Crafty Manolo

Photo via Historic Cold Spring Village

If you’ve ever demonstrated your craft in public, you know that it’s a far more perilous activity than most would suspect. In addition to the danger of losing your voice through constant talking, there’s the danger of losing materials to grubby hands or sticky fingers, and of course your mind when you spend most of the day answering the same three questions over and over and over and over and over again.

Then there are the crafts that leave us more open than others to minor injuries that require swift attention, though not grievous enough to warrant a trip to the ER, hunger pangs when things are just too busy for you to take a break, sunburn if you’re out of doors and nasty drafts if you’re inside… the list goes on.

But a few simple items packed in advance and used as necessary can help you make it through your weaving art demo safely and with a minimum of injury to you and to the public.

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It is with a heavy heart that I have a sad announcement to make: the Maonolosphere is shutting down, and that means this is my very last post to you here on Crafty Manolo.

I still can’t quite make myself believe it, but it’s true.

This blog is very close to my heart. I love handcrafts, and I love writing, so writing about crafting has been an absolute delight for me.

But all things must end eventually, and that includes the superfantastic ones.

I will miss you all more than I can possibly say.

Still, while this is a blow, it’s not the end for me. I’ve decided to take this as the kick in the pants I needed to move onward and upward with my writing. I intend to put together a book proposal, roll the dice, and see what happens.

So stay crafty, my friends. May all your future sock monkeys be happy ones.

There are a lot of worthy causes in the world. Most of them would like some money, too. But if you’re looking for a cause that’s not too big and where you can see real good done for specific people, you could do worse than take a look at Regretsy today.

You see, today they’re kicking off their second annual Secret Santa.

That’s right! Those heartless mockers of the worst of Etsy are opening their creaking chest cavities to give Christmas presents to children in need. If you know a child who isn’t going to have much in the way of a Christmas this year, you have until the seventh to nominate them. If you just want to help out, go throw some money at the problem. The goal is to help two hundred kids get some unexpected holiday magic thrown their way. Each child will receive one individually chosen present. Where possible, it will be just what they want most. Where not possible, it will at least be tailored to their specific tastes.

Oh, and since PayPal were such Grinches last year, all funds will be handled through Regretsy’s WePay store.

The craft community is good at sharing joy. Let’s all do our parts.

Oh, and if you know of a craft-related charity/program you’d like to see supported, feel free to let us all know about it in comments.

I love it when someone comes up with a way to use an ancient technique for a new purpose. In a lot of ways, I guess this naalbinding iPhone case isn’t that new a concept. After all, naalbinding has been used to make bags to carry various things for thousands of years. But the iPhone is a relatively modern thing, and the bag is a simple project the beginning naalbinder can accomplish quickly.

To find out how, just go to this page of instructions on All Fiber Arts, get your iPhone ready, and have fun.