Posts tagged ‘akron’

Here are pictures of the wire-wrapped sea glass jewelry I taught for a private class at Craft Akron this week.  The women were so much fun!  They go to Lake Erie together to collect sea glass & wanted to learn how to make it into jewelry.

My next investment is to buy diamond-tipped drill bits so I can drill holes in sea glass and teach classes on it.  As long as baby doesn’t come early, I’ll be at Monday’s Jewelry Guild meeting where the demonstration is “Drilling Beach Glass”.  And, If you want to learn wire-wrapping, I did a tutorial on how to make the earrings you see in the upper left picture.

There have been a million times I have driven past a nasty run down lot in Akron and thought, “We should tear down that yucky house and build a garden here.” Well, the Akron Cooperative is doing just that! I was so excited to find them at the Akron Home and Garden show talking about keeping bees and Urban Chicken raising. They were even holding a raffle to give away a chicken coop (which I entered but did not win). I went to their website to find out more about them and found this:

Our Mission: to build a local food system that improves the health and economy of our community. Our approach is to use the valuable resources and productive traditions within our community by engaging youth and families to improve the conditions of our neighborhoods.

Our Goals: Focus on sustainable agriculture, nutrition education, entrepreneurship, and youth development to create change in our community. With that in mind, our five primary goals are to:

1. Educate residents about food systems, sustainable agriculture and healthy cooking. 

2. Provide access to appropriate and affordable locally-grown, healthy, nutritional and culturally-focused food.

3. Engage and train youth as leaders in the food system and their community.

4. Build self-reliance through employment, training and local business development.

5. Building the capacity to produce food locally through sustainable agriculture. 

How exciting! Find out more, if you are interested in helping out. I don’t know how helpful I can be to them this year with my little kiddos under foot, but next year I would love to put in some man hours in a community garden!  For more information you can follow this link to subscribe to their newsletter.

In this class, I’ll help you fix your broken jewelry & get it wearable again.  I’m teaching Thursday at Craft Akron.  Here are the details:

Fix your Broken Jewelry Class

$15 plus supplies fee of $5

Bring your broken jewelry stash to class & learn how to restring or resize beaded necklaces and bracelets, reattach missing clasps, or even reconfigure earrings that have lost pieces. Basic supplies included (such as beading wire, thread, ear wires, eye & head pins), but if you have a special clasp you want to use or must have sterling silver ear wires, bring them with you.

Also, if you have a jewelry project you’re stumped on, you’re welcome to bring it to class as well.

Please preregister by at least 24 hours before class at 330-865-1100 or info@craftakron.com.

Our Art Supplies Swap was really great even though it was a small group of only 10 of us.  I think it’s because the sun was shining & it reached 40 degrees outside for the first time in months.

Everyone generously brought lots of art supplies and found useful things to take home.  The few boxes of leftovers were donated to the Firestone Branch of Akron-Summit County Public Library for their craft programs.

5 people brought handmade items for the gift exchange.  Mary made the purple hat (this pic of it on the table doesn’t do it justice.  This hat looks amazing with the bunched area worn off to the side and it sits loose & casually on the head).  Megan made the wire wrapped clip (for recipes or labeling foods at a party).  I made the fringe earrings.  Devonna made the apron from a repurposed skirt.  And Martha, the owner of Craft Akron, made the hand-dyed yarn.

The plan is to have the next swap in late summer or early fall.  So you have plenty of time to sort through your stash.

Our Swap is Saturday!  Here’s a pic of all the stuff I’m bringing…spray paint, candle making supplies, beads, magazines, sizzix dies, gold leafing, mosaic adhesive & grout, and other odds & ends.  Plus, I’m busy getting refreshments ready.  I’m making chocolate fondue and a cheese ball with crackers.

tool demo @ jewelry & metal arts guild meeting

Saturday I crammed in an Ohio Jewelry & Metal Arts Guild meeting & a quick stop to Zero Landfill. The Guild meeting was their first anniversary celebration.  They had displays of members’ work, a destash where members could bring tools/beads they don’t need anymore & trade for other items, and the demonstration was about the different types of tools for wireworking.  I’ve done some wireworking, so I was familiar with most of the tools.  But the most valuable part for me was holding all the tools to see how they handle.  I’m trying to learn the differences between, for example, a $10 pair of pliers & $60 pair.  I’m very comfortable & content with my $10 pair and have been wondering what the benefits are for upgrading.

zero landfill finds

At Zero Landfill, I got lots of fabric samples, a few wall covering samples, and a huge roll of textured wall covering, all for free!  The event is every Saturday in February, so there are still some dates to stop by.

Last year at Zero Landfill I grabbed a ton of stuff. I’ve used at least half of it, but there are a good deal of items which have just been stuffed into the stash box.

This year I took a different strategy to the event. I only grabbed stuff that I ran out of last time. So I picked up 4 wallpaper sample books and some loose fabric swatches. They weighed my grub on my way out. It was a whopping 38 pounds!

These books are going to be free for your use in decorating a journal if you show up on Thursday to my class. Otherwise I will be cutting them up for all sorts of crafts, as will my scissor-happy girls!

I’m getting signs, name tags, & refreshment plans ready for our Art Supplies Swap next Saturday (Feb 20).  And today I made this pair of fringe earrings for the handmade gift exchange which is after the Swap.

The gift exchange part of the event is completely optional, but if you plan on exchanging, you’re welcome to post a sneak peek in our Clever Nesting Flickr pool.  It’d be fun to see who’s coming too.

A week from tonight I’m teaching a Fringe Earrings class at Craft Akron.  You’ll make two pairs of earrings (your choice of bead kits).  Cost is $15 for class & $10 for two bead kits.  Please preregister & prepay for class, as I have a ten space limit.

If you can’t come to class, you can buy a bead kit from me.  It includes beads for two pairs of earrings (tell me which two you’d like-the focal beads on the left pair are fire polished, center are blue/gray shells, and right are Swarovski crystals), step by step color instructions, ear wires (do you want silver-plated, gold-plated, or something else), beading thread, and two beading needles for $17 (includes tax & shipping).  Just email colleen@clevernesting.com & tell me which two sets of earrings you’d like to make, ear wire preference, and your address.  I’ll send you a Paypal invoice.

TED-Technology, Entertainment, and Design-is a yearly conference where the world’s leading thinkers & doers speak on ideas that are shaping our future.  I’ve seen many of the talks online (most are absolutely insightful & amazing!), and just learned about the independently run TED event in Cleveland.  I already ordered my ticket.  But if you’re not in the Ohio area, here’s a list of TEDx events around the world.

Here are the TEDxCLE details:

Who:
Creators, catalysts, entrepreneurs, artists, technologists, designers, scientists, thinkers and doers.

What:
At TEDxCLE, TEDTalks video and live speakers spanning topics such as health care, urban revitalization, art, and product development will combine to spark deep discussion and connection amongst speakers and attendees alike.

Where:
The Capitol Theatre
1390 West 65th Street
Cleveland, OH 44102

When:
Friday, February 26, 2010 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Why:
Share Cleveland innovation, development and positive change with the world.

How:
Tickets for TEDxCLE can be purchased for $20 at The Capitol Theatre ticket booth or online.