Just to say..."I did it myself!"
Introduction:
Every St. Patrick's Day it's the same story. I begin several days ahead with a complete house cleaning. It is, after all, only four days to the beginning of Spring from March 17th. Time to clear out the pent up mustiness of Winter and most of the winter clothes and bedding. The linen closet, which has been half-empty since October, fills up fast. And then there is the grocery shopping for those prepackaged briskets (at a $1.29 a pound and freezable, they are a deal), Irish potatoes, and heads of green cabbage. The makings for Irish soda bread go into the shopping cart also. At home, down from the cupboard come my soup stockpot and two Dutch ovens. On the morning of the 17th, I will have half dozen briskets going on the top of the stove and the windows open. All down my street, heads peep out of doorways following their noses, and I've been known to walk a plate across the street to an elderly neighbor or two when asked. I've contemplated varying the menu to include Irish stew, but I'm cooking for an army of friends, who consider this to be my holiday although I am not exactly Irish, and nothing will do except AngelPie's corned beef and cabbage.
Do you have a St. Patrick's Day tradition too? What crafts are you planning?
Note: for recipes for many Irish dishes including several variations of soda bread, Irish stew, and corned beef and cabbage, check out my personal website: http://www.geocities.com/angelpie_mouse
 Hello Crafter's
One of my favorite things to write about is "new members joining us this month." It gives me an opportunity to check out who's who. Unfortunately, this month, although a few people stopped by for a quick howdy and what goes on here, we have none. We could blame it on Yahoo! glitches, and there were some (for a couple days I couldn't access clubs at all), but we all sort of did fall silent this past month. I think the problem is that we still don't have enough members. It's not that we don't appreciate our continuing members, we do, but new members help keep us on our toes, make us want to explore realms unplumbed and rarely seen…the unfinished project corner. And you know what they say: "the more, the merrier."
Recruiting. You can add to the pool of knowledge we can all share in by inviting known craft addicts to join us. Remember our URLs are: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/craftersplace and http://www.geocities.com/PicketFence/Street/3400.
Valentines.
If I were going to give out recycling awards--and I've threatened to do so--I'd have to include mpack_99's Valentines. I have to admit I was skeptical about using leftover Christmas candy for Valentines, and I am
still wondering if these candy cane hearts are edible.
A day or so after Valentine's, mpack_99 shared with us a photo of the finished product (at left) by placing it in the club photo album--something we should all try to do when possible. From her earlier description on the message board, the candy canes are glued to a backing of paper or light cardboard and lace and a rubberstamping image is affixed at the center. So, my skepticism aside, they certainly did turn out to be something special, didn't they? Congratulations, mpack_99!
Anny2craft is presently trying to organize a regular club chat session. You know, coffee, cheese and crackers, and shop talk. It really is something we have been missing in this club for some time.
Proposed meeting times are Wednesdays at 12 p.m. Eastern (11 a.m. Central, 10 a.m. Mountain, 9 a.m. Pacific, etc.). For me, that works out to breakfast with the arts although it appears, at present, that the times are not caste in stone.
If you like these hours, please be prompt this coming Wednesday. Or, if you would like to propose an alternate chat session time, please post your suggestion to the message board. We'll try to be there.
Last month's project was Easter Egg sculptures. The proposal was to collect blown eggshells and carve designs into them using a fine hobby drill such as the Dremel. Then, decorate them using lacquer paints or acrylics, beads, gold braid and chain…whatever stirs your imagination.
The one pictured to the right was not done by me, but is shown here as an example of the kinds of product that may be created. The egg used was an ostrich egg, and although you cannot tell from this photo, the interior of the egg is the dark blue. In similar examples by the same artist, small figurines or photos presented in relief are positioned on the inside of the egg. The finished product retails for about $500. As I said, they may not be Faberge, but the result is truly beautiful.
Project for March 2000: Thinking caps on…time for you to suggest a project of the month. Post your ideas to the message board and let's see if we can up with one really good idea for Easter for all of us to try.
Every serious crafter should have one of these in their toolbox, that is: a fine, high-speed hand-held drill (not necessarily this brand). The mototool, as it is sometimes called, has many functions. Depending on the attachment or accessory bit, you can sharpen scissors and knives and other blade tools, polish, sand, cut, engrave, rout, or carve. Although a little more clumsy with a slightly higher torque and less variable speed capability than a dentist drill (cheaper price tag too), with a bit of practice, you can turn out genuine works of art.
One friend of mine uses his to make miniature scale doll furniture and staircase railings. He uses the drill itself as a sort of mini-lathe set in his hobby vice. A small file set and wood carving tool serve as the gouges and a cutout profile guide for the fence. Another friend uses her mototool to make and engrave jewelry. And, I've used my own to repair door latches, create small picture frames, remove excess grout between tile, and the Easter egg project above.
Some of the drawbacks I've encountered to this tool include the lack of speed variability. You sometimes wish it had a slow start-up speed like a sewing a machine although I believe newer models do have some greater flexibility in that regard. Too, it requires a sort of wrench to open and close the collets (or chucks). Also, you frequently have to change the collets to accommodate larger shafted accessory bits, unlike the bulkier hexhead mounted adapter offered by Black and Decker, which does have it's own failings. And finally, there's no way around it, a high-speed tool such as this one does develop heat, which can be a real pain when you have to wait for the tool to cool sufficient to handle it to change bits.
The Dremel Corporation website offers more tips and ideas on how to use their tools than I am offering here. You really ought to check it out http://www.dremel.com/Dremel.html. Project ideas and contests on site also.
There is a serious hole in the craft section of our webpage, and I just don't know how to fill it. Okay, I confess; I've tried a lot of crafts, but I haven't a clue what you are talking about when you mention rubberstamping. My idea of a rubber stamp is the date code on the outside of the milk carton or the word "Void" on a cancelled check. I wouldn't know where to go to find out about it either. So…how about someone writing up a description of this obviously very popular craft, e.g.: what are the tools involved, brand name products and what they do, applications of the craft to usable finished goods, listing of websites…all that stuff.
Please send to angel-pie@geocities.com and I will make sure you get credit for the article.
The Crafter's Place Newsletter is publication of The Yahoo! Crafter's Place Chat Club.
This edition was edited by AngelPie_Mouse. Copyright ©2000.
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