The first day of school is always bittersweet. When this day arrives it marks the official end of summer as all children know it and simultaneously brings a gust of exciting expectation of everything that might be possible during the new academic year. Today I’m sending my girls off to a new school with some [...]

Hello. Hello. It’s been a little nuts around here as I let myself get completely carried away by April’s Earth Day inspired weaving extravaganza at my daughters’ elementary school. I finished connecting all the woven fabric to create four pieces of varying sizes on Thursday and installed them in the cozy reading area on the library floor [...]

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!

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 [...]

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 [...]

One of the big mistakes I’ve made while trying to get my house in order is loading up on many unnecessary and/or unsuitable organizing supplies. I’m done with colored bins I can’t see into and I’m holding off on buying more of the clear kind until I weed out more of the stash. After many [...]

I’ve been making CraftSanity wooden peg looms for more than two years and I’m thrilled that my little sisters have both recently gotten into weaving. Yippee!!! I just love it when they get into a craft I absolutely love. My youngest sister, Julie, whipped up the bright pot holders above on her 17-peg CraftSanity Loom. Check [...]

Hi folks! I’m a guest on this week’s webisode of JTV, a fun floral design show hosted by my friend, J Schwanke, flower expert and CEO of uBloom. Tune in to watch us make wrapping paper using crayons and tropical foliage. This is an easy, all-ages project for everyone who loves crafting with nature and [...]

My unplanned foray into crafting on TV has not brought me riches or fame (I don’t get paid to do my segments and Martha still hasn’t called.) but the adventure has payed off in many other ways. It’s forced me to learn how to craft on the fly in front of live audiences and allowed [...]

It’s time to send the kids back to school and I can’t quite believe it. This is the fastest summer I’ve ever experienced as a mom. I LOVED being home with my kids this summer – my first summer as a work-at-home mom. This year both my daughters will be eating lunch at school for [...]

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 [...]

Hi folks! I have many projects in the works as usual, but I wanted to take a break from stitching hexagons to give all you locals a head’s up about some classes I’m teaching this summer at Lakeshore Sewing’s Wyoming location (1011 Gezon Parkway SW, Wyoming, MI). Here are the details: T-shirt Refashioning 101 Learn [...]

This Sunday my newspaper column will feature West Michigan crochet enthusiast, Kendra Wineman. After meeting Kendra and seeing her colorful stash of reclaimed yarn and cute, crochet nesting bowls, I decided to unravel a sweater and make some bowls for my daughters to organize trinkets in their room.

What a great opening day for the Fulton Street Artisans Market in Grand Rapids! I sold several looms (Thank you, dear customers!) and enjoyed meeting some very supportive column readers. A special thanks to our kind booth neighbors for helping Jeff and I set up the new “EZ Up” tent for the first time. And [...]