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It’s raining heavily outside as I write this; but as we say, "April showers bring May flowers".

We’ve got some early spring flowers for you in this newsletter - flower yo-yos on tote bags, crocheted flowers for appliqué and here are some virtual flowers for all you moms out there (courtesy of iFlowers.com).

Happy Mother’s Day!

We also have some submissions in response to last month’s tote bag decoration challenge, a winner to announce, and free "ancestor" photos which you can download to use in your craft projects, mixed media art, digital art or scrapbooking.

You’ll find lots of other Spring Craft Ideas in our Holiday Craft Index.

Please read on for all the fun details.

Eileen

Tote Bag Challenge Submissions

In last month’s newsletter, we issued a challenge to decorate some tote bags. Here’s what we’ve got so far.

Denim Pocket Tote Bag
Yo-Yo Flower Appliquéd Tote
Ric Rac Dahlia Decorated Tote

Crochet

Crocheted Flowers - How to crochet little flowers and leaves for appliqué.

Crochet Star - Free pattern for crochet or needlework star (a la the Dallas cowboys logo); plus how to find free knit and crochet patterns online.

Digital Art and Scrapbooking

Rescuing Family Heritage Photos - Digital scrapbooking can lead to some marvelous discoveries in old photos.

Contest Winner

Our free eBook contest ended midnight Friday, April 30. The random number generator at Random.org selected comment number 7 to win a free copy of Altered Ancestors: 50 Techniques for Using Vintage Photos in Art by Marney K. Makridakis (retail value $18).

Congratulations to Elizabeth!

Elizabeth commented, "I love to do things with vintage photos. I have photos of my grandparents that are wonderful that were made in 1904."

If you didn’t enter ;- ( and therefore didn’t win, I still have something free for you: some striking vintage photos from the 1930s which are in the public domain, i.e. can be used without tracking down copyright holders and paying royalties.

The topic is the development of Kodachrome film and the site specifically states "Feel free to copy these photos to your computer.  They are not mine, Public Domain."

Such vintage photos are useful for artists who don’t have any ancestors of their own to alter, I guess. Lol.

FTC Disclosure: The eBook prize for this contest was provided to The Artful Crafter at no cost by the publisher.

The Art Journal Journey #16 Featuring Articles by Cyndi and Me!

My friend, mixed media artist Cyndi Lavin, and I were both published in the March issue of The Art Journal Journey (Issue #16). I wonder if the excitement of having your work selected for publication ever diminishes. It certainly hasn’t for me.

Cyndi told me that Artella (which publishes The Art Journal Journey) wants to expand its team. So I looked around Artella Land (Cute, cute artsy site!) to see what they need.

It seems they are always open for applications but right now are specifically seeking section editors and contributing writers. For an application, write to workapp @ artellaland.com.

A subscription to The Art Journal Journey is included when you "book" The Luxury Art Journaling Cabin aboard the Artella Member Ship or you can purchase individual issues like the one featuring Cyndi and yours truly (hint, hint) for $7.

The list of other Member Ship benefits which accrue is too lengthy for me to include here. So if you like art and journaling and would enjoy "cruising" around with other creative like-minded people, you can read how to get on board here. Lol.

Did I say "Cute, cute, artsy site"? Perhaps I should say, "Cutesy, cutesy, artsy site!"

Cyndi’s article, Peeled Paper Technique, is found on page 56. Mine, How to Make Your Own Decorative Rubber Stamps, is on page 52.