CraftSanity Podcasts

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Diets and support meetings didn't work for Janice Taylor. So when she heard a wise voice in her head, she listened to it and turned her obsession with food into an art form. She began making delicious foods the focus of her art instead of her dinner plate. Today she refers to the voice as "Our Lady of Weight Loss," the muse that inspired her to creatively shed 50 pounds and invent a new profession for herself as a weight-loss artist.

Tune in to this week's show to hear how Janice, a "woman of a certain age" living in New York City, set to work crafting off the pounds. Janice, now an author, weight-loss artist and weight-loss coach, has a fantastic sense of humor, so prepare to burn some calories as you laugh and craft along to her story.

Her first piece of weight-loss art was "Ms. Red Pepper," a selection from her sexy vegetable series. Below is one of her more recent creations, an impressive work created with stained glass.




ENTER THE DRAWING TO WIN a copy of "Our Lady of Weight Loss." All you have to do is make a piece of weight-loss or food-related art and e-mail Jennifer a photo of it along with your name and mailing address. The deadline is Thursday, Nov. 2. Abby, CraftSanity's V.P. of Fun, will randomly select the name of the winner from a hat. Entries will be posted on CraftSanity. Have fun and good luck! (Thanks to the publisher, Viking Studio, for donating the book.)

This week's project is a fun measuring tape bracelet how-to from Janice's book. Don't stress over measurements when you can accessorize!

Need a little extra motivation to stay on track? Don't worry Janice has your back. Sign up to recieve her weekly newsletter for fun and inspiration.


Support the show! Vote for CraftSanity at Podcast Alley. Or, buy a CraftSanity T-shirt or button.

Taking Names: Who do you want to hear from next? Send your comments, guest and show topic suggestions to jennifer@craftsanity.com.

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Before Laura Buzard created her own line of Laura Bee Designs handbags and opened a fabulous store and working studio in Seattle, Washington, she was crafty woman with a dream. Now she's a successful business owner specializing in custom designs made from fabrics customers select from her stash.


Tune into this week's show to hear the story of how the little girl in the photograph has progressed from sewing on a toy machine with Grandma Doris to running a fun and inspiring business that caters to every woman in search of the perfect handbag.

This week's project is a fabulous tutorial by Laura that will help you become a better designer and make color selections with ease. Download the PDF.

Support the show! Vote for CraftSanity at Podcast Alley.
Or, buy a CraftSanity T-shirt or button.

Taking Names: Who do you want to hear from next? Send your comments, guest and show topic suggestions to jennifer@craftsanity.com.

Listen to the podcast

Subscribe to CraftSanity on iTunes

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This week the CraftSanity podcast visits the home studio of Grand Rapids, Michigan glass artist Nancy Puffer. She's a 49-year-old stay-at-home mom turned artist who makes the vibrant beads she uses to make fantastic one-of-a-kind jewelry. Tune in to hear how she fell in love with lampwork and how it's changed her life. (She made all the beads in the photo above.) Click here to see what she created during the taping of this show.

Click below out to see Nancy's work and view some of her favorite glass bead havens:
www.nancysellsglass.com

www.wetcanvas.com

www.lampworketc.com

www.justbeads.com

www.beadandbutton.com


CRAFTY ANNOUNCEMENT: The West Michigan Bead Expo III that Nancy organizes is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14 at DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids. Admission is $3. I hope to see you there!


Photos by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood


Support the show! Vote for CraftSanity at Podcast Alley.
Or, buy a CraftSanity T-shirt or button.

Taking Names: Who do you want to hear from next? Send your comments, guest and show topic suggestions to jennifer@craftsanity.com.

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Believe the hype. CRAFT magazine will rock your craft room.

First, they brought us MAKE, the quarterly DIY magazine for people who can't stop tinkering around with the technology in their lives. Now the creative minds at O'Reilly Media, Inc. have answered our crafty call with a sister, publication called CRAFT that's all about "transforming traditional crafts."

The CRAFT staff successfully created a crafty buzz for the new publication billed as the first projects-based publication of it's kind, and it's likely to satisfy the growing legions of DIYers caught up the alternative craft movement.


From knitted robots to embroidered skateboards and a programmable LED tank top, this magazine aims to push readers to craft way outside the box. One of my favorites is a knitting project that involves drilling holes into a pair of high heels to create these deceptively comfy-looking "Groovy Boots" (left) stitched onto a pair of old high heels.


This week's episode of CraftSanity features a conversation with Natalie Zee, the associate editor of CRAFT magazine and writer of the publication's blog. Zee, 33, of San Francisco, is a crafter, fashion trend spotter and tech expert. Check out her books, her personal blog and her her flickr gallery. We chat about CRAFT and crafting and how you can get your work into this fine publication.

CRAFT magazine is headed to a newsstand near you Oct. 17. The only bad news is it's quarterly, so we're going to have to wait a little while for Issue 2.

THIS WEEK'S PROJECT: Learn how to make a cell phone charm in this tutorial Natalie wrote for the MAKE blog. A similar project appears in the premier issue of CRAFT.

"HIP TO STITCH" WINNER'S: Two lucky stitchers won autographed copy of Melinda's "Hip to Stitch" book courtesy of Interweave Press. Abby, CraftSanity's 2-year-old vice president of fun, randomly selected the names of two lucky stitchers from entries we mixed up in her jack-o-lantern pail. Tune in to this week's show to see if you won. Visit the gallery of entries here.

CRAFTY ANNOUNCEMENT: The West Michigan Bead Expo III is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 14 at DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids. Admission is $3. Maybe I'll see you there!


Support the show! Vote for CraftSanity at Podcast Alley.
Or, buy a CraftSanity T-shirt or button.

Taking Names: Who do you want to hear from next? Send your comments, guest and show topic suggestions to jennifer@craftsanity.com.

Listen to the podcast

Subscribe to CraftSanity on iTunes

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It started with this guy, Rob Kalin (left), and his big idea to create an online marketplace where handmade goods could be bought and sold. Some thought it couldn't be done. But Rob assembled a crack team of dedicated programmers, coders and designers and made Etsy happen.


The site launched on June 18, 2005 and has been growing rapidly ever since, boasting roughly 90,000 registered users and more than 160,000 items sold to date.


On this episode of CraftSanity, Etsy's PR and marketing guru Matt Stinchcomb, former guitarist for the French Kicks, takes us behind the scenes of this rapidly growing, online craftopia.

Tune in to find out how Rob teamed up with Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppik and Jared Tarbell (pictured left to right below) and built Etsy from scratch and hear how a seven-person staff now keeps it running 24-7.

Etsy artists and crafters can reach a global market without leaving their homes, meanwhile those in the buying spirit can sort through the shop's roughly 200,000 items by color, date and category. Customers can also request custom goods.

If you make stuff, or like to purchase handmade goods from people who do - tune in for the inspiring story of how the creative minds at Etsy are using technology to empower DIYers around the globe.

PROGRAM NOTE: This week's podcast begins with the voice of Gus Reyes, an Etsy seller and one of Rob Kalin's biggest fans. I met Gus at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair in August. The wood rings he makes are beautiful, but don't take my word for it. Stop by his Etsy shop and see for yourself.


WIN A COPY OF MELINDA BARTA'S "HIP TO STITCH" BOOK!!! Two lucky stitchers will win an autographed copy of Melinda's "Hip to Stitch" book courtesy of Interweave Press. E-mail me a photo of your favorite embroidery project and get in the random drawing. The deadline for submissions is Monday Oct. 2. Please include your name and address with your entry. Project photos will be posted on CraftSanity.

Support the show! Vote for CraftSanity at Podcast Alley.
Or, buy a CraftSanity T-shirt or button.

Taking Names: Who do you want to hear from next? Send your comments, guest and show topic suggestions to jennifer@craftsanity.com.

Listen to the podcast

Subscribe to CraftSanity on iTunes

RSS feed for podcast


"First Decade," detail shot of a work in progress by Melinda Barta. The piece is a postcard-sized documentary of the first 10 years of her relationship with her husband. This is the camping scene.


Tune in for this week's chat with Melinda Barta, 26, of Fort Collins, Colo.The author of "Hip to Stitch: 20 Contemporary Projects Embellished with Thread," Melinda will share the story of how she landed her crafty gig as an assistant managing editor at Beadwork and Stringing magazines published by Interweave Press.

You may want to have your embroidery supplies nearby because after you hear from Melinda you just might find yourself itchin' to get stitchin'.

Above is a picture of a table runner Melinda stitched for Piece Work's March/April 2006 issue. Photo by Joe Coca, used courtesy of Interweave Press.

Melinda loves the outdoors and often retreats to the mountains. Here Melinda is pictured in front of Mt. Evans, the where she once led nature walks at 14,000 feet.

WIN MELINDA'S BOOK!!! Two lucky stitchers will win an autographed copy of Melinda's "Hip to Stitch" book courtesy of Interweave Press. E-mail me a photo of your favorite embroidery project and get in the random drawing. Never embroidered before? No problem. Give the project below (or another design of your choice) a try. Snap a photo and The deadline for submissions is Monday Oct. 2. Please include your name and address with your entry. Project photos will be posted on CraftSanity.

This Week's Project: Here's a sneak peek inside Melinda's book. The folks at Interweave Press are letting us post her velvet ribbon embroidery project. This is a simple way to add a special touch to a homemade gift. Enjoy! Here is the pdf to download.



Support the show! Vote for CraftSanity at Podcast Alley.

Or, buy a CraftSanity T-shirt or button.

Taking Names: Who do you want to hear from next? Send your comments, guest and show topic suggestions to jennifer@craftsanity.com.