We love handmade gifts here at the CraftSanity Headquarters, so it’s no surprise that Abby was thrilled to received a crocheted Mario on her 8th birthday from Christy Ackerman, my mom and Abby’s “nana.” My mom made this excellent gift on an extreme deadline using this awesome pattern posted for FREE on the Wolfdreamer blog. I told my [...]

After a couple weeks of feeling exhausted and inspired, reality is setting back in and I’m being reminded that I can’t solve every problem with community art projects no matter how hard I try. More on that in just a bit… On a very positive note, Amelia and I did a segment yesterday on WZZM [...]

This was one of those lucky shots. It’s not a great photo, but it’s one of those funny photos that is all about timing. I happened to have my iPhone nearby when my cat, Justine, decided to start poking her paw through the giant weaving project I’ve been working to remove from my looms. At [...]

Hello! Here’s the edited video slide show we played for the elementary students who worked on the woven house project at their school assembly last Friday. Enjoy!

We did it! We took the lovely squares woven by more than 500 students at my daughters’ elementary school and we fashioned them into a woven house measuring 7 1/2 feet tall. Check it out! The students in grades K-5 thought they were simply weaving a large rug, but I decided to surprise them with [...]

Earth Day is coming up April 22, so I thought I’d pass along some easy, kid-friendly project ideas for crafting with recycled materials. (I’m going to demo these during my craft segment on today’s “Take Five” show on WZZM channel 13 at 9 a.m. here in West Michigan.) Since my TV appearances are one of [...]

Hello! I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend. I may have eaten a few too many Starburst jelly beans (love those!), but I didn’t completely lose control. Today I’m coming to terms with the fact that spring break is over and looking ahead to spring projects on the horizon. I want to let you [...]

This mini basket pattern is inspired by my Great Grandma who used to crochet little baskets around butter tubs for the little girls in the family. Read on for the pattern and happy stitching!

I’ve been wanting to try dyeing eggs with silk ties for a couple years now, so I thought it was time to cut up the ties I’ve been tripping over in my craft room and my daughter Amelia agreed. So we recruited Amelia’s sister, Abby, to help out, experimented at home and then headed to [...]

Now that the print edition of CraftSanity Magazine issue 6 is in circulation, we’re ready to release the PDF edition. It features all the great projects from the print edition – including Maria Stout’s super cute felted crochet chick basket shown above – plus links to websites mentioned in the text. You can purchase an instant [...]

When the lovely folks at Galler Yarns sent along a free sample of their Inca-Eco 100% Organic Cotton Yarn for me try, I opened a package from them a short time later and found myself in that happy place where my craft world is full of possibility. This yarn is aqua (my fav!) and can [...]

We’ve been hard at work on issue 6 of the magazine and very happy to report that we’ll be picking it up from the printer March 23. You can reserve your copy here. This issue is packed with people and projects that I hope will inspire hours of creative time this spring. We’re covering everything [...]

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve ripped my pants. If there’s a way to get stuck on a fence by the rear of my pants, by golly, I seem to find a way to do it. I’ve ripped my pants running by fences, guard rails on the side of the road and during [...]

Hello, hello! We just sent CraftSanity Magazine issue 6 off to the printer and I will be posting the preview very, very soon. But first I want to let you know that I’m giving away two free passes to two quilt events at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe, Mich. These artist talks are [...]

I rolled out of bed at 6:08 a.m. this morning, quite pleased that I only hit the snooze button once. I ate a bowl of Cheerios and then suited up in my triathlon gear and headed downtown to the Y. I raced in the first heat at 8 a.m. The very nice woman in the [...]