Take a new look at macramé with Cathy Callahan’s easy-to-follow tutorial.

I know, when you think of macramé you think of cheesy 70s dens, but the knotted handicraft has come a long way since then.

Learn the simple satisfaction of creating knotted designs and take a new look at vintage-style crafts from the blogger behind Cathy of California. Cathy will teach you how to use simple knots to create twists and movement in a macramé plant hanger made modern with vivid colors. You’ll learn the fundamentals of macramé, which can be applied and adapted to all kinds of projects, from jewelry to home décor.

Cathy was raised by a super crafty mom in suburban Southern California. As a result the crafts and design of the 60s and 70s serve as a never ending source of inspiration for her work.

Cathy has appeared on the Martha Stewart show and her work has been featured in The New York Times, Sunset, Anthology, Mollie Makes and Frankie magazines. Her first book Vintage Craft Workshop was released by Chronicle Books in 2011. In July 2012 she launched a jewelry and accessories collection that is currently available at Yolk, Poketo and Reform School in the Los Angeles area.

Cathy lives in Los Angeles with her husband and cat.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

If you’ve got the handmade fever, share some of your very own handmade projects with CreativeBug during their very first CreativeBug + Pinterest: I Made This’ Pin-It-To-Win-It Contest. It launches today.

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: Make a Macrame Plant Holder with Cathy Callahan appeared first on EcoSalon.

Requiring nothing more than a skein of yarn – this project might be the ultimate in low-tech crafting.

In this workshop Amelia Strader shows us how to finger knit chains of yarn that can be turned into necklaces, bracelets, garlands and much more. Amelia teaches the sequence in a chunky yarn so it’s easy to follow along. Despite its simplicity, the chains are stunning when worn in stacks for a modern and tactile look.

Amelia Strader has a lifetime of experience teaching and crafting under her (handmade) belt. She has been knitting and sewing since she could hold onto a needle. Having grown up in a family of artists and creative people, she feels lucky to have been surrounded by art supplies, fabric, and yarn at a young age.

Amelia graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in Fashion Design and for 8 years she worked in the garment industry as a technical designer. She uses the skills she developed as a technical designer to help work out GoGo Craft designs and patterns. Several of her projects have also been featured on “How-Tuesdays” on Etsy.com and Etsy Virtual Labs. She is also the coordinator of the popular monthly crafting event, Craft Bar with Etsy Labs at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco, CA.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: Finger Knitting with Amelia Strader appeared first on EcoSalon.

Reinterpret traditional cross-stitch embroidery by creating this colorful and easy-to-make pendant.

In this workshop, Anna Maria Horner walks us through the fundamentals of cross stitch, which results in this graphic pendant that adds handmade glamour to any outfit. Worked up in one of Horner’s signature bright palettes, the small scale makes this project terrific for new cross stitchers looking for a contemporary application of a traditional embellishment.

To many the Anna Maria brand means color & inspiration in the form of craft, sewing, needlework, books, and friendly how-to. Since 2006 her ever growing library of fabrics has delighted and adorned creative souls around the globe.

Anna Maria Horner grew up in a house full of her dad’s paintings and with a closet full of her mom’s handi-work. Beds were warmed by the hand-loomed wool blankets sent by her grandmother from Greece. The busy little bodies of Anna and her siblings were warmed by the beautiful handknits of their grandmother in Indiana.

She and her husband, Jeff, make their home on a rambling and not overly maintained two acres of happiness in Nashville. Their six children range in age from 3 to 20.  Anna Maria works from her attic studio where the tree house atmosphere inspires many lofty ideas and maintains her sense of wonder.  She is incredibly thankful to be able to seek out her artistic goals at home in the presence of her family’s encouragement. Here success means being surrounded by the work of her own hands.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

CreativeBug now has multi-month packages. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!

• $24.99 monthly
• $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
• $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months

Now through September 30, EcoSalon readers get $10 off for any subscription plan when they apply promo code ECOSALON12 upon signing up.

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: Anna Maria Horner Makes Cross-Stitch Modern appeared first on EcoSalon.

Pick up some knitting needles and reconnect with family members from different generations.

“In the 90s people would say, ‘This isn’t your grandmother’s knitting,’ as a way to make it hip. And one of the things I love about it is, it is your grandmother’s knitting. And her grandmother before her,” says knitwear designer, Jill Draper. If you’ve always wanted to learn this heritage hobby, take a look at Jill’s terrific introduction to lace knitting.

Jill leads you through a practice swatch so you get the hang of the simple pattern before launching into the final project. And she gives you a trick in case you get lost counting the rows. This lacy “little something” could easily grow into a giant cozy shawl if you’re feeling ambitious.

Jill Draper is a hand dyer, knitter, knitwear designer and infrequent blogger living in the Hudson Valley of New York. After graduating from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn with a BFA in Fashion Design she worked in the corporate design world for a while, before realizing what she really craved was a smaller footprint and artisanal production.

Jill believes everyone is capable of making, to this end she has taught hundreds of people to knit and won’t stop until everyone has at least one handmade garment in their closet! Jill Draper Makes Stuff, Jill’s hand dyed yarn line, was born when she moved out of the big city and into the country. She hand dyes yarns, many made in the U.S. with wool she sources from local farmers and writes knitting patterns and tutorials for books and magazines. Jill teaches classes locally and at fiber events around the country, a current list can be found on the website doubleknotstudio.com she shares with fellow maker and clothing designer, Cal Patch.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

CreativeBug now has multi-month packages. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!

• $24.99 monthly
• $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
• $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months

Now through September 30, EcoSalon readers get $10 off for any subscription plan when they apply promo code ECOSALON12 upon signing up.

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: Jill Draper Teaches Easy Heritage Knitting appeared first on EcoSalon.

Personalize your big day with a high-impact DIY garland made from coffee filters. 

Hello!Lucky shows us how to take simple coffee filters and tie them onto kitchen string to make eye-catching garlands, a project from their bestselling book Handmade Weddings.

Dyed pale pink, these ethereal coffee filter pom-poms resemble cabbage roses, and they have a dramatic impact when hung in strands. Because of the dyeing and drying time, start this project early, working in batches — especially if you anticipate needing a large number of strands. perfect for weddings and showers, you can also hang them in your living room, over your dinner table, or in your cocktail area for instant DIY delight!

Pom Pom Garlands with Hello! Lucky on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Eunice and Sabrina Moyle are sisters and co-founders of Hello!Lucky. Hello!Lucky is a design studio specializing in letterpress greeting cards, stationery, wedding invitations, and more. Eunice and Sabrina started Hello!Lucky in 2003 with a vintage Vandercook press in Eunice’s garage and now work out of a bustling studio with a team of 20 people including talented designers, printers, and sales staff. They have clients around the world and a small office in London. Sabrina is the business brains behind the company and Eunice is the creative director, but they’re both crafty and love making stuff with their hands whenever they can. Lately that usually revolves around parties and activities for their boys, they have three boys between the two of them with a fourth on the way.

They live and work in San Francisco and have been featured in various publications and lifestyle sites including Martha Stewart Weddings, Apartment Therapy, Design Sponge, and Real Simple. Clients include Kate’s Paperie, Paper Source, and Banana Republic.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

CreativeBug now have multi-month packages. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!

• $24.99 monthly
• $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
• $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: Decorate with Hello! Lucky’s Pom Pom Garlands appeared first on EcoSalon.

Turn off the TV and pick up your embroidery hoop.

Our response to stress is something we CAN choose. If you’ve been looking for a habit to replace those unhelpful ones, take a look at one that uses your hands to soothe the brain.

In this workshop, Rebecca Ringquist starts with the very basics of embroidery – setting up a hoop and threading needles – and dives into a visual encyclopedia of the most common stitches. Rebecca teaches straight stitches before moving onto decorative and knotted stitches, including the elusive French knot. Along the way, she offers tips for smooth embroidery and examples from her stitched artwork as inspiration.

Embroidery Sampler with Rebecca Ringquist on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Rebecca Ringquist is a Brooklyn-based visual artist and designer. Her stitched drawings on fabric explore issues of identity through thinly veiled metaphors utilizing old fashioned imagery and double entendres. She learned how to embroider in college in a feminist art history class, and has been inspired by the history of American needlework ever since. Approaching the technique of embroidery as a way of drawing, Ringquist has taught hundreds of people new ways of making marks on fabric through classes and workshops around the country.

Her design company, Dropcloth, sells Ringquist’s hand drawn designs that are printed as embroidery patterns, all ready to hoop and sew.

Embroidery Workshops with Rebecca Ringquist on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

CreativeBug now have multi-month packages. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!

• $24.99 monthly
• $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
• $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: Learn the Basics of Embroidery appeared first on EcoSalon.

Before they’re gone, celebrate warm summer evenings with friends. Decorate your garden with these easy-to-make veneer globes and throw a party.

Looking for an unique yet simple party decoration for your next garden party? These veneer globes will do the trick. Decorate them in different ways to match any occasion, whether it’s a kid’s birthday party or an elegant outdoor dinner gathering. They have a whimsical feel that will brighten up any setting.

Wood Veneer Globes with Kelly Wilkinson on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Kelly Wilkinson is the Editorial Director of Creativebug. Prior to joining Creativebug, Kelly worked as a reporter and anchor for the NPR station in San Francisco. She wrote a regular craft column for the Washington Post and her craft book Weekend Handmade was released in 2012 by STC Craft. Her projects have appeared online on Design*Sponge and Apartment Therapy, as well as in print publications including Sunset, Country Living and the Los Angeles Times.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

CreativeBug recently launched multi-month packages. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!

• $24.99 monthly
• $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
• $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: DIY Some Craft Veneer Globes For Your Next Garden Party appeared first on EcoSalon.

Spend an afternoon with Liesl Gibson learning new sewing skills while helping a child in need.

The popover sun dress is a great project for the beginning sewer. Build on your basic skills by learning with Liesl how to sew french seams, bias binding and a narrow hem. The dress works up quickly and is offered in a wide range of sizes, including a version small enough for a matching doll version.

If you want to amp up the feel-good factor, why not donate the dress to Project HOPE Art, an organization that takes these dresses to orphanages in Haiti. Helping others feels good, and we help ourselves too.

Popover Sundress with Liesl Gibson from Creativebug on Vimeo.

After starting a career in publishing and finance, Liesl Gibson returned to school and earned a degree in fashion design from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Before having a child in 2005, she worked as a designer for Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren.

While staying home with the baby, Liesl began designing her daughter’s clothing. “People were asking if they could buy the patterns for the dresses I was making,” Liesl says. “One thing led to another, and I had a new career.” In 2008 Liesl launched Oliver + S, a new brand of sewing patterns for children’s clothing. Today Liesl also designs a line of Oliver + S fabric. She published her first book, Oliver + S Little Things to Sew in 2011.

In 2011 Liesl also created Lisette, a line of sewing patterns and fabric for women’s apparel that is now available at Jo-Ann stores in the USA and Spotlight stores in Australia. In 2012 Liesl debuted Straight Stitch Society, a collection of patterns for gifts and accessories. The brand’s tagline, “Life is hard. Sewing is easy.” expresses its quirky and sometimes irreverent personality.

Liesl Gibson Creativebug Trailer from Creativebug on Vimeo.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

CreativeBug recently launched multi-month packages. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!

• $24.99 monthly
• $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
• $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: DIY a Popover Sundress for a Child in Need appeared first on EcoSalon.

This workshop demonstrates a wonderful marriage between two basic jewelry techniques, a crochet and beading stitch, which creates a modern yet bohemian approach to necklace making. 

Some might say that the desire to adorn ourselves with some small trinket or design is indeed primal. The personal talismans you make today are tomorrows heirlooms.

Jewelry designer Alix Bluh demonstrates a simple crochet stitch for beading that offers endless options for customization by using different thread and bead combinations. You’ll also learn how to create different style clasps, and incorporate leather for a less time-intensive project that achieves the same sophisticated look. The fundamentals that you’ll learn in this class can be endlessly adapted to achieve different looks depending on the color thread and gems you chose.

Talisman Necklace with Alix Bluh on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Reliquary pieces are a longtime fascination for Alix Bluh, where sacred objects are held in tiny boxes close at hand to honor the entity that it houses. Alix’s reliquaries, ranging from 18k gold branches, feathers, pearls and loose precious stones, safely nestled under crystal have become her signature design concept. Alix Blüh’s jewelry can be found in a number of high end retailers including the Sundance Catalog, Imagine (Santa Barbara, CA), FINI (Seattle, WA), New York Adorned (NYC) and COG & Pearl (Brooklyn, NY). In addition, her work is also shown in galleries all over the USA, and in 8 other countries. She runs an atelier gallery in San Francisco called Modern Relics.

Alix Bluh on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

CreativeBug, a new series of how-to videos for DIY’ers, recently launched to inspire you. For $25 a month, subscribers have unlimited access to a continuously updated library of creative workshops in knitting, crochet, sewing, jewelry, entertaining, home decorating and kids crafts. Featuring some of the country’s biggest talents, instructors include Debbie Stoller, Stitch ‘n Bitch, Heather Ross, Weekend Sewing, Christine Schmidt, Print Workshop and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. Creativebug’s state of the art audio and video production quality, short video segments and entertaining presentation make the videos accessible to artists of all skill levels.

CreativeBug launched multi-month packages this week. Subscribers can now get a discount for signing up for multiple months in advance!

• $24.99 monthly
• $19.99 per month, billed every 3 months
• $16.99 per month, billed every 6 months

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: DIY Talisman Necklaces appeared first on EcoSalon.

Random Ruffle T-Shirt with Natalie “Alabama” Chanin from Creativebug on Vimeo.

Natalie “Alabama” Chanin on Creativebug from Creativebug on Vimeo.

So, what are you waiting for? Make a pattern. Make a print. Make a difference.

The post CreativeBug Workshop: Alabama Chanin Ruffles Us Up appeared first on EcoSalon.