Vilte Kazlauskaite, Lithuania-based felt artist, will talk about “Archaic Felt and Its Tradition in Lithuania” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20th in 1140 Grainger Hall, 975 University Avenue.
Kazlauskaite is one of the leading felt makers in Lithuania and will be an instructor at this year’s Midwest Felting Symposium in Madison from July 21st through the 25th.
According to the Baltic Studies Summer Institute (BALSSI), which is sponsoring Kazlauskaite’s talk, “Felting is one of the oldest textile processes in the world, predating both knitting and weaving. There is a long felting tradition in the Baltic nations. Though felt has never been as popular in Lithuania as woven fabrics, it has been used consistently both as a fabric and as a medium for arts and crafts. This lecture will lay out the origins of felting, its principles, and its traditions. A demonstration of traditional felt-making will also be presented. ”
Michael’s (“Where creativity begins”) is offering a series of printable online couponsvalid from Sunday, July 18th through Saturday, July 24th. Among the coupon offers are 40% off any regular-priced item and 40% off regular and sale price. artist paints, pencils, pastels, and markers. There are limitations on how each coupon may be used, so be certain to read the fine print.
Michael’s (“Where creativity begins”) is hosting a series of free in-store demos and events this summer. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 5th, you can “make and take” a Build-A-Book by Klutz.
Other upcoming events include several projects for Father’s Day. A complete list is available on the Michael’s website.
Please note: This is NOT Michael’s of Frozen Custard fame. It’s a national chain of stores selling selling crafts, bakeware, scrapbooking supplies, and other similar products.
Orange Tree Imports at 1721 Monroe Street is hosting a free Ukrainian Egg Decorating Demonstration from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 13th. Artist Pat Hall uses this traditional batik method to decorate real chicken eggs.
Orange Tree has all the supplies you’ll need to try it at home.
Also ask about entering Orange Tree’s 32nd annual Egg Art Contest: The first prize is a $25 gift certificate.
Dover Publications is having a “Secret Sale,” but it only lasts until December 1st. Until then, you can save $20 on an online order of $40 or more: Just use the coupon code HLP2 during checkout.
Since its founding in 1941, Dover Publications has built its reputation by offering remarkable products at amazing prices. There are many “old-fashioned” books in Dover’s catalogue of more than 9,000 titles. For instance, they have scores of paper craft books such as the “Easy-to-Make Nativity Scene” shown here. Normally $9.99, the book is on sale for $5.
If your family celebrates Hanukkah, you may be interested in the “Jewish Holidays and Traditions Coloring Book” ($3.95) or “Jewish Holiday Origami” ($5.95), which features clearly detailed diagrams and captions explaining all the steps for an entire year’s worth of holiday projects — from Chanukah dreidels and a menorah with candles, to Passover pyramids and an image of the Red Sea parting.
If you’ve never browsed through this marvelous, eclectic catalogue, take the time to do so. Then act quickly if you want to take advantage of this special sale.
Too often we think about Advent calendars when it’s “too late” because the countdown to Christmas has already begun. Or we see one we think we want, but discover it’s too expensive for our budget. Or we see one that’s so cheap and flimsy its manufacturer should find nothing but a lump of coal in its Christmas stocking.
This year, we’re going to make one of our own, using some of the FREE downloadable paper craft patterns available on the Internet.
The Advent calendar shown on the left was designed by Ayaka Hirao/Takako Takahashi and the pattern and assembly instructions are available as a PDF download at Canon’s online “Creative Park.” Another Advent calendar we like is available as a PDF download on author Jan Brett’s homepage.
You’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download these paper craft designs. If you don’t already have this program on your computer, you may download it free by using this link.
Have fun, but be careful: The craft knives and scissors you’ll need to assemble the calendar are not children’s toys.
If you’re hosting Thanksgiving Dinner this year, it’s not too soon to start thinking about table decorations. The Hewlett-Packard website (hp.com) has some delightful Autumn and Thanksgiving paper craft ideas for you to download, print, and construct. And they’re free. However, you’ll have to supply your own printer, ink, and paper.
We particularly liked this turkey table decoration in the section for “kids table” projects. Other paper craft projects include place mats, coasters, and name cards.
Ray O’Bannon’s wonderfully creepy RavensBlight Toy Shop has all sorts of free “haunted” paper toys online for you to print out, construct and enjoy.
Here’s what O’Bannon has to say about his unusual paper craft collection:
“The toys include a hearse playset, coffin gift boxes (with occupants), a little cemetery, several unusual board games, a gloomy little haunted house, a rusty old-style robot, and quite a few other dark delights. So pick out some toys, print out the pattern pages, and with a few common supplies like scissors and glue you’re ready to create all these strange little curiosities. I hope you’ll enjoy them all.”
These “haunted” paper toys are great for Halloween and relatively cheap to make. All you need is Adobe Acrobat to download the PDF patterns, a printer, HEAVY card stock, some scissors, some Elmer’s glue sticks, and a bit of patience and attention to detail.
Izzy the Intern is always wary about telling children to use scissors and wants to be certain they do so only under parental supervision. O’Bannon seems to be in totally agreement. Here’s what he has to say on the subject:
“I’ve found Elmer’s Glue Sticks to be very useful in building these toys. Also, you can be extra fussy and carefully blacken the edges of the toy parts with a black marker to get rid of the occasional white edges here and there. When folding the parts, its critical to fold them as precisely on the lines as possible. And above all, never rush it! These toys won’t take very long for you to build, but working slowly and carefully is important. And a final word about using the scissors and X-acto knife…They are SHARP! They can HURT YOU! So always be carefull. Open bleeding lacerations = BAD! Happy little monster kids with new toys = GOOD!”
Download patterns for a free set of five adorable paper toys from Fantastic Toys, print them on 60 lb. cardstock, round up some ordinary household tools such as scissors and tape and — voila! — you have a great activity for a rainy day or when the kids are getting a little bored. The shapes are fairly simple to cut out so even younger children can give it a try under parental supervision.
The patterns are from designer Timothy Haugen, who makes handcrafted collectible toys. He began his toy venture making vintage-inspired art toys, including fantastic miniature animal dolls, marionettes and hand puppets. Now he also designs adorable soft toys and other goodies that are available exclusively on at his Etsy shop.
Thanks to Jaime Zollars at Paper Forest for this tip.
Remember the candy you used to buy growing up? Buy them now from Candy.com
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DISCLAIMER
We post deals as we find them, but schedules sometimes change and everything has an expiration date. Prices and promotions are always subject to change without notice. It's always wise to call ahead and make certain a bargain is still available or an event has not been canceled.
