Crafty Chica's faux embossing with tissue paper

 Can you tell this is tissue paper? It's a cool effect I've been playing with, and here is how to do it!

 Supplies:
Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue® 
Collage Pauge® Instant Decoupage  glossy
blank canvas
chipboard letter
colored tissue
asorted craft paints
baby wipes
flat paint brush

NOTE ABOUT THIS CANVAS: It was an oops project, so this was my way of using it for a different project, so don't mind the red designs on it!

Choose your word from the letters and glue them to the canvas. I went with fuego (fire).
Squeeze out the Collage Pauge all over the canvas and apply the tissue paper.  Use the flat paint brush to get into all the groove around the letters. I used black tissue paper here. You only need to add one or two layers. If you want, you can use more than one color of tissue.

Paint the accents with gold and then add another color of paint. I added red, and then wiped off areas with the baby wipe. I let it all dry and painted with the Collage Pauge. The end result is the picture at the top of this post! You can use any chipboard shapes or even cut out your own designs!

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I Love to Create Live Plastic Bag Craft Smock for Kiddlets

I hope you were able to tune in to I Love to Create Live today. Don't worry if you missed it, you can catch the whole thing on Ustream. In case you are just now hearing about this whole shindig, let me fill you in. I Love to Create sent several crafters, myself included, a swag bag full of their crafty goodies. The challenge was to make something unique and different. Leave it to me to be drawn to not only the supplies, but also the hot pink bag it came in.


Feast your eyes on the selection of goodies that arrived on my doorstep. Where has that owl stencil and the Beads in a Bottle been my whole life? I was inspired and so was my daughter Tallulah. She loves to paint and craft with mommy so she immediately started helping me sort through the box. The first thing that came to my mind was to recycle the pink plastic bag and make her a craft smock.


The problem is as you know I am not much of a seamstress. That being the case my mother, AKA my hero, offered to help me out. I mailed my bag of goodies and my smock plan to North Texas and hoped for the best. What she sent back was amazing! I just asked her to sew me a smock, but my mother that crafty devil went a step above and beyond. For the bias trim she created a polka dot using Tacky Glue as a resist. She squirted various dots of glue on the trim and once it had dried to point of skimming over she sprayed the bias tape with Tulip Spray Dye. She then dried the dye with a hair dryer and washed the glue dots off in the sink. It's like Tacky Glue batik!


When the smock returned to Austin there was a giant white pocket for me to adorn. I painted the pocket with the lavender Tulip Soft Fabric Paint first. Next I added a top coat of Tulip Fashion Glitter Shimmer Fabric Paint. Once the paint had dried I applied the letter and owl stencil to the smock and this is when disaster struck, sort of.


I had visions of embroidering everything on Tallulah's new craft smock, but that didn't happen. Please note Tallulah's unbrushed hair and Thomas the Train PJ's. I made the poor kid model while she was sick. when you have a sick toddler and a newborn, embroidering is a little tricky. I had already finished the owl, but since I was under a deadline for the live cast the letters were not going to make it. No worries I just painted them with Tulip Fabric Paint and covered the wet paint with tulip Fashion Glitter.

Tallulah is on the mend and seems to like her new smock. Hopefully we will be giving it a test run this weekend!


Check out more I Love to Create projects right here.
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Let's Create LIVE! is almost here!!

Well folks! After several months of planning, our Let's Create LIVE! event is just about here! From 9-11 AM (Pacific Standard Time) we will be broadcasting LIVE from our iLoveToCreate® studios via our Ustream Channel!!
Hop on over early and signup for a username and password so you can participate in the chat and enter all the wonderful Let's Create LIVE giveaways we are offering up (over a $300 value combined)!

Here's some final details about our lineup!

– PattieWack is our Let's Create LIVE! host and she is amped up and ready for the show! She will bring enthusiasm to the like no other!

– Our crafty superstars for the event will be Kathy Cano-Murillo a.k.a. Crafty Chica, Jen Hadfield of TaterTots and Jello, Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club, Lead Fiskateer Angela Daniels, Traci Bautista of treic Designs, and Tiffany Windsor of Cool2Craft! They'll be revealing their Let's Create LIVE Designer Challenge projects LIVE on camera! We can't wait!

– Our amazing in-house designers will be there too!! We'll be having live demos featuring Colette Trejo, Tar'Lese Rideaux, Allee Marderosian, and our Tie Dye Dudes Steve Ha and Matt McCort!

– Some of our other amazing in-house team members (and artists and DIYers on the side) will be there partyin' it up too!

– Mr. Tacky Glue will be adding his own comedic spin to the event, so be prepared for the LOLs!

– We'll be doing fun demos of our new Tulip® Beads in a Bottle™, Tulip® Liquid Dye™, and Tulip® Body Art® that have just hit craft store shelves!

– We'll also have lots of other unexpected fun and surprises. You don't want to miss out!!!

Please forward this link to your friend or tweet or Facebook about the event. We appreciate your support SO much!

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Let's Meet a Let's Create LIVE! Designer Challenger: Traci Bautista

Our final designer in our iLoveToCreate® Let's Create LIVE interview series with the Let's Create LIVE! Design Challengers is Traci Bautista! When you think of collage art, Traci immediately pops into your head! She brings lots of color, imagination, techniques, and artistic freedom to the art table!

As owner and creative director of treiC Designs, Traci travels the globe far and wide teaching workshops and inspiring artists of all skill levels. She specializes in and teaches handmade books, art journals, and custom textile design! She has a lot of crafty tricks up her sleeve and you can learn all about her creative techniques in her book Collage Unleashed! In addition to her busy teaching schedule, she blogs, develops digital art kits and online workshops, and sells her creations! Her online workshops include everything from doodle courses to art e-marketing courses to graffiti collage! She's also the designer of iLoveToCreate's Collage Pauge® Instant Decoupage!

Here's just a sampling of Traci's colorful artwork. Isn't it inspiring??



Traci was kind enough to tell us more about herself and what gets her creative juices going in this interview. Enjoy!

1. Your art is always so colorful! Is your home décor just as colorful? I would say my closet is more colorful. :) My personal style reflects the bold, bright and layered look of my paintings and handmade journals. My home is filled with a mix of eclectic vintage furniture, thrift store finds with bursts of color. My bedroom and living room are very subdued compared to my art. They are decorated with cool tones of chocolate, baby blue and wild grass {very light green} with accents of distressed cherry red. Much of my home is decorated with Southeast Asian art and pieces I’ve collected on my travels. One of my favorite pieces is my vintage late 1970’s Danish modern teak and ceramic tile dining table which was the kitchen table I grew up with. My art studio on the other hand definitely reflects my colorful artwork...I have five large FULL bookcases that display a plethora of my colorful FAVE art materials, books, inspiration, art collection and vintage findings. My new studio table was made from a reclaimed commercial door with a tigerwood veneer finish. A collection of my work in progress and my favorite artist’s work line the walls creating an explosion of color.

2. You teach a lot of workshops (online and in-person). How do you stay so energized and focused as a teacher?
I’ve been teaching for 10 years and it’s my passion. I love sharing my techniques and inspiring others to create. I’ve had a crazy schedule the past 7 years on the road, sometimes being home only 2-5 days a month. So I make sure to spend quality time with family and friends when I’m not teaching. Personally, I make time for my yoga practice at least 4 times a week and I started doing TRX a great strength training workout..these keep me energized and in shape to lift the heavy boxes and luggages full of art supplies. :) As for energy, that’s hardly ever lacking. I’m full of ideas and wish I had more time to execute them. Staying focused when I’m teaching is easy because I am passionate about what I do, so it comes naturally.

3. You made the jump from a full-time job to a career using your art! What’s the most important piece of wisdom you would give for someone wanting to do the same? Find your passion and make a career of doing what you LOVE! Success doesn’t happen overnight but with determination, A LOT of hard work and networking mixed with a little good luck you’ll be on your way. Oh, and learning how to creatively market yourself and build your brand is key.

4. What’s the biggest collage project you’ve ever tackled? I’ve done large mural paintings. But I would have to say the biggest collage project I’ve tackled is writing two books about mixed media and collage. These are full of multiple collage projects and techniques. My new book Doodles Unleashed will be released in January 2012.

5. People get so much inspiration from you, but what other bloggers, artists, and designers are you inspired by? I take inspiration from so many avenues. I’ve always been in LOVE with fashion, so I’m super inspired by many fashion illustrators like Camilia do Rosario, Stina Pearson, Sarah Singh, Kime Buzzeli of The Moldy Doily. and Erte {he was a costume designer & fashion illustrator for Harpers Baazar in the 1920s}. I LOVE the windows at Anthropologie stores, it’s always a treat to see how their display designers mix art with fashion. Other artists and designers... anything vintage by Vera Neumann, Orla Kiely, Yellena James, Tina Givens, Jim Bradshaw, fashion stylist Jane Rotary and I can’t forget graffiti artists...Fafi & Jose Parla. Some of the blogs I love to visit for inspiration are Katie Daisy, Orly Avineri, Jeannine Peregrine, and independent fashion bloggers like The Glamourai, Late Afternoon and The Man Repeller.

We've been so lucky to work with Traci on many video projects over the past few years. Traci also creates several videos of her own! Here's a fun video showing how to digitally remix art and photos using the iPhone ArtStudio app.



Thanks so much for sharing your inspiration with us Traci!

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ILovetoCreate Teen Crafts: Spring has Sprung Pop-up Card

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Spring has Sprung Pop-up Card
Avalon Potter for ILovetoCreate Teen Crafts
“Teen crafted, Mom approved.

I have been noticing the subtle differences of spring appearing around me. The trees have started to regain their leaves and butterflies have started to flap their wings. My grandmother sent me a card with a spring flower and Easter treats, and my mom has been saying one of her catch phrases every day “spring has sprung!” I wanted to thank my grandmother for the wonderful card so I decided to use ILoveToCreate products to make her a three dimensional butterfly card. Before I send it to her I thought I would take a few pictures and write some instructions so you could make one too! I left one of the applique butterflies uncolored so she can iron it on something and have fun coloring it in herself!

Materials
Colored cardstock
3 Crafty Chica Iron-on Appliqués butterfly
Tulip Fabric Markers Bright
Tulip Soft Fabric Paint
3-D small square stickers

Tools
Paint brushes
Scissors

Instructions
1. Take two of the butterflies and color them in using the fabric paint or the fabric markers. (These butterflies will be used to decorate the front of the card.)

2. Cut your card stock so that both the butterflies can fit on the front.

3. Fold the longer length of card stock in half and score with bone folder. This is your card.

4. Cut a small strip from the same color paper as the card and fold in half. Use bone folder to score fold.

5. Find the center point of each length of paper from your center fold. Fold again using bone folder to score. When attached, this should form a square or rectangular shape to create your pop up feature.

6. Place two 3-D stickers on either side of the two small ends.

7. Use the 3-D stickers to attach the ends of the armature inside the center fold of the card. The two ends should meet in the center at the card fold. Place the armature directly in the middle of the card; make sure that the shape bends with the card as it closes. If it does not reposition it so that it will bend with the card. This is forming a square/rectangle that will fold with the card, when opened fully it should become a full square shape.

8. Use the 3-D stickers to attach the blank butterfly on the front of the armature. Test to make sure it still bends correctly.

9. Use the 3-D stickers again to attach the colored butterflies on the outside of the card.

10. Cut out a strip of a different color cardstock that will fit on the top of the inside of the card.

11. Use the 3-D stickers stencil and the big phat pink marker to write spring on this piece of cardstock.

12. Repeat step 10 using a different color cardstock and writing sprung instead.

13. Attach the spring cardstock to the middle of the top of the inside of the card. Use two 3-D stickers on top of each other instead of one on this.

14. Repeat step 12 with the sprung cardstock and attach to the bottom of the inside of the card. Add above sprung on the card itself not the sprung cardstock the word “has” using the yellow big phat marker and previous stencil.

15. To complete leave a note on the instructions on how to make the iron on butterflies so your friend or family member can color in and iron on the blank butterfly!

4 Ways to Spray!

As some of you know, I've been just a little bit obsessed with my spray paints lately. And it's because they're the perfect quickie spiff-up and surface embellish for T-shirts, pillows, dresses--or any other fabric item you want to spray! Since it's spring, though, I grabbed up some plain cotton dresses to spray. Here are four different ways to pair those fabric spray paints with templates made from materials around the house including masking tape, stationery stickers, and freezer paper. Pull your spray paints from your holsters!

Once your paints are assembled, select your surfaces (in all different colors--though light colors will take the paint best).

Then introduce any number of "secret weapons from around the house" (i.e. items that can be used as templates or stencils to mask parts of the fabric (i.e. freezer paper, permanent marker, a craft knife; map dot stickers; rectangle sticker labels; masking tape) in each of the individual projects below!

1. Yellow Brick Road

Secret weapon from around the house: Rectangle sticker labels

Originally, my plan was to stick on these labels in a checkerboard pattern to give the dress the feel of a racing flag. But the stickers so easily lent themselves to being bricks, that I immediately thought of the yellow brick road in the Land of Oz.

I chose to follow the yellow brick road along the waistband, but you could lay your bricks around the hem of the dress, up and over the shoulder, or a circle them all over the dress. I laid one row of bricks and then stuck down a second row, offsetting the first brick in the second row so that the rest of the stickers in that row would be slightly staggered to create the brick pattern.

Mask the rest of the garment before spraying (I used T-shirt scraps and paper from my recycling bin) so that you can contain the paint to only the area you want to color. I used black spray paint to make the yellow bricks really pop!

Let the paint dry completely before you peel off the brick stickers and try it on!

2. Skull & Bones

Secret weapons from around the house: Freezer paper, high-contrast image printout, marker, craft knife, and cutting mat

I chose the classic skull and crossbones as my image to download and print for creating the stencil, but any image is fair game!

Trace the design onto a sheet of freezer paper.

Then use the craft knife to carefully cut out the shapes.

Tape the stencil onto the fabric surface (I placed it along the hem). Don't forget to place any loose pieces (in this case, the eye sockets and nose cavity!). I sprayed red spray paint on the charcoal gray surface and reused the stencil to create a pattern around the bottom of the skirt.

Let each image dry slightly before moving the stencil to another part of the fabric.

Then let the image dry completely before spraying it on the back of the garment. Let all the paint dry completely before you try it on!

3. Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Trouble

Secret weapon from around the house: Map or garage sale dot stickers in different sizes.

These stickers have so much potential. Beyond mixing up the sizes, you can arrange them into patterns, overlap them, use the surrounding sticker bits to create reverse dots, and so on. I used three sizes (3/4", 1 1/4", and 1 3/4").

To create the appearance of bubbles rising up to the surface, I started with closely spaced small dots at the hem, then transitioned to more widely spaced medium dots, with the large dots finishing below the bodice.

Mask all the parts of the garment you don't want to color. I used black spray paint, fading out at the top, to make the pink really shine through! I also allowed the naturally occurring wrinkles caused by the gathered skirt to form "cracks" in the paint.

Let the paint dry completely before you put it on. You that you've made your bubbles, go out and make some trouble!

4. Yipes Stripes!

Secret weapon from around the house: Masking or Artists tape

Stripes are just the beginning--you can create plaid, checkered, or gingham patterns with a roll of masking tape. Keep in mind that the width of the tape (and how closely you align them) determines the width of your stripes!

I followed the V-neck cut of the dress to create gently slanting diagonal stripes. Be careful to line up the tape strips carefully in order to keep your design symmetrical and even.

As always, mask the fabric you don't want to paint! I chose blue spray paint to pair with my bright green frock--a springtime inspiration, for sure!

Let the paint dry before peeling off the tape to reveal your sassy stripes!

One, two, three, four -- don't stop now, let's spray some more! How many more ways can you spray?

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Meet a Let's Create LIVE! Design Challenger: Kathy Cano-Murillo

If you've been a fan of iLoveToCreate for a while, you already know Kathy-Cano Murillo, a.k.a. Crafty Chica very well. Kathy is slated to appear this Thursday (9-11 AM PST) as a celebrity designer on our Let's Create LIVE webcast and we are so excited to see what colorful and vibrant craft she makes from the assortment of Designer Challenge goodies we sent her to play with!

Kathy has been inspiring online crafters of all backgrounds and skill levels for over 10 years. In May of 2011, she'll be celebrating her 10 year anniversary of her newly redesigned Craftychica.com! She shares all kinds of inspiring projects, articles, and products on her site. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, and NPR.

Kathy has worn many hats during her career, she's been a handmade artist selling her custom "Chicano Pop Art" in her Crafty Chica store and to retailers. She's also been a syndicated newspaper writer for the Arizona Republic newspaper. In 2008, iLoveToCreate launched her Crafty Chica® product line, spreading her love of color and glitter to the masses!

In addition to the 7 craft tutorial books Kathy has written, Kathy has recently taken on the role of novelist. Her "Crafty Chica Novel" series debuted in March 2010 with Waking Up in the Land of Glitter (Grand Central Publishing). Her next book, Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing was released in March, 2011.

Kathy also does exclusive projects for our blog and web site. Here's just a small sampling of the many crafts she makes!! Here's a link to more Crafty Chica projects!



We sat down with Kathy and asked her a few fun questions. Here's her interview!

1. You are about to hit your 10th anniversary of www.craftychica.com!That’s a huge milestone! How has your site changed over the past 10 years?
Thank you! The time has passed very fast. It started as a late night hobby - and it still is a late night hobby, but on a much bigger scale. I love writing, blogging, sharing and posting ideas. Running my web site has helped me reach crazy goals and dreams. It has always been a place to "put it out there" - and then live up to it and follow through. In the early days, if you look through my posts, that's where I have the goofiest content. I shared *everything* that went on in my life, not thinking anyone would ever read it. I've grown as a person and am a little more private now. But I love looking back and reading stories about my kids and my failed craft attempts. I'm amazed at how much the online landscape has changed. I remember when I started my Diary of a Crafty Chica blog in 2003, I told an online editor at the newspaper where I worked that we should start them there - she told me that blogs were a fad and laughed it off. Look how far we've all come!

2. Is there anyone you’ve ever met that could rival your obsession with glitter?
Oh there are plenty! We are all in the Secret Society of Sparklehood! I think it is important to remind people that glitter is a state of mind and it is good to carry it with you in some way, shape or form. If you don't like the tangible loose stuff, then think of being nice to a stranger as your personal glitter. :-) Spread it far and wide!

3. You are now a successful novelist! How is writing a novel and being an author different than being a designer?
Thank you! It's actually more similar than you think! It's like one big cohesive art collection, with many small working parts that have to be embellished, make a statement, be memorable and polished. Lots of planning, yet spontaneity rules...the creative process takes over and sets you free! I compare it also to a big canvas. You have the theme, the background, the setting, color palette, focal point, the accents. However, it's very different because there are no art supplies in front of you. The Lazy Susan you spin for tool selection is in your head. The supplies are in your imagination and you have to hunt for them and sometimes be able to see and catch them when they float by in front of you. I love writing novels. I think it is a great exercise for artists to dabble in, it really exercises a new part of your creativity!

4. What words of wisdom did someone give you that you still follow and apply to your life today?
Don't do it for the money, do it because you love it - and the money will come. Stay focused on why you started your business in the first place. Sometimes I really have to check myself on that one. I started all of this because I love to create and write. But being a one-woman operation, my time is often devoted to marketing, research, assignments, appearances - and I have have NO time to do what I originally wanted to do. It's times like that that I make myself stop and go back to square one, that is where the magic lives.

5. Do you have a current guilty pleasure?
Reading books and traveling! I'm currently reading The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. I'm also excited to get going on my next novel. Another recent guilty pleasure is traveling. I just returned from Mexico on the 5th Annual Crafty Chica Art Cruise. I'm planning the 6th, as well as a Crafty London group tour too. I also just got invited to teach on a cruise ship going to the Caribbean this fall. I love that my passion for crafting has taken me on so many awesome adventures!

Here's a fun glitter on glitter tutorial Kathy shared on her Crafty Chica YouTube channel!



Thanks Kathy for sharing your crafty spirit and inspiration with us!

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Check out our funny promo video for Let's Create LIVE!

Free TV Show from Ustream

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Look at our Fun Let's Create LIVE! Giveaways!

We are giving away 7 prize packs during our Let's Create LIVE! show!! All of them together are over a $300 value! Yippee! Enter for your chance to win by being logged in at our iLoveToCreate UStream page. You must be logged into our chat room where you'll able to chat with other viewers and have your chance to win!









Are you as excited as we are about this event!! We hope you are!

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Vintage Craft Chat with Cathy Callahan of California

Cathy Callahan may be the one crafter I know who appreciates kitschy vintage crafts as much as I do. As if I didn’t love her enough with her amazing flower loom kits on Etsy and the plethora of vintage craft book goodness on her blog Cathy of California – she goes off and writes my new favorite craft book. If you too have a penchant for vintage crafts you are going to want to get your hot little hands on a copy of Vintage Craft Workshop: Fresh Takes on Twenty-Four Classic Projects from the '60s and '70s stat!

I have a vast collection of vintage craft books that I pride myself on, apparently so does Cathy Callahan. If we got together with our stash and a cup of Sanka or a can of tab we could chat & craft it up for hours. We couldn’t do it in person so instead we had a chat over email which I thought I would share.


When I think of designers taking vintage crafts and re-working them you are always the first person that comes to mind.  Your gorgeous loom flowers, perky mushroom pincushions & constant treasure trove of vintage craft book images on your blog.  When did your love of vintage crafts begin?

Why thank you Jennifer! You will be able to read the whole story in my book but basically a few years ago (while I was preparing for my first craft fair) one thing lead to another and I discovered that the crafts I was making were very much like the ones my mom made in the 60s-70s. A friend mentioned that the stuff I was making reminded her of the crafts her family made from a particular line of kits when she was little. An eBay search lead me to a few of the how to books from the same company that made those kits. I bought one of the books and I discovered that the crafts featured in those books were just like the ones my mom made when I was little. I then set out on collecting craft books of the 60s and 70s both for inspiration and as a way to honor my mom.


Choosing which vintage crafts to make for Vintage Craft Workshop must have been like Sophie’s Choice.  There are so many out there.  How did you decide which to use in your book?  Are there any projects that broke your heart not to include and we can expect to see in Vintage Craft Workshop Part 2?

The process of choosing which crafts to use in my book was both really fun and somewhat daunting all at the same time!  Fun because I love looking thru vintage craft books and daunting because there was just so much to choose from. I tried my best to match projects up with each contributors special talents and love for a particular type of craft. Take Diane Gilleland's plastic canvas place mat project for example. It's Diane's mission to make plastic canvas cool so she was the perfect person to do a project inspired by "Serendipity in Hi-Straw" (plastic canvas projects made using raffia). Oh yes I would love to do a part 2! Truthfully I probably have enough ideas for a whole series.


I love the segments in the book about various pioneering crafty ladies.  Two of my faves: Aleene Jackson and Enid Collins are profiled.  I’m a collector of Enid Collins bags, I have a gut feeling you too have a stash.  Am I right?  Also is it just me or does it seem like Aleene and her Tacky glue invented every vintage craft ever?  I once posted a picture on my blog of a Christmas tree covered in giant ice cream cones and Aleene’s daughter Tiffany Windsor emailed saying that was her.  How did you decide which people to profile?

Why yes I do happen to have a few Enid bags and some of her jewelry. Working on the profiles was so much fun. Many of the women who started craft companies in the 50s and 60s have some pretty amazing stories - especially Enid and Aleene. The profiles really just grew from my research and they all ended up being extensions of the projects. Take for example my Flower Waste Paper Basket project. It was inspired by something my mom used to make as well as a photo  found in a Hazel Pearson book. So naturally I had to profile Hazel. Also I am curious by nature and had always wondered if there was actually an Aleene. My mom used Tacky Glue in her crafts so I more or less grew up with it. A few years ago I discovered that Aleene was an actual person (as opposed to a Betty Crocker-like invented persona) and of course had to find out more about her.


The Vintage Craft Workshop has several contributing crafters reinterpreting classic crafts.  How did you decide who would do what? Did you know Susan Beal had a love of mushrooms or that Nicole Vasbinder made a mean bulletin board?  

I reached out to my friends and crafters whose work I admired. I had a pretty good idea what everyone enjoyed doing and what their areas of expertise were so it was easy to match people with projects. But some delightful and unexpected things also happened. I had the tissue paper tray project in mind for my friend Tom Early - who is a painter. When I went to meet with him about doing a project he showed me some new things he had been working on - tissue paper collages. It just worked out perfectly! Another cool thing  happened when I was researching Enid Collins. I contacted her granddaughter to get some information. It turned out she was a crafter (who is very influenced by her grandmother) so it was just all to perfect that she do a project for the book.


I adore all the images in The Vintage Craft Workshop.  The set ups and backdrops reflect the vintage feel of the book in a hip modern way.  Inquiring minds want to know: are any of the goodies in the pictures from your own home or did you help style the photo shoot? Chronicle always makes the most wonderful books, yours is no exception.

I was beyond thrilled when Chronicle hired Meiko Takeshi Arquillos to photograph my book. I had long admired her photographs in many of Lotta Jansdotter's books. We hit it off right away. Her style and sensibility were just perfect for my book. Yes many of the props are my stuff. I basically loaded up about half of my home in my car  and took it over to her studio. And yes some of the shots were done at my house.  I love everything that Chronicle does and it was so nice to work with them.


Along with photos of the original projects & the crafty ladies profiled there is quite a bit of craft history included in The Vintage Craft Workshop.  I love that not only are the readers learning a craft, they are learning about the history of craft.  Was doing your homework for the book hard?  Did you have a difficult time finding the information and crafts?

I was so happy that my publisher liked my idea of giving a little bit of history to go along with the projects. I felt it was important for readers who might not be familiar with what was going on in the 60s - 70s to have a little background. That way they could be inspired  even more.  The homework was not hard at all - I just turned to my collection of vintage books and magazines. I also reached out to some of ladies (and in some cases their families) who I profiled and got a lot of information from them. Tiffany Windsor (Aleene's daughter) was super helpful. One bittersweet note is that Jean Ray Laury just passed away. I did a couple of phone interviews with her last year and she was just the sweetest lady. She was still working on book proposals and her quilting. I was so looking forward to sending her a copy of the book.


For people interested in expanding their own vintage craft workshop where do you suggest they go to find more information?  Do you have any favorite websites, books, Etsy stores ect for vintage supplies, books or information?

Ebay is by far the best place to find vintage craft supplies, fabric, books and magazines.  It also serves as an amazing research tool. Figure out what you are looking for, sign yourself up for "saved searches" and your email in box will be filled with great finds everyday!


What is your most prized vintage craft treasure?  Do you have any supplies that you just can’t bring yourself to use because you have not found the perfect project?  I have tons of vintage jewelry supplies, kitschy wrapping paper and cupcake toppers that I can not seem to bring myself to part with.  No craft project ever seems worthy. Yes I am a border line craft supply hoarder.

My most prized craft supplies are my mom's fabric scraps. I made a mini quilt using some of them last year - just as a way of preserving and documenting them. I also used some of that fabric for the project I did for for Crafting a Meaningful Home by Meg Mateo Ilasco.

I got an email a couple of years ago from a guy who said his aunt had worked for Hazel Pearson (who I profile in my book) and that he was having a sale. There were tons of supplies from the 60s still in their original packaging. I bought a big box full of them which I am saving just because I like the packaging so much.


What does the future have in store for you?  Any new books on the horizon?  Has Martha Stewart called and asked you back for a repeat performance?  Teaching any classes?  For those of us that can not get enough Cathy Callahan tell us where to find you.

I will be doing a mini west coast book tour in May. I have just started a little blog devoted to the book where I will be posting all of the latest info. I do have a few book ideas in mind that I have started to develop. Fingers crossed I get to go on Martha again!


Like reading interviews with your favorite crafty peeps? I got lot's more for ya!


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