Etsy Craft Party 2012

Have you seen the latest event posting from the crafter's mecca that is Etsy? On Friday, August 24, Etsy is hosting a Craft Party: A Global Celebration of Meeting and Making.

Deets direct from Etsy:

Craft Party is a time to get to know your neighbors and exercise your creative spirit. Craft Parties take place around the world when communities come together to participate in art, craft, design and DIY in every form. Anyone can organize a Craft Party and anyone can participate — the power is literally in your hands!

This year's theme: Wish You Were Here

We encourage you to work together on projects that reflect your hometown. Think about local and regional crafts, music, style and food; ways to pay tribute to a notable landmark or place; an activity that tells local lore through handmade means; or any creative project that has local flavor. It's up to you to decide how you showcase the theme at your party — go wild!
Etsy and our special sponsor, Michaels, will provide every party that has at least 25 participants signed up with a free box of craft supplies. The deadline for RSVP sign ups is August 12. The more people signed up for your party, the more generous the box of supplies! (Of course, we encourage you to continue garnering RSVP and participation right up till the big day too! We set this deadline, so we can get the box of supplies to the party organizers in time.)
We will also provide every event organizer with a free, downloadable Craft Party Kit containing how-to project instructions and templates, party decor ideas, and other tips for hosting your own party, plus a few surprises.

Get involved

To organize or find a local event, visit the Etsy hub on Meetup Everywhere. Add your event — big or small, public or private — or find one nearby to join.

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There are a ton of groups already formed so check out the Meetup page for your local group. Or start your own Meetup if no one has already! For those residing in Washington, DC and the surrounding area, I would suggest joining this group (already over 25 strong!). This is such a great idea to bring likeminded people together and garner that sense of community. Hope to see you there!

Deal of the Day: Craftsy

One of today's nationwide LivingSocial deals really piqued my interest: $20 for an online crafting class of your choice at Craftsy. I hadn't heard of Craftsy before so I decided to check it out. I couldn't believe I hadn't stumbled on this site before! One hour later, and my mind was racing weighing my options:

Should I learn about sewing ruffles and embellishments?


Or perhaps how to make knit beads?


Or even a product photography primer?


I quickly purchased the deal. I'll report back on which class I ultimately pick and my review of how it goes. The tough part now is narrowing down my choices!

This Week DC: Handi-hour at the Renwick

Calling all DC crafters: If you're free this Wednesday evening, come check out the Handi-hour at the Renwick Gallery. For $20, you get two beers, live music, and all you can craft. The theme of this Handi-hour is all about mail art. For details, check out the Renwick Gallery's calendar page or see below:

 

When Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 5:30 – 8pm Categories After Five, Demonstrations, Performances, Workshops Location Renwick Gallery Event Location Grand Salon Cost Admission is $20 at the door, cash only, and includes two drink tickets, snacks, and all you can craft. Ages 21 and older. Note This summer, the Renwick Gallery’s Handi-hour goes “postal modern” with the National Postal Museum. Join us for craft projects themed around making and sending beautiful mail while sipping on craft beer from Churchkey/Birch and Barley and listening to live music by Brad Pugh of Practically Einstein. The Sit ‘n’ Knit corner is available for all skill levels if you want to work on a project or learn from the beginning. Attendees takes a scavenger hunt through the permanent collection galleries for fun and crafty prizes. Check out the American Art Museum's YouTube Channel for how-to videos on our featured crafts at here.

Beach Week: Craft Inspirations Day 2

No trip to the beach would be complete without collecting some seashells by the seashore. It's always interesting to see what you'll find washed up ashore.

Here are some of my finds for this beach trip:

In addition to shells I found some awesome-looking sea glass - would make for some great new Ring Bling rings :)

I used some of the larger shells for display in a round glass on a wall ledge. I was curious to see what other craft projects utilized shells and found a good roundup on the Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart sites. The possibilities are endless!

My wall ledge (and shells!)

Shell wreath

Sand jars

Seashell candles

Shell lights

Shell stationery

Beach Week: Craft Inspirations Day 1

I was so excited to go antiquing yesterday, though to be honest I didn't expect I'd be buying much if anything. Living in a small studio apartment, I'm constrained for space (not to mention budget!). But most of the thrill of antiquing is through the hunt, and I found a couple of fun finds.

As an Archie comic book aficionado in my younger days, I felt the nostalgia hit as I combed through a stack of old comic books in one shop.

I picked up a Chili comic book, which looked like a precursor to the Archies. Wikipedia tells me that Chili was a redhead who was a nemesis to Millie the Model, whose comic series ran from 1945 to 1973. Chili received a spinoff series that ran from 1969 to 1973.
My other great find from antiquing were these lovely vintage keys:

I love the shape and detailing on these. Even though the first is a little rusted, I'm hoping to spray a silver finish to make it look good as new. I'm hoping to turn these into some sort of jewelry, but what? Seems like a perfect Pinterest project for me!

Zoku Quick Pop Maker: A Review

I received the Zoku Quick Pop Maker as a gift from work, and it was perfect to take along with me to my beach week trip. As excited as I was to make my very own pops, I have to admit the warnings I read from online reviews and the user instructions were intimidating. No unsweetened pops, minimal alcohol in pops, must freeze unit for at least 24 hours, no filling past the line, make sure unit is completely dry before freezing...break any rules and I run the risk of not being able to pull out my pops or, even worse, breaking the pop maker itself. For such a happy little product, there were a lot of things that scared me.

From the Zoku recipe book, I decided to try the recipe for the S'Mores pops, which involved making a fudge base and alternating with layers of mini marshmallows and graham cracker. For my first batch, it became a little messy as I tried to pour the fudge mixture into the narrow pop slots (see Exhibit A).

Exhibit A: My first attempt at pops, a hot (or rather cold) mess

I learned that a funnel or spout to pour the liquids vastly improved subsequent results. After filling the molds and with about 10 minutes of waiting, out came this little guy:

Verdict: Delicious! Very tasty and not at all artificial. I was so happy about how this turned out that I didn't mind all the extra hassle of reading through the do's and don'ts before starting. And I love how the Zoku maker lets you play up your creative side. I have a feeling the Zoku blog, filled with recipes and how-to's, will soon make its way to my favorites list.

Here are a couple other tips I learned through my first batch of pops:

- For the second and subsequent batches, it will take progressively longer for the pops to freeze. I even put the unit back into the freezer for the second batch to make sure it froze properly.
- It's also helpful to cool/chill the liquid for the pops (in my case, the fudge base) prior to filling the molds.
- If a pop gets stuck in the maker, just let it thaw out in the unit and then start over.
- Have a chopstick or other blunt object on hand to push down/pack in the ingredients, especially if you have something like marshmallows or toppings that can create gaps in the pop mold. You want to keep the pop packed in dense to make sure it doesn't fall apart.

Happy popping!

Summer Prep

If you're ever having a bad day and need a nice visual pick-me-up, I suggest checking out the tumblr All Things Girly & Beautiful. It's so lighthearted and summery, it's bound to make anyone's day just a little brighter.

I thought of this tumblr as an inspiration for my latest Dome ring collection at Ring Bling. These rings are girly, preppy and perfect for summer.

The ring in the second photo is The Sparkler, a fun, multi-colored glittery bauble. And the bottom two rings feature Chevron stripes, which are absolutely my new favorite print. I figured, if they're popping up on everything from fabrics to upholstery, might as well add them to jewelry as well!

Whether you wear them to the office, to the beach, or out on the town, they're sure to bring a touch of summer shine to your look!