shells, boiled Black tea

Orange Yellow onion skins, boiled Cooked carrots Chili powder Paprika

I know this sounds like a lot of extra work, compared to just opening a package, but try to slowly work preparing the natural dyes into your week as you prepare meals for your family. If you peel onions for a meal, go ahead and boil them while you’re cooking that night. Need carrots for your veggie dip? Throw some in a pot to simmer while you prepare your dip. Most of all, relax and enjoy your family! Make lots of memories, laugh and love. Capture those memories. I would love to see photos of your family dyeing your Easter eggs, no matter what you use to dye them! Just e-mail them to jenny@thepeacefulhousewife.com or share them on my Facebook page.

I have a few shows under my belt, but if I’m being completely honest- they weren’t all good. That’s right, crafty friends. I’ve had amazing craft show experiences that made me feel a satisfaction I’d never encountered before. But I’ve also bombed, big time. You will be investing money, time, effort, and little pieces of your soul into each craft show you sign up for. So I’ve gathered up five important factors in making sure your crafty adventures will be fun, organized, and profitable.

1) BE SELECTIVE

Clockwise from left: Blue Dome Arts Festival, Indie Emporium, Street Cred in the Pearl District, A Make:Christmas at Ida Red.

Think of craft shows like relationships. Short, passionate relationships. You don’t want to just throw yourself at every one that comes along, now do you? Of course there will be times when you’ll have to take a risk, such as new shows that look promising. But you will definitely need to think about who buys your work and what events they are most likely to attend. The above photos represent shows that have been successful for me in the past. I tend to do best at festival-type shows with music, refreshments, and a lively atmosphere. Your audience might be completely different, but the best way to start having successful craft shows is by being choosy about which ones you sign up for in the first place.

2) BE PREPARED

Clockwise from left: Cash, packaging, square reader, supplies by Erin, packaged hairpins by Wychbury, craft show supplies by Spotted Stone Studio, mock setup by Urban Woodswalker.

Craft shows require a large amount of time and planning, so keep yourself on task by making a list of things you need to do in preparation and try to get started on it well before the big day. Rather than cramming everything into the day before the show, start as early as possible making inventory, pricing and packaging your items, gathering supplies, dreaming up display ideas, and promoting the show online. If you’re new to the craft show circuit or if you’ve added new products, I recommend doing a mock setup before the show. You don’t want to run into any problems when you’re actually setting up at the show, so it’s good to iron out any kinks beforehand.

3) BE CREATIVE

Clockwise from top left: Tweet Baby Designs, Bifftastica, The Knit Owl, Sunshine & Carousels.

I really want to emphasize this point because not only is it tremendously important, it’s also fun! Start viewing the world through the eyes of a craft show vendor. Perhaps the shoe box under your bed could be wrapped in pretty paper and used to add height to your table, or maybe your jewelry would stand out to customers if you dangled it from vintage dishes or tree branches. You are a crafty genius, and your booth should reflect your innovative spirit! Take pride in your work by putting thought and effort into your setup. I find it helpful to browse craft spaces set up by others to get an idea of what would look good with my work. If you need some inspiration, check out this pinboard I created on Pinterest or this awesome Flickr group.

4) BE VISIBLE

Clockwise from left: Craft show promos by steppie, mailing list signup sheet by virtuallori, vinyl banner by Hollyrocks, promotional buttons by donovanbeeson.

Sometimes people get caught up in the actual day of the craft show, failing to realize that much of your business will occur after the fact. Even if you don’t make a ton of sales, you should be doing everything you can to make your business visible to the patrons of the show. There are the obvious strategies, such as signage and business cards, but you can make your mark in other ways too. Your packaging and tags should lead customers to your website in case they love your work so much they decide they want more in the future. Promos such as stickers, buttons, coupons, magnets, and small samples are a great way to draw people into your booth and keep them thinking about you after the fact.  Make friends with the community and the fellow artists and make a name for yourself.

5) BE PROFESSIONAL

Clockwise from top left: Heather from Audrey Eclectic, Nikki from Gleeful Peacock, Samantha from Bohemian Romance, Renee from Greener Me.

Although the climate is changing, there are people out there who are skeptical of handmade items and craft businesses. Do NOT reinforce this misconception! Your business should meet all the expectations you would have for a large store. Be friendly, helpful, and attentive, acknowledging every customer who takes the time to look at your work. Offering a friendly bit of dialogue or information on your work is fine, but don’t hover or act pushy toward customers who are trying to browse. Don’t offer items for sale unless they’re well-made. And please, for the love of all that is sacred in the world of handmade goodies, price your items. You would be amazed at the number of sales you’re missing if your items are not clearly marked with tags or signs.

The best way to gain insight into what works for you is to get out there and give it your best.  One last bit of advice I have is to be positive. Go into each show with a smile and a bright outlook. People gravitate toward things that make them feel pleasant, so try not to frown or grumble no matter what the circumstances may be. Tell yourself you will have an amazing time, that you’ll meet new friends, and that you’ll come home with a wad of cash in your pockets. And if even one of those things turns out to be true, you were successful.

]]> http://www.maketulsa.com/2012/03/craft-show-success/feed/ 4 http://www.maketulsa.com/2012/03/cooking-internet-awesomeness/ http://www.maketulsa.com/2012/03/cooking-internet-awesomeness/#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2012 02:03:14 +0000 Thom http://www.maketulsa.com/?p=992 I’m not the best at keeping notes in a cohesive collection, I can admit that.  I have tried notebooks, index cards, spiral-bound index cards, recipe cards, cookbooks, Google Docs, and countless other methods to store recipes that I want to try and my recipes that I create.  None of these options ever really worked for me, so I’ve been on the hunt for options.  There is no shortage of sites, but to find one that really met my needs was tough, until recently.  Now, I’ve got a great system and one that I think is worth sharing.

I love to cook, but I need a way to stay organized with what I’ve done, what I’m going to do, and what I will never do again in order to really develop a cooking blog (which I will try to launch yet again when I find a name for it that doesn’t look offensive).

I sorta hit on this topic this week on a blog I wrote for Prairie Hive, but it’s worth going into here as well.  I have fallen in love with Pinterest.  Pinterest is a great way to sort recipes you find online that you’re interested in trying, and it couldn’t be easier.  First thing you need to do is download the Pinterest extension for your browser (I use Chrome).  Then as you’re browsing recipe sites, you click your “pin it” button and it will save to your Pinterest account.  Within Pinterest, you’ll need to set up boards.  Boards are ways to organize what you find online.  So I have a board for chicken recipes, veggie recipes, Lenten recipes, desserts, breads, etc.  So say I’m looking on the web and see a recipe for this Tikka Masala

It looks delicious and I want to try it, so I click “pin it” put it on a board and I’m good to go. Then, my friends can also see this recipe and repin it.  Next thing I know everyone I know is thinking about Tikka Masala.

Chances are you’re on Pinterest, and familiar with this (by the way, you should really follow me).  What you may not be so familiar with is Pepperplate.  Pepperplate.com is a way for you to organize your recipes.   Pepperplate has an extension (they call it a bookmarklet) for your browser as well to copy and format recipes you find from other sites, which is cool, but I prefer the social aspect of Pinterest more.  I like to take my notes and save them, plus Pepperplate will build a shopping list for me.   It has a cool layout: 

To top it all, Pepperplate has a free app for Android, iPhone, iPad, etc to keep your recpies within reach in the kitchen, with a great easy to use interface :

Hope this helps you stay organize and makes cooking at home easier.