February Fun on Creativebug!
February’s classes offer something special for makers who love to learn, stitch, and savor the moment!
Using your library card and PIN, create your own account for FREE and nurture your creative side with 1000+ video classes in painting, knitting, crafting, sewing & more!
Essential Embroidery Techniques – February 1
If you’re new to embroidery—or a seasoned stitcher whose needle eyes seem to be shrinking—this class is here to help. Professional embroidery designer Rebecca Ringquist guides you through the essential tools and setup skills every embroiderer should know. Learn how to choose the right needle and thread, and how to thread a needle with ease, including using different types of needle threaders for varying thread thicknesses. Rebecca also covers choosing and wrapping an embroidery hoop—and why it matters. You’ll finish with tips for extending your designs using scrap fabric and keeping your threads neat, organized, and ready to stitch.
Bliss Balls: 3 Recipes for Snacking – February 5
Bliss balls—also known as energy balls or energy bites—are no-bake snacks made from nutrient-dense whole foods and natural sweeteners. Quickly blended in a food processor and rolled into bite-sized balls, they’re easy to make and perfect for everyday snacking. In this class, Cobrina draws on her culinary background to teach three versatile base recipes: oats and nut butter, cocoa and dates, and dried fruit. You’ll learn the building blocks of balanced energy bites, combining natural sweetness, healthy fats, and satisfying texture for maximum flavor. Each recipe is easy to customize for dietary needs or pantry swaps. By the end, you’ll have go-to snacks that feel like a treat and fuel you throughout the day.
Sew a 14-inch Rag Doll – February 10
With their simple features and soft cloth bodies, rag dolls are one of the oldest and most beloved children’s toys. San Francisco doll designer and author of Make Animal Friends, Katia Ferris brings another delightful addition to her Creativebug collection with her 14-inch rag doll. In this class, Katia demonstrates essential doll-making techniques, including how to sew articulated elbows and knees, use ladder stitch for multiple applications, create yarn hair, and add facial details with felt, embroidery, and crayon. You’ll also learn how to sew a complete outfit – shirt and pants included – for a timeless, huggable companion.
Make a Victorian Puzzle Purse – February 12
Make your tokens of love even more special by folding and painting a Victorian Puzzle Purse. Artist and educator Courtney Cerruti is a big fan of the form which originally appeared in the early 1700’s and was popularized in the Victoria era. Use stamps and tempera sticks to decorate your paper, then learn tricks for easilly assembling this classic form.
How to Embroider the Feather Stitch – February 17
The feather stitch is a versatile decorative hand embroidery stitch that forms a series of interconnected, offset V-shapes, resembling a twig or feather. In this short class, embroidery professional Rebecca Ringquist deep dives into the standard zigzag pattern and it’s variations. This stitch is ideal for creating organic, flowing designs like vines and branches, filling in areas with a textured pattern, or adding decorative borders.
How to Embroider the Bullion Stitch – February 19
The bullion stitch, or bullion knot, is a decorative embroidery stitch that creates a raised, textured, and sometimes worm-like appearance. In this short class, Rebecca Ringquist, the artist and designer behind Dropcloth Embroidery, deep dives into the unique formation of the bullion stitch, covering thread tension, the minimum and maximum lengths, flat vs rounded, and various designs, including the bullion rose.
How to Embroider a French Knot – February 25
The French knot is a small, decorative knot commonly used in embroidery that can be tricky to master. In this short class, Rebecca Ringquist, the artist and designer behind Dropcloth Embroidery, deep dives into choosing the best needle, how and when to use the French knot, and how to control and troubleshoot frequent issues. This small embroidery element adds detail and a touch of three-dimensionality to projects, making it a versatile stitch for both small accents and building entire decorative features.
Explore some classes for Mindful Making this month!
Creativebug Slow TV: Peaceful Paint Pouring
Creativebug now offers a different type of content you can stream: artful meditation videos. Life moves too fast as it is; slow down and watch skilled artists as they deftly manipulate beautiful hues. Paint pouring is as soothing a craft as you can get. Watch this video and get all the satisfaction without any of the cleanup. This video is not a how-to, but a visual meditation on paint being poured. If you want to learn how to pour paint you can watch a tutorial here.
Gratitude Art Journal: A Daily Practice
Make gratitude a part of your daily art practice with artist and Faber Castell creative Mou Saha. Each day this month she’ll share a prompt and technique focusing on the moments, people, and themes of her life for which she is the most thankful. You’ll use ink and paint to make drawings, paintings, and hand-lettering to complete your spreads. Learning to take a moment out of your every day to visually express gratitude takes a bit of practice but after a full month will become second nature, and you’ll be amazed by how your perception shifts.
Meditative Art Journaling
Learn how to make a meditative art journal that serves as a container for your hopes, fears, frustrations and more with the founders of Get Messy. You’ll learn how to free write to get what’s in your head onto the page, obliterate it with paint and meditative marks, use watercolor to channel your mood, then add quotes and lettering to complete your page. This small handbound book provides the perfect place to journal and explore your feelings through words and art.
