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Jenny Hart
Award-winning author and founder of the embroidery design company, Sublime Stitching.
Jennifer Perkins
Successful jewelry designer, crafter and co-host of DIY Network’s, Stylelicious.
Vickie Howell
Self-taught designer, best-selling author and host of DIY Network’s Knitty Gritty.
Cathie Filian
Acclaimed author and co-host of HGTV’s Emmy® Award-nominated show, Creative Juice.
Susan Winget
Susan’s inspiring art can be seen on fabrics, calendars, home decor and more.
Margot Potter
Trend-setting jewelry designer, blogger and author of The Impatient Beader.
Drew Emborsky
Crochet expert, author and founder of the wildly popular blog, The Crochet Dude®.
Kathy Cano-Murillo
Artist, product designer, writer and founder of the website CraftyChica.com.
Erica Domesek
Distinguished lifestyle and design expert, author and member of the Sharpie® Squad.
Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores® has teamed up with popular personalities from the crafting community! These talented and trend-setting individuals are famous for inspiring creativity through books, blogs, television and more. Discover the projects these influential crafters have created for spring 2011 exclusively for Jo-Ann! When you see their one-of-a-kind creations, we know you’ll agree that happiness is handmade!
Better known as the Crafty Chica (CHEE-kah)®, Kathy celebrates life through art and inspires others to do the same. With glitter in hand, Kathy finds herself inspired by objects. She says, “I’ll see items and feel like they are calling out to me to be embellished!”
Erica’s creative motto is “I see it, I like it, I make it.” This reflects her belief that you can find inspiration anywhere and transform what you see into something fabulous to wear or use. Erica states,
“My eyes are always open and on the prowl for inspiration.”
Crocheting since the age of five, Drew – The Crochet Dude® – has turned his lifelong hobby into an expanding empire. “I’m inspired by the community of crocheters that I interact with daily online or in local stitching groups,” Drew proudly proclaims.
When Cathie’s not in front of the camera, you just might find her shopping for necklaces, her favorite accessory. Cathie says, “I love necklaces! I love making them, buying them and re-crafting old ones into new designs.”
Teddy bears and bunnies may be cute, but when it comes to her personal embroidery designs, Jenny feels that robots, tattoos and pinups are more her style. When asked about upcoming trends for Spring 2011, her eager response is, “Embroidery, of course!”
Family life, pop culture and music provide constant inspiration for Vickie, a knitting expert with an eco-aware attitude. When it comes to fashion, purses and scarves are her accessories du jour. “They can both transform an otherwise plain outfit,” Vickie explains.
Jennifer sees decorative possibilities in almost anything. But when she sees vintage fabrics, furniture or jewelry, her creative ideas really take shape. Jennifer says, “I walk away from every flea market, antique mall and thrift store inspired.”
“Eventually a crafty person just makes their own trends and doesn’t worry about what is in or out,” says Margot. It is this carefree, follow-your-heart aesthetic that makes her such a fun, fabulous and dynamic personality in the crafting community.
From modest beginnings in a small art studio 25 years ago, to her widespread success and popularity today, Susan’s artwork continues to gain admiration and acclaim. Her designs can be found on fabrics, calendars, dinnerware – even children’s books. “I’m amazed to see how far we’ve come,” Susan says.
Trinkets & Treasures ChandelierBright colors and a playful attitude express the Crafty Chica’s mood for spring. Always eager to get crafting, Kathy has created a retro-chic chandelier that’s embellished with plenty of cool and kitschy craft components – buttons, beads, charms, paper, yarn, ribbon and more. Its design is exciting, vibrant and wonderfully energetic. The moment it’s hung in a room, the entire space instantly lights up with personality!
Dazzle Diva LampshadeReady, set, drama! This lively lampshade crafted by Kathy Cano-Murillo combines her quintessential love of color with her unique embellishing ideas. It’s a mixed media masterpiece that’s all about fun. Fabric, yarn, trims, beads, buttons, glitter, paper and more come together to create home decor that’s bold and expressive.
Carved CandlesErica Domesek, a current member of the Sharpie® Squad, has a bright crafting idea for spring. Transform ordinary pillar candles into one-of-a-kind luminaries with exquisite dimensional designs. First, hand-carve the designs onto each candle. For spring, think botanical or natural motifs – leaves, flowers, feathers or birds. Then, color each carved design with Sharpie® Paint Markers for a pop of personality, depth and brilliance.
Romantic Peasant TopDrew Emborsky is confident that crocheted apparel will be making its way to the fashion forefront this spring. The Crochet Dude® is setting the trend with his creatively crocheted peasant top. Horizontal bands of printed fabric are connected with exquisite crocheted detailing. The crocheted effect is subtle, but makes a big statement as part of the top’s overall design. It’s bohemian chic meets downtown boutique!
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Ruffled AccessoriesThey’re flirty, feminine and fabulous! Ruffles are one of Cathie Filian’s hot trend predictions for spring. Give pillows, jackets, scarves, purses and more an instant touch of girly glamour with her ruffled pin-on flowers. Slightly vintage, yet totally modern, these hand-sewn accessories bloom with whimsy and elegance. Another way to flaunt this trend-setting look is to sew ruffled detailing onto a plain T-shirt or tank top.
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S’Mores on a StickClassic childhood treats get a grown-up makeover courtesy of Cathie Filian! Marshmallows placed onto cookie sticks then coated in candy melts and crushed graham crackers are the treats that everyone will be raving about at parties. They're easy to eat and share – with no gooey mess. For presentation with eye-appeal, adhere colorful paper leaves to each stick.
Redwork Embroidered ApronEmbroidery is on Jenny Hart’s mind for spring. Her signature embroidery style, which is slightly unconventional and always visually appealing, comes through on this redwork embroidered apron. To make it, use a ready-made or hand-sewn apron, then embellish it by creatively combining embroidery transfers. Bold red embroidery floss against a solid-color background makes the design pop. What a refreshingly fun take on traditional art!
Lacy Knit AscotVickie Howell knitted the next big thing for yarn-loving fashionistas – an adorable ascot. When it’s time to trade in that big, chunky winter scarf for something big on style and more in-tune with the harmonies of spring, make this your go-to accessory. Featuring a lacy, open-weave design, this beautifully knit ascot is lightweight, airy and a breeze to wear paired with a T-shirt and jeans or your favorite dress. Everyone will notice how amazing it looks!
Embroidery Hoop
Photo CollageJennifer Perkins offers a creative way to display favorite family photos! Round embroidery hoops become frames for fabulous family photo collages created with printable computer fabric. Jennifer chose brightly colored background fabric to give the cut-out photos graphic appeal, while adding details such as decorative stitching, beads and crystals to make a lasting personal impression.
Denim Floral NecklaceGive an old pair of jeans new life by upcycling the denim to craft a sensational statement necklace! This is exactly what Margot Potter did when designing and creating her gorgeous floral necklace for spring. Known to be an impatient crafter, she used a papercrafting machine to easily cut the denim floral shapes then applied fabric paints to create a captivating and colorful effect on each denim flower.
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Pack-A-Picnic QuiltThere’s no better way to enjoy a spring or summer picnic than to share it with someone special on a lovely handmade quilt! Susan Winget’s colorful and charismatic quilting fabrics are pieced together in a lively pattern that truly has timeless appeal. What makes this quilt even more special is its functional design. A pair of loops on the back of the quilt allows it to be rolled up and tucked away for easy carrying to and from your picnic destination.
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 Kathy Cano-Murillo
Trinkets & Treasures Chandelier  Kathy Cano-Murillo
Dazzle Diva Lampshade  Erica Domesek
Carved Candles  Drew Emborsky
Romantic Peasant Top
 Cathie Filian
Ruffled Accessories  Cathie Filian
Ruffled Accessories  Cathie Filian
S'Mores on a Stick  Jenny Hart
Redwork Embroidered Apron
 Vickie Howell
Lacy Knit Ascot  Jennifer Perkins
Embroidery Hoop Photo Collage  Margot Potter
Denim Floral Necklace  Susan Winget
Pack-A-Picnic Quilt
Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores®, the nation's largest fabric and craft
retailer with locations in 48 states, was founded in 1943 as a single retail store. Today, more than 750 Jo-Ann stores across the country provide Americans with creative inspiration. The stores offer a wide assortment of merchandise and expertise for people who enjoy expressing themselves through sewing, crafting and home decoration.
Among the stores’ several departments are:
- Home decor, quilting & apparel fabrics
- Sewing notions & machines
- Scrapbooking & papercrafting
- Kids’ crafts
- Knitting & other needle arts
- Jewelry-making supplies
- Floral stems & arrangements
- Seasonal & holiday decor
- Foodcrafting
Kathy Cano-Murillo is a prolific writer, artist and craft product designer. Her motto for life is "crafts, drama and glitter." She is the founder of CraftyChica.com, a popular website that inspires crafters and creative individuals with clever, fun, easy and affordable crafting ideas.
Kathy is a proud Mexican-American widely known for her handmade "Chicano Pop Art" crafts. For eight years, Kathy wrote a weekly syndicated newspaper column for The Arizona Republic. She has authored several books including Crafty Chica’s Art de la Soul, Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing and Waking Up in the Land of Glitter: A Crafty Chica Novel. She has a podcast series on iTunes, a Web series on LifetimeTV.com, and has been profiled in The New York Times, USA Today and on NPR.
Kathy has her own Crafty Chica® line of products with iLoveToCreate®, a Duncan Enterprises Company. According to Kathy, “This line is for anyone who loves bright colors, super shiny varnish and lots of glitter. It’s also for people who love world culture. Most important, I want people to know that each product comes with good energy — proof that the craziest of dreams can come true.”
Kathy currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband, two children and five Chihuahuas. For more information on Kathy, visit her website: craftychica.com.
Erica Domesek is a distinguished and talented lifestyle, design and style expert, living and creating in New York City. She is also the founder of the innovative DIY brand PS-I Made This...
Erica has a keen eye and dynamic creative ability to work on a wide range of projects, ranging from fashion accessories and home decor accents, to providing the vision for creative soirees. Erica’s work has been featured in leading publications such as Teen Vogue, Glamour, Vogue Nippon, Domino and GQ, among others.
She has styled and designed campaigns for international brands such as Kate Spade, Tumi, J. Crew, Anthropologie, Roxy, Sigerson Morrison, True Religion and Helmut Lang. She has also hosted Alloy Entertainment’s Teen.com TV’s Craft Club.
Erica is currently a member of the 2010 Sharpie® Squad. With a fusion of innovative, resourceful and unique talent, the Sharpie® Squad, in its second year, aims to inspire people around the globe to “Uncap What’s Inside” and get creative with Sharpie® markers.
For more information on Erica, visit her website psimadethis.com.
Drew Emborsky was taught to crochet at age five by his mom while snowbound in Lake Tahoe. After studying fine art in college and pursuing an art career for a few years, he found solace in crocheting for charity while grieving the passing of his mother. It was during this time with the charity group that he became known as The Crochet Dude®, which then led to the 2005 launch of his wildly popular blog of the same name.
Drew is the crochet expert on the hit show Knit & Crochet Now! currently airing on PBS. He has also made various guest appearances on craft shows such as HGTV’s Uncommon Threads and Knitty Gritty.
Drew is the author of several popular books, including Crochet It. Love It. Wear It!, The Crochet Dude’s Designs for Guys and Men Who Knit And the Dogs Who Love Them. He has been featured in national publications including BUST Magazine, Interweave Crochet, Knit.1, Knit ’n Style, Knit Simple and Crochet Today!.
A number of well-known yarn manufacturers consult with Drew for his design support and expertise. These companies include Tilli Tomas Luxury Yarns, Caron® International, Lion Brand®, Coats & Clark®, South West Trading Co. and Conjoined Creations.
Drew currently lives in Houston, Texas where he blogs and creates from his studio with his cats Chandler and Cleocatra. For more information on Drew, visit thecrochetdude.com.
Cathie Filian is an Emmy® Award-nominated television host, author, lifestyle expert, inventor and
craft designer. Her friendly personality and enthusiasm for all things creative makes her incredibly popular with audiences worldwide. She has created, produced and co-hosted more than 100 episodes of the HGTV & DIY lifestyle show Creative Juice. She has also created and hosted the Emmy® Award-nominated mini-series Witch Crafts.
Cathie has appeared on numerous network shows and specials for NBC, ABC, Discovery Channel, HGTV, DIY and Food Network. Programs such as Nate Berkus Show, Rachael Ray, IVillage Live, View From the Bay and The Florence Henderson Show have featured Cathie as a lifestyle expert.
When she’s not on TV, Cathie is busy writing. She is the author and project designer of numerous books, including 101 Tees, 101 Snappy Fashions, Bow Wow WOW! and Creative Juice – 45 Re-Crafting Projects. She also writes Home Hobbies, a monthly syndicated newspaper column for United Features.
Cathie is the National Spokesperson for Plaid Enterprises, one of the largest manufacturers of art and craft products in the United States. She appears on HSN and QVC showcasing Plaid’s newest products.
Cathie currently lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, Eddie and their dog Max. For more information on Cathie, visit her website cathieandsteve.com.
Jenny Hart is the founder and sole proprietor of the revolutionary Texas-based embroidery design company, Sublime Stitching. In 2001, Jenny introduced a new approach to embroidery with patterns of pagodas, cowgirls and other non-traditional items.
After trying hand-embroidery for the first time in the summer of 2000, Jenny discovered her newfound obsession for needlework and began creating portraits of family members, rock stars and personal heroes. In trying to learn embroidery from books, she discovered it was nearly impossible to decipher the diagrams and instructions. As a result, Jenny began assembling embroidery starter kits and writing new instructions and diagrams with a fresh voice for a newer, younger, novice needlework audience.
Sublime Stitching was launched from her kitchen table and sparked a needlework revolution not seen in more than 30 years. Jenny’s innovative embroidery techniques and designs have earned Sublime Stitching worldwide acclaim. Jenny has since become an internationally published artist and illustrator and an award-winning author of multiple embroidery books.
Jenny has appeared on television programs airing on DIY, HGTV, E! and The Style Network in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Since 2008, Jenny has penned a business column, Crafting a Business for those curious about her experiences as a one-woman start-up.
Jenny currently lives and works in Austin, Texas, where she is a founding member of the infamous Austin Craft Mafia, the original group that has inspired an international network of Craft Mafias. For more information on Jenny, visit her website sublimestitching.com.
Vickie Howell is a mother, self-taught designer, writer, spokesperson, viral marketing consultant and DIY lifestyle expert. Her focus is on needle arts and environmentally conscious crafting.
Vickie is well known as the host and creative consultant of eight seasons of DIY Network & HGTV’s show, Knitty Gritty. She was also the co-host of DIY’s Stylelicious, Lifetime Television’s Web series, CRAFTED, and several craft-based TV specials.
Vickie has been featured internationally in numerous television shows, radio broadcasts and publications including NBC’s The Today Show, BBC Radio Scotland and E! Entertainment’s Singled Out. Her designs and projects have been included in more than 100 publications worldwide. She is also the celebrity spokesperson for Caron® yarn.
Vickie has written several best-selling craft books, including Knit Aid: A Learn It, Fix It, Knit It Guide for the Knitter on the Go, Pop Goes Crochet and AwareKnits: Knit & Crochet Projects for the Eco-Conscious Stitcher.
One of Vickie’s latest endeavors is her Craft Corps project. Craft Corps is a book, a blog, a community and a crafting movement. Artists, crafters and creative individuals can join “The Corps” by telling their stories through profiles on the Craft Corps page of her website vickiehowell.com.
Vickie currently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and daughter. For more information on Vickie, visit her website vickiehowell.com.
Jennifer Perkins started her crafting career at an early age, selling earrings made from fishing lures at family garage sales in her hometown of McKinney, Texas. Today she still scours thrift shops and flea markets for treasures to add to her line of revamped vintage pieces for her successful online shopping site, Naughty Secretary Club.
Jennifer graduated from South West Texas State University with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in philosophy. With her degree in hand, Jennifer set out to conquer the business world. She managed to land a job as a secretary. With few challenges at her new job and plenty of time on her hands, she decided to return to her childhood passion of jewelry making.
Jennifer has been featured in magazines and newspapers including Lucky, The Wall Street Journal, Teen Vogue, Elle Girl, Cosmo Girl, Alternative Press and Tiger Beat. Her jewelry has been seen on TV programs such as DIY Network’s Knitty Gritty and Craft Corner Death Match, and in films such as The Bad News Bears and Whip It.
Jennifer is also a co-host of DIY’s Stylelicious and host for DIY’s Craft Lab. In 2008, Jennifer added author to her lengthy resume with her book, The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls’ Guide to Handmade Jewelry.
Jennifer currently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, daughter, dog and cat. For more information on Jennifer, visit naughtysecretaryclub.com.
Margot Potter, known as The Impatient Crafter™ to the blogging community, is a very busy woman. She defines herself as designer, author, mixed media artist, consultant, public speaker, actor, vocalist and TV personality. Margot creates innovative jewelry designs for manufacturers, books and magazines. She also teaches popular seminars and classes at craft and major jewelry industry events.
Margot approaches everything with her signature sense of humor, boundless curiosity and copious amounts of joie de vivre. She believes that “if it’s not fun, it’s simply not worth doing.” Margot invites people to not only think outside of the box, but to “tear the box up, repurpose it into something fabulous and stand on it to reach for the stars.” Her no-nonsense approach to creative expression demystifies the creative process for “the average Joe and Jane” and encourages everyone to get crafting.
Margot has written several insightful and humorous how-to design books, including The Impatient Beader, The Impatient Beader Gets Inspired, Beyond the Bead and Sparkletastic.
Margot and her family create award-winning how-to videos for YouTube, and Margot has appeared as a host and guest on a variety of videos, Web shows and TV shows, including on-air broadcasts on QVC.
For more information on Margot, visit her website margotpotter.com.
Susan Winget is a renowned and beloved American artist. She is deeply committed to her art, home and family.
Susan’s award-winning watercolor images depict her heartfelt love for the values of traditional rural life. Her charming themes, classic color schemes and country quilt motifs are a natural extension of her personality and vision as an artist. She captures the timeless nostalgia of her own North Carolina environment – ducks splashing in the pond, cows in the pasture, porch swings, picket fences and other similar motifs.
After graduating from UNC at Chapel Hill with a fine arts degree, Susan found a job painting watercolors. After having children, she decided to paint from home. Eventually the business grew into greeting cards, calendars and other stationery items. Since then, Susan’s popular artwork has spread to ceramics, rugs, wallpaper, puzzles, fabrics and posters.
Susan has been involved in multiple private label and exclusive programs with retailers such as Kohl’s, JCPenney’s, Sears, May Co. and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores®. "I am thrilled to be partnering with Springs Creative to design fabrics for Jo-Ann," Susan says.
Susan has also appeared on several highly successful QVC shows based around her Christmas art. Susan’s artwork has been seen at such major national venues as the White House, Colonial Williamsburg and the National Trust. She is also the author and illustrator of two children’s books about an endearing young rabbit, Tucker’s Four-Carrot School Day and Tucker’s Apple-Dandy Day. For more information on Susan, visit her website susanwinget.com.
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