Miss Modish- Mojo Maker

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Paper Craft

Hey, it's what I went to school for! Well, sort of, but it ended up being a large part of my education. Paper arts is one of those craft categories where you can pick a project that's either really, really cheap - or really, really expensive. The best examples would probably be simple card crafting on the cheap end, and bookmaking on the "wait until your next couple of paychecks" end, but both are fun and rewarding. For a paper geek like me, it gets my heart racing. Here are some supply sites and general resources on the web I find to be really helpful. I can't offer you any tutorials on the web because I still haven't found any that I like which illustrate and explain it well for beginners; I've included some good binding books in place of any web tutorials.
{photos by bird in the hand}

Suppliers - Bookbinding

Talas: they have everything under the sun  for the book arts and are the first company I went to in college for more advanced supplies. They've got a great selection of book cloth to choose from (sample swatch books available for purchase!), and their book selection is definitely worth checking out (a number of them I either own or have read).

Hollander's: I'd heard about these guys recently. Their retail storefront is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but they also sell their supplies online. If you're a beginner, they have large variety of text blocks already sewn and finished so you don't have to worry about the sometimes frustrating steps of gluing your signatures. All you have to do is add your endpapers and attach to your covers!

Suppliers - General Paper Crafts

Gocco on EBay: This little machine is super fun to use. It's an investment, but it's definitely something any serious paper geek should have.

Making Memories: Despite the fact Making Memories is traditionally seen as a scrapbooking supplies vendor, their assortment is really great to look at for card making, shadowboxing, and other crafts. I love their fabric tapes which are really handy when making books to finish off the bound edge in a professional - but colorful! - way.

Impress Rubber Stamps: In my opinion, the best, most trend-forward assortment of rubber stamps, period.

Paper Mojo: I could stare at their Contemporary Prints section all day. They've got all sorts of awesome papers to choose from, from patterned to lace to tissue.

Martha Stewart Crafts: whatever, I'm a sucker. Really beautiful ribbon, paper, punches, embellishments, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Kraft Outlet: I love brown kraft paper. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it's awesome. Kraft Outlet has a whole bunch of nifty things for packaging, stationery and other various paper-based projects in sweet, sweet kraft.

Creative Paper Crafts: I found some pretty cute rubber stamps here. They've got supplies for a variety of crafting techniques including origami, embossing, and quilling, as well as scrapbooking supplies.

Resources and Information -  Letterpress

Don Black's First Press Suggestions: want to get into letterpress but you don't know which machine to start with? Here's a good page to get your started.

Briarpress: the letterpress printer's haven. Whether printing is new to you or you're been doing it for a while, there's something for everyone, including classifieds (need a printer?), help forums, and workshop / class announcements.

David Rose's Introduction to Letterpress Printing: really resource for information about the history of letterpress, printing manuals, equipment, and supplies.

Resources and Information -  General Paper Crafts

Martha Stewart Crafts Projects: if you're doing paper crafts, might as well go the patron saint of all things (somewhat) crafty, Martha. There are actually a bunch of really cute projects here that can really  inspire new ideas and don't necessarily utilize her product. It's well explained and illustrated, too - heck, I used to design and create place cards for a living (worked at an invitation store), but I'm not sure I could have explained the process of pop up place cards better than the way it's described in the Themed Bird Party place card instructions!

Books - Book Binding

Making Books by Hand by Mary McCarthy: I bought this book back in school during my sophomore year, when I was first getting started in bookbinding. It was a really helpful reference on alternative binds or little things I could do while constructing my book to make it special. I'd definitely say it was a worthwhile purchase, especially for a beginner, because of its clear photos and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.

The Encyclopedia of Papermaking and Bookbinding by Heidi Reimer-Epp: this book really has a bit of everything in the process of making a finished book, from the papermaking process to several varieties of binding. It's well illustrated and explained, so anyone of any skill level in either area can easily pick up the crafts.

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Sew Stuff

The last time I sewed was a long time ago. Once upon a time, I studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design over the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school, only to realize I hated the industry and... well, frankly, didn't have the patience to sew and liked the design half better. I'm sure half of it was that I just wasn't very good at it, even with this super duper high tech machines that are out now. I thought I'd share with you what's around that is getting me excited to hop back into it, and I hope you'll be excited too!

{photo by bitsandbobbins}

Books

In Stitches by Amy Butler: This book is a tasty looking book. Amy Butler in general I think has an amazing taste level for a lot of the accessories patterns she publishes, and I think this book is a testament to that. The only thing that's holding me back from buying this at this very moment is the fact I don't have a sewing machine here in Minneapolis (yet). It's on my list of priority purchases, but I doubt the boyfriend wants a book laying around while I can only use it to appreciate pretty pictures. Sigh.

Sew U by Wendy Mullin: Another book earmarked for later. The author is Wendy from Built by Wendy, and I think that sort of speaks for itself.

Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter: The third book I'm waiting on. What excites me most about this book is how simply everything is explained and that everything in the book is a functional item that I could see myself using regularly or decorating with. That I find to be pretty rare, as people's taste in patterns don't always match or you just may not have a use for something in particular, but this book makes me want to buy a mass quantity of yards of patterned fabric and just start producing!

Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi by Tomoko Takamori : I'm not sure I could properly describe to you how freakin' adorable this book is. Everything Japanese is pretty much intrinsically cute, but Amigurumi (those heartbreakingly sweet little crocheted animals) just take the cake. This book's all about how to make them - I certainly was never one for crochet, but I'd probably just buy the book to let my heart melt every time I look through it.

Fabric Suppliers

Crafty Planet: Don't come to the Twin Cities without going to Crafty Planet. I had heard a lot about this store in the past, but for the longest time had no idea it's literally, oh, ten minutes of a drive from my apartment. It is the fun sewing crafts MECCA of this area. Their online shop is cool, but when you get to see their entire assortment right in front of you, it is at the same time the most motivating and overwhelming thing. You're immediately flooded with project ideas but you'll have no time to complete them all without going back to your college days of no sleep and lots of coffee!

Repro Depot Fabrics: I love their assortment of funky fabrics. Right now I'm falling all over this silver Damask and am utterly glad that all of my money is currently tied up in my upcoming apartment move!

Jena's note: Purlsoho: This (and Repro Depot above) is where I always get my fabric to use as backgrounds for the shoppe- they have great customer service, and an incredible selection of fabrics plus books and magazines, accessories, yarn and patterns.

I hope this has been helpful! See you on Thursday!

- Maddy

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.

Try this at home with Maddy: BUILDING A BUSINESS- So You Want to Make Jewelry

Among many things I dabble in, I love jewelry. Other than paper crafting, there's really nothing more relaxing that wrapping wire while watching a movie - I can't really explain it, and maybe it's just me. If you're one of those who, like me, love to keep their hands busy, it's certainly a worthwhile thing to pick up. Here's some suppliers and tutorials to keep you busy (in no particular order).

{photo by yo kelley yo}

Suppliers

Fire Mountain Gems and Beads: Really great supplies to get you started. There's a lot of diverse stuff, and their customer service is very helpful.

Rings and Things: Probably my favorite supplier. They've got a lot of unique items, and it's my go-to place for charms at the moment. Shipping is very quick, and their customer service is amazing.

JewelrySupply.com: I have yet to order from them, but they seem to have a pretty good assortment. I like to do a lot of simple charm work in my jewelry, and I'd definitely consider them when buying in the future.

Frost Creek Charms: Exclusively silver-toned metal charms, but they have a great selection.

Laramie Studios at EBay: Far and away my favorite source for vintage beads. Since they're located near Providence, Rhode Island (which used to be the jewelry capital of the world), they have great resources at their fingertips and have great finds! They're consistently very helpful and friendly, as well.

The Plastic Shop at EBay: An absolute must-see. The entire assortment is full of quirky vintage plastic beads and cabs which make perfect pins or design elements. They've got your trendy vintage flowers, but there's really so much more. I've previously purchased really cool cabs of women's profiles that I'm still holding on to for the perfect project.

Beadin' Path: A somewhat recent find for me, Beadin' Path has a lot of great Vintage jewelry supplies, including Lucite beads, cabs, and pendants. I like that I can shop by color, which is really helpful when I have a project already in mind and know the color and material I want to work in.

Tutorials

Fire Mountain Tutorials: Fire Mountain has a lot of really great beginner to advanced tutorials to learn from. They're well-written and extremely helpful, regardless of what level of crafting you're on.

Bloglander Jewelry Tutorials: Fun, easy projects for the beginner.

Norma Jean Polymer Clay Food Tutorials: Mini polymer clay food jewelry is pretty big, and nobody does better tutorials for getting into makng them than this website. The bakery section? Far and away my favorite - I'm a carbs kind of girl.

TheClayStore Miniature Food Tutorials: More miniature food, but less realistic than Norma Jean's in its style. Very cute and cartoony.

Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper goods.