Monday, November 30, 2009

FREE $25 Gift to Shop

This just in: thanks to Open Sky (the fuel behind so many cool, expert run e-shops), I have TWENTY, $25 Gift Coupons to give away right now! They can be used in any Open Sky shop with NO MINIMUM purchase! It's my holiday gift to you, my crafty peeps; because I dig you.

Here's what to do:
The first 20 people who do that will get a $25 Gift code which can be used EVEN IF THE ITEM YOU WANT COSTS LESS THAN $25 to begin with!

Of course I'd love it if you'd spend your coupon cash on crafty finds in my shop (*batting eyelashes*). You could snag a copy of AwareKnits, Pop Goes Crochet, Knit Aid, the Knit Kit, or a Ball Winder without spending a dime of your own money (all priced under $25). This is also a great opportunity to finally get those Knitter's Blocks you've been eying, for a fraction of the price!

Maybe you're not in the crafty product mood. If so, I don't even know you anymore! ;-) Here are some other cool items in some of my Shopkeeper friends' sites that you might want to grab while you can: Smash Box Lip Enhancing Gloss (A Mom in Red Heels), Butch & Harold Sticker Frame Kit (Happy Hour Mom) or, an Organic Replant Kit (Dave Epstein).

Oh, and did I mention, free shipping? Get on this while you can. I anticipate these going fast!

Happy shopping!

xx, Vickie

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

PATTERN: Chain Gang Eternity Scarf

Chain Gang Scarf
Model: My Beautiful Sister-in-Law, Meredith Smith

I have a new pattern available for download today just in time for a little, Thanksgiving weekend knitting:the Chain Gang Scarf! Eternity scarves are a big trend (check out A Mom in Red Heel's runway rundown of them )this season; this one giving nod to the necklace shape by incorporating over-sized chain link, knotted cables.

Chain Gang C/U

The Chain Gang Eternity Scarf is knit with chunky yarn & size US 11 needles so it's quick to knit which means, there's still plenty of time to whip up a few of these for holiday gifts!

Chain Gang, Shot 2


Happy Holidays!

Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

I Love to Create: Knit-Print Wrapping Paper


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Recently on I Love to Create, I experimented with painting on knitwear. This got me to thinking; why not reverse the process and use the knitwear to paint with? It's that time of year when we all need wrapping paper and customizing your own is simple to do and with this method, also a great way to recycle those swatches us knitters have stashed away in boxes.

Here's the holiday how!
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Materials
Brown, Craft Paper
Knitted or Crocheted Swatches
Little Chica Paint Pack (Which conveniently includes both Christmas AND Hanukkah colors!)
Sponge Brush

How-To
  • Spread a thin layer of paint over your swatch. Press swatch face down, on your craft paper. Repeat until paper's covered. Let dry.

  • For a little extra razzle dazzle, add a layer of glitter paint by covering your swatch then pressing it down at random places over your paper.
Granny Square Print
Granny Square Printing


Stockinette Swatch Print
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Ribbed Swatch Print
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Tip: Top your knit-print wrapping paper with handmade, yarn ribbons!
Swatch Painted Wrapping Paper

Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Craft Corps Cover Preview!

Craft Corps Cover!

After just finishing with the final edits in the Craft Corps manuscript, I'm more excited about the book than ever! To top it all off though, Lark Books sent over the brand spankin' new cover for us to preview. Hooray! Oh, and in other exciting news, you can PRE-ORDER the book now!

Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, Craft Corps Weekly to stay apprised of contests, events, updates on everything I'm working on, and scoop on crafters from around the word!

Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

Monday, November 23, 2009

Movie Mondays: Up

Over the weekend I finally got to see Up, delightful not only for it's touching storyline but also, because of its inclusion of stitched decor!

Carl as a kid, wearing a Stockinette Stitch Vest
.

Triple Crochet Doily

Bonus! For you quilters out there: a simple, pathwork blanket.

Recommended Stitching:
Daddy-O Vest
Crochet Today's Retro Doily Coasters, by Joyce Nordstrom

Happy viewing; happy stitching!

Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

Friday, November 20, 2009

New Moon Loom-Along Begins!



The "Alice" Wrist Warmer Loom-Along officially begins today! Type on over to the CRAFT site for the pattern and full, how-to scoop. Oh, and once you get started, don't forget to share your progress via the Knifty Knitter Loom-Along Flickr Group!

Craft.Rock.Loom,
Vickie
(Who has an infant at home and a son in a soccer tournament, so won't be seeing the big movie this weekend.)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

I Love to Create: 25 Signs You Love to Create (Holiday Edition)



25 Signs That You Love to Create for the Holidays

1. Red & Green, Blue & Silver or Turquoise & Hot Pink (if you're feeling retro), are suddenly your favorite colors.

2. You think "Black Friday" sales at the mall are for losers; you started shopping for gift-making supplies in July.

3. Your secret love of packaged jingle bells can now be unleashed without embarrassment.

4. You sacrifice your mani/pedi AND hair budgets to get a Yudu, so you can screen print catchy (yet ironic) holiday tees for all of your friends. Here are a couple of suggestions:"Yule be hearing from my people!" or "It 'tis what it 'tis".

5. You notice how the flat sides of a dreidel are the perfect canvas for some Glam-it-Up Crystals!

6. Anything in your house that can be folded, printed or painted on suddenly becomes wrapping paper.

7. You lay awake nights thinking about Christmas card themes and whether or not to actually make the individual cards yourself OR just stage a holiday photo for all of them, which would then include handmade costumes for all subjects involved. It's a really tough decision.

8. You buy knitting needles in sizes that you already own, because they're offered in candy cane colors. You feel that you neeeeeeed them, before you can cast-on for that Fair Isle stocking you want to knit. It just makes sense.

9. Although you're not normally a tea towel kinda gal, you must admit that they're pretty adorable with punch-embroidered holly on them. You then purchase a punch embroidery set and RSVP yes to all of the parties that will require host gifts. Your towels are going to be awesome.

Lifetime Project: Tea Towell

10. You coordinate all of your holiday home decor around ornaments you've made, using Crafty Chica's Rockabilly Ruby glitter.

11. Your excited about the over abundance of advertisements in your mail this time of year, because it means more newspaper for you to turn into yarn to make Extra-Eco Frames for everyone on your gift list.

extraeco

12. If you can Dremel a hole in it, no item is safe in your house from becoming a tree ornament.

13. You change the organization of your Tulip Fashion Paints so that the holiday colors are in front, thereby including your craft supplies in your decor aesthetic. Oh, you love them so!

14. Instead of reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to your children, you gather them 'round to flip through the Holiday Issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

15. It makes absolute sense to you that the aisles in Michaels stores are filled with wreaths, pine cones and flocking spray as of June 1st--as long as there's also a 50% off coupon to buy them with.

16. Instead of taking vacation days off to visit your out-of-town family for the holidays, you reserve them for December trips to the Bust Craftacular in New York, the Blue Genie Art Bazaar in Austin, and the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago.

17. Instead of tree decorating parties, you throw Make-Your-Own-Merriment soirées. People unwilling to use Fabric Markers or Collage Pauge, are not invited.

18. You feel that the best pairing with spiked, Spiced Cider is crochet.

19. This is your favorite television season, because there tends to be a lot of knitwear in winter episodes.

20. "The Festival of Lights" seems like an open invitation to incorporate LEDs into that cape pattern you saw on Burda Style. You're pretty sure there'll be instructions on how to do that over on the MAKE website.

21. You're campaigning to change the saying, "Give the gift of giving." to, "Make the gift of making." Wait, what?

22. Instead of trolling the pages of Amazon for ideas of gifts to buy, you spend hours looking on Etsy for ideas of gifts to make. You feel better knowing that if you run out of time, you can always purchase something from their that's been handmade by someone else.

23. It's sequin season, right?

24. Starting at around October, your kids' teachers start dropping color hints just in case you should decide to make them a scarf instead of getting them another Starbuck's gift card. They usually bat their eyelashes at the same time.

25. You have a bumper sticker on your car that says, "Honk for Handmade Holidays!" or "Deck the Halls with D.I.Y."

Got any more signs? Post 'em here!

Craft.Rock.Love,

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

36 for my 36th--Annual Book Giveaway!!

It's my birthday again and since last year's HUGE book giveaway seemed to be so enjoyed by all you crafty types out there, I decided to make it an annual thing. Thanks to the generosity of Lark Books, I'm pleased to announce the "36 for my 36th" gift-for-you, bookstravaganza!

All you need to do is e-mail contests@vickiehowell.com by NOVEMBER 28th with the following info: YOUR NAME, MAILING ADDRESS (so I know where to send the book, if you win), and TOP 3 BOOK CHOICES from the below list. I'll do my best to give winners a book that you actually want. But hey, if you don't dig your prize, craft books make great holiday gifts!

Here are your choices:

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Good luck and enjoy!

Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

Please Read, Terms & Conditions

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Alice Wristwarmer Loom Along!


Hey all! I've teamed up with Provo Craft and CRAFT Magazine to do a Knifty Knitter version of my Alice wrist warmers, via Loom-A-Long in celebration of the debut of the New Moon Movie.

Join us, won'tcha? Read more about it here!

Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

Recycled Card Ornaments

My very last Eco-Craft column for Kiwi Magazine is in the December 2009 Issue, on stands now. This article's projects are colorful ornaments made using recycled greeting cards. They're simple, beautiful and eco-friendly. That my friends, is a trifecta of holiday goodness!


Recycled Card Ornaments

It was a pleasure writing the Eco-Craft column for almost three years. Kiwi is a wonderful magazine for all of us health-conscious parents.

For all you crafty types out there, I hope you'll continue to look for my kid-friendly projects over at my new column for PBSParents.org, Craft Apparent! Every month, you'll find two new ideas for nurturing creativity with the wee ones in your life. See you there!

Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

Monday, November 16, 2009

Movie Monday: City of Ember

Feast your eyes this week on the yarnstravaganza that is, City of Ember! Here are just a few of the knit and crocheted treasures, featured in this movie.

Garter Stripe Pullover

Amazing Thick & Thin Knitted Jacket and Patchwork Blanket

Adorable, Short-sleeved Garter Stitch Pull-Over



Exposed Seam Cardi with Blanket Stitch Border
Recommended Stitching:
Scrap Cardigan, by Tracy Hudson
Just Enough Blanket, by Amy O'Neil Houck
A-Line Jacket, by Berta Karapetyan

Happy viewing; Happy Knitting!

Craft.Rock.Love,

Twitter: @vickiehowell

Craft Blogger Links

Here's what's going on with some of my crafty blogger friends! xo, Vickie

About Family Crafts
Come play along with this Make-It-Over craft challenge! What can you make out of candy? This is a great way to use up any left over Halloween candy.

About.com Cross Stitch
Connie's added a new pattern collection - Four Ways to Say Peace. These designs will make great holiday ornaments.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen's on a mission to win a trip to NYC and to see the Martha Stewart show! Check out her under $20.00 Christmas project on Michael's craft site and rate it to help her win!

Cathie Filian

Cathie shows you how to make a kids felt book. The book are perfect for airplane trips, car rides and rainy days. They make great gifts!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Over on the Craftside blog there are how-to ideas for casting and making a silver metal clay wing necklace and a recycled wool sweater Christmas needle book. There’s an Mail Art Call Out to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, tips for making a vintage rosary style necklace and a little Jimi Hendrix thrown in.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy reviews a new book full of unique and earth-friendly ways to wrap your gifts this holiday season using scarves.

Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style
How did you get introduced to your hobby? Linda shares the story on how she learned to quilt and where those skills have gotten her.

Mixed Media Artist
Would you ever do an art show where you knew you wouldn’t sell anything?

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery

How to make a Sweater Surgery Light up Christmas tree inspired by The Lampshade Lady's Guide to Lighting Up Your Life

The Artful Crafter
Eileen shares directions for some lovely polymer clay Thanksgiving napkin rings. You have a choice of one embellished with a cute clay turkey or a more formal looking ring stamped with a fall motif.

The Impatient Crafter
Madge makes a festive Patchwork Paper decoupaged letter for your teen's bedroom door in this week's post for iLoveToCreate

Friday, November 13, 2009

My New Shop is Open for Business!


Happy Friday, everyone! You may have read my Tweets and posts about working on my new online shop over the past couple of weeks--well, I'm proud to announce that it is now officially open for business!

I've teamed up with Open Sky, this great new company that connects shoppers with experts (in pretty much every genre imaginable) to offer up the scoop on what products we really use to do the jobs we're all so passionate about. Want to know which mulch rake rocks? Try Jean & Ann's Good Enough Gardening shop! Need a tuner for your new Fender Jaguar bass, but not sure which one to get? Justin Sandercoe can help! Looking for the perfect, eco-chic bag to compliment your wardrobe? She Sez's Linda Grasso's got you covered! You get the idea.

I of course, will be there for your knitting, crochet, sewing and crafting needs. Right now there are about a dozen products in my shop (including some of my own books), but my goal is for it to soon be bursting at its virtual seams with loads of must-have basics, the coolest mainstream craft supplies and my favorite stuff from the many brilliant, indie designers out there! I'm in the process of searching out said crafty goodness so if there's something you'd like me to check out, please just post 'em in the comments section here.

In the meantime, please have a look at the great stuff I've chosen so far as well as the related blog posts, videos and photos that I've compiled for some of my shop's products (I'm working on doing it for all). For you knitter's out there, you've got to check out The Knit Kit, one of the handiest little tools I've ever seen. Embroiderers, make sure to nab Jenny Hart's Bib Kit--it's so freakin' cute! Oh, and every stitcher needs to have the Clover tapestry needles with the curved tip--I couldn't craft without them!

As a special grand opening gift to you, I'm offering 10% off of any product in ANY Open Sky shop (not just mine), for this weekend only! Just use the code Vickie1009 at checkout, BEFORE MIDNIGHT on Sunday. Wait, did I mention that there's also free shipping?

Craft.Rock.Shop!

xo,

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I Love to Create: Fun with Stencil 101 Decor!


I'm a big fan of Ed Roth--and not just because he's one of the featured designers whose story's included in my upcoming book, Craft Corps (which incidentally, is now available for pre-order in my shop). His stencils are modern, sleek and often, have a sense of humor about them. I like them so much, I used many from his first book (Stencil 101) to decorate bibs with at my baby shower !

Now Ed's got a new book/kit out, Stencil 101 Decor, that speaks not only to the stencil enthusiast but also to those of us with a penchant for decorating. With 10 plastic stencils and step-by-step instructions (on painting anything from a wall to a fridge) included, no surface in your house will be safe from Stencil 101's charms! Dip your toe into D.I.Y. decor first though, by dabbling in wall art that's perfect in a kids' room, teen's dorm or hipster's loft.

In our house, two very different little boys share one room. What to do to keep a little design synergy without squelching their individual interests? Easy. Start with a basic, coordinating geometric theme, then add a simple graphic symbol that expresses each kids' interest. Here's how I used Ed's stencils to do just that.

Game Boy Wall Art
Materials
Stencil 101 Decor Stencils
16"x20" Buckram or other Stiff Fabric
Tulip Slick Fabric Paints in Desired Background & Contrasting Colors
Sponge or Stencil Brushes
Foil or Bowl
Fabric Pencil & Eraser

Stencil Wall Art How-To

  • Lay stencil down on fabric; mark registration points at the given triangles (this will ensure an even pattern repeat.)
  • Squirt paint onto foil piece--I mixed two colors, black & white, to get the shade of grey I wanted.
  • Lightly paint (either brushing or pouncing) over stencil. Too much paint on the brush will cause bleeding under the stencil. Ed's Tip: "Remember, stenciling is a "dry" brush technique."
  • Move stencil to next blank area on fabric, using registration marks as a guide. Repeat last step as many times as necessary to cover fabric.
  • Do an internet search for the type of image you want to place on top of the patterned background. In this case, I chose a mushroom from Super Mario Bros.
  • Using the web image as a general guide, sketch onto fabric
  • Using fabric markers, outline image. Fill in desired areas with fabric paint. The result: a perfect picture for my littler gamer!
Sporty Spice Wall Art

If free-handing an image isn't you gig, give utilizing the stenciled background a try! For the 2nd piece I made, I began with Ed's hexagon pattern in a lighter color then used a dinner plate to draw a ball shape on top of it and filled in selected pieces with dark, fabric paint. Voila, a soccer ball for my all-American boy!


Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

Thursday, November 05, 2009

New & Improved Website!!

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of my new and improved, website!  It'd been a few years since I really paid attention to much of my site other than the blog. Web media has obviously changed enormously since then and although I've been all over using the latest media tools, they weren't necessarily incorporated as effectively as possible within my website. I'm happy to say that's no longer the case! You're seeing the blog now, but please take a moment to give the rest of my little cyber space a gander, here.

Other than the lovely design (courtesy of Websy Daisy), here are some of the updated features you'll find:
  • An updated patterns shop (with new patterns coming soon!) and FINALLY, a database of all of my projects--from card making to yarn dyeing--that are available on the web! Need a little, crafty inspiration and some how-to info?  You'll find it there!  
  • Speaking of How-To, my tutorials are still available only with easier access to videos. Keep checking back for new topics!
  • A new Books section which gives you access to photos from inside each book (so you can see some of what you'll be gettin' before laying down the cash) on my Flickr page, any related videos or e-cards, a link to buy 'em and a place for you to go to share pictures of the things you've made from any of my designs.
  • A new store!  I've teamed up with this brilliant new company, Open Sky, to start my very own e-shop that will ultimately be FILLED with some of my favorite kits, materials and books to craft with...and more!  There are only a few items available now but trust me, I'm furiously looking for cool, new products (and trusty stand-bys) to fill my virtual shelves.   The great thing about it, is that I'll tell you exactly why I *heart* each product via blog post, video or commentary--there won't be one product in there that I don't actually have myself! :)
  • A beefed up TV/Video page where you can fine my Lifetime CRAFTED videos, CRL (my 6-episode podcast series) and my YouTube videos.
  • Craft Corps HQ--the online community of crafters like you, who've kindly shared stories and inspiration for anyone one from hobbiest to professional!
  • I ditched the old, out-of-date photos section for a gateway to my Flickr pool.  I update this page constantly with pictures of whatever I'm working on--from kids' crafts to TV shoots (I just uploaded tons of pictures from Knitty Gritty seasons past).
  • Easy links on every page to follow me on FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube & Flickr.
  • Coming soon, you'll be able to attend classes with me, no matter where you live!  I'm craftin' up some online workshops that I'm hoping will be available within the next, few months.    I'm thinking up curriculum now though, so if there's a class from me (can be anything from knitting, to punch embroidery, to sewing, to eco-crafting) you'd like to see--speak up!  I'm open to teaching both project and technique-based courses.
Phew.  Ok, I think that's it for now.  I hope you'll take a moment to poke around VickieHowell.com and that you dig the updates as much as I do.  Oh, and if you see anything that's not working or could be improved, feel free to let me know!

Craft.Rock.Love,
Vickie

P.S.  For updates on crafty scoop, sign up for my newsletter: Craft Corps Weekly.


Wednesday, November 04, 2009

I Love to Create: Lotta's Printing Studio



I'm a big-time fan of graphic art and block printing, especially as applied to textiles.  Simple, clean, yet often kitschy shapes work amazingly well to create images--that can range from subtle to subversive--on fashion and home decor pieces.  There aren't many who do it better than textile artist Lotta Jansdotter, so I was thrilled when I got my hands on her new kit, Lotta's Printing Studio.

The kit includes design sponges, 2 knives (for lino cutting), and 5 of Lotta's signature drawings in stencil form.


As a knitter and crocheter, I'm always interested in how I can incorporate other media types into my yarnwear.   I've done a bit of experimenting with some super basic painting and lino printing on knitted pieces but thought it'd also be fantastic to give stencil printing a shot.  In a recent I Love to Create article, I showed how to hand-dye organic yarn and knit it up into a CowlKerchief which as it turns out, makes the perfect canvas for said stenciling.  Here's what I did and how you too, can print on yarn-y garments!

Hand-Dyed CowlKerchief, Enhanced with Lotta's Printing Studio

How-To Use Lotta's Kit with Knitwear


Lay CowlKerchief (or desired knitted garment) with stencil on top, on a flat surface.  Dip printing sponge in fabric paint (I used Tulip's Soft Fabric Paint), then blot over stencil.  For darker image apply more paint and pressure; for lighter image apply less.  You'll find that the design sponge works really well with the yarn because of how absorbent it is.  Keep in mind though, when working with the hills and valleys of the knitted stitch, you're not going to get the perfectly solid, stencil line that occurs when printing on fabric.  I actually love this aspect of it though; the unevenness adds an additional textural layer!

I chose to use the Wall Motif on my knitwear (I'm an anarchist, like that ;-)) which requires two stencils.  If you do the same, then repeat the step above; using a 2nd color of fabric paint.  The design sponges are puffy enough that you should be able to just use the opposite end for the 2nd color, without having to dirty an additional one.  One less thing to clean = more time to craft!


What you end up with is a mixed-media accessory that because of color, placement and textile choices, is uniquely you.  Now that's something to be proud of!

Jaunty neckwear not your thing?  Try printing on knitted blankets, pillows, sweaters, scarves (still neckwear, but less jaunty), hats and more--have a great time printing!

Craft.Rock.Love,

Psst!  I dig this kit so much, it's one of the first items I'm carrying in my new, Open Sky Shop.