CraftGossip relies on its bunch of dedicated editors to bring you the latest in craft gossip. Each sub-blog has its own editor so that you know that you are getting the best information possible. This page tells you a little about each editor so that you can know the faces behind the gossip!
Quilting and Needlework: Claudia Porter
Claudia has been quilting for about 30 years. She has never met a scrap fabric she didn’t like, and most of her quilt designs and fabric craft projects incorporate them in some way. On a whim, she decided to begin writing online content about 8 years ago and has never looked back.
Starting out by writing articles and tutorials that covered a wide variety of topics, she decided to take it to the next level and concentrate on her artistic hobby. A couple of years ago she quit her day job to pursue her dream of creating art full-time, and the result is her website, www.createwithclaudia.com. She also started a YouTube channel Create with Claudia, only recently getting over her fear of appearing on camera.
Claudia has had a project featured in Woman’s World magazine and has won some awards for her quilts. Her favorite part of her creative process is seeing an idea that she sketched come to life as a finished piece. She’s rarely without her notebook and some colored pencils to help her draft her latest designs. When she’s not creating art, she can be found hiking in the beautiful Pennsylvania woods, reading mysteries, or hanging out with her family.
Knitting: Sarah White ([email protected])
Sarah E. White comes from a long line of crafters, back to the time before they called it craft and it was just what people did to get by. Her mother and grandmother taught her the rudiments of knitting, sewing, cross stitch, baking and canning, and she’s since built up her knitting skills (less so the other ones) and taught herself to crochet. She’s the Guide to Knitting for About.com (http://knitting.about.com) and blogs about crafting with kids and crafting for kids at http://sarahewhite.com, where she’s on a quest to find the perfect recipe for homemade playdough. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with her husband and daughter, who is the beneficiary of much crafty goodness and always asks “is that for me?” when she sees crafting going on. Their house is full of yarn, fabric, beads and, now that she’s getting into art journaling, an increasing supply of paper, stamps and embellishments.
Sarah is the author of Picture Yourself Felting Your Knitting and has a second book, all about knitting for babies, due out in 2013.
Sewing: Anne E. Weaver ([email protected])
Anne is a sewing maven and internet addict. She frequently sends emails to her friends with the heading, “Hey, check this out!” and includes a link to some project or sewing approach that really blows her mind that day. She loves it when she sees a new twist on an old idea, or when an unusual material is put to more traditional use. She gets thoroughly giddy when she sees an otherwise complicated technique simplified so that it’s within the creative reach of mere mortals like herself. The only problem is, there are far too many sewing projects that fall into these categories, and too little space in her friends’ in-boxes. When the sewing editor position at Craft Gossip came open, she jumped at the opportunity to expand her sphere of influence.
Anne hoards fabric as if it were Belgian chocolate. At least once a day she opens her fabric closet and gazes upon the veritable candy store right there in her own house. Sometimes, if a piece of fabric has been very good that day, she’ll take it out and sew it into something really pretty.
Stamping and Scrapbooking: Heather Holbrook ([email protected])
Heather Holbrook has a real passion for paper. She’s always been crafty but her love of stamping and paper arts began in 1996 when she went along with her mother and some friends to her first stamping class and she has been hooked ever since.
She owned Stamps Galore, a rubber stamp store in Lexington KY for three years and has taught stamping, scrapbooking and altered arts classes for the past 10 years. Her work has been published in several magazines including Somerset Studio, Altered Arts and Vamp Stamp News.
When she doesn’t have scissors in her hands or ink on her fingers she enjoys reading, web surfing, watching movies and spending time with her husband, their cat and three dogs.
You can see Heather’s collage art and soldered jewelry at: www.PisforPaper.com and at her shop on Etsy: www.PisforPaper.etsy.com.
Recycled Crafts Editor: Stefanie Girard ([email protected])
Stefanie Girard has been “cutting up” and re-purposing stuff since she learned to use scissors. She has a degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute. She has authored 4 jewelry making book/kits for Walter Foster Publishing in addition to her latest book; Sweater Surgery: How to Make New Things With Old Sweaters for Quarry Books. Originally from Connecticut she move to California and worked in the entertainment industry first as a set decorator and prop master specializing in kid’s TV and then moved into producing How-to TV shows including Knitty Gritty, DIY Jewelry Making, Simply Quilts, Sew Much More and Embellish This! for HGTV and The DIY Networks. Along the way she designed hundreds of craft projects for industry clients including The Walt Disney Company, Wrights, Westrim Crafts, Blue Moon Beads, Plaid Enterprises and the JoAnn and Michaels craft stores. Currently she is Craft Marketing Specialist for the Quayside Publishing Group and writes their blog-http://craftside.typepad.com/ and her own http://sweatersurgery.blogspot.com/
CraftGossip Editor: Shellie Wilson ([email protected])
Shellie Wilson is the founder of Craftbits.com and CraftGossip.com.
Previous Quilting Editor: Scarlett Burroughs
I’ve dabbled in many a hobby over the years, but one has remained freakishly consistent – quilting. I was drawn to it by the usual things, there’s a beauty and comfort you can touch. When my sister was a child, she used to love resting under one of our grandmother’s scrap quilts. She would pass the time admiring each patch when she didn’t feel well enough for any other activity.
But there is more to it. Creating quilts provides me an artistic outlet like no other. The process and end result are equally rewarding. I’m so crazy about it, I teach it to anyone who wants to learn. I especially enjoy collaborative projects that evolve as participants contribute. It demonstrates a situation where differences are valued and ways are found to unify the parts as a better whole.
Tuesday is quilt night at my house. I live in the American Southeast which is known for it’s stormy weather. One Tuesday evening alarms started going off meaning a tornado was on the ground. We all gathered in my tiny kitchen to wait it out. We had been there for only a few minutes when one of the women said, “I’ll be right back”. We asked, “Where are you going?” She said, “I’m going to get my quilt.” “I’ve put too much time in it for it to blow away in this storm.” If you understand her sentiment you belong in my club. If not, you will if you hang out with me long enough. Do join me in exploring the many faces of quilting.
Previous Glass Art Editor: Cathi Milligan ([email protected])
One of Cathi super powers is her ability to create tasty treats out of glass and fire. With over 15 years of experience, she forms hot glass into little cupcakes and pie slices, sweet little fruits as well as other types of glass beads. In addition to these talents she designs jewelry, fuses glass and has recently finished a how-to book on the craft of macramé.
Besides Cathi’s new book, Mod Knots, she has written for Craft magazine and her work has been seen in In Style magazine, Glass, Bead & Button as well as some Japanese fashion magazines. She has also appeared on the DIY Network’s shows, DIY Jewelry Making and Craft Lab. She has also been seen on TLC and Lifetime demonstrating her crafting abilities.
Cathi is a lifelong resident of Los Angeles, CA. and teaches a number of classes in bead making, metal clay, macramé and other jewelry making techniques through out the Southern California area. Cathi also has a background in graphic arts, which manages to spill over into all aspects of her life. She sells her beads and jewelry on line, which can be seen on her website www.beadbrains.com or go directly to www.beadbrains.etsy.com. She also blogs at www.pixieindustries.blogspot.com with information on her upcoming classes and other interesting events.
Previous Scrapbooking Editor: Francine Clouden ([email protected])
Francine hails from the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada and has been making cards since 2001 and scrapbooking since 2002. Scrapbooking and other paper crafts are her creative outlet. Never considered good at art as a child, she is happy to finally find a medium to express her artistic side. She loves yummy patterned papers, buttons, chipboard, stamps and anything textural. She doesn’t mind getting her fingers covered in ink and paint, and will try just about any technique once! Her pages reflect her daily life, travel, thoughts and dreams and random moments. She is also an avid amateur photographer, and you will rarely find her without her trusted Canon 350D. Her work has been published in major magazines such as Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Scrapbook Trends, Cards and Memory Makers. She blogs almost daily at Callaloo Soup and bi-monthly at Tuesday To-Do.
Francine currently lives in France with her husband Lucas and their cats Mozaique and Naâla. They are currently expecting Babe #1. Truly an island girl, she spends the winter months holed up at her desk, scrapping her heart out.
Previous Polymer Clay: Elaine Robitaille ([email protected])
I’m a self-employed web developer and professional creative type from a small town on the Canadian prairies. My days are split between helping fellow crafters, artists and micro businesses set up their web presences and creating my next piece of art, all in the comfort of my home office and studio space. We often have deer eating in our yard and the creek just past the road provides inspiration every day. My daughter and my partner are moral support, guidance and a continual reality check. Our Siamese cat is my adorable but unhelpful assistant.
For the last 13 years, my medium of choice has been polymer clay. I started with clay when I searched for a way to make my handmade jewellery more unique and found that you could make your own beads without any specialized equipment. I was hooked! In 2002, I found polymer clay on the internet and my work began to develop more quickly. Being able to tap into the collective sharing of the online community gave me the chance to see what was happening, to explore techniques I’d never heard of and eventually to begin giving back to the polymer clay community by teaching and providing tutorials of my own.
These days I teach polymer clay classes to children and adults, do craft shows regularly and sell my work online. My hobbies vary! We are continually renovating here so I’ve become a bit of a DIYer. I read endlessly, play video games, cook, try other crafts, walk, photograph and spend far too much time on the internet. You can see what I’m up to on my own art blog at: http://www.tooaquarius.com
Past Editors:
Vicki Howell – Knitting.
Jennifer Perkins – Craft Artists.
Meaghan Mountford – Edible Crafts.
Francine Clouden – Scrapbooking.