Yes, it’s true. More free fabric coming your way. As Kathie and I work out the details of our upcoming book, and figure out the tone we’ll take and whether or not we’ll have a little bullshit icon for when we get too uppity in that parenting kind of way, we’ll be thinking of all of you. We’re doing our best to keep it real over here and to keep the tone real as well. To prove that we’ll be thinking of you, we’ll be selecting a new name each week to whom we can send a small yet delightful batch of super fine, Kathie selected fabrics from her lifelong stash. Some vintage, some new, some one-of-a-kind, some beyond belief, all super cool you can count on that.
Our winner this week is Heidi with random.org’s lucky number 21 and as soon as we get her mailing address, we’ll be sending a fine fabric stash her way. Thanks to all who left a comment. We love reading your words and knowing you’re out there. Keep coming back because we’re really enjoying the process.
So leave a comment for next week’s drawing. Our question this week is, what project are you working on that fills your proverbial cup?
Something along the lines of the fabric used for this project.
We love making Valentines. A big table full of scraps. Some scissors and glue and away we go! What’s even more fun than making valentines is making valentines with a bunch of mamas! All the while talking about love and libido. (an ever present topic for mamas don’t you know)
This Valentines Day we’re teaming up with local herbalist Ginger Webb and her amazing line of teas, tinctures and tonics known as Texas Medicinals. She is a super herbswoman who makes her herbal products with lots of love and tenderness – both for the plants she uses and for the people for whom she makes them. And not only does she make them WITH love, she makes them FOR love too – love elixirs and libido enhancers and heart chakra teas and more.
So, if you’re in Austin next week come join us as we sip on some of Ginger’s teas. Come sample her tinctures. And come craft with some other mamas making Valentines galore. We’ll have all you need there to make valentines to your heart’s content for all the folks who make your heart content.
What: Tinctures, Teas and Craft Night
When: Wednesday February 10, 7:15-10pm (PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE!)
Where: 411 W. Monroe St. Austin, TX 78704 Austin Amp Warehouse
Who: Those who want to craft communally and drink some yummy teas (sorry no kiddos at this one. only babes in arms please!)
We are hard at work over here in Ramonsterwear world headquarters putting our book together for Wiley Publishing. Yes that’s right, Our Book which will from here on in be called OUR BOOK!!!. Our book, under the working title Crafting To Connect, should be out sometime in Fall of 2011. Since we can’t invite you to a book signing just yet, we are inviting you to visit our blog where we’ll be hosting weekly fabric giveaways from Kathie’s years long accumulation of some rather amazing vintage and new fabrics.
Just to give you an idea of what might be in store for you if you are the lucky recipient of one of these luscious bundles of fabric here’s a little eye candy for you taken right here, right now as we sit working on…OUR BOOK!!!
So, if you want in on this action, leave us a comment. And let’s see, just to keep it fun, let’s have a question. How about this… Are you as excited about OUR BOOK as we are???
We were contacted a few weeks ago by a woman in Vancouver who is spearheading a community art project in Vancouver this coming February. She was searching the internet looking for inspiration around her idea for creating community generated prayer flags, or wish flags as it were, and she found Future Craft Collective!
Perhaps you remember way back when we were asked to create a community craft project for the Obama Mama picnic here in Austin. It was a huge success. The flags were perfect in their idea of spreading hope and not political jargon. And they were positively beautiful to boot.
Since that original project, we’ve recreated this project in different ways for public creation – most recently for our friend Liz’s book release party for her amazing picture book All the World. For each occasion it has been fun, simple, and uniquely beautiful too – for each event has different people and therefore different flags with different messages.
After talking with Natasha in Vancouver, their project is off! And the website is up. And kids, schools, families will be participating in the event, creating the wish flags to hang in Vancouver when the all the world convenes there in February for the Olympic games.
So, I guess, in a sense, Future Craft Collective will be at the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver. How cool is that?
How are you doing holidays in your house? Do you recoil at the idea of this season of sharing? Or do you rejoice at all the delicious and delightful possible ways to achieve comfort and joy and the best excuse ever to make stuff? We’re working on crafting a sweet Christmas here and we’ve got some good traditions and rituals to throw into our holiday pot. Some are old and some are new and some are a combination of both.
At school, Kathie made a beautiful banner to remind folks to stay local in their consumption. It’s called “100 mile holiday” and offers up ideas for keeping it close to home this season. The board celebrates all the amazing craftsfolk, artists and artisans here in Austin – of which there are many, many, many! And many fairs too at which to see their amazing wares. We’ll be adding more info as we find it around town.
We’re making lots of things at our house – lots of paintings and drawings and a little sewing and baking too. We’ve got our Advent calendar up with it six branches representing each of us and this year, in addition to the trinket that gets hung on the tree, I’ve added little notes to the pockets with some suggestions of things the kids can do to spread the joy. Things such as writing a note to Grandma or to their single Aunt who lives in a group home. Making drawings and bringing them over to our amazing neighbor next door. Making a bed for someone else without telling or doing some other secret good deed. Depending on the mood of the recipient they’ve been received (randomly) quite well. Only one scuffle of “I don’t feel like drawing!!!” at which point I informed said child that these were merely suggestions, not obligations.
I finished up a couple of holiday mama craft nights too which were super fun – some Advent calendar making and some card making using all recycled or thrifted materials. Even the beautiful box of linen envelopes I was able to get from the thriftstore! We all had a great time playing with all the die cuts from various items pulled from the recycling bin: envelopes, cereal boxes, brown paper bags and beer boxes. (see that little Sierra Nevada star?)
The calendars turned out to be a really satisfying project too – all hand sewn with burlap and various vintage and found fabrics. These calendars were inspired by one that we had growing up that was made by my aunt. It was one of the cherished pieces of our Christmas season and is still being used today by one of my nieces, probably 40 years after its creation. I’ve been lucky enough to get a few pictures of the ones made in our workshop…
This is Clair's amazing calendar and beautiful daughter
Angel's lovely 3 trees
One of the many things I love about these calendars is that they allow a family to celebrate the entire season as opposed to focusing on just one day. In addition, you get to dig out all those little beads, baubles and broken pieces of jewelry from the bottom of your jewelry box that you’ve loved too much to throw away! And they are given new life as decorations on the tree.
We’d love to hear what you’re doing in your house. What are you making? How do you celebrate? What are your favorite family rituals and traditions? We’re always looking to add a few more to the mix.
Saturday night it’s gonna be chilly but we’ll be heatin’ things up at Austin Amp with the Mama’s Collective Craft Night. Come join us at 411 W. Monroe St. from 7:15-10:00pm. Bring some family photos and make use of the die-cuts, paper, envelopes, rubber stamps and other sundry craft items to make a whole pile of the most unique and personal holiday cards ever. This is a fun process of collage and utilizes (mostly) recycled materials in the process.
So come and have a fun night out all in the name of holiday crafting. $25.00 per person.* Click here if you want to pay using paypal.**
That’s right folks. It’s official. Kathie and I will be joining the ranks of Lotta Jansdotter and that famous Soule Mama soon, as we just this week signed our name on the dotted lines of our Future Craft Collective book contract with Wiley Publishing. We are super excited to get to work creating the tome under the working title: Crafting to Connect. Our goal with our book is to help families find connection throughout the process of making and, through the use and implementation of the finished projects too.
It’s a dream for Kathie and I to get to work together on a regular basis. (Right Kath? Huh? You like it? Right?) And we can’t wait to begin the process of bringing our connection into our book.
So, as we enter this Thanksgiving week, Kathie and I have an endless list of things we are thankful for and we definitely count all of you who have visited our site and our work so enthusiastically. So thanks guys.
And remember us at Christmas 2011 when you are seeking just that perfect gift for the family crafter in your life.
Sew Mama Sew has a beautiful selection of all sorts of inspirational writing crafts as part of the Handmade Holiday blog selections. There are handmade coloring book ideas and journal covers and sweet and swift to make sketchbooks and more. And, we were thrilled that she selected our Letter Writing Center from Craftzine as well! Check it out. Then get out your sewing machine and get to work. There are some super crafty gift ideas to be discovered and created.
Come join some mamas on Friday night, 11/20 at Austin Amp at 411 W. Monroe St. from 7:15-10:00 as we begin creating Advent Calendars that will no doubt become part of your family’s holiday tradition. Whatever winter holiday you choose, now you can add homemade ritual to it all.
Sign up here or just email and let me know you’re coming. FYI, this project takes two craft nights to complete. You can get started here and finish it up at home or join us for two nights. No previous crafting required! Just the ability to sew a simple hand stitch. BYOB – all other materials provided. $25.00 per session.
In Texas it’s hard to keep a jack o’ lantern looking fresh for very long. About an hour after carving the flies arrive and the heat starts to melt the pumpkin into a slump. Within a couple of days it’s caving in on itself in a sort of gelatinous lump. It dawned on me that pumpkins aren’t really a southern kind of thing so I looked around to see just what native fruit or veggie I could use as a substitute. In the grocery stores I came upon a mountain of Texas grown Ruby Red grapefruits which are as beautiful as they are delicious. Last year we had made little oil lamps out of our cast off orange rinds and this year I decided to bump it up a notch.
Lo and behold our Ruby Red, fresh from the Rio Grande Valley, grapefruit jack o’ lanterns.
Step 1:
Cut off the top of the grapefruit, in a similar manner to cutting off the top of a pumpkin.
Step 2:
Run a sharp paring knife along the inside of the grapefruit between the fruit and the rind. Go along the sides and the bottom too.
Step 3:
With a spoon, scoop out the insides as best you can. Put it in a bowl for your eating pleasure.
Step 4:
Put a small votive in and light or do steps 5-7
Step 5:
Using the tab from a soda can, tie a piece of wick around the middle of the tab leaving about a half inch of wick sticking up from the top.
Step 6:
Place the tab, wick up, in the bottom center of the grapefruit.
Step 7:
Pour in about an inch or so of vegetable oil or any other kind of cooking oil you might have handy.
February 5, 2010 
Posted in Giveaway, studio life 
9 Comments » 
