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.

Renegade or Bust! Only 3 more days!!!

Tissue paper, pipe cleaners & faux jewels, oh my! What are we doing with all of these craftastic materials, you ask? Getting ready for the Renegade Craft Fair, of course!

Beth A & our awesome intern, Caitlin, made dozens of pretty tissue flowers to decorate our booth. I made a sign for our crafty make & take: Trick Out Some Timber! And we made some other super-cool decorations, but you'll have to come out to the show to see those! We have to save some surprises to wow you, right?

By now you've probably heard all about it, but if not, hop over to the Renegade page to get all the deets! It's happening THIS WEEKEND, and believe me, you don't want to miss it. We'll be there with Stella's Boutique (that's right: we're bringing our Airstream right into the events center!) & crafty DIY fun for you guys. There will be over 200 indie-crafters, interactive awesomeness from our friends at The Stitch Lab, Austin Craft Mafia & sooo much more! Too much handmade goodness to list here, so come on out & see for yourself!

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.

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!

Gifts to Beat the Winter Blahs!

Here are a few inspiring gift ideas I've seen on the web recently. Any of these would be gifts I'd love to receive (hint, hint!) because they are all about making the cold days of winter more comfy-cozy. I've also put links to a few of the coolest gift guides I've found at the end of this post. Enjoy!

The Woodland Draft Buster from Betz White is so cute! You can find the pattern in her book, Sewing Green. The book itself would make a lovely gift for someone crafty, but if you have the time, why not buy the book as a gift to yourself & whip some draft dodgers up for your loved ones? Helping them stay warm & cozy this winter would be a wonderful gift.

















This next project is totally tempting me, because my skin gets horribly dry during the winter. I'm sure you have someone on your list who also suffers this winter affliction, so how about making them an indulgent brown sugar scrub?

Find the incredibly simple instructions on Craftzine and get to it! This is one that children will love making, too. Mix it up, put it in a jar & use fabric scraps & ribbon to pretty it up - so easy!



Lastly, a fashionable & functional classic: a pretty scarf. This scarf has a twist though: it's made from an old sweater (yay, upcycling!) & gathered using a long ribbon (clever!), so that it has a very ruffly look. How pretty is this? and it looks like it would keep your neck nice and warm (very important for short-haired girls like me)! This project is another one from the amazing folks at Craftzine. Check out the Sew a Ruffled Scarf post for a detailed how-to. Don't be scared; it actually seems very simple to make as long as you have basic sewing skills.

Wouldn't any of these make a fantastic, thoughtful gift? Sure wish I had started on them earlier... maybe I'll be able to make some gifts for Christmas 2010, if I start now! Oh well, if you're in a time crunch like me, you can still find tons of fabulous gifts online by checking out the gift guides below. Or better yet, shop at your local craft shows & support handmade! If you're in Austin, come out & see us at Cherrywood Art Fair this weekend!

Great Holiday Gift Guide Roundup 09:
- under $50 gift guide from design*sponge {they have many gift guides to browse; see their full list}
- Slow Holiday gift guide from Treehugger
- and of course, there's a plethora of gift guides on Etsy!

Happy shopping &/or making! Please leave links to your fave gift guides or DIY gift ideas in the comments!

Have you tasted the goodness of Blue Note Bakery?

We here at The WonderCraft love supporting our fellow local businesses, especially when they are this tasty! Blue Note's desserts are simply marvelous! Blue Note Bakery got its start in a small, shared catering kitchen back in 2004, and has grown steadily ever since. They now have their own shop located on South Congress. They can create a unique dessert or custom cake for any occasion. Check out the photos of their one-of-a-kind works of "edible art!"


If you come out to our Mix & Make Crafty Hour tonight you can taste Blue Note Bakery's delicious treats for yourself! You can also kick back with a glass of wine, make some fabulous wine glass charms to take home, mingle and shop our boutique of handmade items from local artists. In honor of the East Austin Studio Tour, our Crafty Hour is free tonight! Come on out & get crafty with us! Stella is parked outside of Creative Side Jewelry Academy for the duration of E.A.S.T. at 628 Allen Street, stop #45.

Get crafty with us during E.A.S.T.!

We will be out on the East Austin Studio Tour with our Airstream trailer, Stella, parked at 628 Allen St. as guests of Creative Side Jewelry Academy (stop #45 on the E.A.S.T. map). Of course we'll be doing many crafty projects you can take part in throughout the week!

We'll have a huge rocketship sculpture outside, with a variety of materials so you can make something unique to add to it. We look forward to watching it develop into something awesome over the course of the tour! We'll also be doing some of our most popular make & take projects, like upcycled cardboard wallets & mustaches-on-a-stick (as modeled above by 2 party-goers at the Beard Folks event at Austin Handmade). Fun, fun stuff! Aside from joining in our crafty fun, it will be a great chance for you to see the talented artists of Creative Side at work, too!

Additionally, we'll have a lovely little boutique set up inside the trailer featuring the work of all 4 WonderCraft founders, as well as that of several of our EtsyAustin team members, chock full of fabulous handmade items such as:

* jewelry from Merritt Gade, Lucy Blue Studio & Broken Ear Productions
* unique purses & wallets from Fayded Creation
* fun greeting cards & screenprinted apparel from Paired Hearts
* awesome art for your walls from Leah Duncan, Nessa Dee & The Flashbulb
* appliqued clothing & gifts for kids from The Snuggle Herd
* felted goodies & felting kits from Gypsy Harte
* DIY screen-printing kits and stamp sets from Craft Chi
and more!

And don't miss our Third Thursday Mix & Make crafty hour at the trailer on 11/19 from 5-9pm. There will be free wine & nibbles & lots of crafting fun, so we hope you'll stop by!

Free First Thursday Fun!

We'll be out at Wooldridge Park today from 4-7 pm for the kick-off party of the month-long Get Your Art On celebration. Come by and make some art with us! Just look for Stella, our 32-foot Airstream trailer!

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; and musical performances by The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts, featuring YouthCast Choice Award winners, “AfterMath.” So much to see! And did I mention it's all FREE?!

Be sure to check nowplayingAustin.com for a complete list of all the Get Your Art On events going on this month.

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!

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!

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.