Fine Craft Guild .com » Featured Artist

DIY Fun Earwarmers with Flowers

Fine Craft Guild — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:55:00 +0000

: Quick Christmas Gift.

This cute woolen ear warmer is a quick sewing project that will can be completed within half hour or so. It’s one of those crafts/DIY projects that you’ll inspire you to make a couple, so give some away and make one for yourself. This Winter, keep your ears warm. Besides toasty ears, you’ll find yourself smiling at yourself as you look into the mirror in the hall before you go out in the freezing cold. Cute, you’ll think. What a happy thought to walk out of the door with.

This headband is adorable, and best of all, it’s made from a woolen cardigan that was washed too warm so that it felted. Perfect re-fashion.

Delia made several variations of her basic ear warmer design, and shows them all on her blog.

Step-by-Step Earwarmers Sewing Tutorial

Best of all, Dalia shares her tutorial with step-by-step sewing instructions, and the ear warmer pattern at DeliaCreates. In fact, there are several articles on ear warmers that explain all.

Photos by Delia

Caviar Anyone?

Fine Craft Guild — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:49:00 +0000

Introducing Odiot.

Not sure if anyone of you is familiar with this institution, but Odiot is located on 7 Place Madeleine in Paris. A prime prestigious address, befitting for a silversmith of fame since 1690.

Silversmith to the French Court

In earlier times, Odiot was Napoleon’s silversmith fulfilling orders to the French court. Now serving us all.

If you are looking for some indeed very fine, antique silverware for your table setting, you can find it here. If you have to ask for the price, it sure will cost too much.

Exquisite Caviar Serving Set

However, if you’ve been looking for a quality caviar serving set, I found an absolutely beautiful one in silver and gold for you:

Gorgeous Easter Egg Designs

Fine Craft Guild — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:58:00 +0000

I came across these amazing sculpted goose eggs by master carver Alan Rabon just by chance. He has made several eggs for the White House and all carvings are all gorgeous!

Alan Rabon is truly an inspiration for any budding artist, as he managed to persevere in making a living from his love for art, despite the fact that he has been riddled with physical challenges from accidents & sickness. Yet, he has produced art with painstaking detail that makes your jaw drop.

I personally love all his curly-whirly designs you can find on his site, and of course, what stands out for me is the egg with the rose, the trellis & ivy ~ how romantic.

Easter Egg

And I thought to share this beautiful Christian cross design, as after all, it’s Easter coming up. Besides that being a family affair, decoration & craft opportunity, here in Rome, Italy, there is no mistaken: it’s a religious holiday!

Your Easter Eggs

Do you think you could make an egg sculpture like this ?

Well, you can only find out by trying, and it’s very inexpensive to try. But you got to order the materials now, allowing for shipping & carving time, to be ready for Easter.

What you’ll need:

1. A GOOSE EGG. You can buy these for less than $3 right here online.

2. An EGG STAND . Buy these together with your egg, so that you’ll know you’ll get the right size & shape. Stands are the best way to finish off your egg project. A stand will elevate the egg to make it easier to display your fine work. This Egg Stand befits goose eggs, and is less than $4.

SIZE MATTERS: If you prefer start of a bit bigger (recommended), get an emu egg, and matching emu egg stand.

3. CARVING TOOLS, such as this one: Dremel 689-01 11-Piece Rotary Tool Carving and Engraving Kit; and this one: W2 Diamond Bur – Wheel Shaped Diamond Bur – Approximate Head Length 1.9mm, Head Diameter 4.5mm – 1/16" Shank (Made In USA)

4.EGG CARVING HOW-TO DVDs. This series include:

a) Goose & Turkey Egg Carving Tutorial;
b) Emu Egg Carving Tutorial;
c) Ostrich Egg Engraving Tutorial;
d) Ostrich Egg Carving Tutorial

Excellent for beginners to advanced egg carvers.

An Alan Rabon Emu Egg Carving

Royal Easter Eggs

As Rabon’s eggshell sculptures are good enough for the White House, I’m sure it will look stunning in your house also!

Show & Tell

If, you embark on carving your own Easter egg, please show us what you’ve made. We love to feature the work of our readers also.

EGG REFERENCES // Additional Artisan Resources on Eggs on our Blog

Classic

Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia - a wonderful book to own for inspiration & research. A great family gift or coffee table book, year-round.

Contemporary

Ostrich Eggs as mini Chalkboards

Crochet, Knit & Paper Craft Eggs

Kids

Easter Free Coloring Pages … of eggs, of course + egg mobile craft

Difficult Easter Coloring Pages – of eggs, of course, in beautiful mandala

Recycled Sock :: Fine Art

Fine Craft Guild — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I have about 20+ old white socks with holes to recycle, and I scoured around for some inspiration to decide what to do with them.

How to Make a Sock Monkey

I am so NOT a sock monkey girl, and the first thousand Google-pages that popped up were all about … sock monkeys. However, if you you wonder how to make a sock monkey, I’ll help you. Here are your free ‘How to make a sock monkey’- instructions. Just click the image page on the left to download your detailed tutorial.

However, even when you apply a whole lot of fantasy, it’s hard to be original when making a sock monkey. Others have tried. Beyond the different colored stripes and different cute expressions and ear locations, I’ve seen a dress made with sock monkeys, and a blanket, toddler sock monkey slippers, sock monkey cloths, and even an Obama sock monkey.

So, if anything, don’t make a sock monkey. It’s been done before.

Sock Creatures

Actually, the only really good, AND original creatures (not striped monkeys) made from recycled socks that I discovered in my hours & hours of research were made by Neta Amir, a modest, yet highly talented textile artist from Israel.

Take this traveler for example. He has a raven on his t-shirt for good luck, and real hiking shoes.

Neta made some really wicked girl friends for him….

Want to find more like these sock creatures: visit Neta’s site http://bobilina.blogspot.com (but don’t click away just yet; I’m about to show you the best)

Be Inspired by Sock Art

Actually, I am far more excited by artist Neta Amir’s other work.

Recycled Sock Camera

One of her projects that stand out in creative detailing is her fantastic sock camera.

It comes complete with sock living room scene, which is in turn reflected in the camera lens/view finder.

Pretty neat.


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She dabbled also in sock flowers and sock branches, however it appeared more like unfinished creative experimentation rather than a firm ‘this is it’.

Anyhow, her experimentation actually helped me:

now I’m contemplating making some semi-practical white sock coral,

or vine branches, on which to hang my ’00s of pearl & bead necklaces …

or my ’000s of white paper flowers. T

his could be quite beautiful.

Meanwhile, on my hours and hours journey, I also found some other, really practical & novel things you can make with used recycled socks.

I shall show you … tomorrow.

I’m going to talk about creative sock upcycling / refashioning ideas that you can & will actually put to good use… bike bags, jewelry, vase covers, and …. some other surprises…

Till tomorrow.

Featured at a few fabulous craft parties. Click link to check them out!
On that, if you have a great Craft or DIY tutorial, be sure to link it up to our own Fine Craft Guild’s Tutorial party. This weeks’ party is here: DIY Craft Tutorial Linky Party and a new party opens each Wednesday. You’ll be able to find the latest links on the home page.

An Upcycler’s Take on Kitchen Storage

Rose — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:47:00 +0000

“matching redefined”

Embarking on a project to make or find some unusual upcycled kitchen storage?

Introducing Rupert Blanchard, woodworker in London. Really,
he is a designer and craftsman with internationally inspiring taste,
and here’s an example of (unfinished but already great) work by him: a completely recycled kitchen.

Unusual Upcycled Kitchen Storage

You can probably order a custom furniture piece from him, or ….

Be liberal and make your own, free form.

If you are inspired to DIY, here are my words for you:

Dare to go where none thread before.

‘Matching’ is merely a pattern recognition.

U can make your own.

Your tools will tell you,

your heart will guide you,

your head will calculate

which measurements are going to work.

~ Michael,

FineCraftGuild.com

Here is another example of Rupert Blanchard’s unusual kitchen (or livingroom) storage ideas using recycled materials:

If you want even more unusual recycled storage ideas, come back next week Friday and I’ll show you the work of some Dutch designers….

This craft is featured in various wonderful craft parties. Click here to check them out!

Paper Art Inspiration ~ Yulia Brodskaya

Fine Craft Guild — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:33:00 +0000

Quilling Artist Yulia brodskaya Inspires Me Today.

She is a London-based but Russia-born graphic designer & illustrator. Of late, Yulia has been real popular with advertising agencies and the media, who have shown loads of her work. If you live in London, no doubt you will have seen the gorgeous commercials she has created. She gives cache to the likes of Starbucks, the Guardian and even Knitters Magazine.

I know, Yulia probably get lots of money for her wares, but I consider her an artist. Nothing short of this. Here are 5 pieces of her work for you to feast your eyes on and be inspired, like me. Thank you, Yulia.

Start thinking big heart…

and lots of love …

Valentine’s coming up.

Be relieved that…

… Darwin was Wrong

(cutting the tree of life).

Let your spirit be lifted, …

.. CELEBRATE….

Use your Power of Imagination …

& have a great day!

Read Interview with Yulia Brodskaya or,
go straight to ArtYulia.com

Fine Art Print Books – Artist Interview

Rose — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:12:00 +0000

Meeting a real artist is always inspiring. Today I met book artist Alison Kurke in the ancient little town of Civita Castellana, Italy. An artist: she does not want to teach, she wants to create. She loves making handmade books.

“Making handmade books is easy” proclaims Alison. “However, you must have the binding tools.”

Alison is a lapsed art historian. Why lapsed? Well, she’s been too busy with both print making and book making. I would call Alison a book artist.

Many of you equate making books with being an artisan, but in Alison’s case this is not so. See one of her books and you’ll know why.

While, her books are made using traditional book binding methods, and are the kind that we ourselves are supposed to write in, they are certainly also for ‘looking at’ and ‘being with’. Lovely to have around and to own. While true art makes you think, I suppose they do that too. Albeit that this last aspect is an undertone.

Take this notebook for example. The outside book edge shows the perfectly-lined-up binding: a labor of love,and perfect craftsmanship. You’ll see when you hold her art in your hands: the books are put together with painstaking detail.

Now beyond this technical aspect, I love the contrasting colors she has chosen, to accentuate the fact that they are hand made, as a design detail and a statement of originality.

Then, when you open the book, you know why I call these books works of art: they are! Each book contains a mini-series of original & limited edition prints in them. Sometimes she also collages paper onto the monoprints in her books. And of course, her cover imagery are complete works of collage art.

No Two Books Alike

Each book has its own style and theme. This morning I caressed say 50 of her dear books, and well, there were no two books that were ‘two of a kind’…

Each book is telling its own story, totally unlike all others.

If I Just Have to Pick One…

Have a look at this one here. (I know you probably can’t come over to visit Alison in person anytime soon, so I’ll show you here). This hand-made / hand-bound / hand-printed book was one of my favorites.

As one of her larger and thicker books, it has quite a few sections. Each section is bound separately and enveloped by original print artworks.

I am just showing you two sets of prints with collage here. There were quite a few more in this book.

As well, only the best Italian paper is used for both the fine prints and for the blank pages that we are supposed to write on.

However, if I were to ever get one of these books, I would leave it blank. I would not want to mess up this work of art! I’d just smell it from time to time….

Jotting down grocery shopping lists in it seems inappropriate. Having said that, Alison’s handmade books would make shopping much more fun. No, actually I think I would use one of these books either as my inspiration or as own personal diary, in which to place my own drawings and artsy doodles. For other people, I can see that they could use them as perfect guest books and wedding albums.

You Can Have One

Alison’s work is for sale locally and internationally. Browse through her online catalog at http://www.flickr.com/people/kurberry/ to see the hundreds of handmade art books she has made.

Just send her a note if you like to purchase any. A handful of her books and her collages with vintage prints can also be found at Etsy.

If you like these books as much as I do, then have a look now in her catalog, so that there’s plenty of time left to shop and ship your Christmas gifts from Italy to your home.

http://www.finecraftguild.com/bookbinding-tutorial-perfect-binding-your-book-easily/

http://www.finecraftguild.com/handmade-business-cards-in-pouch-the-perfect-gift/

Your Book Binding Supplies

The Book Binding Guy Video Workshop DVD

Learn the traditional style of Eastern book binding based on 4-hole stitching (using Noble and Tortoise Shell sewing patterns). Each kit includes everything you need to make three 4″ × 6″ (10 cm × 15 cm) soft-covered, sewnbooks with folded fore edge pages. Archival materials include linen and decorative thread, a binding needle, and Japanese yuzen paper. Each kit features different paper patterns, shown at right. Classpack for 10 Students —The Classpack includes enough materials for ten students to each make three blank books (30 total).

Lineco Linen Binding Tape ~ This Linen Binding Tape is suitable for binding sewn book signatures. Unbleached and unsized. Made of 100% linen.

These binder’s needles are heavy duty and have a blunted point for sewing book signatures. Their smooth eye prevents thread snag. These book binding needles are imported from England.