January 22, 2012

Introduction from the Editor:

Greetings Craftsy quilter!

Valentine’s Day is coming! Sure, it might not seem like it’s all that close, but it has a way of sneaking up. And since one of your New Year’s resolutions was to be more prepared and organized (or am I the only one who made that resolution?) we thought we’d help you out by giving you some sweet ideas for the sweet holiday! Some motivation, too: We had such a great time (and, more importantly, it seemed like you did, too) doing the North Pole Project that we decided to launch a new (but similar) contest called Project Cupid. So check out this issue of the newsletter, where we’ll be talking about sugar flowers, romantic projects, and as usual, we hear from you in our Letters to the Editor section!

David,
Editor in Crafts

Front Page Story:

Handcrafted Sugar Flowers

Right around a week ago, Craftsy released a class that was, well, a little bit different. Rather than it dealing with sewing or knitting or crocheting or quilting or paper crafts, it was all about sugar; specifically, flowers made from the sweet stuff. Called Handcrafted Sugar Flowers , it shows students how to create stunning and highly realistic flowers from sugar and only a few other ingredients. We had a feeling you might be interested in it since the point of it was the same as the other classes; that you can make something beautiful and fun. Turns out many of you ARE interested and signed right up for the exciting new online class.

We’ve been delighted by the response, and have enjoyed your many notes of appreciation, most of which have encouraged us to offer more in the area cooking/food decorating. Rest assured, we are definitely working on it. In fact, we even have a couple tricks---er, treats---already up our sleeve!

We encourage you to give our brand new class, Handcrafted Sugar Flowers, a shot! In fact, we’ve decided, for a limited time, to offer it for 50% off! Of course, you know that your class registration never expires. That means if you sign up now, you get the discount, and yet you can watch it whenever you want (and however many times you want). So give it a try! Sign up for Handcrafted Sugar Flowers now to get half off!

From the Blog:

Project Cupid

In a few short weeks after we announced the North Pole Project, we had well over a hundred projects uploaded with “North Pole Project” in the title. Along with all your fellow Craftsy crafters, we marveled over your holiday-themed projects. At the close of the contest, Craftsy member Nysa turned out to have the most hearts (who could resist that adorable little felt polar bear?) and she was the first Craftsy North Pole Project winner.

Now we have a similar contest: Project Cupid. Same rules, really. Simply upload your love/Valentine’s Day-themed projects and put the words “Project Cupid” in the title. The project with the most hearts by Valentine’s Day wins, and that crafter will get a free pass to any Craftsy class of your choice!

So get crafting! Upload your Project Cupid project to Craftsy, then send your friends and family to it so they can click the heart.

Project Spotlight:

Lovely Crafts

To get you inspired for Project Cupid, we thought we might post some love/Valentine’s Day-themed projects already on Craftsy. Check these heartwarming projects out!

Valentine's Quilt. Paper piecing is the key to making this lovely, lively, and fun Valentine’s quilt!

Love and Kisses. This is a lovely quilt, sprinkled with hugs and kisses, and adorned with hearts!

Game of Love. If you’re spending Valentine’s Day playing the game of love, we certainly hope you win! We love how Craftsy member lilmtgirl played (no pun intended) on the word “game” in this creative and gorgeous quilt!

On The Horizon:

Upcoming Classes & Workshops

We have a range of exciting new classes and workshops on their way this month and next. Among them:

Letters to the Editor:

Follow-Ups

We received more letters to the editor than ever this past week, and we loved reading all of them. Most of you were writing in to follow-up with some of the items we’ve covered in past issues. Let’s check some out!

Last week, Georgia wrote in about tatting. She’s definitely not alone! Tomi wrote this letter, also sharing her love for the craft, as well as some of our classes:

Dear Editor,

I am also a tatter and would like to share that there are a lot of free patterns on the Internet. I do both needle and shuttle tatting and the patterns work well for both. Love your site and am doing the Block of the Month and free motion quilting classes. Keep up the good work.

Tomi

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In the last issue, we did a follow up on the wonderful response we got this past holiday season when we asked for hats and blankets for the charities, Project Linus and Kaps For Kendall.This week, Lori writes us to share her thoughts and personal experiences with crafting for charity, and the constant need for donations.

Dear Editor,

Thanks for mentioning Project Linus in the Newsletter. I work at a Children's Hospital in St. Paul, MN in the PICU. One of my favorite things to do is to deliver a tiny blanket just for underneath the baby in fleece or cotton or larger ones up to teenage size. The families are so stressed and the kids really appreciate them. This past year I've noticed a dramatic decline in our supply delivered by our volunteer staff. Please let people know even the smallest blanket represents to them that others care and it really does matter.

Thanks again.

Lori M., RN

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Last but certainly not least is this letter from Marion, which truly touched our hearts and made our day! Okay, so it’s not a follow-up to anything in particular, but we just had to print it!

Dear Editor:

As a "used to be" crafter, I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading your columns. I am 94 years old, have gone from frosting flowers, to knitted baby things, to making cards, to …well, name the craft and I have probably "been there, done that." Fingers don't obey much anymore, but the mind enjoys others works and I just want to say your columns fill a great need, for me, as well as the crafters!

Thanks so much,

Marion

As always, thanks for your letters and keep them coming! Note that if you are experiencing any difficulties with the classes, workshops, website, etc., please contact help@craftsy.com so that a member of support staff can assist you as quickly and effectively as possible.

To submit a letter to the editor, email editor@craftsy.com. We do our best to reply to all letters to the editor, but cannot guarantee a response. If your letter is selected for publication, it may be edited for clarity, length, etc.