Paper Doll Witches Workshop

Halloween is my favorite holiday so its no surprise that I was thrilled to teach something spooky for  Creativebug. Check out my Halloween Paper Witches Workshop and create some sassy and spooky paper witches for Halloween! These guys are so easy to make and so much fun! Enjoy!

Pin it to Win it Contest on Creativebug

My friends at Creativebug just launched a new contest that I think you might LOVE. Starting today (October 3rd) and running until October 16th you have three ways to win their grand prize worth well over $400, including a free THREE-month subscription to Creativebug and a heaping pile of materials and supplies that will enable you to complete many of the projects found on the site. There will also be 4 bonus prizes that include 2-month subscriptions to Creativebug plus materials. FULL list o' prizes seen here! Yowza. 

Grand Prize:

- 3 months to Creativebug +

- Alabama Chanin Kit including: 2 yards Alabama Chanin Jersey knit, 4 spools of Button Craft Thread, sewing needles, and Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin

- Radmegan's Needle felting Peeps Kit including: Wool Roving, Needle felting needle and foam, and instructions

- 2 skeins of Debbie Stoller's Alpaca Love yarn + 1 year subscription to BUST magazine

- 1 skein of hand-dyed yarn by Jill Draper Makes Stuff

- 2 Fiskars Hand Drills + 1 pair Fiskars scissors

- Assorted Rebecca Ringquist Samplers + needles + hoop

- Hello! Lucky Cake Topper Workshop Kit

- Found Bead Necklace Workshop Kit

- Herringbone Necklace Workshop Kit

- Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson

- Gertie's Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch

- Heather Ross Prints by Heather Ross

- Weekend Handmade: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Crafting by Kelly Wilkinson

- Improv Sewing: 101 Fast, Fun and Fearless Projects, by Nicole Blum & Debra Immergut

- Mod Podge Gift Pack including: Mod Podge, Podgeable Papers, Podgeable Shapes, Gold Glue and so much more!

- Washi tape 

(4) Bonus Prizes:

- 2 months to Creativebug +

 - One of these books by Jenny Doh: We Make Dolls:Top Dollmakers Share Their Secrets & Patterns,Signature Styles: 20 Stitchers Craft Their Look, Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids, Creative Pilgrimage: An Exploration of Artful Gatherings and Discovery of Innovative Art Techniques

- 1 skein of Debbie Stoller's Alpaca Love yarn

- 1 Rebecca Ringquist sampler + 1 hoop

- 1 Liesl Gibson Straight Stitch Society Pattern

- Assorted Patterns, Fabric & Yarn 

- Hello! Lucky Cake Topper Workshop Kit

- Found Bead Necklace Workshop Kit

- Herringbone Necklace Workshop Kit

- Washi tape

How does it work? 

Creativebug is enamored with Pinterest (who isn't!) so to participate in this contest, you must first be following Creativebug on Pinterest, then create a Pinterest board that includes at least 5 projects you have made, or projects on Creativebug that you would like to take, plus an official contest pin from the Creativebug I made this! Contest Board at http://pinterest.com/creativebuginc/. Call your Pinterest board "I made this!" and then go to Creativebug's blog at http://blog.creativebug.com/i-made-this-contest/ and enter the link to your Pinterest board and your email address so they can contact you and tell you when you WIN!

To increase your chances of winning, after you build your Pinterest board you can leave a comment here on MY BLOG with just your name and email address. You can also visit the blogs of my fellow Creativebug instructors, and leave a comment on their Creativebug contest posts. Each comment counts as one more entry! (Limit one comment per blog though.) Here's the list of my participating Creativebug pals:

Improv Sewing http://www.improvdiary.com

Hello! Lucky: http://www.hellolucky.com/wordpress/

Rebecca Ringquist: http://www.drop-cloth.blogspot.com/

Jody Alexander: http://wishiwashistudio.blogspot.com

Liesl Gibson: http://oliverands.com/blog/

Jill Draper: http://jilldraperblogs.blogspot.com/

Cal Patch: http://hodgepodgefarm.net/

Rad Megan: http://radmegan.blogspot.com

Natalie Chanin: http://alabamachanin.com/journal/

Courtney Cerruti: http://www.papermusingsblog.blogspot.com/

Megumi Inouye: http://giftwrapbymegumi.blogspot.com/

Heather Ross: http://heatherross.squarespace.com/journal/ 

Creativebug is also accepting tweets about the contest as entries if you follow @Creativebug on twitter, and include the hashtag #Imadethis and @creativebug.

To read the full page o' rules, click here http://blog.creativebug.com/imadethis-terms, but in the meantime, start pinning!
Good luck to everyone!

Cardburg at Bedford Gallery

I can't believe I missed this... so close.. at Bedford Gallery. A really beautiful installation. 

WILD CHILD

continuing to gather work for my upcoming show at Paxton Gate Curiosities for Kids...  Come to the opening July 6th!!!

Girls Night

Friday night it was just me and the girls. We played games, made paper poofs in orange and black for Halloween, and most successful was our chocolate project. The girls picked out chocolate molds and we spent nearly an hour mixing colored chocolate, painting the molds and creating white chocolate frogs and teddy bears in all colors.


Its a quick and easy project to do with kids as little as two or three. Even better, both girls were occupied and happy and I was able to sit with them and make white chocolate leaves while they carefully chose their palette and discussed when the candies would be ready to eat. We had so much fun!

Natural Easter Egg Dying Workshop

The day before Easter I taught a workshop at Maison Réve in Mill Valley on natural egg dying. There were toddlers, teens, parents and great aunts all assembled to learn how to create these beautiful naturally died eggs. The dying was easy, but the distillation and preparation of the dyes before hand was very time consuming.

After researching and experimenting I decided I liked the red cabbage dyes the best, which created this beautiful French blue hue (shown below). Boiled tumeric produced a sunny yellow, and red onion skin produced an olive green. The crazing effect happened all on its own.

For best results on creating natural egg dye, boil 6-8 cups water with 1 head chopped red cabbage for about 10 min, then simmer for another 20. Strain and allow cabbage water to sit for about 2 days before use. When using tumeric or red onion leaves, follow the same process substituting cabbage with the skin of 5 onions and 1/4 cup tumeric respectively. For all dyes, add 2 tablespoons alum (found in the spice aisle) to the water mixture. Alum is a mordant that will help the dye adhere to the egg shell. Allow the eggs to sit in the dye awhile. When you remove the eggs, allow them to dry so that the color will stick to the egg. Try not to touch the egg too much or wipe off the dye. You should have beautiful naturally died eggs great for egg and hunts and Easter decorations!

Minicourse at MA

Taught this week at Marin Academy for their annual Minicourse. The kids made paste paper, learned various image transfer techniques for paper and fabric and then compiled all their skills into a final book. They learned four different structures based on the accordion format. The miniature matchbox book proved very popular, as did alphabet accordions. 

Nico and his book of bizarre animal facts.

A friend was pulled into our Minicourse so that Isabelle could use him as a drying rack for her transfers.
Group shot. (Isabelle, Mia, Nico, Cara and Maya)

Sanjai and her giant folding cootie catcher style book.

We made party crackers today for our house warming tomorrow night. The girls were occupied for an hour and did a great job making them! We used toilet paper rolls, filled them with candy then rolled them in crepe paper. The girls used a sticker to seal the paper, then they tied the ends with baker's twine. It was a fun and easy project and they turned out so well! The rest of the afternoon was spent doing other arts and crafts projects and cooking, but I think this was the success of the day!

I drew some paperdoll figures for my boyfieind's 5 year old, Nadia. She loved these! She and her Sister Mila (3) colored them in, and then Nadia and I punched holes in them to attach all the parts with brads. I recommend using a 1/8" or 1/16" hole punch and corresponding brads. Normal (1/4") brads are too large. You should be able to right click on the image below, and print or save to your computer in their full size. Enjoy!

Alphabet Books

I love books of all kinds, especially ones with vibrant pictures like the ones found in good kids books. I collect all kinds of kids books, but I especially love alphabet books. The search for a good alphabet book is one of my regular quests. Occasionally a new alphabet book will be published that is different and interesting, like "An A to Z Tresaure Hunt" by Alice Melvin, but usually thrift stores and used book stores yield the the best finds. Small book stores and museum stores will also have more unusual, "arty" abc books like Bruno Munari's ABC. Above are some photos of some of the favorites of my collection. Below are descriptions and links on where to find these guys.

I found Ryan Heshka's ABC SpookShow at Cody's books which used to be on 4th in Berkeley, and is now on Shattuck. I love the imagery (spooky yet childlike) and its small size. You can buy it from Amazon here.



I happened upon The A to Z Treasure Hunt at Books Inc in Alameda. Its published by the Tate Museum, and is the first ABC book I seen that's interactive. The designs are graphic, simple and engaging, plus they urge you to collaborate with the author in the search the for ABC treasure!
Buy it from Amazon here.



Lettered Creatures is one of my best finds! I visited Portland in Oct 2007 just to go to Powell's Bookstore. I picked up this treasure there. Its authored and illustrated by a two brothers, and the content and pictures are stunning! A must have for any book collector. Buy it from Amazon here.

Anermerotics features a side of the alphabet you never knew existed. The imagery depicts an "a forbidden cabaret in 26 acts." The monochromatic images are gorgeous, soft and dreamy and a bit naughty. The remind me a bit of Michael Parke's paintings. Buy it from Amazon here.


PS- I buy books from bookstores all over, and sometimes Amazon too. I've included links to buy through Amazon because people are familiar with Amazon and its easy. But you can request these books from your local bookstore just as easily if you prefer. Happy Hunting!