a peek behind Lark Studio...

Have a Heart Bazaar

It's that time of year again folks! Time for Costen Floors' huge annual yard sale to benefit the American Heart Association. This year the event has a new name - Have a Heart Bazaar. In addition to yard sale items, this year's event will have local crafter/artists, food vendors and other great items for sale.

I'll be there with great yard sale deals! Housewares (bedding, vases, etc.), furniture (Ikea chairs), plus-sized clothing (size 22-24 casual, business), records, and tons of craft supplies (fabric, knitting needles, yarn, etc.), and much, much more all priced to move!

Come see me and buy some stuff!

Have a Heart Bazaar
Saturday July 31, 2010*
8:00 am - 1:00 pm

Costen Floors (Parking lot)
9840 Mayland Drive
Henrico, VA 23233
(Between Gaskins and Pemberton)

*Rain date Saturday August 7, 2010 8:00 am - 1:00 pm

Me vs. The Yard

I have been in my house for 10 years this year and I still am not able to enjoy my yard. It's a bit of a jungle being that neither my DH or I are really outdoorsy types.

Well no more. I have declared war on the yard. I am very determined to make it enjoyable for my family and friends by the fall.

I try to be very environmentally conscious in everything I do. And in the past this has meant only using organic methods in the yard. The Yard has been winning under that philosophy. I have decided to embrace my scientist background and come to terms with the fact that not all chemicals are bad. Obviously they are necessary in this case and will be employed responsibly.

With such a huge task (both the entire front and back yards) I'm taking the "small project" approach: addressing small areas of the yard one at a time. I successfully grew a few herbs in pots last year and really want to garden. The only area in our entire yard to get remotely enough sun is smack in the middle of the front yard. As to not be "that" neighbor with a crazy garden in the front yard I decided to go with two raised beds closer to the house. I don't think they get 8 full hours of sun but I'm willing to see what I can grow. The plan is for one to be herbs and the other tomatoes and peppers. I know I'm fighting the clock starting this late in the season but I'm gonna try.

Small is a relative term.  This area in front of the house seemed much smaller before I started trying to get the layer of dead grass & weeds up.

Its super slow going and the rain we've had over the past few days isn't making it any easier. But regardless, it is "small" project #1.

I'll be updating the blog with my progress over the summer and fall. So the competition begins... 

Me, 0. The Yard, 10.

Swap art & craft supplies this Sunday

The 3rd annual Crafters Anonymous Craft Swap is this Sunday from 2:00 - 5:00 pm at Art Works. The Craft Swap is an opportunity for artists and crafters of all types to get together in a fun, social environment and trade craft supplies. This event is also a benefit to support Art 180 - a Richmond based non-profit organization that creates and provides art-related programs to young people living in challenging circumstances, encouraging personal and community change through self-expression.

Entry into the swap is $6 at the door. If you bring a bag of supplies to swap, the entry fee is $1. Upon entry you will get 1 grocery bag to fill to your hearts content. You are welcome to purchase additional bags for $5 each. If you have your own reusable bags please feel free to bring those to use (fees will still apply). There will be tables set up to hang out and craft so feel free to bring a small project to work on.

So gather up all those unused supplies and come hang out with us this weekend!

Crafters Anonymous Craft Swap
http://www.rvacraftswap.com
Sunday, February 28th
2:00 pm - 5:00
Art Works
320 Hull Street

Some crafty fun for a rainy day

If you are looking for some crafty fun on this chilly, rainy Sunday check out the Intergalatic Bead Show at the Richmond Raceway Complex. The bead show has always been pretty good...I've never walked out with nothing! Oh - and don't forget copies of your VA resellers license if you have one. Vendors give tax discounts and other discounts to professionals. The show is open until 5pm. See you there today!

Necklace by Lark Studio with sterling findings from bead show

Envelopes + Eye glasses = Jewelry

For the past few years the craft world has been buzzing with a variety of ways to show off the wonderful graphic design work of security envelopes. Security envelopes? You know, the things your bills come in and sometimes junk mail when it wants to look official. If you ever take a look at them you will see that clearly the paper industry has hired graphic designers to create them. The prints are phenomenal!

For a few months earlier this year I was collecting envelopes and waiting for an idea to strike that wasn't a duplication of what was already out there. Back in April the talented Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club did a great post on her blog about re-using old eyeglasses and creating pendants. Taking inspiration from that I decided to mesh the two and came up with these:

I have to say I'm loving the look of eye glass glass even when left plain and I think the distinct shapes of the glass play well with the graphic design of the papers. I also love when a project exposes me to great new products. Tulip® Soft Fabric Paint is rocking my world right now. Who knew it would work so well covering paper! (okay - I know paper is technically a fiber and its fiber paint, but cut me some slack) I had the pink, yellow and blue paint as samples from a demonstration from my work at JoAnn Fabrics a while back and never used them until now. I will definitely be looking for other projects to try the paint.

I have a huge stack of these security envelopes so look for more jewelry and other uses of them soon!

Trash to treasure: Jewelry displays

Like most professional crafters, my display set-up for Lark Studio is ever changing. For a while I have struggled with a way to display jewelry. Most commercial jewelry displays are pretty generic and I didn't want to copy the creative displays I have seen. Back in March I stumbled across two spice cabinets in very good condition. The cabinets were from the early 1970's and were only $7 for the both. They each had 2 inch shelves which I thought would be perfect to hold folded earring/jewelry cards and a wood door which screamed for screw hooks for necklaces.  During the spring I also stumbled upon a great deal on some Anna Maria Horner fabric at Quilting Adventures. Two of her Drawing Room prints were right in line with the brand colors for Lark Studio and I decided to give that look a go for my 2009 display.  With that decided the original dark brown wood tones of the cabinets didn't really fit in and just like in other aspects of my life I decided to lighten them up.

A few cans of primer and white spray paint later we have this:

(you can see more photos in my Flickr stream)

The front has a simple padded inlay of scrap foam core board covered with 1/2 inch batting and then one of the fabric prints. The back is the same fabric print glued to a piece of white poster board and stapled into the cabinet frame with my new heavy duty staple gun. And bonus - the fabric on the back are scraps sewn together with the seams covered by shelves and bars on the back! I used 1/2 inch white cup hooks screwed into the wood frame of the front door making sure they cleared the shelves inside so the door could close properly. The rest of the cabinet is just the original cabinet painted white. I even reused all of the original hardware. I didn't completely cover the spice cabinet info on the front cover. I kind of like the fact that there is still some of its former life showing through. If I find that its distracting from the jewelry I'll go in and cover it with some plain white paper.

I'm diggin' the whole creative reuse in my display pieces and have another trash to treasure piece I'm working on to display my clocks. Are any of your display pieces (for business or home) trash to treasure?

Back down (crafty) memory lane...

...I stumbled on this rubbermaid bin...it kinda made me laugh...it took me way back...back down crafty memory lane...

Okay, Minnie I am not. 

While cleaning up for the crafty yardsale that didn't happen, I came across a bin in the attic labled "miscellaneous". I'm pretty good with remembering all the stuff we have, but I couldn't recall what could possibly be in this bin. It was stored with my crafty stuff so the possibilities were endless...

The bin turned out to be a crafty, mini time capsule. It was full of unfinished projects and project ideas from years gone by. It's been funny to see what was hot back then - ideas that were popping up left and right on NEW sites like Craftster.org and such. Yep - some of these ideas are from as far back as 2004. 

I've decided to clear out the box by completing the projects. So far its been a fun break from production crafting - kinda like visiting a good, old girlfriend! First out of the box were some old vinyl albums and a beat-up clock. The idea was to manipulate the vinyl into record album bowls, to possibly try my hand at cutting the vinyl for cuffs or jewelry, or to make record album clocks. Well, last week I went a little clock crazy. I thrifted a few more clocks to reuse the quartz mechanisms and finally put a few of these together. I forgot how much fun making stuff from junk was!

Next out of the bin - cassette tapes!

Heard about the Summit of Awesome? Well...

Geared specifically for independent artists and crafters, the Summit of Awesome is 3 full days of seminars and hands-on workshops, which will provide business and technical education for those in the handmade arts community. The Summit also includes the D.C. premiere showing of the indie craft documentary, Handmade Nation - a film that captures the superstars of indie craft, and documents how the handmade community began and took its current shape.

 

Special keynote speakers include Maria Thomas, CEO of Etsy.com, andJenny Hart, Founder of Sublime Stitching!  Visit Hello Craft for a full list of topics and speakers.

Register now for a 3-day pass for $180.  Discounts are available for groups and craft collectives. The crafty folks at Hello Craft are putting on the event. Email hellocraftinfo@gmail.com for group rates and more info. 

 

The Summit of Awesome will take place in the independent shops, restaurants and bars in the MidCity area of D.C., along 14th and U Streets NW, including Miss Pixie's Solly's, DC9, Bar Pilar and Gate 54 at Cafe St. Ex. The Friday night film screening of Handmade Nation will be hosted at the DCJCC's Theater J. 

If you decide to go, PLEASE respond to this post and let me know!

Register now for a 3-day pass for $180.  Discounts are available for groups and craft collectives. The crafty folks at Hello Craft are putting on the event. Email hellocraftinfo@gmail.com for group rates and more info. 

 

The Summit of Awesome will take place in the independent shops, restaurants and bars in the MidCity area of D.C., along 14th and U Streets NW, including Miss Pixie's Solly's, DC9, Bar Pilar and Gate 54 at Cafe St. Ex. The Friday night film screening of Handmade Nation will be hosted at the DCJCC's Theater J. 

If you decide to go, PLEASE respond to this post and let me know!

Supplies, supplies everywhere!

Are you an artist, crafter or maker with just too much stuff?  Do you go crazy during this time of the year wanting to clear out and organize?  Well, I feel ya.  And I have a solution for you. 

The 2nd annual Crafter's Anonymous Craft Swap will be held this Sunday at Artworks from 2 - 5 pm.  You can bring your unused, unwanted supplies and swap them for other supplies that you may need or want. There will also be crafting/making stations set-up so you can sit, chill and create throughout the day. The event is a fundraiser for Art 180, so there is a small fee to enter.  Check out the website for the swap for more information.

See you there!

How did I ever have time to have a full-time job?

Whew...I've been busy since I left my full-time job.  So much so that I have to wonder how I juggled both my crafty endevours and work in previous years.  When I decided to get up from my week long nap after my "retirment" began, I was all about planning our first Fall Open House.  The DH and I haven't had a number of people over to our house at one time since about 2000.  That is way too long!  We had done some remodeling in 2008, and were celebrating both our birthdays and our new found freedom from working for "da man".  What better way to commemorate all of that than with a party, right?  The DH even showcased is expansive collection of classic hip-hop posters throughout the house. The event was a great way to kick off the holiday season - good times, good food and good friends!

Since then, other than the requisite break for Thanksgiving cooking, its been all about holiday craft shows.  Sorry for the last minute-ness of this, but if you are looking for cool gifts in downtown Richmond, stop by the Fawn Shop.  We are only open through Saturday December 13th so hurry on down!

Can't make it to the store?  No worries, I got you covered.  Come see me at the Richmond Craft Mafia's fourth annual Handmade Holiday show.  We went bigger and better this year - featuring over 30 local artists and crafters from the area, the show will be 2 days and at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond.