CraftSanity with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

I want to learn to do this.

Gregory Troehler, 54, of Holland, Mich., makes wood turning look very easy. This week I featured him in my weekly art & craft column and I invite you to check it out. He turns beautiful wine stoppers on his lathe as a hobby. But like many of us, he dreams of turning his side project into a career. It appears he's on his way. Now all he needs is an etsy shop. : )



Gregory also makes lovely turned ornaments, custom picture frames, lovely end tables and really cool pieces like this knife holder.



Here's a look at the exotic wood stash Gregory keeps in the two-car garage he converted into a wood shop.



Want to know more? Click here.

Today my art & craft column is features Karin Harmon, the one-woman show behind K Bella Bambino Designs. I invite you to read her story and check out her instructions for a super simple no sew t-shirt embellishment. Enjoy!

In today's issue of the Grand Rapids Press, I wrote about Shauna Swantek, an inspiring mixed media artist who stitched her way through a serious bout with depression. Now she teaches fiber art workshops around West Michigan, instructing others about the healing properties of making stab-stitch purses, fabric and altered books and fabric postcards. She's the woman who recently showed me how to make fabric postcards. Read her story and try out the directions for making fabric postcards.

Speaking of fabric postcards... is anyone interested in a swap? Post a comment below if you are. If there's interest, I'll set one up.

I wish I could do this. I wish I could sketch faces while chatting on the phone and have them look like something more than stick figures composed by a child. To have the ability to draw would be really cool. Since drawing isn't my forte, I enjoy looking at the sketch books of those who can.

The sketches you see above are the work of Tom Casaletto, the Grand Rapids painter and assemblage artist I interviewed for my next GR Press craft column. They were on his kitchen table when I stopped by last week to see his studio, so I did what I (almost) always do when I see something cool. I took a picture. I love the way the sketches look piled up on the table. So interesting.

What do you draw when you're on the phone? Do you doodle or sketch?

Check back here on Sunday to read more about Tom and see photos of his paintings an assemblages.

A little side note: I'm not big on football, but I like the "Go Bucks" banner my friend Elizabeth crocheted as the hostess gift for a football party she went to. This gift is way better than forking over a bag of potato chips. Way to craft for the team, sister! : )

Today the weekly craft column I write for The Grand Rapids Press featured a project that you can make with supplies you have on hand and create a priceless gift for a friend or loved one. The idea comes from Karen Dunnam, 51, of Grand Rapids, who I met when I started a Craft Club at the YMCA. Read my craft column over at my "Running With Needles" blog and get the scoop on how to give the gift of memories in 2007. I hope somebody makes me one of these someday. : )

The next episode of CraftSanity is not ready yet, but here's something to tide you over... This week my newspaper craft column is about gourd art. Check it out and find out how to grow your own gourds to make birdhouses and bowls like the ones I made below. Enjoy!