Crapter Project #2

Crapter project #2, which I'd like to call Crapter-lite, because it's not quite crapt but it's not quite craft either, is from the January/February 2009 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors (I do love this magazine!). It's Sealed with a Stich by Viv Sliwka. Ms. Sliwka's pieces are collaged ephemera, fabric, buttons that she then embroiders. Now, what attracted me to this article was not only the cuteness of the project but the embroidery. I love embroidery.

Ms. Sliwka used interesting enveloped she had collected, collaged them and then added stitches. Her last example was a very cool, fun needlebook she made. I must make that, I screamed!

I didn't have any particularly interesting envelopes but I'd won a very cool, old Western Union telegram on Ebay:


I thought it would make a great Mother's Day present for my occasionally sewing Mother and a few occasionally sewing friends. I copied the image onto transfer paper and decided to use this delicious fabric:


I love this fabric. Isn't it great! It's Rhapsody by Rosemarie Lavin for Windham Fabrics. I bought a fat quarter of it while shopping at City Quilter, here in New York City. I've since done an Ebay search and discovered there is also a green and a black one! I think I might have to buy them. They're just so much fun!

For my first experimental needlebook, I decided not to add embroidery, partly because I didn't want to obscure the wonderful message Bob sent to his Mom and also because I couldn't figure out what to put on there! I fused the fabrics together and that's where I've stopped. Here's the back:


I had intended to work on this the past week, but my two boys have been home from school with allergy attacks and I actually have two small cavities that I need to get back to the dentist for (cavities at my age!) so I've accomplished nothing. Mother's Day is a week away so I still need some supplies and then to get it together! Egads! Get to work!

Crapt Project #1

So, while I’m currently working on lots of projects, there are two at the top of the rotation that need closure. Well, they’re all in need of closure but these two are desperate.

Crapt Project #1 comes from the March/April 2009 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors and is ‘recycled circles’ by Jane Lafazio. Ms. Lafazio’s completed work is a delightful mixed media piece of cloth and paper with circles and quarter circles. It incorporates beads and various colored threads. Wunderbar!

This is mine:


Not so wunderbar! It is, mind you, not completed. I've more threads to add and I'd like to add more beads as well. But I don't think anything can help it. I'm considering adding more gesso because Ms. Lafazio's piece had a milky look and I liked that.

One of the instructions/suggestions was to cut out circles and lay them down, gesso over them and then remove the circles so you'd have spots that were non-milky. Well, I tried that and it didn't work. Don't know why, but that's crapting for you.

I really enjoyed sewing on paper. The paper used per her instructions was 140-lb watercolor paper and though I was frightened at first as it seemed pretty thick, I had no problem using the machine on it. What I did have a problem with was sewing a nice circle. I couldn't do it. While Ms. Lafazio has oddly shaped, cool circles, I have shapes that don't have a name, kind of oval, kind of circle. A ovcle? The picture below is not great quality but you can get a sense of all the badly formed circles I made. On the bright side, you can also see all the perfectly formed ovcles:

So, I will be working on this, completing it and giving further updates. I'd love suggestions on how you think it could be made to look semi-crapt as opposed to official genuine crapt.

Tomorrow, Crapt Project #2 and then on to the actual real-time crapting!

Two New Crapt Magazines Arrive!

This weekend I received two of my favorite crapty magazines: the May/June 2009 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, and Issue 92 of the English magazine Classic Stitches.

I don't recall how I became familiar with Classic Stitches. We lived in England for six months a few years ago but I know I never saw it on the newstand there. I think I might have won an Ebay auction of an issue (I went Ebay crazy on stitching magazines about a year or so ago). Anyway, I so liked the magazine that I signed up for a subscription. Considering it's coming from England, it's quite cheap. I think 40 dollars, but don't quote me.

I have yet to do anything from the magazine (and quite frankly some of the projects aren't attractive though the techniques are interesting) but I’m always intrigued by the transfers they give you with the magazine. I’ve never done a transfer and one of these days I will make a transfer stitching project my next crapt.

Off to the dentist but next post I will reveal my two current crapt projects. And when I say their crapt, sadly, I mean that they are crapt!

The Royal Society of Crapters

I’d always been told if you work hard you can do anything … well when it comes to making beautiful craft projects and myself it’s simply not true. That’s why when I happened across a tattered, water spotted pamphlet in an East Village junk shop titled The Royal Society of Crapters ™ by Lucretia Mullberry, I had an epiphany. I would start by own Crapter Chapter. I quickly registered myself as Royal Crapter #1.

What exactly is a crapter? Well, The Royal Society of Crapters charter lists two definitions:

Crapter: (1) A person who indulges themselves in arts and crafts despite having no apparent skills. (2) A pessimistic optimist who begins a craft project with hopeful confidence while knowing deep down in their soul that despite all their hard work it’s going to end up looking like a pile of crapt.

Those definitions fit me perfectly and I hope they fit some of you as well.

So I hope you come with me as I begin my journey of crapting. I will choose enticing projects from various books, periodicals and web sites and follow the artist’s instructions to make the intended project. I want to see if I can succeed in making something beautiful or if I will fail and make a piece of crapt.

If you are so inspired, you may join the society. My goal is world domination. Before you can join you must agree to two RSOC bylaws.

One, you must make your own crown, which you may crapt anyway you so chose (I haven’t gotten around to making mine yet but that is one of the perks of being registered as #1).

And two you must agree to never be ashamed of your crapt projects, display them boldly, talk about them abundantly and if you are truly brave give them away as birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, whatever presents. After all, nothing shows your love for others than giving them a piece of crapt that comes straight from your heart.


And so let the journey begin …