Thursday, June 30, 2011

No July craftLAB, but Craft Supply Swap in August!

There will not be craftLAB on Sunday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day.

Join us on Sunday, August 7, 2011 for the Craft Supply Swap!


Check out the posts from our swaps in August 2009 and August 2010!

Trust us. You want to take advantage of this opportunity to destash your craftroom...and then score some FREE supplies to restock!

P.S. If you can't make it to the swap, but still want to donate supplies, just drop them off under the info table by the front door of The Lunch Studio.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Call for Goodie Bag Items for Craft City at Buckham Alley Fest!

Flint Handmade will be giving away FREE goodie bags to the first 25 shoppers to Craft City at Buckham Alley Fest!


The goodie bags will include items such as:
If you have 25 small items you would like to donate to promote your organization or business, please take them in a box or bag labelled FLINT HANDMADE GOODIE BAGS to The Lunch Studio during their regular business hours by Friday, July 8, 2011.

You may also email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we can make mailing arrangements.

Be creative...our shoppers love clever little gifts and trinkets! And, the more creative your goodie bag items, the more our shoppers will remember YOU!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

FREE Handmade Magnet for Our First 101 Blog Followers!!!

We are VERY excited to announce that we have reached 101 official followers on our blog!!!

As a special thank you, we will be giving away LIMITED EDITION Flint Handmade Knuckles magnets to our first 101 followers!

We worked with our dear friend Kate Kehoe of Chicaloo Photography and More to create three fantasic magnet styles using scanned fabric as the background!  You get to choose the one you want!


To receive your magnet, send an email to us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com with the following information by 5pm on Sunday, July 10, 2011:
  • Name
  • Address
  • Blogger Profile/Google Friend Connect Name 
  • Magnet Color Preference (Please list first, second and third choice.)
Magnets will be available for pick up at two upcoming Flint Handmade events: 
If you can't pick up your magnet in person, we will just drop it in the mail to you after the Craft Supply Swap.  :)

Thanks to all of our followers for helping us reach 101!

P.S. Much love to Kate Kehoe for the magnets...visit her Chicaloo Etsy Shop for more great magnets in similar styles!

P.P.S. We are planning another special thank you gift when we reach 201 followers, so please become a registered follower TODAY!!!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Second Saturday Giveaway: June Winner!

We want to thank everyone who commented on our June Second Saturday Giveaway featuring Heather Sennabaum of Re-Zip It!

The awesome commenters for June were DesiAmina, Michelle Glick, toxiegirll, benbethbedford, Mary P, Upcycled Stuff, Jill @ Barrel of Monkeys, Jacquie Sarcona, Kristen, Eco-Friendly Freckles, Artifact Andrea, Sherry-Lynn, Jen D, Susanna Tippett, Ashley Smith, Elise and TheHickoryTree.

We're sure Heather will appreciate all of your wonderful suggestions for handcrafted goodies she can make with zippers!

Just for commenting, all of you will receive a FREE Flint Handmade button in your choice of red, blue or yellow! Ask at the Flint Handmade table at any of our events and we'll make sure you get your button.

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for! The randomly selected winner of the Zipper Flower in a Glass Vase...


...Ben and Beth Bedford!!!
Congratulations!

Ben and Beth, send us an email at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we will make arrangements for you to receive your Zipper Flower! You have 30 days to claim your prize. :)

REMINDER: We will be taking July off from the Second Saturday Giveaway, but we will be back on August 13, 2011 with another great giveaway featuring a local crafter!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Flint Art Fair 2011 Recap!

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

I have attended the annual Friends of Modern Art Flint Art Fair for as long as I can remember, but this was the first year that I have actually volunteered at the Fair. 


I enjoyed meeting the other volunteers and working at the Kearsley Street Gate.  I was the "official" puppy greeter, so I got to say hello to all of the doggies that attended the Fair!

After I volunteered, I had to check out all of the wonderful artists, of course!

Jean Nixon of The AuGres Sheep Factory was spinning wool and selling all of her gorgeous creations with her husand, Richard.  I really want to learn how to spin, so I was very excited to meet Jean!

I encouraged Lori Setera of A Hidden Word to apply to vend at a Flint Handmade Craft Market.  I think her "natural alphabet photography" would go over well with our shoppers!

Jim Wolnosky from Bath, Michigan, had some amazing wood and metal mobiles on display.

It was this GIGANTIC guitar made of marble that attracted me to Clayton Bell's booth...

...and when I stepped into the booth I saw more of his stone creations in the form of flower vases...

...and oil lamps!  Very crafty! 

Clayton Bell is from Flower Mound, Texas.  He can be reached at artrocksstudio@mac.com.

P.S. If anyone is interested in volunteering at the 2012 Flint Art Fair (June 9 & 10, 2012), please email flinthandmade@hotmail.com or comment below.

I plan to work the 10:30am-12:30pm shift on Sunday again. 

Volunteers are needed on Saturday and Sunday, so you can volunteer with me if you are available then or on another day/time if that is better for you. :)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

DVD Sale to Benefit Flint Handmade!

We know so many crafters who enjoy watching movies while they work on their creative projects.

So, Flint Handmade has decided to host a DVD Sale!

Gently used DVDs in their original boxes will be for sale for $1 each at all Flint Handmade events starting with Craft City at Buckham Alley Fest on Saturday, July 16 from 6pm to midnight!

All proceeds from the DVD Sale will support the FREE craft markets, workshops and swaps that Flint Handmade brings to Downtown Flint!


If you wish to donate DVDs to Flint Handmade, please bring them to any Flint Handmade event or leave them in the DVD donation basket at The Lunch Studio under the information table near the front door.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!!!

Flint Handmade seeks to nurture a local handmade economy and environment in Flint by organizing and promoting craft markets, offering opportunities for social crafting and creative expression, and educating the public about the personal and commercial value of handcrafting.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Second Saturday Giveaway: Win an Zipper Flower from Heather of Re-Zip It!

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

For our June Second Saturday Giveaway, we are featuring Re-Zip It! by Heather Sennabaum.


This is Heather in her dedicated craftroom with her display shelf and super organized baskets of color-coordinated vintage zippers.


Here's a close up of the display shelf...


...and of the baskets of zippers!

I asked Heather to tell me about her workspace:

"I love my work space! I recently moved from a room in the basement into this beautiful space upstairs. At first, I was thinking about changing the wall color because I like to work in bright spaces, but I love it now that I have used lighter colors to off set the dark purple.

I love being able to have a functional work space that has been designed by using all re-used materials. I am trying to change my ways and use the old goodies around the house rather than re-designing in all new stuff.

Instead of buying new pictures for my walls I have used fabric and scrap book paper in frames. I just love the way it all turned out! Nothing matches and I love it that way!"


Some of Heather's re-used fabric and paper in frames is visible in the above photo...as are more of her zippers!


Heather keeps her zippers and her finished zipper products very organized in clear containers on shelves in her closet... 


...except when I make her pull them all out so I can take a picture!  :)

Although it's quite obvious, I still had to as Heather to tell me about her favorite craft tool/material:

"This is easy........the zipper! I love hunting for zippers. I love seeing what the possible oldest zipper I can get is. I also love seeing all the deals I can get on someone's unwanted zippers."

And, Heather makes good use of ALL parts of the zipper! 

We are SOOOO excited that she is allowing us to debut her newest zipper creation HERE on the Flint Handmade blog...


...zipper pull earrings!  How clever is that???


Heather is also working on zipper rings as pictured above and in the close-up shot below.


I asked Heather how she came up with the name Re-Zip It!:


"Re-Zip It! was named by my brother, Todd.  He came up with the name Zip It! and I add "Re-" to Zip to empahsize the the fact that all of my zippers are re-used."


The "Re-" part of Re-Zip It! came in handy when Heather entered The Art of ReUse Contest and came in as a Top Ten Finalist! 

But, Heather has been remaking and upcycling before upcycling was even a word! 


Check out Heather's awesome bulletin boards in her craftroom.  Can you tell what the push pins are made of?


Heather made push pins out of vintage jewelry!  Yet another super clever upcycling idea!


She has a whole box of vintage costume jewelry that she would like to work with in the future.  I asked her what other projects she wanted to work on:

"I always am dreaming up new projects in my head. Presently, I am pretty focused on zippers because they are what is hot for me at the moment. Other than that, I am focused on a couple projects in my house."

The rest of Heather's house was immaculately decorated, but her favorite home decor project was in her basement, where her craftroom used to be.


Heather took all of her father's old records and mounted them to the walls of her finished basement!


"When I'm working I love to listen to music. I love all types of music. For some reason I have been listening to Dave Matthews again for the past couple weeks. Not sure what has inspired me to listen to him again."


We took a trip back upstairs and Heather posed for a photo with her laptop, since she often online on Etsy.  She posts her goods there and also interacts with other crafters often on the forums, which she believes is a very imporant business practice.

Finally, I asked Heather how she got into crafting:

"I believe that I was born to craft, it is in my blood. I can't remember a time I wasn't trying to be creative. It's just what I do!"

Well, we at Flint Handmade thinks Heather does what she was born to do VERY well and we are excited to have one of her vintage zipper creations for our giveaway!


This yellow zipper flower and glass vase is the EXACT same one in the very first and second picture on this blog post!  Heather took it right off of her display shelf on the wall to give to one very lucky blog reader!

For YOUR chance to win the Zipper Flower in a glass vase (valued at $20), just complete steps A and B:

A) Follow Flint Handmade via the blog, Twitter, Google Reader or whatever newfangled "following application" tickles your fancy. Or, if you don't do the whole following thing, email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we will add you to our email list.

B) Leave us a comment in response to this blog post by 5pm on Saturday, June 18, 2011 answering the following 2 questions:

1) How do you follow us?

2) What other products would you like to see Heather make out of zippers?

Please be sure to answer BOTH questions to qualify for the drawing.

The winner will be selected at random and posted on the blog within one week after the deadline. The winner will have 30 days to claim the prize.

We hope to hear from YOU and we hope you enjoyed our June Second Saturday Giveaway!

NOTE: We will be taking July off from the Second Saturday Giveaway, but we will be back in August with another great giveaway featuring a local crafter!

WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT RE-ZIP IT!?
Etsy: http://www.benjamin2008.etsy.com/
Blog: http://www.rezipit.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Re-Zip-It/109791555741220

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Flint Handmade Knuckles Merch = Great Gift for Dad or Grad!

Need an awesome gift for the dad or grad in your life???

Pick up some official Flint Handmade Knuckles Merchandise at in the Flint Handmade Shop at The Lunch Studio during ArtWalk THIS Friday!

shirt for $15

jute tote for $10
 
knit cap for $8

recycled notebook for $5 

button for $1

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Crocheting craftLAB Recap!

Sarah Richter (aka Sarah Mascara) taught over 20 people how to crochet at our Basic Crocheting Workshop at craftLAB on Sunday at The Lunch Studio!

The workshop was so popular, we will be offering another Crocheting Workshop at a craftLAB in 2012!

In the meantime, check out these awesome photos!

The Happy Hookers...with their crochet hooks! From left to right: Sarah, Nicole, Pat and Jessica.

Pretty supplies!

Sarah brought lots of books to show everyone.

Sarah (r) teaches Shanterra how to hold the yarn.
   
Boys crochet, too!  Sarah (l) and Graham smile for the camera.

Kids love crochet!

Nicole didn't crochet...but she did finish her awesome Honor Thy Father tattoo-inspired embroidery piece featuring Darth Vader, trantula legs and roses.  Too dope!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Not Buying It Update 5: April and May Results

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

NOTE: Blogger went kablooey about a month ago when I tried to post my April results, so I am reposting them after my May results.  :)

MAY RESULTS

Money Saved: $1,000

I won't include a breakdown this time, but suffice it to say that I did not overspend and I did not buy any gifts in May.  :)

Projects Completed: 8

 1) TRANSPLANTED STRAWBERRIES

My friend, Amy of Made with Luv, gave me 25 strawberry plants from her garden.  Amazingly, some of the plants are already bearing fruit despite the trauma of being transplanted!

2) PLANTED APPLE, NUT AND BERRY TREES
 
Above is my Linda Mac apple tree from the Genesee Conservation District.  In two years, I should have fresh apples from my own front yard.  How awesome is that?!? 
 
 3) PLANTED GARDEN and MADE GARDEN SIGNS

Potatoes, onion, broccoli, peppers and tomatoes are now in the garden!  Corn, carrots, cucumbers and beans are up next.

I made the garden signs out of a old pack of wood shims in my garage.  I used a spare tip on my stained glass soldering iron to burn the words into the wood. 

4) REMOVED PILE OF 'URBANITE'

Last summer, I had an uneven concrete walkway removed my front yard.  The broken concrete (aka urbanite) sat in my backyard for a year, but it is ALL gone now!

 5) INSTALLED OUTDOOR CLOTHESLINE

I spent $14 on supplies for an outdoor clothesline.  I've already used it once and I'm eager to line dry my bed linens.

 6) BUSINESS CARD HOLDERS

I made these from Scrabble tile holders, vintage buttons and hot glue.  They will be on sale at Craft City at Buckham Alley Fest on July 16, 2011!

 7) SHORTBREAD COOKIES

These cookies are made from just three ingredients (butter, sugar, flour) and drizzled with chocolate.  So easy and so tasty!

 8) HOMEMADE EYEGLASSES CLEANER

I had been paying $3.50 for an 8oz bottle of cleaner. I made my own cleaner using a 16oz bottle rubbing alcohol ($1) and 16oz of water (free) with a few drops of dish soap (basically free).

I got 32oz of homemade eyeglass cleaner for $1. I would have paid $14 for that much at the store...and, my homemade cleaner seems to work better!

Credit goes to Ashley English's small measure blog for the motivation to finally get this eyeglass cleaner project done!

Reserves Spent: $0
Emergency Funds Spent: $1,348

I didn't fess up at the beginning of this project about my Emergency Funds. 

For the past few years, I have been trying to follow the advice of financial professionals and build up about 3-6 months of living expenses in a separate account for emergencies.

I am SO glad that I did, because I had several large emergencies in May.

First, all of my patio furniture was stolen from my front porch in late April.  In order to try to protect the patio furniture in my backyard (not to mention my car, my house, myself and my dog), I paid $530 to have the rest of my fence and two gates installed.  My backyard is now entirely fenced in, which is something I have been working on since I moved into my house over 9 years ago.  So, I'm glad to have it done, but it was still a major financial blow.

Then, my dog broke my front window.  My beau and I tried to fix it, but to no avail.  So, I paid $400 for a new window which will be installed in June/July.

Then, my dryer died.  I bought the $8 part online (with my discretionary income) and I hope to fix it myself soon to avoid an $80 repair bill.

With all of this money flying out the door, I decided to go ahead and buy a cordless electric lawnmower for $365.  I admit, this was not really an emergency, but dragging a 50 foot extension cord around for my corded lawnmower and trying to mow around the apple, nut and berry trees we planted was just not going to work for me. 

I did buy the lawnmower from Gill-Roy's, a Michigan-owned business, and I plan to loan/give my corded lawnmower to a friend of mine, who is a self-employed single mom trying to run her own handcrafting business.  She could really use the help and I could really use the good karma.  ;)

Finally, my cell phone died near the end of the month.  I had a new phone credit and I'm getting a mail-in rebate, which should cover the cost of the phone, but I still had to shell out $53 upfront.  I really didn't want to get a new phone and I avoided any unnecessary upgrades to a smartphone. 

Going into the phone store was extremely uncomfortable for me.  I was surrounded by completely gratuituous glowing rectangles and salesworkers who were taking about driving 20 minutes to pick up fast food for lunch.  This was not my place and these were not my people.

I am now completely certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that I do not belong to that mainstream, consumption-obsessed society.  I am so grateful for my life of burgeoning self-sufficiency and sustainability.

APRIL RESULTS

Money Saved: $1,000

Here's the breakdown of my $745 in discretionary income for the month:

$136 : GROCERIES
$083 : GAS
$030 : FLINT RIVER FARM CSA
$070 : MEDICAL EXPENSES
$012 : HOME MAINTENANCE
$170 : GARDEN/YARD SUPPLIES
$031 : GIFTS
$014 : VET FOLLOW UP FOR YASHA
-----------------------------------------------------------
$546 : TOTAL SPENT +
$200 : SET ASIDE FOR OCTOBER =
$746 : TOTAL EXPENSES
-----------------------------------------------------------
$745 - $746 = -$1 REMAINING INCOME

I spent $1 extra this month, but my change jar covered the overage. ;)

I did cheat a bit on the Flint River Farm CSA, though. I had about $100 sitting in my personal PayPal account that I used to pay the majority of my share of the half share that my beau and I purchased. But, this upfront investment will help keep my grocery bill low during July-October when we get CSA veggies.

Another major investment I made this month was $170 on Garden/Yard Supplies, which will be explained below in the Projects Completed section.

I did spent $31 on gifts. $6 went to flowers for my beau's other grandma when I met her on Easter and $25 was actually a charitable donation to a student scholarship endowment in honor the upcoming wedding of two of my friends/colleagues. But, I am really going to try not to spend any money on gifts in May!

Projects Completed: 1 Huge Project - Vegetable Garden Prep

BEFORE

AFTER

With the help of my beau and my mom, I transplanted about 100 square feet of grass to the mud pit on the side of my house, tilled up the entire 800 square foot garden and brought in 3 cubic yards of compost ($99) to create 20 perfect vegetable rows behind my garage.

I worked almost 20 hours total on this project, so I didn't have much time for another other projects this month, but I'm hoping to complete more (smaller) projects in May.

One of the those smaller projects will be planting in my front yard the fruit, nut and berry trees I bought this month ($71) from Genesee Conservation District. So, that's how I spent $170 on Garden/Yard Supplies in April. It should not be nearly as high in May.

Reserves Spent: $0

Well, I've completed 4 months of my Not Buying It Project and I still really haven't felt the scarcity.

There was a brief moment when I was trying to decide what to wear to Easter dinner when I felt like I maybe needed to buy some new-to-me (aka thrift/consignment store) clothes.

But, this was just temporary insanity. Lol I have a closet and a couple of dressers FULL of clothes and I just had to be creative about putting together an outfit. :)

I'm sure the creative juices will continue to flow in May, too.

So, have any of you readers been inspired by these updates to make some Not Buying It changes in your lives? I would love to hear about them!