Hello there! I'm Diane and I have two grand passions: making crafts and making media. That's what I write about here, and sometimes, I get all thoughtful about internet culture and creative small businesses. Thanks for stopping by! Would you like some tea?

Time to Register!


Pre-Order It!


Get Your Copy


[Valid RSS]

Kanzashi In Bloom as an Ebook: how did it translate?

Kanzashi In Bloom as an Ebook: how did it translate?

So, today is the day my first book, Kanzashi In Bloom, comes out in digital editions. And I’ve been burning with curiosity about how this book (which is very image-heavy and dependent on a specific layout) would translate. Talk about giving candy to a digital-publishing nerd! We talk about this all the time in my …

Read On! There’s More!

iPad App Review: Crafty Titles from Interweave

iPad App Review: Crafty Titles from Interweave

  Interweave offered me review copies of two of its new iPad apps, and since I’m always hearing crafters on Twitter asking where the good apps are, I was excited to check them out. Interweave has quite a range of apps now. (Unfortunately, it’s surprisingly difficult to find a single web page that shows you …

Read On! There’s More!

Ebook Review: Knitting Video Stitch-Alongs

Ebook Review: Knitting Video Stitch-Alongs

I’m always excited to see crafty ebooks taking steps forward, and here’s a nice example. Knitting Video Stitch-Alongs, which is available on Apple’s iBookstore, is a video-enhanced ebook of specialty knitting stitches – a nice teaching tool for experienced beginner or intermediate knitters. Above, you can see the Table of Contents, which tells you what …

Read On! There’s More!

Ebook Review: A Creative Mother’s Guide to Copyright Protection

Ebook Review: A Creative Mother’s Guide to Copyright Protection

If you’ve been in the online creative community for any length of time, you’ve likely read or participated in a conversation about copyright – and more than likely, that discussion became either vitriol-filled or convoluted, or both. In truth, there’s a lot of misinformation and assumption around this subject out there, and our online …

Read On! There’s More!

Ebook Review: Crafty Cans and Perplexing Plastic

Ebook Review: Crafty Cans and Perplexing Plastic

Here comes another fun indie publishing project: Crafty Cans and Perplexing Plastic, by Mahe Zehra Husain, who lives in Lahore, Pakistan. In this ebook, Mahe explores lots of ways to recycle empty aluminum cans and plastic packaging into all kinds of crafts, using the Cuttlebug embosser, Sizzix die cutter, Crop-A-Dile cutters, and alcohol inks. I …

Read On! There’s More!

Ebook Review: Whipup Action Pack

Ebook Review: Whipup Action Pack

It’s always a good day when I get to review another splendid indie publishing project! You may already be familiar with Whipup, a blog about all things crafting based in Australia. Kathreen Ricketson, the publisher of that blog (and a past podcast guest) has just come out with Action Pack – a mini digital …

Read On! There’s More!

Turning an Ebook into a Crafty Gift, part 5: a Thumb Drive Box

Turning an Ebook into a Crafty Gift, part 5: a Thumb Drive Box

Today, we wrap up our series on ebook gifting with a cool little box presentation. You can buy someone an ebook, put it on a thumb drive, and then tuck it into this little book-looking box as a stocking stuffer. This is a nice presentation for ebooks with a hefty page count, and ebooks …

Read On! There’s More!

Turning a Crafty Ebook into a Cool Gift, part 4: Perfect Binding

Turning a Crafty Ebook into a Cool Gift, part 4: Perfect Binding

Our series on giving ebooks as gifts continues today, with a really beautiful binding method known as “perfect binding.” It’s a great way to bind ebooks that print out to 1/4″ thick or thicker, and it takes surprisingly few materials. Today, I’m binding a copy of Handwork for the Holidays, by Katie Startzman and …

Read On! There’s More!

Turning a Crafty Ebook Into a Cool Gift part 3: Felt CD Envelope

Turning a Crafty Ebook Into a Cool Gift part 3: Felt CD Envelope

Today’s project in our ebook-gifting series a simple-but-pretty felt envelope. You can easily buy your favorite crafter an ebook, save it onto a CD, and then package it in one of these cuties. Today, I’m making these for two of my favorite food ebooks: Hitchhiking to Heaven Prizewinning Recipes, by Shae Irving, and (Not So) …

Read On! There’s More!

Turning a Crafty Ebook into a Cool Gift, part 2: Stitch Binding

Turning a Crafty Ebook into a Cool Gift, part 2: Stitch Binding

Today, we’ll continue our series of tutorials for turning crafty ebooks into awesome, wrap-able gifts. Here’s a slightly more traditional binding method. It’s great for ebooks with a heftier page count, and ebooks that benefit from a full-size format. Like my Weaving Un-Loomed ebook. Here’s what you’ll need: An ebook, printed out (more on that below) 3-4 …

Read On! There’s More!