make your hobby a career interviews from a fashion designer, art teacher, and jewelry business owner
birds nest earrings
tessellation make a tote bag
peanut crèmes
What’s Inside? Fashion
Jewelry
Stitching Your Own Style
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Jewelry Story
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Stitch it!
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Bird’s Nest Earrings
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Tote-ally Awesome!
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Friendship Bracelets
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How to Make a Scrap Scarf
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Art
Food How to Make a Tesselation Template Art Teacher Interview Guide to a Cartoon Face
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Peanut Cremes
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How to Make Pumpkin Poppers
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How to Make Meringue Cookies
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Emily is a bubbly and very energetic human
being. On top of being a First Lady and gymnast, she likes to make jewelry and sew. She loves the color yellow, can’t stop laughing and is in love with Pinterest. She is the one who wrote the fashion and sewing section of the magazine (along with a little help from Maisie.) In this edition, she’ll give you professional advice from a real fashion designer.
Pia is definitely the nerd of the team. This
freshman is in Pre-Cal and loves to debate about anything. She’s also an artist and spends her spare time sketching. She will be giving you an interview with art teachers and will also tell you about lots of hands-on crafts!
Maisie is an avid Redditor. She enjoys
reading crafting blogs, and admits to spending most of her time on the Internets. When you read the jewelry section, you’ll see her name next to the articles. This means she wrote stuff. (What a novel idea!) She also worked with Emily on the sewing feature, because of her love affair with sewing blogs.
Luke enjoys sleep, eating and baking food, sleep,
dogs, and most importantly sleep. Did we mention he likes sleep? When he isn’t sleeping, he’s playing guitar and making crafts that he can use while he plays. He wrote about food and loves to eat the food that he makes.We all agree that he makes good food, and he is totally fabulous. “It’s Elementary, Watson.” pictures and art by craftalicious staff
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Sewing
Fashionista photo by Emily E.
by Emily Etheredge
W
Mary Margaret said. There was a point hen sewing a pattern that you in her career where she was making have made you may not think about making this hobby a career. Mary dyed clothing with a Shibori dyeing technique. They were her favorite Margaret Quadlander was a fashion designs that she made but they made designer for twenty years and was her the least amount of money because interested in many parts of design as a they weren’t as generic and simple. So young girl. even though she was very proud of “I’ve always been interested in textiles this work that she did and I’ve always she had to put this been interested technique aside so that in how people she could make more act in different money in her career. clothing.” That is a really Mary Margaret important idea for said when all artists. Sometimes asked what you need to do more made her want things that please you to go into customers than make fashion design. you happy because She likes the Mary Margaret Quadlander you need to have some science and way of making money. math of fashion Getting a job design. When she designs a article of in fashion design has become more clothing she wants it to have more of a and more difficult. Many people see use than getting worn down a runway. it as a very artistic job, which it is, but A question that you have to ask you also have to be very strategic in yourself when you are a designer is the way you get there. Mary Margaret “Do I want to make money at what I’m doing or do I just want to be this artist?” went to three different universities to
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Do I want to make money at what I’m doing or do I just want to be this artist?
get different degrees that would help her in her career. Her last degree was in fashion design from The Fashion Institute of New York. She worked very hard as a young girl because she always knew that this was something she wanted to do. “I was just determined.” she said. It takes a lod of determination and dedication to get where she is today. To new designers that are trying to get their fashion design career; get involved with as many local classes as you can and try to buid your portfolio of things that you have made. If you are able to sew and make and designs as many things as possible, you too can have a sucessful fashion career. But don’t forget that fashion design is not all fun and games. Sometimes you have to give a little to get little. Like Mary Margaret had to do with her designs, once she realized that they wouldn’t help her make money she had to change her plans.
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One of the most important things in sewing and fashion design is the mathematical part of it. When kids say that they hate math in school but then say that the want to be a fashion designer, they don’t realize how much they are related. When you are making a pattern you have to be able to picture the geometric shape that it will be when the piece of clothing is done. If you have a good idea of how you want the final product to look and you are good with the math of it, then you can design more intricate things. There is also the architectural part of design that is really important. “What are people wearing in outer space? What are the new basketball players wearing?... What kind of clothing will we wear when we can’t protect ourselves?” asked Mary Margaret. These are all important questions in design. Yes, there is the kind of design for models on a runway but that is such a small part of design. You also need to be able to design uniforms and useful forms of clothing for people to wear. These are some of the major reasons that Mary Margaret chose to start Austin School of Fashion Design. She wanted to teach people how to sew because home economics is a
Jones of Saldado who she greatly dying field and teaching people how admired in her career and sold to a to sew and how to sew right is really couple times. She had such an influence important to her. Her school was on Mary Margaret that Mary Margaret originally opened for adults but has decided to write a book about her. This grown because more and more kids can show how one person can influence want to learn to sew and design. the decisions of of person without even She has loved teaching and has realizing it. “When I sold to her I felt taught many different classes at her school, she says that the most important skill to have is understanding flat pattern “but being able to understand the anatomy of the body is the most important part.”she said. This was a big reason for her teaching at this school because she wants students to be able to understand the parts of design -Mary Margaret Quadlander that make a huge difference in the clothes that get made. She wants to influence new like I had landed on the moon.” said designers so that they can work just Mary Margaret. Having someone you as hard as she did with just as much admire, admire your work is really cool determination to provide themselves and how cool is it that Mary Margaret with a good future in fashion design. changed her hoby into a career? This kind of help is hard to find in Austin so she wanted to bring her experiences to her hometown. The person that she says had the biggest influence on her was Grace
The part about making clothing for a size four walking down a runway, thats just a small part of design. There is so much more to it than that.
Stitch it! Art by Emily E
Before you can go crazy with sewing and make really difficult things you have to know the basics. Basic stitches are used for all kinds of things and handsewing is a really important skill to have when learning to sew with a machine. So here are some basic stitches that make life easier.
Running Stitch
This stitch is used to simply put two pieces of fabric together.
Art by Emily E
1) Thread your needle 2) Put your needle through the fabric in the place you want to start 3) Thread you needle back through the fabric really close to where you first threaded your needle 4) Then go about half of a centimeter from where you are with your needle and thread and feed your needle through the fabric 5) Repeat steps 3-4 until your stitch is the desired length
Whip stitch
This stitch is used for hemming and putting two fabric pieces together.
Art by Emily E
1) Thread your needle 2) Put your needle and thread through the place you want to start 3) Wrap the tread over the edges of the fabric 4) Feed the needle back through the fabric and it will come out on the side you started on. 5) Repeat until stitch is the desired length
Blanket stitch
This stitch is used to form a finished end to a seam or to make the edges of the fabric look neater.
1) Thread your needle 2) Put your two fabrics together and thread your needle through the place you want to start at 3) Wrap the tread over the edges of the fabric like in the whip stitch but a little looser 4) Push your needle back through the fabric and when it comes out the other side feed it under the whip that you have already done. 5) Repeat until stitch is the desired length PAGE 7
This stitch is used to make another stitch permanent. It can go at the beginning and end of a running stitch to make the stitch stronger.
Art by Emily E
Back Stitch
Whenever a button falls off of your clothes or you want to put a button onto whatever you’re making you can use this stitch to keep the button looking nice without falling off. 1) To thread the needle fold the thread over then thread it through the needle so that it looks like you have four strands 2) Make a single running stitch in the fabric 3) Wrap the thread around and make another one then repeat this step 4) Feed the needle through a hole in the button then through the one diagonal to the hole just went through 5) Put the needle back through the fabric so that the button is tight on the fabric 6) Put it back through the fabric and through the other two holes 7) Then put it back in through the fabric then out again and wrap it around the button twice 8) Then put it back through the fabric and knot it like in the beginning
Invisible Stitch
This stitch is for when you want to put two pieces of fabric together but you don’t want you stitches to be loose or show.
Art by Emily E
Button Stitch
Art by Emily E
1) Thread your needle 2) Make a running stitch 3) When you get to a stopping point instead or making a little stitch in place make it long like a basting stitch 4) Then go back to the place where you stopped with the needle to make the stitch extra strong 5) Repeat this a couple times until your stitch is strong
Basting Stitch
This stitch is mainly used as another form of pinning or for gathering. 1) Thread your needle 2) Put your needle through the fabric in the place you want to start 3) Thread you needle back through the fabric about half a centimeter away 5) Repeat until your stitch is the desired length
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Art by Emily E
1)Thread your needle 2) Fold the ends of the two individual fabric pieces over about 5/8 of an inch from the end 3) Put the folds together so that the short flaps are on the bottom 4) Then take your needle and go through the first fold crease and then the second one 5) Do the same thing to get back to the other side 6) Repeat until stitch is the desired length
Tote-ally Awesome! This bag is cute, crafty and has plenty of room for adding your own style. With these simple steps you can transform fabric into a totally fashionable accessory.
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2
First cut out 4 of these shapes in two different fabrics.
Then, making sure the the sides are inside out, sew them together around the block. Don’t sew the extension at the top.
3 Turn on of the two pairs right side out and stick it inside the one that is inside out.
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Don’t forget to pivot when you get to the point at the top of the extension.
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Pin the four fabrics together around the extension.
Sew along the line that you pinned, taking out the pins as you go so that you don’t break your needle.
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Stop about three inches from where you started so you can turn your bage right side out.
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cut off the extra thread, turn it inside out and sew up the hole with a colorful thread and now you can tie your bag in a knot and go show off! PAGE 9
Scrap Scarf
Ever have those extra fabric scraps that you don’t know what to do with but can’t bring yourself to throw away? Well the wait for a solution is over! This cute scarf takes old scraps and turns them into a fashionable scarf.
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Cut out sqaures of fabric that are about 3x3 inches in the fabric scraps that you would like to use.
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Overlap them so that there is about 1 square inch of overlap.
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Pin the two fabric squares together.
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Pin as many squares in line that you want so that your scarf will be the desired length.
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Cut off ecess thread and it is ready to wear!
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photos by Emily E
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Sew along the centers of the squares, taking out the pins when you get to them. Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end.
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Fabulous Fabrics
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Art Credit: Pia Deshpande
Art
Opposite: Art by Pia Deshpande
Opposite: Example of a tesselation
Tesselation Template Art by:: Pia Deshpande
Tesselations are cool and wacky patterns that fit together perfectly. People have made tesselation prints, jigsaw puzzleswhatever they can think of! But before you can make that, you need a tesselation! Here is an easy way to make one that you can use over and over again.
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Cut out a square out of cardboard (you can use paper, but cardboard seems to work better). Be precise and make sure what you cut out is a square!
Draw a line across the top of the square, cut along this line (be creative- this will affect what your tesselation looks like!) Make sure this line starts at one corner and ends at the other.
Move this cutout piece to the bottom and tape. Do not flip the piece over or rotate it. Just slide it down (this affects if the tesselation will fit together).
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Rotate the piece 90 degrees! Then repeat step two on the new ‘top’ of the square.
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Cut-out the piece and slide it down like step three. Tape the piece down. Now you have your tesselation template!
6 Get crafting!
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Art Credit: Jessica Michlik
An Artist’s Story
By: Pia Deshpande
Art Credit: Jessica Michlik
Samples of Jessica Michlik’s artwork
Q: When did you become interested in art?
A: In, art? When I was a little girl my
grandma used to take me to oil painting classes at a high school, and I was definitely the youngest person in the class, but it was really fun, and I just got really good at it, and really enjoyed spending time with her, and painting. So that’s kinda what sparked my interest in art.
Q: Did you ever think that you could make a living doing art? Did you ever doubt your choice?
A: I knew from the beginning that
that was not something that could be my only source of income and I had a really great high school art teacher and I just absolutely loved his classes,
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I thought that they were the most fun, exciting thing- best part of my day. So, ever since, probably my sophomore year of high school, I wanted to teach it, and I do my work on the side, so it works.
Q: Did you want to become an art
teacher as soon as you were in his class or did you want to be a professional artist before that?
A: I wanted to be an art teacher when
I was in high school, and then I got to college and actually went to college for 2 years studying advertising, and the creative side. I was like, oh I can make, you know more money doing that, and I tried to get into it, but um I spent a lot of time, studying for like advertising, and I was like, ‘I really want to be in the studio, actually making things.’ So, I kind of, took a risk , a really big risk, and my parents were ok with it. I was
just like, ‘I want to be an art major.’ So, they supported me!
Q: Do you think art is a skill that
you’re born with, or that you acquire it over time?
A:
I think through practice. You definitely acquire it over time. Some people- they’re born with that natural talent, you know, it can either stay where it is or they can push it to where they’re become even better, but there are people who start out with very little skill. Like one of my best friends in college, he was really struggling, but he was so passionate about it and where it is now is just incredible, it’s just, you can tell that he’s worked very hard to be where he is.
Art Credit: Jessica Michlik
Q: Do you have any advice for young
artists who are discouraged with their parents telling them that they can’t really pursue this because they’re going to have a hard time in life?
A: I think you’ll have- I mean, noth-
ing’s easy in life, and you know, if you’re really passionate about something, why not do it? And I love my job, I love being around creative people, and if that’s something that someone else is passionate about, and they want to do that as a career, then I’d say: ‘why not?’ But also keep in mind that it’s difficult to like, sell your work so find a place to live where that’s a little bit easier. Also have something on the side to support you while you do that.
Q:What do you think about- when
you look at different art teachers and you’ve been to workshops about the different ways that people teach art. Or, do you teach it the same way?
A: I think I teach it a little bit differ-
ently, and I think- I haven’t really- I’ve seen some art teachers that, um, they really limit what their students have access to, and might be- just the result
of the school, I really trust you guys with materials. I know, especially in the advanced classes, I’ll give it like a very open-ended project, especially like the AP projects. You’ve seen the pear. I want you guys to experiment more, and kind of like work through the process yourself, and figure out why things happen the way they do, because for me, when I took art classes, that’s kind of how I figured it out- which things I liked to work with and how to use specific paints. If I sit there and tell you exactly how to make something every single time, everybody’s going to have the exact same work, and we don’t want that to happen.
Q: Do you ever feel constricted when you’re teaching, and the school, thatpart of it is really famous for its math and science. I guess, do you feel that you’re constricted by people not wanting you doing art because they don’t think that is what the school is for?
A: I think there are a lot of people
here who really enjoy art and that makes me really happy, I think that- I mean, you would think that it would be, very much like science. But there are just as many- I think- people who are
interested in art. And the most exciting thing is to have the kids that are really into science and they take an art class just for fun, or they need it for their fine arts credit and they end up enjoying it. I think that is the coolest thing to see.
Q: How do you grade art? A: I have a rubric that I’ll give with
each piece as I introduce a project as far as like specific things I’m looking for, and we’ll kind of go through as we do the project on how to do those specific things so you have that concrete-you know what I’m looking for. And when I’m grading them, I’ll put everything off, and you know- like: this group over here they understood these concepts and that’s going to be like the highest, and those who just didn’t follow instructions would be on the lower end, but I also look at personal growth. Maybe somebody that doesn’t have those really strong technical skills improved a lot since their last piece and that will also help their grade quite a bit.
A: Do you think art is just a part of your life now- that you couldn’t live your life without it?
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A: Yeah, I don’t think I would know
it any other way. Honestly, as long as I can remember I have been doing thiseven when I was- I think I was your age, I used to teach at a hospital, I used to go and work with kids there. So every time I think about doing something it’s art related, no matter what it is.
Q: Is there any story behind you coming here and becoming an art teacher at LASA- or did you decide to teach at the school because it was near where you lived?
A: I actually moved from Dallas for
this job, I graduated and like 3 days later I was like- O.k., you know- I started looking for jobs. And I was like: ‘I really want to move to Austin, that’s one of my favorite places,’ and I wanted to get away from Dallas- I wanted a change. I had two interviews- and I got the job and I love it. I didn’t know a whole lot about the school until I got here, but I couldn’t imagine a more perfect place to teach.
Q: Have you ever had art teachers
that have tried to restrict you from what you want to change in their projects?
A: That I’ve had? I had a professor in
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college that wasn’t liking the way that I was doing one of my self-portraits, it was a little too abstract for him and he came up and he like took my paintbrush and put a like a X over it and he threw it on the floor and I was just like: ‘Alright. I guess that’s how you feel about that.’ That was just his way of kind of intimidating us - I think. And so, I wasn’t really- you know hurt by this I was just like, ‘You know, now I’m going to do my work privately so he can’t do that again.”
Art Credit: Jessica Michlik
I think about doing something art related, no matter what it is. -Jessica Michlik
Guide to a Cartoon Face Have you ever wanted to draw the amazing things that you think of? The face is the window to any character. It shows you their emotion, their background, and so much else. Here are some guidelines on how to draw a cartoon face.
Midline
Bangs
Eyebrows
Art by: Pia Deshpande
Pupils Base of Eye Ear starts at Pupils and ends at Bottom of Nose
Initial Nose Bridge Initial Nose Bottom Bottom of Ear/ Bottom of Nose
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We Live Art
Here at Art Institutes of America we let you describe your own creative passions. Term papers are paintings, sculptures, photographs, lego sculptures, anything you want. If you’re the kind of person that stands in the rain, paints with your feet, wishes you could have a shirt that says “I heart slip”- and still aren’t done yet... Come build your future with us. artistic institutes of america
photographs by Maisie Sajbel
Jewelry
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Sajb
Made With Love
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hen Noelle Gage goes to work, she enjoys every moment of it. “I got interested in jewelry because I have always loved accessorizing and I’ve always bought a lot of jewelry and I like to make things. I picked it up because I like to make my own jewelry to save money and to accessorize my outfits,” Gage said. Noelle Gage manages Bead It, a bead shop located at 2058 South Lamar Boulevard that Ashley Schor started about 10 years ago. Schor’s dad sent her some beads for her to sell to get her through college, which eventually turned into a business named Bead It. As manager, Gage has found a way to combine her love for jewelry-making with her job. She teaches jewelrymaking classes at Bead It, along with doing the tasks that come with being a manager. “I love that it’s a creative environment and I love the people that come in, and I love helping people with projects and designing jewelry for people,” Gage said. “I love teaching classes too. We help people with making jewelry for their family members or their friends for gifts, things with their birthstones or their favorite color, or maybe they choose their favorite animal and put a charm on a chain. We help people that are costume designers that do work with fabric and accenting it. We work with jewelry designers, we work with people, even make things for their dog, like dog collars.” Unsurprisingly, she herself makes jewelry. “My favorite piece I’ve ever made…I took some trim, I coiled
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I love that it’s a creative environment and I love the people that come in, and I love helping people with projects and designing jewelry for people. -Noelle Gage
chain around it, and then I wirewrapped a couple different gold beads to it and then I had a broken piece of costume jewelry and I attached it to the front,” Gage said. “Right now anything with fabric and beads is very in. I would say definitely a lot of things with cord and braiding are very popular, so a lot of things that incorporate beads and also string--and kind of wax linen [type of beading chord], leather, that sort of thing.” Like many jewelry makers, she has favorites. She enjoys elegance the styles of the 1920s that are now making a comeback. She also likes the newer style of Steampunk, a style of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the
1980s. “I like lots of pearl and chain, and I like a lot of metals,” Gage said. “My favorite material to work with is probably stones. I like the different colors and textures and to wire-wrap them together. My favorite types of beads are Milifori beads. They’re Japanese glass beads from the 1940s and they have little flowers on them.” From Gage’s own experience, she tells aspiring jewelry-makers to not be scared and go with their gut. “Pick out something that moves you, something that you’re drawn to, like a center piece and choose one focal point, Gage said. “Once you go from the focal point, something that you really are drawn to, then design around that. And don’t be scared to work with asymmetry. I guess I would say just to push your design as far as you could.” Another unique store in Austin, Wear Art Thou’s background is similar. Owner Andrea Leff explains that her store came from the thought that Austin needed a local shop that could provide “classic clothing with a twist.” “I had been in the
photographs by Maisie Sajbel
business for over 20 years and helped others grow their business,” Leff said. “ In 2008 I thought it was my turn,” Leff said. Wear Art Thou was founded in 2008 and serves women. It is an upscale clothing boutique located at 4518 Burnet Road. It consists of jewelry that she has made as well as jewelry and clothing she purchases in inventory. “Wear Art Thou carries clothing, jewelry, and accessories unique to Austin,” Leff said. “Originals and artto-wear.” She likes owning her own store. She gets to pick and choose the items that go in her store, as well as managing everything. “As owner of Wear Art Thou I do everything. I go to market, buy inventory, I sell, supervise my employees, and do lots and lots of paper work,” Leff said. “My favorite part about the store is helping women find the perfect thing to wear.” Her favorite material to work with is silver. Her jewelry-making career started with her “longtime desire to learn fabrication of silver and gold,” according to her jewelry’s website, TheRedheadedGoddess.com. According to the same website, “In 1987, she began hand manufacturing jewelry from those precious metals [silver and gold]. It was at this time, fueled by her feminist idealism, that she designed her signature brooch, The Redheaded Goddess. Andrea went on to establish her business of the same name, selling her jewelry at Henri Bendel, Nordstrom, and art festivals across the country.” To amateurs, she recommends sticking to what you’re working on. “Be willing to work really hard,” Leff said. “and never give up on yourself.”
Inside Bead It (previous page), there are many different types and styles of beads, including glass beads, crystal beads, antique beads, and beads from different cultures. Strings of beads for sale are called “hanks”(above). Bead It isn’t solely beads. The store also includes many trinkets and vintage things, including vintage watch faces (below), chess pieces, compasses, scrabble letters, skeleton keys and premade jewelry (left). Bead It also includes many typed of cord and string (bottom left).
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photographs by Maisie Sajbel
Bird’s Nest Earrings
here’s what you need. flexible wire 6 circular beads 2 earring posts 1 jump ring (optional) wire cutters
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Take the three beads you have and thread them onto the wire. Fold the wire until the beads make a triangle. Take the loose end of the wire (the end not attached to the spool) and wrap it over the beads then tuck it into the center of the beads so there are no sharp ends are poking out. Holding the beginning of the nest in your fingers, unroll the wire from the spool out to your elbow. Do this twice more, until you have 3 arm-lengths of wire. If you want a bigger nest (or you’re using larger/smaller beads) you may want to make the wire longer or shorter. Continue wrapping the wire around the beads. Make sure to give the nest a bottom. Weave the wire in between the other wire until the nest is sturdy (you can’t easily pull it apart.) If you only wanted to make a nest, you’d end here by tucking the wire in like you did before. If you’re making earrings: don’t tuck the wire in yet. Take one earring post and thread the loose wire end through the little hole. Secure the loose end by wrapping it tightly around another wire and tying it off. Then tuck the pokey end in. Aaand...done! Now make another.
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Friendship Bracelets for any friendship-bracelet-making adventure, you will need...
3+ colors of thread scissors hands and fingers
Cut your thread to right lengh. This length will vary by the size of your friend’s wrist. Try for about 40-60 inches.
tie the knot Take the previously cut thread and curl it into a circle. (1) Stick one end of the thread through the loop (2) and pull it tight (3).
2
Tape the knotted thread to a flat surface
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1
3
take your thread... ... and choose the order you want the stripes to be in. Yellow blue pink or pink blue yellow? This is an incredibly dificult decision that you should definitely spend a lot of time thinking about. I mean, your friend might end the friendship if you put the colors in the wrong order.
For this example, the color pattern I have chosen is yellow, blue, and then pink. We’re just going to pretend my friend is fine with it.
Take the yellow (first thread) you’re using and wrap it over and around the blue (second thread)
Repeat the previous two steps with the pink (second thread) instead of blue. Now the order looks like: “blue, pink, yellow.”
Pull the yellow tight aroung the blue. Continue pulling it (to the right) to the top. Do this twice.
Repeat the knotting of the yellow thread with the blue thread.
1 4
2
3 Continue knotting the threads like you have before until you reach the length you want.
Congrats! You’ve made a bracelet, and your BFFL will love you!
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come be inspired.
mountain museum of art
Photos in this section: Luke Akers
Cooking
The Treat that Changed my Life
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By: Luke Akers
No, you’re too young.
P
eanut crèmes have been made in my family for decades. They have also been passed on through generations in my family. The crèmes were first made by my great grandmother. She started making them for very special occasions. After perfecting her recipe she decided to pass it on to one of her children. That child was my grandmother. My grandmother started making it a tradition to make them around Christmas. She would decorate the crèmes with red and green sprinkles to add a little zest to them. them. My grandmother still makes these to this day. My grandmother also tried to pass it on to my mother, but she did not take it. Fortunately for my grandmother I took her knowledge of the crèmes. I always wanted to learn how to make this special candy because of how delicious they are. When I was young, I used to sneak off with a lot of them. I would eat till I was sick, then I would eat some more. Fortunately for my grandmother and unfortunately for me, I was caught while eating them. This started my lifelong love for Peanut Crèmes. Whenever my sister and I went to my grandmother’s house she would try (I say try because my sister and I always got caught up in our childish
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shenanigans) to teach us how to cook. Whenever there was a lesson I always wanted to make peanut crèmes, but her response was always “No you’re too young.” But still I always asked. My last lesson was during the summer of 2009, I was about to enter middle school, and once I did I wouldn’t have time to learn to cook anymore. I knew I wouldn’t because it happened to my sister when she entered middle school. I had stopped asking my grandmother to teach me how to make peanut crèmes, because I knew it would be rejected. However, this was a special day and she wanted to make it memorable. My grandmother went into her huge cabinet of cooking books and recipes, and pulled out a big box where she kept all of her recipes. I paid no attention to this because after years of the lessons I knew it was just routine. When she opened up the box she immediately went for a folder labeled “Special Recipes.” I had never seen that folder before and it caught my interest. I tried to think of the recipes that were only made for special occasions and my mind immediately went to peanut crèmes. “Luke,” said my grandmother, “I think you are old enough to finally make peanut crèmes.”
I learned many things during that lesson. One, I can’t read cursive, two, peanut crèmes are a candy, and three, if hot milk and sugar get on your hands while cooking them you better run to the sink. The first thing we did was gather the ingredients from around the pantry. As per usual my grandmother didn’t have all the supplies, and we had to go to the market to get them. Once we had all of them we started cooking. My job was to mix the marshmallow cream and peanut butter together while my grandmother cooked the sugar and milk. I finished that in no time flat, so I went over to help cook the milk and sugar. My job was to hold the thermometer while my grandmother stirred. While I was holding the thermometer the mixture splashed onto my hand and boiled on my flesh. I yelled out in agony and ran to the sink and immediately put the faucet at ice cold. When that happened my grandmother told me about a little trick her mother taught her.
“Go to the pantry and get out the vinegar, then pour it onto a paper towel, then put it on your hand.” The vinegar supposedly soothes the skin and reduces the effects of the burn. It didn’t stop me from getting a scar though. Once that was conquered I went back to help finish cooking the milk and sugar. Once it was cooked we poured the mixture into the bowl of peanut butter and marshmallow cream, and mixed it some more. Once we poured it onto the pan we waited about a minute, then we started rolling them into balls and dipping them in colored sprinkles. The lesson ended shortly after the crèmes cooled. My grandmother was kind enough to write down the recipe for me and offered to help me cook or bake anytime. Once my mother arrived, I got in the car and took the short drive back to my house. I then took my precious peanut crèmes and their recipe into my kitchen. I then put it in a little folder and safely tucked it safely in my mother’s cooking recipe box.
Since I had completed my primary objective, I decided to complete my secondary, making myself sick by eating too many peanut crèmes.
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Peanut Crèmes Make and enjoy at any time!
1 cup of peanut butter
Tips from the cook!
1 7 1/2 oz jar of marshmallow cream
Peanut Crèmes while they may not seem like they are, are candies.
2 cups sugar* 2/3 cup of milk*
Since they are candies you should be very careful when you are mixing the milk and sugar or you will burn yourself! Adding sprinkles to them really adds appeal to them, they are also good to make them look festive.
Place peanut butter and marshmallow cream in large bowl. mix. Cook sugar and milk to soft ball stage (250ºF). Pour over mixture Work fast when rolling them into balls and dipping in bowl. Stir until it begins to thicken. Pour over greased 8 inch pan to them, if you don’t the cremes will harden and will cool. While warm roll into balls. Dip top of ball in coloured sugar. become unrollable. Place peanut butter and marshmallow cream in large bowl. Mix. Cook sugar and milk to soft ball stage. (250ºF or 115ºC) Pour over mixture in bowl. Stir until it begins to thicken. Pour over 8 inch greased pan to cool. While warm roll into balls. Dip top of ball in coloured sugar.
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PRO TIP! Once you have poured the milk and sugar and mixed well immediately start rolling so you are sure you have enough time to roll them!
Pumpkin Poppers Recipe type: Breakfast Prep time: ~10 mins Cook time: ~11 mins Total time: ~21 mins Serves: 24
Instructions: Preheat oven to 350° and spray your mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all the dry ingredients (brown sugar excluded) in one bowl and whisk till combined. In another bowl, mix together the Ingredients remaining ingredients (oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, 1¾ cups all-purpose flour pumpkin and milk). 2 tsp baking powder Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just ½ tsp salt combined (do not over mix). ½ tsp cinnamon Using a cookie scoop or spoon, fill mini muffin tins until ½ tsp nutmeg almost full. There should be plenty of batter to do this. ½ tsp allspice Bake for 11 minutes. ⅛ tsp ground cloves While Poppers are baking, melt butter. ⅓ cup vegetable oil In a small bowl combine your sugar and cinnamon. ½ cup brown sugar Let the poppers cool for a few minutes before rolling them 1 egg around in the melted butter and then plunging them into 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract their cinnamon sugar bath. ¾ cup pumpkin (fresh or canned, but not pumpkin pie filling) Enjoy! ½ cup almond milk If making more than one batch do not change the amount For Coating for the coating unless needed. ~½ stick of butter, melted ⅔ cup granulated sugar 2 Tbs cinnamon
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Chocolate Meringue Cookies 3 egg whites 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2/3 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
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Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla. Beat on high power until the mixture forms soft peaks. Slowly add sugar; beat until stiff peaks form, DO NOT OVER BEAT! Fold in cocoa and chocolate chips. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. If you want to a little zing into your cookies place chocolate chips on top of the cookies after they come out of the oven.
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Letter from the editors
Dearest Reader, We’re happy to see that you’ve picked up the first ever edition of Craftalicious. Our magazine wants to take your crafting to a whole new level with every new issue. We love food and crafts, and we want to give you the opportunity to love them too! In this issue, we’ll have an interview with a LASA art teacher, a fashion designer, and Torchy’s Tacos. Don’t worry, we’ll also have a bunch of cool crafts for you to try! We’re sure you’ll like it, because whatever we can do, you can do better. Best of luck and thank you, The Craftalicious team
photo by Maggie Trungale
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Back cover by: Pia Deshpande
Cover photo by: Maisie Sajbel