Planet Nice Crafts

The holiday season is at a close. The holiday lights are depleted to non-existent and we are left with really dark mornings…this is so depressing sounding for Planet Nice. So, what do we need – SNOW. That’s right we need it and be careful what you wish for because for us in the Chicago area at least..we are getting it RIGHT NOW. How was your holiday season? Mine felt like a whirlwind. Soon after Halloween 2023, I took a vacation to Washington DC. What a great trip, I hadn’t been a tourist there in a very long time. The weather was warm and it wasn’t crowded. I was completely unprepared for all the walking, I had some very sore legs starting on Day 3 sightseeing. There are a few trip pictures AND my final drawing project posted on Planet Nice Odyssey  (I know, relentless branding). Here are additional trip photos: Tadeusz Kościuszko statue near the White House The Lincoln Memorial - how could one not be moved by this hallowed place? First thing in the morning at the National Museum ...

Hello Everyone! I hope you have thrived in at least one way during this hot summer. The summer that had kick in it until yesterday?  Now on to Fall or Autumn. All is well here; some extra self-care was required because allergies were worse than in previous years. But there is nothing wrong with more self-care. Not much free time devoted to crafts except for a session on repair work that had been stacking up. What has been happening and this is the big REVEAL is the development of PLANET NICE ODYSSEY (PNO) on Etsy. YES! Okay this is not official yet as I haven't signed up, but I'm getting there. What is this new adventure? I haven’t exactly drafted a mission statement but in macro terms I would say it is a presentation of craft materials, goods, and experiences/services by the practitioner of Planet Nice Crafts, me. The purpose of this blog and PNO is to share my adventures in crafts with some baking, gardening, jigsaw puzzles, reading, and other hobbies of necessity (plumbi...

Yes, the last post was July 27 – I think that is amazing. What happened? Well, starting a new job and Fall semester everyone. Fall semester 2019 has been the semester I have worked the largest number of hours (20-25 a week) while still taking 4 credits and trying to save the planet. Good things have been happening during this ‘soon to be ending’ semester. At the beginning of it, just when I thought I was finished with sewing for the theater, I discovered that they really needed my help and I was challenged to carve   out as many hours as I could from an already full schedule. Here is my favorite piece I think I have ever sewn for the Theatre Department, it was the main character’s coat for the Fall production “The Little Prince”: I went to see the play and didn’t really understand it even though it is considered a children’s play, but I was very pleased how durable the coat was despite all of the actor’s movements. It hung beautifully, not really a credit to me but to the...

Hello Everyone! I know it has been a long long time, and I again apologize for that. School activities tied me up as I spent considerable time in October and November sewing in the costume shop of the Theatre Department at the College of Lake County. The latest production was A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. One of my main projects was this velvet jacket: This project was interesting to me as it was the first time I worked with velvet. Because of the necessary speed, I did not spend time worrying about matching the stripes at the seam lines, the main goal was just to cut fabric as straight as possible.  The fabric was quite stiff so we handled it as much as possible to create a little of the worn look. I had the opportunity to take these pictures but I only had my phone with me and with such dark fabric, some magic with Adobe Photoshop was required to have visibility. No progress has been made on the decided upon bean bag chair but instead some Planet Nice logo work...

Yes, that is the mission of Planet Nice – when you need to take a step away from Planet Earth, spend some time on Planet Nice. It has been a week since the Autumn or Fall Equinox, I am looking forward to cooler temperatures, lower humidity, fewer bugs, and less impact from allergies despite the furnace being turned on in the near future. Another positive is as the leaves fall and the sun swings south, the best crafting light will return to the workshop. There has been absolutely no crafting activity since the last post. Consequently, this post is mostly announcement related. After flipping through several issues of Architectural Digest and the book Perfect Palettes by Stephanie Hoppen (the designer of the blue decorating fabric pictured on the August 14 post here ), it was decided to try the smaller bean bag chair as the next sewing project using pattern Burda 8373 (also pictured in the August 14 post).   Why? There is A LOT of the blue fabric and the pattern offers the best ...