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Forever Fishbowl

Excited to share with you a project recently dreamed up, designed, created, and of course, constructed in our very own downtown art studio!  Take a BIG splash into our ~ DIY Forever Fishbowls!  This project was created, carried out, and creatively constructed in several of our mixed age, six-week, after school, hands-on + mixed media, art workshops creating with young artists!

Beyond excited to also announce hands on + mixed media + NEW ART WORKSHOPS START NEXT WEEK for a wide array of ages!  Hop on over to ENROLL AT HANDMAKERY.COM as spaces are quickly filling!  While visiting, peek at new photos on our site and IG feed!

As you can clearly see, artists used a wide array of mixed media to bring their vision to life!  Below, you’ll discover all you need to create your very own ~ DIY Forever Fishbowl.  The big + beautiful bonus, you’ll never send a fish into fishy heaven, EVER EVER EVER again.  YES, this fishy will truly live F-O-R-E-V-E-R and children LOVE this fact!  Like, XOXOXO times a million or LOVE for a lifetime!

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DIY Papier-mâché Figures

Incredibly excited to share with you our original ~ DIY Papier-mache Figures created in our Mini Makers Workshop with 5 – 10-year-old artists!  Our next session of weekly art workshops begins the week of October 16th, YES, next week!  We have a workshop for just about every age under the sun!  Take a peek at our upcoming schedule filled with weekly workshops, craft nights, holiday camps + events, and celebrations!  Excited to announce we’re now hosting birthday parties in our beautiful + NEW art studio on Main Street!  Be on the lookout for our first ever ~ Ladies Craft Night coming soon!

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Myself the Elf Christmas Countdown

Excited to share with you our original, Myself the Elf Christmas Countdown!  A project dreamed up for our Modish Mini Makers art workshop ~ On Holiday: making + creating to give!  A handmade treasure that can be used year-after-year for a traditional holiday countdown and also for teeny-tiny treasures!  Love how they look so much like their mini makers! Take a peek!

This week I’m guest judging the KIDSCRAFTS101 WEEKLY CHALLENGE over on Instagram!  Simply tag all your kid crafts, #kidscrafts101.  Just follow @kidscrafts101, co-hosts @redtedart + @incredibusy, and guest judge @handmakery over on IG!  Tag all your #kidscrafts101 throughout the week and I’ll feature a collage collection and highlight the makers on Sunday!  Truly hope you’ll join us, such a fabulous way to celebrate creativity + craftiness + childhood + a colorful life + connection thru community!  It’s absolutely a fantastic + fun-filled + fabulous adventure!  If you haven’t yet joined Instagram, it’s incredibly easy!  I’ve met so many wonderful people locally and throughout the world on this platform.  Here’s a peek at a few inspiring IG feeds to follow to get you started!

SUPPLIES

  • 3D countdown calendar with 25 mini drawers
  • Patterned papers
  • Clear packaging tape
  • Light chipboard and single ply cardboard
  • Pencil + Scissors + Ruler + Utility knife for adult use
  • Handmade patterns to personalize
  • Duck tape
  • Paper + papier-mache + bowl
  • Paint- tempera
  • White glue + glue stick + hot glue gun + hot glue
  • Wooden paint stir stick
  • Embellishments- pom poms, glitter foam, colored felt sheets, buttons, and more!
  • Printable and tiny chocolates

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Art Workshop for Children

 

Join us!  Today we’re celebrating my dear friend, Barbara Rucci of Art Bar Blog, and her #1 New Release, Art Workshop for Children: How to Foster Original Thinking with more than 25 Process Art Experiences!  Beyond excited to highlight two inspired projects from this book that we themed under an Art Bar Dessert Party: Cakes + Doughnuts with young artists in our own studio!  Here’s a creative clip to give you an idea, just how beautiful Bar’s new book is for creating a creative childhood.  To get the inside scoop, juicy details, chance to meet the maker and all her magic, dive in here!

Barbara invited me to join her book blog tour that will feature 26+ amazing kid + art bloggers.  Over the summer I had the honor to preview and endorse Bar’s new book, Art Workshop for Children.  I was on a three day camping trip, and basically couldn’t put this incredible book down.  After returning, completely inspired, I preordered it on Amazon and spent all fall anxiously awaiting its arrival!  When my book arrived on October 15, it felt amazing to finally have it in my hands.  It’s truly a gem that will shine in our studio for years to come.  Beyond amazed at all the 25+ creative workshops, simple in both setup and supplies!  Bar basically delivers a rich, open-ended, studio experience, keyed into unleashing a child’s creativity.  Bar unfolds an easy to follow, beautifully visual layout, that guides one towards expressive exploration and artistic discovery in a studio, classroom, or home.

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Ice Cream Truck Sculpture

Warm weather brings childhood memories of an ice cream truck sounding and strolling neighborhood streets.  In our recent workshop ~ BEEP BEEP! SWEET TREATS, artists created ~ Ice Cream Truck Sculptures!  Love that we still have a few days to celebrate and soak up summer!  The workshop week was spectacular and our mini makers were beaming to exhibit their one-of-a-kind creations.  Along with an ice cream truck, each artist also created a mini picnic table and  handmade sweet treats for imaginative + interactive play!  Turn it up and take a peek at our short + sweet clip to an ice cream truck melody, highlighting the wondrous week!

You may have seen our Collaged Ice Cream Cones created with children in our outdoor art studio for a recent downtown event.  My friend Bar Rucci, over at Art Bar Blog was a huge inspiration in creating these paper sprinkled + cherry topped cones.  Take a look at her fantastic process creating Paper Mache Ice Cream Sundaes and Cardboard Ice Cream Cones!  Here’s a little secret, Barbara has a beyond inspiring book coming out this fall which I’ve had the opportunity to preview (cover to cover) and preorder ~ Art Workshop for Children: How to Foster Original Thinking with more than 25 Process Art Experiences.  All I can say is reserve your copy today, it’s truly one of the BEST BOOKS for creating with children that’s ever hit the printing press.  Personally promise it will be a studio go-to and gem that you’ll open again and again!

On a side note, Handmade Charlotte just shared the cutest + tiniest + tastiest treat, Gingerbread Ice Cream Trucks!  Maybe you’ve also seen Hello Wonderful’s DIY Pretend Play Ice Cream Cones using plaster?  Just a wee bit in love with both ideas!

Enrollment is currently underway and filling quickly for our 2016/17 School Year {mixed-media + hands-on} Art Workshops.  Follow our artful adventure on Instagram and Facebook, would absolutely love to connect, collaborate, and create community through children + creativity!

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Creating In Our Outdoor Art Studio

On First Friday, we celebrated our fourth year making and creating at the annual Family Block Party in downtown Carbondale, Colorado!  This year we were inspired to paint and embellish ice cream cones, as we’re heading into an ice cream theme for our upcoming workshop: BEEP BEEP! SWEET TREATS!  This workshop will be focusing on retro ice cream truck sculptures, sweet treats, and more!  There are just a few spaces if you’d like to join in!  Here’s a peek at our upcoming summer + school year {hands on + mixed media} art workshops for Modish Mini Makers!  My magical + mama + maker-friend, Bar over at Art Bar Blog, created an amazing DIY~ Cardboard Ice Cream Cones, which inspired our paper ice creams for this downtown event!  Can you believe in just four hours, young artists created over 115 of these lovely ice cream cones as take-home treasures!  The evening was like running our own ice cream parlor as it buzzed with sweetness!  Join us over on our Instagram for more daily inspiration!

As the ice cream cones were drying, each unique piece created such a colorful + eye-catching + delicious backdrop!

You can take a peek below at our stations and setup within our outdoor art studio, but head on over to Art Bar Blog for the supplies and process on making your own Cardboard Ice Cream Cone, it’s truly a happy place!  The possibilities are endless!  Art Bar is a must-follow + favorite + colorful-creative on Instagram, stop by her collection and say H-E-L-L-O!  You’ll find so much clever-colorful-crafty-creativeness!

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Springtime Owlets

Excited to share with you~ SPRINGTIME OWLETS, recently handcrafted in our 6-10-year-old workshop: STITCH + SEW!  Over on our Instagram, we’ll be sharing with Red Ted Art’s @Kidscraft101, as they’re featuring #fabriccrafts for their weekly theme!  Anyone can enter, simply tag your weekly themed photo #kidscrafts101 over on Instagram.  Then the dream team trio- @redtedart + @babbledabbledo + @incredibusy, along with a special surprise guest, will then judge and announce the winners!  This project was definitely a fabric favorite, as each artist designed, constructed, and hand stitched one-of-a-kind soft sculptures.  Take a peek at our creature collection of springtime owlets that just hatched in our studio!

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Lummi Sticks + 5Point Film Festival

You may have seen on our Instagram, we partnered with 5Point Film Festival while they were on tour in Carbondale, Colorado!  The festival ran Thursday-Sunday with an exciting array of inspiring films and community events.  5Point stands for balance, commitment, humility, purpose, and respect.  They lineup 4-days of  inspiring programming, and gather special guests, athletes, filmmakers, and our community together in one – 800 seat venue!  On Saturday, following the Youth Adventure Films (free for 12 and under), we squeezed in some adventurous art making with hundreds of local children!  Between the arts + crafts, the much-loved annual ice cream social + community picnic, and all the overflowing inspiration from the outdoor adventure films, you’ll see many beaming smiles!  Thank you to all the local families that came out for this festive afternoon!  We were honored to be back at 5Point making + creating with young artists!  Thank you for inviting us to create LUMMI STICKS with children in our outdoor studio 5Point Film, so great to be back for another year.  Take a peek at how we crafted these simple sticks with just three simple steps!

ENROLLING SUMMER + 2016/17 SCHOOL YEAR ART WORKSHOPS:  

Excited to announce HANDMAKERY’S online registration for (hands on + mixed media) SUMMER + SCHOOL YEAR 2016/17 ART WORKSHOPS!  Early enrollment is encouraged as space is limited!  Take a peek into our adventurous + artful workshops for children and upcoming art-filled community happenings!  May’s First Friday and Family Block Party are just around the corner, hope you’ll be joining us: Creating In Our Outdoor Art Studio: Summer Lovin’ Style!

Be sure to stay in touch and connect on our Facebook + Instagram + Pinterest!

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Wall Hangings

Excited to share with you our whimsical + wondrous WALL HANGINGS that were handcrafted in our MODISH MINI MAKERS workshop, making and creating with 6-9 year old artists!  You may have seen a few photos of the process in our collection on Instagram!  This project was tons of fun!  Such an exciting process experimenting with a wide array of materials + supplies and watching it all come together!  Do take a peek!

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Contemporary Cuckoo Clocks

You may have discovered on Instagram that we recently hosted a summer workshop for 6 – 9 year olds- CRAZie FOR CONTEMPORARY CUCKOO CLOCKS!  Beyond excited to jump into this workshop as it has been a project that has been stirring in my mind for quite sometime.  Thrilled to see it come to life!  As a little girl growing up, one of my great-grandmothers had a beautiful, hand-carved, traditional, wooden cuckoo clock in her tiny home.  I remember traveling to my great-grandmother’s Colorado home in the summer for weekend visits with my family.  My sister and I were always mesmerized by her cuckoo clock.  We were sure to be in the living room at the beginning of every hour to see the chirping bird make its grand entrance and to hear cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!  Definitely a favorite childhood memory that I can still visualize and hear as it was yesterday.  Although our workshop’s cuckoo clocks were not mechanical, the children loved every moment of personalizing and piecing them together!  Once we were in the midst of our mini-art exhibit at the end of the week, I was reminded of how BIG impressions are made in little + simple childhood days!  I hope each of these children walk away with a special memory to hold.  I’m thankful for each and everyone of my childhood memories, as they take me back to the heart of who I am today!  Take a peek!

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