After more than 11 years as a staff writer for The Grand Rapids Press, I quit my day job.

So this is it. I’m a free agent. A freelance writer. A podcaster. An independent, self-employed woman. From here on out I can’t blame The Man for holding me back or squashing my dreams. Now I’m The Man and it’s all up to me.

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Thinking about reinventing yourself?

Great, you need to tune into this CraftSanity chat with Nancy Minsky — a fashion designer living in Brussels, Belgium, who is blurring the lines between high fashion and DIY craft.

A graduate of Parson’s School of Design and a former assistant to Calvin Klein, Nancy, 55, worked in the fast-paced fashion industry for years churning out new designs for her Paul Alexander line before “retiring” from fashion design to focus on her family.

On this episode, Nancy reassures us all that we will not lose our creativity if we take a break from our professions to parent or go another direction. In fact, Nancy, appears to be as creative as ever.
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Today I’d like to introduce you to Sally K. Shovel. I made her last night in preparation for this morning’s “Take Five & Company” TV segment and the girls just named her a few minutes ago. (It seems that “Sally” is the go-to name around here. We have a lots of dolls and stuffed animals named Sally and now we have a blue-haired shovel.)

So what’s up with Sally K. Shovel? Well, is a personified shovel with blue mop hair, bulging mini-flower pot eyes, bejeweled spoon handle earrings, a broken spoon nose and bottle opener mouth wrapped with red yarn. Sally K. was inspired directly by Albert J. Ackerman II, the man I know simply as “Dad.” When I went to visit my parents last weekend in Metro Detroit, I was delighted to see what my dad has been making with flea market finds and odds and ends from around the house.

In the photo above, he’s posing with one of his earliest designs that features broken spoon eyes, a paintbrush nose and dial from an old stove. The ears are giant washers and the earrings are bent spoons. The hair is a mit for washing the car.

Okay, here’s today’s TV segment:

These shovel people are really fun to make and great for adding personality to the yard. I hope you’re now inspired to make one of your own.

Here’s what you need:

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My sister, Jacquie, found these great vintage sheets while trolling for goodies at an estate sale. The plan is to make some dresses and skirts for the girls, lots of aprons (maybe one or two like this). Then maybe we’ll use the scraps to make a vintage sheet quilt, too. I just love vintage fabric and I think these prints are too pretty to tear up for crocheted rugs.

What have you made with vintage fabric?

A week ago today I met a leather craftsman named Chris Howard. He stopped by my “free” booth at the Fulton Street Artisans Market, 1147 Fulton St. SE, with his family and we got to chatting. He told me about some of his projects and I decided to feature him in my Grand Rapids Press art and craft column. You can read about Chris on my newspaper blog. While you’re over there, scroll down to see the his leather representation of a crowning baby. Once you read his story, you’ll know why he has such a keen interest in birth art.

If you live in West Michigan, you can go meet him at the market. He’s planning to be there there today and next Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. He has also volunteered to do a leather craft demo at Craft Club at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the David D. Huntington YMCA, 475 Lake Michigan Drive NW, in Grand Rapids.

I’ve been leather crafting for less than a week, but I’m finding the more time I spend with it, the more addicted I become to pounding out messages with a cheap set of mini lettering tools from the hardware store. Which brings me to the next leather project I want to share with you. (I posted instructions for a simple key chain yesterday.)

Leather Writstband 101

Supplies:
Blank leather wristbands (I got mine from Tandy Leather Factory.)
Letter stamps (leather supply store or local hardware store)
Rubber or wool mallet
Leather stain or sealer (I used Eco-Flo Super Shene.)

This is probably one of the easiest leather projects out there because you can buy blank leather wristbands in three packs with the snaps already attached from leather supply and craft stores. This means you simply dampen the leather with a spray bottle and then let the water soak in for a bit. When the leather returns to the color it was before you wet it, you’re good to go.)

Now you can pound out your favorite message or quote with a rubber or wooden mallet and a set of small letter stamps from the hardware or leather shop.

After you’ve stamped out your text, you can use traditional leather stamps to add background texture to the piece, but this is optional. I happen to like these wristbands featuring simple text alone.

Finish your piece by applying an all-in-one finish that will seal the leather and add interesting color.

This project is a great one for dads to work on with the kids because it’s one of those great crafts that seems to appeal to both men and women. So this Father’s Day might be a great time to team up with a crafty dad and help the kids pound out some motivational wristbands.

Hey all you Ravelry enthusiasts! I’ve been on that free and fantastic social networking site for knitters, crocheters, spinners, dyers and designers for a long time and finally got around to setting up a CraftSanity group this week. You can find it here or by searching the groups for “CraftSanity” written as one word. Please sign up and introduce yourself. I can’t wait to “meet” all of you.

Thanks to the CraftSanity supporters who gave me the gentle nudge to start the group, and my apologies for taking so long to get the ball rolling.

CraftSanity my friends!

After a week of exploring the art of leather craft, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for those who spend hours pounding and carving raw leather into beautiful saddles, belts, kid toys and other goods. I’ve spent the last several days pounding out simple designs on scraps of leather with varying degrees of success. For example, the “DREAM” wristband above turned out a bit more like a nightmare after the “acorn brown” finish dried.

Leather crafts can get expensive quick, so I wrote up some directions for an easy intro project to help you get your feet wet without breaking the bank. Read on for the tutorial…

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Wow. Last night was the first of two planned rug hooking workshops with Sally Charnley, the talented rug hooker who I featured in a recent Grand Rapids Press column. We teamed up to present an introductory workshop at the Grand Rapids YMCA and have been overwhelmed by the response. Tuesday’s class was bursTing at the seams, so we moved it across the hall to a bigger space and the ladies got to work hooking the floral coaster kit seen above.

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Okay, folks, it’s time to share your favorite felt craft project. Post below about what you make out of craft felt. (Links welcome!) If you haven’t made anything out of felt but want to, tell us about your plans and feel free to include the link to that tutorial you want to try.

Post your comments below by Saturday, June 20, 2009 to enter the drawing for a gift basket of felt and other craft goodies from the Kunin Group. Kunin makes the felt Jen Segrest uses to make her lovely pincushions. It can be found at most local craft stores. I’m on a massive felt kick and would enter this contest myself if I could. :  ) Good luck everyone!

Update: And the winner is…  Bonney Teti of New Hamshire. Congrats, Bonney! And thanks to everyone who posted comments below and shared great felt project ideas.

Wow, what a great day for an art show. The weather was beautiful here in West Michigan and the crowds came out for today’s Fulton Street Artisans Market. I can’t testify to how sales went, because I ran a giveaway booth. However, I can tell you that I saw plenty of smiling vendors after the show, which is awesome. It’s so great to see this art market draw the crowd it deserves.

Speaking of smiling vendors check out these great people in the picture above who came to my booth for a group photo after the show. I didn’t request this photo, so I got a real kick out of the fact that all these people were willing to delay breaking down their booths to be in a photo with this apron-sporting craft addict. That was really nice, ladies. Thank you.

I spent the day giving away buttons and project instructions, but I feel like I made a million dollars because I met dozens of wonderful people who made me smile for the whole show. Many were readers of the craft column I write for the Grand Rapids Press, which was really gratifying. It turns out more than five people read that column which is great to know. Several people made my day by stopping by with show & tell. I love seeing what people make and hearing their stories. The good news for CraftSanity and Press readers is that you will get to read about some of these talented folks in the coming weeks as I have big plans to interview several of the creative people I met.

And now for the announcement of today’s CraftSanity T-shirt winners. The randomly selected winners are: Liz Bush, Pat Lewis and Deb Fix. Congrats, ladies! I will be contacting each of you to get your mailing addresses.

Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by for a chat today. It was a pleasure to talk to you folks about what we love to do: make stuff. Keep chasing those creative dreams and updating me on your progress! :  )

P.S. This felt banner was so fun to make. It’s made by stuffing felt letters trimmed with blanket stitch. I swear, I’m totally addicted to felt. And speaking of felt… check back here tomorrow to enter a drawing to win some great felt and other goodies.

Today more than 60 vendors will gather in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the opening day of the Fulton Street Artisans Market (FSAM). I’ll be there, too, hanging out in booth 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. My plan is to chat with people about CraftSanity, recruit new members for the Grand Rapids Craft Club, give out free buttons and project instructions and look for artistic people to  feature in upcoming blog posts, podcasts, TV segments and newspaper columns.

At $10 a booth, this weekly art sale, located at 1147 Fulton St. SE, is affordable for first-time local sellers looking to test the market for their handmade wares. You can read more about what the FSAM has to offer sellers.

You’ll also be able to shop for these awesome pop can tab purses made by Sarah Roemer. I wrote about Sarah in today’s GR Press column and LOVE her work. Come early if you want one of Sarah’s purses. These are very hot sellers.

Here’s a look at some of the handmade made goods you’ll find at this Sunday’s Fulton Street Artisans Market. There will be more than 60 vendors, many representing Etsy West Michigan, selling everything from copper earring trees, sterling earrings, votive candles, recycled journals, concrete birdbaths, quilted bags, wallets, key fobs, badge reels, recycled pop-tab purses, musical pastels, pastel landscapes, wire-wrapped necklaces, soap, ceramics and more.

I’ll be giving away project instructions and other goodies in booth 22, so please stop by for a chat.

You can read more about my June 26 English paper piecing workshop in this post.

I’m working on a felt CraftSanity banner to decorate my “free” booth at the Fulton Street Artisans Market this Sunday in Grand Rapids. As you can see I have a bit of work to do. If you’re local, I hope you can stop by and say hello. I’ll be passing out goodies including free project instructions and CraftSanity buttons. I’ll also be running a drawing for T-shirts and other goodies.

Most importantly, I will be actively looking for artists and crafters to write about. So if you’re a West Michigan maker (or you live somewhere else and own a private jet), please stop by and introduce yourself. I can’t wait to hear your story.
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I’ve been a little stressed, so I decided to make something today that had nothing to do with any of my current work projects. I grabbed the paper piecing bin from my studio and made a blue flower coaster and got started on a matching red one. I don’t know what it is about hand-sewing these little fabric hexagons together that calms me so, but it never fails to take the edge off. I just focus on those tiny stitches and the worry and angst slips away.

This afternoon was lovely. The girls were playing in the yard and I was stitching on the deck. While the stitching was a comfort, I caught myself looking around for Juna who would usually rest next to my chair. She would do this thing where she would kind of sink into the ground with a huff and just watch me work on my projects, kind of like she was bored and interested at the same time. Crafting is different without her, but it still makes me feel better.

English PAPER PIECING WORKSHOP! On a brighter note, I’m scheduled to teach a paper piecing workshop at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center here in West Michigan from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, June 26. I’ll be showing participants how to make the pieced flowers you see above and they will have the option to turn them into drink coasters, decorative appliques, a drawstring bag or the beginning patches of an heirloom Grandmother’s Garden quilt. The class is $20 for residents and $30 for non-residents. You can sign up here if you’re interested. *** Note there is no class description posted with the course listing on the website, but this is the right class. *** Bring a few fat quarters, a sewing needle and matching thread, or pay an extra $5 and I’ll hook you up with the supplies you need.

Also, I’m very excited to be participating in Día del Sol 2009 hosted by Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities (GAAH). This is the annual fundraiser that supports programs at the Cook Arts Center and the Cook Library Center here in Grand Rapids. The event will be at the Cook Arts Center on Thursday, June 18, and feature hors d’oeuvres, Latin music, and a silent auction with a fun selection of art other items including this one from me:

Art Journaling: A Path to Self-Discovery I’m pledging to lead a 3-hour art journaling workshop for up to 6 people. The participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and nurture their creative spirits using a variety of artistic techniques combined with writing exercises. Location options include a participant’s home or the Cook Arts Center.

I’m going to the event even though I risk the humiliation of A) falling down in front of wealthy donors, B) being there and having no one bid on my event, or C) both A & B. Ha! Seriously, I’ll let you folks now how it all shakes out. I plan on having fun no matter what.

And, if you’re local and interested in getting in on the bidding… tickets for the GAAH event are $40.00 per person. Contact Joanne Roehm at jroehm@gaah.org or 616-742-0692 if you want to go.

Oops. First version released had some problems. Updated version now posted. Sorry!

This week I’m bringing you a lively discussion with Jen Segrest. She’s a multi-talented graphic designer and crafter from Middletown, Ohio who isn’t afraid to speak her mind.

I got in contact with Jen when I came across her fantastic bottle cap pincushions online. Her pincushion tutorials featured in the book “Pretty Little Pincushions (Lark 2007) and CraftStylish, changed my life. Months later, I’m still excited about covering bottle caps with felt. So fun!
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