Creationsbyeve is featured in Ermoumag

 

My shop is featured in Ermoumag this week!!One lucky reader who will leave a comment on the post, will win a choker!!

Organization and storage ideas

One of the biggest challenges for crafters is the organization of all our crafting material and supplies. For me the challenge is much bigger, because I don't have an extra room to use as a working room and I must find ways to keep all my stuff organized and the home tidy as mush as I can. I use a trunk which is filled with whatever you can think of, wrapping and packaging supplies, fabrics, flosses, half-done projects and other things.I also have a beautiful drawer, where I keep all my supplies, felt roving, buttons, ribbons, beads, jewelry finding ans all sort of stuff. In the living room, under the table and where ever there is room, I have baskets and boxes from IKEA filled with yarn and knitting tools

Ikea has many cheep storage solutions, like boxes, racks etc

And of cource Etsy is a great source for storage too:

 

turquoiseshed, thebrokenhouse, usacreations, knitonebeadtwo, creativevisions207, EcoChicHandKnits, funkyart08, PALEOLOCHICHomeDecor,SashaSews, PippsPurses, thekeepershouse, HappyGirlzDesigns, polkadotsandblooms, sewingmomma, shanineal

BHG has also some very clever tips for organizing crafts:

Recycle a plank into as a shelf that can hold vintage tins for brushes and paints. Attach a wire hanger beneath the plank to hold galvanized buckets filled with smaller supplies.

You can use an under-the-shelf wine and stemware rack to store pencils, markers, pens, and brushes, while ink pads can be stashed on the stemware rack.

Keep gift wrap and crafts supplies organized with a wire shower caddy. Hang one for wrapping supplies and a second one for crafting supplies.

Pegboard is perfect for holding crafts supplies. Cut pegboard to the desired size and frame it with molding pieces found at a hardware store. Paint the entire piece, let dry, and hang it above your workstation. Hooks for pegboards come in various shapes and sizes, so select ones that will easily hold the items you plan to store.

Vintage and flea market finds are great additions to any craft room. This medical cart, repurposed as a crafting spot, is perfect for organizing supplies. Pencils, pens, and paints in bunches add graphic impact.

Shoe and sweater organizers are perfect for storing fabric. The small cubbies let you stash rolled batting, fusible web, stabilizer, freezer paper, and more.

A hanging canvas shoe organizer, suspended from clip-on curtain rings, functions as a window treatment and art supply storage. The pocket depth is perfect for pens and pencils, paintbrushes, and notepads of various sizes.

Everythingetsy has discovered these super handy ribbon rings:

For ribbons I have also found this cool dispenser at bestcraftorganizer:

And finally there is an open pool at flickr with lots of pictures of crafters' rooms and spaces to get inspiration!
Happy organizing :)

Challenge of the week- try a new craft

Remember the weekly challenges of the Etsy European Street team? In the last two-three months I havent' been able to participate to most of them, but for the new year I have decided to try not to miss anyone. Last week the boss was Susanne, aka enchantedhue and the challenge theme was "bring the inner child out". I participated with this playful necklace:

The winner was Renate, aka Kreativlink and she chose a really challenging theme! She asked us to come out of our comfort zone and experiment, trying a new craft, something we haven't done before, or to try something new within our craft. Well, since I 'm known mainly as a felter and knitter, I decided to open my trunk and search for ideas. 

I found evidence of another favorite craft of mine! Embroidery! I keep tons of magazines with embroidery patterns, I even found an old craft magazine dated 1955!

Boxes of embroidery floss! 

I found in a bag my first samples when I was going to machine embroidery workshops:

 

I also found a beautiful linen fabric in a light sand color and I made these two scented sachets, which I first embroidered with cross stitch and then sewed and filled with lavender!Well it's not actually a try of a new craft, but a new try of an old craft, but I htink it fits the criteria of the challenge theme, what do you think?

 

Knitting goes back to school

When I was a student at high school, we had classes of crafts and housekeeping. There I learned to sew and knit. I remember that we had to finish a project too. I sew an apron and a baby towel totally by hand!

Today, in modern Greece, these arts and crafts are considered old fashioned. But in more developed countries like America, knitting goes back to school!

The Craft Yarn Council of America in an initiative with Scholastic Inc. and Warm Up America, is reaching 10.000 classrooms, grades 8-12, to distribute more than 40.000 free knitting kits. The kits include how-to knit instructions, history of knitting and information about Warm Up America. The students are asked to complete one square piece each and to teach a younger student to knit.

From the CYCA site on “Why teach knit and crochet”:

Learning to knit and crochet is fun, creative and benefits children in a variety of ways. With the current popularity of these crafts and the variety of yarns and cool projects available, it's also easy to interest them in learning, and is a cost-effective program.As many teachers and doctors attest, improvement is noted in:

- Fine motor coordination

- Reading

- Math

- Comprehension

- Critical thinking and problem-solving

In addition, knitting and crochet are valuable tools for "teaching life lessons":

- Responsibility—Students are responsible for bringing their yarn project to class

- Ability to focus and follow through—Learning these skills is a step-by-step process

- Persistence—Projects take time and patience to complete

- Positive social behaviors and teamwork—Projects such as Warm Up America require a group to work together to accomplish their goal

- Using available materials—Challenge students to be creative with the materials they have to work with

- Personal hygiene—Students quickly learn dirty hands mean dirty yarn

Judith Symonds and Cat Bordhi also mention Dr. Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences (MI) teaching approach to better understand their reasons for incorporating these skills in their curricula. Gardner, a psychologist and neuroscientist, is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education. His MI theory "challenges traditional beliefs in the fields of education and cognitive science," recognizing that there are many different ways of learning and there are benefits to more actively involving children in the learning process.

Gardner outlines nine different kinds of intelligence through which people learn to effectively contribute to society and to develop skills that solve problems. Among his nine points is "Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence," the capacity to use your whole body or parts of your body (your hands, your fingers, your arms) to solve a problem, or make something…" Knitting and crochet, which engage both hands, are examples. Gardner's multiple approaches to learning are also reflected in key findings from The Academic Value of Hands-on Craft Projects in Elementary Schools conducted by Rockman Et Al, an independent education research and consulting company for the Craft and Hobby Foundation . They support the benefits of this type of learning. Among the findings were:

- 96% of teachers agreed that students exhibit greater curiosity about the learning unit when hands-on projects are included in the instructional approach.

- 90% of teachers said that hands-on projects help students understand basic ideas as well as broader concepts.

- 85% of the teachers said students work cooperatively on handcrafted projects.

- 82% of teachers said that handcrafts projects help their students apply information in new or different situations.

- 54% of teachers said this approach is particularly well suited for students who learned more effectively in non-traditional approaches, such as visual or kinesthetic learners, slow readers or writers, or non-native English speakers.

The sunshine blog award

I was surprised yesterday by my good friend Maria,who gave me this lovely award!Thak you Maria!!!

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity & creativity inspires others in the blog world. The rules for accepting these award:
- Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
- Link the nominees within your post.
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

 I want to pass this award to the following bloggers (the order is random):
1. bright bold and beautiful

2. daily felt
3. star of the east
4. on the dot creations
5. s and o productions
6. pharaona
7. a few pretty things
8. arts & crafts

9. feltplum
10. lillyella
11. one loop short

12. swiedebie

Review

It's been such a long time since my last post!I have been so terribly busy these past two months,I neglegted my blog totally. At last, after some days of holidays I can start finding my old rythm!
The move to our home finished and we settled everything pretty good!

Right then the preparations for the Christmas bazaars and festivals began! I made new scarves

and many new necklaces and chokers

Somewhere inbetween I decorated the house for Christmas 

and made small Christmas gifts for friends and family

And I received wonderful presents too:

This is my European secret santa present, from Claudia, aka Deepindigo!A gorgeous set of bag,cowl and brooch! Claudia makes beautiful knitted and sewn accessories for women and children!

And this is the present I received from Mellie for the Greek secret santa gift swap!A wonderful tapestry from felt. Mellie,aka Stemellina makes gorgeous creations with felt!

 

Now I'm searching for the right pattern to knit this gorgeous yarn that I received for Christmas from a good friend from England!Susan is  a wonderful person I met through Etsy.

Holidays need festive food too, so I made yesterday my favorite dish, "Peking duck with fried rice", but I will post the recipe some other time, because this post is too long already!

I wish to all a happy New Year, with love,health and harmony!