Captive Crafters

Back to School

2011-09-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

Sonny, Trinity & Skyler

Grandkids went back to school today. First year they will all be taking the bus at 8:15am and returning at 3:45pm. Not used to a quiet house; had to put some music on. Moody Blues.

Got Trinity to Smile!

All ready for the Post Office!

Time to get busy! I've finished pulling, packaging and shipping all the orders that came in over the weekend. Shipping to Canada, Norway, Australia, United Kingdom and at least 12 different states. Amazing how much faster I can get the shipping done without interruptions of the grandkids.

Glass Votive with unfired decals

Next on today's agenda is to test fire regular ceramic decals on glass in my oven so that I can write an instructional blog about it. I'm hoping the oven will set the decal enough so that the votive can be put in the dishwasher. I pulled some butterflies and little bees from my stash and put them on this little glass votive that I got at the Dollar Store (the package actually had 2). They've been drying for the required 24 hours. Read all about the results tomorrow!

Okay, so putting the votive in the oven and taking it out after 10 minutes of baking isn't going to take much time, so I guess I'll have to clean house, or take inventory, or do some accounting, or something to fill the next 4 1/2 hours until the grandkids get home from school bringing paperwork to be filled out and homework to be done.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
   & &
      Captive Decals Crafty Family

Decal Storage

2011-08-25T23:52:00.000-07:00

Almost daily I answer questions about decals. Questions about application, firing, sealing, availability, etc. Sometimes I would have to research for answers, other times my 25+ years in the industry and prior experience provided the answers.

Over the next couple of months I'm going to attempt to organize the questions and answers by posting, in depth, one topic at a time. Today's topic is Decal Storage.

Tried and True Design

Country Goose

Decals can last indefinitely if stored correctly. Decals have 3 enemies...Temperature, Moisture and Pressure.

Have you ever put a decal in water and the whole thing fell apart? Bet you thought it was because it was an old decal. Nope.

The cover coat more than likely was damaged due to the decal enduring too many temperature variations...hot to cold, cold to hot. If decals are kept too warm the cover coat and wax paper separator can soften, thereby causing the decals to stick together or for the wax paper to stick to the decal. Store decals at room temperature (68° F to 74° F). Extreme temperatures should also be avoided . .. . below freezing or above 90° F.

Horses...always popular

Another Tried and True Design

Humidity should be between 50 and 65% to preserve your decals. Never get your decals wet unless you are ready to use them. Even a splash of water on a decal that is then allowed to dry will make the decal stick to the paper forever in the once wet spot, making the decal unusable.

Decals should not be stored in piles as the pressure can force the decals to stick together and may become damaged no matter how carefully you attempt to pull them apart. The wax paper that usually separates the decals can 'stick' to the decal. If this happens be sure to peel the wax paper off before soaking the decal in warm water. You may have to gently scratch some of the wax paper off with your fingernail or dip your finger in a bit of water and gently rub it off.

Photo Box Storage

I store my decals in several places, depending on the size. Most of the decals I purchase arrive in large sheets that I cut down and resale in small sets. I store decals that measure 1/2" to 6" in photo boxes. I fold a piece of paper almost in half, leaving the back of the paper 1/2" taller than the front; this is where I write something about the decal that will help me locate it in a hurry (the name of the decal, the listing number, the design number). On the front 'flap' of the paper I write any other information that might be useful to me when I need to reorder the decal (distributor, catalog#, size, cost, etc.). If the sheet had the manufacture or artists name, I'll make a note of that too. I reinforce the photo boxes by going around them once with clear packing tape and by taping the lid to the bottom of the boxes. This way the boxes become drawers...I simply pull out a drawer to find what the decals I need.

On slumped wine bottle?


Vibrant Colors

For larger decals, I store them in manila file folders and then put them in a hanging filing system. For border decals that are extremely long, I've created clear plastic sleeves that fit the decals, then taped the sleeves onto the sides of filing cabinets, shelves, whatever I have available. If it is not a decal I plan to stock all the time, instead of taping the sleeve onto something, I'll use strong magnets instead of tape to hold them on the metal cabinets.

Metal Filing Cabinet from Joann's

Celtic Knot Fused Glass Card

The last place that I store decals is in metal filing cabinets that I purchased from a Joann's Fabric and Craft Store that was closing (because a Super Store was opening).

When I was owner/operator of American Heritage Ceramics oh so many years ago, I packaged the decals in clear poly bags and organized them on a pegboard system and in themed 3-ring binders in clear sleeves so that not only was it easy viewing for my customers, but the decals were well protected.

I have customers that store their decals in recipe boxes, photo albums, shoe boxes, old metal lunch boxes, etc.

The main thing to remember even when storing decals 'on edge' is not to pack them too tightly; otherwise, you will get the same results as you would from storing them in piles...decals that are stuck together!

Come back in a couple of days to read more about decals. I've got lots of decal info stored in my head and hope that maybe a bit of it might be useful to you.

If you have specific questions or have a decal topic you would like more information about, please post!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
      &    &
Captive Decals    Crafty Family

40,000th eBay item sold . . .

2011-07-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

Just sold our 40,000th item on eBay!

Tiny frog decals!

The same customer also purchased these frogs:

De'Anna signed us as eBay sellers in September 2006 under the ID dream77catcher. We started off selling fabric as fat quarters for quilters and machine embroidered items such as personalized Christmas stockings and baby blankets.

Later we added fabric by the yard, sewing patterns, more machine embroidered items, and ceramic decals.

Last summer De'Anna and her family moved from California to Colorado. She took Amy (our professional Amaya embroidery machine) with her at which time we split up the business into two entities: Captive Illusions and Captive Embroidery.

The price of fabric has skyrocketed over the past couple of years making it impossible to sell it on eBay and make a profit so we dropped the fabric line a couple of months ago.

We had so many requests for decals for fused glass art, that earlier this year we started designing our own line of fused glass decals. My nephew, Greg Jr., a graphic artist, created dragons, bugs, trees, sea life, mythological creatures and lots of other wonderful designs. Jr. also created our website Captive Decals. De'Anna created Fashion Ladies, Flower Fairies, Celtic Knots, and Dragonflies designs. My contribution was Paw Prints, Butterflies and His 'N Her designs. We've done a printing of 18 themes and have hundreds more designs in the works.

Our goal is to have cards not only in the black enamel that we've started with, but in white enamel, gold and silver. And eventually branch out into our own line of colored decals . . . beginning with fairies and tattoo art. Here's a sneak preview of fused glass designs (these are not available for sale yet):

Over time we've branched out from eBay and listed on Etsy.com for awhile, and also on Artfire.com. We've done the craft fair and boutique circuit. We are trying to find our niche in the crafting world.

To all the friends and family that have helped us over the years, consider this a huge shout out THANK YOU! to each and every one of you.

To all the customers that represent the 40,000 items sold; please know that we wouldn't be anywhere without you. We will continue to do our best to provide products and services that meet (and hopefully exceed) your expectations. We are always available to answer questions or work with you on special or custom projects.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
   & &
     Captive Decals    Crafty Family

Quick Gift

2011-07-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

Needed a fun, quick gift for a 5 year old girl. Never met the little girl, have no clue what her likes and dislikes are so need something generic. My granddaughter, Trinity who is now 7, once received a black headband with a hot pink sequin bow on it from her Aunt Jen. Trinity has always loved that headband. It's one of the few, make that the very few, hair adornments that she has taken care of for more than a couple of weeks.

So, headbands it is. I picked up a package of fabric headbands from Wal-Mart (I'm sure many retail chains carry the same headbands), got out my button box and my glue gun and went to work.

Turned out kinda cute . . . so I made a similar set for Trinity!

I think these would make wonderful boutique items!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
   & &
     Captive Decals       Crafty Family

Just having some decal fun . . .

2011-06-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

I've had some requests to see our fused glass decals on non-fired items; so this morning I've been playing with some votive candles, soap and a page from a magazine. Here are some of the results:

Dusty picked up 2 bars of white soap from the Dollar Store yesterday and this morning I cut out bits and pieces from our Sea Creature, Fish, and Sharks and Whales Cards. I used small embroidery scissors to cut out the decals and tweezers to help handle the little pieces in the water and placement on the soaps. Use your imagination to create scenes of your own. You can put the decals any color soap. One of the fun things about putting decals on soap is that as you use the soap, the decals stay intact while the bar of soap gets smaller and smaller.

I used a skull off the Guys N Gals Card and a spider web off the Creepy Crawlies card to create two fun votive candles for Halloween.

The couple dancing under the chandelier from the Guys N Gals Card or the Dragonfly from the Dragonfly Card could be used as wedding favors.

For patio parties and picnics 2 strips of ants from the Creepy Crawlies Card fits perfectly around a votive candle. I used a strip of grass and a weeping willow tree from the Tree Card and a tiny fairy from the Flower Fairy Card for fun outdoor votives. Try putting decals on insect repelling citronella candles to dress them up for your next bar-b-que.

For something a bit nautical I've used a ship and lighthouse from the Sea Creatures Card and made an ocean scene with seaweed, coral and an Angler fish from the Fish Card.

Scrapbook Makers! Our decals work great on scrapbook paper. All my scrapbook supplies are on vacation somewhere (haven't come across them since we moved to Idaho last summer) so I cut a page out of a magazine. I used a tree from the Tree Card to place on the picture of the planter. Looks like it belongs there, doesn't it? I was careful to wipe away most of the water before I put the decal on the page to prevent the page from warping.

The last thing I did this morning with the fused glass decals was to put some on small porcelain blanks. These will need to be fired later to set the decals. I've used decals from the Butterfly, Flower Fairy and Creepy Crawlies Cards for these.

I had fun and hope that I've given you lots of ideas for projects of your own.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery

   Captive Decals    Crafty Family

Happy Father's Day Dad!

2011-06-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up our neighbors said the highlight of their day was when my dad came home from work and they could listen to the laughter and joy coming through the open windows of our house. That is just the way my dad is. Every one of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are thrilled to see him whenever they can because Dad makes you feel important. Dad makes you laugh. Dad makes you believe in yourself. Dad makes you want to be a better person. Dad makes you feel loved. Unconditionally loved.

This is my dad with some of his very happy grandchildren. What I love the most about my Dad is the smiles he puts on the faces of everyone around him...just by being himself. I love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day.

Your loving and devoted daughter,

Whoops...

2011-06-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Took a week off blogging by accident. You know how it is, one thing happens, and then another, and life gets crazy and before you know it a week has gone by and you just have no idea where the time went. Well, that's what it has been like for me this past week. So, here I am trying to get my thoughts in order and back on track with everything!

De'Anna (my daughter) recently pointed me in the direction of Listia. Have you heard of it? Are you using it? If so, what do you think of it? I found this on Wikipedia about the company:

"Listia is an online marketplace for trading goods between people using a virtual credit system instead of real money. The marketplace uses an auction system where users bid on each other's items until the auction ends, and the highest bidder wins. The user who listed the item then arranges for a pickup or ship the item directly to the winner.Users earn credits during sign-up and then continue to earn more as they place items in the marketplace. Purchasing credits is also an option. Listia was launched in August 2009^{. I}n 2010, the site passed the 1,000,000 auction mark and was named one of the top 100 websites of 2010 by PC Magazine."

Listia also offers raffles. We are going to try setting up a few raffles, just to see what happens. If you want to check out our first raffle for fused glass decals here is the link: http://www.listia.com/raffle/89

I used a dragon off the Dragon Card to put on the dichroic rainbow cab and a black heart with a clear swoosh area from the Heart Card for these two pieces. They'll get bails and cords later so they can be worn as necklaces.

Gotta get the grandkids up for breakfast...just because school is out they don't get to sleep all day! We've got brown lunch bag puppets to make, a bowling tournament on the Wii, cupcakes to bake...and if we can fit it in to our already busy day...a trip to the grocery store. The grocery store is not my idea of fun with 5 year old twin boys and their 7 year old Princess sister; but it is one of life's necessary evils. Depending on how many times I have to chase them down, or ask them to behave will determine how many bottles of alcoholic beverages make their way into my cart.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
Captive Decals      Crafty Family

Last Week of School - Thursday

2011-06-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Today and Tomorrow. That's it. Then the grandkids will be home all day, every day. Except for Friday nights when they spend the night at Nana and Papa's . . . 1.9 miles away. Such a short distance, such a huge reprieve!

I'm a bit worried about keeping the kids busy, out of trouble, fight-free and keeping the house clean, eBay, Artfire and Captive Decals on track. Their school has sent home numerous fliers for summer activities.

Calam Shrine Circus: All 3 grandkids got free tickets to the circus on June 18th. I found their website; adult tickets are only $12. The circus is worth a week of keeping up chores and not calling each other names.

HREI: The Human Rights Education Institute is about 2 miles away from us. They offer free summer activities every Monday from 3pm to 7pm and the second Saturday of every month from 10am to 2pm. Books to read, fun crafts, treats. The activities are meant for families to do together; however, they also have crafts for young children through adults and fun things for teenagers.

Post Falls Library: The library has a Summer Reading program that we'll enroll all 3 grandkids in. All summer the grandkids can bring their reading logs in to the library to check out books and receive weekly giveaways and drawings for prizes. More information on Idaho Libraries can be found at libraries.idaho.gov/summer-reading.

Skate Plaza:   All 3 grandkids received a Summer Skate Pass to go Roller Skating. They'll have a blast doing that! Probably good for another week of chores and no name calling.

Cops n Kids and Rodders n More:   Our local police department is very community oriented. We've only lived in Post Falls, Idaho since the middle of last July and the grandkids have toured the Police Department in Post Falls twice already. Last year they were give little autograph books and all the officers on duty signed them (the kids still have the books). An obstacle course is set up for the kids, they get to see all the police cars and motorcycles up close and personal, they come home with a tote bag full of stickers, brochures, pencils, etc.

Post Falls Parks and Recreations: If I really get desperate and need a week off there is always Kamp Ka-Mee-Lin Summer Kamp! It would cost nearly $300 per week for all 3 kids, but I could pick which week or weeks I wanted the kids to go. The weeks are themed (I'm hoping to send the kids for Dr. Suess is on the Loose! week. Some of the themes offered are Jungle Jive, Alien Encounters, Just Horsin' Around and Nature in a Nutshell. For $277 the grandkids would go to camp for one week from Monday through Friday and enjoy activities from 7am to 6pm. An eleven hour a day reprieve for Grandma!

Plus coupons for free ice cream cones and Wacky Packs at Sonic, free milk shakes at Red Robin, free personal pizzas at Pizza Hut, and they will probably get more today and tomorrow!

Even with all that, I'm still worried about keeping them busy for the 16 hours a day that they are awake from June 11th to September 6th. Got any ideas?

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
Captive Decals    Crafty Family

Last Week of School - Wednesday

2011-06-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hooray! The favors for the last day of school are done! Each of the grandkids made 24 which gives them 3 or 4 extras (for the teacher, principal, bus driver or yard duty teacher). Here's a picture of all the Candy Airplanes...and the grandkids.

Skyler, Trinity, Sonny

Cap Card/Candy Airplane Favor

Favor Back

This is a fun project, but if you are doing it with 2 or more young children you will need lots of patience. Putting labels and stickers on everything was fun for them. None of the grandkids wanted help with the stickers. They even enjoyed threading the rubber bands through the Life Savers. The part they did not enjoy was getting the gum through the rubber band loops. I heard many signs and lots of frustrated little voices asking 'Grandma, can you please help me with this?' After awhile I would let them thread the rubber bands, then hand it to me, I would put the gum in, then they would put the candy roll in. We had a little assembly line going. It worked for us.

And the final cost for everything was only $36.00 for 72 favors (fifty cents each!). The grandkids had to make 1 extra Candy Airplane for themselves - which they promptly took apart and ate!

Now, I've got to get back to work. Not only is the laundry calling my name, but I've got over 50 decal listings to put up on eBay, several fused glass decal themes to finish before the batch can be sent to the printers, floors to mop, bill to pay . . . the list never ends.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
    Captive Decals Crafty Family

Last Week of School - Tuesday

2011-06-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

The twins are so excited. Their Kindergarten class is going on a field trip to Mudgy and Millie's in Coeur d'Alene today. It's a walking trail based on the book Mudgy and Millie about a moose and a mouse. When all three grandkids get home from school day, their project for the day will be Smartie Airplanes to go with the Graduation Hat Cards they did yesterday as gifts for all their classmates on the last day of school. I found this one on line for Valentine's Day.

Rubber Bands $1.99 at Office Depot; probably less expensive at Wal-Mart. We'll get 2 packs to make sure we have plenty.

Any gum with foil wrappers works great; however, the gum my son brought home does not have foil wrappers, so instead of putting a wrap around the gum with the foil wrapper showing as shown on the Valentine Airplane, we'll cover the entire piece of gum. The gum was very flimsy and kept bending when the grandkids tried to put the airplanes together, so I cut strips of card stock 2 3/4" X 3/4" and had the kids set them on the gum before they wrapped the gum with the paper.

We bought this huge 41 ounce bag of Life Savers at Wal-Mart. The bag has over 200 pieces in it, individually wrapped. Yes, they have to be unwrapped to use them for the wheels of the airplane. Sonny cut one end off each wrapper and Skyler dumped the mints out of the wrappers into a bowl. There were only 3 broken mints in the bag. We ate them.

Smarties are inexpensive. We got an extra bag for the kids to enjoy!

I printed the words Congrats Smartie! several times using a word document, the font is Arial as the letter were the closest I could find to the letters the grandkids learned in school. I used size 18. You could write them on pieces of paper if you want, but I don't have that much time to spare. I folded the paper so the grandkids would have cutting lines.

To assemble the Airplanes, thread the rubber band through the hole in two Life Savers. I had the grandkids put their pinky finger through one loop of the rubber band, put a stick of gum in the loop on the other side of the Life Savers, then take the rubber band off their finger and over the other end of the gum. Next, they inserted the roll of Smartie's under the gum and above the Life Savers. They added small stickers for a finished look.

Too much fun and totally worth every minute! Tomorrow they grandkids will put the Graduation Hat Cards and the Candy Airplane in clear poly bags, tie them with ribbons and be ready for the last day of school!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
    Captive Decals    Crafty Family

Last Week of School - Monday

2011-06-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is the first day of the last week of school for Trinity (First Grade) and Sonny and Skyler (Kindergarten). We have so many projects to do this week along with keeping up with the housework, eBay, Artfire, and now that the weather has finally turned nice, yard work that we will be running around like a chicken and her little chicks. Our after school project today is to create little 'graduation' gifts for all the kids in Trinity, Sonny and Skyler's classes. Each class has between 20 and 25 children so we'll be making 72 gifts which should give us a few extras. First off, I bought some cute decks of cards from Oriental Trading shaped like graduations caps. They are on sale for $1.50 for 12 decks of cards. I bought 6 dozen - a set in red, blue, green, yellow, purple and orange for $9.00 which is 12 1/2 cents per deck of cards!

The decks measure a scant 3" X 3". I have labels that measure 1" X 3" that I'll set up with sayings:

Happy Graduation! Hope you have a fun summer! From Skyler
Congrats Graduate! Have fun in first grade! From Sonny
Have a great summer! Hope to see you next year! From Trinity

The kids will put a label on the back of each deck of cards and then decorate the label with stickers.

I'll post a picture or two when the project is finished.

To go with the decks of cards the kids will be making Smartie Airplanes.

I'll blog about that those tomorrow!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
   Captive Decals           Crafty Family

From THIS to THAT with Adobe Photoshop

2011-06-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

I like to play. When I can play at work, I'm happy. This morning, I'm taking a bit of time before the grandkids get up to work/play. I'm working on the Victorian theme for the next fused glass decal printing. I found this cute little girl standing on a chair from VintageFeedsacks. It looks like the little girl is reprimanding someone or something.

I decided to solve the mystery. I opened the file in Adobe Photoshop and enlarged the canvas to make room for the mystery guest. I moved the girl and the chair to the right with cut and paste. I opened my file of Captive Decals 5" X 7" Rodents and Reptiles and copied a mouse that would be cute in the picture. Normally, I do not think mice are cute. I then pasted him on the floor next to the chair.

Unfortunately, it looks like the little girl is looking beyond the mouse. I did not want to put him further away from the chair as the finished decal would have too much blank area. So, I outlined the girl from the waste up, opened a new Adobe Photoshop file, pasted her upper body in the new file, rotated her 30 degrees clockwise, then copied and pasted her back into the original file. I had to do a bit of fill in on her lower arm and a gap at her waist, but the results were worth it.

Mystery solved just in the nick of time as Skyler woke up; which means his twin brother and older sister will be waking up soon. And they will be asking for pancakes. I've got pancake shapes of a butterfly, rubber duck and Mickey Mouse. The grandkids love 'em. Gotta go. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
    Captive Decals    Crafty Family

Next 18 Fused Glass Decal Themes

2011-06-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Each time I have a printing done of fused glass decals I arrange 18 themes to be printed on a 24" X 35" sheet which is then cut into 5" X 7" cards. I think I've got my next 18 themes decided. Believe me, it was not easy to narrow it down from the hundreds of ideas I've received from customers, family and friends. (Please, keep the ideas coming!) They are: Art Deco, Birds, Butterflies (traditional), Cats, Celestial, Dogs, Dragonflies (traditional), Fairies/Sprites/Mermaids, Halloween, Irreverent (naughty things like 'the bird' and swear words), People, Skulls, Southwestern, Sports, Universal Symbols (hazardous, infinity), Tribal Art, Victorian and Zodiac. Each theme usually has at least 12 different designs. So, 12 designs X 18 themes is 216 new designs for fused glass art. Wanna see a sneak preview? Here ya go:

Victorian


Halloween

Art Deco


People

The themes and/or designs might (and probably will) change a bit before they are actually sent to the printer as my mind is always racing with ideas and designs that need to be tweaked. Sometimes I wake up in the morning exhausted because I have designed decals in my sleep all night long! If you've got an idea for something you would like to see designed, let me know and I'll give it a whirl!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
    Captive Decals       Crafty Family

T G I F ! ! !

2011-06-03T07:36:00.000-07:00

Thank God It's Friday!

Can you hear my sign of relief? Every Friday Trinity, Sonny and Skyler get picked up after school by their other grandma (Nana) to spend the night. Nana brings them back Saturday afternoon. This gives me 24 hours of peace and quiet. Time to catch up on blogging!

I'm celebrating this Friday with anyone who reads this blog and purchases something from my eBay store dream77catcher, my Artfire studio Captive Illusions or off my website Captive Decals with free shipping. Yes, FREE SHIPPING. Quantity doesn't matter. Weight doesn't matter. Fused Glass Decals, Ceramic Decals, Sewing Patterns, whatever miscellaneous items I might have up for sale...it doesn't matter. If you mention this blog when checking out or in an email when you've finished shopping, I'll adjust your invoice to reflect FREE SHIPPING!

Time to get the grandkids up and off to school.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
    Captive Decals           Crafty Family

New Fused Glass Decals

2011-06-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

Look what we made! Decals for Fused Glass Art

We've got Butterflies!

We've created 18 cards of screen printed enamel waterslide decals. From tiny 1/4" to 1 1/2" decals...Dragons, Fairies, Snakes, Creepy Crawly Bugs and Spiders, Paw Prints and so much more. Perfect for jewelry, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and pins. These decals have been specially formulated for use on glass (low fire cone .022), fire to a shiny black and will add an amazing professional appearance to your fused glass pieces. The open areas are clear so that the vibrant colors of your glass work peek through.

We've got Dragons!

We've got Fairies!

We've got Sea Creatures!

We've got Dragonflies!

We've got Celtic Art!

We've got these listed on our eBay ID dream77catcher for $11.75, on our Artfire ID Captive Illusions for $10.75, and on our new website www.CaptiveDecals.com for $10.25. Shipping anywhere in the good old USA is only $1.75 whether you purchase 1 decal card or 20 decal cards. Stock up and start playing today.

Click on picture to enlarge

Here's the first picture we received from a customer using our glass fusing decals on her cabachons. Lynne fired these up in her UK studio. While she doesn't have any listed on eBay for sale yet; you can visit her on eBay at firedglass to see some of her other wonderful pieces.

You may have noticed that the Fleur de Lis cabs are upside down in the picture...OOPS!

I hope to be posting more often now that I've got something to post about!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

   Captive Illusions   Captive Embroidery
    Captive Decals Crafty Family

Crafter's Challenge - Gift Labels

2010-12-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

December is a very busy month for everyone, especially crafters. Whether participating in craft fairs, shows and/or boutiques or finishing up last minute Christmas gifts (not to mention shopping, baking, partying) we crafters are in a frazzled daze from December 1st to December 24th at midnight when we are stitching the last bit of trim on a gift that must be wrapped before bed.

Captive Illusions and Captive Embroidery would like to propose our first challenge. Let’s see who can create the most awe-inspiring label for their artwork. Anything goes from paint, ink, or embroidery floss to macaroni, garden stones, kidney stones (no, not really!) to beads or bobbles. Be creative; let your imagination soar.

Email a picture of your labor of love with your chosen labeling method to captiveembroidery (at) gmail (dot) com.

We’ve developed a point system for the judging which will include presentation, imagination, implementation, and originality. The label with the highest points will be declared the winner and will receive a surprise gift. All other labels will be put into a random drawing; the label drawn will also receive a surprise gift.

The rules are simple…the label must be created by you on an item you personally created as a gift to someone for Christmas 2010. Don’t worry, we are not spoiled sports. The entries will not be displayed until after the New Year.

Happy Labeling,


Captive Illusions	Captive Embroidery
&	&
Grandma Cat's Attic	Crafty Family

*Gifts for winners will be determined by total number of entries. Drawing winner will be chosen through Random.org. Winners will be posted after they have been notified.

Cyber Monday Sale

2010-11-28T23:36:00.000-08:00

Ready, Set, SHOP!

It's Cyber Monday, and we're having some sales!

Visit captiveillusions.artfire.com and craftyfam.artfire.com on ArtFire to check out our embroidered products and new line of crochet, marshmallow shooters, and other crafty projects. In either of these ArtFire stores, use the coupon code 2010CMAS10 for 10% off your order!

Check out catsdontmeow or dream77catcher on eBay and bid on or buy anything on Cyber Monday, mention this blog either during checkout or in an email and get Free Shipping...no matter what you buy or how much you buy. But you have to send notice Before Paying so that I can adjust the invoice or you will not qualify for the special. It doesn't matter if the auction ends after Cyber Monday, as long as it was active on Cyber Monday and you placed a bid.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!


Captive Illusions	Captive Embroidery
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Grandma Cat's Attic	Crafty Family

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

Hello to our Dear Readers. Today is Thanksgiving and we just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones; full of good food and great fun.

Take the time to think about what you are truly thankful for. To get things started, here are some things we are thankful for:

De'Anna: I am thankful for so much in my life. Though I recently moved far away from my family and friends, I am thankful for my husband and son who give me all the love I could ask for which I return with interest. I am thankful that I have the ability to call, email, chat, and message the loved ones that I can't see in person. I am thankful for the friends we have made in our new neighborhood who have so quickly become an important part of my life. I am thankful for the health of happiness of not only myself but those I love. I am thankful for the big and little things in life that bring joy to not only me but to those around me. I am thankful for the sunlight that momentarily blinds me in the morning, because it means I can see. I am thankful for the annoying sound of my alarm clock and the loud and horrible music my son listens to, because it means I can hear. I am thankful for the cold I feel as I climb out of bed, because I am alive to feel it.

Cathy: My heart is full of gratitude to the good Lord above who shelters us all through the hard times, and bestows so much goodness that the hard times are made easier. My family is the most important thing in my life; my parents, brothers and sister, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandchildren, in-laws, aunts, uncles, friends...they are all my family and I love them all dearly. Whether they reside here on earth or in heaven, they are in my heart every day. I hope each and every one of you reading this post is with a loved one (or a whole bunch of loved ones) today. Remember to take pleasure not only in the wonderful food, but take special note of the laughter that fills your homes...the robust laughter of Dad, the giggle of your teenage niece, the snicker from an uncle and especially the untethered joyous laughter of the little children. And then, like I will be doing today, be grateful for all the little pleasures that warm your heart.

Wishing you joy and happiness for Thanksgiving and every other day of the year.


Captive Illusions	Captive Embroidery
&	&
Grandma Cat's Attic	Crafty Family

Black Friday Sale Alert

2010-11-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

Black Friday

Just in time to finish up Christmas gifts in the process, or to start completely new projects, I'll be listing many different fat quarters on my eBay ID catsdontmeow for $1.25 each.

I'm happy to combine shipping, so grab whatever you can use (or must have for your fabric stash!). All my fat quarters are 100% cotton, measure 18" X 22", and are calico or novelty fabrics from a variety of designers and manufacturers including Hoffman, Alexander Henry, Debbie Mumm, Fabri-Quilt, South Seas Imports, Heidi Grace, Fabric Traditions, Galaxy, Maywood Studios, and so many others.

Also, while you are surfing the web to find great craft deals and steals on Black Friday, check out the auctions on my eBay ID dream77catcher. I've got some fun things planned with fabric, patterns and decals.

I hope you can join us for some good old fashioned cyber shopping!

As usually, Happy Crafting


Captive Illusions
&
Grandma Cat's Attic

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

2010-11-23T22:01:00.001-08:00

Plastic grocery bags are horrible for the environment, making them, filling landfills, getting in bodies of water where animals mistake them for food and can be killed by them. So I'm doing my part to help in my little way. I started saving reusable bags from whatever, a couple from a convention I went to, one that was a sample, one from work, basically anything that could be used as a grocery bag.

Occasionally though, I would find myself at the checkout without my bags. Usually when my husband took them out of the car to haul something and forgot to put them back (sorry honey). So I found myself with some plastic bags. Rather than sending them out to be recycled into more bags that could end up as landfill, I decided to turn them into reusable grocery bags. So I dug around the internet and watched several videos on turning the bags into "plastic yarn" and set to crocheting.

I did the bottom in a tighter stitch for support, then a nice open V stitch with double crochet until it was as tall as I wanted. Lastly I did handles with singly crochet and viola, another reusable grocery bag and about 80 bags kept out of landfills. As more countries outlaw plastic grocery bags, and stores start doing the same, it will be nice to be prepared with my own bags already.

A few take aways from the project
- If you aren't using bags from one store, pay attention to the thickness of the bags, and cut the strips a little skinnier for heavier bags.
- The plastic yarn is a little harder to work with, it tends to stick coming through and needs to be carefully worked through.
- When making the yarn, don't pull too tight or you can break it before you get started - once crocheted in, it's very sturdy though.
- If you want to work in a design, add the strips to the yarn one at a time as you go so your color changes land where you want them to.

We'd love to hear your experiences working with recycled grocery bags or other green crafty ideas.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Captive Embroidery

Crafty Family

Crochet and Knit Meet Ups

2010-11-23T21:57:00.000-08:00

I was recently turned on to Meetup.com to find like minded groups in your area that you can get together with. I popped in and did a local search and found 2 Crocheter/Knitter groups that meet near me. Yesterday I attended a meetup of the Knitwits & Hookers (yep, that's the name of the group - too funny to pass up), at a local coffee shop, where we talked shop, life, made each other laugh and shared tips and information on our projects. For 2 and a half hours we sat sipping coffee or tea (or a milkshake in one lady's case) and worked on our respective projects. I spent the time working on a shirt that is to be a Christmas present (I'll post a picture of it after the holidays), and got much further along than I would have expected while chatting. I'm looking forward to the next one.

In addition to working on my crochet project, I talked to some of the ladies there about their knitting. While most fell into the expected categories of one or the other, perhaps with attempts on the other but not totally comfortable with it, there was an exception. A very nice lady (when I remember her name I'll put it in) was sitting by me, not only does she both knit and crochet, but she spins yarn (including some fabulous yarn with beads weaved in). She encouraged me in my knitting attempts, and hearing of and seeing some of the not so successful first attempts of other knitters in the group, I was inspired to give it another try.

So after a little internet searching I found a Knitting Help site where I watched quick and easy to follow videos and learned of the Continental Method, in which you hold the working yarn in the left hand instead of the right (if you're right handed). I find I enjoy knitting with the Continental Method, and put together this little guy.

The original pattern called for just using the Knit stitch, but I wanted to practice the Knit a row then Purl a row method, so I did that instead. Not exactly prize winning, but I think she's cute. Alas, though I tried to pull away, knitting is dragging me back in. I think I'll try something a little bigger next time, wish me luck!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Captive Embroidery

Crafty Family

Fat Quarter Window Valance

2010-10-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

Fat Quarter Window Valance

Okay, so here's what prompted this project. I moved from California to Idaho this summer and am leasing a house with blinds. I hate blinds. But since I don't own the home and am only leasing it for a year or two, I don't want to spend money on covering the blinds. But I HATE blinds. So, I dug though my fabric stash and came up with some fat quarters that will work well with the very dark kitchen cabinets and the stark white walls and provide a bit of class (I hope) to the blinds. Did I mention that I hate blinds?

Here goes . . .

Measure the width of your window. My kitchen window measures 36” wide; however, I’m going to use a tension rod from cabinet to cabinet. The space between the cabinets measures 42”. For a nicely gathered valance multiply the width times 2.5 (42” X 2.5 equals 105” for mine). That's how wide you will want your finished valance to measure. For the Fat Quarter Window Valance the fat quarters will be used as the 22” being the width and the 18” as the height. Dividing 105” by 22” will tell me how many fat quarters are needed for my 42” wide area which is 5. I can use 6 for a fuller valance for 4 for one with less gathering. Since I have 3 fabrics I want to use, I’m going to use 6 fat quarters, 2 of each color.

If you want your valance to be longer than 17" you can turn the fat quarters and use the 18" as the width and the 22" as the height, if the design of the fabric will allow. Mine would not, but that's okay because I'm fine with the 17" length.

Step 1:

Verify that your design does not run along the selvage but across the 22” edge. Iron the fat quarters. I trim off the selvage more out of habit as a quilter than a necessity for the valances, however, if the edge of the selvage is white you will want to cut if off so that it doesn’t show up in the front of your finished valance. Trim the fat quarters to the same size. I’ve received fat quarters that measured anywhere from 17 ½” to 20” in one direction and 21 ½” to 23” in the other direction. It is important that all the fat quarters are the same size before you begin, but it does not matter what the actual dimensions are . . . as long as all fat quarters are the same size.

Step 2:

Fold a fat quarter in half with the printed side of the fabric together so that the18” edges meet. You should be looking at a two layer piece of fabric that measures 9" X 22". Sew a ¼” seam along the bottom on a 9" edge, cut the inner corner diagonally for ease of turning, turn the fabric, pulling out towards the sides to make a peak. Press. Do the same with the remaining fat quarters.

Step 3:

Decide the order in which you fat quarters will be sewn together. With the printed design together place one fat quarter on top of the other, aligning the peaks. Stitch from the upper edge to the beginning of the angle. Press seam open. Continue with remaining fat quarters in order.

Step 4:

Time to line the top portion of the valance. Each of the seams between my fat quarters measure 7 ½”. I’m going to add 1” to that and cut a strip of lining 8 ½” deep by the width of my valance which is 132”. Press ½” under on one long edge of your lining. Pin the lining to the top, sew a ½” seam allowance. Press open. Fold sides ½” in, insides facing, press, top stitch ¼” from edge. Fold top of lining towards inside making sure lining covers raw edges, press. Stitch close to edge of lining.

Step 5:

To sew in pockets to insert a curtain rod, you need know the type of rod you are using and whether or not you want a ruffle on top. My valance is going to use a tension rod which is ½” in diameter. I’m going with a top ruffle. Stitch across top edge 1 ½” from the edge across the valance. Stitch from one edge to the other across the valance 3 ½” from upper edge. You’ve now formed an upper ruffle and a pocket for a curtain rod up to 1” wide.

Step 6:

Your valance is ready to hang unless you would like to add embellishments. You can string beads from the peaks, sew on bows, pin on butterflies, whatever strikes your fancy.

New Life To Metal Filing Cabinets

2010-10-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

Today I decided I could not stand to look at the ugly metal cabinets in my office any longer. So I hopped in my blue Saturn Ion and drove 6 miles to the nearest WalMart where I purchased 2 rolls of Con-Tact paper (and a bunch of other stuff that maybe I really didn't need). The name of the color I picked out is Granite Rose, but I didn't know that until just now, when I grabbed one of the packages. When I got home I ripped the clear plastic off one roll and measured it against an open drawer for length and cut across the contact paper following the lines on the backing. Made it real easy to cut a straight line. Then I checked the height of the drawer front and found that I could get two drawers out of the 18" wide paper. Cool. I folded the 18" X 26" piece in half lengthwise and cut along the fold. I peeled the backing away from the 9" edge for about 5", held everything up to an open drawer, aligned the contact paper and static pulled it to the drawer front. I could easily peel it away if the alignment was not right. When I was happy with the alignment, I carefully pulled the back paper from underneath the contact paper, pressing the contact paper against the metal drawer front. Once applied I made sure there were no bubbles by smoothing the contact paper, making sure not to stretch the paper. I wrapped the contact paper around all the edges of the drawer. It clung beautifully. I used sharp scissors to cut a hole where the drawer handles were and cut a rectangle out of the paper, cut diagonal slits to each corner, then pressed the contact paper inwards. After 2 drawers I could see that the cabinets were going to look terrific when finished.

While I didn't have to prep the surface for the contact paper, I found that dark colors would show through so I had to scrape off the dark blue stickers that were still on the cabinets from their original home at Joann's (I bought 6 of them from a Joann's that was closing at $20 a pop...thanks to my brother who picked them up in his truck). I also made sure to remove any tape or stickers that were prominent, but I didn't bother removing the sticky residue figuring it wouldn't show and might help the contact paper hold. As I got going each drawer took 5 minutes to complete.

I printed labels for each drawer from my computer onto parchment colored paper and since I don't have a laminating machine, I covered the front of my labels with clear packing tape. Viola...no more ugly filing cabinets.

Okay, so I still need to organize all the stuff on top of the cabinets...maybe that will be tomorrow's project.

Here are the cabinets a week later all cleared off and organized.

As usually, Happy Crafting from Cathy (and Trinity) at Captive Illusions!

Charity of the Month

2010-10-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in honor of this, we are spotlighting Susan G. Komen for the Cure® as our Charity of the Month.

Breast cancer affects 122 in 100,000 women, with an estimated 207,090 new cases estimated to be diagnosed in women in the United States in 2010 (http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Statistics.html). It's effects aren't limited to women though, although most cases are diagnosed in women, 1.3 in 100,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer (http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/FactsForMen.html). Unfortunately the mortality rate of diagnosed cases is fairly high nearly 20% for women, and 25% for men. These numbers are more than a little frightening. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® holds events, raises awareness, and their website is full of information on breast cancer. They are dedicated to ending breast cancer forever.

There are lots of ways to get involved in raising breast cancer awareness and doing your part to help find a cure. Such as participating in a local Race for the Cure, Joining a Circle of Promise, or making a donation. We have set up a Passionately Pink for the Cure® team to raise funds for the cure. Our goal is to raise $500 by the end of October. All funds donated through the team link go directly to Susan g. Komen for the Cure. In addition, 10% of all awareness sales from our ArtFire store will be added to the team's donations.

On the personal side, I recently found out that my mom's cousin was diagnosed and is currently battling breast cancer. We are pulling for her to win her fight. My husband was also hit tragically when he was a teenager, his mother unfortunately lost her fight with breast cancer. Our efforts this month are in their honor, and in the hopes that a cure can be found so no one else must suffer through the devastating effects of breast cancer.

On a lighter note, there are many "National this-and-that months", and I was lucky enough to stumble upon a website with a whole list of them. I discovered October is also:

Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrated from September 15-October 15
Disability Employment Awareness Month
National Pizza Month
National Pasta Month
National Dessert Month
Country Music Month
Family History Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
National AIDS Awareness Month
National Book Fair Month
Gourmet Adventures Month
National Car Care Month
National Pretzel Month
National Pickled Peppers Month
Vegetarian Awareness Month
National Seafood Month
National Cosmetology Month
National Apple Month
National Depression Education and Awareness Month
Polish American Heritage Month
National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Month
National Popcorn Poppin' Month
Computer Learning Month
National Stamp Collecting Month
National Applejack Month
Cook Book Month
Gourmet Adventures Month
Hunger Awareness Month
National Caramel Month
National Cookie Month
National Country Ham Month
National Health Care Food Service Month
National Kitchen and Bath Month
National Pork Month
National Restaurant Hospitality Month
National Roller Skating Month
National Spinach-Lovers' Month
National Toilet Tank Repair Month

Until next time, Happy Crafting!
De'Anna

2010-10-06T09:00:00.001-07:00

This week we would like to introduce Sarah and her ArtFire store: Joyfully sewn Designs. Sarah does her crafting is SW Missouri and sews the cutest little girly outfits. Read on to learn all about her.

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How and when did you become interested in sewing?

As I was growing up, my Grandma used to sew a lot of clothes for my sister, Mom, and I. Whenever we would visit her, I loved watching her work. Through the years she taught me the skills I would need to be a good seamstress. It wasn't until after I graduated from High School that I really did much serious sewing though. I started off with making an outfit for a special little friend of mine, and from there, I just took off. I discovered there was a need among the homeschool families in our area for someone to sew dresses, jumpers, and skirts for them and their daughters, and it was a need I delighted to fill.

Have you taken any courses or classes?

When I was about 12 or 13 the mom of my best friend did a sewing class for my friend and I and we did several sewing projects together. Other than that and the instructions I've received from my Grandma, I've just taught myself.

Anyone ever try to do an intervention due to your fabric stash?

No. :) My Mom is an organizer, so she helps me keep my fabric all nicely organized (all the scraps sorted by color and all the big pieces stored by how many yards each piece is).

Has the ‘going green’ movement impacted how you craft? If so, how?

No, I don't think it's affected my sewing much.

Ironing…you either love it or you hate it…which is it for you?

Ironing is a VERY important part of sewing if you want a professional look. I actually enjoy the ironing - it's so fun to see my project turn from a sloppy pile of fabric pieces sewn together to a crisp, neat looking bodice, sleeve, or dress.

Is there something that you do differently than other people in your craft?

Well, I don't know about all seamstresses, but I do know I pin more than many others I know. I'm also very picky about how things look. I want every item to look the very best I can make it

Have you ever hurt yourself sewing?

No, I don't think I have other than a few jabs with a pin here or there. :)

Do you enjoy any other crafts?

I like to scrapbook and I enjoy taking photos and making photo cards, calendars, and gifts online.

What does the future hold for you?

That's a good question, but I really don't know. My future is in the Lord's hands, and I'm content to leave it there. At the moment, I'm enjoying serving others through the skills that I have learned.

What advice would you give someone just learning to sew?

Be patient. Don't try to rush through a project. Take the time to make every part look as good as you can. And don't forget to iron when the pattern tells you too. Ironing or not ironing can make the difference between a sloppy finished project and one that has a professional look.

Anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

If any of you ARE learning to sew. I'd be more than happy to answer questions for you. :) I'm thinking about possibly starting a blog for that purpose. :)

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Sarah, thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us. If you do start up that blog you mentioned, I'll definitely link up to that.

Be sure to check out Sarah on ArtFire and on Etsy.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!
De'Anna