Random Baltimore Photo

by Christy Zuccarini

Remember Hurricane Katrina

Pine Shadows One 5x7 from WetzelFink

Infamous Hurricane Katrina hit just 3 yrs ago. It is an anniversary that I feel we, as a nation should acknowledge with an awed reverence... The forgotten people who truly suffered those days. New Orleans will always remember their trauma whenever Aug. 29th rolls around.

As a person who grew up outside of New Orleans and who still has family living there, Hurricane Katrina’s anniversary is one that hits with post traumatic stress. I wasn’t there to witness it first hand, but I watched the National Weather Service’s live streaming radar from my computer screen all morning. To my disbelief, their radar went down and there were no more updates as Katrina’s eye went right over New Orleans. What the radar did not show was the 25’ storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain, the lake north of the city, that had pushed over it’s banks and flooded my family’s community in Slidell.

I watched the aftermath of this storm on television with my 4 month old in my arms, I was in disbelief. The levees were broken and the Crescent City started to fill ever so slowly. I saw desperate mothers and their babies, elderly, and poor people stranded and forgotten by their government.


Rebuild New Orleans - Make It Right - House / Tools T-Shirt from inexplicableconfetti


Love It Necklace from yabettasupadont

Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath is a shameful episode in our nation’s history. Please remember all who suffered on that day and the horrible days that followed. And acknowledge the devastation that some families are still living with 3 yrs.later.

Post written by TigerLillyShop

My New Favorite DIY Find

And I do mean DIY. It's so simple that it's genius, really. I happen to love the idea of organization. With The PocketMod, you can have it on the fly with materials from your recycle bin.

From their website you can make a calendar/notebook/puzzle book from just 1 piece of paper! Print a functional pocket-sized journal that you customize yourself, fold, and you're off! Easy.

BEST on the Front Page

Happy Birthday, Anita!

aka miscelena

Friday Finds- Labor Day edition

Once again, it's time for the Maryland State Fair, so here are some of my favorite fair-themed finds. Don't just let the pictures satisfy your need for thrilling rides and junk food. Go!

I have no idea what this ride is, but I am intrigued... by tpdesign.

I really wish I wasn't so terrified of heights, so I could ride a Ferris wheel... by JenArthur.

My daughter's favorite... by ELBfoto.

Put this on the list of rides that scare the pants off me (although I will happily ride ANY roller coaster)... by barefootphotos.

I adore old carousels, so intricate... too bad I get dizzy if I spend the whole time looking up while riding one! by ELBfoto.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Jamaila!

aka anapurna

Twenty Things - Jenygwen

1. i live/love to eat and have specific ways of eating almost everything...it borders on OCD.
2. i enjoy moving and have done so 16 times.
3. my favorite number is 22.
4. i 've wanted to be an artist since the third grade, i never considered another career option.
5. if my inner child isn't apparent, it is always bubbling just below the surface waiting for an excuse to come out.
6. i have jumped out of a plane
7. i am in a bocce ball league...i secretly yearn to win the bocce ball trophy at the end of our season.
8. i have fantastic inlaws (my bocce ball partner is my father inlaw).
9. dolls tend to creep me out.
10. one of my favorite things to do is sing... i give my husband free concerts when we are in the car.
11. my husband and i were friends for 12 years before we started dating.
12. my favorite color has changed..it used to be yellow, now it is pink.
13. i love bugs, i once gave one CPR...really.
14. i love old things...except dolls!
15. i am obsessed with my garden and have an ongoing (nonviolent) feud with a neighborhood cat who thinks it is his litterbox!
16. i like driving in NYC.
17. my least favorite food is suckatash but it is one of my favorite words.
18. when i get old enough to retire i want to run a bed & breakfast.
19. i love being in water.
20. i have very vivid dreams and frequently remember them when i wake up.

Would you like to be featured? Email your twenty things (keep it clean, please!) to baltimoreetsy (at) gmail (dot) com. Be sure to include your name and URL.

Featured Team!

Read the article here... Thank you, Etsy!

Knit-in

On Sept. 9 from 8 a.m.-10 p.m., 5 percent of sales at Whole Foods in Mount Washington will be donated to the Greater Homewood Adult Literacy & ESOL Program.

The day’s events will include live music, healthy snacks, crafts for kids, and a gathering of knitters from around town for a “Knit-In for Literacy”. Knitting instruction for beginners will be offered, so if you can, bring some extra yarn and needles for the newbies.

What could be better than knitting and organic groceries? Helping people learn to read.

Indie-pendent Business - High Mountain Signs

I first met Ian from High Mountain Signs in the beginning of Spring at Ecofestival. He was really nice to me, despite the fact that I was sick and grouchy. He was so friendly, in fact, that my husband gave him a call soon after.


When preparing for shows, many artists and crafters are so focused on how they are going to display their work that they totally forget about signs (I speak from experience). Banners are an essential element of your booth at outdoor craft shows. They are often the first thing a customer sees, and one of the easiest ways to get your business noticed in a crowd.

High Mountain Signs will work with you to create that banner. Ian's products are high-quality and priced competitively. The business is very professional and accommodating, but best of all, local. And like I said before... he's really nice.

Baltimore Portrait

Artist, Erin Fitzpatrick, has announced the exhibition of the first installation of paintings from the Baltimore Portrait series. The exhibit will run from August 24th -October 12th at Rocket to Venus in Hampden.


Fitzpatrick, MICA graduate and Baltimore-based portrait artist, will be exhibiting the first twenty pieces in her latest series, Baltimore Portrait, a showcase of Baltimore’s twenty-thirty somethings.

“It has been really fun working on this series. The response from people who have either seen the paintings or want to be painted, has been so enthusiastic that this idea has turned into a large-scale project. The portraits appeal to the viewer’s desire to people watch and maybe recognize someone he or she knows” says Fitzpatrick.

Each 12”x12” portrait is painted in oil on a clear-primed piece of wood. The wood is treated to prevent deterioration while still showing its natural grain as a backdrop to the headshot.

For morel information, or to obtain additional images, please contact Erin at fitzbomb@yahoo.com

Post written by JennyJen42

Last Chance

The summer's coming to an end and so is your chance to win the biggest giveaway we've had yet! You have until August 29th, so if you haven't signed up for our mailing list, sign up now!

Work by BlockPartyPress, BowerboxPress, GreenStarStudio, JenMenkhaus, JennyJen42, JillPopowichDesigns, Miscelena, SpaTherapy, TheBrokenPlate, TigerLillyShop, VWStudios.

Art MD 2008

Applications are now available for ART MD 2008! This is a biennial juried exhibit and the Howard County Arts Council, which features pieces from artists, 18 years or older, residing in Maryland or within 100-mile radius of the Howard County Arts Council. Artists can submit up to three works. Guest juror Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, Ph.D., Graduate Dean Emeritus, Director of the Center for Race and Culture, Maryland Institute of ART, will select work to be exhibited October 31 to December 12, 2008. Deadline is September 2!

Featured Seller: Silhouettes cut in paper and plants

The work of Jenny Lee Fowler brings back memories of childhood. As a child I would sit mesmerized by the small black paper silhouettes of my sister and I in deep black oval frames. That is, I imagined it was us. I don't remember them being made and for all I know they were two random girls with pony tails.


Custom Silhouette Portrait

Fowler offers these traditional silhouettes custom cut using your photo of a loved one. They are delicate, detailed, and absolutely lovely. For a ephemeral twist, Fowler will cut your silhouette from a green leaf. Fowler says, "Leaves will change color with age, and some splitting may occur as the leaf dries;" not unlike what happens to us.


Custom Leaf Silhouette Portrait

Cutting silhouettes isn't Fowler's only scissors skill. She also makes cut paper pictures done in the same way kids make snowflakes, but so much more sophisticated.


Blue Horses Silhouette Papercutting

Post written by VWStudios

Sunday in the City

Oldest House in Baltimore corner of Grant and Mercer Street from the Maryland Historical Society

Creative Spaces - The Broken Plate

I'm sure you have seen my stack of unbroken plates, now I get to share the rest of my glamorous work space! Above is "where the magic happens." (Sorry, I have always wanted to say that.) This is my breaking station where I smash plates and separate the pieces into different piles depending on what I can use the piece for. The green box is the flat center of a plate, blue box is the rim, red box is filled with half plates and the brown box is trash.
This is the soldering station, more magic happens here. The orange thing hanging under the paper towels is a Mr. T Soap on a Rope, he is my little mascot. "I pity the Fool who interrupts my solder!"

This space rarely looks like this, but when it does, I do some finishing and packaging here. I love my work space, but sometimes I just hate being in the basement. Sometimes, I can't help but bring everything upstairs and solder on the island in the kitchen (shh, don't tell Mr. Broken Plate.)

Friday Finds- Back to School

Oh, how I used to love my new back-to-school gear...

I would just love to store my pencils and crayons, oh, and erasers in this adorable squirrel pencil bag by rohmer.

I heart you too, notebook! By myright2write.

New hair accessories, so cute! (But I never would let my mom brush my long hair.) By marymarsh.

I must have a thing for hedgehogs right now. Super sweet backpack by eclu.

Um, I may even need this lunch bag for myself. I don't care that I'm in my, ahem, 30's. By scatterboxoriginals.

Hope you finished your summer reading!!

Twenty Things - Carly Goss

Twenty things you didn't know about me, by Carly Goss, new member of the Charm City Craft Mafia. Visit her website or her blog.

1. I love meeting fellow Massholes. It makes me sad when I meet other people from Massachusetts who aren't as excited about having met me.
2. I sing 200 year old religious shape note hymns. Loudly.
3. I'm an atheist.
4. I'm quite certain my weaving teacher in college hated my work.
5. I used to perform Balkan music and dance. My group won first prize among foreigners at the Koprivshtitsa festival in Bulgaria in 2000.
6. I am learning to play banjo.
7. I have cut off all my hair and called it "art" more than once.
8. I'm six feet tall.
9. I drink water out of a Mason jar--sometimes it's mistaken for hooch.
10. I hate holes. I don't want to talk about it.
11. When I get overwhelmed I make lists which overwhelm me even more.
12. I used to want to own sheep. Then I became good friends with sheep farmers. I don't want sheep anymore.
13. When I feel out of control I take on more than I can handle to prove that I'm in control.
14. I have enormous "craft crushes" on Jen from Cotton Monster, Shawna of Pink Kiss Pottery and Shannon of Sweet Pepita.
15. More people refer to my boyfriend as "Goat" than by his real name.
16. I am an archivist's dream. I keep a regular journal, a weaving journal, fertility charts, lists, calendars, the occasional health, dream, mood or food journal... it's ridiculous.
17. I've taken my temperature every morning for the past 5 years. 98.6 degrees is not the norm.
18. I once sang on stage with Alison Krauss and Ralph Stanley.
19. I staged parkour photos for the Goat's valentine this year.
20. I heart hula hoops.

Holiday Heap - Apply now!

The Charm City Craft Mafia just announced that applications for this years Holiday Heap- November 15th, 2008 are available online and ready for you to fill out! Applications are due October 5th at midnight. APPLY HERE!

A Renaissance is Happening

Ah, it is mid August. The air is cooling down, Back-to-School sales are everywhere we turn, Fall is coming… and so is the Maryland Renaissance Festival!


What better opportunity to let your medieval side hang out by gnawing on a turkey leg, drinking mead and throwing axes. There is fun for everyone, storytelling for the little ones, jousting, games, demonstrations and crafts galore!



That's right, there are truly wonderful artisans hocking their wares, everything from handmade boots to blown glass to horns and tails (for the devilish creature in all of us).

The festival runs from August 23rd and runs through October 19th and is located in Crownsville, Maryland.

Post written by Jill Popowich

Crafting for a Cause

In my travels for work I come upon a lot of craft bazaars in other countries. Just today, I stopped in to check out a booth full of items offered by Parsa, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping widows, orphans, and the mentally and physically disabled of Afghanistan through job training, education, counseling, and business development.

Most of the items are made by widows involved in Parsa programs, including these handmade Afghani girl dolls:

I had a hard time picking out just one for my friend's new baby, but finally decided on her:

Parsa doesn't sell any dolls wearing burqas, you will notice, and in Afghanistan you see more and more women who choose not to wear the distinctive light blue face-covering scarf.

Talking with the two women working the booth about their crafts reminded me that I am lucky to be able to do this for the fun of it, and wonder how I could make more of a contribution through making things.

Post written by bennyandheidi

Random Baltimore Photo

For more information, please click on the image.


Would you like to be featured? Tag your Flickr photos with Baltimore, and we may use your image on our blog! Note - is is very helpful to have the "embed" feature enabled.

Pillow Talk

Today’s tutorial is how to make a felt appliqué pillow cover with piping! You will need to gather up the following materials:

• Pillow form
• Enough fabric to cover front and back, as well as an additional half of your back
• A package of piping
• Felt
• Fabric glue (Elmer’s glue can also work)
• Thread
• Sewing machine

Step 1: Cut fabric

Measure your pillow form for height and width. Cut out the front of you pillow by adding 2” to both sides. This pillow form is 12” X 16” so we will cut 14” X 18”.



For the back, cut out two pieces: one that is one half the width (for this pillow it would be 9”X 14”) and one piece that is three quarters the width (about 14”X 14”).

Step 2: Making the back

Press under one width side per back piece a half inch. Then press under again one inch. Sew edges with a 5/8 seam. Put aside.


Step 3: Making your Felt appliqué design

We wanted to make a sock monkey design, so we decided to trace the outline of the actual sock monkey because we really liked the size of the monkey on the pillow. This gave us our basic shape. We then added detail with felt shapes. Using fabric glue (if you don’t have any fabric glue, Elmer’s glue can also work. Apply very sparingly to avoid glue spots) Let glue dry (a good half hour should do! Before sewing)




Once glue is dried, sew down felt on all edges using an interesting color of thread with your sewing machine.

Step 4: Piping

Lay out your piping on the right side of your front piece a half-inch from the edge. Pin on flat side of piping facing the point towards you as you pin. Pin corners by pinching the piping to form a corner. Pin as shown:


Using a zipper foot on your machine, carefully sew piping down by sewing on the flat side. Take out pins as you move along the piping.


Step 5” Putting it all Together

Lay front side right side up and arrange both back pieces to match edges of the front so right sides are together. Your back pieces will over lap. Pin pieces together and sew. Follow along the piping line as you sew being careful not to sew over the round part of the piping. You should be sewing on the outside edge of the piping.



Final Step: Turn pillow case inside out and slip pillow form in between the two back pieces and there you go! Your own appliqué pillow form. Happy Sewing!