As a craftsperson, I’ll bet you make many of the items you give as gifts.  And kudos to you for doing so!  What better way to wrap up that gift than with a crafty little gift tag.  Paul Overton from Dude Craft takes you through the creative process step-by-step in this video.  You’ll make a super-cool mini LP gift tag, a mini album sleeve and a gift card cover.  Visit his website for the templates and graphic files.

Enjoy!

P.S.  More about Paul later.  He has agreed to an interview here on Craft-News.com.  Stay tuned!

Jen's Sewing Machine by House of Sims. Through the Creative Commons License on Flickr

The weekend is upon us.  What crafty ideas do you have planned?  Are you going to thread that needle and MAKE something?  I hope so!

Sometimes it’s the time factor that makes the difference between starting a project and throwing up our hands in despair.  Try to carve out a little creative time for yourself this weekend.  Get up a little bit earlier, stay up a bit later.  Make yourself a good cup of tea or coffee.  Take a deep breath.  And CRAFT.  It will be worth it.  I promise!

Here are some ideas to help you get started:

Make a craft apron:

"Pretty Pastel Craft Apron" by citychiccountrymouse on Flickr through the Creative Commons License

Make some soap:

"Soap Assortment" by Bathing in Luxury on Flickr through the Creative Commons License

Knit something fun:

"Knitting in Sunlight" by Mr. T in DC on Flickr through the Creative Commons License

Craft with the kids:

"Card Making Kit is a Kidling Hit" by woodleywonderworks on Flickr through the Creative Commons License

Make a gift (and keep one for yourself):

"Blue/White Linen Lavender Sachets" by Le Petit Poulailler on Flickr through the Creative Commons License

Enjoy your weekend.

UPDATED 01.25.2010:  Photo links have been corrected to link back to the original photo on Flickr.

As I’ve said many times here, and on the Craft-News.com site:  it’s about COMMUNITY!  People sharing with each other.  Human beings helping other human beings.  Here’s another chance  for you to be community-minded and help the people of Haiti.

The ladies over at CraftHope.com have created a special Etsy shop where you can either donate a handmade item or purchase one.  Either way, you’ll be helping out!  Funds from the sale of all the hand-crafted goodies will be sent to Doctors Without Borders to help the earthquake victims of Haiti.

Let me just tell you that there is a whole lotta love in that little shop. Handmade love from all around the world. Go on over, take a looksy. We are seriously updating that space at all hours so keep checking back, or refreshing your page. There is some amazing items that have come through that shop! A HUGE, HUGE, HUGE thank you to all of the crafters out there that donated and continue to donate items. I know we only get to reply with a quick thank you, but you need to know that you are truly appreciated. Without your donation, there would be no shop, there would be no money raised for Haiti. You all are amazing.

And another HUGE thank you to those of you who have gone shopping. Some of you took items I was wanting to buy while I was typing feverishly. I would be typing and say ‘look at that… where did it go?’ Things go fast!

This shop has exceeded our wildest expectations. We thought, maybe, just maybe someone would donate something and we’d raise a couple of hundred bucks for Haiti. Boy, did you blow that out of the water.

In just 24 hours, the Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop has had 162 sales and raised just around $4,000. Pat yourselves on the back my friends. You are rockstars!

Please understand that there is about a 24 hour turnaround on listing items. We are going as fast as humanly possible.

We truly appreciate all of the sweet comments that come in with the listings. You cheer us on and certainly make us feel like what we are doing is important. Thank you for that.

We just added a new section to our shop called ‘kid craft.’ Crafts made by kids. So please encourage your child if they want to get into the action. My daughter got a weaving loom from Santa and has been working on a pot holder to put into the shop.

–Jade from Craft Hope

So…please help out in any way you can.  And thanks for being part of the Craft-News community.  Your compassion and generosity are VERY much appreciated!

P.S.  Thanks to all the crafty mamas working so diligently behind the scenes on the Craft Hope Etsy shop.  Now THAT’S what I call community!

Mini Valentine's Day Card by inky squid on Flickr

The folks over at FaveCrafts have all sorts of craft ideas.  If you’re ever in a craft funk and just don’t know what to do,  hop on over.  They will certainly get your creative juices flowing.

With Valentine’s Day not too far off (can you believe it?) FaveCrafts’ Be My Love Boxers project is a great way to say I LOVE YOU!  You can make them in any size.  Just buy the boxer shorts and have at it!

Click on over and check it out.  Simple instructions await.  Have fun!

These are truly two “perfect” books!  The Perfect Pajama by Kristina Nilsson and Jennifer Pirtle is 96 pages of really good stuff and includes 21 full-size patterns and templates.  [ISBN:  978-1-906525-96-5; Cover Price:  $19.95]

Here are some shots from inside the book:

And then there’s The Perfect Handmade Bag is by Clare Youngs.  The subtitle, “recycle and reuse to makes 35 beautiful totes, purses and more” pretty much says it all.  With 128 pages of projects, photos and sewing techniques, this will make a great addition to your craft book library.  [ISBN:  978-1-906525-81-1; Cover Price:  $19.95]

Here some of the projects featured in the book:

I purchased my books from Crafter’s Choice (the book club).  Amazon.com offers the pajama book for just $14.36!  The handbag book is available there too — for only $13.57.

Grab these and get busy!

Photo: Chatirygirl from Flickr via the Creative Commons license

Jennifer has (once again) created a great pattern for you knitters.  You can get the complimentary instructions at her site.  Knit a pair for yourself today.

Make sure you give her some ‘blog love’ by leaving a comment on her post.  She’s an amazing artist and shares lots of great patterns and photos (and thoughts) on her blog.  Check it out.

P.S.  The photo is one I found on Flickr.  The photographer has allowed people to use her photo under the Creative Commons license.  Photography is an art so I’m going to do my best to feature Flickr photos as much as I can here on Craft-News.  There are TONS of great photos on the Flickr site.  If you don’t already have an account there, go sign up!

empty classroom © Ferenc Szelepcsenyi #6323233 on Fotolia

Okay folks, the Holiday Break is officially over.  It’s time to get back in the swing of things.  Time to ‘hit the books’ once more.  Time to open your mind and learn something new and worthwhile.  Here’s a suggestion:

Diane, over at CraftyPod, is offering up a great class for those of you wanting to spruce up your blog.  As Diane puts it,

If you have a blog and you’d like it to look prettier, or have a bigger audience, or more effectively market your crafty business, this class will help you do all that.

Click on the image above and hear what her students are saying about this online class.  Don’t miss out!  Get smart.  Get blogging.   Get signed up today!

P.S.  Check out Diane’s super-organized craft space over here at Craftzine.

© michele goglio - Fotolia.com

Some great interviews are on tap here at Craft-News:

A quilter.  A food stylist.  A chef.  A crocheter.  An illustrator.  A crafty biz coach. And much, much more.  Stay tuned for details.

If you have a favorite artist or crafty person that you’d like to know more about, leave a comment or send an email to info @ craft-news.com and  I’ll do my best to round them up!

A new year calls for change.  Take a look at the magazine rack at the supermarket or your favorite book store and you get the idea: ” Lose 15-20 Pounds Fast”, “Change your Life”, “Get Happy and Stay Happy”, “De-Clutter”.

© Joseph Helfenberger - Fotolia.com

AH…de-clutter.  Now there’s something I can relate to.  It’s amazing how much stuff we have, isn’t it?  Those storage container companies must LOVE us!  Fabric stash.  Yarn stash.  Stuff here, stuff there, stuff in drawers, stuff piled in the closet, stuff in boxes, stuff under the bed, stuff in the garage, in the shed, in the basement. Stuff still in the bag from the store.  Stuff with the price tag still on it! Stuff. Stuff. Stuff.  It’s enough to make you crazy.

Could you see yourself being ultra-calm and ultra-creative working in a space like this:

© Wollwerth Imagery - Fotolia.com

Yeah, thought so.  Me too!  And while we all don’t have an office like the one shown above, there ARE several things we can do to achieve a clean, open, and un-cluttered workspace.  Oranizing Your Home Office (from the editor of Real Simple magazine) is a video I found on YouTube that might get you motivated. 

Here are few more tips:

• Don’t just run out to the store and buy a bunch of containers so you can store your junk.  Storing stuff is good (if it’s truly stuff you want to / need to keep); however, if you’re just going to put your stuff in containers (without giving it a thought) that’s NOT de-cluttering.  That’s storing.  And…isn’t that why you’re in the spot you’re in to start with?  Yep.  Thought so.
• Give yourself a break:  don’t expect to de-clutter your entire home (or entire creative space) in one sitting.  It ain’t gonna happen.  You need to de-clutter in chunks of time.  Say 15 – 30 minutes at a time.  This will prevent you from giving up and will give you some good bursts of energy to really get in there and sort through the stuff.
• One man’s trash is another man’s treasure (take it from me:  that is SOOOO true).  Before you haul all your stuff to the curb, ask yourself if there’s a better way to deal with your items.  Could you sell them at a garage sale/yard sale/tag sale in the next few weeks or months?  If so, and if you have the space, you could save your items and sell them.  Turn your trash into cash! You might think about selling your items on eBay or Etsy (assuming they are truly vintage items (at least 20 years old).
• Make a tax-deductible contribution to Goodwill or another organization.  I’m not an expert on taxes, so check with your tax advisor on the deduction you might qualify for.
• Give away items to the daycare center you take your kiddo(s) to.  Craft items are usually welcome at these places that sometimes find it hard to budget for such things.

Check out these photos of Sally’s studio. Clean. Airy. Wonderful.  And…for more help on de-cluttering and keeping things neat, check out Sharilyn’s  blog and more photos of her studio here.

The new year is just around the corner folks.  Have you started making your list of New Year Resolutions?  Assuming you have, we’d sure like to hear about them.  And…if you’re not a resolution maker, that’s okay too.  Certainly you have some projects or goals for 2010, right?

Leave a comment to let us know what you’re planning for the new year.

Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• Start a blog
• Be more consistent with blog posts
• Write a book
• List more items on Etsy or ArtFire (or wherever you sell things online)
• Design a new item
• Create a pattern and give it away or sell it online
• Use a journal to capture ideas and inspiration
• Set up or re-do your creative space at home

Check out our Resources page for some links to help you get organized for the new year.