SOURCE  _  http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/button-napkin-rings?xsc=eml_crd_2010_03_09

Kokomo, IN - March 10, 2010 -- The Indiana Glass Trail program has just become an internet super highway for those who enjoy the Hoosier heritage of glass arts. The new web site, www.IndianaGlassTrail.com, now paves the way for those who would love to meet and greet glass artists in central Indiana and see their work up close and personal.

The Indiana Glass Trail is an Indiana Artisan sponsored program designed to raise awareness of the glass arts and encourage tourism within the state. IndianaGlassTrail.com is a one-stop online destination for showcasing talented Hoosier artisans and glass blowers that create their magic with glass. The trail connects communities in which the history and tradition of glass arts has been the most prevalent and which can now be experienced first hand.

Learning more about glass artists along the Indiana Glass Trail can be easily done by clicking on any of the links on the web site. Studios, shops, galleries and museums as well as festivals and workshops that carry artists’ work for display or purchase can be found through www.IndianaGlassTrail.com for the five following areas:

Anderson/Madison County - In 1887, a natural gas well sprung up in White River and the "Gas Boom” began. The gas was used as fuel to form glass artwork just like those examples displayed today at The House of Glass in Elwood.

Columbus - Columbus is home to two original works of glass art by world-renowned artist, Dale Chihuly. Also, a colorful glass quilt and a blazing 900-piece neon chandelier are on public display in this unique city.

Hamilton County – Glass art filled antique shops, galleries featuring glass jewelry, and glass heritage sites dot the quaint main streets of this community's eight unique towns.

Kokomo/Howard County – The Kokomo Artworks continually shows the work of several glass artists. Kokomo Opalescent Glass offers factory and hot glass studio tours. Greentown and Jenkins glass can be seen at the Greentown Glass Museum and the Seiberling Mansion in Kokomo.

Muncie/Delaware County - Muncie is renowned for its glass history beginning with the Ball family. Artful glass examples, from beadwork to sculpture, are plentiful in the area. The planned future glass school at Ball State University is testimony to Muncie's glass legacy.

IndianaGlassTrail.com is the best place on the internet to discover what Indiana has to offer in the glass arts. The Indiana Glass Trail program is a joint venture between the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), the Indiana Office of Tourism Development, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, and the Indiana Arts Commission.The program is managed by the associated local visitor bureaus in central Indiana; Anderson/Madison County, Columbus, Hamilton County, Kokomo/Howard County, and Muncie/Delaware County. For more information on the Indiana Glass Trail, contact the Kokomo Visitors Bureau toll free at 800.837.0971.

These Brazilian artists are just starting but dream that in future they may export to markets all over the world. For the 300 artists of 24 cities that are participating in the Mar de Dentro Handicraft project, in Rio Grande do Sul, the idea is to make money from production of accessories, costume jewelry and decoration parts made out of different material.

In the case of the Redeiras collection, for example, the raw material is fish scales and leather, as well as the remains of shrimp-fishing nets.

"In the case of leather, the material is taken from the fish, tanned and dyed. The parts of fishing nets, in turn, are cut, dyed and become thread for handbags, among other items," explained Mar de Dentro project manager Jussara Argoud. According to Argoud, the importers have not yet arrived, but they are on their way.......

Read more at  -  http://www.brazzilmag.com/component/content/article/83-march-2010/11951-these-brazilians-make-art-off-fish-scales-and-shrimp-nets.html

Holly Sebastian, owner of Bead Jeweled in Clarks Summit.Photo by Gerard Hetman

CLARKS SUMMIT- For Holly Sebastian, the art of crafting jewelry with beads began as a hobby to pass time with her children.

Now, the Waverly resident and entrepreneur is taking the bead craze to a new level that, she hopes, brings out the fun side in all ages at all times of the year.

Open at 320 South State Street in Clarks Summit, Bead Jeweled is Sebastian’s attempt to bring her hobby to those seeking easy, creative fun. A former hair stylist, ribbon maker and interior designer who still works in the latter field, Sebastian has opened her shop with a boutique-style theme, with customers able to pick beads to construct items of jewelry and decor. Customers can then assemble the beads themselves with assistance, or Sebastian can help design an item she can build for them.

“I started working with beads as a hobby with my kids, and recently I wanted to get out of the house a bit,” Sebastian said of her inspiration to open the shop. “I wanted to start a business that my kids and their friends could get involved in and have fun with.”.....

Read more at  -  http://www.timesleader.com/AbingtonJournal/news/Prepare_to_be_jeweled_03-10-2010.html

"In Stitches - Needle Artistry" exhibition by the PHCC West Campus Alric C.T. Pottberg Library gallery.Photo by Klint Lowry

by KLINT LOWRY

NEW PORT RICHEY - Needlework is one of those crafts that's been around so long and has so many utilitarian uses that an occasional reminder is needed of the level of artistry that is possible in practiced hands.

Such a reminder is on display at the Alric C.T. Pottberg Library Gallery on Pasco-Hernando Community College West Campus. The exhibition "In Stitches" is being presented by the Gulfview Chapter of the Embroiders' Guild of America. The exhibit showcases needlework as a centuries-old art form that, like painting, has developed a wide range of techniques and styles that allow for infinite creative possibilities.

"A lot of embroidery started in Rome, and moved around on the Silk Road," said Jenna McClooney, Embroiders' Guild of America's regional director for Florida and Bermuda. McClooney was present for the exhibit's opening reception Feb. 25. "It spread all over the world, so there are Roman roots for a lot of types of embroidery."....

Read more at  -  http://suncoastpasco.tbo.com/content/2010/mar/10/pn-in-stiches-display-featured-at-phcc-west-campus/

Scrapbooks, Etc. is giving you the chance to win everything you need to turn your memories into beautiful scrapbook pages that you can share with friends and family in their Spring Fling Sweepstakes.

The grand-prize winner will receive a prize pack that includes everything from a digital camera to capture your memories on film to an electronic cutting machine to trim your photos and embellishments to scrapbooking supplies from various manufacturers and a craft cabinet to store all your supplies. The prize is worth about $2,500.

Entry into Scrapbooks, Etc.'s Spring Fling Sweepstakes is open to US residents aged 21 and above. Enter daily through April 30, 2010. Be sure you don't accidentally subscribe to the magazine while entering, unless you want to buy the magazine.

SOURCE  _  http://contests.about.com/b/2010/03/10/win-everything-you-need-to-make-beautiful-scrapbook-pages.htm

Ann Jordan's giant blanket laid out on the Gower before it was finished

A massive hand knitted blanket is going to "hug" a mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park on Mother's Day.

Swansea Met student Ann Jordan, from Killay, has spent 1,500 hours knitting the 20 ft blanket from 12 miles yarn.

On Sunday, it will finally be laid out at a Bronze Age burial chamber on the Black Mountain after being carried along an old coffin route.

The former midwife's ambitious Cwtch project has taken two years to come to fruition.

The mature student hopes it will help change the way people think about farming families and Welsh communities.

She has knitted 140,000 stitches over a year for her creation.

Read more at  -  http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/southwestwales/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8559000/8559938.stm

From Martha Stewart Living, August 2007

Read more at  -  http://www.marthastewart.com/article/running-stitch?page=3&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/sewing-projects-tote-bags-and-purses#slide_1

Free project for 2010 National Quilting Day

NQA began sponsoring National Quilting Day with a resolution passed by members attending the 22nd Annual Show in Lincoln, Nebraska, in June 1991. The third Saturday in March is officially designated as National Quilting Day, but quilters are flexible and we love a celebration — especially when fabric is involved! So over the years, observance of National Quilting Day has unofficially been expanded to the whole month of March.

Join us in the celebration of the 19th Annual National Quilting Day on March 20, 2010. Whether you celebrate with your quilting friends or alone, take time to reflect on the rich traditions of quiltmaking and the contributions to family and community made by quiltmakers for many generations.

Read more at  -  http://nqaquilts.org/nqday/

Darlene Cecil, owner of CWest Pillow Talk. (Special to news-press.com)

by Evelyn Longa

Talking shop with Darlene Cecil, owner of CWest Pillow Talk. Cecil makes decorative, lavender-filled pillows that are sold at Norris Home Furnishings in Fort Myers.
"The designers have been putting them in all the rooms in the house. The pillows add texture in a room, that's why I call it jewelry for the home," said Cecil.
Norris Home Furnishings is located at 14125 S. Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers. Store hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

Call 690-9844. Cecil also has an online shop at cwestpillows.etsy.com.

Read more  at  -  http://www.news-press.com/article/20100308/COLUMNISTS22/3080309/1014/business