There is no better feeling than seeing a family member succeed in their dreams. Okay, Vickie Howell isn't exactly a blood relative of mine, but she is my cousin in craftiness! From her eight seasons as host of the DIY Network's Knitty Gritty, six books, dozens of magazine columns - consider her yours too.
This week, this mom of three launches her new yarn line, Stitch.Rock.Love. Sheep(ish) with Caron Yarns. Seriously. You can walk into any JoAnn store in the country and find her display. For craftypreneurs - that's HUGE!
A few years back I noticed my vision had become fuzzy. I scored a cool pair of purple readers and went on to buy a pair for every room in the house. I started with 1.50 strength and then thought - like everything else I do (glitter, varnish, Oreos) - MORE IS BETTER!
The next pair I purchased were 2.0, and just last month I adopted a 2.25 for 'serious' reading. I started getting headaches. Today I went to the eye doctor to find that I overcorrected my vision by using too strong of readers. All I needed was 1.25. Doh!
Now I've caused irreversible damage and aged my vision by TEN years. Stupida! My eye doctor said it is not as bad as it seems. I still don't need prescription glasses, but I do need to only stick with the lower dosage of readers.
I'm telling you this in case you are using store-bought specs at random like I did. Go see your eye doctor to make sure you have the correct strength, ok?
Unlicensed belts made with Patrick's copyrighted artwork
. They took the art from his web site.
Next up - I learned how to watermark images in Photoshop Elements. It was much easier than I thought, I wish I had researched this sooner. Recently, Patrick had his artwork swiped and put on manufactured belts. It forced me to put a hurdle on each image to prevent that in the future. Here's the video I used, watch it and learn how to watermark your pictures too!
Last week I posted the photo centerpieces I made for DeAngelo's graduation in 2008. The project received so many hits, that I thought I'd share a round up of other ideas! Maya graduates on Thursday!
I needed a new lamp for my desk and couldn't find anything that excited me at the store. I settled with an old shade from the thrift store and decided to make use of my extra art supplies.
Yay! I finally got one of my 2011 goals together! It was to launch a virtual classroom to host my upcoming online classes. Here it is: http://www.CraftyChica.Ning.com.
Check out the main page, but keep in mind the FULL site is only open to members. To be a member, you had of have paid and registered for one of my workshops. I'm backdating to April 2010 - so if you took one of my classes throughout the past year - you're in! To show my appreciation for my students, I'm also adding in free, exclusive video tutorials on the site that you won't find here. Plus a bunch of other goodies!
Here is my first workshop, and it starts June 5th: DIY Publicity for Artists. Click on the link for all the details! It's $125, but I'm running a sale price today for $99, so hurry and sign up!
Blackbeard, mermaids, zombies and the Fountain of Youth? I'm sold. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, is the fourth installment of the franchise has all the elements of a summer guilty pleasure blockbuster. Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane join Johnny Depp and the rest of the cast for a robust tale of mystery, danger and hopefully, a little romance.
My crafty inspiration from the film is the ruffled top that is commonly seen in pirate flicks – except made over for a contemporary look. Even better – it is a no-sew technique!
These leather rings saved my sanity. See, our PT Cruiser has gone kaput. We've been without wheels for six weeks now. We have a friend who is a mechanic who has been working on it, but he can't seem to fix it.
How does this tie into these rings? I'll tell you...
Last month we took a vacation to Cabo San Lucas while on the Crafty Chica Cruise. If you have plans to visit and are like me and not into glass bottom boats, snorkeling or shopping in the hyper-tourist areas - I have great news! Take a taxi San Jose del Cabo. It's a small artsy town with a nighttime open air market, rows of cool boutiques and cute eateries! GOBS of crafty inspiration too!
I'm very excited to announce my first Crafty Chica Online Workshop! I'll be doing these throughout the year and will rotate the topics. For my first offering, I'm going with something everyone can use - PUBLICITY! This is an awesome weekly class for artists, authors, small business owners, musicians and more. This is for people like ME who can't afford to hire a PR person, but who have the chops to DIY it. This four-week class is intensive, LOTS of information, videos, worksheets, homework, live chats.
When you sign up, you'll also gain membership to the new Crafty Chica Classroom! Go click and see it! This is where I'll be conducting all these private classes, plus I'm adding freebies for members as well - video tutorials, PDF pattern downloads and more!
This class is $99 for four weeks of lessons and includes membership into the new Crafty Chica Classroom.
Working with the press has been the backbone of my career for the past 25 years, and it's been in all different capacities!
- I started in PR and earned my AA in Advertising and Marketing. I went on to be a public relations clerk, and then an event and PR coordinator for a chain of restaurants.
- I then went to work for a major daily Arizona newspaper for 13 years and earned my BA in Business. The first half of my paper gig, I worked as a clerk coordinating listings, sorting through thousands of pieces of mail and press releases, finding captivating topics for photo shoots, working hard on small stories and features to groom me to become a reporter. I finally did become a reporter! I spent many years conducting interviews, searching for the cream of the crop of interesting people to write about. I worked with companies big and small and was always amazed - or unimpressed - by their publicity tactics. I pulled out the best of all my experience and used it for CraftyChica.com!
This is a course I know I was meant to teach. In fact, I taught this class at an art retreat a few years back to a sold-out room. I still hear from many of those students about how much they appreciated all the tips I offered. It took a lot out of me energy wise, and I haven't taught it since - until now!
Here are 'brief' summaries of what we'll cover:
WEEK 1: The Foundation of You: Becoming Newsworthy. Exercises in writing a compelling bio, organizing your web site, blogging tips, mission statement, taglines, finding specific gems in your business that you can market, energizing your platform, being alluring, and much more.
WEEK 2: Crafting the Perfect Pitch. From one-sheets to elevator pitches, I'll share what has worked for me, along with tips for testimonials, keeping your vibe fresh, working with local media, booking events and appearances, media tools, editorial packages for your blog or design themes, trending. It's all about "the hook" and you'll learn the art of it!
WEEK 3: Writing a Press Release and contact letters. By this time, you'll know who you want to market to and what your story angles are. You'll learn the old school style of releases, as well as the new and create a mash-up between the two that is tailored to your brand and business. You'll learn the do's and don'ts of these, as well as cover letters and contacting editors and producers by email.
WEEK 4: Spreading the word and following up! This is where we put it all together!I'll show you all the different techniques for getting the word out, following up, sending swag, press invites, the right and wrong way to send packages, blog hops, submitting to big sites, cross promoting, networking online and in person, working with sponsors, pitching to networks, SEO, writing good blog headlines, keywords, tips for viral marketing, look books and press kits.
This is basically a huge live-action Artist's Publicity 101 book!
What to expect:
- We'll have a private classroom at http://craftychica.ning.com. Students will have access to all the content for three-months, 24-7.
- Work at your own pace! Once you register, you can check in every week to participate in all the offerings, or up to three months later.
- You will have optional downloadable homework each week - it will be your time to really concentrate and focus on your brand and where you want to go. You can keep it personal or have me look at it to help with ideas for you.
- My original brand strategy downloadable worksheets that you can fill out at your leisure. These date back to my early days when I launched Crafty Chica, and flow through to present day.
- Directions for making an artful publicity binder to hold all your lesson plans.
- Downloadable weekly lesson plans.
- Photo gallery of ideas and inspirations.
- Weekly online chat on my Ustream channel. This is where I'll go over live examples, your work (those who say it's ok!) and I'll answer questions that you have. Chat transcripts will be available.
- Daily motivational tips throughout the course.
- Discussion forum.
- Keep in mind, all of these things worked for me and they can help you too. As with everything, everyone will have different results. It's like a glitter recipe - there is no way to duplicate the formula. But working every angle will certainly increase your results! Please see workshop policies here.
The team at Secret Deodorant has a new video campaign and asked if I'd share it here. As you know, I used to be an entertainment reporter over at The Arizona Republic and watching any and all reality shows used to be on my radar(that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it!).
One of my faves back in the day was Model Latina on SiTV. So when I clicked to watch this Secret commercial, I was delighted to see Mishell Livio in it! She was on the first season of the show! It looks like she has really gone on to craft a blooming career for herself! You can also see her in other TV commercials, and as a co-star in the online series, Talent.
The theme of this video is how people calm down after being stressed. Leave a comment sharing your method and one person will win a gift basket of Procter and Gamble beauty goodies!
My longtime friend, Kelly Hale, finally opened his new shop this month in central Phoenix! He is an amazing crafter and designer. For his day job, he is in charge of ALL the store/merchandising displays at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. Now he has a second gig. Located at 15th Avenue and Thomas, his new store, Saint 22.
I'm so excited to be included in Signature Styles: 20 Stitchers Craft Their Lookby Jenny Doh.
It features profiles of twenty "stitchers," all in their creative element. There are interviews, project tutorials and amazing photographs. My photos are very sentimental to me because my brother took them. Read on to get the free project (I made a tote from a jumbo size Virgin of Guadalupe scarf!).
As an author, at first this recycled book project made me wince - but you know what? I think with the right "unwanted" hardback, this would make an excellent conversation piece for writers and speakers...or anyone else who uses words, books or pages in the theme of their work.
Think of the film, Bridesmaids, as the female version of The Hangover – with a dash of The Bad News Bears and bad taffeta dresses. Maya Rudolph plays a cheerful bride-to-be who enlists her down-on-her-luck best friend, Annie, (Kristen Wiig) to organize the details. While Annie deals with a motley crew of control freak cohorts, she manages to pick up a few life lessons of her own.
This project is inspired by a scene in the movie where Annie relies on a bit of liquid courage to pull her through a tough spot. It’s a cute gift for bridesmaid because it’s an embellished flask that slips right into a garter. From Kool-Aid to whisky to old-fashioned H2O, it can be filled with whatever you want to help your girls celebrate the day!
NOTE: This is a project I made in 2008 for my son's high school graduation. Now that my daughter is graduating in two weeks, I'm going to do the same for her. Here is the story behind the project (and the tutorial).
Just because you live in a small apartment doesn't mean you can't have decent flower beds. All you have to do is adjust your vision a bit. That is what Fern Richardson preaches on her blog, Life on the Balcony. I love this how-to that starts with how to find yourself a pallet:
This is what happens when you work too long in the art room on nothing but coffee for eight hours. you make goofy videos with your daughters, not realizing that she may post them on YouTube!
I've blogged here since 2003 - more than 3,000 posts! I plan to keep it going strong - however, I've recently come to a very important decision.
Writing comes first. At least when it comes to my free time. I've always dreamed of having a longterm career as a novelist, and now that, by the grace of God, I've had two fiction books published, I have to work hard to keep the momentum moving. I want to have one or even two new novels released a year. Yes, I'm dreaming BIG!
Here's a nugget of truth about being an author. It's difficult to write, edit and sell your first book, but it's double hard to keep it going. New hurdles are established and you have to clear them to stay in the game. I write because I love to tell stories and deliver happy endings with messages that will make readers want to try something new in their lives. I'm making it my priority, I'm compelled to set everything else aside and go for it!
I love my crafty audience, am mega devoted, and will still be blogging about DIY here, but not daily. I'm going to use that extra time to work on new novel outlines and introduce myself and my work to new markets. Time to give my ChicaWriter blog some love!
Why the shift? My editor told me something recently that really hit home. She said, "Kathy, crafters are more into craft supplies and project ideas than buying and reading novels. You need to expand your market!"
Gosh, in a perfect world, if I could get every follower, Facebook friend/liker, subscriber to each buy one book, I'd be set! I can't and refuse to rely on that, I want to push myself. I know many of you have bought my books and I'm so grateful! Thank you!!! But now I have to work on establishing myself in the book world to reach out to avid readers of contemporary women's fiction and win them over. Hopefully convert them into crafters! Even though I have no idea where to start, it's a challenge I'm excited to meet! Gulp. I'm nervous!
I'll still have fresh blog projects for iLoveToCreate, plus now I'm the official craft section editor at BlogHer.com, so I'll be sharing cool finds from across the blogosphere! I'll also have some online classes coming up this summer too, and for filler I'll repost some popular tutorials.
Gosh, I guess I'm still doing a lot of crafting afterall! OK, I'm off to go write, please send me good energy and I'll do the same for you! New novel on sale! MISS SCARLET'S SCHOOL OF PATTERNLESS SEWING
My latest score: A stack of groovy vinyl wallets on clearance! You know I scooped all those babies up in a breathtaking moment of joy! Painting on vinyl is doable with the right paints, but I wanted to do something different. I decided to go with this Dimensional Fabric Flower technique I posted last summer.
It's Cinco de Mayo week, but that doesn't mean I'm into the stereotypical tequila shots. Instead, I decided to celebrate a traditional art form from the state of Puebla, Mexico (where the Battle of Puebla took place) - Talavera pottery! Known for the cobalt blue painted accents, it usually has a color story of deep reds, earthy greens and oranges. Here are directions for my "crafty chica" version so you can visit your local paint-on-pottery store and make your own!
I bought my friend, Pattie, a housewarming gift and like routine, I went and picked up a gift bag. But Pattie is a hardcore crafty type like me - I couldn't give it to her undecorated! So I worked a little marker magic like this...
This was among my personal favorites! Traci Bautista was our guest artist and she lead a day long workshop on painting, doodling, and assembling an art journal. This was supposed to be my day to go and explore the ship, but instead I hunkered down in the craft room and made a journal along with our group. On the first night we all exchanged artist trading cards and I used my journal as a place to keep them all.
These are shrines we made using wood bases made by DeAngelo's godfather! This was our last project of the cruise and everyone used objects, papers and items they gathered from throughout the trip. We also used Transfer Artist Paper from C&T Publishing.
New novel on sale! 
