Items for sale

I am currently in the process of posting some of my handmade items for sale on ebay and etsy. Please check them out! I will be adding slowly but surely each day so check back often and please help spread the love of Madame Craftsalot. You can still get it in time for Christmas. I will be posting more coasters, purses, serving trays, wall art, kids decor, stationery and more.
Stay tuned for art you can handle!
Check out ebay at http://search-desc.ebay.com/madamecraftsalot_W0QQfromZR41QQftsZ2
and my ETSY shop at http://www.madamecraftsalot.etsy.com
Happy crafting,
Madame Craftsalot
www.madamecraftsalot.com

Buy Handmade Pledge

I found this while surfing and immediately took the Pledge. Last I checked, you could see my pledge on page #2. I hope you do it too! Just visit www.buyhandmade.org and repeat after me:
"I Pledge to buy handmade this holiday season, and request that others do the same for me!"
This is a great idea and a great site regardless of this pledge. Lots of great links. Check it out!
Happy Crafting,
Madame Craftsalot

Decoupage

I had been a little frustrated with decoupage lately. In particular with bubbles forming as I tried to clear coat and protect. I believe that it may help to let the base coat dry overnight or longer, need to investigate further by experimenting more. And by base coat I mean the very first coat that you use to apply/adhere your paper to your surface. I just bought a book to help me figure this problem out too. Get this, it is all about glue. I just got it so I am still reading it. But the book teaches you about different types of glue and gives sample projects. It looks good and helpful. I figured it couldn't hurt. Oh, the book is The Crafter's Guide to Glue: Techniques & Projects by Pattie Donham. I bought it at amazon. I am going to experiment more with different base coat glues. I feel that the main problem is that the paper isn't staying stuck to the base surface. As I go thru trial and error, I will post more. What I have found already is that less glue is more as far as sealing it. Meaning it leaves less streaks. You have to do a lot of coats, sometimes up to 7 or 8 to really protect it, but it works pretty good. Here are links so some of my successful decoupage projects:

Coasters: http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftsalot/sets/72157603381417205/

Purses: http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftsalot/sets/72157603381423517/

Misc decor: http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftsalot/sets/72157603376895478/

If anyone has more tips, please feel free to comment.

Happy Crafting,

Madame Craftsalot

www.madamecraftsalot.com