My Crafts:
jewelry making, beading, found object art, mixed media, collage, trash repurposing, rubber stamping, inking, soldering, drilling, sanding, gluing, distressing, bedazzling, bedecking, collecting and arranging of shiny and not so shiny things
My Inspirations:
vintage fabric and ephemera, antique and vintage jewelry, kitsch, vintage advertising, global art and handicraft, thrift store, flea market, yard sale, estate sale treasure hunting, anything colorful and happy or faded and bittersweet, interesting objects found serendipitously on the ground beneath my feet, high and low art, artists who take glorious risks, musicians who sing to my soul, the beauty of nature and every day miracles, just about anything that comes into my frame of view and sparks a new idea and most of all my amazing daughter
My Shows:
My Books:
The Impatient Beader Series
Design Secrets Exposed (2009)
Beyond the Bead (2009)
My Occupation:
Possibilitarian/BQOTU
My Family Members:
Daughter Avalon, Husband Drew, Cairn Terrier Mrs. Gladiola P. Fellerbee, pot bellied pigs Amos and Miss Daisy and our 16 pecky chickens (some of whom lay blue green eggs so that we can have green eggs and ham, Sam I am...but we won't eat our pot bellied pigs because they're our friends!)
My Other Hobbies:
Staring into space thinking about string and string theory. Drinking good, dry white wine. Laughing loudly at highly inappropriate things. Contemplating the meaning of life and trying to stop contemplating the meaning of life. Thinking too fast. I also thoroughly enjoy sleeping.
Every Saturday around these parts I share some of our favorite crafty links from the blogosphere. I'm part of a group of Crafty Bloggers who do a round robin weekly and I sprinkle in a generous helping of extras. There's a lot to see here, but it's all good stuff so take a moment to check it out.
Have a fabulous weekend and I'll be back for Terrorific Tuesdays! I take Sundays off of blogging, but you can tune in tomorrow to QVC for Silver Style and I'll be on with several items in the 8-12pm ET show. Until we meet again, craft on with your bad selves.
Cheers, Madge
Here is this week's sampling of TastyLinksTM "TastyLinksTM are all the good blogs, all the good blogs wrapped up in one!"
Layers Upon Layers Make a fabric collage, using digital images as your inspiration.
Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery Stefanie, unlike Joan Crawford, embraces the wire hanger and her favorite medium-the sweater- to make a quick and easy Ghost Halloween Decoration.
Cross Stitch at About.com Stitch a spooky skull with glow-in-the-dark blending filament - if you dare!
Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world Halloween crafts are in full swing at Craftside with a GIANT web with a super cute spider from the book Fleece Animals, a papier mache skull with natural rust effects, and a found in the yard decoration inspired by Faux Florals in Glass. But Halloween isn't the only thing happening, there is my finished Crafty Chica Empowerment Guardian and a whole bunch of techniques using Angelina fiber from the creative mind of Susan Stein.
Cathie Filian Cathie's new book Bow Wow WOW! fetching costumes fabulous dog is now available. Have a peek at the 36 different fun costumes and fashion accessories you can make for your pooch.
About Family Crafts Find out how you can transform ordinary soda pop and beer cans into crafty masterpieces.
The Impatient CrafterTM In honor of Halloween, Madge has joined Terroriffic Tuesdays. This week she shares a free Crystal Web Collar she created for CYSWCSE Swarovski's DIY brand.
Thank you to the delightful Debba Haupert of Girlfriendology for the shout out and linky love! Debba's on to something pretty cool over there and is inspiring women to celebrate each other, which is in my mind about the best thing women can do! She listed me as a Top Ten crafty/creative site you'd recommend to a girlfriend. I am truly honored.
Super shout out to Rachel of the fabulous blog One Pretty Thing. She scours the internet to bring you some of her favorite crafty goodies, it's a must read! She posted my Crystal Web Collar Necklace and my Runs With Scissors bracelet on her blog this week! Thank you Rachel!
Thanks again to Alexa Westerfield for bringing us Terrorific Tuesdays, it's been an amazing ride so far and I can't wait to see what folks dream up for next round. Yay Alexa!
Ms. Robin Beam, crafty superstar and all around amazing gal has some very cool projects on the AC Moore boards in the Crafting with Robin section. You absolutely must go see!
You have to check out this AWESOME recycled can pin by Christine of the How to Make Jewelry Blog. Thank you for the Linky Love my most talented friend!
Linky love shower is going out to Zigi from Live Journal for including my Crystal Web necklace in her Halloweddings blog post! Thank you!
Big hugs and thank you's to the amazing Angela of Angela's Art Diary for the super kind award she gave me. As always, I am offering this to all of you readers, because you all inspire me every day to be a better crafter and human being and because you are super friends.
We interrupt this blog post for a special announcement: I'll be at the Middleton New Jersey AC Moore for their Grand Re-Opening on Saturday October 18th doing demos and signing books from noon to 2pm! Come and see me if you live in the area! Here's my offering for next Tuesday's Terrorific Tuesday Round Up. It's a very simple to create charm bracelet using a genius bracelet blank from the folks at Fusion Beads and fabulous ceramic beads from Earthenwood Studio. You can change it up to suit your style or make your own quirky charms to add to the mix, in fact I encourage you do to so. This is much more of an "impatient crafterTM" idea than last week's design, this one you should be able to whip up in about an hour or so. I think this is one of those ideas you could work a whole Runs with Scissors costume around.
Or you could just wear it because it's fun. It's certainly got year round appeal in my style book.
Until Saturday...craft on with you bad selves.
xoxo Madge
Runs with Scissors Terroriffic Tuesday #2 Free Project for Personal Use Only (No resale please) Copyright 2008 Margot PotterThe Impatient CrafterTM
This wonderfully wicked bracelet features beads from Earthenwood Studio combined with CRYSTALLIZEDTM-Swarovski Elements crystals and a scissors button from Streamline. For those who know the hazards of crafting far too well and yet continue to play with sharp objects, toxic substances and messy paints and inks, this bracelet is for you. Scary? Yes but oddly appealing and incredibly simple to whip up at a moment's notice. Materials Skully Muertos Charm Earthenwood Studio 8 candy red pumpkin pair beads (a.k.a. four pairs) 7 8mm eight ball beads (can be replaced with bones or mini hearts) 7 mini skull beads from Mexico 16 3mm crystal vitriol rounds 14 3mm jet rounds 7 4mm black diamond rounds 7 4mm Indian red rounds 1 metal scissors button/charm 1 sterling bracelet blank with loops 23 5mm silver plated or sterling jump rings 36 silver plated or sterling head pins
Tools Round nose pliers 2 pairs chain nose pliers Wire cutters
1. Create 16 coiled dangles using pumpkin beads with 2 crystal vitriol rounds on each side of the beads to prevent the head pin from sliding out. 2. Create 7 coiled dangles using mini skulls with 2 jet rounds on each side of the beads to prevent the head pin from sliding out. 3. Create coiled dangles for 7 mini eight ball beads. 4. Create coiled dangles for 7 black diamond rounds and 7 Indian red rounds. 5. Assemble the bracelet by attaching the charms in the following pattern: Attach scissors and ‘Skully' bead to a bracelet loop on a jump ring using two pairs of chain nose pliers to open and close ring, attach a pumpkin bead on a jump ring to the next loop, attach a mini skull on a jump ring to the next loop along with an eight ball and the Indian red and jet beads on the same loop on a separate jump ring...continue alternating between single pumpkin beads and mini skull/eight ball/crystal combo working around bracelet loops until you reach the final loop and pumpkin bead. 6. Check the jump rings carefully to ensure they are closed. (Designer tip: Make sure when you are closing each one that you are creating tension in the ring so it remains secure. There should be no exposed space between the two ends of your ring. You do this by pushing them gently together as you pass the ends by one another until they click into place.) Sources Skully, eight ball and pumpkin beads Earthenwood Studio, crystals CRYSTALLIZEDTM-Swarovski Elements, bracelet blank Fusion Beads, jump rings and head pins Beadalon, scissors button Streamline, Mexican skull beads Eyes Gallery Philadelphia
One step forward two steps back is my life, having to redo something for archival purposes sounds typical.
You're quite the jet setter, Tokyo next! I'd love a break from snow we just got 6 more inches yesterday. I just have to remember it's worth it for the lovely cool Maine summer nights.
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Madge pats Amos one of her Pot Bellied Pigs
Make a fabric collage, using digital images as your inspiration.
Crafty Birthday Wishes.
JulesHope your vacation was relaxing and fun. (How was that moonshine?)Can't wait to see your next creations.
Live, Create, Enjoy
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