Studio Spaces Giveaway Winners Announced

Happy Friday to all and a big congratulations to Rebecca and Janet – the winners of this week’s giveaway of Studio Spaces.

I don’t know about all of you, but the weather here is just screaming for some Spring cleaning. Don’t tell my Publisher, but I’m sneaking my desk copy of Studio Spaces home this weekend so I can rodeo in a few areas in my own home studio.

Spring Cleaning and Free Project from Studio Spaces

Sorry we have been so silent this year at Wiley Craft! We’ve been incredibly busy putting the finishing touches on some soon-to-release books and getting even more new books underway. I honestly can’t wait to share all the great new offerings we have coming out this year, so keep checking in.

The first book I’d like to share is just perfect for this time of year – just past the new year and almost into Spring. It’s time to take stock and get the chaos under control. Whether your consider yourself a sewer, a quilter, a knitter, a scrapbooker, jewelry maker, or a little of everything, Studio Spaces by Better Homes and Gardens has a ton of inspiring ideas for how to corral your crafting supplies in ways that are not only practical, but beautiful.

Studio Spaces is a great mix of inspriation and bare-knuckles how-to. In addition to the before-and-after makeovers, the projects, tips, and organizing ideas, you’ll also get sneak peeks inside the studios of 6 top designers – but more about that next week. For now, I’ll leave you with a free project, some creative book ends that make great use of designer fabric scraps,  Get It In the Bag.

New Year, New Craft

What better time then the new year to pick up a new hobby? If you haven’t tried your hand at jewelry making, here’s your chance! The Urban Jungle necklace pattern comes from Not Your Mama’s Beading – an oldie, but a goodie from our jewelry making line. Click the cover above to view the pattern.

Free Project – Handmade Underground Jewlery

Are you still looking for one last gift? One final, yet special present? This bracelet is the perfect combination of high-impact and low effort. Choosing just the right beads is the hard part. Once you have that part down, putting it all together is a snap. For the free project, click on the link below the photo.

Handmade Underground Jewelry Sample Project

Free Jewelry Project — Cosmic Crystal Drop Earrings

Earrings make great last-minute holiday gifts — though you can put them together in a flash, the end result can be quite elegant and expensive-looking. Chris Franchetti Michaels’ Cosmic Crystal Drop Earrings from her book Teach Yourself VISUALLY Jewelry Making & Beading are a great example. One special crystal bead makes this simple earring a real eye-catcher. These would really sparkle at a holiday party! Or, if crystal isn’t your thing, you can adapt this basic pattern for a wide variety of beads. Click here for the instructions: Cosmic Crystal Drop Earrings pattern.

Free Jewelry Project – Eco Friendly Gifts

If you find yourself searching for small footprint gifts, check out Rubbish! Reuse Your Refuse, by Kate Shoup. For a book that starts with discarded items as crafting supplies, the finished projects are surprisingly gift-worthy. I’m going to share one of my favorites from this book, a pendant made from a used soft drink can. There is a lot of good art on cans these days. Take a look the next time you find yourself in front of a soft drink cooler.

As an added bonus, I can offer a tip to make the project even speedier. If you don’t fancy wrangling resin and hardener, you can substitute those supplies (and the related items for mixing and handling) for dimensional adhesive. You may need to apply a couple of coats of the dimensional adhesive, and be sure to let your piece dry inbetween coats, but the end result should be comparable. Found in the glue aisle of any craft store, the dimensional adhesive should also be far safer for children to handle, if you are thinking of trying this project out with your kids. Click here for the pattern: Can Do Attitude.

And don’t forget about our yarn sampler giveaway posted back on November 15 – just a few more days to enter!

Free Project, Day of the Dead Crafts

In honor of the upcoming Day of the Dead holiday, I’d like to offer up a free project. With a little creativity and a bit of clay, you can whip up a calavera, a small skeleton figurine, often depicted enjoying the best life has to offer. Calaveras are often playful or whimsical, rather than scary or ominous. To take a crack at making your own, download this free Calavera project from our book, Day of the Dead Crafts.

Destash and Pattern Testing

Would you like to be the first person to make a project from an upcoming Wiley Craft book? Do you enjoy being in-the-know on upcoming books and authors? Do you like getting free patterns and materials?

We are always on the lookout for crafters to test projects from upcoming books. To make our books the best they can be, we need home sewists, general crafters, knitters, crocheters, and more.

If you are proficient in your craft of choice and would like to become a member of our pattern tester pool, I’d like to hear from you. Leave a comment that says Contact Me, and I’ll send you a personal email to find out if you’d be a good fit.

To show some love for our pattern tester program, I’d like to offer up yet another giveaway this week! As you might imagine, my office tends to get a bit packed with craft supplies used in testing, photo shoots, and design. Leave a comment below before noon on September 26th and you’ll be entered into the giveaway. If you are entering the giveaway but are not interested in hearing about the pattern testing program, just note that in your comment.

Free Projects and Patterns

Visit our Projects and Patterns Page for Free Projects and Patterns from Wiley’s craft authors.

CLICK HERE