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For a sweet and unforgettable Valentine’s Day gift, crochet a special keepsake box that looks just like a fancy little cake. Start with a store-bought wooden box as a form and use the patterns and techniques from my class Crochet Cakery: A Daily Practice to decorate it. Crochet Cakery is free to watch this month so that everyone can crochet...

I am an aggressively crafty person and love trying all sorts of different art forms but I realized recently that when embarking upon my favorite forms of art making – altered books, collage, and quilting – the starting process is exactly the same: I find material for low or no cost, cut it up, and then reassemble it. I’ve met...

To say I love my Little Free Library is an understatement. I am obsessed. I’m totally enchanted by my Little Free Library, I’m wild about other people’s Little Free Libraries, I’m fascinated by watching the ones in my neighborhood evolve and grow. I visit Little Free Libraries when I take trips – check out their world...

My favorite wool slippers are cozy companions on chilly mornings, but after a few years, they are showing some wear. I bought them at a street fair in Berlin so they are not easily replaced, but I also wanted to show them some appreciation in the form of mending. MENDING LEARNING JOURNEY  I suppose I could have just hand sewn the...

Even in California, these last few weeks have been cold. For folks NOT in California, that might sound ridiculous. But for me, seeing my breath in my kitchen come out in a puff of steam at seven am isn’t what I’m used to. I’ve switched out the quilt on the bed for a down comforter, admonished my five-year-old for wearing anything...

by Dawn DeVries Sokol  It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And it doesn’t feel that way to me without my holiday art journal.  For the last 15 years or so, I’ve kept a holiday art journal to get myself into the spirit. Some years are more prolific than others, but whatever happens in the journal becomes a record of the season....

by Donovan Russell, Library Specialist at the Berkeley Public Library I work as a Library Specialist at the Berkeley Public Library, and one of the best parts of my job is designing and running programs for our community. At the beginning of 2025, I launched a monthly “Art Club” — and to my surprise (and delight), it was a hit almost right...

by Michelle Will, Kitsap Regional Library As a librarian and a paper artist, I plan a lot of paper crafts for our library programs, but I was running low on ideas. So, when our library acquired Creativebug I was excited to start using it. In the past, I taught classes like altered books, book folding, artist trading cards, and junk journalling....

When we think of autumn, we think of crisp air, cozy sweaters, and the leaves turning orange, yellow, and gold. Bring that cozy fall feel to your dining table and crochet a set of autumn leaf napkin rings with a rustic wood button. Find the free crochet patterns below for the basic napkin ring base as well as the English oak leaf. The...

When gatherings begin to fill the calendar, a bottle of homemade simple syrup can be your secret ingredient for quick festive drinks and desserts. Made from just sugar and water, simple syrup is easy to customize with seasonal flavors—perfect for cocktails, sparkling water, tea, coffee, or drizzling over cakes, yogurt, and fruit. Basic...

I find seasonal crafting totally irresistible, don’t you? I came across these gigantic acorn caps in early October in Pennsylvania and knew I had to sew velvet acorns. If you can’t find acorn caps where you live, check out Etsy. And if you’re foraging your own, be sure to leave the nut behind for the critters who need it. If you’ve...

You can crochet a cute and stylish granny square bag with just 13 granny squares! Making a bag is super approachable and much quicker to crochet than a sweater or blanket but still highlights the always-on-trend vibes of a crocheted square. I provide the pattern for the sunburst granny square that I used at the bottom of this post, but you can use...

You know that feeling of spending a long time searching for something and when you finally find that thing, a voice inside you exclaims “THIS is what I meant!”? That’s exactly how I felt when trying out junk journaling. If you’ve spent any time in online craft spaces, junk journaling has likely crossed your view. I love...

Personalize your bags and express your personality with bag charms! We’re seeing dangly bag charms everywhere and on everyone. You can have one signature piece or layer many different kinds for a maximalist bag-stravaganza. Your bag charms will be even cooler and more unique when you make them yourself. With my free pattern below, you can...

I’ve been making books for nearly twenty years and have favorite bindings and structures for every occasion. The side sewn book is one of my favorites: it’s a little fiddly at the outset but once the hole-poking is through, it becomes an intriguing puzzle that is excellent for a variety of media. And while I love shopping for...

Do you ever look at the pile of yarn scraps from your knit or crochet project and think, “That is an amazing color palette!” Or do you ever have a tiny ball of unused yarn that doesn’t seem big enough for a new project but would be wasteful to throw away? Keep all your yarn scraps because you can turn them into magic yarn balls...

My daily practice, Crochet Cakery, launched this month (woohoo!). I’ve been joyfully crocheting cakes for years, and I’m so excited to share that magic with you. I know some of you might be wondering, “What do I do with a crocheted cake?” If making full cakes for your house or your friends doesn’t quite feel like...

Summer is the perfect season for painting on the go. Whether you are on a roadtrip, camping, hiking, hanging at the beach or have some downtime at the kitchen table, you can make art and even paint without a lot of fuss and set up. This is essentially the thesis of my book, Make Art Where You Are. It’s a way of being creative in the...

I remember feeling so delighted and enchanted the first time I encountered an accordion travel pouch. It was clearly vintage, made of stained satin and tied with a bow, and had at one time held delicate hankies. It felt like such a compelling puzzle but I couldn’t figure out precisely how it all came together. My maker instincts took...

Me Made May is the month to celebrate your handmade wardrobe. It was started by Zoe Edwards in 2010 as a personal challenge to wear more of the clothes she had sewn. Since then, Me Made May has become an annual and global phenomenon. How To Participate To participate, all you need to do is pledge to wear your handmade clothes more often or...

I love being a woman. I have a young daughter and I am excited to share with her all the joys of being a woman in the world. Women’s stories, women’s work and women’s art is the center and driving force behind everything in my life. From the books I read, the podcasts I listen to, and the art I am drawn to, women making and...

As artists and creatives, we constantly collect materials and supplies. Many of our projects also leave piles of scraps and leftovers, whether bits of paper, fabric, thread or string. We cannot deny that the art/craft industry has its own environmental impact. It is more important than ever for us to consider our part in that process. To inspire a...

by Sarah Kuntz Jones, Assistant Branch Manager, St. Louis County Library This may come as a surprise, but libraries have limited budgets. I’ll give you a minute to recover from the shock of this revelation. It can be a challenge for programming librarians to strike a balance between our enthusiasm for providing inspiring creative programs for...

by Liza Laird Knitting is a relaxing dance of sticks and string that creates beautiful, finished objects. For those who find bliss playing with yarn and needles, I’ve created a list of the top four ways a knitter can practice self-care and nurture themselves through knitting. 1. Create Projects Just for YOU One of the best parts of...

As a bookmaker, I love a reason to make a special kind of book and Valentine’s Day presents a truly irresistible motif: a heart. These scrappy little books are a lovely format for a long-form love letter, a teeny sketchbook gift, or a more sculptural project. After making a heart shaped mini-book once, you’ll see how easy it is to...

The beloved Mary Oliver wrote: “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention, be astonished, talk about it.” Excellent advice to which I would add: pay attention to what you pay attention to. But how can you learn to pay closer attention? Here are three ideas to keep in mind: Look with fresh eyes. Forget, even if just for a moment, what...

Hopefully life is feeling more colorful this month. Generously share your daily color practice with others and ask them to suggest what you should paint next. I love it when someone brings me “something to paint” because then I know that they too are looking closely at the world around them. I believe paying attention with an open heart is good...

How did your first week of foraging and capturing color go? Some days, when the light is right and the colors flow, are delightful. Other days — not so much. But there’s always tomorrow, that’s the constancy and forgiveness of a daily practice. Maybe it’s because I’m a writer, but I’ve found that naming colors helps me to distinguish nuance and...

Let’s face it, after the tra la la of the holidays, January can be a bit dreary. Add to that the relentless hustle to improve/give up/reinvent, it’s a LOT to ask of these darkest weeks of the year. Good news! Creating a daily color study may be the easiest resolution of all. Ease into 2025 with some color self-care. Step away from the noise and...

by Liza Laird The New Year is known as a time for resolutions, which usually means setting intentions to grow in some way. I have always found that my intentions work out much better when I take them in baby steps. Instead of making some grand promise about the future, I try to add in one small thing each day. As a yogi and knitter, my priority...