Monster Mania Ebook Review

I've been reading Marie's blog, Make and Takes, for years.  In fact, I remember reading it back when she was still The Stitching Barn.  We finally met in real life earlier this year.  Isn't it great to meet blog friends in real life?  Gotta love it.

This is Marie's latest venture.  It's an eBook called Monster Mania.  For only $7 you get a download of all of these great kid projects (15 in all).  Not only do you get all the projects, but she's included a great master list of craft supplies that will get you through all the projects in the book and that are great to have on hand for all sorts of craft projects. 

Each project also includes a learning objective.  You can see Marie's background in education come through as she helps us with ideas to make these crafts great learning experiences as well--not just as we're making the crafts, but beyond. 

A few of the projects are food based.  I think even I could get my kids to try some Monster Stew. 

The book is available now!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Fabric Storage and Color Mastery

I thought you might want to see the solution I've come up with for how to store my fabric.  I recently "inherited" a large supply of fabric and wanted to get it organized so I can start to use it and see what I have. 

I was inspired by the book, Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts by Maria Peagler.  I've been reading the book for just over a month, studying and trying to do the lessons. Go figure that I was having a hard time.  I couldn't do the first lesson (the way I wanted to) without having a better handle on my fabric.  Plus, it just makes sense to have them grouped by color. 

The first lesson in the book is to create a color journal.  I have my journal ready to go and I can't wait to start filling it up!  I have so many ideas for projects but choosing colors and fabric is the most difficult part for me.  I'm glad I have this book to hold my hand through the process.  You'll hear more about this book in the weeks to come as I start to tackle some big-ish projects (and some smaller ones) using her methods.

The best part of my newly organized fabric stash is that all of the pieces are folded so uniformly.  I love it!  I folded it just like the Happy Zombie.  It makes me super happy to have everything in there like that. 

But wait!  Let's zoom that picture out a bit.  Did I mention it is a work in progress?

Make. Knitted Babes.

Last summer I bought the book, Knitted Babes.   My kids love these dolls so much that I finally had to hide the book.  They kept asking me to make them and they expected them to be done RIGHT THEN!  The pressure was too much so I hid it.  Out of sight, out of mind. 

The other day I was cleaning out part of my craft room and my daughter found the book.  She was so excited to find it and began to pick out her new doll.  She was so particular and didn't change her mind at all after two days so I decided to go ahead and make it for her. 

If you check out this post from last summer, you'll notice that I had the most problems with the face.  This time I decided to use premade eyes and it made all the difference!  I used a small piece of felt for the mouth (cut into a tiny heart) and her nose and eyelashes are embroidery floss.  The hair was really fun to do and I think I'll add some more braids to thicken it out eventually.

I fudged a little on the pattern for the clothes.  I made a one piece leotard and made the tutu separate.  I was particularly clever with the tutu (in my opinion).  I used a hair elastic!  It fit perfectly around her waist and then I just tied on the tulle strips until it was covered.   

I had the doll hidden until today.  She still needs ballet slippers but the pattern in the book is a little fiddly and I think I can do it better.  These could be famous last words, of course.  As soon as I started taking the picture, my daughter saw the doll and has taken her away for an adventure.  She named her Jo Jo. 

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts Review and Giveaway

A few weeks ago, 415 pages full of projects, inspiration, resources, and templates showed up at my home. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I have looked at it at least once a day.

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts is available for purchase now.

The book is divided into subjects with several projects in each. You'll find beading, decoupage, soap making, matting and framing, and even a whole section on glittering. The projects are for all skill levels and interests.

The last 50 pages or so are dedicated to tools, basic techniques, a source and buyer's guide, and templates. They offer the templates online at MarthaStewart.com for quick printing as well. I'm most excited to use the templates to try my hand at dot-painting on china.

If you are lucky enough to live in the NYC area, Martha will be at the Michael's in Westbury, Long Island on Friday, April 3rd at 12pm. She will be there to sign copies of the book and Hannah Milman, one of her crafts editorial directors, will be demonstrating some of the projects.

How would you like to win a copy of the book for yourself? Martha Stewart Crafts has been gracious to offer FIVE copies of the book to be given away to christynelson.net readers. Entering is easy:

1. Comment on this post. Share your own personal "good thing" if you feel inclined. It isn't mandatory. Just make sure you leave an email address, twitter id, or some other way for me to contact you.

2. Tell a friend about the giveaway. You can do this via your blog, twitter, kirtsy, stumble upon, telephone, walking next door, etc... Leave another comment telling me you did that.

You have until 10pm (Central time) Friday, April 3rd to enter. Winners will be posted on Saturday.