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This year I'm experimenting with sharing ideas and stories that have captured my attention on a monthly basis. I want to blog here more regularly, plus keep better track of what fascinates me over a longer stretch of time and share my findings with like-minded folks.
I generally focus on books, crafts, recipes, small business, and popular culture, but anything's game! You might not like some of these items and that's perfectly okay! We are all different. In fact, that's a little of what inspired my heart postcard pictured here. Lots of hearts, all different sizes and colors, but at the end of the day they all send the same message of love.
- Beeswax Thread Conditioner
I find thread conditioner one of those boring but necessary craft items, so I was inspired by these pretty molded beeswax pieces on The Beading Gem. The author shares lots of step-by-step photos if you want to try it yourself.
- Creative Bug
Since January I've been taking some online craft classes for free through my library. From just looking at the class titles, I'd say that these classes tend towards the beginner/intermediate student rather than the more advanced. (If you're into cute dogs, you might look at Part 2 of Drawing and Illustration Basics by Heather Ross. So fun to see the artist's small dog while she gives pointers on drawing him!) You can buy a subscription to Creative Bug as an individual, but I also thought I'd share a link to their libraries page in case your library lets customers make purchase suggestions. - Crocheted Bouquets at the Olympics
Rather than use real flowers, crafters crocheted over 1,200 bouquets for the Olympic medalists. China News has a nice photo of the crocheted roses, plus more details about the process. Amazing! - Danny Loves Pasta
Pasta in the shape of roses! Striped pasta! Cactus pasta! Seriously, I had no idea pasta was such a versatile food. - Etsy Trends for Early 2022
This podcast suggests that even if you don't follow the trends in making your handmade products, you can use them in your product photography. Think backgrounds, props, colors! - Free Tuition for Dollywood Employees
As if we needed another reason to love Dolly Parton! - Halcraft Bead Giveaway on Instagram
Sometimes you just need some new materials to get inspired. Enter to win a bead collection from Halcraft by February 28, 2022. (Hopefully the link takes you right to the giveaway rules, but if not, see @halcraftcollectionbeads on Instagram for details.
- Maya Angelou Quarter
Back when I used cash to pay for items, I always loved studying the new U.S. quarters that showed up in my change. I have some of the National Parks and probably most of the U.S. states. I'm now on the lookout for this new one featuring the American poet.
- New Beadwork Museum Community Project
This sounds like a fun beading challenge: create a beaded star to be hung in the entry of the Beadwork Museum at their opening. Deadline is May 1, 2022. - New Kid by Jerry Craft
Banned books have been in the news again recently. (Book challenges in schools and libraries never go away, but it feels like they are increasing.) I've decided to read a few of the titles that have made the news. New Kid by Jerry Craft is an award-winning graphic novel that follows a middle school boy as he moves to a wealthy, elite school with few people of color. I enjoyed the book and was surprised to learn from this story at NBC that the book was based in part on the author's life. - Romancing the Vote
Last year romance writers came together to raise about $500,000 for Fair Fight, a pro-voting organization. This year their online auction runs from February 14-18, 2022. There's tons of autographed books (as you'd expect), but there are also some beautifully handcrafted items like this quilted butterfly wall hanging, these acrylic painted coasters, and a handwoven scarf. - Rusted Heart Lock Made from Wood
It's hard to believe that this heart-shaped lock isn't made with metal, but uses some creative painting instead. (I learned about this link from CraftyHope if you're looking for a crafty person to follow on Twitter.) - Star Wars vs Star Trek in the NYT Crossword Puzzle
How fun is this? The clue was "the better of two sci-fi franchises" and no matter if you answered "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" the rest of the clues still worked! - Teal Color
I've been working a lot with teal lately, including a new teal abstract painting as shown on this throw pillow and teal color options for stitch markers and earrings. Interestingly, Aegean Teal was named color of the year for 2021 by the Benjamin Moore paint company. I guess I'm late to the party! - Weird Old Book Search Engine
One problem with traditional search engines is that they are somewhat predictable, serving up information based on algorithms. They show you what "most people" want to see. But what if you're not "most people"? This search engine serves up books from the 1700s and 1800s, so you're almost certainly going to be surprised by the results! - Wrong Cat Photo
If you need a silly cat photo, I really enjoyed this series of three photos on Twitter. This is definitely proof that you can tell an entire story in just a few photos!
Happy Valentine's Day!