Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Crafting of a Fireplace



My husband and I purchased this cute electric fireplace. It's nothing special, but it works great as a heater in the family room. When it's turned on it has a light and a rotating thingamagig in the back that looks kind of like fire moving. But we decided we wanted to make it a little more us.

We started with an old bookcase. My husband cut on some plywood to create a false front, and nailed them together. I used laminate flooring tiles and cut them to different, random sizes and shapes and covered the front. Using a dark gray caulking, I did a faux grouting, leaving a texture to give it the rustic shape we like.


Then in went the fireplace, if you look really close on the left you can just barely make out the hole where the plug to the electric fireplace goes out the back to be plugged in.

Next, my husband built a base for the bottom, out of wood scraps we had lying around. 
A 1.5" board across the top and some corner pieces for the sides went on next.

A bit more corner pieces around the inside...


Some of the remaining tile covers the base piece, giving the impression of a granite slab. Finish of the edges with the cornering pieces again.

Final touch, since the "mantle" color didn't match the other wood, we took more of the leftover tiles and did a little checkerboard like pattern across the top to tie it all together. Now we have a great fireplace in the family room that looks more like a full size fireplace than the little one we started with. 

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Monday, February 6, 2012

Fiber Arts Guild

As you may (or may not) know, I have a shop on Artfire. One of the things ArtFire does for it's sellers, is to have guilds, which are set up and maintained by the various artisans on ArtFire. I have recently been made an officer in the Fiber Arts Guild. There are just over 100 artisans in this guild right now, and we are working to build it up and help each other.

Our guild is made up of people who work in some way with fiber arts. In my case, that would include the crochet work (like my crocheted animal purses), and sewing work (like my personalized stockings, baby blankets, or new line of pillows).

The Fiber Arts Guild has recently started a Facebook Page, a Blog and  Twitter account, where you can see all the fun stuff the artisans are creating, and learn about the artisans themselves. Here are a few of my fellow Fiber Arts Guild members:


The Dreadhead Monster Family - cuddly plush knitted toys
Meet Pirate Pixie Crew:
My name is Lynne, I'm from the UK and I became a yarn-a-holic when I was trapped in bed for about 6 months due to an acute relapse of myalgic encephalomyelitis. I got a bit stir crazy, and to help pass the time I started knitting and taught myself to crochet. I've never really recovered and I haven't stopped creating knitted and crochet items since. My next goal is to learn to spin, so that I can finally say that the whole of the item is handmade by me, apart from the bit the sheep does in growing the wool fibres.

The Pirate Pixie Crew grew from when all my friends started having babies and as gifts to the baby, to welcome them into the world, I made them each a hat. Most of the hats were a bit funky and alternative, because that the kind of friends I have. Lots of them looked like pirate hats and others like pixie hats. People started asking my friends where the hats came from and I got commission orders for more, so the Pirate Pixie Crew was born. Since then I have expanded the range of goods in my shop to include adult hats, hand warmers, leg warmers, bunting, bags, shawls, blankets and monsters. Along side the woollen goods there is the story of the Pirate Pixie Crew, so whenever you buy a hat and put it on your head you become a member of the Pirate Pixie Crew, and you can read all about the crews adventures. I hope to soon have a whole website of stories and pictures for the crew members to enjoy.

Sterling Silver Beaded Earrings Blue and Purple Earrings Knit Wire		Meet BooJay Knits:

BooJay Knits specializes in knitted wire jewelry. Silver and copper bracelets, cuffs, and earrings with freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystlas, and glass beads. Have a specific color in mind? Please contact us so we can design your perfect item. Textured ribbon knits also available.

felt headband, pearls, felt flowers, wet felting

Meet Purple Berry:

In my studio you find handmade felt accessories . Each item is unique wearable art, created by hand using natural fibers, sterling silver, semi precious stones wich i constantly bringing from exotic bazzars throuout the globe. every single item in my collections is reminder of roads and passes walked in this world.While i calling my home now Rutland , England i lived all over the globe on East and West Coast of North Amerika, European Alps and Medditeranean coast, Central and South Americas, when i'm not global trotting you can find me hicking in beatiful land of England. Different culteres, moods and rhythms, new friends -all this you will see in my works. I hope that my creations bring joy to you .

Fingering Weight Yarn Hand Dyed Merino Flamingo Orange
Meet Lil Bit of Heaven Fibers:
My artfire store is Lil Bit of Heaven Fibers. On my site I sell hand dyed yarn in various weights and fiber. I have been working with fiber for almost 20 years. Spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet and sewing are how I spend my days. Hand dying is still a new adventure that I really enjoy doing. I am always finding new ways to dye my yarns and rovings. My artfire store I have had for a little over a year, selling all my hand dyed yarns.

To me coming up with a one of a kind yarn, that people will love, is a big adventure. You can never go wrong. If you don't like what you dyed, just get a new color and try again.


Junior Hand Dyed LS T-shirt Item 1392 Size M
Meet tiedyejudy:
My name is Judy, and I have been an artist and crafter most of my life. I started a tie-dye business in 1998, and fell in love with fabric dyeing and the concept of wearable art! I also create art and landscape quilts mostly using my hand dyed fabrics. My shop is at http://tiedyejudy.artfire.com I have a large inventory of clothing, accessories and other fiber art, so I hope you will visit my shop soon!



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Sunday, February 5, 2012

A Collection of Hats from the Fiber Arts Guild

Well we're getting some cold weather here, and some fun snow to play in. OK, so maybe not enough to build a snowman or sled in the backyard, but enough to make me smile.

So I pulled together a collection of Hats on ArtFire from the members of the Fiber Arts Guild. Enjoy!


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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A Heart Warming Project

I was approached at a fair a couple months ago, but a very nice lady named Donna. She saw the crochet work I was selling (along with my other crafty projects), and had a special request. Many years ago, her grandmother had started a crocheted blanket. It was a bunch of daisies that she made, then intended to crochet together to make the blanket. Alas, she passed before she was able to complete the blanket. 

Donna's mother had it lovingly stored for a number of years, then Donna herself had it. No one was able to complete the blanket. When Donna met me, she said she was impressed by the quality of my work and wished to hire me to complete the blanket. Suffice it to say, I was honored that she would entrust me with something so precious. 

I took home the pieces, 147 little daisies and the part of the blanket that her grandmother had completed. I stared, counted, researched online, tested and finally figured out how her grandmother was attaching the daisies. It didn't seem quite like any of the instructions I could find, so I had to figure it out and write it down for myself. It was an interesting challenge. 

After about 10 hours of work, I got all the daisies connected, and trimmed the whole thing out with a simple shell border. I was elated to be able to call Donna and let her know that her blanket was ready. When she arrived at my house to pick it up, she was so excited to see it. I could see it in her face, and read it in her body language. I was suddenly very worried about what she would think of the job I did. There on the table by the front door was the plastic zippered blanket bag that held this irreplaceable piece of her family. And when she opened it, she was so happy with it. She seemed to get a little choked up, and thanked me profusely for doing such a wonderful job. 

By the time she left, with a teary hug, I was fighting back tears. 

There have been many projects I have done over the years, for many people, and various reasons. But I will never forget Donna and her grandmother's blanket. It was an honor to have my little part in something with such a history. 


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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Crochet Tips I've Learned

I've been crocheting for many years, and have learned a few things along the way. Unfortunately most of these things I learned the hard way. But hopefully someone can benefit from my mistakes, and make different ones instead.

  1. When you stop a project part way through, either stick the hook you are using in the project or write down exactly which one it is. This way, when you go back you don't accidentally use a hook that is smaller or larger and end up with a lopsided project
  2. Gauge is important! Especially when making clothing, as being off a small amount on the gauge can end up as quite a bit off as it adds up and your project will be the wrong size. 
  3. It's OK to admit you don't know a stitch in a pattern. There are sites, groups, and videos all over the internet where you can ask for help, of view a video of someone doing the stitch. It's better to take the time to understand a new stitch, than do it wrong and have to start all over. 
  4. When you are using a yarn with a dye lot, heed the warning of buying enough for your project. There is nothing worse than finding you don't have enough, finishing with a skein from another lot that you think looks the same, and finding that it is totally obvious after you finish a long project. 
  5. Double check your yarn when you purchase, and be sure it is the same. Sometimes people grab something and change their mind and put it in the wrong place. You don't want to get done with a blanket only to notice there is a section that is a slightly different color/feel than the rest. 
Stay tuned, I'll add more as I think of them. 
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Sunday, January 22, 2012

What's Next?

The holidays are over, things are winding down. So what's next for me?

Well, first things first. Time to re-organize. I always seem to need to re-organize after the holiday season is over. So I'll be putting some time into that.

Taxes and end of the year statements need to be figured out and done.

Now for the fun part. Thanks to the need to come up with a Christmas gift for my uncle, I've come up with a new product line I'll be offering. Now, I don't want to give it away just yet. We'll be making up a nice selection of them to post all at once. But I will say that there will be a "New Product Sale" when I do get them listed, and I'll be posting a coupon code to my blog readers, Twitter followers and Facebook Page likers so you can get a discount for a limited time after the product launch.

I have also decided to expand my business and start offering International Shipping. it's going to take me a little time to figure out all the prices and get my shop updated, but to all my international friends, it's coming soon! If there is something you are interested in and don't want to wait, send me an email and I'll figure out the price for you.

Happy New Year,
De'Anna
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Friday, November 25, 2011

Cyber Monday Sale


We've braved the stores for Black Friday, and hopefully have a couple days to recover. Now it's time to start thinking about Cyber Monday, a great day to do your online Christmas shopping.

I will be participating in Cyber Monday by having a sale on my ArtFire store. Everything will be 10% off! It's one day only, the sale will run from Midnight to Midnight (MST) on Monday, November 28th, 2011.

Come in, pre-shop and get ready for the frenzy! I'll be loading in lots of new product this weekend in preparation for the big sale, including Marshmallow Shooters, Fabric Mouse Pads, Santa Hats, Crocheted Ponchos and all the other product that I recently had at the Craft Fair.
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