G is for Gaming

Gaming and crafting fight for me. This epic battle rages constantly. Both sides are dueling to win my time, effort and favor. We have already established I am a fickle crafter who flits from one  project to the next and the allure of a game is strong. To me there is something irresistible surrounding a mage who is about to level up or a quest near completion. Just 20 more minuets can effortlessly turn into hours.

That's all I have. The post just evaporated as I was writing it and now I am stick until I post this. So apparently G was for showing my geek card for no reason, but don't worry I made it myself.

Follow your craft,
Michelle

F is for Fabric

And my sick obsession with it. I have LOTS of fabric. I keep buying more without finishing my last project. Maybe this is the thing I started with about abandoning projects or perhaps I am trying to pad every inch of my home with fabric bought at a fantastic discount. I am sure I don't have to tell you that fabric bought at a discount is automatically better than full price. I am excited about some of the projects lined up for this fabric. My husband has promised to make me a Gates of Hell and he is making himself a Kaftan. I am not one hundred percent sure if this is the kind of Kaftan, but they give you an idea of what he is going for. They are supposed to be finished by May 19^th so I will bet back to you with photos.

F is also for Felt Fruit

One project that I have been wanting to make is felt fruit. Simplicity pattern 4464. I have the pattern and bought lots of felt, but sadly I have not found the time to get started. I also had trouble understanding the pattern. I am not a big sewer so had to read one part like 5 times before I understood what they wanted me to do. Maybe May will be felt fruit month here at Crafts From The Moon. What do you think?

Follow your craft,

Michelle

E is for Etsy

I have been shopping on Etsy for a long time, but am now thinking about putting some things up for sale. I have been wondering if my stamps and the cards they make would be interesting enough to sell. Has anyone had luck or have any tips for using Etsy? My photo's aren't the best, but I know a good photo can really help sell your creations. I am not sure what I can do besides up grading my camera.

These are the note cards that the winners of my contest received. Ok, so they look WAY better in  person than this picture. This makes me very sad.

Sorry for the short post, but it has been one heck of a day.

Follow your craft,
Michelle

D is for Done

Done, done. DONE!  What you can't believe it? Neither can I. I actually finished a knitting project! It has been such a long time I forgot what it feels like. Gwen's scarf is finished just in time for the warmest spring in a while here in Florida. Not that she will need it more than 12 days a year, but it is what she wanted so I made it for her and she loves it.

I just love the color and the acrylic yarn was a pleasure to knit, until I got to the giant knot. Though I am sure that was operator error.

Follow your craft,
Michelle

C is for Carving

Carving is one of my favorite pastimes. My first carving was on an eraser with a Speedball gouge. The results were at the time very pleasing to my eye. Now it looks fairly sloppy and simple. At first I was mostly carving around larger block images with only small details if any.

When I got my Steadtler tools, which has a much finer tip, I began to leave the large stretches white and carve out the lines. When I discovered the Speedball pen holder I switched back to their products for the bigger spaces. Then happy day of happy days I got the best tool ever. A nice man made a custom tool that is much like this one. I can't remember his name, but owe him much thanks. I found that my end product was much improved by each upgrade in equipment. Also, lighting so important. My style is very cartoonized. I love cartoons because they make people happy.

I learned how to carve stamps from this sight. The only thing that I found that I really didn't like is the recommendation of using magnifying glasses. They did make it easier to carve, but my eyes started to need them after several months. Now I can carve without them again, but for a while I had a lot of trouble focusing on small things.

C is also for Collage

I wanted to share with a collage of some of my favorite images.

I also like to share how they look as a carvings.

C is also for Cotton

Just wanted to make good on my promise to talk about the cotton. I don't like it. It sticks to it's self making my stitches uneven. It also doesn't have the bounce that the wool and acrylic that I have used have. The stitches look loose to me. Not sure if it is just because I am new at this, but it was making me nutty trying to use it.

Follow your craft,
Michelle

B is for Basket Weave Stitch

So this stitch was under the easy category. The pattern didn't have me dropping or picking up stitches or anything I hadn't done before. However, the yarn I chose to make it out of gave me fits. First, it is variegated. The variegated yarn is awfully pretty on the spool, but rough on the eyes when combined with basket weave. Second, it was cotton yarn which behaved totally different from the acrylic and wool I had been using. Of course that is another story for another day...like tomorrow's C. I couldn't really see the pattern with the variegated yarn.

I tried some of the yarn left over from Gwen's scarf and the pattern just popped out. I love the way it looks. This stitch would look amazing as a huge blanket and it is dense so it would keep you toasty all night.

I did find a use for the swatch I made with the variegated yarn. It is the perfect size to be a Monster High Doll skirt. Gwen seems pleased with it.

This is the pattern that I used, the same one that I shared with you earlier. I wish I had looked around a little before I picked the pattern because the E-How video is simpler. I can't wait to make something out of this stitch using the easier method.

B is also for Busy

We were blessed to get to go to Disney and a few other outings that have kept me from crafting as much as I would like. Your bonus for B is an adorable picture of the kids at Disney.

Follow your craft,
Michelle

A is for April

So today it starts! The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is something I have been thinking about for a while. I am number 480 on the list and supper excited. As of the time I wrote this post there were 1579 bloggers signed up. Whooo Hoooo! I can't wait to get to hopping and see what everyone has to say.

A is also for abandoned projects

It is interesting how so many people begin something with such a bang then get busy or find something new they want to try and things fall by the wayside. I looked around and found a handful of abandoned projects that I would still like to share and hope to finish. (Eventually) I thought a lovely group shot would be the best way to start.

I am sure we all remember Scarfzilla, you know the scarf that thought it was a blanket. Oh no, you forgot about him. Well, so did I. Here he sits waiting for me to buy more yarn and come back to him.

More recently abandoned is this lovely cotton scarf. I was having a great time working on it, but had to start learning new stitches for this very challenge.

This beautiful fairy card, while finished was never given to the intended recipient. So it sits sadly in my box of unfinished projects.

These baby announcements feature one of my favorite carvings I have done. I carved the stamp for a friends first baby girl and she did use it for her announcements. However, this sad prototype was never finished. I was supposed to add a shinny pink ribbon to the edges, but this fantastic ribbon has been lost somewhere in the depths of my crafting stuff.

This stamp was discarded when I decided that I didn't like the way the scales bowl looked carved out and wanted to start over. I was able to finish the project, but this poor little guy has been waiting to be finished for quite some time now.

This stamp is one of my favorite mythological creatures, the hippocampus. I honestly can't remember why I stopped carving it, but do remember that I was very happy to find the image it is based off.

I love the art of JRR Tolkien. I wanted to try and capture some of the beauty with this stamp that was started on a family vacation. However, the vacation came to and end and as you can see the dragon is still uncarved. 

I hope you enjoyed being drug down memory lane with me. I can't wait to show you some of the things I was able to finish and learn in the coming days.

Follow your craft,
Michelle