Inspired at Disneyland

On my recent trip to California I visited "The happiest place on earth", Disneyland! I've always loved it. In high school I even had a season pass. The artists and "imagineers" that make Disneyland's magic have always been an inspiration for me. On this trip I visited with my friend Jesyka Mares and her baby Laelia, it was fun & we spent a lot of the day eating!

While waiting for a table at the new Cafe Orleans we discovered some awesome stuff the New Orleans Square.

First we spotted the caricature artists who can also do really nice regular portraits, too. We even spotted them practicing on each other.
They were also selling these nice watercolors of the haunted mansion, there were many different artist interpretations of the same drawing. I wanted to buy just the blank one and paint it myself!



One of my other favorite shops was a vintage jewelry store, right there in Disneyland! To my dismay it was gone! In its place was a new jewelry/handbag shop with branded merchandise. I snapped this pic because I thought the jewelry really reminded me of our good friend Camille Jackson's work, check out her etsy, Diamonds & Guns.
Next door to that was a glass etching shop where this guy was etching some awesome stuff! You could get your name with your favorite character etched onto all kinds of glassware.


Amazingly we spotted a very cool window display that some hipsters were sitting in. I had to take pics because it was so similar to the theme I devised for our recent Stella makeover. You'll have to stop in and see how she looks & stay tuned for the new pics!


And lastly isn't this bat light amazing?! So Austin!!

Mustache Mania: November 18th

Join us November 18th for Mustache Mania!

Mustache Mania is a celebration of the mustache! Make mustaches on a stick while enjoying cold beverages from glassware you've stenciled with your favorite mustache style.

The fun starts at 5:30 and we'll be screening Art School Confidential at 7pm.

This event is also a "Movember" party, we'll be fund raising for cancer research highlighting mens health issues. Livestrong and The Prostate Cancer Foundation will be benefiting.

Its also an official E.A.S.T. Happening and will be listed in the programs!

Check it out on Facebook & invite your friends!

Photo Essay: Our Thrifting Trip

On Monday, all 4 of us WonderCraft gals got together for a fun field trip. Beth A was on the hunt for more goodies for Stella's makeover, plus we were all on the lookout for must-haves for our Halloween costumes. We started out at First Rate Fixtures, where we really, really wanted to buy this flying mannequin & somehow attach it to Stella!




But we refrained, and just bought these cool hands instead.






We also shopped at Out of the Past, which is packed to the brim with amazing finds like this little hoot owl.







This witch must have jinxed us...

Because after our last stop at Savers, we came out to find that Beth A's car battery was dead. A friend of Jen's came over & tried to give us a jump, but it was just not happening, so he had to just drive us home instead. Luckily, we were all still on a thrifting high, and tons of friendly folks stopped to offer help, so it wasn't too bad. We love ya, Austin!

You can see more pics from our thriftapalooza in my Scenic Austin Flickr set.


Be sure to come out for the big reveal of Stella's new look at Glam, Glitter & Gore this Saturday!

My very crafty Baby Shower!

A couple weeks ago I had a baby shower out in California at my parents house in Thousand Oaks. It was hosted by my mom & her best friend Patric Dodson & my best friend and crafty pal Jesyka D'Itri Mares. Who also made me the cutest invites ever! Check out her blog and etsy.


We'd planned a few crafty projects which were loads of fun, so I thought I'd share some pics of everyone getting into it. We decorated onesies with flocking, markers, iron-on applique & embroidery. They all turned out totally cute and unique! My little guy will have tons of stuff to wear.








We also had guests write messages to baby on a fitted crib sheet, which turned out so sweet and sentimental, something I'll keep forever!

My sister-in-law took all these amazing pics and crocheted the baby this awesome blanket! Check out her etsy shop: Crazystars

Eastside Knit Night: November 16th

Join us November 16th for Eastside Knit Night!

We've partnered up with Yarn Harvest, Austin’s only sweater recycling yarn company, to bring fiber arts to the forefront during this year’s East Austin Studio Tour. The tour is an annual showcase of artists’ studios, as well as an opportunity to see what is new in the art world of East Austin. Crafters attending the Eastside Knit Night will meet and mingle with experienced knitters and crocheters to learn the basics of knitting and see some advanced skills. During the event, Yarn Harvest will roll out their new line of luxurious recycled cashmere yarn, just in time for the cooler weather.

Our knitting/crochet teachers will include Tara Tschillard of Fifty Acorns, Maggie Murphy of Assorted Musings, Julia Chambers of Pixie Worx, Andrea Harris-Giron of Bitch Stitch & Kelly Minton of kellymagelli.

A special screening of the indie documentary “Handmade Nation,” will showcase the do-it-
yourself culture that is sweeping the nation. The film features several of Austin’s well-known
visionary crafters including; Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching and Magda Sayeg, of Knitta, Please guerilla knitted art fame.

Sponsor, Gauge Knits, offers up give-aways, including goodie bags to the first 30 peeps who arrive!

AND free beer sponsored by St. Arnold's! With snacks served by Reel Popcorn, too!

And DRINK sponsors Treaty Oak Rum & Graham's Texas Tea have joined in too!

Knitting, crocheting, food and drinks begins at 5:30pm
Screening of “Handmade Nation” around 8:30pm
Starving Art Studios, 2326 E Cesar Chavez

It's an official EAST happening & will be listed in the program!

Craftastic Event: Glam, Glitter & Gore, Oct. 23

We're teaming up with local artist Jennifer Cunningham to present a super-fun, seasonal art, fashion & shopping extravaganza! It will be on Saturday, Oct. 23, with a variety of activities going on throughout the day and night. However, you can see the Glam, Glitter & Gore art installation by Jennifer & a slew of other awesome resident artists at Starving Art Studios/EAT during the whole month of October.

Starting at noon, the indoor artist market, food trailers and outdoor art & craft vendors will all be open to the public. There will be family-friendly craft projects, face painting, and various other fall festival activities going on.

From 6-10pm we'll have evening programming for the adults, including a closing reception for the in-house artist exhibition, drinks, live music by Auroravore, Tai Collins & others TBD, a costume contest, photo booths & more! The main attraction will be a fabulous fashion show featuring collaborative collections by Jennifer Cunningham, Anslee Connell & Megan Summerville.

Wearable and visual art will be available for sale in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and price ranges, so come on out & support a fantastic array of local artists all in one spot! We'll also be celebrating the birthdays of Beth H. (that's me!), Beth A. and Sue Zola (Austin's acclaimed glitter art diva) with fun and fabulous surprises!

For more info, check out Jennifer's Austin Wearable Art Examiner article and the Facebook event page. Hope to see you all there!