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!

Craftrepreneurs: Yarn Harvest

Have you heard of Yarn Harvest? It's Austin's own recycled yarn company, making beautiful yarn from second-hand sweaters! What a creative & eco-friendly manufacturing model. Here's what Yarn Harvest has to say about its nontraditional method:

"By finding a new use for a second-hand, locally-abundant resource, we are able to keep our costs low and our manufacturing local. By not having to make new wool, we are able to reduce the carbon footprint and negative impacts on the environment that making new wool causes. And by getting involved in the wonderful world of knitting, crocheting, and crafting in general, we know that what we make is both quality and a good value."


We love what Yarn Harvest is up to, and we're partnering with them to bring you Eastside Knit Night this November during the East Austin Studio Tour! On Tuesday, 11/16 from 5:30-9pm, you'll be able to hang out with creative knitters & crocheters, learn something new & share your skills at this fantabulous knitty party we're hosting at Starving Art Studios. There will be knit-tastic giveaways, the debut of Yarn Harvest's latest & greatest products & more! Mark your calendars & stay tuned for more details about this fun event.

Knitters & crocheters: Would you like to teach others your technique? We're looking for a few talented folks who want to share their mad skillz at this event. You'd be able to sell your handmade yarn-y creations as well. If interested, please drop us a line at getcrafty[at]thewondercraft[dot]com!

Greg, the friendly guy behind Yarn Harvest, shows off his goods.

Wood You Like To Try This?

Jen here. The girls at The WonderCraft have been hard at work getting our crafty fun project ready for The Renegade Craft Fair that is coming up just around the corner (May 15th & 16th). I think you guys will have a blast with our project.

I will share a few of the things I did for the sample I made here. One of the things we will be showing everyone at Renegade is a simple image transfer technique. It's super-easy, fun and versatile.

Now, I don't want to spoil the fun on that project so I went with a different technique for this blog post, but the results are similar. I decided to use graphite paper and transfer an image. Not as easy as it sounds. But after drawing in the missing pieces with a marker, I was pretty happy. I embellished it with some pieces I cut out of a doily, then decided to Mod Podge the whole image. Well, it smeared a bit so after fussing with it, I just went with the results and played them up. The result is a much softer look than I had originally planned, but I like it.

If you want to make your own cute wall hanging or pendant then come on down and visit us at Renegade! We'll have a ton of supplies and some great techniques to share.

Fabulous GO Vendors: Baby Bolt & Craft Chi

More vendor awesomeness! Baby Bolt & Craft Chi are two more local faves who'll have lovely handmade gift items on display at our Grand Opening tonight.

First up is Becka Spellman of Baby Bolt. In addition to the brand spankin' new & awesome trailer bibs she'll have at our Grand Opening, Becka also makes crazy-cute clothes & plenty of functional items to make life easier for parents and kiddos. Pacifier Bibs keep drool in check and the pacifier nearby. Crayon Rolls keep your little artist's tools on hand whether inspiration strikes at a restaurant, car trip, or the doctor's office.

New-Baby Gift Sets, available in custom combinations like this cute little cowboy, are the perfect, stress-free gifts that will stand out at any baby shower. What a great idea!

At BabyBolt you will find designs that combine new, upcycled/reclaimed, vintage, and imported fabrics - resulting in unique, one-of-a-kind or limited-run clothing and accessories.

Becka says, "Through my life I have attempted to find a home in all sorts of arts and crafts. From oil painting to photography to knitting to collage, I never really felt I had found my "thing." Shortly after my son was born I pulled out my mom's old Kenmore and started working on small projects and took a few sewing classes. As I gained skills and confidence, I turned our spare bedroom into my studio."

Come out & say hello to Becka tonight; she is super-sweet & also quite a funny lady. You'll enjoy meeting her and you will love her ah-DOR-able kids' stuff!

Next I'd like to tell you about the multi-talented Amy of Craft Chi, "the universalizing life force of craft." Love that! Amy makes all kinds of things, all handprinted with her original artwork. Her beautiful handmade wares include bags, pillow shams, tees and pretty linen tea towels.

I love the fluid patterns Amy creates & her screen-printing technique is impeccable. Amy also keeps a wonderful blog about her craft process that is full of great tips & interesting behind-the-scenes pics.




















In addition to her printed items, Amy sells cute rubber stamps made from her own drawings and screen-printing screens that can be custom-made with your own image on them. She also offers a wide assortment of screens for sale with all kinds of cool images that are ready to use. We carry these in Stella's boutique & they are awesome!



Tonight at the GO we'll be using some totally cool screens on loan from Craft Chi for screen-printing on neckties. It's gonna be super-fun! Join us, won't you?

Fabulous GO Vendors: SoCoDivka Designs & Anne Marie

I have two more amazing designer/crafters to tell you about today: SoCoDivka & Anne Marie Beard. Both of these ladies are exceptionally talented & I know you'll want to meet them!





SoCoDivka founder Shanna Howard says, "I've been creative all of my life—for years I've been painting, drawing, designing, writing, making mosaics, jewelry-making, sewing, costuming, and more—but it had taken a backseat until the last couple of years. Thanks to a Saturn Return and some inspiring friends, I started to make creativity a priority."

Well I'm certainly glad that Shanna has gotten her priorities straight! : )

In case you're wondering about the unusual name, she says, "SoCoDivka is a nickname based on where I call home—the South Congress area of Austin, Texas, and "divka," which means "girl" in Czech. I'm half Czech, and I'm 100% native Texan."

Shanna's work is inspired by mid-century modern, '50s Lucite, Bohemia and whimsy. I just love the look! How gorgeous are these Cherry Candy Drops?!



Speaking of gorgeous, have you seen the *annemarie* Style for the Individual line? Founded by Anne Marie Beard in 2002, these handcrafted bags are full of sass, polish and style. And as anyone who's had the pleasure of meeting Anne Marie can attest, she herself fits that description, too!

Anne Marie began designing handbags in 2002 with the mission of creating beautifully made accessories for women with unique taste. Her Degree in Costume Design from the University of Texas at Austin was the springboard in making her lifelong passion for sewing a business reality.



What I love about Anne Marie's line is that you can order your own custom creation! There are several designs to choose from, such as the Adah Clutch and the Rosie, both shown above.

I'm the proud owner of a Mirella reversible(!) bag similar to the one shown on the left here, & I absolutely adore it. I got to choose the style of bag I wanted & then pick 2 fabrics from her swatch collection. It was so fun, but hard to choose from all of her awesome bag designs & beautiful fabrics! Maybe it's time for a second one...

Along with her beautiful purses, Anne Marie creates fun coordinating Mini Wallets, Cosmetic Bags and Zippy Wallets. They are so cute, and so useful!

Come out and meet these super-chic crafty ladies tomorrow night at our Grand Opening!

Fabulous GO Vendors: DeLisa, Pigsey Art & Pommes Frites

Today I have the pleasure of telling you about 3 of the awesome makers who will be vending at our Grand Opening this Thursday night: DeLisa Designs, Pigsey Art & Pommes Frites. They are all super-talented and will have fabulous items for sale.

First up is Lisa Linbrugger of DeLisa Designs, who says:

"As long as I can remember, I have liked making things. I was lucky to have a father who was an artist and could recognize my artistic side. When I was eight he gave me his collection of glass and African beads which he had been collecting and making his own jewelry with. Since then I have loved making jewelry."

You've gotta check out DeLisa's Etsy shop - her work, most of which is sterling silver, is so interesting! I just love this "little painting for your neck!" I also love how multi-dimensional most of her pieces are. I've seen the work up close & it is stunning, and Lisa is a real sweetheart, as well as a talented jewelry designer.



Next, we have Brandy Davis of Pigsey Art, maker of unique, upcycled journals. Brandy is a very funny gal who's always saying wacky things like this:

"I currently am focusing on journals when I'm not loving my squirrels or my dachshund or making fun of my pirate husband."

But on a more serious note, she also has this to say about her work:

"I love tearing apart vintage books and items to make things. The texture and look of vintage items sends a thrill down my spine. It's a gorgeous quality and style that is lacking in many things in current times."

Well said, Brandy, well said. I really like how she intersperses the vintage book pages randomly throughout her journals.




Last, but certainly not least, we have another vintage book lover, Kristen Pumphrey of Pommes Frites (clever, no?). Kristen makes hollow books, pins, magnets, record bowls & more, all of them "reclaimed, repurposed & handmade with love!"

Some of her hollow books are cleverly-disguised flask safes, and include a stainless steel flask. Others are less specific & function well as hidey-holes for your cash or other valuables.

Kristen also makes really cool pin-back buttons & magnets with images from old dictionaries & her favorite fabric, plaid. Another sweet & funny lady, she keeps a blog that always makes me laugh.

Hope you'll come out & say hello to all of these crafty ladies this Thursday!

Rockstar Sponsor: The Cupcake Bar

Get this guys: we've got not one, but TWO amazing local bakeries sponsoring our Grand Opening! Trust me, you don't want to miss out on all this deliciousness! In addition to those amazing bourbon bites from Blue Note Bakery, we'll also have a gorgeous spread of mini-cupcakes from The Cupcake Bar.

The Cupcake Bar is a full-service cupcake catering company that's always a hit at parties. They're a new fave of ours since meeting them a couple of weeks ago when we hosted an Austin Cupcake Meetup. It was so much fun! Jackie, the fearless leader of the cupcake meetups, wanted to combine cupcakes & crafting. What could be better?



So we led the guests in a cupcake-themed sponge-painting craft, and Rachel from The Cupcake Bar was our fabulous bartender. She was so sweet & helpful & the cupcakes were super-tasty. You can see all of the pics from this event in our Cupcake Meetup set on Flickr.



The Cupcake Bar offers 12 delicious varieties of cake, fillings, icing and an array of toppings that is simply astounding, including cotton candy, Pop Rocks, mini Oreos, and even pretzel Goldfish for those who like a sweet-salty mix.



It's so fun to choose & create your own custom cupcake. I had the Tres Leches cake topped with Rice Krispie Treats & silver shimmer dust. Yum!



Don't miss your chance to sample the delights from The Cupcake Bar at our Grand Opening!

Not Your Average Neckwear!

Last night, The WonderCraft gals hosted a little party at our new space at The Art Pad as a trial-run for the fabulous Grand Opening celebration we're planning on Feb. 25th. Stay tuned for more details on that - you're gonna love it!

The theme of our GO party is "Tie One On" & we'll be doing techniques such as embroidery & screen-printing on thrifted, possibly super-ugly, neckties all night long. Here are some more pics from our experiments last night:

Our crafty pals from the EtsyAustin team, Samantha of Nepenthe's Bathtime, Cathie of Sweet Wolf & Camille of Diamonds and Guns, checking out the beautiful selection at Lapis Lane Beads.

Camille sported one of the pretty crystal-adorned fascinators she's making now - love it!





See all the pics from our pre-party in our Soft Grand Opening Flickr set. And be sure to mark your calendar for Thursday, February 25 so you can come out & embellish a necktie with us, enjoy fantastic local makers of handmade goods, tasty local food & drinks, plus lots more!