Design by Night

Come visit me and my tent mate Jill Popowich Designs at the DC Craft Mafia's Monster Mash tomorrow! When: Saturday, October 29, 2011 Time: 11 am to 5 pm Where: St. Lukes Episcopal Church-Parking Lot, P Street and 15th NW, Washington, DC For more information and to see a listing of some of my wonderfully crafty neighbors at the show visit the craftmafiadc.com .

Years ago I bought a cigar box of old keys. For some reason I was really drawn to them but had no idea or any real purpose for them. So for years I have been shuffling around this box of keys in my studio, each time thinking that I should really make something with them. Recently, I was inspired to make a "key chain" pendant. I dumped all the keys in the box and played around with them thinking that a trio of keys would make a nice shape. Plus, each key I picked had a nice old/rusted patina too. Now I had the idea, but how do I attach them? I tried several glues and some wire but got no where. After a few margarita's with my girlfriend and jewelry designer Jill Popowich I had my very simple answer, jump ring them together! How could I have overlooked the most obvious technique? Thank goodness I have crafty friends because I would still be trying to glue those damn keys. Anyway, if you are like me and have a collection of old keys hanging around this would be a great ste...

Recently I got a subscription to a fashion magazine called Lucky. I like to flip through the pages and see the latest colors and trends. Although I am not a fashionista, I think it is good to see what it going on outside my little craft room bubble. While I was flipping through the last issue I saw an ad for OPI Nail Lacquer (which I already love) for Muppet Colors!!!! What a great product, it combines really good nail polish and a great child hood memory. I watched the Muppets as a child religiously so I rushed over to the OPI site to check out the new colors. How can you go wrong with Meep-Meep-Meep red, Fresh Frog of Bel Air green, Gone Gonzo blue or Excuse Moi pink! There are lots of other great colors with clever names that you should go and check out.

If you are in the Washington, DC area on Saturday, October 29 come and visit me and my tent mate Jill Popowich Designs at the DC Craft Mafia's Monster Mash . When: Saturday, October 29, 2011 Time: 11 am to 5 pm Where: St. Lukes Episcopal Church-Parking Lot, P Street and 15th NW, Washington, DC For more information and to see a listing of some of my wonderfully crafty neighbors at the show visit the craftmafiadc.com .

As you might be able to tell from my last tutorial I have been playing around with using leather for my flowers and other creations. Well I finally have come up with a leather flower I like after several failed attempts. Although leather is great because it does not fray it is a beast to sew and it is bulky. After many hours of fumbling around I finally came up with something I like and wanted to share. If any of my readers have any good tips for working with leather or know of any good tutorials I would love to hear from you!

Why should leather only be used for jackets, shoes and purses? Medium weight or upholstery leather is easy to craft since it doesn't fray or crinkle. These leather earrings are quick, versatile and easy to make. You can even recycle those old purses or jackets that have damage since you really only need small amounts of good leather. I used 4" square leather samples and had plenty left over to make more earrings. Supplies: Leather Leather punch (I bought mine at Michaels Craft store for around $10 but you can also get the from home stores like Home Depot or Lowes) Sharp scissors 2-Large Jump Rings 2-Earring wires Jewelry pliers Download the pattern below, print and cut out shapes. Cut 2-of each shape in the leather of your choice. I used 3 different types of leather, don't be afraid to mix it up. Pile one set of the three shapes on top of each other and carefully punch a whole on one of the ends. I punched the hole about a quarter of an inch away from the end using the sma...

Feather, glitter, tassels and much, much more! Hold on to your hats because BEST (a craft group I belong to) has just announced it’s first annual BEST for BREAST fundraiser. In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, BEST team members have created handmade pasties using the medium of their choice. The pasties are up for sale on the Best4Breast Etsy site . With over 40 active members, including some who have survived breast cancer, BEST team members will use ceramic, fabric, feathers, metal and other materials to craft the pasties. All proceeds collected from the BEST for Breasts sale will be donated to the Red Devils, a Maryland organization that funds services to improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients and their families. So get to shopping!