Cloth Paper Scissors Today

Green Art: An Upcycling Printing Technique from Nature

Cate Prato — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:03:00 GMT

On Father's Day, our collage-age daughter presented her dad with a card she made herself. The handmade nature of the card, and especially the sentiments inside, made it more precious and valuable than any purchased gift could be.

Nature art: pounded plant matter on linen, accented
with hand stitching, inspired by Cas Holmes.

On the outside, Olivia painted the card using pine needles as a paintbrush. On the inside, she recalled three seemly mundane memories that had an enormous impact on her. Olivia's thoughts and her card made us realize how often what is simple and basic can really be profound.

Nature art, or art created with items upcycled from nature (like Olivia's pine needle paintbrush), can be like that. From selecting leaves and flowers for nature art prints, to eco-friendly art techniques, to upcycling natural materials into projects like encaustic art, "green" art can have a big influence on your creativity while leaving a small imprint on the planet.

Two artists who are always experimenting with green art techniques are India Flint and Cas Holmes. India's book Eco Colour is the most comprehensive natural dyeing handbook I have seen. She gets beautiful and unusual results from natural ingredients. And Cas's book The Found Object in Textile Art never ceases to inspire me with it's spirit of inventiveness.

I have tried experiments in printing with leaves, plants, and flowers using pounding techniques from both artists and had a blast. Pounded prints are fun for kids and adults alike--the perfect summer art exercise.

Here is India's version of the technique:

Hapa-zome Technique by India Flint

Materials

Leaves
A small hammer or mallet
Some cloth of fairly dense weave (not too flimsy)
Thin cardboard or thick paper (such as cardstock)

1. Place the paper or cardstock on your work surface (such as a sturdy bench or uncarpeted floor) and place your cloth on the paper.

My hapa-zome nature art experiment.

2. Arrange your leaves on the fabric. You could make a discrete array of leaves, overlap them slightly, or chop and scatter them over the surface of the fabric.

3. Fold over the cloth and place another piece of paper on top of the cloth and apply the hammer. It can take a little practice to get the hammer strokes just right, so experiment.

4. Remove the plant material and let the cloth dry thoroughly. Then press with a steam iron or heat press to set the color. (Despite this, the color will probably fade over time. Consider it part of the natural process.)

Ever impatient, I used the bottom edge of a jar to make my hapa-zome prints. This resulted in my nature printing looking like it was made by a series of lines, and I quite like it.

The hapa-zome technique can be used to decorate T-shirts, an interesting and less messy alternative to tie-dyeing. Both Eco Colour and The Found Object in Textile Art will give you ideas for nature art and eco-friendly art projects you can use now or in any season.

P.S. Have you made leaf prints before? How did you do it? What other ways do you like to upcycle nature into your art? Leave a comment below.

If Mixed-Media Art is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Right

Cate Prato — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:20:00 GMT

When Pam Carriker asked me to contribute to her mixed-media art techniques book, Art at the Speed of Life, she had a specific topic for me to address: "Art ADD."

My collage of favorite media and art techniques, represented as a wheel of fortune.

Was I offended that she thought of me for this topic? Heck no. All I could say was, "Pam, you've come to the right place." Because, when it comes to making art, I am as unfocused as a dog in a roomful of squirrels. Or rabbits. Or squeaky toys. Hey, did you know blue is my favorite color?

Where was I? Oh yes, Art ADD. I just can't help myself. There are so many fun mixed-media art techniques and materials to try. Paper is wonderful, and there are so many papers--ephemera, art papers, handmade papers! Fabric is fun to sew, and you can glue it on things, too, and print on it, and paint on it.

Paint! I love paint! Acrylic paint, watercolor paint, fabric paint...which you can also use for printing.

Ohhhh, printing--screen printing, block printing, rubber stamping...I love rubber stamps and stamp making. Which makes me think of. . .ink.

See what I mean? Of course you do! And I haven't even mentioned found objects, collage, mixed-media assemblage, art journaling...

My studio--heck, my house--is littered with the evidence of my Art ADDictions. But I have also had a ton of fun, and I am never bored. There's always something new to try, or try again, or use in a different way.

I am not ashamed of my Art ADD at all, nor should I be, nor do I want to be cured. I mean, if mixed media is wrong, I don't want to be right.

And when I want to learn something new--and I will want to learn something new--I just click onto the CraftDaily website, where I can use my subscription to learn tips, tricks, and techniques for mixed-media art or branch out into art quilting, jewelry making, weaving, beading, sewing, spinning and so on through full-length videos on demand.

Now, you can get a free three-day Craft Daily trial with any purchase from our Sidewalk Sale between now and June 23. That's two incredible bargains in one. See below for details.

Did I mention I knit?

P.S. Do you have Art ADD? What the signs? Leave a comment below.

Bigger and Better, Fluid Acrylics in Golden Giveaway Week 3 - Enter Now

Cate Prato — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:36:00 GMT

You've all been pretty excited about the June's Golden Giveaway Sweepstakes, but now it's time to hold on to your easel, because the "stakes" just got bigger and better.

This week, the collection of products gives you everything you need to prepare a substrate, lay down a foundation with fast drying Fluid Acrylics and then begin experimenting with OPEN Slow-Dry Acrylics for blending, softening, shading and glazing.

This week's prize package includes:

Principal OPEN Acrylics Set
Select Professional Fluid Acrylic 8 Set
8 oz. Gesso
1 oz. OPEN Thinner
OPEN Acrylics Tips for Use
OPEN Monoprinting Lesson Plan
GOLDEN Information Packet

OPEN Acrylics are the slow-drying acrylic that acts more like an oil paint, but cleans up with soap and water.

Use them alone or combine them with other Golden supplies such as gesso anytime you want more time to work with the colors, such as glazing or monoprinting. It's great for representational art, subtractive techniques, and mixing with standard acrylics.

The colors in this set include some of the cleanest organic pigments, capable of producing bright mixes and are least likely to become muddy or gray.

Enter to win this week's GOLDEN Giveaway set now, and check back Friday, June 21, 2013 when we name the winner.

She Felts Seashells

Cate Prato — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:44:00 GMT

Beach season has begun in my neck of the woods, and you know what that means . . . seashells!

(Did you think I was going to say "swimsuits"? If so, then you don't know me very well!)

Seashell cards made with needle felting,
by Deborah Wolff.

Like a kid, I always return from a day at the beach with a bucket full of shells, rocks, and sea glass. I wash and dry my treasures, then display them in vintage glass jars, letting the colors, textures, and lines inspire me for art, home décor, and meditation.

One technique I've never thought of in relation to shells, however, is felting. But the minute I got a sneak peek of Deborah Wolff's shell-inspired, needle-felted cards in the July/August issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, it made perfect (and beautiful) sense.

Deborah uses a needle-felting machine to create the felted base, but the pieces are small enough that you could hand needle felt the wool roving onto wool felt without too much trouble.

I love that she uses rich, saturated hues instead of the expected pastels and neutrals.

What a perfect thank-you card or hostess gift these cards would make when you stay at someone's beach house. Or, you could frame the cards to remind you of your seaside excursion.

You can use shells in many kinds of art projects from using them as subjects for still-life art to jewelrymaking to creating embellishments for sewing projects. Now is a great time to explore your creative options, during our subscription sale.

P.S. How do seashells inspire your art? Leave your comment below!

Art Studio Supplies: How to Keep the Kids Busy All Summer

Cate Prato — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:17:00 GMT

You may be well-prepared for having your kids home all summer, but it always sneaks up on me. I know it's probably just denial, but every year it seems like one minute everyone has a schedule and a place to be, and the next minute I'm scrambling for ways to keep the girls occupied between camp sessions.

What artist, young or old wouldn't find this bouquet of art studio supplies enticing?
(Photo by Carrie Bloomston)

Even when I was home more or less full time, it took me a while to get a grip on summer vacation. What eventually worked best for me was to get very organized, then hang loose. That way, we had something to do at home but were ready to hit the beach or pool if we got a last-minute invitation. Or, if our outside plans got rained out, we had something to do inside.

A key component of this strategy was the craft room, aka the kitchen table and an armoire. I filled the armoire with plastic bins and shoeboxes containing basic art studio supplies plus recyclables, craft supplies (like fun foam, stickers, Play-Doh®, etc.), and fabric scraps. The girls provided the imagination.

With an enamel-top table and a vinyl floor, I didn't worry too much about the mess--though ask my kids and they might remember that part differently.

If you've got kids at home this summer (your own, your grandkids, etc.), I recommend this list of starter supplies put together by Carrie Bloomston, a mom and sewing pattern designer whose sewing and art studio was featured in the Summer 2012 issue of Studios magazine.

Basic art supplies like white glue, paint, paper, tape, and beads
Cardboard boxes
Duct tape (a variety of colors and patterns), painter's tape, electrical tape
Corks, lids, chopsticks, spools, jars, empty toilet paper rolls, and other recyclables
Craft sticks
Fiberfill
Fabric scraps and sewing supplies
Socks (old ones or socks that have lost their mate to the laundry monster)
Wood glue and Mod Podge® (plus heavy gel medium or a glue gun-used with supervision-to mount found objects like shells and rocks)

You don't need fancy studio organization techniques to hold basic craft supplies
for kids.
(Photo by Carrie Bloomston)

I would also suggest hanging a clothesline in your kitchen or craft room and displaying summer artwork there. At the end of the summer, you can have the kids frame select pieces and mount them on the wall.

Come the end of August when you ask yourself "Where did the summer go?" you'll be able to point to your kids' artistic treasures and say, "There."

Sadly, now that I have summers all figured out, my kids are old enough to have jobs and plan their own summer fun. But for those looking to set up a home studio for the summer--for your kids or yourself--there are plenty of ideas in the four 2012 issues of Studios, handily put together on one compact disc and available now.

P.S. What's your favorite summer craft for kids? Leave your response below.

She's Got a Face for Art Journaling

Cate Prato — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:50:00 GMT

The idea of drawing a face intimidates many artists. If you want to create a true-to-life portrait of someone and you don't have much formal training, I can see how you would feel that way. But if you're drawing or painting a face to please yourself, for example in your art journal, then that is a different story. Because, really, who's to say what that face should look like? So take your artistic license and give it a go.

One of Jane Davenport's whimsical faces from her art journal.

Artist Jane Davenport specializes in what she calls "whimsical faces." They are more or less realistic, but they are also fanciful. The complexions are gorgeously rosy. The lips are perfectly pouty. The hair surrounding these faces flows and curls like it does in your dreams.

Jane says her art journal is a fantasyland where she goes to play and dream. She creates her whimsical faces by blending artistic principles with a loose touch and acceptance of imperfection.

Here are some tips from her new Cloth Paper Scissors Workshop, Whimsical Faces.

With pencil in hand, make a circular motion in the air to get a sense of what shape face you'd like to draw. Jane prefers to use artist colored pencils instead of graphite for drawing as they don't muddy the work when you add paint.
When you've decided on a shape (round, oval, elongated, etc.) loosely draw the shape onto your journal page.
Find a chin point and crown point, and draw a line between them. Then bisect that line horizontally at its midpoint. The eyes go on this horizontal line. Draw a short horizontal line halfway between the mid point and the chin and then another between the chin and that point for the mouth.
Make the ovals for the eyes. When you draw the iris, make sure it is perfectly round by using a template with various-sized circles on it. But make sure the entire iris doesn't show; the eyelid should cover the top of it.
To make the other features more whimsical, exaggerate them slightly. For example, the mouth should might have the pointed, pouty look of a model's.
Keep the hair loose and flowing. To achieve a light, loose touch, Jane often holds the pencil at the end, farthest away from the point.

Watching Jane's workshop video, I was intrigued by how she used paint almost like a make-up artist and how she filled in the backgrounds of her creative journals with colorful patterned napkins.

You may want the faces in your art journal (or on your canvas) to look another way: spritely, mysterious, quirky, or childlike. I suggest you try some of Jane's facial art journaling techniques from Whimsical Faces, and see where it takes you.

P.S. Do you include faces in your art journal? Why or why not?

Golden Giveaway Week 2 - Two Sets of Open Acrylic Paints

Cate Prato — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 12:30:00 GMT

We're holding another sweepstakes, giving away prize packages each week in June.

This week, the package includes two sets of GOLDEN OPEN Acrylics Introductory Modern Set. It includes:

• TWO OPEN Acrylics Introductory Sets - Modern and Traditional colors
• OPEN Thinner Sample
• OPEN Acrylics Tips for Use
• GOLDEN Information Packet

OPEN Acrylics are the slow-drying acrylic that acts more like an oil paint, but cleans up with soap and water.

Use them anytime you want more time to work with the colors, such as monoprinting on Plexiglas or a gelatin plate. It's great for representational art, subtractive techniques, and mixing with standard acrylics.

The colors in this set include some of the cleanest organic pigments, capable of producing bright mixes and are least likely to become muddy or gray.

Enter to win this week's GOLDEN Giveaway set now, and check back Friday, June 14, 2013 when we name the winner.

Go Outside to Develop Your Mark-Making Skills

Cate Prato — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:10:00 GMT

"Where do you find inspiration?"

That's a question I always asked artists when I regularly interviewed them for magazine profiles. I asked because I was curious and because readers also seemed to want to know.

Marks inspired by shells, created with paint and resist techniques. Art by Helen Parrott.

I received a variety of answers, but one that popped up a lot was "nature." And not just because of the easy access to the woods, beach, or garden. Natural objects are full of lines, curves, shapes, and patterns you can adapt for mark making in art.

From a Zen doodle inspired by the swirl of a shell to lettering shaped like trees to hand stitching patterns, you can apply mark making ideas from nature in just about any kind of art.

To capture and remember these ideas for later use, I suggest you either keep a notebook or sketchbook or keep your phone camera handy. Here are some sources for mark making inspiration you can collect this summer.

Leaves and trees:
Scalloped edges
Vein patterns
Outlines of the leave shapes
Branch patterns
Bark lines and patterns

Flowers and plants:
Cross-section of fruits and vegetables
Seed shapes and patterns
Color lines and patterns
Leave shapes and patterns
Lichen patterns
Petal shapes and patterns

The beach
Curved lines on shells
Striations on rocks
Algae and seaweed shapes
Ripple and tide marks in sand
rock shapes
Shapes and patterns from sea life

Susan Cirigliano's art lettering here is
inspired by the marks found on snails,
birds, and fish.

When you find a shape or line you like, play with it in your sketchbook or computer. What happens if you elongate it? If you repeat it close together? If you repeat it in a line or a circle? What if you make it thick or very thin? Black or in a variety of colors?

Then practice with some mark making techniques and tools. Spread gesso or heavy paint on a substrate and draw your nature marks into it with the end of a paintbrush. Or use your finger and see what that looks like. Use pastels or puff paint and see what mark making with those materials yields.

You may even want to stitch the marks, varying the thickness of the thread or yarn to see how that affects the look.

In the new book Mark Making: Fresh Inspiration for Quilt and Fiber Artists, author Helen Parrott explores this technique basic to most mixed-media, quilt, and fiber artists, and shows how the simplest marks-stitched lines and knots-can be used to create graphically compelling art. The author emphasizes the importance of keeping journals and discusses how to translate sketched ideas or found images into stitched lines on fabric.

Developing your mark-making skills can help you become a more versatile artist. Check out Mark Making today and see how Helen Parrott's exercises and inspiration can benefit you.

P.S. Where do you find mark-making inspiration? Leave a comment below.

Add Dimension in Mixed-Media Art with Stencils

Cate Prato — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:38:00 GMT

When I first attempted to make mixed-media art, I was always fixated on the focal point. I started with an image and then build around it.

After being disappointed with my results, I studied the artwork and techniques of artists whose work I admired. One thing I learned was how important it is to create interest and texture in your background so the focal point doesn't look like it's just sitting there. Background, especially applied in layers, helps integrate the focal point and give it context.

Mixed-media art by Seth Apter.

There are many ways to add background interest, and one of my favorites lately is via stencils. For example:

You can spray paint or ink through a stencil to create patterns on your collage substrate.

You can layer stencils onto a gelatin plate prepared with paint, make a monoprint, and use that as your substrate.

You can apply molding paste or fiber paste through a stencil, creating a dimensional background or focal point.

In the next installment of our Art Lessons Collage and Paint series, Dimensional Stenciling, Seth Apter shows how to use stencils and fiber paste to create raised texture in mixed-media art.

Fiber paste is an opaque, white paste with a texture similar to thick frosting. When dry, fiber paste is extremely flexible in form and provides a highly matte surface.

A putty knife is a valuable tool for mixed-media art techniques.

You can spread the fiber paste with a number of tools, for example: old hotel room key cards, Bondo spreaders, pan scrapers, and even scraps of cardboard.

The putty knife is one of Seth's favorite tools for art projects like this. If you've never used one before, he suggests you think of spreading peanut butter or frosting when using the knife, and you will quickly become comfortable with this technique.

Looking for other great mixed-media art supplies to add texture? Try the following:

• Molding paste
• Pumice gel
• Glass bead gel
• Granular gel
• Heavy-body acrylic paints
• Spackle
• Joint Compound
• Plaster of Paris
• Gesso

Each of these products can be used to get a entirely different look. Try tinting, mixing, or straight from the jar. Some products will give you an opaque look while other lend a more ethereal feel.

Download Dimensional Stenciling now and start playing with dimension and texture in your art.

P.S. Have you used a stencil to create texture and/or dimension? Offer your tips in the space below.

New GOLDEN Giveaway – Win Slow-Dry Acrylics for Painting and Printmaking

Cate Prato — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:17:00 GMT

Knowing how popular GOLDEN art products are with mixed-media artists, we're holding another sweepstakes, giving away prize packages each week in June.

First up is the This GOLDEN OPEN Acrylics Introductory Modern Set. It includes:

• OPEN Acrylics Introductory Set - Modern
• OPEN Thinner Sample
• OPEN Acrylics Tips for Use
• GOLDEN Information Packet

OPEN Acrylics are the slow-drying acrylic that acts more like an oil paint, but cleans up with soap and water.

Use them anytime you want more time to work with the colors, such as monoprinting on Plexiglas or a gelatin plate. It's great for representational art, subtractive techniques, and mixing with standard acrylics.

The colors in this set include some of the cleanest organic pigments, capable of producing bright mixes and are least likely to become muddy or gray.

Enter to win this week's GOLDEN Giveaway set, a $31 value, now, and check back Friday, June 7, 2013 when we name the winner.

Pin the Bird Contest Winner

Cate Prato — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:10:00 GMT

First of all, I have to say that I am really glad we saved this Pin the Bird onto Pinterest contest for the end of the month, because looking at the variety of bird art on all the pin boards has been inspiring--a fitting end to this month of celebrating Put a Bird On It.

Many of you echoed these sentiments when submitting your Pinterest boards for consideration, using words like "amazing," "creative," and "inspirational" to describe the artwork you discovered through the pinning process. I hope everyone will take a look at the pinboards created by all who participated. There are links posted on the original contest blog post as well as below (those sent in to Interweave).

And now, for the winner:

Chelsea Weiss of ChelseaSparks.com. Here is her board link: pinterest.com/.../put-a-bird-on-it

Here are the other links that were sent in, for your "bird watching" enjoyment:

http://pinterest.com/dreambearer/put-a-bird-on-it/

http://pinterest.com/alteredamanda/put-a-bird-on-it/

http://pinterest.com/dovebar/put-a-bird-on-it/

http://pinterest.com/pin/135530270008915355/

http://pinterest.com/lalafishy/put-a-bird-on-it/

https://pinterest.com/in2soap/put-a-bird-on-it/

http://pinterest.com/adaptivereuse/put-a-bird-on-it/

http://pinterest.com/glasshorseranch/put-a-bird-on-it/

Thanks to all who participated, and keep Putting a Bird On It!

Take a Collage Art Lesson with Jane LaFazio

Cate Prato — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:02:00 GMT

If all had gone according to plan, I would have been taking a class with one of my mixed-media idols, Jane LaFazio, at the CREATE retreat in California this week. But my plans went astray and I wasn't able to make the trip.

My textured collage after a "lesson" with Jane LaFazio.

So I did the next best thing: I took a collage art lesson from Jane at home. Actually, I downloaded Jane's Art Lesson: Textured Backgrounds, Transparent Foregrounds and made a collage following her instructions right in my studio.

This collage technique appeals to me because it combines many textures and uses a lot of little bits of stuff-ephemera, found objects, fabric scraps, and so on that I hoard. Plus this technique involves mindless (for the most part) cutting and gluing, which I find so pleasant and meditative.

To make a collage inspired by Jane, I first collected my textured background supplies: little scraps of maps, scrapbook paper, tags and so on plus bread ties, drywall tape, and fiber trims. With soft gel medium I glued down each bit onto heavy watercolor paper. At first I worked randomly, then I occasionally squinted at the collage to see if I needed something darker here or something thicker there.

When I was satisfied with the background, I let it dry and worked on my foreground shapes. The background was making me think of travel and possibility, so I traced my hand and freehand drew a bird on tissue paper with permanent marker and cut them out.

After adding details and auditioning them on the background, I decided I needed some words. I chose "whither" and "whence" because they connote travel (though I'm sure I was also influenced by watching "Hamlet" the other night on TV).

Textured collage art by Jane LaFazio.

Following Jane's directions, I carefully glued down the tissue pieces, waited impatiently for them to dry, and then brushed watered-down acrylic paint over the background and around the tissue drawings. Adding the colored paint really brought out the texture of the collage background.

I decided my white motifs needed some color, so I added some paint here and there. Voila!

Honestly, with Jane's detailed guidance and suggestions, plus the video tutorial that comes with the download, Textured Backgrounds, Transparent Foregrounds really did seem like taking an art lesson with the artist herself.

You can download your own copy now, plus check out the other Art Lessons offered by some of your favorite Cloth Paper Scissors contributors.

P.S. Who would you most like to take an art lesson with? Leave your comment below.

Happiness is Art Journaling Your Gratitude

Cate Prato — Wed, 29 May 2013 09:20:00 GMT

My older daughter, Olivia, recently returned from a semester abroad in Central America. Among her most precious souvenirs were an armload of custom journals and an appreciation for luxuries we take for granted in the US--like long, hot showers.

Gratitude art journal page by Gioia Chilton,
from PAGES Summer 2013.

Her experiences made me think of how often I complain about petty annoyances when I should really be expressing gratitude for all I have.

In the new issue of PAGES (Summer 2013), art therapist and mixed-media artist Gioia Chilton explains how keeping a gratitude journal can help you focus on the best in life, making you feel better, more optimistic, and happier.

Her gratitude art journals are filled with illustrated short lists of positive thoughts and experiences. Gratitude art journaling is about enhancing appreciation, not feeling indebted, says Gioia.

Making artwork around these thankful thoughts helps you savor them, says Gioia, adding, "Gratitude journaling shouldn't feel like a task you have to accomplish."

Art journaling about things you're grateful for also helps you decide what to journal about, a boon to those of us whose minds go blank as soon as we see an empty page.

If you're really stumped (and some days, I really have to think about what I'm grateful for), she offers gratitude art journal prompts, such as:

Write about three things that went well recently; draw a visual symbol for each.
Envision the part of you that is most centered and secure: to what (or to whom) do you attribute this quality? Paint an abstract depicting how you feel about this as a background and then journal over it.
Create art to commemorate a national or international event (an inauguration, say, or the Olympics) that made you feel proud.
Notice the awesomeness of simple things like running water, hot showers, and electricity? Try using any of these a theme in your art to remind yourself of it.

I know Olivia can relate to this last prompt, and we are both grateful for the love and care of her host family, the incredible educational experience she received, and her safe return home, among many blessings big and small.

For more art journaling techniques, tips, and inspiration (as well as bookmaking techniques), be sure to check out the Summer 2013 issue of PAGES, now available for download.

P.S. Do you keep an artful gratitude journal? If so, does it help your attitude and your art? Tell me about it!

Stress-Free Art Studio Organization Tips

Cate Prato — Mon, 27 May 2013 09:35:00 GMT

So, it's official: our eldest has moved out of the house to her own apartment. Now, in this day and age, I won't be surprised if she moves back after college. But in the meantime, her sister and I are turning her room into an art studio.

Meredith and I have been debating how to set up the home studio to meet our different needs. But before we get to furniture, decoration, and other art studio plans, we have to get rid of a lot of my glut art studio supplies I haven't used in years, and probably never will. Fortunately, I already have a roadmap for that, based on past experience with Studios magazine. I think you might find these tips handy, too.

5 Simple Steps for Stress-free Art Studio Organization

1. Start by getting rid of what you don't use or don't need. Be realistic with yourself: if you bought paper-making supplies in 1996 and still haven't used them, maybe you don't really want to make paper. Donate or sell the goods to someone who can't wait to use them.

2. Organize according to your style. In the Summer 2010 issue of Studios, professional organizer Barbara Tako explains that it's easier to work with your particular organizing style than to impose someone else's structure on your studio.

3. Work with what you have. Get creative by looking at the furniture you have in a new way, such as attaching a larger top to an existing table for more work space. And be sure to look carefully at the spaces in Studios to see how other artists use every inch of space they have.

4. Get what you need. On the other hand, there are many stores and businesses that cater to the needs of artists and crafters, with specialty furnishings and containers that can make your studio more comfortable and efficient. Check out the Resources section of Studios and, if you have the means, go shopping to get exactly what you need to make your space work for you.

5. Use the buddy system. Afraid you can't part with that stack of wrinkled wrapping paper saved from birthdays dating back to 1983? Just too overwhelmed by the mess to motivate yourself to get organized? Phone a friend like Sharon Tomlinson did when she wanted to expand one very cluttered, outdated studio into two well-functioning spaces. In the Summer 2010 issue of Studios, Sharon details how her friend kept her on task and led her to two-studio success.

Meredith and I have a built-in buddy system, plus, she has good taste and little sentiment when it comes to "stuff." So I have every confidence she can help me part with superfluous stash and then come up with an art studio design we can both live with.

The Studios issues from 2010 are packed with ideas for repurposing, destashing, organizing, and designing a fun and functional art studio space. All four issues are available on one space saving Collection CD. Order or download the Studios 2010 Collection CD now and whip your studio in shape.

What are your tried-and-true organizing tips? Leave a comment below!

Win a Year of Art Instruction from Craft Daily

Cate Prato — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:33:00 GMT

We have our winners! Louise B., Kay C., and Judy E. have all won a year's subscription to Craft Daily. Congratulations!

* * * * *
As I hope you already know, we recently launched Craft Daily, a fun and educational website where you'll find more than 100 hours of full-length craft video workshops and tutorials from world-class instructors on beading, crochet, jewelry, knitting, mixed media, quilting, sewing, spinning, and weaving. Plus, we're adding new videos every week. With a montly or yearly subscription, you can watch as many videos as you like, as often as you like.

We've already received many positive reviews for this site and want to reward our audience with a sweepstakes. Here's how it works:

Between now and June 6, 2013, enter to win via the Cloth Paper Scissors community or on Facebook.

On June 7, 2013, we will select three winners to receive a year-long subscription to Craft Daily, worth $200.

If the winner should already have an annual subscription to Craft Daily, they will get a second year free.

That's all there is to it! So enter now, and good luck!