Peaches & Cream Afghan: National Craft Month Project & Giveaway

March 14, 2014 by FaveCrafts

Today’s day 10 in our month long National Craft Month Giveaway. Come visit our blog every day to enter to win a different prize of the day. Find the contest rules and enter below.

Peaches & Cream Afghan

Today’s featured project is a new pattern from Roseanna Beck. This Peaches & Cream Afghan looks good enough to eat! Learn how to make a crochet shell stitch afghan that is both vintage and refreshing.

Be sure to also check out the 18 Projects Every Crafter Wants free eBook. Celebrate National Craft Month with us by crafting the great projects in this free downloadable eBook written just for you!

Enter to Win Today’s Prize

Today’s prize is a collection of products from our online store, CutRateCrafts.com! This prize includes: 5 skeins of Red Heart Classic Yarn in Sea Coral and 5 skeins of Red Heart Classic Yarn in White to crochet the Peaches and Cream Afghan afghan, Susan Bates Bamboo Handle Crochet Hook 5mm/H-8 and 5.5mm/I-9, Clover Getaway Soft Touch Crochet Hook Case, JanetBasket Horizon Large Aluminum Frame Project Basket.

In order to win today’s prize, all you need to do is:

Like the AllFreeCrochetAfghanPatterns Facebook page here, AND
Like the CutRateCrafts Facebook page here, AND
Leave a comment on this blog post below telling us:

What’s your favorite crochet stitch and why?

Don’t miss your chance to stock up your craft stash and win more than $2,000 in crafty prizes! There’s something for everyone in this epic craft giveaway…trust us, you don’t want to miss this one! You can enter to win this awesome assortment of prizes once a day throughout the month of March.

OFFICIAL RULES FOR DAILY CONTEST

There is a maximum of one entry per person. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied.
You must “like” both the AllFreeCrochetAfghanPatterns Facebook and the CutRateCrafts Facebook pages to be eligible.
Winner will be selected at random from the comments on this blog post below.
Winner will be announced here on the blog tomorrow as well as contacted by the email address provided.
You have until tonight, March 14th, 2014 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on this post. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.

Ask Maria: Soldered Jewelry

January 16, 2012 by FaveCrafts

Reader Question: Is there a difference between all the different types of solder available? And any soldering tips would be appreciated.

Answer: There are a few different kinds of solder. The type of solder you need will depend on what you’re planning to do with it. Some varieties of solder, like those used to make stained glass work, often have a small amount of lead in them…so you want to be careful when and if you’re using solder to make jewelry.

When you’re in the market to buy solders, make sure you check on the lead content, especially if you’re planning to make jewelry with it. I highly recommend the Walnut Hollow Designed for Her Creative Soldering Tool. It’s easy to use and can be used for anything from jewelry making to stained glass crafting. It comes with the perfect soldering iron, assorted tips, and lead-free solder that doesn’t need any additional flux (flux is a liquid used in soldering to help adhere to the solder to the copper tape). For jewelry making, this is your best buy.

You can find a Soldering Iron Kit and additional lead-free/no additional flux needed solder on CutRateCrafts.com.

Do you have a question for Maria Nerius, Craft Expert at FaveCrafts.com? Just send us your question!

November Blog Hop Winner

November 24, 2011 by FaveCrafts

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Recycling Crafts blog hop this month! We challenged you to share your best recycling/upcycling/repurposing crafts with the FaveCrafts community and then vote on your favorites.

The winner receives a $50 gift card to CutRateCrafts.com!

And the winner, with 249 votes, is leslierahya with Rock Star Accessories!

Thank you to everyone who linked up and/or voted! We’ll see you back for the next blog hop on December 15th!

Black Friday Deal: eCraft Die Cutting Machine by Craftwell

November 23, 2011 by FaveCrafts

We are starting our Black Friday Deals early just for our favorite readers! If you were looking for something special to add to your Christmas list this year, look no further! The eCraft by Craftwell is a die cutting machine that can cut not only paper but also fabric and even chipboard. With their special design software, you can create your own shapes and projects with just a few clicks. And if you want to purchase designs and go, the eCraft has cartridges as small as a camera memory card for that, so great for storing in small spaces.

Our friends at CutRateCrafts have a present for you, a special price on this brand new machine that is our lowest price of the season! We are offering the machine at $70 below the list price. You’ll get the eCraft Electronic Cutting System, the Fundamentals 1 Image Card, Two Black pens for the tracing feature, Five Blades, Paper Tray, Roller Attachment, The eCraftshop Design Software, and a USB Cable to connect the machine to your computer.

This brand new machine is the only electronic die cutting machine on the market that doesn’t require a mat, which means less consumables and a better value all around. If you want a machine that will help you mass produce gift bags for the holidays or invitations for a party, this machine offers a paper tray which will allow you to load paper, set the amount you want to cut, and then walk away. Perfect for people who want to create many of the same design.

Here are a few projects to show you just what this amazing machine can create:

Paper Star Luminaries
Snazzy Earrings
Festive Fall Frame
Hanging Recipe Holder
Wooden Photo Plaque
Sweetheart Box

And if you haven’t seen how simple this machine is to use, let Emily from Craftwell show you:

eCraft by Craftwell Value Pack Offer

November 9, 2011 by FaveCrafts

Looking for a craft tool that can cut a wide variety of materials in a variety of shapes and sizes? Well, then let me tell you about the eCraft by Craftwell. It is an electronic die cutting machine that works with SD image cards as well as their free eCraftshop Design Software. This is the only electronic die cutting machine that doesn’t require a cutting mat on the market. Whether you want to cut fabric, chipboard, paper, or vinyl, the eCraft can handle them all. And if you like designing your own projects, the eCraft software comes free with the machine to allow for endless possibilities.

For a limited time our friends at CutRateCrafts.com is offering a special bundle deal featuring the eCraft by Craftwell. Act now to get a discount as well as a $50 credit to be used for images from their online store.

This deal will not be around forever and it makes the perfect gift for those special crafters in your life.

We have plenty of projects created with the eCraft to inspire (or enable) you that are perfect fall crafts:
Autumn Blessings Frame
Elegant Leaf Plate
Festive Fall Frame
Festive Fall Greetings Sign
Hanging Recipe Holder

This Week’s Craft Trends You Need To Know About

April 4, 2011 by FaveCrafts

This week, we’re bringing you information on some of the hottest trends in crafting. Use these tips to your advantage – give the consumers what they want this season!

You can find all kinds of craft contests at Craftplace. This is a great online community for anyone that wants to connect with other crafters.
Pantone, a leader in color trending, has lots of color trending news for 2011 and beyond. You’ll find lots of information about hot jewelry trends. Take time to explore this site – there are a bunch of great features you’ll want to check out.
We spotted it at Winter CHA 2011, but Delta’s Soy Paint is hot! This product is available on CutRateCrafts.
The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) will hold its 2011 Summer Conference & Trade Show July 19-21 with pre-conference sessions starting July 18th at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. For more than 30 years, the CHA Summer Show has been the craft and hobby industry’s must-attend event of the season for buyers, exhibitors and designers. This year’s show will continue that legacy with a focus on mixed media crafts, a Craft Fusion Center and three unique pavilions. Expect mixed media to rule the show. Find out more.

For more craft trends and breaking industry news, subscribe to FaveCraft’s Creative Income newsletter by Maria Nerius.

FaveCrafts 365 Let’s Get Punching!

February 24, 2011 by Maria

One of the coolest new techniques in paper punches is using corner and border punches to punch around the the outside edges of a piece of paper. There are specific dimensions needed to accomplish this, but it’s so easy and such an eye catching effect. I’ve also used this technique to punch across the top, then down one side of my paper. Check it out! There is a mini slide show at the end of the video showing the different ways to punch. Although these punches are often sold in sets, you can mix and match with a little care. I do recommend having a shape craft knife and cutting mat close by if you aren’t the most accurate of souls (that’s me!).

You can find many of these punches at CutRateCrafts.com! I love shopping at this online discount craft store and especially enjoy the great customer service.