Get The TechniqueAs the resident "man-crafter" over at TV, I am so happy to be kicking off an entire week of "man-crafting" here on TheCraftsDept blog!
In the Fall of 2009, I came to The Martha Stewart Show as a freelancer and never dreamed that four years later I would be finishing up my second season as a fulltime crafter on the show! I was able to craft a lot of things along the way and, with the help and support of my fabulous co-crafters (Hosanna, Kir, and Kristin), each time that I made something, I had insane amounts of fun and, most importantly, learned an invaluable lesson (or two!) from each of them - something that made every project that much better and made me a more detailed and experienced maker at the same time:
1 Crafters! (w/ children)
2 My test project to become a freelancer was to make a paper wig. Hosanna and Kir were careful teachers and gentle critics. I guess I passed!
3 Hosanna (w/ snowman and ugly holiday sweater)
4 This is the first project I made on the air with Martha. Hosanna shared the idea, helped me master it, and coached me through my first-time jitters.
5 Then Halloween rolled around and she taught me the importance of rubbing vaseline on carved pumpkins. Gross but effective! Who knew?
6 And she has always been a huge champion of my geode eggs, even the very first ones that turned out wonky and misshapen (not pictured here).
7 Kir (w/ paper leaves stapled to burlap)
8 Kir helped me get my job at MARTHA (we were friends at Dartmouth College) and also developed the logo for my Professor Figgy science kits.
9 She taught me how to use Adobe Illustrator all by myself so I could make all 12 templates of the Zodiac constellations for this wall art craft.
10 And she made me an adorable tree to hang my borax crystal snowflakes on. It's been on TV with me and follows me to all the craft fairs I visit!
11 Kristin (w/ voodoo witch makeup)
12 Kristin instilled in me the virtues of the forever craft -- a craft composed of tons of tiny, little bits -- like this wreath of individually glittered sweetgum fruit...
13 Or this mask covered in googly eyes...
14 Or this sign for "The Sticky Show" with letters fashioned out of Martha Stewart Crafts stickers.
15 All of the craft ladies loved this "Circle Critter" art that I made...
16 And they really loved the caterpillar triptych. Their support meant the world to me on this project, since it was on the other side of a little creativity/crafting slump. Yay for the craft ladies!
For more info (and more pictures), visit my blog profile/archive here. And be sure to check out my science kits at ProfessorFiggy.com!
And in celebration of Father's Day (June 17th), all this week we'll be featuring the work of a number of craftsmen whose experiences and unique talents have helped them to simultaneously become successful makers and businessmen. So, stay tuned for daily updates! And, if you have an extra-special "man-crafter" in your life and want to share stories and photos of his talents and work, be sure to send them on to us at thecraftsdept@gmail.com. On father's day, we'll post a round-up of our favorites!
