Tired of Christmas presents wrapped in that same old Santa-patterned paper with a red bow on top? Here's some great resources for easy and creative gift wrap that your family and friends will love.

• Simplify. Real Simple demonstrates how to create simply beautiful packages using solid colored paper and natural accents. A few easy touches -- like attaching a ribbon handle or using inexpensive foam stamps for decorative accents -- can give a humble brown lunch bag a real handmade warmth.
• Waste less. Concerned about the environmental impact of throwing away all that wadded-up wrapping paper? Try fabric wrap instead. Fabric is flexible -- which can be useful for odd-shaped gifts -- and it's durable enough for multi-year use. Sew your own fabric bags, or use a fabric square to try "furoshiki" (the Japanese art of cloth gift wrap).
• Don't sweat the large (or odd-shaped) stuff. Some things are just tricky to wrap. These tips help with wrapping bats, balls, and other unwieldy items. Smaller odd-shaped items would fit well in these pillow-shaped boxes, made from recycled cereal box cardboard. But if it's a large item, you may be more interested in this approach. After all, kids of all ages love treasure hunts!

Posted in: Tips & Techniques

Boss Lady writes about the business of craft fairs, highlighting questions crafters should ask themselves about product pricing and the time and energy involved in selling at a fair.

I did a couple of very small craft fairs in my early days. I might have a different experience now -- or if I tried a different fair. But to me, they just didn't seem worthwhile -- especially compared to online sales. When you sell made-to-order crafts online, you don't have to worry about creating stockpiles of items that may or may not sell at a fair. And craft fairs can be very time consuming -- not only do you spend all day selling, but you also have set-up time, tear-down time, and possibly lengthy travel times.

Still, I know other crafters that enjoy fairs and have had great success with them. And the marketing exposure seems hard to beat. What do you think? What are the pros and cons of selling at craft fairs?

My favorite part of Blog Lady's post, though, was towards the end, where she mentions buying earrings from one of her friends:

"For me, anyway, owning beautiful things created by people I know and love is the highest form of shopping — it elevates it to an exchange of treasures."

What a wonderful way to look at it! Can we crafters take this a little further? Wouldn't it be wonderful if our customers felt like each transaction was an exchange of treasures?

Posted in: The Business of Crafting | TrackBacks (1)

Want to give someone (or yourself!) a nice journal this Christmas? Covering or "altering" composition notebooks is an easy way to make an attractive journal.

Covering a Composition Book - The Basics

• Buy a composition book. Office supply stores often have a good selection and good price.
• Want your journal to have a built-in bookmark? Adhere some fibers to the spine now -- before you add the papers.
• Pick out some decorative papers. Lay your journal out, open, on the sheet of paper to determine how large to cut your primary piece. Leave a margin of at least an inch on each side so the paper can wrap around the inside edges of the journal covers.
• Close the journal, then use adhesive (double-sided tape or just plain old glue both work fine) to attach the paper. If you've got a bone folder, use it to smooth out the paper and get good clean folds at the edges.
• Cut 2 sheets of card stock that are slightly smaller than the journal. Adhere these to the inside front and back covers to hide the wrapped-around edges.
• Add some coordinating papers and any other embellishments to make your journal unique. Keep in mind that bulky embellishments on the cover may prevent the book from laying flat.

That's it for the basics -- a pretty simple process. Here are some specifics about the journals I made:

Notes for Leaf Journals

• For the single leaf journal, I made the embellishment on front from a reverse polymer clay mold. Basically, I pressed the leaf into a sheet of junk polymer clay, textured the surrounding clay with some sea salt, and then baked it. Then I pressed another polymer clay sheet into this mold to get the raised leaf, which I colored with chalks and Pearl Ex powders. I chalked the white background paper with orange and brown chalks, then inked the edges. The brown fiber is tied around the front cover, with the knot glued on the inside. This same fiber is used as a bookmark.
• For the triple leaf journal, I used a paper sack as the base paper. I used hemp fibers to create borders between contrasting paper sections -- and also hot glued a hemp cord to the spine for the built-in bookmark. I used a leaf cookie cutter to punch the leaves out of polymer clay, then added veins with a needle tool. After baking, I used alcohol inks to color the leaves, then I hot glued them to the cover.

Give A Little Something Extra

Want an extra-special gift? Add a matching polymer clay pen. You may even want to consider a design like this one where the pen is attached to the journal.

Pockets make a nice addition, too -- especially if you slide something nice (movie tickets, a gift card, etc.) into one of the pockets before you give the gift. To add pockets to the cover, cut a piece of card stock about 1/3 the height of the journal. The card stock should be slightly wider than the cover so you can fold under the edges. Adhere just the folded-under edges to the cover with double sided tape. Viola!

More Resources

• The October 2004 issue of Paper Crafts magazine has a good feature article on composition notebooks. Though it doesn't look like their website has this particular back issue available, you might ask around and see if any local crafters keep their back issues. If not, you can always check eBay.
• If you get carried away and create more journals than you know what to do with, try Paper Craft's Altered Journal Swap. Deadline 1/2/07.

I hope you'll use your embellishments and creative ideas to make something wonderfully unique! Have fun creating these journals -- I'd love to see the designs you come up with!

Posted in: Paper Crafts , Polymer Clay , Project Instructions | Comments (2)

I write 2-3 pages in a journal just about every morning. They're my "morning pages," and I started writing them earlier this year when I read The Artist's Way.

The first few months, I just wrote my morning pages in a standard plastic-covered spiral notebook. Then it dawned on me that I should decorate my journal. So I tossed together my first covered composition book at a stamp club meeting. It wasn't anything fancy, but I was happy with the way it turned out.

I was really surprised, though, at how nice it felt to make something just for me. Writing in my own specially-made journal made me feel more positive. Even just catching a glimpse of the journal as I walked through the room made me feel proud. Giving myself that gift reassured me that I'm worth spending my own time and energy on. I think a lot of us could stand to send ourselves that message more often.

The holidays can be filled with doing things for everybody else. Buy or make gifts for the family. Send cards to friends. Bake goodies for co-workers. Clean the house for company. And while all those things are great and can be very rewarding... it's also important to do some nice things for you. Maybe that means making yourself a journal (if so, stay tuned for info on how I made mine). Or maybe it's making yourself some jewelry you just love. Or even just taking a nap!

Whatever it is, I hope you'll take some time to really enjoy yourself this holiday season!

Posted in: Currently Working On... | TrackBacks (1)

Just noticed some fun-sounding swaps over at Swap-bot, & thought I'd share them.

• Address Book / Blank Notebook or Journal Swap. Sign up by 11/20/2006. Send by 11/30. Maybe send a decorated composition book...?
• "Leftover" Holiday Card Swap. Sign up by 11/24. Send by 12/4. A wonderful way to get rid of last season's un-used cards!
• Just Desserts ATCs Swap. Sign up by 11/30. Send by 1/5/07. Desserts are all around us this time of year... at least the Artist Trading Card version is low-fat! Any medium is fine for these ATCs.
• Christmas Cards Swap. Sign up by 12/1. Send by 12/2. 10 store-bought or handmade cards. For any of you super-organized folks who have an excess of handmade Christmas cards!

Enjoy whatever crafting you're doing this Thanksgiving holiday!

Posted in: Paper Crafts | TrackBacks (1)

You know that bottle cap pendant I showed here a while back? Terri just wrote me to ask if there's an easy way to remove the plastic liner. She said, "I am making some bottlecap pins and taking that plastic liner off is so hard! I have tried to boil them off and that didn't work."

It's a good question -- unfortunately one that I don't know a good answer for. I looked online and found this PCCrafts.com article, which recommends boiling, using an embossing gun, or heating it with a coffee pot burner. Terri's tried boiling it. And I nearly burned my little fingers trying to pry the liner out after heating it with an embossing gun. In the end, I just ended up leaving my liner in and working around it.

Does anybody have suggestions for an easy way to remove the bottle cap liner?

Posted in: Polymer Clay , Tips & Techniques | Comments (4)

Just wanted to post a quick update for those of you who expressed interest in an Oklahoma City-area polymer clay group. Our first meeting will be this Wednesday, November 15th. You can get the details -- and keep up-to-date on all future events -- at our new Central Oklahoma Polymer Clay Guild site.

Posted in: Polymer Clay

I thought I'd never figure out the Skinner Blend. Every time I tried it, I ended up with a widened, flat-colored blend of the two colors -- not a nice gradient like I wanted. I assumed the problem was with the size or proportion of my beginning triangles, so I studied the online tutorials and tried adjusting this and that... Still nothing.

Fortunately, Deena Parsons went over this technique at a recent And Bear Makes 3 polymer clay class. Turns out the secret for fixing my problem was straightening out and smooshing in the left and right edges before each run through the pasta machine. That prevented the continual widening, and now I'm happily blending away.

Here are a few other tips, in case you're having trouble with the Skinner Blend:

• Don't start too small. I didn't want to waste a whole bunch of clay on something that might not turn out right, so I started with very small triangles. But I think this ended up making it more difficult. Sculpey's tutorial mentions starting with sheets the width of the pasta machine. The PoLEIGH Talking tutorial suggests starting with 1 package of each color, and says this:

  "The Skinner Blend can be done with almost any amount of clay. After you learn the technique you can improvise and learn to work with less and less clay at one time!"
  

• Use contrasting colors -- at least until you're comfortable. Since I wanted subtle color shifts, I started out with two close colors. Without a lot of contrast, though, it was difficult to tell what was going on. And I think that was part of why I ended up with one flat color.
• Start with equal thicknesses of clay. Before starting, roll each clay sheet out to the same thickness (1-2 on an Atlas pasta machine). If one color's sheet is thicker than the other, it can cause distortion.
• As I mentioned earlier, don't worry too much about the triangles. Two equal right triangles isn't the only way to do a blend. Try a rainbow blend, a three-color blend, or an angle pattern blend.
• Feed the sheet in straight and correct any distortions. That can mean straightening up the left and right edges by pushing them in, or in some cases it can mean trimming off some errant edges. If the gap between the rollers varies from one edge of your pasta machine to the other, the folks on the Bead&Button forum suggest flipping the clay over (from left to right) to compensate.
• Finally, don't quit too soon. Don't worry if the colors look weird the first few times through. It really does take 20-25 times before you get a nice gradient blend.

It was a wonderful feeling when I made my first successful Skinner Blend. Hopefully these tips will help you achieve that feeling for yourself! Now get out there and enter that contest.

Posted in: Polymer Clay , Tips & Techniques

Get your entries in the mail now for this month's Polymer Clay Central Challenge. The theme for November is Skinner Blend, and the deadline is November 15th. If that's pushing it, consider getting started on December's challenge -- the theme will be Time.

Posted in: Polymer Clay

When you're doing an image transfer that includes text, you have to make sure the text is mirrored so it will end up the right direction on the polymer clay. Normally you'd do this by changing the "mirrored output" setting in the printer's advanced properties. But what do you do if your printer doesn't support mirrored output?

That's what we found ourselves wondering when our new Dell 3100cn color laser printer arrived. I was eager to try out an image transfer on it, and was stumped when I couldn't find the setting for Mirrored Output. We searched all the settings, and we did some online searches... but we couldn't find a way to do mirrored output on this otherwise full-featured printer. Fortunately, we figured out some work-arounds, so now I'm able to make image transfers whenever I want.

Here's some tips on making your own mirrored output -- regardless of your printer type:

1. Use your software

Many software applications have mirror-image functionality built in. For example, Microsoft Word or Publisher can do mirror image text through the use of their Word Art tool. Just create your text as WordArt, then use the Flip Horizontal tool. Photoshop also has a Flip Horizontal tool. If you're not sure whether your desktop publishing software supports mirror images, try searching its help files for "mirror image" or "flip horizontal."

2. Print to PDF

If your software doesn't support flipping objects, try the free pdf995 printer driver. It's a PDF generator, which means it takes your file (from Word, IE, etc) and "prints" or converts it to a PDF. Once you download and install the software, follow these steps to print a mirror-image item:

• Choose PDF995 from the Printer Name drop-down.
• Click the Properties button, and then the Advanced button.
• On the Advanced Options page, expand the Document Options section, then the PostScript Options section.
• Change the final list item to say Mirrored Output: Yes
• When you tell it OK to print, it'll ask you where you want to save your PDF document. Pay attention to where you save it.
• Two ads will pop-up (unless you splurge for the $9.95 paid version of the software). Just click Continue using the sponsored version on the first ad, and close the second.
• Open your PDF file to see the mirrored (and, oddly, upside-down) output.
• Print this to your printer and use it to transfer.

3. Just copy it

Some copiers have an option to do mirror images. Just print your document normally, then use a copier to flip it.

Image transfers can be a lot of fun, and they add a lot of options to polymer clay projects. I hope these tricks for printing mirrored text, regardless of your printer's options, will help you create some great text transfers.

[Update 9/13/07: Just wanted to mention that I now use CutePDF instead of PDF995. It's free & it works the same -- but it doesn't have the annoying pop-ups.]

Posted in: Polymer Clay , Tips & Techniques | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)