Handmade Detroit Valentine Craft Meetup Recap

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

Much love to Handmade Detroit for hosting a Valentine Craft Meetup in Birmingham on Tuesday!  Sarah and I drove down from Flint to hang with our friends in Metro Detroit.

We met in a well-appointed, modern community space at Urbane on Adams Apartments.  Lots of lighting, work tables, comfy chairs and outlets...perfect for a crafting social circle!

About 15 crafters showed up to work on a variety of projects: making valentines, embroidery, knitting, papercrafting, sewing and crocheting. 



MAKING VALENTINES 

 Martha Stewart Crafts donated a bunch of Valentine supplies to Handmade Detroit.  Score!

Michelle used some of Martha's awesome punches to make Valentine hearts.

Shelli (left) crafted a cute pink Valentine with a flock of red and white bird cutouts while her son, Oliver, made an adorable blue Valentine with lots of heart punches.

EMBROIDERY

Sarah of yarnscratch embroidered a cat pattern that she got at the Flint Handmade Craft Supply Swap in August 2010!

Nicole went a little bonkers trying to get a knot out of her embroidery floss! :)

Jackie worked on a force-fastic Yoda embroidery transfer.  ;) 

KNITTING

Katherine was knitting a wraparound shawl with a button in the back...which she used to hide her cutie face from the camera!

Crystal was using the prettiest purple yarn for her knitting project.

PAPERCRAFTING

Lori of Basement Art Creations punched out circles of her own photographs for glass goodies.

Bethany of Reware Vintage and Handmade Detroit was making cards from vintage sheet music.

 

Jill stamped her spiffy self-designed FRAGILE stamps on her mailing envelopes for Barrel of Monkeys.

Austin of AusGerCo cut up a Dirty Dancing calendar for a yet-to-be determined craft project...very intriguing!

Shawn of Shawn K. Knight (Graphic Design) made a list.  Now, a list may not sound like much, but we creatives need to make sure we get our gazillions of project ideas out of our heads and onto paper, so listmaking is super productive!

SEWING  

Lish of My Vintage Kitschen and Handmade Detroit brought her sewing machine...

...and sewed a sweet apron start to finish!

CROCHETING 

Veronica of ASTA Crochet rocked some sassy boots and some classy yarn!

As I was talking to Veronica, I realized that I was, in fact, wearing one of her crocheted cowls...of course, we had to take picture together for the blog!

Sarah and I had a great time with our crafty comrades in Metro Detroit!  Can't want to see all of you ladies and gentlemen again!

Fantastic Craftiness Photo Tour: 2010 Baar Bazaar!

Posted by Crystal

May I just say...Baar Bazaar at The Majestic Theatre was freakin' awesome!  I saw soooo many of my favorite vendors and lots of new crafters with really innovative products.  Plus, there was TONS of good stuff for guys! 

Allow me to take you on a photo tour of the fantastic craftiness:

Liz of Random Noise Bursts makes the coolest drawstring bags out of old tshirts.  She accepts donations of tshirts, so feel free to send some her way!

Rachel (l) and Jennifer of The Funky Eye Patch are the cutest crafty sisters ever!

I am madly in love with the Boh Bon Soap Company packaging.  You rock that paper, Chrissy!

Krystal of White Lily Jewelry is my new favorite jewelry artist!

Jill's Barrel of Monkeys buttons and magnets are always clever and hilarious.  I had to get a True Blood magnet for my little sis.  :)

Christina (l) and Dennis with their gorgeous Perfect Laughter screenprinting.  Crafty couples rock my socks!

Who can resist a tough guy selling baby gear for his girlfriend?  Justin watches over Butter Bean Inc. while cutie patootie Ashley shops the Bazaar.

Amber of Woolly Mammoth Design makes the most adorable sweater creatures.  The squid is just perfect!

Deanne of by deets was selling these nifty radio tube critters.  Deanne, I saw a bunch of radio tubes for sale at an antique store in Northville!  I'll email you the info.  :)

Jason (l) chucks the deuces...and paints the most adorable pictures!  He sells as Paintings by Jason Gibnerd on Etsy.

Chris of Detroit GT had THE BEST automotive/Detroit apparel.  I still need to get one of those Detroit Vette shirts, Chris!

I didn't meet you at your Paper a la Mode table, Ashley.  But, your mom really held it down!  Email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com when you get your Etsy up.

These nerdy lovebirds (and their Scrabble tile crafts) were so stinkin' cute!  Check them out at Double Nerd Score.

Two of the lovely ladies of Handmade Detroit: Amy (l) of My Marigold and Bethany of Reware Vintage.  Great job putting together Baar Bazaar, Bethany!

This is Leann.  Leann works at The Majestic Cafe.  Leann is my new best friend because she totally gave me a bag for all of the stuff I bought at Baar Bazaar.  I gave Leann a Flint Handmade Follower Card and took her picture for the blog.  This is that picture.

My haul (l-r): Wellies Notecards by Sloe Gin Fizz, Aqua Flower Hairpin by ttishbite, Black and White Button Ring by The Funky Eye Patch, Green Owl by Woolly Mammoth Design, Black Flower Ring by White Lily Jewelry, True Blood Magnet by Barrel of Monkeys and Scrabble Tile Keyring by DoubleNerdScore.  All of my stuff is displayed on vintage fabric I bought at Baar Bazaar from Justin.  :)

For lots more pics, check out our 2010 Baar Bazaar set on flickr.

Call for Vendors: Aestival Festival in Metro Detroit

Jenn from Blackenedruby Jewelry clued us into the Aestival Festival in Metro Detroit!

According to their website, the "Aestival Festival is a once a year celebration of the inner creative spirit created by artistically minded individuals that seek to showcase the best local musical talent and artists in Metro Detroit. On August 6th and 7th 2010, the 3rd annual Aestival Festival will be bigger and better than ever with a new location, national acts, and an additional stage that will maximize presentation over two days near the end of summer."

Here is their Call for Vendors:

Aestival Festival 2010 - Seeking Art Vendors

The producers of the 3rd annual Aestival Festival are looking for Artists that want to sell their works August 6th and 7th 2010. A 10 foot by 10 foot space can be reserved now for only $75 for both days. The festival hours are 11 AM to 1 AM both Friday and Saturday. This is a free festival that will draw a fairly large crowd with around 30 local musical acts, 2 national acts, performing artists, a beer tent and more. The location is Lenox Twp., MI (28 Mile Road and Gratiot).

Please contact ron@audiomiteproductions.com with art details, a few pictures of your work and any questions you may have.