Spacecraft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Stella from Spacecraft sent us some images from the shop.  Check out the adorable package they came in!

In addition to selling crafting supplies and materials, Spacecraft hosts classes, workshops, and parties.  Some topics include: felting, paper making, silkscreening, and calligraphy for kids.  They even host a men's craft night!

I also stumbled upon Moomah (via design*sponge), a "creative arts cafe" in Tribeca.  I've been meaning to get myself out to visit these places.  I think it's great to have a neighborhood spot where people can gather together and work on craft projects.  Do you have places like this where you live?  Or is crafting something you primarily do alone?  I'd love to hear from you.

I am so excited to finally be able to introduce our new "Punch Around the Page" punch to you! The MSC team developed a system of edge punches that correspond to matching corner punches. They enable you to punch a continuous border around a page.

You start by punching the corners of a square or rectangle and follow up along the sides with the matching edge punch. For a more in depth how-to, head on over to Youtube.

Some corners even make these sweet little shapes when punched around a small square. Here are some projects I created while experimenting with the new punch...

Good for making photo frames...

fancy gift tags...

... placemats ...

This loop is my favorite at the moment. We also currently have a snowflake, spiderweb, and leaf "Punch Around the Page". They officially hit shelves today... We'd love to see what you come up with!

Happy Friday!

I am in love with rosettes these days... Our awesome intern, Hyun Ju, helped me craft these 4th of July rosettes using our MS Crafts products.

The uses are endless– rosettes can be used as award ribbons, cupcake toppers, garlands, brooches, or even earrings! I think they look impressive no matter how you fashion them and they're simple to make. There's a great how-to on Martha's site. Click here for the link.

We also made some simple, glittery fireworks using our screw punch and glitter. Check out the gallery for work in progress pictures...

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Happy 4th to everyone– And cheers to our founding fathers!

Isn't this simply beautiful? I might have to start livening up the faucets and pipes around my neighborhood!

Here's another beautiful piece in which Ali Edwards used our butterfly punch...

The printing table is made out of two doors that Steffi covered with foam and stretched canvas.

We printed my artwork on an ink-jet transparency. We placed it under the screen and exposed it in the darkroom. (There's a big vacuum table that holds everything in place while it's exposed to a strong light on a timer.)

Next, I washed out the screen at the wash-out sink. The emulsion washes out wherever the light was blocked– it was neat to see my artwork slowly appear on the screen.

All different size squeegees...

I measured and mixed inks to make the colors I wanted.

I placed the screen onto the fabric and pulled the ink across with a squeegee. This pushes the ink through the screen onto the fabric.

There's something really gratifying about printing your own artwork. The fact that you can print multiples so easily makes the possibilities seem endless. The studio is amazing! I was so lucky to have spent the day there. Now that I know the basics, maybe next time Steffi will show me how to print pattern repeats. They are actually looking for a couple of studio-mates or a company to share the studio. If you know anyone who is looking for a space in Brooklyn have them contact Steffi.

I stamped HOORAY with a glue ink pad and glittered it silver...

The card is constructed like a matchbook...

I punched out two shapes and attached them with foam dots inside to hold the money gift.

Congrats to anyone graduating in '09!

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Scroll down to see a peek into my book or click on the gallery to view its entirety...

On Tuesday, I tried my hand at calligraphy for the first time. I definitely need to keep practicing.

I made mini envelopes out of the liners of my junk mail on Wednesday. On the right is a prescription given to me by my oral surgeon during a follow-up to my wisdom teeth surgery.

Scraps and a photo from the Party Hat Showdown on Thursday where I won second place!

I documented my outfits for the week and made this mini, mix and match book...

I spent the weekend at my boyfriend's parents' house in the Poconos and Sunday was Mother's Day. I picked my favorite purple myrtle flowers that used to grow in my childhood yard. They remind me of my mother and grandmother.

I'm going to turn the second part of this post over to Karen Mainenti, a holiday designer in the crafts department...

KAREN:

I was really excited by the project, but had so many ideas that I didn’t know exactly how to begin. One of the things I thought about were the places I visit regularly in New York City, and I realized that there is such deep history with so many of these locations. This became the inspiration for my scrapbook.

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Each day I plotted my route on a map of Manhattan by stitching with a different colored baker's twine for the various modes of transportation that I use: bus, subway, car, or walking.

I numbered the locations so that they would correspond to tiny pocket books I crafted and tucked inside sheet protectors.

These little books include a paragraph summarizing the history of the location, as well as historical photographs I found online or those I took myself during the week.

For example, the history of the Starrett-Lehigh Building—right where our Martha Stewart offices are located—is rich and fascinating. The building was constructed in 1932 as a warehouse, and is today considered a landmark of modern industrial architecture. Freight cars would come right off boats on the Hudson River and then put onto tracks that led directly into the building! 30-foot elevators would then move these freight cars to upper floors for deliveries or pick-ups. Now, all of us here at Martha Stewart get to enjoy the wide-open space and beautiful views afforded by the horizontal bands of windows that sweep around the perimeter of the building.

Thanks for reading– we hope you enjoyed the project as much as we did!

This week marks the anniversary of the Martha Stewart Crafts line launch– our second birthday! Rather than throwing another party, we rounded up the team for a friendly craft competition that I like to call the "Party Hat Showdown." We set out all of our craft supplies and products and gave contestants 30 minutes to create a party hat. As soon as the glue guns were hot and the clock started, people grabbed materials and got to punching, folding, glittering, you-name-it... There were three prize ribbons to win and the crafters were more competitive than I could have imagined! In the end, Associate Art Director, Michelle won the first place ribbon, I (to my surprise) won 2nd, and Associate Product Manager, Lauren came in third. However, everyone was a winner in the showdown... check out the contestant gallery for hats that were given awards such as "Most Fashionable", "Best Flower Power", and "Most Curly"!

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We asked Hannah (of course) and EVP of Merchandising, Patsy Pollack to judge the hats...

Check out this gallery to see the contestants hard at work...

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I've been dying to tell you about my favorite shop in Montclair, NJ.  Parcel was actually part of the reason I decided to move to the neighborhood I live in (Montclair also has an awesome movie theater)!  I've never known a shop as lovingly curated as this one.  I've come to know its proprietor, Nancy, after spending many Saturday afternoons rummaging through the shop's pleasantly- overwhelming variety of contents.  Forgive me for quoting the little mermaid, but "She's got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty, she's got whozits and whatzits galore.  You want thingamabobs?  She's got twenty!.."  But, seriously, Parcel is worth the trip out to good 'ole Jersey.  And Nancy is simply the best... anyone who has a faux bookcase door leading into her office is alright in my book.

The shop is located in what used to be a bookstore.  Nancy transformed every nook and cranny into delightful trinket troves filled with vintage game pieces, letters and numbers, bingo cards, ribbons, wrapping paper, etc, etc, etc... 

This was something she was particularly excited about last time I was there...  "Festoon" are little parcels that Nancy fills with party treasures to give as a gift or decorate with... swoon!

You can usually find me sorting through the vintage letter pieces for hours.  I'm always one letter away from spelling out "hooray" or "thank you" for a card...

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