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I just love working on The Artful Crafter. It’s not actually work though. It’s really a dream come true.

I don’t have to (wo)man my little retail shop anymore. I don’t do craft fairs and shows either. I do very few craft orders for my loyal customers. Most of my time is spent working from home (nice) and Helping Crafters to Be.

Quite frequently I get to help someone with their craft business dreams in a pretty significant way. And once I’ve written the answer and/or researched something I didn’t already know, the information is available for anyone.

The next time I get a similar question, all I do is refer the reader to the previous letter or article.

It makes me wonder how many find the information on their own. I can’t really know that because those readers don’t often write to let me know it was helpful.

But I have to believe they are out there and are benefiting from my experience and work. That’s a nice feeling.

You’ll find one such example featured is this newsletter as the Reader Letter of the Month.

You’ll also find the oodles of new articles and tutorials we put on site during January listed below. Phew!

If you’re looking for Valentine’s Day ideas, my crafty friend, Shaaron, and I have been playing hard on a whole bunch of new tutorials.

The ones that aren’t on site yet, will be there in a few days, still giving you plenty of time to get a few done before the 14th.

Please check for them on our Holiday Craft Projects page or subscribe to our RSS feed for immediate updates.

Many of the upcoming Valentine’s projects are suitable for kids to do. You might want to keep those in mind for a snow day ;-)

Have a LOVE-ly Valentine’s Day!

Eileen

What’s New on The Artful Crafter this Month

Valentine’s Projects

Foam Heart Magnets - These will delight the kids or other loved ones and serve to display love notes, their photos, or special works.

Sweet Hearts Bookmark - Something special for the readers you love.

Puffy Heart Valentines - An original, easy to make Valentine's gift.

Pin Weave Valentines Card - How to make a colorful woven heart without a loom.

Repurposed Crafts

Secret Box Book - How to glue the pages of an old beat up book together to make a work of art.

Polymer Clay

Polymer Clay Snow People: - Here’s an easy and whimsical winter polymer clay project. Use commercial clay or cook up your own.

Pros and Cons of Homemade Clays - Would you like to cook up your own polymer clay? Here’s how, as well as why you may prefer the commercial versions.

Decoupage

Help! My Decoupage Turned Yellow! - Why some finishes dry yellow and how to know in advance.

Give New Life to an Old Trunk With Decoupage - Anything old is new again with decoupage!

Bathroom Wall Collage - How to collage a bathroom wall. As they say, anything is possible, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea.

Homecoming Mums

The Tradition of Homecoming Mums - It has hit New Mexico. Could Oregon be next?

Quilting

Upholstery Sample Pattern Request - The Artful Crafter helps Margene find patterns for items using upholstery fabric samples to help nursing home residents.

A Quilted Lap Robe made from Upholstery Sample Pages - Here’s Eileen’s tutorial for Margene (and you!) on making a lap robe from upholstery samples.

Tying Off a Quilt - Tying off is the easiest (but a perfectly acceptable) way to finish your quilt.

Copyright Protection

Internet Copyright Protection - How to protect your art from copyright infringement and how to fight back when you work is plagiarized.

Digital Watermark Tutorial using Photoshop - Use Photoshop to put a digital watermark on your online art. Just follow these illustrated step-by-step instructions.

Soap Crafting

Silk Soap Petals - Soap Petals are elegant and easy to make. Here’s how.

Felted Soap - Make a felted soap bar for gentle exfoliating. These make great gifts!

Join the Artful Crafter Community

The Artful Crafter uses Google Friend Connect to power our site's community. If you're interested in crafting, join our crafters' community. Connect with others who share your love of things hand made.

We now have 42 members in our crafters’ community. Please come join us!

Reader Letter of the Month: Helping Crafters to Be

Do I need a bar code to sell my item to retailers? If so, where may I obtain them?

Thank you,

Deb

= = =

Hi Deb,

Maybe; maybe not.

Here is an article I wrote about Bar Codes and SKU’s that can help you decide.

Be sure to read all the way to the end because there are several ways to save money on them if you determine that you will need bar codes for your product.

Good luck in your new venture and please write again if you have other questions.

Regards,

Eileen