Hey crafty girlfriend!

You must be crafty if you’ve found your way here and we’re glad you did! Did you sew as a teen? Have a sewing machine that you never use or are you already one of the trendy women who are making and/or personalizing their clothing? Do you knit or not? Have a stash of fabrics? See, I knew you were crafty!

One of our first STAR guests on Girlfriendology was KATHY CANO-MURILLO (listen in to the podcast interview). Kathy, aka: The Crafty Chica, is talented beyond your furthest crafty dreams! And she is prolific and creative – a WONDERFUL combination, at least for us who want some girlfriend inspiration.

Her latest creative effort is the “Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing – Fabu-Low-Sew Projects for the Everyday Crafter.” Published by Potter Craft ($21.95) As the book jacket says:

Kathy Cano-Murillo, the Crafty Chica, is not a seamstress. She is a thread artist. And in Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing, she’ll show how to harness the power of her fearless kamikaze sewing style – just dive in and give it 100%. Here you’ll not only find out the nuts and bolts of sewing, but learn to have the confidence to blaze your own sewing trail with confidence and flair. (And a sprinkle of glitter!)

This colorful, comprehensive guide (all 144 pages) includes a guide to fabric (and decorating techniques) and a primer on sewing and how to embellish as a beginner or advanced seamstress. From how to load a bobbin to sewing by hand, embellishments to image transfers, supplies to sewing machines – Crafty Chica Kathy tells all and in a very girl-friendly fashion.

The photos in this book are colorful and eye-catching. They draw you in with their contrasts and surprises – like the sewing machine covered in buttons and the somewhat silly skull purse. The close-ups on fabric techniques, patterned edges of the pages and even the interesting backgrounds behind the featured projects all maintain the Crafty Chica brand of high-design with low-stress fun!

However, the real power of this book is the inspiration. Every project, whether it is something that you’d specifically make (for example – I love the skull purse, but doubt I’d make it for me) to keep or give as a gift, offers some creative inspiration. The button-covered sewing machine is festive and fun but I’m not ready to retire my aged Singer, but it does inspire me to do the same technique to a picture frame or a bathroom scale. (That would at least make a weigh in a little bit fun!)

So, seamstress or seam-less, the Crafty Chica and her new Guide to Artful Sewing allow you to purchase inspiration – and what a wonderful thing that is! For more creative inspiration, check out Kathy’s colorful site – CraftyChica.com and look for Kathy’s products (like her covet-able glitter!) in Michaels and other stores.

Check out the Crafty Chica. You’ll be glad you met this creative girlfriend!

Girlfriendology, the online community for women based on girlfriend inspiration, appreciation and celebration

Tags: Crafty Chica, Guide to Artful Sewing, kathy cano-murillo, Sewing, Sewing machine, The Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing: Fabu-Low-Sew Projects for the Everyday Crafter

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Be a Better FRIEND, Crafts and Creativity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.