Book Review: Print and Stamp Lab by Traci Bunkers

I was already a fan of Traci Bunkers, you’ll remember how I raved about the moldable stamp tutorial she shared and I love watching her journaling videos on Youtube. I have to admit I was a little hesitant to buy Print and Stamp Lab thinking that I already knew pretty much all I needed to know about making stamps. I was on twitter and heard/saw/read(uh, it’s twitter) SamanthaKira(Journal Girl, also awesome journaling inspiration) mention making stamps with craft foam and a wood burning tool and was super curious. Traci Bunkers joined our conversation mentioning that there was a tutorial using pipe insulation and a wood burning tool to make a roller stamp in her book and THAT is when I knew I needed to get it.
I was really excited to see all of the projects in this book and I was not disappointed, there is a wonderful, creative, exciting selection of projects to choose from and they are very frugal too.
My favorite part is how each stamp that is made is shown stamped with a stamp pad and with paint alone and then an example is shown with other stamps/finished project is shown. A few of the stamps that weren’t that exciting to me became a lot more interesting when I saw them used/layered with other stamps.
I was also really excited to see several different ways to make rolling stamps.The ponytail holder block was the first thing that I wanted to try, it reminds me of the suckers on octopus tentacles. Super easy and great results. I used a peanut butter jar lid for my stamp base and it makes the ones on the edges print darker (what a happy accident).
I would definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait to try a few more projects. Don’t forget to stop by Traci’s blog to see some of her other great projects (the 30 days of carving is my personal favorite)

Rita Raccoon and a Book Review

The Knitted Odd-bod Bunch book by Donna Wilson was a complete random/impulse purchase, a testament to store placement and appealing cover photos, I saw it and had to have it. I love the characters in the book. They are quite a quick knit and a good way to practice some more adventurous techniques like lots or increasing and decreasing, short rows, striping and intarsia without the commitment of a huge project. The photos really make this book and there is a short paragraph about each character that really brings them to life.

You should note that there are a few typos/mistakes in the book, but careful reading will easily help you catch these. Several of the characters are very similar in design, so it seemed more like 20 pattern with variation, but the styling of the book helped me over look this fact. My biggest complaint is that there is a lot of sewing, really a lot and I am awful at sewing things together! Now this is not the author’s fault, it is all me…anyway beware of the seaming.

To sum it up I like this book, the photos and characters are great! I wish there was less sewing and after reading through everything I realized that a lot of the patterns are just variations of each other. However, it makes me feel confident that I could vary/alter the patterns even more to come up with my own unique creations. And since I bought the book I needed to try out some of the patterns. I decided that I wanted to make the whole squirrel/fox/raccoon family, I do wish the the sets of animals were grouped together instead of spaced throughout the book, but since they are all pretty similar (as I mentioned) I guess that it makes the book seem to have more variety to space them out. This is Rita Raccoon the Mom of the family. I did make her tail slightly different from the pattern for personal design reasons (I’m making a matching family and I needed her to have a mostly dark tail). I used Peaches and Cream cotton yarn (no wool for us) and size US 5 needles. I had a really hard time embroidering her eyes (I’m still not happy with them), I think I need to use a heavier yarn and, as I mentioned I hated sewing her together. I have Rill Raccoon-Fox and Bad Ralf, the sons, knitted just waiting to be sewn together and embroidered. Oh I dread the sewing, I finished knitting them over a month ago and the pieces are just laying in the bottom of my knitting basket.

I would also like to make the cats from this book, but I’m going to have to get better at the sewing. Let me know if you have any tips or if you would like to volunteer to sew my knitting projects together for me, I'll take either :)

Book Review: Steampunkery by Christi Friesen

I was really excited to get Steampunkey by Christi Friesen, the images on the cover had me really excited and I was not disappointed!  Even if I had not read the book, the pictures alone were worth the investment.  I found her work inspiring and I couldn’t wait to get out my clay.  I did find the writing style with the “notes” a little annoying and being referred to the back of the book for suppliers and tips was a little repetitive, but that is all very minor in the end.  I learned a lot of interesting new techniques and I found all of the projects inspiring even if they weren’t quite my style.

For my first project I used her steampunk bug tutorial (it’s on here website for free).  I had all the supplies on hand and thought it would make a cute new accessory for me.I am really pleased with my first attempt and I am dying to make a heart pendant or pin.

This book has clear instructions, loads of pictures, and a list of suppliers to help you recreate all of the projects inside.  It also showcases some other designers. I have been really inspired by this book and can’t wait to apply it to my own projects.  If you would like to see some more of Christi’s work or try out some of her tutorials there are several free ones on her website.

Now I think I need a mini top hat, with some lace and feathers that I can wear my new pin on, I know just the perfect pattern…

Book Review: Gardens from Garbage By Judith Handelsman

I borrowed this book from my local library, (it appears to be out of print, but there are used copies available on Amazon).  This book is targeted to children and it is simply written and has interesting pictures and fun facts about plants to entertain and educate.

My children, especially my son, are really interested in plants and seeds.   Most of the plants in this book are common, except for the wheat berries, I have nooooo idea where one would buy those, maybe a health food store?  I liked that how the plants sprout and grow was explained and is was made clear that most of the plants would not bear fruit indoors and what could and could not be eaten.

We have started our first project from the book, an avocado tree!The seeds have to be dried overnight and peeled.  Peeling was hard, I found that the pointy bit of my pot scrapper worked great for removing the outer skin with out damaging the inner seed. The seed is then skewered and the bottom is immersed in water.  Now for a few weeks in the dark and we’ll see what happens.  I was hoping to start three seed, but one of them was damaged and broke in half when it was time to be skewered.

I am excited to see if anything will grow and if it doesn’t I’ll just be forced to make more guacamole to get some more seeds, wouldn’t that be terrible!

Guess what we’ll be planting next =D.

I did enjoy this book and it was a quick read, I would buy it if I found it on a yard sale or in a thrift store, but I am not inclined to purchase it for $10.00 online.  So thumps up, but don’t buy, borrow.  I’ll let you guys know how the avocados turn out

Instant Cemeteries

Halloween is my favorite holiday and so there is a lot of Halloween crafting at my house. I have quite a large collection of Halloween books and magazines, a few years ago I purchased this book, Halloween: A Grown-Up's Guide to Creative Costumes, Devilish Decor & Fabulous Festivities by Joanne O'Sullivan.There are a lot of really great projects in this book, but my favorite was the instant cemeteries. I loved it the moment I saw it, but the instructions said to find clip art on the internet or in books and I just could not find anything I liked, so I decided to draw my own.

Here's the cemetery I sent irasema for the Halloween '07 swap (BTW thank you for taking such an awesome picture irasema!!!) These drawings were inspired by cemeteries that I've been to and pictures that I've seen. This is a set of eleven. I've decide to add a few more tombstones to the collection this year and so I have been looking at pictures online and from my collection.

Here are two that I completed last night, I still need to modify the sizes, but I think they will go well with the rest of the tombstones. Once I get all the drawing finished I mount them and put fold able stands on the backs and then I customize a recycle tin to store them in.

Book Review: The Art of Resin Jewelry by Sherri Haab

I was really excited to get this book, I have seen some fabulous resin jewelry lately and was interested in the learning basics. There are not a lot of current resin books out there and the reviews of this one were promising. This book is very informative about safety, the different types of resin that are available, and finishing techniques. I also liked how the projects in the book list specific resins and provide the names of suppliers for the findings. There is also a chapter about ready made molds, the author, Sherri Haab also has a website where her molds are available for sale.

I was especially interested in the chapter about making your own molds that talks about several different mold making products. I have seen the commercial molds in stores and it seem like everyone is using the same ones. There are ample pictures with all the projects(I am so visual!) and I like how she recycles food containers the make the molds.

While I may not love every project in this book, it is a good starting point for resin use and I think that it has given me enough confidence to give it a try.

Projects of interest, retro stretch bracelet(page 63), making your own molds for casting(pages 78-105, the whole chapter), and techno polymer clay bezels(pages 113-115).

I recommend this book for anyone interested in starting to work with resin and you can also check out Sherri Haab's website.

Day of Shopping

My husband and I went shopping today and I came home with oodles of new crafty stuff. I am really excited about this book:I love pin-ups and would love to work with them, but since I sell a lot of my work I don't want to be concerned with copyright infringement. I am hoping that this book will help me to draw my own! I will definitely be talking more about this book in the near future.

I also bought some new tools to try with polymer clay, a clay gun and a push mold. I had so much fun making the filigree pill box that I would like to make more, so hopefully a clay gun will make the process a lot faster. I have also seen art dolls being made with faces of polymer clay, this is the mold I bought:
I like how round they are, they remind me of the moon. I can't wait to start playing with them.

That is just a sampling of what I bought today, I'll be showing off more of my new projects soon.

Book Review: Amulets Sacred Charms of Power and Protection by Sheila Paine

I bought this book because I am a visual person and every page is filled with images of amulets. This book inspires me to use my sketchbook to explore my own personal amulets, symbols and beliefs.
I like how this book is organized. It is easy to read about and see spefic symbols, materials, and colors. It also illustraits various cultures and beliefs. I enjoyed Ms. Paine's explainations and found her observations informative. It made me realize that many people have amulets, for example taxi drivers may hang a CD from their rear view mirror to divert the evil eye or even something as mundane as a wedding ring can be an amulet.
I would recommend this book as a reference tool for people interested in amulets and also people interested in cultural studies.

Book Review: Making Creative Cloth Dolls by Marthe Le Van

This book is visually stimulating with a wide variety of art dolls. I really liked that all of the dolls shown have the artists' vision included with the description.

This book starts with a basic overview of tools, materials, and techniques and also includes a list of what your basic sewing kit should include. Ms. Le Van has created three "blank canvas" doll patterns(clarity, energy, and strength) with basic instructions. The blank dolls are there interpreted by four different doll artists using different styles and techniques. There are also instructions for twelve other original dolls. At the end of the book is a gallery of even more art dolls, patterns, and brief bios of contributors.

Projects of interest - Lois Simbach's Hearts Desire Wish Doll(pages 108-109), Pamela Hastings Folk Art Dolls(pages 86-87), and the Author's Strength Doll(pages 60-62). Inspiration - Dolls for sacrifice(page59), dolls for magic(page 71), and dolls for fertility(page 107).

I recommend this book for someone interested on making art dolls. It has enough basic information to get you started, however an experienced doll maker may find it less useful.

Book Review: The Decorated Page, by Gwen Diehn

This book is written for the beginner. It covers basics like supplies, layout, blank book selection and customization. Each of the techniques that she speaks about is clearly illustrated in step by step instructions.

My favorite part of this book is all of the journal pages from various artists. I also enjoyed Illogical Illuminations(pages 30-32) and The Pillow book of Sei Shonagon(pages 100-101).

Overall I liked this book, however I recommend that you borrow this one from the library before purchasing.

Book Review: Kaleidoscope, ideas and projects to spark you creativity, by Suzanne Simanaitis

This book does exactly what the title says, "spark your creativity." The tone set by Ms. Simanaitis is engaging and entertaining. I laughed like a school girl when I read this on page 97, "I swear, one of these days I'm going to gather hundreds of my unmounted, unused rubber stamps, stitch them together into a dress, and develop a performance art piece that involves rolling around on a giant ink pad and bouncing on a canvas covered trampoline."

This book is heavily illustrated with works from over a dozen artists and is beautiful to just fan through the pages. The short(1-3 page) projects are easy to understand and reproduce. Projects on my to do list: Arting and crafting with metal(page 36), magick portable shrine(page 62), mail art to self(pages 42 and 62), and pockets of inspiration(page 86). Favorite article, That voice inside your head(or as I like to call it take a witch out for a latte week).

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for new and creative ideas.

Suzanne Siminaitis publishes ARTitude Zine and can be found on the web here.