I’m wanting to make some kind of rail/rack so that my kid can see and read his books more easily (as opposed to having them all on a bookshelf). One day….

That’s what Nicole wants to do and maybe the Mini Maker Faire will inspire her!! Congratulations Nicole!! You won 2 tickets!

Nicole, contact me this week and we’ll set you up!

It really is one of Austin’s don’t miss events. Is it on your calendar yet? May 12 10am-6pm

And I’m giving away 2 free adult tickets! Just leave me a comment answering the question, what have you made recently or what are you dying to make sometime soon?  I’ll pick a winner on Friday May 4th and announce it here.

And though it’s a Mini Maker Faire, there is nothing small about it!

Austin Tinkering School founder Kami Wilt has been working hard organizing, finding locations, gathering makers of all types and getting this show ready for Austin.

This aint your grandmother’s Maker Faire – this is Mini Maker Faire, Austin style!! (Did our grandmothers even have a Maker Faire?)

There’ll be make and craft opportunities of all kinds, speakers, contests, food and all sorts of Austin antics and amazingness!

I’ll be there in the craft tent helping crafters find their way and I’ll be giving a presentation on the topic of Freesourcing – how to find,  rescue and share materials for all your craft/art needs!

So come play, come make, come watch, come listen and come out to Austin’s first ever MINI Maker Faire.

Here’s the deets…

• May 12 2012
• 10-6pm
• Pine Street Station at East 5th and Waller Street

Buy your tickets now! Or volunteer to help. Just be there and be a part of Austin history.

Check out this beautiful video to get your maker juices flowing!

And while you’re at it, go ahead and make a donation here.

(Oh, and by mamas I mean any woman at all – be you mama or the female (grown up) child of a mama.)

Who doesn’t love a handwritten card in the mail???? Whose heart doesn’t burst when the mailbox is opened and there’s an actual letter, written with love and addressed with good old fashioned penmanship? And who doesn’t love a night of making stuff with mamas with a little beer and wine in the mix??!

Just in time for Mother’s Day, come celebrate a night out and the ancient art of the letter. Drink a little drink. Eat a little nosh. And make and talk all night long. (well, til 10 anyway.)

We’ll start with a person in mind. Someone you love and miss and want to write to. Then w’ll cut/stamp/draw/collage/fold up a custom card full of love and specifically for that lucky recipient. We’ll make cards and stationery using piles of beautiful recycled/reclaimed and repurposed materials and other fun stuff you won’t even believe.

Maybe it’s a letter to your grandma to thank her for the socks she made you. Remember she sent them four months ago and you still haven’t said thanks?

Or maybe a note to your mom to tell her what an amazing mom she’s been.

Or maybe you’ve been itching to write a letter to a long lost college pal who is such a Luddite you can’t find her on Facebook.

We’ll start with the question, Who do you need/want to write to?

And from there we’ll get making. With custom cards specific to your needs.

We’ll have all the materials necessary to create your very own pile of handmade cards and stationery. We’ll introduce the back and forth card ala Round Robin Press

And together we’ll work to revive the lost art and reinvigorate your love and desire for the handwritten letter.

Oh, and once again we’ll be in the amazing atrium of the Austin Children’s Museum (at night when the building is closed to all small beings.) Parking is free in the nearby parking garage.

Details in bullet form:

• Thursday May 3rd
• 7:30pm – 10:00pm
• $22.00
• Bring your own wine/beer
• All materials provided for as many cards as your little heart desires!
• Austin Children’s Museum
• Click here to register! (you must register in advance)

In collaboration with the Austin Children’s Museum, I’ll be holding a one day craft camp for kids ages 8-11.

• From 9am -4pm on Monday, February 20th (school holiday!)
• $70.00* Click here to register
  
• space is limited

We’ll play, craft, write, eat lunch along the shores of Ladybird lake (weather permitting of course) and craft and play some more!

It should be a great day and I’m excited about holding it downtown.

Stay tuned for sign up information. Email me if you have any questions!

Here’s what we’ll be doing…

Art of the Letter Camp

While communication has increased a thousand fold in the last 20 years  – with email, Facebook, and video chats so easily accessed – the amount of letters one writes and receives has diminished significantly. Which has made the value of a hand crafted letter showing up in your mailbox increase beyond measure. Just think of that moment when you realize there is a hand written note embellished with drawings and messages and other amazing artistry.

In this class we’ll cover both angles – the stationery making and the letter writing.

We’ll make personalized note cards using stitching, collage and stamps – with lots of reclaimed materials of course.

We’ll fold up some cool origami envelopes and note cards and make our very own box of stationery.

We’ll read through old letters from the twenties and thirties when letter writing was a daily task and just about the only communication a person had with a distant relative. We’ll examine the language used and the messages sent. We’ll ponder what life might have been like then – in another time and place. And we’ll discuss just how that letter might have gotten from point A to point B

Then we’ll craft our own letters, using writing prompts and tips and we’ll work to reinvigorate this ancient art that is at once craft, communication and connection.

*If cost is an issue, please email me. I’m happy to work something out.

Mamas Crafty Night Out!!!

Want to spread the love you feel for your partner, your kids, your friends far and wide? Are you in need of a girls’ crafty night out with a bunch of other amazing women in a setting that is sure to set your heart a flutter?

Come to this half-day Valentine workshop on February 4th in a beautiful South Austin get-away in the middle of it all, where we’ll spend 4 hours cutting and making. I’ll have writing prompts for you to get to the heart of the love you feel. We’ll make beautiful love letters and maybe even a Valentine riddle or two. We’ll stitch, fold, glue, cut and fold some more. We’ll work on haikus too because what Valentine is complete without a haiku or two??

The Writing Barn is the perfect place to spend time crafting, collaging, cutting out paper hearts and writing love letters to the people in your life. Maybe you’ll even make one for yourself! Everything you need will be provided for you to make as many cards as you need!

We’ll drink and nosh while we craft and talk of love and family and partnership and children. We’ll focus on appreciation and admiration. We’ll figure out ways to feel more love and get more love and I’m hoping too that I’ll have some of Ginger Webb’s Love Elixirs on hand for you to try and buy.

Save the date and come craft with us!

• Saturday, February 4th 4:30pm-9:30pm
• 35.00 per person* CANCELED
• come with a friend for $60.00* CANCELED
• Snacks provided – BYOB
• South Austin just off Slaughter near Manchaca

Click the links above to register.

*If money is an issue, please don’t let that stop you. I’m happy to make it work for anyone that wants to attend. Just email me and we’ll figure it out.

We are pretty good about writing thank yous. Some of us better than others. Given the tools and the space to do it though, we can usually get the job done; just not always in a timely manner. But I stick to my theory that it’s never to late to say thank you or sorry. Or happy birthday or hey there for that matter but this post is specifically about thank you.

While my kids are good about making cards, sometimes when the list is so long it’s hard to keep the momentum. A few get written and then, something comes along to distract and, before you know it, the half finished list is all that remains of the intention.

This year we’ve discovered the collaborative thank-you. It piggy-backs on our collaborative drawing game that we like to play, wherein we pass the drawing around the table for all to add to their own ideas, drawings, collage, etc. We make a big thank-you note using a big piece of paper: brown paper bag, old page ripped from the calendar, etc. It has to be bigger than a regular piece of paper in order to accommodate the entire family’s gratitude. We then pass it around the table for all to add their thanks.

We just made one for Grandma using the back of the December calendar page. This was fun because in addition to giving thanks, we were able to give my mom a glimpse into our world. She saw our December parties and craft events and school functions and all the rest. Another we did on a giant piece of cardboard that we sent as a giant postcard. (Disclaimer: whether that arrives in the mail remains to be seen!)

So not only are we getting the thank-yous written, but we’re doing it together, thereby getting a little needed family time as well. And the recipients are getting some cool notes in the mail full of our family’s drawings, notes and gratitude.

Search your recycling bin for some cool materials to make into cards. Clear off the kitchen table and get break out the pencils, glue and whatever else you need. Call the family together and get writing! It’s satisfying on so many levels.

Score one for win-win.

The other thing I love is of course making things. Holiday things. Gifts.

So imagine if I could combine the two. Gathering with friends, a night out and making things. Holiday things. Oh wait! I can!!! And I am going to.

Come kick off the season Thursday December 1st at the Zilker Elementary Skill Share Series where we’ll be hosting a talk with Kami Wilt of Austin Tinkering School around the subject of Making Your Holidays Meaningful. And believe me, neither Kami nor Future Craft Collective take the idea of making lightly. The event starts at 6:30pm at Zilker Elementary.

On Saturday, December 3rd, I’ll be at the Downtown Alliance Holiday Stroll leading a family craft activity as part of the extravaganza. The evening starts with a sing-along and the Capital Tree lighting. After that, from 7-9pm, we’ll be making holiday garlands from felted wool. A fun project idea I came up with in an effort to offer a recycled no-sew craft. And if I do say so myself, it’s kind of a cool project. My friend Andrea from Andrea’s Art Class will be there too screen printing holiday cards.

There will be a few other crafty offerings as well as music from the Minor Mishap Marching Band, a crazy bike parade from Austin Bike Zoo and a closed off Congress Avenue.

The following Saturday I’ll be at the Twin Oaks Branch of the Austin Public Library from 1-2:30pm making holiday cards out of recycled/upcycled/reclaimed paper. Bring a family photo and create your very own unique design using various origami folds and fun reclaimed papers.

Hope to see you at one or the other events around town. Making stuff with friends is one of my favorite ways of making this season fun!

If you make any items from our book we’d LOVE to see it. Those napkin rings would make a great, simple gift. Or maybe a customized appreciation banner for a favorite family of yours. Really, now that I think about it, the book is loaded with projects that would make great gifts. (If I do say so myself) Or, if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed in the making area, you could just give the book itself!

If you do make anything from the book, would you share your photos with us on our Flickr page? We’d love to see how the book is working out for everyone and how different folks are interpreting the projects.

And if you’re local, we’ll be offering crafts at various events here and there. Stay tuned for details!

We’re getting materials ready for our crafty night out on Thursday night at the Austin Children’s Museum. It should prove to be a very fun night indeed with a big bunch of mamas crafting in the big room at the museum – which we have all to ourselves! We’ll start at 7:30 and go until 10pm.

It’s B.Y.O libations and also bring a garment to applique. We’ll be cutting up appliques and stitching up some fun! All the while talking about crafting, mama-ing, and what it’s really like to create with kids.

If you’re joining us, which we hope you are, you can pre-pay here… Or you can pay upon arrival. If you pre-pay before Thursday afternoon you’ll also get free parking in the Museum’s lot! What? Free downtown parking?Sweet!

For parking…If you are already registered, you can park in the CSC garage that is caddy corner to the museum on 2nd and Colorado (entrance on the west side of Colorado) Simply pull into the garage, ring the buzzer, tell the guard your name (your name will be on a list) and that you are here for an event at the Museum. Park on the first level in any of the “Visitor” spots.

Congratulations to Natana G! She was the winner of our Mama Craft Night Giveaway. We’ll see you Thursday night Natana! And the rest of you too!

**p.s.** If you are not coming because of cost, please email me and we’ll work it out!