Craft Challenge | ChristyNelson.net » Stuff I Like

Cricut Imagine and David Garibaldi

christy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:30:03 +0000

Last night I was at a party for Provo Craft's new product, the Cricut Imagine. I'll share more about the product in the next few days (I have some videos to upload and edit) but for now I wanted to show you a bit of the entertainment from the party. They brought in a performance artist, David Garibaldi. He wowed us with his speed painting to amazing music. As you can imagine (pun intended), he painted images that had to do with inspiration and imagination.

He threw in the Cricut logo for good measure.

Here is a performance that he did at a different event.

We left the night feeling inspired, uplifted, and happy! Provo Craft does a great job with their product launches and I can't wait to get my hands on the new Imagine machine when it will show up at my house in a few months! The product is supposed to be in stores in October.

Tilt Shift Photography

christy — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:39:35 +0000

I've spent a lot of time watching tilt shift photography videos online over the past several months and never realized there was an easy way for those of us without a tilt shift lens or mad photoshopping skills to make some great pictures. Then I started noticing some photos on Flickr that were made using Tiltshiftmaker.com. I checked it out! I made some photos.

The little house in the middle of the street was already adorable. Now, with everything look miniature, I just want to put that street into my pocket!

Here is the picture without any editing at all.

I'm trying to resist the urge to make all of my photos tilt shift. Here's one more that I did.

Want to see an amazing tilt shift video? This is full of scenes from New York City.

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Le Rouet Knitting/Needlework Shop in Geneva

christy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:31:24 +0000

On my first full day in Geneva, I took a tram down to a neighborhood known for being a haven for artists, craftspeople, and the like. My kind of neighborhood, you know? It is called Carouge and I will admit...it was kind of overrated.

Sure, there was that kind of vibe and plenty of shops that fit the bill. Maybe I was expecting too much? One shop where I spent a considerable amount of time was the local knitting/needlework shop.

I couldn't bring myself to pay Swiss prices for yarn. Most of what they carried was generic wool, wool blends, acrylic and novelty. Their needlework patterns were really cool, though. I couldn't bring myself to pay Swiss prices for those, either.

They did have a bit of a sale on some of their kits. I ended up buying a tea towel kit. I've been working on it and I'll share the pictures later this week.

Clever Jewelry Display

christy — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:17:05 +0000

I'm pretty sure this shop was on Burano. It was one of the cutest shops I saw the whole time I was in Europe.

Most of the jewelry was made incorporating felt beads and glass beads. The colors were amazing and the designs had a modern whimsy that drew me in.

What really got me excited, though, were the displays. These were really clever and could easily be replicated. It would make for a gorgeous vendor booth display.

Schlosser Designs Stamp Moving Sale

christy — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:58:38 +0000

My friend Erin designs stamps. They are really cute. You will want some. Bonus? They are all on sale! Erin's moving and would like to send you some of her inventory so she doesn't have to pack it up! Win/win situation, right?

Enter the code, MOVE and you'll get 20% off. You have until July 31st and it includes everything in her shop!

I already own this set. Erin gives you the option of purchasing her stamp sets packaged in a tin (cute and easy storage!) or you can get the "LITE" versions where they are in a clear plastic pouch (more stamps for less shipping!).

This is the one I bought today. It's one of the ones I've had my eyes on since it came out. And her design team did such a great job coming up with some really cool ways to use it. Speaking of her design team, she just announced the newest members.

What are you waiting for? Go shopping!

disclaimer: I was not paid to write this post. I just love Erin and her stamps and wanted to spread the word!

Murano Glass Blowing

christy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:27:41 +0000

I loved going to the island of Murano. That whole day in Italy was amazing because we spent the whole day on Murano (glass paradise) and Burano (lace and charm). Burano will get its own post eventually. Today is all about the glass.

Tangent: I'm LDS and in our temple at Winter Quarters they have some of the most beautiful bowls I've ever seen. The picture below represents something similar. But, I'll be honest...I've never been able to find anything similar. And, I've been looking. A lot.

When we were in Murano, all I wanted to do was find something similar. I was on a quest. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. There was nothing even close. The vase above comes from California (and costs $485). After searching in a gazillion shops, I realized it wasn't going to happen.

That doesn't mean that I didn't find some amazing glass. I did!

We found some places where you could actually see the glass blowers at work. I thought this guy looked cool with his shorts. It was really hot in there. They also were super fast! I guess you kind of have to be so the glass doesn't cool. Most of my pictures of them at work look like the one below.

Most galleries didn't allow photos so I don't really have many photos of the actual glass. We also visited a museum all about glass and it was amazing. No photos.

I brought one piece home with me. It was on a sale rack (bonus!) and it matches my home so completely that even though it wasn't THE ONE I was looking for, I'm super happy with the purchase.

I'm not super happy with this photo. I should have taken it outside. Does this one show it a bit better?

Now I have another reason to beg my husband to bring me flowers every week.

Despicable Me

christy — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:33:35 +0000

A couple of months ago I got to see a super sneak peak of the movie, Despicable Me. It was at the Mom 2.0 conference. The movie was still not completed and quite a bit of the animation was rough. I really enjoyed it. I also liked watching it in that state because I could see so much of the process and some of what it takes to get it from basic renderings to full-on animated 3-D goodness.

Speaking of 3-D, I got to see it again at another sneak peak a few weeks ago. This time it was finished, in 3-D, and I got to take my family. We laughed out loud and my kids (ages 7 & 5) were so well behaved (for them) I couldn't believe it. They loved the movie...especially the minions.

I'm working on a craft project involving these great little guys that I think you all will like. The movie comes out in just a few more days on July 9th. Our family definitely gives it a thumbs up!

Aleene’s Tacky Glue

christy — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:05:28 +0000

I was cleaning out my email inbox over the weekend and came across this picture from the winter Craft & Hobby Trade Show. This is me and Aleene.

THE Aleene. You know, Aleene's Tacky Glue? THAT Aleene. The Aleene that was a crafty entrepreneur pioneer. The one that had her own craft tv show in the 40's.

She signed a bottle of Tacky Glue for me. I love it.

Summer CHA is in just a few weeks. I wonder if I'll see her there?

Mosaics in Venice

christy — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:51:07 +0000

In Venice, we were surrounded with amazing craftsmanship and history at every turn. These photos represent some of the mosaics found on the outside of the Basilica di San Marco. That first photo amazed me with the shading details. Can you imagine trying to recreate that?

I wish I could have taken photos inside. They were even more amazing. At their official site, you can see some virtual tours of the inside. With over 8000 square meters of mosaic alone, there is a lot to see!

Artist Jean-Etienne Liotard

christy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:59:51 +0000

While in Europe, we visited several different museums. Most of them didn't allow us to take any pictures and I'll have to do with my mental memory to relive the beautiful things I saw. In Geneva, I knew I had to buy a couple of prints. There were two paintings in particular that spoke to me. I immediately fell in love with them.

This is the one that started it all. Doesn't this lady look like someone you want to know? Or be? I'd totally be friends with this lady. Her name is Madame Louise d'Epinay. She was a writer, had a relationship with one of the Brothers Grimm (among others) and hung out with Voltaire. When she was in Geneva, she was painted by Liotard. Once I saw this painting, I knew that I wanted to find out more about the painter.

This is one of his self portraits. Isn't he awesome? If you were living in the 1700's, wouldn't you want to know this guy? Or be painted by him?