Anyone who knows about crafts will be familiar with the famous Arts and Crafts Movement of 19th-century England founded by William Morris, John Ruskin and others.

However, the Birmingham Craftsman’s Club is not so well known. The Craftsman’s Club was inspired by the ideals of Ruskin and William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. Robert Catterson Smith believed that in the age of the machine, craftsmanship had become devoid of human feeling and stated “The business of craftsmanship is to express emotion.”

The Craftsman’s Club was a movement founded in 1902 with the object of establishing a high standard of craftsmanship in Birmingham. It was founded by Catterson-Smith, then Principal of the Birmingham School of Art.

Only men could be members, unfortunately, and they had to be established practising artists or craftsmen. Crafts included were :

Painters
Jewellers
Goldsmiths
Silversmiths
Sculptors
Architects
Draughtsmen

The Club was relatively small, with 21 subscriptions in the first year, growing to 50 members in its later years. Several members of staff from the Birmingham School of Art were active members of the Club. At the monthly meetings, one of the members would present a paper illustrated with photographs or lantern slides. The Club held annual exhibitions and also arranged summer trips.

In those days, crafts were taken very seriously and were usually based around professionals rather than amateurs and hobbyists, as today.

HP has got an online project allowing you to make a Valentine’s Day photo card in a few easy steps from a photograph on your computer. It’s an excellent way to avoid the gluey products of the card shops, which never quite hit the spot.

Valentine Photo Card 1/2 Fold

The details are : Level: easy
Start to finish: 10 minutes
Media size: 8.5 x 11 inches
HP recommends: » HP Glossy Brochure and Flyer Paper-50 sht/8.5 x 11 in

To get started, select an image for your card by browsing the images on your computer.

Allowed file formats:
JPG, GIF, BMP, TIF, PNG Maximum file size: 2 MB.

Follow a few easy steps to a personalized Valentine’s Day card for your beloved.

The only snag is that they will definitely know who you are, so anonymity is out. Best kept in the family, I think.

Craftmodo will be receiving a complete redesign and makeover in the next week or two. Apart from upgrading to Wordpress 2.1, the latest version, it will receive a brand new designer styling by Thord Hedengen.

As this site is affiliated to our LifeTimes network magazine, the colours will be burnt-Sienna-based but similar in styling to the example shown above.

There may be some disruption to service while this work is carried out, and fresh posts will be delayed for a few days.

A Pickle Pucker Jar

A lady called Betsy Hatfield submitted this idea to The Romantic website :

Last year at Valentine’s, I got a big glass pickle jar from a restaurant, scrubbed it clean, and painted the jar with flowers, hearts, sunshine, clouds, etc.

Then I got a bunch of “fancy” doodle pads and began writing reasons & reminders of how & why I love my husband. It didn’t stop there — I began collecting little poems, quotes, and song lyrics to add to the pot.

When my husband is having a rough day he can open the lid and reach in for a “boost”. This jar was easy to make and VERY personal, and he enjoys it year around. I love to collect stuff for the jar as well!

We’ll be looking around for more unusual craft ideas for February 14 in the next two weeks.