Posts tagged ‘demonatrations’

Here’s a seed packet idea I made last year for spring gardening gifts.  It’s worth reposting while we’re still in prime seed season.

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I’ve been thinking about interesting ways to create seed packets.  I collect & save seeds from my garden each year, plus I rarely use all the seeds from the store-bought seed packets, so I give away lots of seeds.

I’ve also wondered what to do with the pretty pyramid tea bags after using them…thus I combined the two ideas and made seed packets out of pyramid tea bags!

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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.

Today I went to my first Ohio Jewelry & Metal Arts Guild meeting at the home studio of Valerie Heck.  We learned about business taxes & getting a vendor’s license in Ohio, plus Valerie & Melissa demonstrated many ways to patina metal.

The meeting was very informative.  It was a great introduction to patinas for me, since I’ve never seen them in action, only in books.  Now I feel more confident about the processes and which methods might be worth investing time, money, and perhaps further training.  Besides all the information, it was a valuable networking experience.  Everyone at the meeting had varying skills, interests, & connections to other NE Ohio resources.

Here’s some info about the next monthly meeting: Saturday, Feburary 13th 11:00 – 1:00 pm at Fairlawn Library.  ”We will be presenting displays of works by our Guild Members. We will also be holding a de-stash. Clean out your tools, beads, materials and books and be prepared to sell or swap.  The Demonstration will be on wire working and the necessary tools to do such work. It should be a very fun day.”

Crafty things have been brewing behind the scenes here in Akron, and Colleen and I have been very lucky to have a backstage pass. There is a new studio our friend Martha is opening in the Valley called Craft Akron, and Clever Nesting will be teaching some of our classes in their awesome space. If you’ve attended my Journal Class in the past you know that the space was a little tight, but that shouldn’t be a problem at Craft Akron. Come to the Open House and check out Martha’s space.

The first class Clever Nesting will be teaching is my Journal Class, the same one I taught back in the summer. It will be held on December 12th at 2pm until 4pm. The cost is $25 paid to Craft Akron (you can register by emailing info@craftakron.com) and a $5 kit fee due at the time of class. I also ask that you bring 2 sheets of your own paper to cover your journals, any sturdy paper you find attractive will work as long as it measures at least 20″ by 10″. I have success using wallpaper samples, or sturdy wrapping paper scraps. If you can’t find paper that large, 4 sheets of 10″ by 10″ will work as well.

In the class you will learn how to hand bind the journal pages as well as how to make a soft cover and a hard cover for them. Everyone who took the class before went home with two journals and got to spend time getting to know local crafty-folk. Don’t miss it!

I can’t wait to see you all at Crafty Mart tomorrow, at Musica downtown. There will be a good showing of the arts and crafts that Akron has to offer. I’m excited to be on that guest list, for sure!

Colleen and I will be doing some Make-n-Take crafts at our booth. We hope you’ll stop over and have some fun. We’ll have a variation of the tutorial for this week, matchbook journals, hair clips and beaded bracelets (similar to this one) for you to make along with us, and take home.

Devona & I finally saw the Handmade Nation documentary yesterday at the Akron Art Museum.  Love it!  I’d watch it again!  It was ripe with wisdom from artists on how life & the need to be artistic converge.  It beautifully weaves together themes of the current craft movement, including changing the culture to value handmade instead of mass-produced even when it costs more.  Plus it highlights how artists are 

trailblazing the path of being environmentally conscious with their supplies and products.  

Then after the documentary, the guys from Campfire Goods gave a screen printing demonstration, & we got to print some posters.  Fun, fun!  Now I’m itching to do more screenprinting!

This weekend is Clever Nesting’s 3rd opportunity to do Saturday demonstrations at Lehman’s Hardware in Kidron Ohio. We are excited to be back and have some new crafts to teach. If you come we also have a quick craft you can make and take home with you! To celebrate summer around the corner we’re making dyed paper poppies from coffee filters for scrapbooking or for table displays.

We look forward to meeting and crafting with you!

Colleen and I had a great time today and last week working out in the Buggy Barn, getting to know some of the crafters out there. We brought out some recycling themed crafts for your spring garden and taught a few techniques and shared some ideas.

It was fun to meet a couple of folks who told stories of the way that their grandparents had done similar crafts and braided plastic bread bags into rugs to give as gifts and reduce waste. The spirit of doing more with less, and making due with what you have is not a a new idea at all and I am so glad to be continuing the tradition.

Be sure to come back all this week as we post some of the crafts shared this weekend and Colleen posts her tutorial on how to make the tea bag seed gift packets.

Tomorrow morning I will be teaching garden themed crafts at Lehman’s Hardware in Kidron Ohio and I’m really excited. This post is a quick preview of two of the projects I’ve prepared.

The first is a traditional coil basket woven with shopping bags and VHS tape. This small version is good for putting odds and ends in. If you come visit me tomorrow you can watch me make a larger version to carry garden tools and harvested crops in. This project is easy to make with what’s on hand. And with all of the many colors of plastic available can be made for multiple purposes, for decoration in a home and given as gifts. You can also use it as a pot for planting!

The second craft I’m demonstrating is a seed starter pot from a woven coffee bean bag. This is a variation on a craft I learned from Craftzine’s online blog. The shiny coffee bean bags are water proof and the woven basket pattern is tight enough that soil doesn’t leak through but it lets water drain out. These are a lot of work for just your own starter plants, but if you plan to give seedlings as gifts this is a wonderful alternative to a yogurt cup especially if you have a colorful coffee bean bag to start with (mine were just silver). The best part is that you can just cut away the bag off of the seedling when you’re ready to put it in the ground and you won’t disturb the roots.

There are more crafts to be seen tomorrow, so please come on out. I’d love to meet you and share some gardening fun to bring on spring!

This Saturday the 18th, and next Saturday the 25th, Clever Nesting will be doing teaching demonstrations at Lehman’s Hardware from 10am to 2pm. April is Lehman’s gardening kick-off month so we will have planned some gardening related crafts as well as general recycling crafts. I will be out there by myself this weekend and I have four projects planned: basket weaving with plastic grocery bags, coffee bean bag seed starter pots, flower mobiles and seed catalogue greeting cards.

Besides seeing crafts being made, Lehman’s is really a weekend destination. They have gardening products, non-electric appliances, wooden toys, and old style cooking supplies. The last time we were there my husband, Rob, bought two handmade leather belts that have lasted for over six months without looking worn out. They were less than $20 each! Lehman’s also carries a large selection of books on living simply and on regional groups like the Amish and Mennonite communities.

So come on out and see us! Spend a day browsing the aisles and learn a thing or two. We’re excited to spend the day with you!