Author Archives: Shala

The Complete Book of Polymer Clay

The Complete Book of Polymer Clay by Lisa Pavelka Lisa Pavelka begins her book with a disclaimer. That given all the possibilities of polymer clay, it’s impossible to write a truly complete book about it. What she does try to … Continue reading

Posted in Beads, polymer clay | Leave a comment

Zombie Felties

What’s the most adorable and disturbing thing you’ve seen recently? For me it has to be Zombie Felties. I really loved the first Felties book, so I was fairly sure that this one would be just as much fun. Felties … Continue reading

Posted in halloween, holiday, sewing | Leave a comment

Mod Podge

I love this stuff. It creates a nice shiny finish for decoupage with minimal effort, it also works nicely to seal paper art projects like layered paper pins. The glossy finish is my favorite because of the durable shine but … Continue reading

Posted in paper crafts, supplies | 2 Comments

Bead Chic by Margot Potter

This is my kind of fast beading. Margot mixes up wire, beads, and easy to do techniques to create fun, colorful jewelry. It’s a book for people who like working with wire but don’t want to do the filigree fanciness … Continue reading

Posted in Beads, wireworking | 1 Comment

Mini Steel Bench Block by Beadsmith

This is a nice little bench block. Not very expensive, especially with the super saver shipping option. There is a right side and a wrong side to this bench block. The wrong side of mine had a rough edge, but … Continue reading

Posted in Tools, wireworking | Leave a comment

Decorating with Papercraft: 25 Fresh and Eco-Friendly Projects for the Home

The introduction includes a bit on the history of paper and the tools and techniques you’ll need to complete the projects in the book. Then you get to the projects. The projects use all sorts of paper, from tissue paper … Continue reading

Posted in paper crafts | Leave a comment

Artful Jewelry

Jo Packham’s book Artful Jewelry: Craft and Wear Your Own Masterpieces takes it’s inspiration from fine art to create simple pieces of jewelry, and comes with supplies to make 6 of the projects illustrated in the book. This is a … Continue reading

Posted in Beads, Children, kids crafts, seed beads, wireworking | Leave a comment

Fiskar’s Craft Drill

After an accident with my flexible shaft drill, I realized I needed something that wouldn’t spin as fast for drilling small plastic items for beads. A friend of mine suggested the Fiskars Craft Drill. Quick vocabulary list if you haven’t … Continue reading

Posted in Tools, Wood | 2 Comments

Walnut Hollow Creative Woodburner Value Pen

I got one of these for my teens to use to make their grandfather a present. It takes a few minutes to warm up completely, and I think we will have to get a second one so they can either … Continue reading

Posted in Children, kids crafts, Wood, wood burning | 1 Comment

Totally Twisted

The designs in this book are bright, colorful and bold. Made with classic wireworking techniques like coiling and spirals, the jewelry is fresh and fun. The first part of the book is very well photographed and explained instructions for the … Continue reading

Posted in Beads, wireworking | Tagged , | 1 Comment