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Giveaway: Craft Corps

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We are halfway through our month’s worth of giveaways for National Craft Month. Lark Crafts generously offered several book titles to our readers with a new book giveaway each week.

This week Lark brings us Craft Corps: Celebrating the Creative Community One Story at a Time by Vickie Howell. In this book, Vickie not only interviews 30 professional crafters, but also speaks with several amateur craftspeople. This book documents how social networking sites, groups like Stitch ’n’ Bitch, and alternative sales outlets such as Etsy have helped create a close community of crafters passionate about their work and each other.

HOW TO ENTER
Simply leave a comment on this post and tell us how you network with other crafters and how it has helped you!  Tell us all about it before March 23rd at midnight CST!

ELIGIBILITY
As much as we would love to include our Canadian and international friends I’m afraid this giveaway is restricted to those with a U.S. mailing address. If you live outside of the U.S. but have an address within the U.S. that we can ship to then you’re in! Otherwise, we truly apologize. You must be 18 or older to enter. Winner will be randomly selected on March 30th and notified via email. Winner will have 72 hours to respond with their shipping address, otherwise an alternate winner will be drawn. Good luck!

Please note, all prizes will be shipped at the conclusion of our National Craft Month celebration. Winners should allow 4-6 weeks for delivery after April 1, 2011.

Keep your eyes peeled for more fun to celebrate National Craft Month!

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Comments

  3. I network with other crafters mostly through blogging. but also with a few other sahms in my area.

  4. This is so right up my alley! My craft community exists both online and in the real world, and the inspiration I get from both is invaluable.

  9. I network through blogs and I’m also lucky enough to work with some hard-core crafters who keep me in the loop on bunches of craft stuff.

  10. I network through Twitter. I have met so many other crafters that I never would have had the opportunity to meet before, people from my own community and people from other countries! I get ideas for projects every day by looking at what other people are doing or what they are recommending. Twitter has opened up a huge world for crafters and I am honored to be a part of it!

  11. I net work thought IC3 Ipswich craft chocolate and chat . we get together once a month and share our inspirations.

  12. I go to my church for quilting and to the senior center for knitting and crochet and the library for knitting. I guess I am the old fashion network crafter, except for this blog!

  13. I belong to several local groups that knit, crochet, craft, etc. Plus, I love blogging and reading about different ideas. Ravelry is also my friend!

  15. I network through blogs. I love looking through the various craft linkies and posting my own! It has helped me come up with a million new ideas!
    maryw1981 at yahoo dot com

  16. If I didn’t have other crafters to turn to then I would have a huge pile of unfinished projects. They have saved me many of times.

  17. I love to learn from other crafters. I take small, inexpensive craft classes at my local Jerry’s Artarama and always come away learning a ton of new stuff and enjoying my time with like-minded people.

  18. Ooh sounds like a good read. I constantly read craft websites. I am going to my first craft corner this morning, can’t wait.

  19. I belong to yahoo groups of people who do the same crafts I do . These groups help each other to learn the crafts do exchanges and swaps. They have groups for new commers to the crafts and groups for people who have done the crafts for a long time. I have l;earned a lot from them and made many friends.

  20. I network on FB and craftster.org. KNITTY GRITTY and Vickie are the reason that I taught myself to knit.

  21. I network through the blogging world and yahoo groups, very easy to keep up with everything new!!
    Thanks 🙂

  22. I network with knitters and tatters through ravelry and my blog. I do really love Craftgossip and craftbits for ideas and help tho!

  24. I network on Facebook, Ning groups, and blogs. Facebook is a great way to reach a lot of people quickly – while joining (and participating!) in a Ning group means a closer atmosphere. Sometimes FB can feel like you have to shout to be heard – Nings are more like being at a quiet gathering.

    Thank you – and Vickie does GREAT work!!

  25. This comp is right up my street! I seek advice and ideas both online and at the various local art groups and classes I attend, for example, currently I attend a pottery class, water colour class, a general art class (where we share ideas and try new things, and a knit and knatter group! I also follow several art and craft blogs, like this one! I also teach myself from online resources and library books and I also subscribe to several craft magazines! I spend a fortune on my hobby but it is worth it!

  26. This book sounds fantastic! I have been following various craft blogs and keeping in touch with many crafters via Craftser, Facebook, Twitter, Etsy, and Swap Bot. Being active in a craft community has helped me grow as a crafter and given me constant inspiration.

  27. I network both online and off with other crafters and glass artists. My husband and I even spent our honeymoon at a getaway for mosaic artists we had met online in Canada!

  28. I’m much better at networking with other crafters online than I am online–with the exception of FaceBook fan pages that is. I’m a member of The Soundry in Northern Virginia, which includes an open shared studio space in addition to a cafe, gift shop, and gallery. I go to the Soundry to work on projects because it enables me to interact with artists who work in different mediums than I do, and I find it inspiring.

  29. I network through blogs, forums, and places like this craft gossip. Facebook, twitter, and e-mails.

  31. I read as many blogs in a day as my time will allow, also joined crafts groups on Flickr

  32. This sounds very interesting! I have to admit, in my short time in the crafting blogosphere, people have been overwhelmingly kind and supportive, as well as helpful.

  33. I use the power of technology most of the time, but I do have several friends that get together several times of year to craft, network and have fun.

  36. My networking is mostly done through facebook and blogs. There are so many crafty people out there – I love to share my work with others and get great ideas from them!

  37. My blog, Etsy forums, FB and twitter. It seems like you don’t even need to look for it. I just stuble onto many forums searching on a topic I have a question about!

  40. I sometimes get CBFB (crafters brain freeze block) and then turn to a blog or a magazine for inspiration or spring board,

  41. Vickie is my Home Girl! I love her projects and have watche dher brilliance my whole life. I hope I win. <3

Have you read?

How To Hide Ugly Outdoor Hose Pipes

garden-hose-how-to-hide-ugly-easy.png

Okay, let’s be real—nothing ruins a zen garden vibe faster than a neon-green hose sprawled across your patio like a drunk caterpillar. I learned this the hard way when my mother-in-law visited and politely asked, “Is your hose… part of the decor?” Cue my frantic Googling of “how to hide garden hose without looking like a weirdo.”

After testing a ridiculous number of solutions (including a failed attempt to disguise one as a “rustic clothesline”), here are the best tricks that actually work—no landscaping degree required.

1. The “Lazy Gardener’s Best Friend”: Hose Pots

Perfect if: You want something cute that takes 2 minutes to set up.

I grabbed this simple hose pot from Amazon last summer, and it’s been a game-changer. It looks like a giant planter but secretly swallows 100 feet of hose. Pro tip: Skip the cheap plastic ones—they crack faster than my resolve to “water the plants daily.”

 

2. The Ninja Move: Fake Rock Cover

Perfect if: You want your hose to pull a Mission: Impossible disappearing act.

I was skeptical, but this hollow fake rock from Amazon actually works. Just plop it over your coiled hose, and boom—instant “rock garden.” Warning: It’s lightweight, so toss a brick inside if you live somewhere windy (learned that after mine rolled into the neighbor’s yard).

3. The “Why Didn’t I Do This Sooner?” Wall Reel

Perfect if: You’re tired of tripping over hose loops.

I splurged on a  wall-mounted reel, and now my hose lives neatly coiled off the ground like a civilized garden tool. Key hack: Mount it at elbow height—unless you enjoy awkwardly squatting to reel it in.

4. Mother Nature’s Camouflage: Let Plants Do the Work

Perfect if: You’re cheap and patient (my spirit animal).

I trained creeping thyme to sprawl over my hose along the garden edge. Other great options:

  • Ornamental grasses (they’re basically nature’s curtain)
  • Hydrangeas (big, bushy, and great at hiding sins)

Avoid roses—hoses + thorns = a bad time.

5. The Sneaky Twofer: DIY Hose Bench

Perfect if: You need seating and storage.

I repurposed an old wooden storage bench by drilling a hole near the spigot. Now my hose lives inside, and I have a place to sit while pretending to weed.

What Not to Do (Trust Me)

 Burying a regular hose (it’ll kink and die a slow death).

 Using PVC pipes (they crack faster than my patience with squirrels).
 Letting it bake in the sun (UV rays turn hoses into brittle spaghetti).

So… Which One’s Right for You?

SolutionCostEffortBest For
Hose Pot$2/10Renters, small spaces
Fake Rock$$4/10Ninja-level hiding
Wall Reel$$6/10Frequent hose-users
Plant Cover$8/10Eco-warriors
DIY Bench$$5/10Overachievers

Your Turn!
Which hack are you trying? (Or do you have a better one? Spill your secrets—my hose is still judging me.)

Need more inspo? Check out:

P.S. If you spot my runaway fake rock in Ohio, let me know. 🌱