Need a Useful New Skill?

Mold making is fun and easy. It also helps open up new possibilities in so many crafty areas. Love your vintage button collection but don't want to use it up? Have a necklace design in mind but can't find enough beads to complete it? Love sculpting figures but can't seem to reproduce your favorite creations? Well, there are several simple mold making techniques you can try to help solve those issues.


Simple one part molds can be used to capture textures or patterns with ease. Making buttons or cabochons is simple when you use a 2 part silicone mold making material. No need to worry with complex, multi-part molds and you can get to producing multiple parts in no time. This works great with clay or casting resin.

Liquid latex can be used to make slightly more sophisticated molds of 3d objects as well and objects that require the ability to capture more detail than the 2 part silicone molds can provide. This can either be brushed on or poured, depending on the product.

2 part molds can be used to make molds of more complex figures or 3 dimensional objects that may need more support than the liquid latex can provide. These can be made out of plaster or silicone rubber and are great for casting objects out of resin or for use with clay.

If you are interesting in learning any of these techniques there are several classes available! Check them out!

Little Ones Can Get Crafty, Too!

Did you know that we have an ongoing Mommy or Daddy & Me class for kiddos ages 3-6? Yes, we do! It's called Storytime Crafts & it happens every Thursday morning from 10:30 - 11:30. It's great for parents looking for a fun, creative activity to do with their little ones. You get to hear a delightful children's story, then make a fun craft based on the theme, such as this handsome penguin. You can even enjoy a tasty breakfast or snack, because the class is held at Waterloo Ice House on 38th & Lamar.

And best of all, it's a great bargain! Storytime Crafts costs only $10 per session, or you can even buy a punch card and save: 3 sessions for $25 or 5 sessions for $40, per child.

The little ones will really enjoy being read to & then gettin' crafty. For example, at a session a couple of weeks ago, Kim read Cloud Boy, an adorable book by Rhode Montijo. After the story, everyone got to create cloud animals made of cotton balls on a felt sky, just like the cloud animals the main character makes. It was a great story & a great time!

So if you're the parent of a tiny tot, or know someone who is, gather 'em up & come on out for Storytime Crafts!

Announcing our new Mix & Make Crafty Hours!

September 17th @ Imperia (3rd Thurs.), 310 Colorado St.

Get Crafty with The WonderCraft! Mix & Make Happy Hour @ Imperia. On Third Thursday from 4pm to 8pm, Drop in, grab a cosmo and a california roll & work on make your own upcycled hats/scarves with The WonderCraft. Network, relax and enjoy crafting/making/stitch'n/bitch'n/& upcycling!

Admission is $20 at the event & $18 for early sign-up: includes class, materials, entry into a giveaway, 1 drink (Specialty Martinis) & a california roll.

For discount admission sign-up now & reserve your spot.

Rubber Stamp Carving

There is still room in this class next Wednesday evening. Such a flexible skill to learn.

I made all these stamps to work on a book making project. I used black ink and stamped them on white paper. Then, after the ink was dry, the images were scanned so they could be used on my digital projects but still maintain a hand made feel.


Rubber Stamp Carving - Adults - 8/26/09

Carving your own unique rubber stamps allows you to add a personalized touch to your paper creations. In this class you'll design and carve 2-3 small rubber stamps and create a set of note cards with them. Once you learn the technique, you'll be able to turn any of your artwork into a rubber stamp for use on stationery, gift wrap, your own business cards and more!

Here is a picture of the one tool you'll need to buy. I know I like to see what the tools look like before I shop for them. Makes it easier to know what you need :)

Fun with Altered Books

On Sunday I had the pleasure of sitting in on Beth A's Altered Books class where she showed a lot of cool ways to embellish and customize books that I never would have thought of. I had made some altered books before, but it was really interesting to see Beth A's take on things. That's what I love about taking classes - even if you've tried the technique before, there is always more to be learned!






Misti Webster shows off one of her beautifully altered page spreads

























Beth A demonstrated several techniques for prepping pages with watercolor. She taught us a slick method for adding pages to your book or repairing pages that have fallen out, too.

We also tried our hands at weaving pages together - fantastic!


All in all, this was a really fun class that would be a great springboard for anyone who'd like to create altered books. If that's you, check it out! We have another Altered Books class coming up on October 6. If you sign up for it (or any other class for that matter) before August 31, you'll receive one of our super-cool Stella necklaces. Be sure to take advantage of this special offer! Simply enter "augnecklace" in the coupon section at checkout when you enroll.

Stella's interior-its a concept!

Jen and Kim (along with their wonderful men!) put in a ton of work on our girl Stella this weekend. We got the second sub-floor put in, thanks Wes! And even more shining done! She's looking Stellar. Next up is installing the recycled wood flooring we bought off Craig's List, and begin moving on the build out. Here are some rough ideas for what we're planning:

On the left is a long bench that will double as storage and above it a peg board. In the front a bigger table and shelving on the right. Down the middle we'll put up a folding table for classes.

Here is the back, it'll be set up to do check out, or another work space during classes.
We're also painting, making curtains, and figuring out lighting. Anyone have some creative lighting ideas??

Behind the Scenes A Crafty Day

Beth H. is such a starlette.  Check her out getting ready for one of our instructional shoots.

One of the accoutrement of running The WonderCraft is that we get to try out all of the crafts and classes before we teach them.  So we'll occasionally get together and have crafty creative days.  Such fun!  We thought we'd give you a sneak peak into one of these days.  Enjoy! 

Could anything scream Beth A. louder than a crafty kit and pink wayfarers?

Fabric, paper, clay, and found objects...these ladies do it all!

Beth H. demonstrates the technique for her scrap fabric pomander class.

Jen made the most AMAZING pendant while getting ready for the basic polymer clay class.

A plethora of crafty supplies

 If you're like us and salivating over the thought of some crafty social time, join one of our super fun classes and come sit at the crafty table with us. 

http://www.thewondercraft.com/classes/

Some Fun Videos to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

I love YouTube. You can learn so many things from watching the videos that artists upload. It isn't a substitute for a good classroom experience but it can help sharpen your skills or show you that one technique that had you puzzled. So in honor of my favorite medium, polymer clay, I'm going to share some of the more interesting videos I've found on YouTube.






Be sure to check out our Basic Polymer Clay class if you are interested in learning how to use this versatile and fun medium.

Join us at We Make Stuff, Sept. 19

We Make Stuff will be another fantastic evening of art, music & fashion brought to you by Electric Promotions. A variety of Austin artists & designers, musicians, vendors, retail boutiques and food & drink sponsors will be there, plus a fashion show and a skateboard painting contest! We WonderCraft gals will be there to offer a fun "Make & Take" project, and help out our EtsyAustin teammates with a DIY screenprinting table. Come by to print your own "I Make Stuff" t-shirt. Tres chic!

Hope to see you there! September 19, 7pm - 12am at The Scoot Inn.

New Calendar and Demos & Events Blog Up

Yesterday we worked on a couple of new features for our website to make it easier for you to find the classes you're looking for and keep up with all of the cool things The WonderCraft has coming your way!

First, we have a handy-dandy new calendar up on our website that lists all of our classes by date, making it super-easy for you to see what fits with your schedule. We'll be adding all of our events & demos to this calendar as well (still working on that part).

Additionally, we've created a second blog, Crafty Demos & Events from The WonderCraft, that will be used solely as our events listing. We've got a lot of creative adventures on the horizon: demonstrations at craft supply stores, "make & take" DIY projects at festivals and craft fairs, happy hour classes & contests and more! You can subscribe to the Demos & Events blog to stay in the know and meet up with us all over town. The blog feed is also available for surfing on our website, on our Demos & Events page. There will be many occasions to get discounted admission by buying advance tickets online, so subscribe today so you don't miss out!

Stella to appear at the Handmade Nation Screening & Craft Fair on Sept. 6

Author/Filmmaker Faythe Levine will be in town Labor Day Weekend for a book signing party on Saturday at Domy Books, and of course the film screenings & Q&A sessions on Sunday at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. We are very excited to have been invited to participate in the fun at this Austin premiere! We'll be part of the craft bazaar featuring about a dozen local artists outside of the Drafthouse on Sunday, 9/6. It will be from noon to 6pm, so come by before the movie! We'll be there with Stella, our vintage Airstream trailer, doing a crafty "Make & Take" project that you won't want to miss. Then we'll enjoy the movie & head over to the Post-screening Shabang at Austin Handmade! Get all the deets for the weekend & buy your tix on Sublime Stitching's site!

The Shining!

Our Airstream, Stella, is still in the process of renovation and this past Sunday Kim, her husband Jimmy and Beth A spent all day shining her up. Here are some before and after pics:When we got her, she was very dirty, she'd been sitting in the middle of a field in Victoria, TX.









Her windows were covered in dirt, but with a little work, she cleaned up quick.









After trying several different things we got a dull shine out of her, but we wanted more! Using several different polishers was the only way to get her to shine!








Next week, I'll show you the inside!

This Month's Special Offer!

Enroll this month in ANY class and get this necklace featuring our beautiful girl, stella for free!  This super cool necklace is made using a technique you can learn in our resin class!  Click here for details and to enroll.

Simply enter "augnecklace" in the coupon section at checkout when you enroll before August 31st and we'll send you one!  

Curious about what classes we offer?  Take a look at a full listing of our class offerings and search by topic, age group, difficulty, and even location here:

http://www.thewondercraft.com/classes/

Featured Class:  Scrap Fabric Pomanders - for Adults - 12/16/09

Turn those fabric scraps you've been saving into a pretty little hanging flower bunch. You'll have the option to make yours scented by including dried herbs or potpourri in the center, or leave it unscented. 

Schedule:

Wednesday, 12/16/2009, 5:30 - 8:30 PM

Location:

Austin Handmade
2009 South First St, Austin TX, 78704
512.383.9333
http://austinhandmade.com/

Click here to sign up for this class http://www.thewondercraft.com/classes/viewclass.aspx?Id=93

Classes Start Next Week!

Hey Crafters,
Have you heard? WonderCraft classes start next Tuesday, August 11th. Take a look at some of the fun projects we have coming up in this first week:


top to bottom: Scrap Fabric Pomanders; Upcycled Paper Stars; Upcycled Swimsuit Cover-up; Pose-able Puppets



For Adults:
~Scrap Fabric Pomanders; Wed, 8/12, 6pm – 9pm; Austin Handmade
~Altered Books; Thu, 8/13, 5:30pm – 8:30pm; Genuine Joe Coffeehouse

For Tweens & Teens:
~Upcycled Paper Stars; Tue, 8/11, 1pm – 3pm; Austin Handmade

For All Ages:
~Upcycled Swimsuit Cover-up; Wed, 8/12, 1pm – 3pm; Austin Handmade
~Pose-able Puppets; Sat, 8/15, 1pm – 4pm; Austin Handmade

For Tiny Tots:
~ Storytime Crafts; Thu, 8/13, 10:30am – 11:30am; Waterloo Ice House

Hope to see you there!

We've Launched!

First, we want to thank everyone who made our bash at the Beauty Bar on July 31st so awesome. We had a lot of fun making jewelry and accessories out of up-cycled t-shirts, the snacks from Blue Note Bakery and Nada Moo were delicious and we raised a lot of money for Austin Dog Rescue.


Our first class starts Tuesday, Aug 11 at Austin Handmade. Should be fun. Beth H is teaching how to make these great decorative stars out of junk mail.