FELT FUN --- tuesday night!

so i've had major crafters-block this week in thinking of a project for this tuesday night. then yesterday i was looking at my ugly blackberry case that came with my phone and thought that something cute to keep it scratch free would be the perfect thing to make this week!!! so come tuesday night and make a phone or IPOD holder! this is a sewing project in which we will be learning how to blanket stitch.

this afternoon i whipped up a sample and was quite pleased with what i came up with! the pouch in the picture doesn't have a velcro closure, but i intend on adding one. i'm envisioning tuesday night (with amstel light in hand) already... cute pouches everywhere adrorned with birdies, lollipop trees, flowers and more! i can't wait to see the creations!

when? this tuesday, august 19th
where? in our workshop @ anomaly
what to bring? 5 bucks, a beverage of choice and if you have a specific device you want to make your pouch for, bring that so we can make sure to cut the felt to size.
questions? call us at 354-7002! see you tuesday for felt fun!


xo,
emily

coaster night pictures...

get organized AND reuse your old cardboard food boxes!

do you have any papers/bills/recipes, etc... you need to organize? school is starting soon... need to keep track of important papers for class? head to anomaly tuesday night to make file boxes!

WHEN? 6:30-8:30p
WHERE? Anomaly, 1021 Park St 32204
WHAT (to bring?): bring a cardboard (or multiple if you'd like to make a few) box of your choice. different sizes look cute together!

see you tuesday!

xo, emily

coming up next tuesday...

come make a great set of coasters tuesday august 5th. we'll be giving a new life to old folio and skirt magazines. we're turning them into cool COASTERS! woo hoo! it's a super fun project and it looks even better in person! see you at 6:30 tuesday night!

xoxo,
emily

one man's trash is another man's craft

yet another rainy evening, but still a lovely night for crafting! i really enjoyed tonights project and know all the reclaimed bottles will enjoy new lives as vases in homes! each bottle had such a unique look because of the different fabrics/combinations each crafter used. i love seeing and hearing new ideas being bounced around the room by everyone. and it's kind of crazy but in a weird way i'm a little rejuvenated by it all. even though it's almost 10PM and i just got home, ate a bowl of cereal and sat down to upload pictures/write about tonight, it's still really fun and i'm enjoying meeting so many creative people! thanks to all who've come to support our craft night! it's so much fun!

the vases turned out beautifully! oh and i also wanted to thank everyone who came this evening not only for helping but also for cleaning up too! it really helps me close up the store faster! thank you!

here's some crafty google thought up... have you heard about blackle.com? my cool friends jimmy and genora told me about it a couple of weeks ago. anyway, if you go to blackle.com instead of google.com you will save energy because the screen is black when you do the search. don't worry, it's the exact same search engine as google, so if you are partial to that search engine, it will give you the same results. switch your homepage now... what a great and simple way to conserve energy!

stay tuned for next weeks craft...

RECYCLED BOTTLE VASE: HOW-TO

If you'd like to turn a glass bottle into a cute vase here's what you need to do...

gather up your supplies. you will need:

• a glue gun and glue sticks
• various ribbon, yarn, and/or old fabric
• glass bottle(s) *you can use plastic but glass is heavier and more sturdy.
  
• optional: buttons/beads, etc... to embellish if you'd like.

if you are using fabric to wrap the bottle, you will want to cut it into long strips. you can choose how wide you want the strips to be, thinner vs. thicker will give the vase a different look. this project is all about experimenting with materials and color. get a little crazy...

now... start at the very top of the bottle (or base, either way works, i just started at the top.) and put some glue on your fabric and line it up flush with the lip of the bottle. glue it down. now, slowly begin wrapping your material around the vase, stopping every 5 or so wraps and putting a dot of glue down to keep the fabric from slipping. the most challenging part of this project is wrapping the curve where the neck of the bottle widens. you may need to use more glue here and wrap a few layers to get all the glass to cover.



**here are a couple bottles partially wrapped. if you leave some glass showing, it's easier to cover up with another layer. you can't mess this up!







continue wrapping until the whole bottle is covered. when finished, glue down the last bit of the fabric and trim around the bottom, if necessary. some crafters added buttons, etc... to jazz it up a little more. the sky's the limit!

HINT:
this project looks really cute if you make a set of three in different shapes and sizes. makes a nice little bottle collection on a shelf. :)

Ooh la la.

Come make a lovely vase out of a recycled bottle this Tuesday at Anomaly! I used a champagne bottle but you could really use ANY TYPE of bottle you'd like. A short vase (from a beer bottle) would be really cute. A set of 3 on a shelf would be even cuter! We will be wrapping the bottle in ribbon, strips of vintage fabric, yarn, etc...

WHAT TO BRING...
*$5
*a bottle (plastic or glass, any size), if you'd like. i will have beer bottles on hand for everyone.
*beverage(s) of your choice.

Looking forward to Tuesday! Feel free to call or e-mail if you have any questions!

xoxo.
emily

Despite the rainy evening...

We had another Craftacular night Tuesday! YAY!!! We have had 2 classes in a row where not 1 but 2 tables were full! I need to get some more chairs, but hey, that's a great problem to have! I love seeing crafters out in full force and this group was as diverse as ever! Everyone that showed up was super cool and diverse, but when has it not been? We had a great grandmother, a boyfriend and

girlfriend, a 9 year old (she's a repeat!) and her cool aunt, among many others! I just can't tell you how much I appreciate all the support our craft night has been getting. It's so much fun to get together with new people and all share one common interest... making something! And it's such a great place to bounce ideas off of each other!



One of my favorite parts of the evening was when, at one point, everyone concentrating on their projects so much that the room was silent. All in all it was a great evening and making a fabic necklace is so fun and super easy.

so, i know... you are sitting in your desk at work, reading this and wishing you could make one too!!! well you can and here's how...

all you need is:

• scissors
• assorted wooden beads or marbles (we even recycled some beads from broken necklaces) it doesn't matter what they look like b/c they will be covered.
  
• a 1-2 in. wide strip of a fabric of your choice... thicker fabrics make chunkier knots. (we were measuring the length of the fabric by stretching out our arms and cutting it as wide as our "wingspan"... i'm so technical!)
  *a little tip... i like ripping the fabric instead of cutting to make it look frayed. it give the necklaces a nice touch. just cut a slit to start the fabric and then pull!

once you get your strip of fabric ready, you simply fold it in half (to find the middle) and make a knot about an inch to the left or right of the mid point. it's easier to start in the middle and work your way out. place your bead as close to the knot as possible and wrap the fabric around it. then tie another knot. make sure your knot is as close as possible to the bead to keep it secure. repeat until you like how your necklace looks. i kept mine long and tie the two ends together to finish it off. that way, it just slips over my head for an instant accessory!

REMEMBER: a great thing about this project is you CAN NOT mess this it up! the look of it is really organic so if you run out of fabric, just knot more onto each end. and if you want to get really crazy you can even mix it up a bit and add a different print/color! JUST HAVE FUN! :)

oh and i have to give a shout out to my friend robin and joy! THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH for coming and helping out and staying late to clean up after! you are awesome!

i'm thinking up a project for next week so check back soon to see what it is!

xoxo,
emily