flint handmade

Seeking Location Sponsors for Cool City Art Auction!

2012-02-02T05:13:00.000-05:00

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

Flint Handmade (FH) is seeking location sponsors for the Greater Flint Arts Council (GFAC) Financial Plus Cool City Art Auction!

We will again be located at The Lunch Studio and we would LOVE to feature your busines/organization!

The sponsorship levels are as follows:

$50 Sponsorship – 1 ticket ($25 value), logo on GFAC event promo material

$100 Sponsorship – 2 tickets ($50 value), logo on GFAC event promo material, hang your banner at The Lunch Studio during event

$150 Sponsorship – 3 tickets ($75 value), logo on GFAC event promo material, hang your banner at The Lunch Studio during event, place your promotional material on FH table during event

$200 Sponsorship – 4 tickets ($100 value), logo on GFAC event promo material, hang your banner at The Lunch Studio during event, place your promotional material on FH table during event, link to your website on all FH electronic event promo material

$250 Sponsorship – 5 tickets ($125 value), logo on GFAC eventpromo material, hang your banner at The Lunch Studio during event, place your promotional material on FH table during event, link to your website on all FH electronic event promo material, your business/organization name announced three times during event

Email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com if you would like to become a sponsor!

NOTE: We are accepting sponsorships until March 16th, but the deadline to have your logo included on GFAC event promo material is February 9th, so email us today!

EVENT INFO:

The 2012 Financial Plus Cool City Art Auction will be held on Friday, March 23 from 5pm to 10pm. Six nonprofit arts organizations will be in various locations along Saginaw Street in Downtown Flint with hundreds of handmade goods in the silent auction.

Food, beverages and live entertainment will be available at all locations. Tickets are $25 each in advance ($30 at the door) and grant access to all six locations.

Tickets will be available for purchase in March. All tickets purchased at The Lunch Studio benefit Flint Handmade.

Want to know more about past Cool City Art Auctions?

Check out our posts from 2011 and 2010!

Now Accepting Vendor Applications for the 2012 Spring Craft Market!

2012-01-31T08:57:00.000-05:00

We are now accepting vendor applications for the 5th Annual Spring Craft Market on Saturday, May 5, 2012 from 10am-4pm at The Masonic Temple in Downtown Flint.

Click HERE to apply!

The application will ONLY be available until 10pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012.

Our application and selection period has been shortened in an effort to let applicants know if they have been selected to vend TWO months in advance of the Spring Craft Market. Previously, we were only able to give ONE month notice.

We encourage you to apply NOW!

P.S. The AMAZING flyer above was designed by Yasmin Ladha!

Knuckles Tape Measures in the Flint Handmade Shop!

2012-01-26T07:25:00.000-05:00

We now have retractable fabric tape measures for only $2 each in the Flint Handmade Shop inside The Lunch Studio!

We will be adding lots more handmade goods from local crafters to the Flint Handmade Shop this weekend...just in time to shop handmade for Valentine's Day!

Make sure you stop by The Lunch Studio soon to pick up a handcrafted gift for your sweetheart!

FREE Residency at Maker Works in Ann Arbor!

2012-01-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

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

Our friends at Maker Works in Ann Arbor have an amazing opportunity for crafters/artists from Southeast Michigan to experience a FREE residency!

Check out this email from Thea, Membership Coordinator at Maker Works, for more information:

"I am writing to tell you about an artist residency we are starting at Maker Works, specifically for artists living in Southeast Michigan counties around Detroit. The artist residencies allow 3 selected artists full access to Maker Works' 4 studios (Metal, Circuits, Wood & Craft) + tools + classes for free! And also includes our computers + software, project storage space, free wifi and more.

There are 3 categories in which artists can apply: Craft, Contemporary and Emerging. This allows artists who work in more traditional ways in things like woodworking to not have to compete with artists who work in performance art, video or installation. The Emerging category is specifically for artists age 25 years and younger and not enrolled in an academic institution.

For more information, click HERE. Please pass along to anyone who may be interested in applying!"

Consider the info passed on, Thea! :)

Want to Consign Your Handmade Goods into Our FH Shop inside The Lunch Studio?

2012-01-19T05:12:00.000-05:00

Flint Handmade is accepting appointments with crafters to consign handmade goods into the FH Shop inside The Lunch Studio on Saturday, January 28th!

If you are interested in consigning your handmade goods with us, please email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com for more information and to schedule an appointment.

We want to add lots of new merchandise to the shop before February to encourage everyone to give handmade gifts for Valentine's Day!

Entrepreurship and Innovation Workshops at UM-Flint

2012-01-17T08:20:00.000-05:00

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

Last year, Flint Handmade participated in the [IN]spire Conference hosted by University Outreach at the University of Michigan-Flint, which focused on creativity, innovation and social entrepreneurship.

This year, University Outreach's Innovation Incubator is hosting FREE business entrepreneurship workshops that are open to community members!

The topics for the workshops are:

Financial Fundamentals for Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial Myths
Marketing
Goal Setting and Follow through
Small Business Accounting
Conflict Management
Strategic Visualization & Implementation
Design Thinking Bootcamp: From Insights to Innovation
Feasibility Analysis

Click HERE for more information or to register for the workshops.

Second Saturday Giveaway Returns in February!

2012-01-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

As mentioned in our December 2011 Second Saturday Giveaway post, we take January (and July) off from Second Saturday Giveaway.

In the meantime, we encourage you to start cleaning out your craftroom to prepare for our 3rd Annual Winter Craft Supply Swap!

Second Saturday Giveaway will return on February 11, 2012!

3rd Annual Winter Craft Supply Swap Schedule and Announcements!

2012-01-12T05:27:00.000-05:00

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

Are you READY TO SWAP?!?

Here's the schedule for our 3rd Annual Winter Craft Supply Swap on Sunday, February 5th:

Noon: Swappers sign in at the Flint Handmade Registration Table inside The Lunch Studio and receive a number in the order of arrival. The first person to arrive gets #1, the second person gets #2 and so on.

If you brought supplies to swap, a Flint Handmade volunteer will take your donations and sort them onto the appropriate tables.

We're tight on space since it's too cold to use the sidewalk for tables like we did at the Swap last summer, so fabric, yarn and some other supplies will be in the small back room of The Lunch Studio.

12:15pm: Swappers #1 through #5 get to take whatever they want from the back room while remaining Swappers get to help themselves to front room supplies (scrapbook paper, craft books, patterns, etc.)!

Every 15 minutes (or when the back room clears out), the next 5 Swappers will be called by number to help themselves to the supplies in the back room.

As more Swappers arrive, volunteers will place their items on the appropriate tables. Occasionally, we may need to ask all Swappers to have a seat for a few minutes while we restock and tidy up the tables.

2:30pm: The volunteers will start packing up any remaining supplies. We will store the more popular supplies to bring out again for our 4th Annual Summer Craft Supply Swap on August 5, 2012.

Any leftover supplies will be donated to a local charity. If you think you might want something, now is the time to grab it!

3:00pm: The Swap ends and we have to clear out of The Lunch Studio!

Here are some helpful general announcements about the Swap:

1) Remember to bring your own tote bags or you may purchase Flint Handmade grocery totes for $3 each at the Swap.

2) You may take as much or as little as you like (within reason) whether your brought supplies to swap or not. "Within reason" generally means no more than 4 grocery totes of supplies, but we are flexible. If you are unsure, ask a volunteer.

3) The Swap is FREE! Of course, we are a nonprofit organization, so donations are always welcome and a donation jar will be available at the Registration Table. :)

4) Members get early access to the Swap! If you are a member of Flint Handmade, you are welcome to join us at 11:30am for first dibs. New members are welcome! Download our membership brochure HERE.

5) If you are not a member, please be sure to arrive no earlier than 11:55am. We promise there will still be LOTS of supplies for you to take!

6) The Flint Handmade Registration Table inside The Lunch Studio will be open during the entire Swap and you MUST sign in to participate.

7) The Lunch Studio will be open for business, so you can grab lunch at anytime and then do some more swapping!

8) If you would like to volunteer at the Swap, please email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com. We need volunteers for 2 shifts: 11am-1pm and 1pm-3pm. Volunteers will receive a special thank you gift!

9) Please make sure that any supplies you bring are clean and in good condition.

10) Our Swaps are held on the first Sunday of very February and August from Noon-3pm at The Lunch Studio, so if you can't make this Swap, you can always join us later in the year!

If you have any questions, please email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com!

First Ever Membership Campaign Final Results!

2012-01-10T04:57:00.000-05:00

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

We are so excited to report that we raised $2,585 in our First Ever Membership Campaign!

It is not the $5,000 we had hoped for, but it is still an amazing amount that will make so many things possible for Flint Handmade!

THANK YOU to everyone who became a Founding Member in 2011.

We accept memberships all year long, so please download our membership brochure HERE if you are interested. There are many great benefits for members, so we encourage you to check it out!

Spiral Notebooks: New Year's Day craftLAB Recap!

2012-01-05T04:52:00.000-05:00

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

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The first Sunday of the month just happened to fall on January 1, 2012, so we rang in the new year with many of our friends and members at craftLAB!

Thanks to the generosity of our friend Kate Kehoe of Chicaloo Photography & More, who donated her old hole punch machine to Flint Handmade, we made spiral notebooks!

Nicole made a supercute notebook featuring an owl with button eyes!

All supplies were provided, but people were encouraged to bring their own scrapbook paper if they wanted and Nicole brought the most adorable coordinated paper.

Ali is a papercrafter, too, so she brought some lovely purple scrapbook paper.

Sarah rolled with the paper we had on hand...and used our circle punch to make polka dots for her cover.

Dana also used the circle punch to make labels for her "Sewing Ideas 2012" spiral notebook! Her husband collated lined and blank paper for her so that she could have intermingled sheets for writing ideas and drawing pictures. How sweet!

Hayley just stopped by to consign goods in the Flint Handmade Shop, but I convinced her and Steve to stay and make notebooks, too. Steve was skeptical, but by the end, he was very pleased with his color selection for the front and back covers of his notebook!

Danielle brought her own paper, too...

...and made the cutest mini-notebooks using the leftover spirals from larger notebooks! So resourceful!

Wondering what the covers were made out of? Michelle is using her portable papercutter to cut paper to size to glue to an old SkillShare flyer!

Our SkillShare Workshops in Fall 2011 filled up so fast that we had lots of leftover cardstock flyers, so I came up with the idea of covering them with scrapbook paper and making notebooks after Kate said she would donate her hole punch. We crafters love to upcycle materials that would otherwise go to waste!

Toe thought the SkillShare flyer looked good as is, so she made a notebook featuring the flyer itself!

Gwen (l) and I decided to cover our notebooks with paper that had been donated to Flint Handmade. Clever Gwen put the spiral at the top of her notebook to make a flip pad!

Amy arrived a little late and wasn't going to make a notebook, but I said that she had to! She used some light blue checked paper to make a cute notebook that would be great for recipes.

Darice, Dieshawn and Shanterra (l-r) all made very colorful notebooks!

Finally, Theresa made a matching pair of memo pads. Too cute!

The spiral notebooks were so popular, we may offer this craftLAB again. Keep checking our blog for updates!

Craft Supply Swap in February!

2012-01-03T15:02:00.000-05:00

Mark your calendar and start cleaning out your craftroom!

We'll be running the Craft Supply Swap a little differently this time...and including a special incentive just for members!

More info coming soon!

REMINDER: Last Chance to Become a FOUNDING MEMBER!

2011-12-29T11:10:00.001-05:00

Mail your TAX DEDUCTIBLE membership donation on or before THIS FRIDAY, December 30, 2011 to become a FOUNDING MEMBER and help us reach our goal of $5,000!

Membership starts at just $25 and includes many great benefits!

More information on membership is available HERE.

Your generous support will allow us to continue offering craft workshops, supply swaps, markets and other events to encourage creative expression and commerce in Downtown Flint!

THANK YOU!

P.S. Remember to join us for a SPECIAL craftLAB on NEW YEAR'S DAY (THIS Sunday, January 1, 2012) from noon-3pm at The Lunch Studio! We will be making 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 spiral notebooks. More info is available HERE.

Handmade Birthday Cards!

2011-12-27T04:36:00.000-05:00

Flint Handmade is looking for handmade birthday cards!

If you make or illustrate cards, consider sending a few birthday cards to Flint Handmade to use in 2012 for a special initiative for our members. :)

And, there's still time to become a FOUNDING MEMBER and help us reach our goal of $5,000!

CLICK HERE for more information on membership.

Memberships donations and/or birthday cards can be mailed to:

Flint Handmade
P.O. Box 13473
Flint, MI 48501

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

P.S. If you don't make cards, but have some handmade birthday cards on hand or pick up a card or two at a craft fair and would like to send them to us, that's fine, too!

Second Saturday Giveaway: December Winners!

2011-12-22T08:57:00.000-05:00

We want to thank everyone who commented on our December Second Saturday Giveaway featuring Lisa Napier of Lisa Napier Sews!

The awesome commenters for December were Kristina, Jen, EngelAugen, Janel, Chelle, Nicole Stevens, DesiAnima, handleber, Missy Healey, Tessie, Kimba, Kara, Gwen P., Jan, April, Cath, Anne, Theresa, Jeniel, Susanna Tippett, Mary P., Jill, aallen66, jackieleigh76, Karen and Dana L.

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 Apron is...

...Missy Healey!!! Congratulations!

Lisa was so generous...she gave us a second item for a SPECIAL BONUS GIVEAWAY! The randomly selected winner of the Bag and Coin Purse Combo is...

...Jan!!! Congratulations!

Missy Healey and Jan, send us an email at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we will make arrangements for you to receive your items! You have 30 days to claim your prize. :)

SPECIAL NOTE: As usual, we are taking the month of January off from Second Saturday Giveaway, but check back for a new giveaway on February 11, 2012!

Last-Minute Handmade Holiday Gifts in the Flint Handmade Shop at The Lunch Studio!

2011-12-20T08:52:00.001-05:00

Need a last-minute holiday gift?

Check out the Flint Handmade Shop

inside The Lunch Studio!

We have Flint Handmade Knuckles Logo Merchandise

and plush monstas from Frankenstitch Productions!

We also have crocheted and embroidered items

from yarnscratch and much more!

The Lunch Studio Hours

Tuesday, December 20 to Friday, December 23: 8am to 3pm

Saturday, December 24 to Monday, December 26: CLOSED

If business is slow, The Lunch Studio may close early,

so be sure to call ahead at (810) 424-9868!

January craftLAB: Spiral Notebooks!

2011-12-15T08:19:00.000-05:00

Join us for a SPECIAL craftLAB on NEW YEAR'S DAY (Sunday, January 1, 2012) from noon-3pm at The Lunch Studio!

We will be making 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 spiral notebooks with the hole punch that was donated to Flint Handmade by our friend, Kate Kehoe of Chicaloo Photography & More. Thank you, Kate!

You can make a New Year's Resolution log, a journal, a sketchbook or any other spiral notebook.

PLEASE BRING FILLER PAPER FOR YOUR NOTEBOOK.

You can bring 50-100 sheets of lined paper, blank paper, colored paper, whatever your heart desires! We will have a paper cutter on hand for you to cut your paper to size.

All other supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring any of your own papercrafting supplies (including scissors, scrapbook paper, stamps/ink, etc.) if you would like to use them!

Flint Handmade hosts FREE craftLABs on the first Sunday of every month at The Lunch Studio in Downtown Flint! Come explore and express your creativity!

Flint Handmade Memberships Make Great Gifts!

2011-12-13T10:13:00.000-05:00

Looking for a special gift to give a creative friend or family member for the holidays?

How about a gift membership to Flint Handmade!

Download the membership brochure and form HERE.

Your loved one will get all kinds of great benefits, such as:

Craft Advocate Level ($25-$49/year)

20% Discount on FH Knuckles Merchandise
Early Admission/Previews of Certain FH Events
Members Only Raffles and Drawings
Invitation to Annual Members Only Craft Social
FH Member Table Sign (For Members who Vend)

Craft Innovator Level ($50-$99/year)
All Benefits Listed Above Plus:
$5 Gift Certificate for FH Knuckles Merchandise
Listing on FH Website with Bio/Website/Etc.
Reduced Rate on Vendor Fees (If Selected to Vend)

Craft Visionary Level ($100+/year)
All Benefits Listed Above Plus:
$10 Gift Certificate for FH Knuckles Merchandise
Handmade Item Valued at $10+ from Local Crafter
Invitation to Join FH Advisory Council

BONUS: Gift Memberships at any level purchased by December 31, 2011 include a limited edition chrome-finished, laser-engraved keychain in a gift box ONLY available to our FOUNDING MEMBERS!

Just complete the membership form in your friend's name. Be sure to include a note indicating "Gift Membership From" with your name and contact info so that we can send you your tax deductible donation letter. So easy!

Upon request, we will also email you a Flint Handmade Gift Membership Certificate that you can print and give your loved one. Membership packets, including the keychain, will be mailed in early 2012.

Several of our current members received their memberships as gifts...and have expressed great appreciation to the gift giver!

Flint Handmade Member Sarah Richter says: "My mom gave me a Craft Visionary Level Membership to Flint Handmade as my big Christmas gift this year. She knows how much I love crafting and she really wants to encourage my creativity. It's one of the best gifts I've ever received! Thanks, Mom! ♥"

Download the membership brochure and form HERE.

If you have any questions about gift memberships, email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com.

Thank you for your support. :)

Second Saturday Giveaway: Win an Apron OR Bag Combo from Lisa Napier Sews!

2011-12-10T15:50:00.000-05:00

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

For our December Second Saturday giveaway, we are featuring Lisa Napier of Lisa Napier Sews!

This is Lisa in her craftroom. I asked her to tell me about her workspace:

"My workspace is right in my bedroom. I have everything I need at my fingertips.

My sewing table was my Grandma Adelia's and I sew with a picture of her next to me.

I have my books and patterns for references/ideas/how to/inspiration on sewing, crocheting, crafting and art.

I have a little bit of everything for all sorts of projects I currently do and for some future projects as well.

In the summer I take my sewing outside. I just set up everything I need right out on the patio so I can take in the fresh air. Summer is my favorite time of year."

Lisa really does fit A LOT of craft supplies in one room! She has...

...fabric and thread...

...baskets of yarn...

...crochet hooks and books...

...scissors and much more!

I asked Lisa how she got into crafting:

"I've been crafting for as long as I can remember. I've been exposed to it all my life. Everything I know about sewing I learned from my mom and grandma. Everything else I just picked up along the way. If I see something I like I take a good look at it and try making it later. It will become one of those "I think I can make that" project.

I always liked fashion so I started out making myself my own clothes. I made pretty much all of my son's Halloween costumes throughout the years and he always seemed to ask for a costume that had no pre-made pattern to follow so I had to make them from scratch. He even decorated my sewing machine with stickers when he was a toddler.

My first crocheting project was a baby blanket for my son. I really love how when you crochet you are actually making your own fabric. Plus it gives me something to do while I'm watching television."

It turns out that Lisa is a classic movie fan! When I visited, she was watching an old Lauren Bacall movie:

"When I sew in my room I have TCM (Turner Classic Movies) on. Turn on my television and TCM is on! I love all the old movies and actors: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Humphrey Bogart."

In fact, I got a photo of her with an old movie playing on the television. Also featured are items represening her other two passions: Elvis and Hello Kitty!

Lisa even has a small Hello Kitty Pez Dispenser Collection in her craftroom for inspiration.

Lisa also makes papercrafts like the bottle cap magnets above.

She has plenty of paper for another project that she wants to try...decoupage!

Lisa hopes to cover these three nesting boxes soon.

When I visited, Lisa was planning to decoupage the holiday countdown calendar shown above.

And, by the time I had a chance to post this interview, she already finised the front of the calendar! (Photo: Lisa Napier)

My final question for Lisa was about the projects she would like to work on in the future:

"A new wardrobe for myself is my future project. I think it's time to start sewing for me again. I use to make myself clothes all the time and have put it off to the side over the past few years.

I use to work at the Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet store and dressing up was required. Since I couldn't afford the really nice designer clothes I started making myself my own work wardrobe and used a lot of brocade fabric, which is my favorite material. Anything made with brocade fabric turns out quite nice no matter how simple it is.

Customers use to ask me where I got my clothes from or what designer it was!"

Well, we definitely think that Lisa could be a designer based on the clothes she made for herself...and the TWO prizes she donated for the giveaway this month!

PRIZE 1: An awesome floral apron with front pocket, which I made her model in the kitchen!

PRIZE 2: A bag and coin purse combo made from a fall leaves print!

For YOUR chance to win the apron OR the bag combo from Lisa Napier Sews, just complete steps A and B:

B) Leave us a comment in response to this blog post by 5pm on Saturday, December 17, 2011 answering the following 2 questions:

1) How do you follow Flint Handmade?

2) Tell us which prize you would rather win (apron OR bag combo) AND how you would use it if you won.

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 December Second Saturday Giveaway!

SPECIAL NOTE: As usual, we are taking the month of January off from Second Saturday Giveaway, but check back for a new giveaway on February 11, 2012!

December 2011 craftLAB Recap: Embroidery!

2011-12-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

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

Almost 30 people turned out for our FREE craftLAB workshop on embroidery at The Lunch Studio on Sunday!

Sarah Richter of yarnscratch and Nicole Stevens of Curious Goods lead the workshop.

Sarah and Nicole brought lots of great supplies...

...and some fabulous examples of their embroidery work!

Sarah (standing) instructs Jenni (l) and Jenni's mother and daughter. Three generations of embroiderers!

Happy ladies embroidering!

Nicole (l) shows Jess and Danielle (r) some embroidery stitches.

Such a cute picture!

Flint Handmade gave everyone a Butterfinger wreath to say Happy Holidays! Hayley was very appreciative.

Men embroider, too! Rocky demonstrates his new skills.

Extreme close-up!

Jenni's daughter (what was her name?!?) with her awesome embroidered ornament.

Can you tell that Christa loves the color purple? :)

Nicole started a sweet little heart before the workshop ended.

If you have ideas for craftLABs in 2012, please email them to us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com.

We WILL be hosting a special NEW YEARS DAY craftLAB on Sunday, January 1, 2012 from noon-3pm at The Lunch Studio. Stay tuned for more details!

2011 Membership Campaign: Update 1

2011-12-06T10:08:00.000-05:00

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

On October 4, 2011, we launched our FIRST EVER MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN!

As of today, just two months later, we have received exactly $1,975.00 in TAX-DEDUCTIBLE membership donations...THAT'S ALMOST $2,000!

We are almost halfway to our goal of $5,000 by December 31, 2011...but, we still need your help!

Please consider becoming a member of Flint Handmade. Membership starts at just $25 and includes many great benefits!

More information on membership is available HERE.

Your generous support will allow us to continue offering craft workshops, supply swaps, markets and other events to encourage creative expression and commerce in Downtown Flint!

THANK YOU!

November craftLAB: Embroidery with Nicole Stevens and Sarah Richter!

2011-12-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Join us for a FREE Embroidery Workshop at craftLAB on Sunday, December 4, 2011 from noon-3pm at The Lunch Studio!

Learn the basics of embroidery from Nicole Stevens of Curious Goods and Sarah Richter of yarnscratch!

Make an embroidered ornament on wool, a door hanger on felt and/or a small wooden hoop wall hanging!

All supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring any of your own embroidery supplies (including scissors) if you would like to use them!

Flint Handmade hosts FREE craftLABs on the first Sunday of every month at The Lunch Studio in Downtown Flint! Come explore and express your creativity!

Don't forget to check out the 6th Annual Detroit Urban Craft Fair this weekend, too!

Your Favorite Vendor from the 2011 Holiday Craft Market!

2011-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

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

THANK YOU to the 800+ shoppers who came out for our 5th Annual Holiday Craft Market! We were OVERWHELMED by the turnout!

Soooo many shoppers! It was a full house!

Our vendors had RECORD BREAKING sales! We're still finalizing the official tally, but as of right now, we are at $17,500+ in total sales!!!

Happy shoppers with their goodie bags!

People were lining up just after 9am for our free goodie bags for the first 25 shoppers. By the time we opened the auditorium doors at 10am, there were about 100 people waiting in the lobby of The Masonic Temple!

We asked all 800+ shoppers to Vote for Their Favorite Vendor!

The votes have been tallied and the top THREE favorite vendors are...

...Steph of Frankenstitch Productions!

...Holly of Fiddlebump's Apothecary!

...Heidi of Madge and Gert!

These three vendors each win a $10 Gift Certificate toward Flint Handmade Knuckles Merchandise!

Here are just a few more of our fantastic 50+ vendors:

Liz of Aromaholic

Lindsey of Craftaholic

Amber of Handleber

Leslie (l) of Lydia's Vintage with shopper/volunteer Michelle

Liz of Penguin's Pieces

Amy (l) and Ethan of Small Craft with their adorable kids

For more photos, check out our 2011 Holiday Craft Market Album and Members Only Preview Album on Facebook.

A special thank you to all of the vendors and shoppers who became founding members of Flint Handmade!

We look forward to seeing everyone at the 2012 Spring Craft Market! The online application will be posted in February. Keep checking our blog for more details. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:19:00.001-05:00

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

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you enjoy this time with family and friends!

And, if you can, try to do at least one thing to express your creativity today, whether it is making placecards for the dinner table or crocheting a scarf while chatting with your loved ones!

We hope to see you at our 5th Annual Holiday Craft Market THIS Saturday from 10am-4pm at The Masonic Temple in Downtown Flint!

Second Saturday Giveaway: November Winner!

2011-11-22T07:54:00.001-05:00

We want to thank everyone who commented on our November Second Saturday Giveaway featuring Clara Gibson of Chuber Pottery! Special thanks to Ali Misner of Alexandria's Soap Garden for such a great interview and photos!

The awesome commenters for November were Andrea Butler, Kristen Mason, Courtney, All Wired Up TOO, Jan, Ali, Toxiegirll, Janel, DesiAnima, Susanna Tippett, DamselFish, lilacpop, Teresa T, Missy Healey, Cathy Danz, disis1, Kara, brownirishgal, Chelsye, Cathy and Chelle.

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 Handmade Tea Cup is...

...All Wired Up TOO!!! Congratulations!

All Wired Up TOO, send us an email at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we will make arrangements for you to receive your Handmade Tea Cup! You have 30 days to claim your prize. :)

We want to encourage everyone to participate in the next Second Saturday Giveaway to be posted on December 10, 2011!

Be sure to visit the 5th Annual Flint Handmade Holiday Craft Market THIS Saturday, November 26, 2011 from 10am-4pm at The Masonic Temple in Downtown Flint!

Southeast Michigan Crafters Meetup at Maker Works in Ann Arbor

2011-11-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

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

Recently, I took a trip down to Ann Arbor with my friend Antonia (aka Toe) to check out a Southeast Michigan Crafters Meetup at Maker Works.

Tool Layout from Maker Works Facebook

Maker Works is "an 11,000 sq. ft. member-based studio located in Ann Arbor, MI. It features 4 areas of making: METAL, CIRCUITS, WOOD and CRAFT. It also provides hundreds of hand tools, classes, a retail store and more."

From left to right: Rae, Karen and Sarah

Karen of One Girl Circus and Rae of Made by Rae have been organizing these monthly Southeast Michigan Crafters Meetups for about a year to give crafters the opportunity to meet, network and craft together!

The location for the Meetups often rotates, but I was glad to go to one at Maker Works, which I learned about at the 2010 Maker Faire.

At the Meetup, Toe made a bracelet with beads she brought...then she gave the bracelet to me! Thanks, Toe!

This lovely gal was making a fabric puppet theatre to fit in a doorway. So cute!

After we crafted for a while, Thea from Maker Works gave us a tour of the facility. We started in the CIRCUITS area.

Super cute signage!

This area is located between the CIRCUITS and CRAFT area. It's called the tool crib...what a great name!

My favorite tool at Maker Works was the Amaya 16-thread embroidery machine in the CRAFT area. Thea said that this is one of the most powerful tools in the entire facility. It requires a 3-hour class to learn how to use!

The very same Epilog laser cutter I saw at the 2010 Maker Faire is located in the CRAFT area.

The laser cutter makes some cool stuff!

The MakerBot 3D printer that won a blue ribbon at Maker Faire is also in the CRAFT area. (Guess who else won a blue ribbon at the 2011 Maker Faire?)

Leah used one of the Bernina sewing machines available in the Maker Works CRAFT area.

The ShopBot CNC Router cutting out stools in the WOOD area.

Fullly operable vintage metal lathe in the METAL area.

Flint Handmade is considering organizing a field trip down to Maker Works in 2012. Please email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com if you are interested!

Vendor Links for 2011 Holiday Craft Market

2011-11-15T12:06:00.003-05:00

Check out the vendors links for the 5th Annual Flint Handmade Holiday Craft Market!

AllWiredUpTOO

Altered Goods

Angelic Soaps and Gifts

Aromaholic

Barrel of Monkeys

Baubles n' Bagz

Beau ti ful Productions

Blackenedruby Jewelry

Bluebird Designs

Butter Bean Inc

Chicaloo Photography & More
Circle Cat Studio
Craftaholic (Noodle&LuLu)
Crafty Chicks
Curious Goods
Dani's Delights
~elle's expressions
Ellie Belle Boutique
Fiddlebump's Apothecary
Flint Art Project
Frankenstitch Productions
Friends for Quilting
Gingerly Made
Gone to Pot
GOODS/Detroit Baby
Grasshopper Handmade
Handleber
HATSALLCAPS
Hayley's Paper Love
Heaven Sent Crafts
HiFive Handmades
jenneee
jkCostea Designs
Kyla Renee
Lydia's Vintage
Madge and Gert Soy Candles

Mah Hemp Jewelry and Accessories

Mastyl Signs

Ms.Christa's Rockin' Accessories
Papercrane Studios
Penguin's Pieces
Radical Recycks
Recycled Lps.com
simplybree
Small Craft
Smished Dominion
So Crafty Its Sickening
Stick Nymph
SWEAT SHOP - a labor of love
Sweet Jimmy
The Handmade Gift Guide

Second Saturday Giveaway by Ali Misner: Win Tea Cup from Chuber Pottery!

2011-11-12T08:55:00.001-05:00

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

We are so excited to announce a NEW FORMAT for our regular Second Saturday Giveaway!

Whenever possible, our featured crafter from the same month of the previous year will do the interview and take photos with a new featured crafter!

In November 2010, I interviewed Ali Misner of Alexandria's Soap Garden.

For our November 2011 Second Saturday Giveaway, Ali interviewed her mother-in-law, Carla Gibson of Chuber Pottery (cjanecare@mac.com).

Carla in her workspace.

Ali: Tell us about your workspace.

Carla: I have a two story 24’ by 26’ pole barn. The first floor consists of my work area with my kiln, my wheel, drying racks, a glazing area, shelves with various pottery tools, slab roller, and of course clay. My husband also works in the pole barn, however with only a mere 8’ X 9’ area we’ve dubbed “The Man Square,” (poor hubby J).

Chuber pottery on display.

The second floor is my storage and display area, as well as office space. The pole barn is conveniently located right in my back yard, just about 10 meters from my back door!

Using the elephant ear sponge.

Ali: What is your favorite craft tool/material?

Carla: I love throwing clay on the wheel and using my elephant ear sponge. This involves centering the clay and a lot of hand control to form the clay. The elephant ear sponge keeps the clay moist. This process of pottery making is very calming and soothing.

Vegetable steamers made by Carla.

Ali: How did you get into crafting?

Carla: When I was young my mom was very creative. We would make paper dolls, and learned how to make things by using household items. During my senior year I received a sewing machine and in 1975 I began working in the costume department at the Whiting Theater. The head seamstress became my mentor and taught me to sew.

Glazes in Carla's studio.

I continued my crafting passion by taking a pottery class at the FIA in 1978 and fell in love! I purchased my own pottery wheel and kiln and began selling my pottery at various craft shows around Michigan until I had children. From 1983 to 1985 I taught pottery classes in different Flint afterschool programs in the fine arts department.

Carla's pottery tools.

It wasn’t until several years later, after 2005, that I purchased the equipment to create my own pottery studio, where I continue to make pottery and sell at various craft shows today!

Ali: How did you come up with your company name?

Carla: When I took the pottery class at FIA I wrote my name on the back of my work “C. Huber,” because my maiden name was Huber. When my instructor was handing back the pottery, she asked “Who’s Chuber?” It was so funny that the name just stuck and I decided to call my work “Chuber Pottery.”

Ali: What do you listen to/think about/watch while you craft?

Carla: I love listening to upbeat and organic music, like Arlow Xan [Ali's band with her husband, Alan, who is Carla's son], while I’m working on the wheel. In fact, the music has inspired me to start making musical instruments.

Udu drum.

One of my goals is to make an Udu drum, which is almost like a vase that has holes in it. To create musical instruments with clay is definitely something I’d like to work towards in addition to my more functional pieces such as bowls, coffee cups, and vegetable steamers. I think it’s something that would be really cool.

Making art from clay.

It always amazes me how you can take clay from the Earth and make art from it. To sit and enjoy your meal or play music using pieces you’ve created is very rewarding and very earthly.

Carla's studio.

Ali: What projects would you like to work on in the future?

Carla: I’d like to continue to pursue making various types of musical instruments out of clay. I think I know a couple of people who would use them. :)

Blue Rutile tea cup wit lid on.

Ali: Provide a description and retail value of the item(s) you are donating for the giveaway.

Carla: Here is a “Blue Rutile” tea cup with a lid you can use to keep your tea warm, or place your teabag on once it’s finished brewing.

Blue Rutile tea cup with lid off.

The cup has been high fired and colored with different layers of lead-free glaze. It is microwave and dishwasher safe and valued at $20. It’s perfect for sipping warm tea on chilly nights! J

For YOUR chance to win the Blue Rutile Tea Cup by Carla Gibson of Chuber Pottery, 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, November 19, 2011 answering the following 2 questions:

1) How do you follow Flint Handmade?

2) If you were to create something out of clay, what would you make?

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 November Second Saturday Giveaway by Ali Misner of Alexandria's Soap Garden!

The Rust Belt Market in Ferndale

2011-11-10T07:57:00.000-05:00

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

Recently, I took a trip down to Ferndale to visit The Rust Belt Market.

Rust Belt is a year-round brick-and-mortar market for handmade and vintage goods. Vendors sell their wares directly to shoppers every Saturday and Sunday from 11am-7pm.

Chris Best and his wife, Tiffany Best, own and operate The Rust Belt Market. I had the pleasure of meeting Chris at the 2011 [IN]spire Conference where we spoke on a Creativity & Commerce panel together.

Chris, Tiffany and all of their vendors are doing amazing work in support of the handmade movement in Michigan at Rust Belt!

Awesome painted wood journal by Jessica of Ink Stain Design (InkStainDesign@live.com).

Upcycled license plate signs by License Plate Heaven.

DetroitGT has a pickup truck parked INSIDE The Rust Belt Market for their display of Michigan shirts.

Melanie of Earthenwood Studio had a very clever business concept. She sells premade necklaces with her own handcrafted porcelain beads...

...or you can pick your own beads and charms...

...to make your own mix-and-match necklace!

The Rock City Pies looked pretty tasty!

The vendor booths just keep going and going in the 15,000 square foot space!

There is a stage with a grand piano in the middle of The Rust Belt Market for live music!

Flint Handmade is considering sponsoring a carpool field trip to Rust Belt sometime in 2012. Email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com if you are interested!

[IN]spire Conference at UM-Flint

2011-11-08T12:29:00.002-05:00

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

On Friday, October 14, 2011, I participated in the [IN]spire Conference at the University of Michigan-Flint hosted by University Outreach's Innovation Incubator.

[IN]spire focused on creativity, innovation and social entrepreneurship. Flint Handmade hosted and information table and I presented in the Creativity & Commerce Track.

Nicole (l) volunteered to help me staff the information table in the morning. Thanks, Nicole!

Cade staffed the table next to us for the Flint River Corridor Alliance...and he proudly showed off his wallet made from neckties that he purchased from Aisle 3 at a Flint Handmade Craft Market! Look for a possible collaboration between Flint Handmade and the Flint River Corridor Alliance in Summer 2012!

Dan was a conference attendee in desperate need of a keychain. Good thing we were handing out FREE Scrabble Tile keychains with the letter "I" for INSPIRE!

Toe helped staff the table in the afternoon. We loved our sunny spot in the atrium.

I spoke on a panel with Chris from Rust Belt Market (l) and Sarah Reed from ART FROM THE HEART. I will be posting a recap of my recent visit to Rust Belt soon, so stay tuned!

Finally, we donated a Knuckles Jute Tote to the Genesee Regional Young Professionals for their networking raffle and Sarah (r) won the tote!

The [IN]spire Conference was very informational and inspiring. It will likely be offered again in 2012 for free. We encourage you to check it out!

SkillShare: Natural Beauty & Cleaning Products

2011-11-03T23:39:00.001-04:00

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

Our last of five SkillShare Workshops, funded by a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, was an OUTSTANDING success!

Holly Slawter of Fiddlebump's Apothecary taught us about natural beauty and cleaning products.

Holly brought a PowerPoint presentation with great information about the potential dangers of the chemicals in our products and the benefits of natural ingredients.

We all dug into our bags to look at the ingredients on our cosmetics. Maureen didn't have a single product...not even lip balm!

Ali was not happy when she discovered all of the potentially dangerous chemicals in her makeup. :(

Holly brought in a bunch of samples of her natural products and Sarah loved the smell of the hemp butter!

The first natural product we made was a sugar scrub. Maureen (l) and Lindsay smile while adding sugar to sunflower oil.

Robert was heading to a Halloween party after SkillShare, so he came in his costume!

I even got to make some products...which I later made my fiancé try out with me! His hands were so soft after using the sugar scrub!

Mary starts making the exfoliating facial mask out of ground raw sugar, honey and lemon juice.

Lunch break! Lindsay smiles with her sandwich from The Lunch Studio.

After lunch, we made hand sanitizer with aloe vera, witch hazel and essential oils. I didn't realize it until later, but some of the hand sanitizer got onto my camera lens and made a few of the photos below sparkle!

Lindsay grates Fels Naptha soap for making laundry detergent and a stain remover.

Everyone holding some of the natural products we made during SkillShare! From left to right: Ali, Holly, Lindsay, Mary, Robert, Maureen.

Lindsay chose a blue tote for her Community Education Toolkit!

Mary chose a red tote! Mary and Holly bonded during the workshop and were cracking each other up, so I had to get a picture of them together. :)

We are so happy to announce the Fiddlebump's Apothecary products are now available in the Flint Handmade Shop inside The Lunch Studio!

All of our SkillShares are now over for Fall 2011, but we hope to offer some of them again in 2012! Keep an eye on our blog for more information!

We wish to express our gratitude to the Ruth Mott Foundation for funding our SkillShare Workshops.

Our participants got to take home many of the supplies used to share their new skills with friends and family and continue the tradition of the domestic arts and crafts of our American cultural heritage.

THANK YOU, RUTH MOTT FOUNDATION!

5th Annual Holiday Craft Market

2011-11-01T08:41:00.000-04:00

Flint Handmade will host the

5th Annual Holiday Craft Market

on Saturday, November 26, 2011

from 10am-4pm at The Masonic Temple

in Downtown Flint!

The Holiday Craft Market will feature a large variety of unique, modern handmade items such as original illustrations, screen-printed shirts for adults and kids, reconstucted jewelry, hand-poured candles, natural soaps, plush toys and much more from 58 vendors!

The first 25 shoppers of the day will receive free goodie bags filled with vendor coupons, merchandise, and other treats.

The Temple Dining Room inside The Masonic Temple will be open for sit-down and take-out lunches from 11am-3pm.

Admission is free for all. Donations welcome.

The Masonic Temple is located at 755 S. Saginaw Street in Downtown Flint, MI 48502.

BECOME a FOUNDING MEMBER of FLINT HANDMADE

and JOIN US at the MEMBERS ONLY PREVIEW!

Friday, November 25, 2011 from 6pm-8pm

New Members Welcome!

For more information on membership, click here!

CALL for VOLUNTEERS!

Interested in volunteering at the Flint Handmade 5th Annual Holiday Craft Market and/or Members Only Preview?

Email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com!

Not Buying It Update 6: Going on Hiatus

2011-10-27T07:09:00.001-04:00

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

Well, life has been insanely busy since I last posted a Not Buying It Update in June.

As you may know, I am now engaged and my fiancé has moved in with me while we take our time building our "forever" house on 10 acres of farmland.

Also, I am currently implementing a grant of almost $5,000 from the Ruth Mott Foundation to offer SkillShare Workshops for Flint Handmade.

And, after a long and arduous appliation process that I have been working on since January, Flint Handmade received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, so we can now accept tax deductible donations AND apply for even larger grants!

With all of these exciting (and time-consuming) life events going on, I just did not make time to track my expenses carefully these past few months. :(

But, I promise that I rarely purchased anything unnecessary. Most my spending has been on groceries, gas, medical expenses, canning supplies, home maintenence/repair and yard/garden supplies. Unfortunately, we also had a few emergencies (e.g. flat tire, broken window, etc.) that required larger outlays of money.

Anyway, with all of these major life changes, I have decided to put Not Buying It on haitus for the time being.

Once Russ and I have established our joint household income/expenses and recordkeeping systems, we plan to reinstate many aspects of Not Buying It in 2012. It's already become part of our lives and we're excited to see how it develops now that we live together!

In the meantime, I do plan to continue posting photos of my completed projects whenever possible. :)

See below for project photos from July, August and September!

JULY RESULTS
Projects Completed: 3

I completed more than 3 projects in July, but these are the only pictures I have.

1) INSTALLED ELEVATED GARDEN WATERING SYSTEM

2) FIXED DRYER

3) SEWED 12 FOOT TABLECLOTH (Shown Folded in Half)

AUGUST RESULTS

Projects Completed: 2

August was very heavy with visiting family and travelling.

My paternal grandmother from Chicago came to visit for a week. Then, Russ and I went to Chicago for two days on a mini-vacation.

But, I still managed to complete 2 crafty projects.

1) MADE 6 COMMISSIONED STAINED GLASS PENDANTS

2) MADE FIRST SET OF CLOTH NAPKINS

SEPTEMBER RESULTS
Projects Completed: 2

Again, many more projects were completed in September (including a major cleaning/organization of my basement), but these pictures will have to do!

1) CANNED 4 JARS OF STRAWBERRY JAM

2) CANNED 3 JARS OF TOMATO BASIL SAUCE

The recipes for above canned goods are in one of my new favorite books called Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English. Ashley's blog, small measure, is also fantastic!

SkillShare: Stained Glass & Mosaics

2011-10-25T11:43:00.005-04:00

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

Our fourth of five SkillShare Workshops, funded by a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, was an AMAZING success!

Jami Anderson of Woolly Thinking taught us about glass mosaics and I led a group project demonstration on stained glass.

Jami (standing) started by telling us about the basics of creating glass mosaics. For this workshop, we used 6 x 6 ceramic flooring tiles from Habitat for Humanity ReStore as our mosaic base. We traced the tile onto the brown craft paper and penciled in design ideas.

Then, we moved over to the glass cutting table.

From right to left: Crystal, Jami, Robert, Erin, Danielle.

To cut straight lines, you first score the glass with a glass cutter as Jan is doing.

Then, you use running pliers to snap the glass in two pieces along the score.

Michelle places her cut pieces on her tile to make sure she likes how they look.

Carolyn (l) and Jen are a mother-and-daugher mosaic-making duo!

Danielle heads back to the kraft paper table and begins gluing her glass pieces to her tile.

Russ volunteered for the workshop and also got to glue a few glass pieces onto a tile.

Once all of our pieces were glued, we had to take a group photo!

From left to right: Jami, Jen, Erin, Carolyn, Ali, Jan, Robert, Nicole, Michelle, Russ, Crystal, Danielle.

Time for a lunch break! Thanks for posing for a silly food pic, Robert!

After lunch, I led a stained glass demo in which we all got to help make a suncatcher that will be auctioned off in the 2012 Cool City Art Auction!

First, I showed everyone how to use a light box to trace your pattern onto glass.

Then, we each got to foil a piece of the glass with copper tape. Russ foiled all of the remaining pieces.

I showed (from l-r) Ali, Nicole, Robert and Michelle how to apply the flux to the copper tape with a paintbrush.

I spot soldered the glass pieces on one side just to hold them in place.

Then, everyone got to take a turn soldering a couple lines on the suncatcher! Jan solders while Michelle and I look on. Russ and I will finish up soldering at a later time, attach a chain and put the piece in the 2012 Cool City Art Auction with all of our names listed as the arists!

Since the glue was dry on our mosaics after the stained glass demo, Jami showed us how to apply the grout between the glass pieces. Erin makes sure to really get her grout into all of the spaces.

Robert had too much fun getting his hands covered in grout!

We let the grout sit for a couple minutes and then used sponges to wipe the grout off the glass. Jen (l) and Carolyn smile with their sponges!

Michelle wets her sponge one last time to clean up her gorgeous mosaic! Everyone took home their tile to dry overnight.

With grout powder still on his hands and face, Robert gives the thumbs up to his Community Education Toolkit so that he can share the skills he learned with friends and colleagues in the community!

Stallings Stained Glass in Swartz Creek generously donated a Glass Patterns magazine and a 10% coupon for three visits for each of the Community Education Toolkits! From left to right: Nicole, Michelle, Ali.

We only have one more SkillShare Workshop, but it is already at maximum capacity!

Our SkillShares have proven to be so popular that we hope to offer some of them again in 2012, especially Stained Glass & Mosaics!

We wish to express our gratitude to the Ruth Mott Foundation for funding our SkillShare Workshops.

Our participants get to take home many of the supplies used to share their new skills with friends and family and continue the tradition of the domestic arts and crafts of our American cultural heritage.

THANK YOU, RUTH MOTT FOUNDATION!

SkillShare: Gardening, Canning & Pickling

2011-10-20T18:18:00.002-04:00

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

Our third of five SkillShare Workshops, funded by a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, was a MAJOR success!

Roxanne Adair and Joanna Lehrman from Flint River Farm taught us about gardening, canning and pickling.

Katie was the first participant to arrive. She was very excited to receive a Community Education Tool-Kit which included a Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, Canning & Pickling Salt and a 4-Piece Canning Utensil Kit.

All participants also received two 10% off coupons on canning supplies at Gill-Roy's Hardware!

Roxanne (l) and Joanna enjoy a hot beverage while going over their notes for the SkillShare.

Lots of canned goodies!

First, we talked about gardening for about an hour. Everyone received a packet of great information from Flint River Farm.

Roxanne drew a diagram of "double-digging" to show us how to prepare our garden without a tiller.

Then, we learned about canning and got to pass around the jars of canned goodies.

The first of TWO group photos!

From left to right: Joanna, Roxanne, Abbey, Katie, Catherine, Tracy, Ali, Jeanette and Robert

Roxanne and Joanna taught us about the difference between water bath canning and pressure canning.

We took a break for lunch...and Jeanette thoroughly enjoyed her french onion sandwich expertly made by Sarah at The Lunch Studio!

Abbey, Tracy, Jeanette and Ali (l-r) chop cabbage for pickling.

Ali, Jeanette and Roxanne (l-r) pack cabbage into jars to make sauerkraut.

We all took a little field trip into the kitchen at The Lunch Studio for a hands-on demonstration!

From left to right: Catherine, Tracy, Robert, Katie, Jeanette, Joanna and Roxanne

Yay, we made sauerkraut...and I finally made it into a photo! :)

From left to right: Crystal, Robert, Tracy, Catherine, Katie, Ali, Jeanette, Joanna and Roxanne

We still have two more SkillShare Workshops, but they are already at maximum capacity!

Our SkillShares have proven to be so popular that we hope to offer some of them again in 2012!

Second Saturday Giveaway: October Winner!

2011-10-18T04:07:00.000-04:00

We want to thank everyone who commented on our October Second Saturday Giveaway featuring Rute Serrels, Michelle White and Sue Ebbs of Friends for Quilting!

The awesome commenters for October were Nicole Stevens, EngelAugen, Crafty Newbie, Michelle Glick, DanielleMW, Brooke Tanner, Susanna Tippett and Jenni.

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 Quilted Accessories is...

...DanielleMW!!! Congratulations!

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

We want to encourage everyone to participate in the next Second Saturday Giveaway to be posted on November 12, 2011!

November craftLAB: Altered Art Papercrafts with Nicole Stevens!

2011-10-13T05:39:00.000-04:00

Join us for a FREE Altered Art Papercrafts Workshop at craftLAB on Sunday, November 6, 2011 from noon-3pm at The Lunch Studio!

Nicole Stevens of Curious Goods will be teaching us basic techniques that can be used to make greeting cards, ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), and/or inchies.

From Left to Right: ATCs, Inchies, Greeting Card
(Photo Credit: Nicole Stevens)

We will have general supplies available, but feel free to bring old magazines, scrapbook paper, markers, stamps or any other specific papercrafting supplies you want to use!

This is going to be a great craftLAB for children, so feel free to bring your kids, your nieces and nephews, your grandkids or the neighbor's kids!

craftLAB Recap: Altoid Tin Mini-Toolboxes

2011-10-11T06:32:00.000-04:00

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

Our FREE craftLAB workshop on Altoid Tin Mini-Toolboxes was a ton of fun! Check out the full tutorial on the Alphamom Blog.

My fiancé, Russ, and I were very excited to lead our first workshop together! We purchased most of the materials for the workshop from Gill-Roy's Hardware, the Michigan-based company where Russ currently works.

I showed Milo how to nail the holes into the lid to prep before priming and spray painting.

Milo also learned how to adjust a wrench to tighten the screws in the handles.

Ali hides behind her toolbox. :)

Milo's mom, Michelle S., had a brilliant idea...she put her Aisle 3 business cards in her toolbox!

After making their toolboxes, Sarah (l) taught Mary how to crochet in the round.

Michelle G. smiles with her Altoid Tin Mini-Toolbox. She later told us that her construction workers husband IMMEDIATELY snagged one of her two toolboxes for his business cards!

If you missed the Altoid Tin Mini-Toolbox craftLAB, you can still get a toolbox!

We are selling the extras for $5 each as a fundraiser for Flint Handmade.

Get them in our Flint Handmade Shop inside The Lunch Studio or at any Flint Handmade event.

Special thanks to Amy of Made With Luv for donating the Altoid Tins!

Second Saturday Giveaway: Win Quilted Accessories from Friends for Quilting!

2011-10-08T09:50:00.000-04:00

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

For our October Second Saturday giveaway, we are featuring Rute Serrels, Michelle White and Sue Ebbs of Friends for Quilting!

This is Sue, Rute and Michelle (l-r) in Rute's quilting room on the second floor of her house.

You may recognize Rute and Michelle...they taught our Quilting & Sewing SkillShare!

Rute also had three quilts in our 2011 Flint Festival of Quilts Exhibition called "The Multi-Generational Appeal of Quilts."

I asked Rute to tell me about her craftroom:

"It starts with a spare room...accessible only to an occasional visit from our children and/or hubbies. :)

The space also serves as a showroom for displaying our work (completed or in progress), with a very adaptable sewing space, depending on the number of us in the room and of course, the size of the project(s) at hand.

One very important thing – the door is always open to someone offering a nice piece of cake or glass of wine to some very hard working quilters!"

The ladies have come up with an ingenious way for displaying their work...inexpensive vinyl tablecloths!

When mounted with the vinyl side touching the wall, the felt-like back side acts a clingy material and small quilted pieces stick right to it!

Rute also uses a jewelry stand to display the Friends for Quilting fabric keychains and ornaments.

The jewelry stand lives on Rute's 3 x 3 cubbie...so many crafter have these wonderful cubbies!

I asked Rute, who is originally from Portugal, how she got into crafting:

"In part, it’s a tradition passed down from generation to generation. Curiosity is another big reason. It can also start with an old sewing machine that is only used on occasion for a hem or ripped stitch, and a young girl’s curiosity.

It is like leaving a stack of paper and some crayons at the reach of a child’s hands. Next thing you know, it’s all about color and smiles!"

Rute told me that she learned how to sew on an old treadle machine her family kept on a balcony in Portugal. Her mom thought the machine was dangerous and forbid Rute to use it...so Rute had to sneak outside to sew when her mother was sleeping!

Now, Rute has a nice, new modern sewing machine, which she considers one of her favorite craft tools.

The sewing machine lives on a fantastic modular sewing cabinet by Arrow Cabinets with several fold-out work surfaces that neatly tuck back in to save floor space.

Another of Rute's favorite craft tools is iron-on batting, which I had never heard of before.

I learned that you can now purchase batting with adhesive on one side that can be ironed to the back side of a quilt top to make layering a building a quilt much easier.

The Friends for Quilting ladies were full of great tips like this!

Another tip: When binding a quilt, sew the binding to the back side of the layered pieces and wrap it around to the front. Use a decorative stitch on your machine to secure the binding to the front, which saves all of the time and labor or hand-finishing a quilt.

If you look closely at the above photo of the quilted candy cane hot pad, you can see the decorative stitch on the inside edge of the binding.

As you may be able to tell, Rute was starting to prepare for her holiday sewing when I visited. She had just made the above door hanger decoration.

I suggested that she could put some dried herbs or essential oils in the hanger to make it scented...finally, I was offer to able a good idea to the brilliant Friends for Quilting!

I asked Rute how they came up with their company name:

"Once upon a time, there were three very nice girls with many things in common, two of them being the love for sewing and friendship = Friends for Quilting!"

Rute, Michelle and Sue used work together and became friends when they realized they all loved to quilt.

They knew they had to be friends when it turned out that the sewing book that Rute had in Portuguese was the EXACT SAME book that Michelle had in English...just goes to show how sharing our creativity can bring us all together!

I asked the ladies what they like to listen to or think about or watch while they craft:

"We’ll answer with another question – what do you think 3 nice girls chat about when they get together?

Our children, our hubbies…life! And, there is usually music playing in the background."

Here are photos of each of these "three nice girls" in Rute's craftroom:

Rute Serrels

Michelle White

Sue Ebbs

My final question for the ladies was about what projects they would like to work on in the future:

"We would like to elaborate on our machine quilting techniques. We need “fancier” equipment and more time.

We mostly want to continue having fun together and growing our friendship stronger!"

Well, after chatting with them for a while, I can say that these ladies definitely know how to have fun and we are so excited to have some of their amazing quilted pieces for our giveaway!

Friends for Quilting donated a quilted bag, eyeglasses case and keychain in a white gift bag.

For YOUR chance to win these Quilted Accessories (valued at $50), 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, October 15, 2011 answering the following 2 questions:

1) How do you follow Flint Handmade?

2) What kind of quilt would YOU like to make?

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 October Second Saturday Giveaway!

SPECIAL NOTE: We are accepting submissions for our 2012 Flint Festival of Quilts Exhibition called "My Favorite Things." We hope all of your new and experienced quilters out there will participate!

SkillShare: Quilting & Sewing

2011-10-06T17:41:00.004-04:00

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

Our second of five SkillShare Workshops, funded by a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, was a HUGE success!

Rute and Michelle (standing, l-r) from Friends for Quilting taught us the basics of quilting and sewing at The Lunch Studio.

We all received a Community Education Tool-Kit in a Flint Handmade grocery tote with a tomato pincushion and a book on making fresh, modern quilts. Jenni picked a red tote bag. :)

First, we used colored pencils to color in our quilt block design that Rute created. Coloring helped Sue, Erin, Gloria, Maureen (l-r) and the rest of us decide what color fabrics we wanted to use.

Then, we actually selected our fabrics. Jean (l) and Marie hold up some of the great fabrics we had available.

Rute showed us all how to cut our fabrics using a rotary cutter, self-healing mat and a quilting ruler.

Michelle (r) worked with Sue to cut her fabric.

After pinning our fabric pieces together, we finally got to start sewing! Sue sews her pinned pieces in a chain stitch, feeding them in one after the next.

Maureen was the first person to sew her triangles into rectangles and then sew the rectangles together to make squares.

Sue was so proud of her block with the black and white mitered border! She had to leave early, but her new quilting book will help her complete her block!

Dana pinned her block to batting and backing and took it home to put on the finishing touches.

Erin (l) and Maureen were the first two people to finish their blocks! Erin was our most novice quilter and Maureen was our most experienced participant, but thanks to help from Rute and Michelle, they were both able to finish around the same time.

Happy Quilters Group Photo!

Back Row (l-r): Sarah, Jonah, Rute, Jean, Marie, Maureen, Crystal

Front Row (l-r): Alpha, Andrea, Erin, Gloria

For more photos, visit our SkillShare: Quilting & Sewing Flickr Set.

We still have three more workshops scheduled!

View the complete list at our original SkillShare Blog Post and email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com if you would like to register.

NOTE: The Stained Glass & Mosaics SkillShare is already at maximum capacity.

We wish to express our gratitude to the Ruth Mott Foundation for funding our SkillShare Workshops.

Our participants get to take home all of the supplies used to share their new skills with friends and family and continue the tradition of the domestic arts and crafts of our American cultural heritage.

THANK YOU, RUTH MOTT FOUNDATION!

Become a Founding Member of Flint Handmade!

2011-10-04T06:06:00.000-04:00

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

I have extremely exciting news to share!

After a long application process that I have been working on since January with assistance from the Wayne State University Small Business and NonProfit Legal Clinic...

...FLINT HANDMADE is now an OFFICAL 501(c)(3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION!

Donations to Flint Handmade are now TAX DEDUCTIBLE and we can apply for LARGE GRANTS!

To celebrate, we are launching our FIRST EVER MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN!

For a donation of $25 or more from now until December 31, 2011, YOU can become a FOUNDING MEMBER of Flint Handmade!

Members are donors who received special benefits and incentives including:

Craft Advocate Level ($25-$49/year)

20% Discount on FH Knuckles Merchandise
Early Admission/Previews of Certain FH Events
Members Only Raffles and Drawings
Invitation to Annual Members Only Craft Social
FH Member Table Sign (For Members who Vend)

Craft Innovator Level ($50-$99/year)

All Benefits Listed Above Plus:
$5 Gift Certificate for FH Knuckles Merchandise
Listing on FH Website with Bio/Website/Etc.
Reduced Rate on Vendor Fees (If Selected to Vend)

Craft Visionary Level ($100+/year)

All Benefits Listed Above Plus:
$10 Gift Certificate for FH Knuckles Merchandise
Handmade Item Valued at $10+ from Local Crafter
Invitation to Join FH Advisory Council

AND, by becoming a FOUNDING MEMBER at ANY LEVEL, YOU will receive a limited edition chrome-finished, laser-engraved keychain in a gift box ONLY available to members who join between now and December 31, 2011!

To download our Membership Brochure, CLICK HERE!

If you have any questions, please email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com.

WE HOPE YOU WILL BECOME A MEMBER!!!

Seeking Quilts for "My Favorite Things" Exhibition!

2011-09-29T07:20:00.001-04:00

Flint Handmade is now accepting submissions for the 2012 Flint Festival of Quilts!

(Yes, we realize it is VERY early to be posting this call for submissions, but quilts ALWAYS come in at the last minute and we're trying to avoid that chaos next year!)

We are seeking small scale quilted pieces to display at The Lunch Studio! Quilts can be newly made or well-worn and well-loved!

We will feature an eclectic mix of quilts centered on the theme of My Favorite Things.

ALL crafters are encouraged to submit small scale quilted pieces showcasing their favorite animals, activities, colors, pattern, ideas and more!

(With SO MUCH advance notice, you have time to make a SPECIAL quilt just for the 2012 Festival of Quilts!)

A variety of traditional and non-traditional materials in a wide array of textures and patchwork styles will be showcased in quilted form.

If you would like to display a quilt, please email a photo and brief description of the piece(s) to flinthandmade@hotmail.com by 5pm on Friday, August 17, 2012. <---THE EARLIER THE BETTER!!!

Even if you just have an idea for a quilt you would like to make, please email us so that we know you are interested!

This is a FREE FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE showcase. At least one piece per person will be automatically accepted, provided it fits with theme of My Favorite Things.

Greater Flint Arts Council
Flint Festival of Quilts
Various Locations in Downtown Flint
September 13-15, 2012 from 9am-5pm

For more information and photos, check out our blog posts from our previous Flint Festival of Quilts exhibitions at The Lunch Studio:

2009 - Contemporary Fiber Art
2010 - Progressive Patchwork: Eclectic and Eco-Aware Quilts
2011 - The Multi-Generational Appeal of Quilts

We are also looking for a volunteer to make and donate a quilted zipper pouch for our free raffle at the 2012 Festival of Quilts. Email us if you are interested!

The quilt pictured above was made by Lish Dorset of Handmade Detroit and featured in the 2011 Festival of Quilts. Read more about Lish's quilt on her blog, My Vintage Kitschen.

SkillShare: Spinning Yarn, Knitting & Crocheting

2011-09-27T20:15:00.000-04:00

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

Our first SkillShare Workshop, funded by a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, was a success!

Cathy from Ewe to You Yarn Shop in Grand Blanc and her assistant, Robin, taught us the basics of spinning yarn, knitting and crocheting in the back room of The Lunch Studio.

Future workshops will be in the main room of The Lunch Studio, but due to the popularity of Bikes on the Bricks downtown on the same day, we had to use the back room.

Fortunately, we all fit...and, several bikers all decked out in full riding gear poked their head into the room to see what we were all doing! A lot of them thought it was pretty cool!

We all received a Community Education Tool-Kit in a Flint Handmade grocery tote with a book on knitting, a book on crocheting, knitting needles, a crochet hook, a small skein of cotton yarn and a drop spindle made from a CD!

Our first lesson was in casting on for knitting. Robin (standing) teaches Danielle and Robin C. (sitting, l-r) how to cast on.

We used two different color yarns to practice our stitches.

Cathy and Robin (standing, l-r) help Danielle and Robin C. (sitting, l-r) learn the basics of knitting.

Danielle makes good progress on her yellow dishcloth.

I actually learned how to knit, too! Here's the beginnings of my turquoise dishcloth. I had to make up a little song to remember the steps: "Knit. Wrap-a-dee. Pull it through. Push it off."

Maureen was a more advanced knitter, so she got to practice special stitches. Good work, Maureen!

The two Robin's work on Robin C.'s (left) bright green dishcloth.

Lunch is provided at all SkillShare Workshops! See how excited Maureen is about her delicious sandwich?!?!

After lunch, Cathy taught us how to spin yarn using a drop spindle made from a dowel rod, a cd and a small hook. Robin C. looks on with a layer on roving over her shoulder to prepare to spin.

Danielle and her drop spindle!

Finally, the part of the workshops I was most excited about...spinning on a spinning wheel! Cathy shows me how to draft (thin out) the roving and spin it onto the bobbin. It took time and patience, but I finally got the hang of it!

Spinning turns roving (top skein) into yarn (bottom skein).

Maureen was a natural at spinning!

While Cathy taught us spinning on the wheel, Robin gave a quick lession in crocheting. The workshop lasted 5 hours, but the time flew by!

Happy, crafty ladies showing off their handiwork at the end of a very productive SkillShare Workshop!

We still have four more workshops scheduled!

View the complete list at our original SkillShare Blog Post and email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com if you would like to register.

We wish to express our gratitude to the Ruth Mott Foundation for funding our SkillShare Workshops.

Our participants get to take home all of the supplies used to share their new skills with friends and family and continue the tradition of the domestic arts and crafts of our American cultural heritage.

THANK YOU, RUTH MOTT FOUNDATION!

Second Saturday Giveaway: September Winner!

2011-09-22T06:26:00.000-04:00

We want to thank everyone who commented on our Second Saturday Second Saturday Giveaway featuring Lish Dorset of Handmade Detroit!

The awesome commenters for August were Carrie B, Vickie, Emily Elizabeth, i might be Amy, Christine's Beadworks, Aisle 3, Susanna Tippett, Michelle Glick, Jenn B, Nicole Stevens, Mary P, Jan, April, Missy Healey.

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 Fiskars Tools is...

...Emily Elizabeth!!! Congratulations!

Emily Elizabeth, send us an email at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we will make arrangements for you to receive your Fiskars Tools! You have 30 days to claim your prize. :)

We want to encourage everyone to participate in the next Second Saturday Giveaway to be posted on October 8, 2011!

Flint Handmade SkillShare: A Series of Workshops to Reintroduce the Domestic Arts and Crafts of Our American Cultural Hertitage

2011-09-20T06:51:00.001-04:00

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

Thanks to a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, Flint Handmade will be offering a series of workshops on Saturday afternoons to reintroduce the domestic arts and crafts of our American cultural hertitage.

September 24: Spinning Yarn, Knitting & Crocheting
with Cathy Mashburn from Ewe to You Yarns

October 1: Quilting & Sewing
with Rute Serrels from Friends for Quilting

October 15: Gardening, Canning & Pickling
with Joanna Lehrman and Roxanne Adair from Flint River Farm

October 22: Stained Glass & Mosaics
with Jami Anderson from Woolly Thinking

October 29: Natural Beauty & Cleaning Products
with Holly Slawter from Fiddlebump's Apothecary

All workshops are from 10am-3pm at The Lunch Studio in Downtown Flint.

These workshops will provide an opportunity for participants to connect with each other and engage in a meaningful and productive creative experience.

Upon completion of a workshop, each participant will receive a Flint Handmade SkillShare Community Education Toolkit with supplies and materials to continue the dialogue and share their new skills with friends, family and colleagues.

Workshops are $10 each. All supplies and lunch are provided. Space is limited to 10 participants per workshop.

Registration is REQUIRED. Email flinthandmade@hotmail.com to register.

Moveable Type: Cross-Country Letterpress Truck Recap!

2011-09-15T07:26:00.000-04:00

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

In the summer of 2010, I learned about Kickstarter.com.

Kickstarter is a website that allows individuals to post electronic fundraising pitches for their creative projects. Visitors to the site can then become financial "backers" of those projects in exchange for special rewards.

As a micro-philanthropist particularly interested in art and craft, I felt an immediate connection with this website. What an awesome way to find out about and support creative folks all over the country!

Then, in November of 2010, I found Kyle Durrie's Kickstarter Project...and fell in love with the idea of a young woman striking it out on her own for a cross-country tour of the United States in a truck outfitted with letterpress equipment! I immediately became a backer of Kyle's project in exchange for 5 letterpress postcards mailed to me from her travels.

Now, here we are almost a year later and I am so excited that Flint Handmade was able to bring Kyle and her Moveable Type Truck to the Flint Farmer's Market on Tuesday, September 13, 2011!

Kyle Durrie shows off the awesomeness that is her Moveable Type Truck!

The truck in all of its glory at the Flint Famers' Market!

Becky hops on the truck!

Kyle made a very special "Flint: The Vehicle City" print just for us!

Kyle introduces us to the art of letterpress printing.

Tyler smiles at her "I GOT YER e-BOOK RIGHT HERE" bookmark!

Maria from d'Vine Wines in the Farmer's Market took a break to make her very own print.

Hayley with her print in front of the Moveable Type Truck!

Kyle shows Rachel and Harrison how to ink the letters.

Jim from the Flint Farmer's Market records Kyle talking about her presses.

Jessica, Mary and Penelope (l-r): Moms, Grandmas and Babies LOVE Moveable Type!

Crissy (l) and Bethany smile with their prints. And, at just 3 months old, we're pretty sure Roy was the youngest person in attendance!

Yaz shows off all of her great prints!

Kyle shows Connor how to ink the letters.

Kyle watches as Sam from Buckham Gallery lines up the letters.

Harrison (l) and Jaden: Cute kids with a letterpress print in the truck...'nuff said!

Of course, we had to give Kyle a Flint Handmade Knuckles shirt....and I had to have my picture taken with her wearing it!

Kyle's map in the truck shows all of the places she has been...see the red pin marking Flint?!?

One last photo of the truck near the Flint Farmer's Market sign!

For more photos, visit our Moveable Type Flickr Set.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OF OUR

GENEROUS MOVEABLE TYPE SPONORS:

The Creative Alliance

Mott Community College

Pepperdine & Bedford

Greater Flint Arts Council

The Handmade Gift Guide

Flint Knits

Buckham Gallery

The Multi-Generational Appeal of Quilts

2011-09-13T08:26:00.000-04:00

Flint Handmade participated in the Flint Festival of Quilts on September 8, 9, and 10, 2011!

Our exhibition was called "The Multi-Generational Appeal of Quilts" and featured a wide range of quilts made in the 20th and 21st centuries by members of the same family. The styles and patterns of the quilts varied greatly, but they shared the common thread of having been loved across generations.

Check out the pics and descriptions from our exhibition guide!

1. Moda Fabric Honey Bun Quilt by Lish Dorset (2011, NFS)

“My great-grandmother saved my grandmother's dresses once she was done with them in the 1920s and 1930s. Coming off of the Depression, she saved them all and turned them into quilting fabric. This line of fabric reminds me of her with the fun patterns and colors.”

Lish Dorset likes to craft. A lot. She writes for Craft Magazine (blog.craftzine.com), helps out at Maker Faire (makerfaire.com), and is 1/5 of Handmade Detroit (handmadedetroit.com).

2. My Quilt from Memaw by Michelle Marie Glick (c. 1976, NFS)

“This quilt was made for me before I was born by my Memaw, my dad’s grandmother. She was a migrant worker from Mexico, who never learned to speak English, but worked the fields well into her 60s. She very often made her quilts from people’s discarded clothes or traded work for material to make everything from quilts to clothes.”

Michelle Marie Glick is a local crafter, massage therapist and mother. She attends almost all Flint Handmade craftLABs and loves telling funny stories about her 2-year-old son, Malakai.

3 & 4. Family Quilts by Stevie Naeyaert
Stevie Naeyaert is an interpreter training faculty member at Mott Community College and mother to Tyler Naeyaert of Flint Zombie Walk Thriller Fame. She quilted for years and is now enamored with photography and photo manipulation. Contact her through www.stevienae.moonfruit.com for info and pricing on custom digitizing of your child’s drawings for quilting.

3. Child's Drawings/Embroidered Quilt (2006, NFS)
“The Child's Drawings/Embroidered Quilt was made Summer 2006 during a Deaf Quilters Retreat in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My son, Tyler, made the drawings the year before. I scanned and digitized it and put it together. It was so much fun.

I've been quilting since graduating from college in 1991. Moving back home from DC to Flint was a bit of a shock. The deaf community in DC is huge and vibrant…and pretty much non-existent here in Flint. So, I took up quilting to help stave off boredom! When my son was born in 2000, I started looking for ways to incorporate stuff for or by him in my work.”

4. Button Up Play Quilt (c. 2001, NFS)

“The button up play quilt was made around 2001, when my son was a baby. I thought it would be a fun/educational play quilt with family names embroidered on the back, but never got it done. My son is almost 11 now. He did play with the buttons as a baby, though.”

5. The Conlen Flower Quilt by Victoria Ross Conlen, Crystal Pepperdine and Russ Bedford (2011, NFS)
“When I first met Russ’ grandparents, Robert and Audrey Conlen, we talked about the Flint Festival of Quilts. His grandfather recalled an unfinished quilt that his own mother, Victoria Ross Conlen (1887-1971), had started in the 1950s. Sure enough, there were 12 completed blocks each measuring 15" x 15" and lovingly handstitched with pink and green flowers. I couldn't let this gorgeous quilt remain undone, so I asked if I could finish it and they gave their blessing.

I was practically a stranger to them, but they trusted me to take a family heirloom and I felt very special. I think they must have known that Russ and I would be together. ..just three months after I received the quilt blocks, Russ and I became engaged! We have been working on the quilt together since March and finished it just in time to display in the Flint Festival of Quilts.” –CP

Crystal Pepperdine is the Executive Director of Flint Handmade. She and her fiancé, Russ Bedford, have recently launched a line of fine handcrafted goods called Pepperdine & Bedford (www.pepperdineandbedford.etsy.com).

Russ Bedford currently works at a hardware store and is an aspiring rural and urban homesteader. Shortly after meeting Crystal, he started hand-piecing a quilt with blocks cut from thrifted bed linens. They are planning to get married within a year.

6. Great-Grandma Bedford’s Quilt by Lillian Lenore “Leona” Smith Bedford (c. 1950s, NFS)

This quilt was passed down to Russ Bedford and Crystal Pepperdine by Audrey Conlen, Russ’ paternal grandmother. Audrey’s first husband, Harry Bedford (1928-1963), was Russ Bedford’s biological paternal grandfather.

Harry’s mother went by the nickname “Leona” and made many, many quilts for their family cottage. Leona made a quilt for each of her daughters, including Audrey, who has now passed down her quilt to her grandson and his soon-to-be wife.

7, 8 & 9. Three Collaborative Quilts by Valerie Clarke, Mary Whaley and Jessica Kroeger
Mary Whaley makes and collects quilts. She and her daughter, Jessica Kroeger, are currently collaborating on hats and headwear (www.hatsallcaps.etsy.com).

Valerie Clarke of NYC is a long-time friend of Mary Whaley. Valerie is curator of a quilt collection honoring the Red Berets, a group of women activists in the Flint Sit-Down Strike. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the event and the quilts will be exhibited at the Flint Public Library during the month of December.

7. Doll Quilt by Valerie Clarke and Jessica Kroeger (1992, NFS)

“Valerie brought her sewing machine on vacation at St. George's Island, Florida, where we rented a house on the beach. We hand-pieced and hand-quilted this quilt as a handmade souvenir from our trip.” –MW

8. Indian Wedding Ring by Mary Whaley and Valerie Clarke (Date Unknown, NFS)

“I machine-pieced the one center block and gave it to Valerie. She hand-quilted it on a frame and returned the completed quilt.” –MW

9. Green Medallion by Valerie Clarke, Mary Whaley and Jessica Kroeger (2000, NFS)
“Years after we all pieced the center block on St. George's Island in 1992, I added leftover blocks from later quilts for the corners. I think of this as my waiting room quilt. I lap-quilted it as my father was being treated for cancer.” –MW

10, 11 & 12. Well-Loved Quilts from My Grandmother by Christina Phillips-Wasberg (1930s/1940s/1981, NFS)
“My grandmother, Lottie May Phillips-Eatmon, was born in 1931 and made all three of these quilts. Her family was very poor and, back then, you didn’t go out and buy blankets. You made the quilts with fabric scraps you had on hand with help from other family members.

With the help of her grandmother, Charlotte Perry, my grandmother made the blue-backed quilt (#10) in the early 1930s and the yellow-backed quilt (#11) in the late 1940s. She made the third quilt (#12) for her as-yet-unborn first grandchild while she was in the hospital in 1981 right before she died. I was born in 1984 and just happened to be the first grandchild.”

Chris Phillips-Wasberg handcrafts knitted garments for all ages under her business name of Teapot Knitting. You can contact her at teapot.knitting@gmail.com.

13. Mom’s Legacy by Regina (O’Flynn) (Peterson) Meurer (2006, NFS)
“My mom, Martha O’Flynn, was a lifelong crafter. Having grown up in Mississippi, she learned to use what she had and wasted very little. When could no longer crochet or knit, she started quilting.

Mom taught my sisters and me to sew when we were young. So in the early 1990s, when she started to quilt, I thought I’d try something simple. Well, it wasn’t so simple, but I finished the block and mailed it down to her from Marquette to her home in Lennon.

Over the next few years we continued to send blocks back and forth. I was new school using the rotary cutter, and she was old school, using templates and spring loaded scissors.

In April of 1997, Mom passed away and I RESCUED 16 finished quilt tops and several cut tops still in shoe boxes. I finished this quilt for my queen size bed, using my Grace Frame, cotton batting and fabric I purchased at a thrift store. Mom taught me well! If you look closely, you will find her initials and mine sewn in some of the dark solid pieces.

After I put it on my bed, my Labrador Tyson and his son Monty, were not behaving, so I locked them up in my room. As you can see, that wasn’t such a bright idea! Even though the dogs are no longer with me, I’ll always remember them when I look at the quilt and always be wrapped in my mother’s love when I’m under it.

I love and miss you, Mom.”

Regina Meurer was born in Durand, coming to Flint just last year. When she is not quilting and crocheting she is either cooking or reading. She is multi-talented, but cannot knit to save her life.

14, 15 & 16. Quilts for Beds and Cribs by Rute Serrels

Rute Serrels is originally from Portugal. She moved to the United States with her American husband in 2004. She makes a variety of quilted goods under the name Friends for Quilting with her friends, Michelle White and Sue Ebbs. Find them at http://www.friendsforquilting.etsy.com/.

14. MOSAIC Bed Spread (2006, NFS)

“I used blue and white blocks for this quilt for traditional ‘Portuguese tile’ colors. I have always found Portuguese traditional to be absolutely beautiful and wanted to bring a little bit of ‘home’ to my home.”

15. A DAY IN TOWN Twin Size Quilt (2009, NFS)

“My son, Diego, was upgrading his bedroom from a toddler to a little boys’ room and we needed a new quilt for his new big boy bed. He loves cars and trains and these are the fabrics he selected. I think he did a beautiful job!”

16. SAIL AWAY Crib Quilt (2007, NFS)

“My son’s first theme for his bedroom was a maritime theme. When I found the pattern for the block used on this quilt, I absolutely loved it, and then chose the pastel colors of blue and yellow.

The appliqué pieces (fish, lighthouse, etc.) were a must to give it a punch of color. They were sewn by hand using a blanket stitch.”

17. Grandma’s Quilt by Teresa Weaver (2009, NFS)
“My grandmother, Mary Perdomo, made the top for this baby quilt many years ago. I found it two years ago when I was sorting through her things and finished it as a birthday gift to another family member.

Grandma was very resourceful, so I'm sure she used whatever materials she could find. Some of the fabrics in the top feel like polyester and some feel like cotton. I used cotton fabric for the back, cotton thread for the quilting, and a light polyester batting.

My grandmother is the one who inspired me to start quilting many years ago. We lived many miles apart for most of my life, so we never got to work on a project together. She is still alive and lives nearby now, but she is slowly failing. Finding her quilt top and finishing the quilt to pass on in the family was a way for us to share in the making of a quilt. We were also able to be together to present it to one of her great-granddaughters as a birthday gift. To me, it was like a legacy that had come full circle.”

Mary Perdomo enjoys sewing and created quilts many years ago for each of her seven grandchildren.

Teresa Weaver, one of her granddaughters, continues the quilting tradition and has been making quilts for family and friends for over a decade.

Second Saturday Giveaway: Win Fiskars Tools from Lish of Handmade Detroit!

2011-09-10T13:38:00.001-04:00

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

For our September Second Saturday Giveaway, we are featuring Lish Dorset, who is one of the 5 founding members of Handmade Detroit!

This is Lish in the sewing corner of her gorgeous dedicated craftroom!

I asked Lish to tell me about her space:

"I think I've finally got the workspace I've always wanted!

In apartments, it's really difficult to have a functional craft space if you're not lucky enough to have spare bedroom to use. My last apartment finally had a second, smaller room, so I was happy to use it. It was cute, but not quite as cute as my new space.

My boyfriend, Nick, just built me a fantastic multi-purpose table that he's been brainstorming for months. It's the focus of the room now. I love how much light my space gets being in the front of the house.

I focused on making nooks - my desk has odds-and-ends in it...

...my dad's childhood desk serves as my sewing station...

...an old craft fair rack now holds scrap fabric...

...and we've got three full bookcases with everything from computing programming manuals to my Martha Stewart reference collection."

Lish definitely has an enviable collection of crafty books...I want them all!

Lish also has the most adorable cat named Ronnie. Ronnie likes to "help" by lying around on unfinished craft projects. ;)

Lately, Lish has been making quilts like the one pictured above, but she dabbles in all kinds of crafts. I asked her how she got into crafting:

"Ever since I was little, I loved art, whether it was art class or spending hours with a coloring book. My parents are very creative, so it's always been a part of my life.

When I was in high school, I started making own jewelry because I didn't like anything I saw at the stores. I went to Beads SRO in Royal Oak and asked the owner if she would teach me how to use the tools if I bought all my beads there. She agreed - that's what really made me feel 'crafty' for the first time."

Lish also blogs a lot about all things crafty for Craft and her own blog:

"My blog is called My Vintage Kitschen. I adore collecting vintage home items, ESPECIALLY kitchen goods.

Friends always comment on how much fun it is to just look at all the knick-knacks I have in our house, so "kitsch" seemed like the right way to spell kitchen!

Lish really does have MANY vintage knick-knacks related to cooking...check out her massive Pyrex collection above!

Lish may draw inspiration from her colorful knick-knacks, but rotary tools and cutters are her favorite craft tool. She says:

"My sewing projects have really improved because of these!"

Of course, there will always be a place in Lish's heart for her Janome Hello Kitty sewing machine!

Finally, I asked Lish what projects she would like to work on in the future:

"Bigger quilts. I have one kit I finished from Guildcrafters in Berkley that's huge [pictured above], and I was proud to see it done.

I need to have it quilted, as it's too big for me to do with my small machine, so I'm hoping I can learn to stop letting that intimidate me from bigger projects."

I snapped one last photo of Lish in her craftroom...with Ronnie still lounging on the project table!

Lish usually gives away her crafts as gifts nowadays, so she decided to donate something different for the giveaway:

"I've included two Fiskars 45mm Rotary Cutters - these are great go-to tools to have in your workspace. I've also included a Fiskars Thread Snip. I keep this next to my sewing machine as it's great from trimming loose ends as you work on a project."

For YOUR chance to win the Fiskars Tools (valued at $45), 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, September 17, 2011 answering the following 2 questions:

1) How do you follow Flint Handmade?

2) What is your favorite crafty blog? Remember to include the URL! (And, to be fair, you can't pick My Vintage Kitschen, Craft, Handmade Detroit or Flint Handmade. We already know you love these blogs!)

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 September Second Saturday Giveaway!

Flint Festival of Quilts THIS WEEKEND!

2011-09-08T08:25:00.000-04:00

Our 3rd annual exhibition for the Flint Festival of Quilts will be at The Lunch Studio from 9am-5pm today, tomorrow and Saturday!

The theme for 2011 is "The Multi-Generational Appeal of Quilts" and features 17 quilts made in the 20th and 21st centuries made by members of the same family.

For more information, check out this great article by Jessica Strachan of The Flint Journal: Flint Festival of Quilts Preview: How Quilts Have Come to be an Artistic Staple in the City!

New FH Knuckles Stickers in Blue and Red!

2011-09-06T09:41:00.000-04:00

Get your brand new FH Knuckles stickers

in RED or BLUE at The Lunch Studio

and all Flint Handmade events!

FREE! FREE! FREE!

2011 Holiday Craft Market Application NOW AVAILABLE!

2011-09-01T00:05:00.001-04:00

The 5th Annual Flint Handmade

Holiday Craft Market will be on Saturday,

November 26, 2011 from 10am-4pm

at The Masonic Temple in Downtown Flint!

Visit flinthandmade.com and click on APPLY NOW

to complete the brief online application!

September is National Sewing Month!

2011-08-30T13:03:00.000-04:00

The Sewing & Craft Alliance in partnership with the American Sewing Guild are announcing a contest for September as National Sewing Month!

2011 National Sewing Month Sew for the Love of It! Contest Details

"Show us what YOU love to sew! You choose the project, whether it’s an article of clothing, a toy, something for your home, an accessory, a quilt, or even an item for your car or boat. Whatever you decide to create, show your love with a [HEART] within the project.

It can be heart fabric, a pillow shaped like a heart, heart embroidery, heart-shaped pockets – it’s completely up to you. The item you enter must be hand-crafted and utilize fabric, thread and sewing machine and there MUST be a visible heart somewhere on the project itself.

Whatever you choose to sew, just make sure we see the expression of your love of sewing!"

Visit NationalSewingMonth.org to enter! You could win one of three sewing-themed gift baskets chock full of notions, patterns, books and more!

We Need Crafty Quotes!

2011-08-25T07:46:00.000-04:00

Flint Handmade is looking for crafty quotes!

If you know of a quote about crafts, art, creativity, imagination or another other inspiring topic, please leave it in a comment below or email it to us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com.

Please be sure to attribute the quote if possible. Anonymous quotes are acceptable.

Quotes will be used on our Facebook on Thursdays and for other fun Flint Handmade projects!

Second Saturday Giveaway: August Winner!

2011-08-23T12:48:00.000-04:00

We want to thank everyone who commented on our August Second Saturday Giveaway featuring Crystal Pepperdine of Pepperdine & Bedford!

The awesome commenters for August were Mary, Nayyirah, Dana Woolcock, Emily Freeman, DesiAnima, Jen, April and KC.

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 Stained Glass Pendant is...

...Nayyirah!!! Congratulations!

Nayyirah, send us an email at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we will make arrangements for you to receive your Stained Glass Pendant! You have 30 days to claim your prize. :)

We want to encourage everyone to participate in the next Second Saturday Giveaway to be posted on September 10, 2011!

No September craftLAB, but Altoid Tin Mini-Toolboxes in October!

2011-08-18T15:17:00.000-04:00

There will not be craftLAB on Sunday, September 4 in observance of Labor Day.

Join us on Sunday, October 2, 2011 for a FREE WORKSHOP on transforming Altoid Tins into Mini-Toolboxes!

And don't forget to stop by the Flint Farmers' Market on Tuesday, September 13 from Noon-5pm for the Moveable Type Truck!