Running out of fresh Halloween decorating ideas? I was, too.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m heading West for the Conference for Creative Entrepreneurs in a couple days. There’s lots to do before I board the plane, but I took a break from spinning plates for a bit to work on a super important project for my daughters. I’ve been working on a set of stuffed [...]

Soon after launching my loom business last summer I started collecting colorful t-shirts to use in my weaving projects. But every now and then I like to change it up and do a t-shirt refashioning project or some other jersey knit craft. Yesterday I made some t-shirt necklaces with my daughters. This is a fun [...]

Hello! I’m back from a short and lovely vacation with the family and excited to catch up with all of you. I’ve been working on lots of creative projects and will be sharing those is posts sprinkled out over the course of the next several days. A new podcast is in the works, too. I [...]

The latest issue of Petite Purls is up and ready to inspire you. My daughters and I collaborated on the Sew Petite feature, a beginning stitching project for you to try with the budding crafters in your life. Ameila, 4, stitched the flower in the hoop above. Abby, 6, decided to go her own way [...]

Summer 2010 is going to be super crafty as I’m ramping up my teaching schedule. I’m available to teach craft and creativity workshops for small groups of adults and children, so feel free to contact me if you’re interested in having me come out and work with your group. I’m really looking forward to teaching [...]

Dandelions rank among my favorite flowers. I used to pick them for my mom when I was a kid and now I get to watch my daughters pick them for me. Because most people consider them weeds, no one ever gets on your case for picking them and I love that, too. I wrote a [...]

The nice folks at PAAS sent me some egg decorating kits for today’s craft segment on “Take Five & Company.” The kits include neon dyes and cute stickers to make eggs that look like monsters and fish. Since these egg dyeing kits are self-explanatory, I’ll focus on showing you how I use these dyes to [...]

Happy Spring, everyone! It’s snowing here in West Michigan. And waking up to a blanket of white was a crushing blow after we were spoiled by nearly a week of sunny, spring weather. Ah, well, those of us who live in Michigan are used to this kind of teasing by Mother Nature. We often complain [...]

I’ve never been one to get caught up in the commercialism of Valentine’s Day, but I do LOVE making heart-themed craft projects for my kids all year round. Last night I stayed up insanely late to make a heart-themed bean bag toss game to entertain Abby’s kindergarten friends at the class Valentine’s Day party. I [...]

My little Amelia was my special guest at last month’s Craft Club meeting at the Y. She was having a rough day and not feeling like playing with the other children in the kids’ play area. She’s been having some separation issues lately and it rips my heart out every time I have to walk [...]

There’s something very satisfying about stitching with beads. I love the meticulous work of embellishing one little bead at time. And while many of my bead projects take considerable time, these little heart pins are small enough to whip up in one sitting. Read on to find out how to make some of your own.  Supplies:  Craft [...]

It’s been very busy here at the CraftSanity headquarters. Between family illness, loom-making, writing deadlines, and travel and prep work for a series of handmade holiday workshops I’m teaching across the state, I feel like I need to run off to a quiet place and knit for a while. I need to just  be for [...]

It rained most of the day Friday in West Michigan. The wind was worse than the rain. And while I don’t care much for wind and rain combos, it woke me up. This sort of weather demands our attention. It heightens our senses behind the wheel and encourages us to move faster when we get [...]

The 13-day countdown to Halloween starts Monday. Are you ready? Here’s a quick project to get you in the spirit. Transform an old clipboard into a spooky calendar with a coat of black craft paint. Then cover the clip with a witch hat made out of craft felt. Glue on 13 painted clothespins, then clip [...]