I look for answers to life’s big questions everywhere. Billboards, headlines, vanity license plates, those inspirational signs in front of churches. (I LOVE those signs in front of churches.) Today a review copy of a book by a man with some answers arrived up in my mailbox: “What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual [...]

CHICAGO – Heavy rain and flooded roads slowed me down but didn’t deter my first Renegade Craft Fair experience. Even though I spent the day looking rather drenched, I met loads of fabulous people and foolishly exposed my camera to the elements to document the trip. Above you’ll see the massive amount of business cards [...]

This is the bird’s nest we discovered under our deck today. I’m in awe of how resourceful birds are. Even our dog’s white fur is woven into this abode. I just love meeting “natural” weavers. Welcome to my back yard! Thanks to everyone who posted about the Swiss chard. I cooked it up in a [...]

Here’s a sneak preview of the craft column I wrote for this Sunday’s edition of the Grand Rapids Press. These whimsical polka-dot pillows are by a Holland, Michigan fiber artist who’s not afraid to bust out with color. Stop back here Sunday to find out who this talented artist is, and click the links to [...]

This is Juna, our 8-year-old Alaskan Malamute. She took a nap this morning outside in the wicked cold and looked right at home sleeping on a pile of snow. I’m amazed that she can curl up and get comfortable in less than 10-degree weather. When I refilled her water, I noticed the heart shape in [...]

This is the new CraftSanity headquarters. Just a couple months ago it was a baby nursery and now it’s my home office, complete with a whole wall of lovely custom, wall-mounted bookshelves built by a friend. I never dreamed I’d ever have “custom” anything, so to look over and see all my books filling up [...]

Montana weaver Kathy Wishnie sent me this picture of a doll she made her friend for Christmas. I like the way she combined weaving and crochet techniques to achieve a whimsical finished piece. (I love the dress and little felt shoes.) I weave and crochet, but this is a combination I have never attempted. It [...]

Today my family celebrated the life of Donald Haywood, my husband’s larger-than-life grandfather who died Jan. 6. In a lovely tribute to him my sister-in-law said he reminded her of a large oak tree with arms like strong branches stretched wide to embrace people. The description is perfect and beautiful as he was always giving [...]

Okay, so tonight’s “20/20” sucked me in. I had the TV on for background noise, but within minutes I moved to the recliner from the kitchen table (where I was preparing to resume editing the podcast I will be posting this weekend). I wanted a clear view of the TV for this one. It was [...]

So I put up an “inspiration wire” tonight in the nursery we just converted into an office. I used wire and clips I had around the house. It felt good to fashion something to clip interesting items to without having to go to the store. I LOVE when that happens. This idea comes from Amanda’s [...]

This book came in the mail today and it’s lovely. While I enjoyed reading a digital copy of Amanda Blake Soule’s “The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections” before I interviewed her for CraftSanity episode 60, it was really great to flip through the print version this evening while sipping peppermint [...]

Photo by Julie Ackerman Sarcona There’s nothing like a fresh, new baby to inspire some major crafting. So you can imagine the marathon craft binge that TWO new babies have inspired. My little sisters both had babies within the last two weeks, a boy and a girl, and I’ve been happily crafting little welcome packages [...]