We Met! We Made! When Can We Do It Again?

This past weekend, we had our first South Bay Meet & Make, and eight of us had a nice afternoon of crafting, chatting, and enjoying A Work of Heart Studio. A big thank you to Andrea, the owner of the studio, for letting us meet in her lovely, creative space!

From left to right: Pamela of Something Kicky, Eko of Eko Jewelry Design, Liz of ther.a.py, Sarit of Shakuf Design, Lori of Salt & Light, Rachel of Mixsome, Cyndee of Earthborn Gourds, and Jen of Mama's Magic Studio.

Most of us were jewelry makers of one kind or another, and it was fun to talk about suppliers, techniques, and other tips. One of the best things about getting together with other handcraft artists is sharing ways to make work easier -- I loved Liz's portable workspace! Her mom had made it for her, including a measuring scale right on the work cloth. Brilliant!

Rachel's shop features her polymer clay creations, but on Sunday she brought her knitting. I'd almost brought mine, too! For me, there's something about having knitting needles in play that makes it easy for conversation to flow.

I was working on some yarn ball pendants, twisting them out of colored wire. Hopefully for a new consignment account -- I meet with the owner tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Cyndee brought a bunch of her gourds to work on some birdhouses. I'd be jealous of any bird who had such great digs! Here Pamela watches while Cyndee does her thing.

For more pics of the afternoon, check out our Facebook page!

Our hands were busy for most of the afternoon, and at the end of our session we were scheming ways to make another South Bay Meet & Make happen soon. Look for details at the Google group in the coming weeks!

And of course we'd love to continue the Meet & Make tradition with gatherings in San Francisco, Berkeley, or anywhere in the Bay Area. If you have an idea for a Meet & Make, let me know about it in the comments or shoot me a convo at my Etsy shop!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining FEtsy!

SF Etsy Meet & Make in San Jose -- January 30!

I'm getting so excited for our first SF Etsy Meet & Make of 2011! We will be meeting on January 30th from 2 to 5 pm at the wonderfully inspiring space of A Work of Heart Studio in San Jose.

Andrea, the owner of the studio, has generously opened her space to the SF Etsy team and guests of the team for FREE studio time during our Meet & Make! (Studio time is normally $7 an hour!)

Andrea says that during the Meet & Make, tools are all available for use with no added fees. Consumables such as paint, ink, glue, glitter, scraps of paper, etc. are also included. Full sheets of paper, canvas, fabric, ribbon by the yd, buttons, metal, glass, game pieces, etc all cost extra. (Just ask if you're not sure -- Andrea is super friendly!)

And just in case you missed my earlier post in which I practically jumped up and down with glee, simply delighted by all the great stuff available at A Work of Heart, you can go here to read about all the nifty tools, supplies, and resources.

This Meet & Make will be a casual gathering to work on UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and WIPs (Works in Progress), or just to spend a few hours exploring all the great stuff at A Work of Heart. So bring your UFOs, WIPs, a snack or drink to share, and join us for an afternoon of crafting, chatting, and connecting with local creative folks!

All we ask is that you RSVP here at our Facebook event page so we know how many people to plan for.

Hope to see you soon at A Work of Heart Studio, "Where Everyone is an Artist." On January 30th it is going to be packed with creative energy!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

South Bay Craft Swap!

Did you know that there's a free Craft Swap in the South Bay NEXT WEEKEND??? Did you know it's being held at one of the coolest crafty places I've ever seen?

No?

Well, read on my friend, for all the fun details!

I'm very excited to let the SF Etsy Team (and its many fans!) know about a fantastic resource in the South Bay: A Work of Heart Studio in San Jose.

At a Work of Heart, "Everyone is an artist" -- and it's easy to see why! This beautiful, creative space is jam-packed with crafting and art yummy goodness.

You'll find all sorts of tools, work tables, and supplies, whatever your craft might be -- jewelry, needle felting, glass work, paper crafting, printmaking, metal working, polymer clay, sewing, quilting...
Just being in this place got my creative juices flowing! And check out some of the tools they have available for use:

• die cut machines
• paper punches
• texture making tools
• book binding machines
• scissors and cutting tools
• painting supplies
• air brush compressor
• jewelry making and wire working tools
• brayers and pallet knives
• de-gassing chamber
• metal embossing tools
• dremel and drill
• stamps
• polymer clay tools
• soldering irons and torches
• melting pot
• heat embossing tools
• stencils and templates
• kiln
  
• sewing machines
  

I don't even know what these colorful little bottles are for, but seeing them all pretty on display, ready to be used, made me want to find out!

A Work of Heart hosts classes, studio time, and -- extremely exciting -- is going to be the location for our first South Bay Meet & Make! This will be coming up in January, so stay tuned for details!!!

In the meantime, please mark your calendars for next weekend's CRAFT SWAP at A Work of Heart, where local crafty folks will be coming to trade their extra crafting supplies! In order to participate, simply bring something you'd like to trade, and you'll be eligible to browse the tables full of various crafting items and take what suits your fancy!

I'm not organizing this event, just passing along the info, so if you have specific questions about how it will work, contact: bacraftswap@gmail.com

The Craft Swap will be on Sunday November 14th from 8:30 to 11 am. Early, I know, but I'm betting it will be worth it! I'll be there for the first hour or so, and I'll hope to see you! Leave us a note in the comments if you think you'll be there!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!