Progress

I sat down this morning to post the picture of the next Make and Take project and realized this would be my 15th post this year. That was the same number of posts I had last year total. So... progress!

Make and Take this month is Monday, March 21st from 6 to 9 p.m. The project for this month is charmed ball-chain necklaces. We will be making a photo charm using either flattened bottled caps (as pictured) or a 1x1 memory frame. Add some beads, metal word tags, and any other found objects such as keys, old hardware, buttons, old earrrings or jewelry parts and you have an eclectic necklace which matches your personality. Use your own photos printed very small, or assorted vintage images from here at the shop. Make additional charms from paper tags (as pictured) or beads. Materials fee: $10. Hope to see you there.

Brrrr.......

January may have come in warm and snowy but it is going out cold and blowy! Subzero temperatures have finally come home this week. A great time to stay inside and make those February valentines. Reflecting back to when my boys were young I thought of how we would always make Valentine's to give others. Usually flat, about the size of baseball card, we would paint and color them one Saturday afternoon. After they had signed each one (a laborious process), we would staple a bag of candy or a lollipop onto each card. For some reason over the years an extra treat had become a part of the giveaway. When I was growing up we were happy to get the little cartoon based cards from all of our class- mates. Nowadays specially packaged candy is the Valentine!  Some marketing genious, I suppose. But I must admit I am still a sucker for the homemade with love variety.

And so... I have been playing around with Tim Holz's alcohol inks again for a valentine swap on artfortytwo.org. Alchol inks are solvent inks which adhere to any non-porous surface.  They can be used to color metal, dominos, glossy card stock, glass, etc. I am always discovering a new use for them. They are just so versatile and colorful, as well as quick and easy. Inspired by an article in the December issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors I thought these little ATC's would look perfect mounted upon a card. They can be removed and hung up on their own as an ornament or picture frame. I love the look of the alcohol inks on the metallic foil tape on the sides of the card.

So with Make and Take coming up on January 24th at Swift Weaver's I decided a Valentine's project was just what the weather ordered. At left is a card designed by Swift Weavers' intern Diedre Ranney. We hope to see how you can inspire us with your own designs and ideas. We'll be here Monday night from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m or email us your own valentine creations at dianetrew@yahoo.com.  

Happy New Year!

Well the new year started off with a  bang at the Benson Golf Course. We had a whopping 120 people for dinner on New Year's Eve! Wow! Thanks to everyone who came. It is a real labor of love because some of the members and myself get together to cook and make it a special dinner for everyone who comes out. Don't you just love Kay's pinecone cheese balls, and the mini mice were a new treat for this year. All the food was outstanding: Rick's soup and ribs, Bill's brined chicken, Kay's sauteed shrimp, the prime rib and last but not least Anne's awesome cream puffs.

There is nothing like starting out the new year with good food and good friends!

Another new year project for me is cleaning my space at Swift Weaver's. What a job! I just don't know where anything is anymore and a thorough shake down is a must. So I will be spending the next few days revamping, recycling, redoing!

The Sketchbook Challenge has begun with the new year also. I have never been an artist to art journal or sketch overly much. I have books full of ideas and colors and thoughts on different projects but I am going to enter this challenge with the idea of exercising my drawing skills and expanding my creativity. You can find the sketchbook challenge here at http://www.sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/. There is also a badge on my right sidebar which will lead you there. Jump in and start sketching!

Make and Take is coming up this month on the 24th and I think I will be making journals or sketchbooks - whichever you wish it to be. I will be posting a sample picture in a week or so. So off to a busy start for 2011. Happy New Year to everyone!

Make and Take Is Back

After a long and busy summer I am happy to be able to start the monthly Make and Take Night back up at Swift Weaver's. Our first project will be a Collaged Candle inspired by the latest issue of Cloth Paper and Scissors, my favorite idea magazine. Using a combination of paper and fabric I have crafted these collaged candle's as samples. Make and Take will be at Swift Weaver's on Monday night, October 18 from 6-9 p.m. These candle's work well with as holiday decorations or gifts. The sample's reflect Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Vintage theme's. Hope to see you there!

Make and Take

Starting the new year off right usually signifies a fresh start marked by the purchase of a new calendar, planner or date book.
So for our January Make and Take Night we made our own.

The choice was a desktop CD calendar or a clipboard calendar for your wall. The calendars were blank, allowing for dates to be filled in and the possiblity of redoing them for many years to follow by just replacing the calendar grid.
To the right on the side bar is a slideshow of the great work generated by those in attendance. Thanks to all who participated.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Haiti during this time of crisis for their country.