Sampler

I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but sometimes I’m in the middle of working on a bunch of things and can’t seem to get anything totally finished before I need to move on to something else.

Orange Dot Quilts

That’s where I’m at right now.

So I thought I’d share a preview of things I have in progress and things you can read, listen to, and share in the meantime.

 

AZIFF at The Screening Room Tucson

Film Festival Reviews

I’m working on more in-depth reviews of the films we saw at Arizona International Film Festival (AZIFF) last year.

For AZIFF 2019,  I’m planning to cover more days of the festival and would love to know what you’re most interested in hearing about!

Comment:

What film festival stories do you want to read?

  • Reviews of more films? Any particular type/genre (documentary, comedy, animation, etc.)?
  • The AZIFF experience and tips for getting the most out of it?
  • Filmmaker Q+As or interviews?
  • Would you prefer any of the above in video or audio (podcast) format instead of written articles?

 

Quilt Craft and Sewing Festival

Quilt Show

This year I went to two days of the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival in Phoenix. The first one was with my mom (who introduced me to the Festival) and the second with my sister-in-law Dinah and friend Kelli (who was my co-presenter at Craft Camp and co-taster at Macayo’s Scottsdale).

I’ve been editing photos and am impressed all over again with the creativity and inventiveness of the exhibitors we met there!

Read:

A couple crafty posts from Kelli…

 

Brownie sundae by j and l concessions

Festival Food

While we were at the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival, I wanted to investigate the food vendors at the Fairgrounds a bit more.

I found out that the concessions actually come from several independent businesses, who really do care about the food they make. Over the 2 days we were there, my quilt show squad and I got to sample a huge Indian taco, several flavors of kettle corn, a whole buncha barbecue, and this ridiculous brownie sundae.

 

Local Art Loves collage

Local Art Loves

I haven’t done an official kick-off post yet, but I definitely want to celebrate local art you love again this Valentine’s Day!

Share:

  • You can start anytime by snapping a photo of art in your neighborhood and sharing it using #localartloves.

Read/look at:

[UPDATE: 2019’s Local Art Loves kickoff post is up now!]

 

phillip wearing Wampas lair t-shirt in venice

Phillip in the Wampa’s Lair

Okay, not really something I’m doing, but Phillip was recently interviewed on the Wampa’s Lair Podcast! It’s a Star Wars podcast that we’ve been fans of for a long time. (Phillip wears their t-shirt everywhere. And one of the hosts, Jason Hunt, shared some great tips for our Phoenix Comicon newbies post.) Anyway, they have a series called “Tales of the Lairians,” where they ask their listeners (a.k.a. the “Lairians”) to share Star Wars stories from their own lives, and Phillip is featured on the latest one!

Listen:


And that’s it for now! So at least I finished one thing. Hopefully, this starts a trend.



Just FYI: we received complimentary quilt festival tickets, food, and a 2018 AZIFF media pass from the respective organizations/vendors. More info will be in upcoming posts, but let me know if you have questions!

15 Holiday Ornaments You Can Make Today!

Gold leaf ornament

A Christmas ornament can trim a tree or grace a garland, be a gift topper or the gift itself.

Here are 15 DIY ornaments, most of which you probably already have the materials for and/or are simple enough to make that even kids can join in!

 

Paper tube ornaments by Stitch Play in AZ

1. Cardboard Tube Ornaments

These super colorful ornaments are made from painted paper towel tubes strung with ribbon and beads! / via Vesna Taneva-Miller

 

gold leaf ornament

2. DIY Gold Leaf Ornaments

Transform clear glass ornaments by swirling colorful paint inside and gluing gold leaf outside. / via The Sweetest Occasion

 

clay owl ornament

3. Quick Clay Owls

These cute ornaments start from a circle of clay that you fold to create the shape of an owl. If you don’t happen to have modeling clay around, Paging Fun Mums has a recipe for making your own with cornstarch, baking soda, and water. / via Paging Fun Mums + 4 Crazy Kings

 

felt tree ornaments

4. Simple Felt Tree Ornament Tutorial

Basically, you just use Handmade Charlotte’s PDF template to cut out felt circles of increasing sizes, stitch up the sides, and stack them up. I can’t decide which I like more: the trees with different colored layers or the ones that are just a single color! / via Handmade Charlotte

 

ornament with braided fabric scraps

5. Upcycled Fabric Ornaments

Braid scraps of fabric to give old ornaments a new look! / via Simply Notable

 

Mason Jar Ring ornament

6. Jar Ring Map

An old map and the ring part of a mason jar lid make a keepsake for remembering a trip or celebrating your hometown. / via Happy Mothering

 

Leather DIY ornaments

7. Modern Leather Ornament

Delia (of Delia Creates) took leftover pieces from a leatherwork project to create this lovely minimal ornament. She mentions that you can substitute grosgrain ribbon for the two smaller (contrasting) strips. / via Delia Creates

 

kusudama ornaments by robayre

8. Kusudama Paper Ornament

While Japanese kusudama balls were traditionally made from real flowers, you can make a paper version by folding origami petals and gluing them together.  Robin (a.k.a. Robayre at Inspiration Junkie) makes a new one every year before Christmas. She has made them from old catalog pages, origami paper, and paper she’s decorated with herself with gelatin prints. / via Inspiration Junkie + Full tutorial at PlanetJune.

 

https://livefreecreative.co/custom-pet-christmas-ornament/

9. Pet Photo Ornament

Make a mini-plush pet ornament with a favorite photo and some iron-on transfer paper. You can use a complementary cotton fabric for the back — check your stash for those random extra pieces! / via Live Free Creative Co

 

woven ornament

10. Woven Cookie Stars

Super easy project using thread wrapped around cardboard! To mix it up, use variegated string or multiple colors. / via Aesthetic Outburst + Full tutorial at The Crafty Crow.

 

Handmade watercolor ornament

11. Watercolor Ornament

You get this watercolor look by dipping the ornament in nail polish and warm water. / via Unexpected Elegance

 

wood burned ornaments

12. Wood Burned Christmas Ornaments

Use a wood burning kit to decorate thin wood slices cut from a tree branch. / via Simply Notable

 

Cinnamon himmeli

13. Cinnamon Stick Himmeli

Gwen McKenzie (for Jojotastic) created this project based on the geometric shape of traditional Finnish himmeli ornaments, except using 12 cinnamon sticks instead of straw. I bet it makes your house smell like the holidays! / via Jojotastic

 

 

hoop ornaments

14. Hoop Ornaments

This is actually a series of 8 different ornaments designed for various people on your gift list — including grandmas, Goths, teachers, and teammates! They make use of small (3-4″) embroidery hoops and require little to no sewing. / via Crafts Unleashed

 

Resolution ornament

15. Resolution Time Capsule

I shared this one in the Violet color stories post, but such a fun idea is worth repeating! You fill a glass bulb with confetti and rolled up pieces of paper with your New Year’s resolutions on them and then, a year later, you can see how things turned out! / via The Crafted Life


Each image links to its source.

George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Phoenix

GWC high school quilt in Phoenix

During Phoenix Art Detour,  my friend Anne and I wandered into the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center.

Carver Museum in Phoenix

The building had been a high school for African American students from 1926 to 1953, which I didn’t even know about until we stumbled across it. I guess I had assumed that, since the Phoenix population didn’t really start booming until the ’60s, maybe we had just skipped the whole segregation thing. Unfortunately, that’s  not the case.

MLK painting at GWCMCC

However, Arizona did desegregate its schools a year before Brown v. Board of Education mandated it nationally. The Carver High School closed, and the students were integrated into other high schools.

GWCMCC

In 1986, four Carver alumnae formed Phoenix Monarchs Alumni Association, an organization to preserve the building and turn it into a museum and cultural center. They were eventually able to purchase it, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

drums and sculptures

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center is now open with a mission to honor African and African American heritage, arts, and culture.

african craft

The Phoenix Monarchs Alumni Association continues to raise funds to upgrade the space and offer additional programs and exhibits.

violin

George Washington Carver

In front of the museum is a statue of its namesake, scientist George Washington Carver, holding one of the peanut plants he was famous for studying.

quilt

We explored the first floor and saw artwork like paintings, sculptures, and a quilt made by students who had gone to school there.

antique sewing machine

portrait

There was a room with vintage typewriters and sewing machines.

Another one had what looked like African artifacts and traditional craft, like masks, drums, and beaded gourd instruments, as well as contemporary paintings, and a violin.

Vintage typewriters

Outside of Art Detour week, I think a volunteer guide is usually there to provide context and answer questions, because a lot of the items weren’t labeled. The museum had a work-in-progress feel, as funds are still being raised to improve the building and exhibition space. It will be exciting to see it transform!

 

GWCMCC


More Info on the Carver Museum

2018 Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festival

Elkhorn Quilt Company

When the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival was in Phoenix earlier this year, I went with my official quilt/sewing expert – my mom, Cyndee – to see what was new since the last time we went.

Quilt craft sewing festival

The textile-arts-focused expo moves around the western United States throughout the year. It features a mix of local and national/traveling exhibitors, demos, and seminars. Some exhibitors offer open make-and-take projects for a small materials fee (usually $3-5).

The Stamp Lady Etc. - justimaginecrafts.com

Here is a sampler of who and what we saw at the Festival…

image

Fabric and Patterns

Elkhorn Quilt Company - Debbie
Elkhorn Quilt Company fabric
Elkhorn Quilt Company bulldog fabric

Elkhorn Quilt Company – Based here in Mesa, Arizona, Debbie Dominy specializes in modern quilts and a curated collection of contemporary fabrics. You have to catch her at an exhibitor booth, since she sells exclusively at quilt shows and festivals.

 

Basket Mary batik fabric

African Everything baskets

African baskets

African Everything was founded by Mary Ogwel (a.k.a. “Basket Mary”) to help women lift each other out of poverty. Her imports span the continent and include coiled bowls, hand-painted batik fabrics from Tanzania, beaded wire bowls from Kenya, and artisan baskets from Ghana and Tanzania.

 

England Designs quilts

England Designs

England Design Studios – Designer/owner Cynthia England developed her own style of quilting called “picture piecing” for her beautifully detailed quilts. The technique allows you to reuse your pattern, does not waste fabric, and makes it easy to fix mistakes. She now sells her patterns, kits, and books to help others learn picture piecing.

 

Quilt craft and sew - Spirit of the Artisan

Spirit of the Artisan imported fabric

Spirit of the Artisan – Formerly Stitch in Time, Gale Carson continues find and import gorgeous artisan textiles from Southeast Asia, including vintage Hmong embroidery and Thai silk batik, as well as hand-loomed silk, Ikot, cottons, and wools.

 

quilt craft sew - the sampler

quilt craft sew - the sampler colorful fabrics

the-sampler.com’s booth is covered with day-glow quilts and vibrant All About Color fabrics! They also sell patterns and quilt kits.

 

Rochelle's Fine Fabric and Quilting Booth

Rochelle's Fine Fabric and Quilting Headbands

Rochelle’s Fine Fabric and Quilting had all kinds of odds and ends, but what really caught our attention was the woman with the scissors through her head! It’s just one of the gag headbands they offer – you can also choose from options like cleavers and plungers. They sell other novelties, as well as handmade aprons, mesh totes, and patterns.

 

Embellishment + Decoration

Chenille It quilt

Chenille It demo

Chenille-It: Nannette Holmberg invented a type of bias tape that allows you to easily get a chenille-edge effect. She had examples of it lining quilt squares and embellishing sweaters.

 

Laura Murray - Quilt Craft Sew

Hand dyed silk by Laura Murray Designs

Laura Murray Designs– Just as we were visiting this booth and puzzling over a product called “Paintstiks,” we heard Laura Murray was about to give a workshop about them. So we rushed into the seminar building and slid into some seats. After watching the demo, Paintstiks seem pretty neat – kind of like a sophisticated crayon that you can use to make patterns on fabric (or other porous surfaces like paper).

 

Been There t-shirt

TSC Designs

Taylor Made Iron-on designs has all kinds of bling for embellishing fabric. They also had a t-shirt with a U.S. map captioned “Been there, done that,” so you can decorate the states you’ve visited with iron-on rhinestones or embroidered RVs, etc.

 

Jewelry

steampunk jewelry by Bob Miller

Bob Miller make and take

Bob Miller continues making rad steampunk accessories! He also does custom craft-themed jewelry with teeny scissors or sewing machines or knitting needles. You can make a fob to decorate your keychain or claim your favorite crafting scissors at his booth’s make and take.

 

Karen Nolle jewelry

Karen Nolke jewelry

Karen and Chuck Nolke – It was great to see these artists again and talk to them about their team process for creating the one-of-kind jewelry pieces in their collection. She chooses colors, he fires them, and she then adds paint, which creates a unique layered look.

Guilds

Lacey Ladies
traditional bobbin lacemaking

The Lacey Ladies of Arizona (chapter of the International Organization of Lace, Inc.) were super excited to show off their different types of lacemaking, often talking over each other!

 

banner for desert weavers and spinners guild

Quilt craft sew yarn

Arizona Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild demonstrates traditional spinning and handweaving techniques. They have monthly fiber artists’ meetings October through May.

FB Group: Arizona Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild

 

Arizona state fairgrounds

More Info

Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festival

Upcoming 2018 shows:

Arizona state fairgrounds outdoor tables

 

Phoenix event

  • January 31 – February 2, 2019
  • Admission: $10 for all 3 days.
  • Largest of the Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festivals.
  • Held at the Arizona State Fair Grounds.
  • The closest parking is the South Lot at the Fair Grounds. Enter through the McDowell Gate at 17th Ave and McDowell Rd.)
  • Parking $8.

We were guests of the Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival.

A Dozen DIY Planters

Coconut planter

Part of the fun of container gardening is actually the containers themselves! There are lots of ways to form, fold, build, stitch, tie, repurpose, and personalize new homes for your plants.

Here are a twelve pots and planters that you can make!

string planters

1. String Garden

Create a hanging garden in the Japanese kokedama style with low-light houseplants, moss, peat soil and bonsai soil. / via Design*Sponge

 

2. Clay Pots

These little succulent pots are fashioned out of oven-baked clay. I think the small ones are super cute, but you could probably enlarge the plans if you wanted to make them for bigger plants. Tutorial and templates are on sayyes.com.

 

3. Mason Jar Wall Planter

This would be a great way to put an herb garden in your kitchen without taking up counter space! / via Not Just a Housewife

 

5. Kitchen Garden Colander

You can also repurpose flea market finds, like kitchen items, by planting a small garden in them. This lettuce-filled colander could double as a centerpiece on an outdoor table. / via House of Hawthornes

 

Seed pot

6. Newspaper Seedling Pots

With a few folds, you can make your own biodegradable pots for starting seedlings! I first saw these at Phoenix Chile Fest and later got to make my own at CraftHack.

 

7. Paint Can Planters

Dress up any old can with some colorful fabric for a cheery place for a houseplant to live. / via Design*Sponge

 

8. Coconut Plant Pot

This is actually carved from a coconut! There’s also another coconut planter project in the same post on the Jungalow.

 

9. Square Hanging Planter

This is a project that’s simple to make with a chic result! / via Fall for DIY

 

10. IKEA Hack Planter

We actually have more of these IKEA Gorm shelf units than we are currently using, and I’d love to turn one into a planter or garden storage box. / via IKEA Hackers

 

DIY plant cozy by SOTAK handmade

11. Flower Pot Cozy

These folded fabric covers are like coffee koozies for your plants! / via Sotak Handmade

 

12. Address Number Planter

A sign with your house numbers and a little planter is such a welcoming touch for an entryway! To keep costs down, you can use succulent cuttings and scrap wood.  / via Shanty 2 Chic