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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 That said, we're excited to share with you our source for and one our favorite online chocolate shops: Owners Barbara and Jim first opened forty years ago as a small chocolate shop and ice cream parlor inside an old bank in Tecumseh, Michigan (they lived above the bank!). They used the actual bank vault to store the freshly made chocolate, and their company name was born! They now live next to their small factory in Horton, Michigan and produce beautiful chocolates in almost . Barbara and Jim are about to celebrate fifty years together - congratulations from all of us here in the Crafts Department! If you're looking to get your chocolate in time for Easter, be sure to by Tuesday, April 3rd for standard shipping of 1-3 days or by Thursday, April 5th for overnight arrival on Friday or Saturday.
What else should would you do with these little creations? I was shocked at how easily the clay pops out of the silicon mold-
Here's a look at the contents of the -
and some of the additional molds that are available in sets of four-
The clay program is available online and at select stores currently.
]]>The eggs were shot for Good Things, but when we tried a few cover options, we thought these guys would work well- what do you think? We had to reshoot them for the cover, in order to create an animation for the iPad cover. We put one of our images from Good Things into the cover template, and then tried to match the eggs up exactly.
Can you notice any difference between the original printout above and the final cover?
The neon color palette is made with (which I'm a bit obsessed with now- how do they make it so bright?!), , and . After we had our eggs perfectly placed, we did the animation for the iPad. Take a look below!
Pre-ruffled and strong enough to get wet, coffee filters make perfect flower-making materials. They're cheap too! I used for the flower's centers and to hold candy. The really looked like a daffodil's trumpet-y center! Because I wanted them to be food-safe, I used food coloring to dye them and food coloring to paint the bowls and cups. If you're not making these to hold edible items, or you're only dying the coffee filters, you can use thinned paint. I tried it with watered down and it worked well.
If you'd like to try it yourself, click below to watch the video and and you'll see how easy they are to make!
By the way, to hear some great egg decorating and dying ideas and tips, tune in TODAY at 5:00 pm EST to Martha Stewart Living Radio's Craft Hour on Sirius XM Radio 11o. and will be answering questions, so call 866-675-6675 or post your questions in the comments section below.
Happy St. Patrick's Day from all of us here in the Crafts Department!
]]>A bit about Lynn: She works and makes her home in Corvallis, Oregon with her husband, Ben, and their seven-year-old son, . has a rare neuromuscular disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2. I've gotten to know Liam through Lynn and he is, of course, much more than his diagnosis – charming, smart, mischievous ... and imaginative. When Lynn showed me these bird wings -- envisioned and custom-ordered by Liam -- I had to ask her to share them on The Crafts Dept. blog. She was generous enough to agree. Enjoy her how-to (and gorgeous photography) below, and please don't forget to visit her .
On the last day of 2011, I spent the afternoon making a pair of bird wings for Liam. He had requested them and I was very happy to oblige. November and December are crazy busy months for me, so it was a luxury to spend my time in such a truly lovely way. Liam LOVED the wings, and so do I. This takes a bit of time, a couple hours start to finish, but it's well worth it.
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- 8 -10 packages of small feathers measuring 3-6 inches from end to end in assorted colors (I used .25 oz packages from Michaels, which came in a really pretty assortment of colors – bright but not gaudy, more jewel-toned. For Liam's pair, I also included red, white and black feathers. Avoid fluffy feathers or ones that are longer than 6 inches; they will not lay correctly on the wing base.)
- Thin cardboard or heavy cover stock, long enough reach from child's shoulder to 2 inches before elbow
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Elastic band, 1/2 inch width
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Measure the length from your child's shoulder to 2 inches before his/her elbow. Draw a wing shape roughly this length, similar to what's shown in the photo, onto the cardboard and cut it out. Place the first shape on top of your second piece of cardboard and cut out the same shape. Mark these as left and right accordingly (just flip one over to mark the other side). Don't worry too much about the shape of the wings; the feathers will define the actual wing shape.
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Cut two rectangles out of another piece of cardboard that roughly mimic the length and width of your child's arm from two inches above the elbow to three inches below the shoulder. Cut a length of elastic so that it will grip your child's arm firmly but not too tightly. Using the hot glue gun, attach the elastic arm bands to the tops and bottoms of the rectangles.
Then attach the entire rectangle, with arm bands now secured, to the back of each wing by applying a border of hot glue. Make sure you are doing this on the correct side for the left and right wing!
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Starting at the bottom of the wing (toward the elbow), lay down feathers, varying color as you go. Use a small amount of hot glue along the quill to attach each to the cardboard. I placed each feather so its natural curve went downward rather than upward. If necessary, bend the quill first so that it will lay properly. For this first layer of feathers, glue the quill so that the main part of the feather extends past the edge of the cardboard template as shown in the photo above. You'll want to do the same around all the edges of the wing. Vary the way that the feathers are pointing just a little as you go, to create a sense of movement.
Layer the feathers, like shingles, so that you don't see the quill. It is helpful to place a feather before you glue it down, just to be sure that you like the way it looks. For Liam's wings, I didn't really want to have a repetitive pattern color, but I was sure to use colors that I liked and that went well together. As you build up the layers of feathers, it will come together beautifully.
Depending on your child's age, he can help you with this – either operating the hot glue gun or handing over feathers as you need them.
When you reach the top of the wing (shoulder), you'll want to arrange the quills in a tidy pattern as these ends will be visible.
When the whole wing is covered, you can go back and add feathers here and there to fill it out. For those, just dab a bit of hot glue on the quill of the feather and then work it into the space. This allows you to fix patchy parts or to add a specific color, if you like.
Thanks so much, Lynn! You can be friends with Lynn too - check out her online journals for and for .
]]>The April issue of buy nexium and ambian is officially on newsstands! April is one of our favorite times of year here in the Crafts Department, and this issue is full of great ideas to help you welcome warmer weather and get ready for upcoming Passover and Easter.
Be sure to check out a few of our favorite projects:
Blake used our new as well as some to make these amazingly cheerful and eggs which grace our cover (and blog header above!). Flip to page 54 to learn how to make them.
Throwing a party? Head to page 33 to find our Cupcake Arsenal! We've rounded up the sweetest cupcake accouterments from some of our favorite stores like and .
In "Beyond the Basket" on page 134, Jodi from found objects like berry baskets and coffee filters:
Happy April!
]]>on the Martha Stewart Show, guest showed Martha one of the processes that he uses to create his amazing textiles as seen above and below. The process is called velvet burnout and so much fun to learn about and not as difficult as I thought it might be!
Some things to know about the process and materials. Kevin does his work on a silk/rayon velvet. What this means is the the pile, the lush part of velvet, is rayon and the foundation fabric is a silk. is silk screened onto the back of the fabric to create a pattern. When the solution is heated with an iron it weakens the rayon, and makes it possible to scrape away the fibers where the pattern has been silk screened. It's pretty exciting to see the pattern emerge when scraping the fibers off, like in this photo below.
And here are some photos of the process:
1 Kevin screens the solution onto the back of a piece of velvet fabric. When dry it is then ironed, which makes the rayon pile brittle and weak.
2 The front side of the fabric vaguely shows the pattern that is about to be revealed.
3 When the fiber is scraped, the areas that were treated with the solution rub off.
4 It's a really fun process to watch get revealed.
5 Kevin uses a flat spoon for the scraping that he finds at restaurant supply places. I only had a normal one when I was taking photos, and it worked.
6 Completely scraped on a dark background to show the pattern.
7 Completely scraped on a white background. It is now ready to be dyed and hand painted.
Once the fabric is fully scraped, it's laundered and ready . This is where Kevin's artist eye really shines through. He does a two step process with dying, which starts with spraying the back with dye, and then hand painting the front, allowing for the dye to hit highs and lows where the velvet pile is left. Kevin, and his talented staff in his studio, have truly mastered the technique and achieve great depth of color in his work, which makes it all look and feel so luxurious.
A newer part of Kevin's line is which are made from the remnants of fabric. The back pillow is an intricate floral pattern with several colors painted on the front.
A vast range of color, pattern and texture are at work in Kevin's textiles. Above are two scarves with the same patterns but two different applications of colors, both very attractive.
Hope you are as inspired by Kevin's work as I am, and think about trying it out. Start small, and makes test. Hand painting the etching solution on could also lead to some dramatic affects, and of course application of color will create various results as well. Variation and creativity are endless!
Enjoy!
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