Recent Resources

[From broadwaypaper.com]

This picture is from Broadway Paper, "the paper store with so much more," not in NYC, but in Wisconsin.  I found the site while doing some research on mini hat boxes today.  Looks like a fun store, wish I could visit, but until then I'll just have to check out their website some more, it's quite pretty.  I've also found a few other interesting shops recently:

I stumbled on Exotic Fragrances, Inc. all the way up on 104th Street when I didn't have an umbrella en route to The Museum of the City of New York.  I had been looking for fragrance oils to use in poured candles so I was shocked to find this shop with over 1,000 scents!  I chose Peppermint and Dewberry, so hopefully I'll buy the other materials to make these candles soon, maybe before winter is over.

I also just happened to walk by Beads of Paradise on 17th Street.  They have pieces from all over the world: South East Asia, India, Indonesia, China, the Middle East and Mexico and beads made of glass, metal, wood, shell, gold, silver and semi-precious stones.  They even have reasonably priced classes, might have to check those out sometime.

If I'm not working at events, my office closes at 6 p.m. each day.  I've wanted to go to New York Central Art Supply on 3rd Avenue, but it closes at 6:15!  So, it was cool when I got out early yesterday and could check it out.  This store has been in business since 1905 and I like that they had a vast selection of "serious" art supplies from paints to embossing and silk screening supplies, as well as "lighter" stuff like glitter and sculpey clay.  

And I also made it a little further south to Downtown Yarns and saw these cool yarn snowflakes in the window.

Inside MSLO

I braved the rain and the first snow of the month to go to the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Holiday Craft Sale.  Martha has been an inspiration to me for years so it was exciting just to walk the halls of the office and peer through the doors.  When the elevators opened on the 9th floor there was a long line that curved around a few corners, but moved quickly and opened onto a large, light-filled room of crafts of all kinds.

I love the possibilities of creativity, seeing how someone else views the world and what they can potentially bring to it. 

I saw a necklace made with the tiniest crochet hook I've ever seen, which made a round no larger than a thumbnail.  I picked up a pretty stuffed animal and admired how soft it was, knowing that it was made of cashmere, but not realizing at first that every figure on the table had been made from cashmere sweaters. 

There was a table where you could make your own gift tags with the Martha paper punches.  I had already bought the scalloped tag punch at Michael's, but I was here for the snowflake shape. 

They were out of the edge punch that could make a whole line of flakes along the side of a page, but I got the alpine snowflake punch and was quite happy with the two garlands I've made so far.

Michael's Haul and Martha's Craft Sale

[source: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia]

Right before Thanksgiving I picked up the December issue of Martha Stewart Living and got inspired: time to get creative again.  After many attempts were refuted by work and guilty pre-turkey-day trips to the gym, this week I finally trekked up to Manhattan's first Michael's craft store!  

For 2 hours it was like being back in my little hometown again (and 15 years old, with so much more free time). 

And Martha has a whole line of beautiful craft supplies sold there: glitter, paper punches, scrapbooking supplies, ribbon...very exciting.

And even more so, Martha Stewart Living is having a holiday craft sale today, December 5th!  I've been struggling with the crocheted snowflakes on their website.  I asked a salesperson at the otherwise lovely Purl Soho shop if he knew what crochet cotton was and all I got was a "no, I don't" and that was it.  Humpf.  I soldiered on and bought a ball of lovely, soft, snow white Rowan 100% cotton and it was all going so well in Pattern 1 until it came to "8 ch???s".  

I tried to wing it despite the typo, but ended up at the end of one tip, not knowing how to get back into the center.  Hm, Martha what did I do wrong? 

Well, I'm still really looking forward to the event, maybe I'll get even more ideas.  Such a short month: Christmas is less than 3 weeks away!