Airstream What!

Hey all, Beth A here. (I thought you might like to know which one of us is writing, cause we all switch) I thought I'd do a post about how awesome Airstreams are and basically show off some amazing ones that are certainly inspiring! If you want to see the current state of our girl Stella, you have to come out to one of our next events, she'll be out this Saturday from 12-3 at Jerry's Artarama, where we're doing a Recycled Creatures make-and-take craft. And then she'll be at Get Your Art On! as well as Art Outside.

These first incredible Airstream interiors were alerted to me by a good friend, Debbie Carroll (she's really talented, view her stuff here). She sent me to this blog who had done a feature on a cool hotel down in Capetown, South Africa called The Grand Daddy. They've got all these themed Airstreams that you can stay in!
I think I want to stay in this one next time I go to South Africa. Look at the pink oven!


I also found this amazing restoration site on the blog Behind the Rivets, where they've done a great job and kept the trailer fully functional. They were even featured on the DIY network.

I was also amazed to find that Mini has partnered with Airstream to design a trailer that even the Mini can tow! Check it out here.
Lastly, Design Sponge featured a beautiful Airstream turned boutique, that is truly inspirational! Here is the full post.

Get Your Art On - free kick-off festival First Thursday!

The Greater Austin Creative Alliance (formerly Austin Circle of Theaters) kicks off its month-long Get Your Art On celebration with an afternoon of free family fun at Wooldridge Park! In a festival atmosphere, participants of all ages will have ample entertainment throughout the event, and KLBJ AM will be on the scene. Of course we'll be there to join in the fun, too! Come by & make some art with us! Thursday, October 1, 4pm–7pm.

Other event highlights include: Greater Tuna’s Aunt Pearl (Joe Sears) making Halloween cards and crafts with kids; The Biscuit Brothers of PBS as strolling minstrels; theatrical excerpts from Austin Bike Zoo’s “Wheels of Wonderland,” an imaginative treatment of Alice in Wonderland; improv comedy courtesy of The Hideout; visual arts from Art Alliance Austin, featuring The WonderCraft [that's us!]; and musical performances by The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts, featuring YouthCast Choice Award winners, “AfterMath.” Whew! That's a ton of entertainment!

Kick-off festival participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite artistic character and to bring their own chairs &/or blankets for seating. The event has no rain date.

Get Your Art On events will happen around Austin from October 1–31, in theaters, galleries, museums, parks, schools, cinemas, studios, streets and more! This month-long celebration is in honor of National Arts and Humanities Month and is presented by The Greater Austin Creative Alliance (formerly Austin Circle of Theaters) together with CreateAustin and the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division. For more information on Get Your Art On, please visit NowPlayingAustin.com.

Mix & Make: THE ROBOT CHALLENGE

This is gonna be a blast, y'all! Ticket price includes all supplies for the challenge, 2 California rolls & a drink. Get your advance tix thru Google Checkout & save $2! Just click on the button below.

Mixx & Make Pre-Halloween Craftacular

Red Rum! Red Rum! Treaty Oak red rum, that is! Plus lots more - come out & see the glitz & ghouls! Saturday, 10/24 from 9pm-2am at Mixx on 6th Street. Make a fabulous or freaky mask with us! RSVP online to get in for $6. $8 at the door.

We Make Stuff like Wacky Pinback Buttons and Cardboard Wallets

Strange, but true: button-making is really addictive! We just bought a button-maker for The WonderCraft & I am in love! It arrived a few days ago, just in time for the We Make Stuff event on Saturday night. We decided to offer Design-Your-Own buttons to patrons, and boy was it ever a hit!





Here are a couple of cutie pies with their buttons. They were a fun & sweet pair (unfortunately I did not get their names). There's just something really satisfying about framing a pretty patterned paper or a random magazine pic in a 1-inch button.











My fave of the night was the Drew Barrymore eye that I cut from a makeup advertisement. Bonus: the resulting eye-less photo was pretty cool in itself! although a bit creepy. It got even creepier later when I made a second button with her other eye for someone else.

I loved my Drew Barrymore Eye, but alas, she is already gone. I think I lost her at Magnolia Cafe, where the WonderCrafters & their menfolk were enjoying a late night (early morning) post-event dinner. When I arrived home and was getting ready for bed, I realized she was no longer pinned to my shirt. So if anyone sees Drew Barrymore's eye peeking up at them somewhere along S Congress, please let me know. I miss her.

We had a sweet DIY Upcycled Cardboard Wallets make & take station that was a huge hit, too. People were making the most amazing stuff!


Also, Trevor Ray Thompson was there with his fantastic photo booth setup. Fun stuff! Congrats & thanks to Candace of Electric Promotions (shown here with the awesome giant scissors she made) for throwing another smashing par-tay celebrating our local art & craftsters! See more pics from We Make Stuff in The WonderCraft's Flickr stream.

Mix & Make Crafty Hour tonight, plus We Make Stuff Saturday!

Come out tonight & make drink charms with us at Imperia! A fun way to unwind after work and unleash your creativity. $20 at the door - includes the crafting fun, plus a drink & a California roll! Imperia is downtown at 3rd & Colorado.







View our classes and sign up today!

Make a Recycled Creature with Us 9/26 at Jerry's!

On Saturday, Sept. 26th, from 12-3pm, we'll be out at Jerry's Artarama with Stella, our fabulous mobile crafting unit Airstream trailer, for a day filled with DIY fun! We'll be doing a Recycled Creatures demo where you can join in and make your own unique, earth-friendly work of art to take home, free of charge! How about an owl? Or perhaps a robot?

There will also be in-store watercolor demos by Kathleen McElwaine, tasty refreshments by NadaMoo, and student band The Rotators, led by instructor Ross Carnes of the Sri Atmananda Memorial School. This is a day of fun for the whole family, so be sure to bring out the kiddos! Best of all, admission is free. Don't miss out!

Terrariums!

Beth A here, I had a Terrariums class a few weeks ago, and I've got another one coming up, so here are some pics to get you excited. The class is super fun and I left this little guy at Austin Handmade to keep Jason company!

You get to make a closed terrarium, as well as have the option to make an open container one too!

Next class is Tuesday Sept. 29 at 6:30pm Sign up! My awesome student Julia Riley, brought an adorable little squirrel to fit inside her terrarium.

Her three finished terrariums, super cute!Sign up!

Upcoming Events!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Monday 9/14 Mix and Make, but we want to let you know about two other upcoming events featuring The WonderCraft!

Thursday, September 17th -  This Thursday 9/17, we will be at Imperia as scheduled for another fabulous Mix and Make happy hour.  Drop in, grab a cosmo and a california roll and work on our featured project:  upcycled hats/scarves.

Admission is $20 at the event & $18 for early sign-up: Includes class, materials, entry into a giveaway and a drink (Specialty Martinis) & a california roll.  Food, crafty fun, and a martini, what else could you ask for?

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

Saturday, September 19th - We Make Stuff.  If you haven't heard already, this coming Saturday is gonna be H-U-G-E.   The WonderCraft will be at Electric Promotions latest hot event We Make Stuff.  In case you missed it, Electric Promotions put on the spectacular All Austin All Handmade Bash earlier this year and this next event at the Scoot Inn promises to be another smash hit!  Featuring, live music, vendors, a fashion show starring the super hot TXRD girls, and of course The WonderCraft.  

Stella's Big Debut

Handmade Nation, a super-cool documentary by Faith Levine, was screened last Sunday at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and there was a mini craft fair outside the theater. The WonderCraft was invited to participate (thanks, Sublime Stitching gals!) so we worked around the clock to get Stella, our Airstream trailer, ready. Sunday was to be her big debut, the first time the trailer was opened to the public, so we wanted her to be beautiful inside & out!

We painted, had flooring installed, Beth A & her husband built bench seating that doubles as storage, and I made curtains. It was a mad scramble to get everything done (and of course there is still a lot more that we want to do), but Stella looks radiant! Everyone seemed to be pretty impressed with her & we had a blast showing her off. We did a fun make & take project creating accessory bags from old t-shirts (shown below). The craft fair and film screenings drew a wonderful crowd - we met tons of lovely people and were inspired by all of the creativity in the air. It was a beautiful day filled with craftacular fun! [Photo at very top of post is the brilliant work of Houstonian Magda Sayeg, a.k.a. KnittaPlease, who was in attendance at the premier. All photos taken by Jen Bryan & Stephanie Nance. Thanks, ladies!]

Craftiness is Genetic

When you ask crafters where they find inspiration you get the standard answers of nature, other crafters, family, etc, etc. Makes sense. We are products of our environment and what we surround ourselves with. Which is why I decided to focus on my grandmother as a source of inspiration this week. My grandmother just celebrated another birthday this past Sunday and I am continually amazed at how spry she is. Since I am trying to be a good grand-daughter, I won't mention her real age, but let's just say she was school age during the depression. I won't say which school *grin*.

This is as messy as her work area gets.

Anyway, she is such an active person. Still heads up a local group for women trying to lose weight or keep it off (I'm convinced she joined because they get to put on little plays at the larger gatherings and she is in charge of the putting together the script and the costumes), works with the volunteer fire department and takes care of my grandfather, who is somewhere in the range of 10 years younger. Every Christmas she makes ornaments for the entire family and custom makes boxes for each of them. For holidays she has been known to make Santa or Easter Bunny place card holders for the dinner table and has sewn curtains to match the custom made sheets for the beds. Yes, she can make fitted sheets. My favorite is the ginormous Last Suppers she crochets during the winters for family member who are getting married. They are large enough to cover a good sized wall. She also keeps scissors all over the house. There is always a pair just a step away. She made holders for them all using those cheap pot holders you can get anywhere. She folded them into a cone, sewed them up and used the existing loop to hang them by.


To me, she is summed up by looking in her spice cabinet. She makes labels for all the jar lids, has them on a tiered shelf and each row is alphabetized. This is my grandmother. Organized, neat, precise and just a little spicy.

What Are We Doing With All These Corks?

Well, you'll just have to come out to our first Mix & Make to find out! On the first Friday of the month we will be at the Speakeasy during Happy Hour adding some crafty fun to an already great place. For your $18 ($15 if you sign up in advance!) you get 2 drinks and all the supplies needed to make our latest project. Can you guess what we are going to be creating?

Be sure to check out our other Mix & Make Crafty Hours. On the second Monday of the month we'll be at Cuba Libre and on the third Thursdays we'll be at Imperia. These will be $20 at the door or $18 in advance and you'll get a drink and an appetizer along with all the crafty goodness you can handle. See you there!