The Creative Bride

and the winner is...

2008-06-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Daphne - you've won the pair of earrings!

Thank you to everyone who has entered - and keep watching, because there are more contests coming up :-)

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

A Happy Little Woven Pouch full of sweet sisterly memories
One thing always leads to another, doesn’t it? Reading a sweet book inspired Noreen to weave a little amulet bag in honor of a dearly loved sister.
De-Cluttering my Craft Room the FlyLady Way
Eileen tackles those piles of “inspiration” that seem to accumulate in any artist’s workspace … 15 minutes at a time.
Digital Painting Tutorial
Some more from the lovely and talented Genece Hamby.
Kitchen Message Center from Cutting Board
Have a used up cutting board? Here’s an idea to give it new life.
Layers Upon Layers
Cyndi’s mixing it up again with another project combining physical and digital art!
Link-roundup for the silk paper how-to
Chloe has completed the silk paper project and posted a complete list of all the links.
Update on the fake wasp nests
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed a crocheted fake wasp nest to keep the beasties at bay, and her husband has turned one in wood. Here’s the update on how the wasp away’s are working:

image source: Stock.xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-30T14:58:00.001-07:00

CIMG3697, originally uploaded by Matt & Helen Hamm.

What a spectacular place for a wedding!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-25T19:35:00.001-07:00

Be gone foul wasp!
Noreen crocheted fake wasp nest to trick the wasps and yellow jackets into staying away from her home. Let’s hope it works!

Freaky Friday #66
A great visual journal writing prompt.

Is this a Blog? Or is it a Website??
Are you confused by the distinction between a blog and a website? Eileen tries to sort things out for you.

Layers Upon Layers
Torn paper landscapes are super-simple backgrounds for collage!

Review: Last-Minute Fabric Gifts
This junk book helps you transform clothing you no longer wear into fun gifts like recycled sweater hats.

Sewing a wasp decoy?
Chloë was inspired by Noreen’s crocheted wasp decoy to try sewing a fabric wasp nest.

image source: Stock.Xchg

contest reminder - there's still time to enter!

2008-05-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

There's just over a week to enter to win these glass dangle earrings - just remember to read the instructions before you enter!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry about the lack of posting this week - but when you check out my link from Tangled Thread, I think you'll see why! I've been elbow deep in hand-sewing, but it's done and I'll be back this week with a brand-new tutorial and free pattern!

1000 Journals Project
Links to the amazing 1000 Journals Project, in case you’ve missed it so far.

How Will the Orphan Works Bill Affect Ownership of Your Art & Written Work?
Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you think of the proposed Orphan Works Bill in the US Congress and how it will affect artists, writers, and artisans.

Layers Upon Layers
The incredibly talented Judy Coates Perez has done an artist profile for Layers Upon Layers!

Make Embellishments From Aluminum Cans
If you have a die cut machine and some pretty cans, you can make your own embellishments. Just don’t cut yourself to ribbons while you’re making them!

Organizing and storage of a yarn stash
Noreen Crone-Findlay has posted pics of some of the ways that she organizes and figures out storage solutions for her yarn stash. Here’s the link….

Preserve Your Precious Photos
If you save precious photos on your computer, you need to know about Carbonite online backup subscription service.

The completed memorial textiles
Chloe, from Tangled Thread had finished the memorial textiles created in honor of her grandmother.

Vacation Scrapbook Planter from Sour Cream Container
Reuse a sour cream container as a planter and scrapbook all in one.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-16T12:21:00.001-07:00

102_123504_079022202809.jpg, originally uploaded by meow8dotcom.

I love seeing people who include their animals in their wedding ceremony. One of my dogs ended up being our honorary ring-bearer when my DH & I got married last summer! We decided to leave the parrot at home though - I didn't think that she would make a very good flower girl...

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-11T15:42:00.001-07:00

A quick and easy market bag to crochet for ‘WOW MOM’s!
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed a quick and fun market bag in honor of all the Wow Moms out there. And it’s good for dear old mother earth, too!

Decoupage a Byzantine Cross Pendant
Eileen shares instructions for a decoupage Byzantine cross pendant made from cardboard - of all things!

Digital Photomontage Demonstration
Links to a simple photomontage tutorial.

Glorious Gourd Decorating
A quick review on a great resource for gourd decorating.

Layers Upon Layers
Take one cheap piece of felt and transform it into “leather”!

Gadget Wish List for Quilters
Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you have on your dream list of quilting gadgets

Spring-time felt flowers
Inspire kids to start sewing with this easy felt flower from Tangled Thread

Wooden craft boxes as wedding favors
Chloe from the Creative Bride suggests painting charming & inexpensive wooden boxes to give as wedding favors

image source: Stock.Xchg

Tags: art-blogs, artsy bloggers roun

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-09T10:45:00.001-07:00

Casamento na praia, originally uploaded by Luís Guilherme.

You don't need to do a lot of decoration if your ceremony location is as beautiful as this one is!

wedding favor ideas - painted wooden boxes

2008-05-07T12:51:00.001-07:00

Are you looking for an easy, inexpensive, handmade wedding favor? How about little painted wooden boxes? The box I painted for this sample cost a grand total of $1.50 at my local craft store (the big one that starts with the letter "M"). Paint? $3.50 per bottle... plus a little time. You can monogram the boxes or decoupage them to match your wedding theme.

Don't forget that the earring contest is still on!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

How to make silk paper
Tangled Thread has created a how-to for making your own silk paper, using raw silk fibers.
Layers Upon Layers
Fabulous mixed media artist Andie MacCowan shares about her artistic journey!
Make Yourself a Giant Check
No, Eileen doesn't tell you to click on this link and win a million dollars. She tells you how to create a giant check for presentation.
Mixed Media Earth Friendly Woven Dolls
This week, Noreen Crone-Findlay finished weaving a very special doll, 'The Earth Listener Angel Doll'. She's uploaded photos of the making of the doll, as well as pics of some of her other mixed media woven dolls. The links are on:
Red Castle Templates
Links to excellent templates, mostly free for you to download.
The Delights of Blogging About Quilting
Mary Emma Allen, at Quilting & Patchwork, discusses the enjoyment she finds in blogging about quilting and connecting with other quilters and fabric artists..
win a pair of beaded dangle earrings
The Creative Bride is giving away a pair of her beaded dangle earrings - just make sure to real the rules before you enter :-)
Cat Toy (and more) from Ketchup Bottle
Learn about all the cat-related uses for an empty ketchup bottle.
A Call for Alzheimer's Related Art
I am compiling art for an ezine titled "A Portrait of Alzheimer's" and am putting out a call for artwork and poetry.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-02T08:48:00.001-07:00

an unfortunately ruined dress, originally uploaded by tarts larue.

It's cool, grey and rainy... and your wedding is due to start - what's a girl to do? Grab a fabulous umbrella and enjoy your day!

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-02T08:47:00.001-07:00

Covered bridge, originally uploaded by photosavvy.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-02T08:46:00.001-07:00

Could it be raining?, originally uploaded by kit.

win a pair of beaded dangle earrings

2008-04-29T08:44:00.001-07:00

As I promised on Thursday, I've got a special treat for you... I'm holding the first-ever Creative Bride contest! The lucky winner will win this set of earrings - the same ones I created to demonstrate this tutorial:
To enter, just leave a comment on this post, explaining *why you deserve to win the earrings*!

The rules:

One entry per person please.
Leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you're the winner (it won't be shared)
The contest will run from now until May 31st.
I reserve the right to delete entries not fulfilling the entry requirements (ei - don't leave a comment just saying "thanks")

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-04-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Quilts in Times of Disasters

Quilters often turn to quiltmaking in times of stress, crisis and disaster. Mary Emma Allen, of Quilting and Patchwork, mentions a scene in one of her books about quilting during the Civil War.

Cornstarch clay- can it look like turquoise?
Noreen Crone-Findlay is working on a new doll. She’s spun the yarn to weave the body, and sculpted the head from cornstarch clay. She painted it to look like carved turquoise.

Creative Scarecrows book review
Yard people aren’t just for the fall. Check out this book for inspiration.

Keeping a Knitting Journal
Links to free knitting journal page downloads to keep your knitting organised.

Layers Upon Layers
Cyndi got a new tool — a forstner bit — and couldn’t wait to come up with a project to use it…

Make your own wedding earrings
The Creative Bride has created an easy tutorial to make these feminine dangle earrings.

Tangled Thread’s final De-Stash challenge check in
Chloe has put together a list of her favorite De-Stash challenge projects from the past six weeks.

Tea Tag Bookmark
A simple reuse project for tea lovers.

What Did I Accomplish This WeeK?
Did you ever come to the end of a week and ask yourself, “What in the world did I do all week? Eileen muses on her week.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-25T09:14:00.001-07:00

AshleyJosh_1300, originally uploaded by Shindig Photos.

I thought that today's Friday Photo Inspiration should be all about outdoor weddings. After all, it's starting to warm up enough that your guests won't get frostbite :-)

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-25T09:10:00.001-07:00

outdoor wedding, originally uploaded by m.a.mueller.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-25T09:09:00.001-07:00

down the aisle, originally uploaded by cdiblasio.

tutorial: easy dangle earrings, part two

2008-04-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Ready to start creating? I gave you a list of supplies yesterday - got them all? Just as a reminder, this is an original design so please don't copy the pattern - feel free to email the link though :-)

To begin, you'll need to trim six headpins to three different lengths - like this:
Each earring needs three headpins, each one with an approximate difference of 1/4". I'm using 2" headpins, so I trimmed to first two to a length of 1-3/4". The second pair is 1-1/2" long and the short pair of headpins are 1-1/4" long. You can also adjust the lengths if you prefer shorter or longer earring dangles as well.

Place your beads onto the headpins - I needed to use seed beads at the end to stop the bigger focal beads from slipping off:
We now need to curl the top of the head pin into a complete circle like this:
Use your round nose pliers and gently curl the headpin to form the circle.

Use the needle nose pliers and crease the headpin at the bottom of the circle - the dangle will hang straighter that way:
Open up with the circle and slide the ear wire into it. Close the circle again, so the earring looks like this:
Now repeat the step with the other earring. Each earring should have three headpins, each a different length.

Here's how the finished pair look:
The sky really is the limit with this simple design - you can use pearls, or crystals, or shiny glass beads...

tutorial: easy dangle earrings

2008-04-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Time for a new tutorial! Do you want to make your own jewelry for your wedding, but aren't sure where to start? This is an easy design (it's one of my more popular classes) to create a versatile pair of earrings in less than an hour. Just a reminder, this is an original design, so please don't use the photos or text - feel free to email the link though :-)

You'll need:

needle-nose pliers
round nose pliers
bent nose pliers, or a second set of needle nose pliers
wire snips (optional, lots of jewelry needle nose pliers have wire snips built in)
head pins (I'm using plain ones for this project, but you can get head pins with fancy ends like rhinestones or little hearts)
ear wires (use gold or sterling silver if your ears are sensitive
six small focal beads
optional: smaller "E" or seed beads if your focal beads have large holes.

I'll show you the first steps tomorrow :-)

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-04-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Cover girl! Here’s my heart…..
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed, spool knitted and wove a wonderful heart. The art director at Harlequin Romances liked it so much that she bought one for the cover of a new Harlequin Romance. And now, they’re holding a contest so readers can win the heart. Here’s the link….

Digital Painting Tutorial
Artist Genece Hamby shares her pushing colour tutorial.

How to Attach Vintage Buttons to a Charm Bracelet
Antique buttons make special charm bracelets. Here’s how to attach the buttons without destroying their value as collectibles.

Inspiration Comes From the Strangest Things
Make a colorful background for your artwork.

Layers Upon Layers
Cyndi has a great magazine to give away…as a bribe!

Trails End Quilters of the 1870’s - My Quilting Heritage
Mary Emma, at Quilting and Patchwork, reminisces about her quilting heritage and urges you to discover yours.

Use t-shirts to create a recycled, reversible totebag
Chloe from Tangled Thread has created a tutorial for making an easy totebag using a t-shirt

Vintage Gift Tags
With your love of old magazines, create inexpensive, easy-to-make gift tags your friends will cherish.

Scrapbooking your wedding
The Creative Bride has been busy creating the first few pages of her wedding scrapbook.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-18T10:12:00.001-07:00

amanda kaotik, originally uploaded by vingt_deux.

For this week's Friday Photo inspiration, I'm going with tattoos on brides. There is some spectacular artwork out there and I think that brides shouldn't be afraid to show it on their wedding day!

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-18T10:04:00.001-07:00

showing off the ink, originally uploaded by Ferrous Femur.

scrapbooking your wedding - part two

2008-04-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

I showed you the first page of my wedding scrapbook yesterday - here's the next two pages:
My DH & myself used butterfly stickers to decorate the programs, but we ended up using two different kinds of stickers. What's a person to do? Put one of both programs into the scrapbook!

I was glad I saved some extra programs - they're a lovely reminded to have :-)

Again, I used really simple layouts and just added some butterfly stickers to these two pages as accents. If your invitation folds open, using multiple copies of it in your wedding scrapbook (like I did with my programs) can be a great way to show everything.

I'll post more pages as I create them :-)