If you follow @handmakery on Instagram you know we LOVE creative camping and outdoor adventures! Here’s a mixed-media product & process we’ve always dreamed of making & creating with children! Thankful to have summertime to leap into delightful-n-dreamy workshops inside our sweet studio. Would you believe this week we’re launching ~ Early Bird Enrollment for Summer Art Camps!?! Take a peek into our creative & custom workshop ~ TINY TRAVELS: Trending Trailer + a Tailed Creature! Enjoy meeting a maker, peeking into the process, making your very own ~ Tiny Travel Trailer, and dream about joining us in the studio this summer!
Meet a Maker & Her Magical + Mobile Masterpiece:
A painterly peek into the process, as we travel with one magical maker & her “mobile minimasterpiece for a marvelous milestone in the mountains” with oh so tasty treats to tempt.
Seeing this little artist peeking into her very own handmade creation, completely captures a creative at heart! Love the wonder and magic of a creative-n-crafty childhood.
Thought we’d let you take a peek at some precious photos before diving into all the dreamy details of a DIY! Beyond thankful to have my talented photographer friend, Hilary Brock, creatively capture and curate these clever close–ups with her camera! Thanks a million for being part of the magic, hip-hip-hooray to Hilary!
A peek into the production + painterly process inside our sweet studio following a magical maker:
ONE Construct your own ~ Tiny Travel Trailer using precut/heavy-weight cardboard pieces which include ~ Side 1 + Side 2 (handcrafted & handcut with mid-level windows which magically fold out with a lower ledge and above window overhang) + Trailer Front + Trailer Base. Construct and secure all four pieces into place with duct tape. We hope to make a cardboard custom kit with time! Open pre-cut windows outward, upward /downward and tape at an angle of choice using duct tape. Duct tape can easily be precut with scissors into small strips. Use cardboard pieces (precut to the width of the trailer) to create the contour of the roof. Keep the back of the trailer open for interior design exploration & hours of creative play.
TWO Once all cardboard pieces are secure with duct tape and the trailer has taken shape, simply mix up a batch of paper-mâché in a plastic bowl. Cut several short strips of newspaper pieces to have on hand. Lay down a plastic shower curtain for easy cleanup. Dip individual newspaper strips and remove the excess mixture with fingertips. Place strips of dipped newspaper onto cardboard. Smoothing out paper strips is key. Strips can be applied in multiple directions for added strength. With the strength of the heavy-weight cardboard beneath, as the armature, young artists will only need to tackle 1-2 layers of paper-mâché. Dry fully sculpture on plastic egg cartons. Repeat the paper-mâché process as desired and be sure sculpture is fully dry before painting.
THREE Paint the trailer, both inside and outside, with a heavy-bodied white acrylic and wide brush to get a solid-n-sleek finish. Completely dry. Cut a large white piece of heavy-weight paper for the interior floor & ceiling, to give the interior a crisp-clean finish. Hot glue paper into place. Move to the exterior, use a ruler or straight edge to divide the upper and lower by forming a traditional vintage trailer zig-zag with a pencil. Mix up a vintage tint (color + white) for the lower half of the trailer. Paint. Dry. Use silver acrylic to steadily detail the traditional zig-zag horizontally on both sides.
FOUR Add dazzling details around the windows to personalize and accent. This amazing artist used pom pom ribbon as her darling accent, but other artists used pom poms, felt, ribbons, and more! Paper straws can be cut to size to prop the window overhangs and to steady the window ledge. Simply measure the straws for the windows, cut with scissors, and glue.
FIVE Artists made tasty-n-tiny treats, total mouthwatering treasures, sculpting their clever creations using clay ~ muffins, lollipops, pretzels, cotton candy, snow cones, pizzas, caramel apples, churros, cookies, milkshakes, smoothies, and more! Once treats were dry, they were carefully painted using a tiny brush and acrylic paint and sealed with some shimmer.
SIX Artists also created artistic menus to “melt a mama’s heart” using hand-drawn illustration and their heart-warming handwriting. These menus were personalized with colored pencils, markers, and/or chalk markers on blackboards (heavy-weight paper painted with black acrylic) or just heavy-weight white paper. Peek into this playful picture to see how this mini maker illustrated each of her handmade tasty treats!
SEVEN Another fancy detail! Add two traditional “wings” using copper foil, “wheels” can be created using black sticky foam with copper foil for the center, “exterior lights” can be made using sticky foam, and handcrafted “license plates” can be personalized & playful. If you don’t want to buy an entire roll of copper foil, metallic duct tape, sticky foam, foil, or cutting a lightweight tin might be just perfect!
EIGHT Artists can also artfully add to their trailer’s interior! Simple ideas include artwork, rugs, curtains, built-ins, and moveable furniture items such as tables and chairs made from up-cycled items such as cardboard, cardboard tubes, and fabrics to compliment.
A peek inside our studio at 449 Main Street in the heart of the Carbondale Creative District in downtown Carbondale, Colorado!
This is the mouse that sells all the tasty treats out of a ~ Tiny Travel Trailer! Each mouse was artfully inspired by artist ~ Vanessa Cabban. We artfully adore Vanessa’s use of text and fabric for all her playful paper-mâché clever critter creations, especially her much-loved mouse ~ Evangeline!
On a side note, how adorable is this Anthropologie ~ Mini Camper Play House to compliment a road trip custom cardboard creation for indoor and outdoor play!?!
An artful adventure awaits at the outdoor art show for artists:
Artists skipped their handmade sculptures over to the local park for a little outdoor art show to celebrate their colorful summer camp creations!
Even though this beautiful day quickly turned into a radiant rainstorm, literally just as artists set up for the artshow in the grass, big smiles still radiated “undercover”! Thank you to this magic maker for letting us follow her artful adventure in HANDMAKERY’S ~ Summer {hands on + mixed media} Art Camp.
Thank you for joining us for a peek into a wondrous week with magical makers {inside & outside} our sweet & playful studio.
Tag us @handmakerywith your creations on Instagram! We’d love to see what delightful details you add to this summery + scrumptious + sculptural process with kids! Follow our blog for more inspiring process-based art projects! As always, thank you for following our artful adventure on Main Street in the heart of the Carbondale Creative District! Please send us a note anytime! We’d love to hear what you’re thinking, dreaming, envisioning, and creating! Much love and happiness creating in this creative + colorful world filled with collaboration + connection + community + arts & crafting!
See PHOTOS of this full + festive + fun + feathery + flavorful + flock of friends at FIRST FRIDAY ~ February in the heart of the Carbondale Creative District for a MOUNTAIN PARENT MAGAZINE Reader Appreciation Party in our traditional MAKE & CREATE + 30 Drawings with guest artist ~ LILYBART!
Sculpture with Kids ~ Ugo Rondinone Artist Study (Part One and Part 2) on Art Bar Blog! Discover how we used magnets for these mini monuments with kids!
BOOK A CUSTOM + CREATIVE CELEBRATION:
No date is too early to BOOK a custom + creative + childhood celebration on our Events Calendar!
SAVE THE DATE ~ FIRST FRIDAY MAY:
Be sure to pencil in the annual FAMILY BLOCK PARTY in downtown Carbondale | Colorado as we’ll be there creating in our outdoor art studio!
Follow our blog for more inspiring process-based art projects! As always, thank you for following our artful adventure on Main Street in the heART of the Carbondale Creative District! Send us a note anytime! We’d love to hear what you’re thinking, dreaming, envisioning, crafting, creating, and celebrating! Much love and happiness in this creative + colorful world, filled with collaboration + connection + community + arts & crafting!
Tag us and say hello @handmakery Instagram with your colorful creations, celebrations, and shares!
FIRST FRIDAY we hosted our annual + traditional ~ Candy Cottage + Golden Ticket Event! It was a cozy evening as every seat in the studio SOLD OUT several weeks in advance. Artists spent two hours in the art studio dreaming up delightful + decorative details using candies and other exciting embellishments downtown in the heART of the Carbondale Creative District. Earlier in the evening many families visited Santa over at Carbondale Arts for a festive photo and join in The Annual Tree Lighting Celebration on Main! Take a peek!
Love how this candy cottage has an elegant “squishy stained glass” appeal.
This event was offered as a “drop off” so parents could stroll downtown and dine, while kids could come together in a creative community focused on colorful cottages and candy!
A detailed roof captured in color, pattern, repetition, and texture, yet oh so tasty!
Shimmery smiles of sugar plums.
Surprise and wonder with a hint of maker magic!
The workshop was buzzing with Santa’s elves hard at work. Even a few reindeer were making their way around to artfully assist!
Tiny hands making BIG art + accomplishments.
Love how the elements used in this candy cottage compliment one another for a eye-catching contrast.
Lots of thought went into how each artist was going to design and decorate their custom candy cottage!
The entryway of this sculpture was complete with a marshmallow arch and tiny rainbow balls to detail.
A sticky Friday night with “Visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads”…
There were many tasty temptations.
Another delightfully detailed rooftop, could you guess her father’s precise profession?
Many artists focused on spectacular landscapes to surround their clever + crafty creations.
A lovely rainbow pattern to define and detail!
The hunt for the perfect treat to tailor.
The magic of the makers felt a bit like mingling in Santa’s workshop!
A gorgeous straw rooftop made by this mini maker.
The creation of a landscape architect!
Making memories as makers that were m-m-m good!
The delightful details of kids as creators.
All was calm. All was bright! We truly had a wonderful night!
This artist received a special recognition for ~ TheMost Delightfully Detailed, but it was not an easy decision for the reindeer judges with all the impressive candy cottage creations!
A close up of the cottage selected as ~ The Most Delightfully Detailed.
It was pretty peaceful as parents came to pick up, just as the clock struck eight!
Another mighty fine cottage with a fantastic landscape to compliment!
handmakery A pretty peek at a priceless + perfect + on point pairing when it’s purely your painting party! Photo popped seconds before a parade of lil’ people were about to pour in for possibilities to ponder, and you’re the party person to please!
Happy Holidays! Tag us @handmakery with your creations on Instagram! Follow our blog for more inspiring process-based art projects! As always, thank you for following along on this artful adventure! Send us a note anytime! We’d love to hear what you’re thinking and dreaming! Much love and happiness creating in this creative + colorful world full of collaboration + connection + community + crafting!
Happy December + Happy Holidays! Save yourself long hours in the kitchen spent mixing, rolling, cutting and baking gingerbread dough – use cardboard instead for a ~ DIY CARDBOARD “CANDY” COTTAGE!
This fantastic upcycled material is abundant and easy to use. Plus, you can avoid a sugar melt-down by skipping the temptation (and expense) of supplying bags of candy, sprinkles and royal icing – and sculpt your own candy cane columns and gumdrop windows using modeling dough.
This open-ended, creative process is fun for ages 5-12 (or, say, age 35+, if Mama is so inclined). These cottages can be used as holiday ornaments, wall hangings, or added as a 3D element to a canvas painting, as shown here. You can even make a village; a timeless, long-lasting heirloom, completely made by – hand from the heART!
Traditionalists who want a classic edible gingerbread house (complete with candies galore) can skip the inevitable sticky cleanup at home, and instead, deliver their children to December’s FIRST FRIDAY ~ CANDY COTTAGE WORKSHOPat HANDMAKERY, where crumble-proof walls and every sweet adornment will be provided.
See the full CARDBOARD “CANDY” COTTAGE article in Winter Edition | Issue 10 of the MOUNTAIN PARENT magazine offered FREE throughout the Roaring Fork Valley in print (oh SO beautiful) and/or online throughout the world!
Embellishments- white pom-poms, red & white paper straws, striped cupcake papers, wire stars, & white string.
PROCESS FOR CARDBOARD “CANDY” COTTAGE:
ONE Download a FREE printable template on handmakery.com/blog. Prepare a cardboard cottage cut-out ahead of time by cutting out two shapes: one will be the cottage, the other will be the roof. Using white glue, attach the cardboard cottage to the cardboard roof by overlapping just a bit and gluing in place. Dry.
TWO Have a mixture of smaller pieces of cardboard scraps available that can be cut and used for pop out details. Lighter weight cardboard is ideal as it’s easier to cut. Corrugated cardboard adds a wonderful texture and is also easy to cut. Architectural pieces can be drawn and cut to create doors, windows, porches, fences, shed roofs, steps, a chimney, and more. Draw, cut, arrange, and glue down detail pieces using white glue. Dry. Cottages will become one-of-a-kind mini-relief sculptures!
THREE Cover completed cardboard cottage with clear wrap and use masking tape on the back of the cottage to temporarily secure. This protected surface will allow modeling dough pieces to be placed on the house to dry without attaching to the cardboard cottage and will keep the cardboard protected from paint.
FOUR Keep cottage covered with clear wrap. Move into making accents using Crayola Model Magic which is a fantastic product for use, flexibility, and simple drying. Start by rolling coils to imply snow and icicles. These pieces will take on the look of white icing. These snowy details can run along the edges of the roof, cottage, above the door + windows, and atop the chimney. Use modeling dough to also make candies such as gumdrops, mints, candy canes, and other savory + sugary treats. Wreaths, snowballs, and snow piles can also be fun additions. Allow pieces to air dry in place, on top of the clear wrapped house.
FIVE Paint dry modeling dough candies using paint and a small brush. Allow painted pieces to dry on top of the clear wrapped cottage. Pieces that are to remain white are beautifully painted with white glue and sprinkled with fine white glitter for added sparkle. Dry.
SIX Carefully set all modeling dough piece aside and remove the clear wrap. Arrange pieces in place for gluing down onto cardboard. Most dough pieces can be glued with white glue. It can be helpful for an adult to hot glue fragile icing pieces for strength and a quicker dry time. Use chalk marker to add small details of color on the cardboard cottage. White chalk marker can imply small areas of icing and colored chalk marker can add vivid details to the cardboard pieces. Now, you can add your embellishments including, white pom-poms, red & white paper straws and striped cupcake papers, wire stars, and white string for lights. Most embellishments can simply be glued in place onto the cardboard.
Be sure to tag@handmakery on Instagram with your Cardboard “Candy” Cottage creations as we’ll be featuring your work on our feed! #candycottage
A peek inside the studio at a mini-exhibit + recognition ceremony for our Winter-IE Wonderland Workshop as family and friends gathered to celebrate Cardboard “Candy” Cottages atop a wintery landscape!
JOIN US IN THE STUDIO ~ FIRST FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7TH:
Happy Holidays! Tag us @handmakery with your creations on Instagram! Follow our blog for more inspiring process-based art projects! As always, thank you for following along on this artful adventure! Send us a note anytime! We’d love to hear what you’re thinking and dreaming! Much love and happiness creating in this creative + colorful world full of collaboration + connection + community!
A peek into our studio on First Friday in the heART of the Carbondale Creative District celebrating Dia de los Muertos in downtown Carbondale | CO!
Click to see all the artful action as artists created “in the style of” our guest artist ~ Lindsay Jones!
A collection of 30 pieces on our gallery wall created by local artist ~ Lindsay Jones! This collection will display through December! Lindsay is a contemporary artist, surface pattern designer, and graphic designer. She works in a variety of media including drawing, painting, digital art, sculptural constructions, and installations. Her fine art work reflects on ideas of landscapes and environments that are built, altered, shaped, and manipulated, while using playful patterns and abstracted imagery. When Lindsay is not working, you can find her outside camping, exploring remote lands, mountain biking in the desert, or racing cyclocross, all of which inspire her creative work.
A sculptural piece created by Lindsay Jones in her Pattern Recognition collection. Artists of all ages created “in the style of Lindsay” as they made flags in her unique style and color pallet.
PHOTOS OF THE OPEN STUDIO ART MAKING:
Discover more about Lindsay Jones and pop into her shop to purchase her beautiful pieces featured in our gallery located at 449 Main Street in downtown Carbondale | CO in the heART of the Carbondale Creative District!
Tag us @handmakery with your creations on Instagram! Follow our blog for more inspiring process-based art projects! As always, thank you for following along on this artful adventure! Send us a note anytime! We’d love to hear what you’re thinking and dreaming! Much love and happiness creating in this creative + colorful world full of collaboration + community!
My fabulous art students created a project personally dreamed-up and designed called ~ Pet Portraits with Personality. With moving our studio to Main Street last summer, life got a little beyond busy so thank you for your patience with just getting this project out! With fall in the air and back to school really here, thought it would be the perfect time of year to share this fun favorite with you!
Pet Portraits with Personality was a huge project created with children ages 10 – 14! The artwork, 120 finished pieces, were then used for a local circulator bus (yes, a REAL BUS!!!) and a collection of 35+ community “bear-proof” cans. Both the bus and can projects were designed to bring more art to the heART of our historic downtown! So proud of each artist and their unique creation, contributed to both of these colorful community projects! So happy to see our community come together to support both kid-friendly + child-focused art projects! The artwork has brought a great deal of humor, color, and a whole lot of creativity to our community of Carbondale | Colorado at the heART of the Carbondale Creative District! Don’t you just love how childhood and creativity completely collide, to completely capture community and collaboration!?! Take a peek!
Read a fantastic article highlighting all the details about these upcycled Bear-Proof Cans wrapped with student artwork located throughout downtown! Would you believe there are over 35+ cans throughout our community!?! A huge thank you to the Town of Carbondale for taking on this project. This particular can is located right across from our studio at 449 Main Street! The day the install happened was just beyond exciting to watch out our windows!
SUPPLIES:
Pencil + eraser
Scissors
Gluestick
Realistic animal face photos for inspiration
Sketch paper + final paper + tracing paper + watercolor paper cut to size
India Ink
Watercolors including both liquid and traditional pallets
Watercolor brushes + water container
Lightbox or window
Colored pencils, permanent markers, acrylic paint, colored paper for additional details!
PROCESS:
ONE Select a realistic animal and dream up your animal’s expressive personality. Create several mini sketches focusing on the face, head, and shoulders.
TWO Finalize your favorite sketch selection into a drawing, again with a focus on the face or upper body. Humanize your animal by adding human-like features, ex. eyes, mouths, shoulders, costuming and fun accessories, yet keeping a bit simplified, as individually drawn pieces will need to be drawn and cut out.
THREE Finalized your favorite animal drawing to a specific vertical paper size, fill the space by going big and focused in.
FOUR Trace each section of your drawing onto tracing paper at a window or lightbox. Separate out each layer. For example, the glasses would be a separate “drawn and cutout piece” from the face, to then overlay on top of the face. Start with the largest shapes first, such as the face, neck, and shoulders. It is very helpful to create bigger shapes to smaller shapes, working background to foreground.
FIVE Place the tracing paper shapes behind the final watercolor paper at the window or lightbox. Trace images onto heavy-weight watercolor paper in pencil. Again, all individual pieces that make up the complete animal, will be all drawn as separate pieces. The photos, above and below, should help with the visual understanding.
SIX Before cutting apart, use India Ink and a small brush to outline all the separate pieces. Remember to vary the line quality to keep your pieces more painterly so they capture both thick and thin for a more handcrafted flair. Dry.
SEVEN Plan out a color scheme- complementary, analogous, warm or cool, intermediate, triad, or monochromatic for the overall piece. The color scheme should include the background.
EIGHT Using watercolors, which could be liquid or traditional pallets style, paint each piece remembering to dry between colors. Dry all pieces. Cut apart all individual pieces following the outer edge ink so the varied edge lines are preserved. Use a heavier weight watercolor paper to create a vibrant wash for the background. Dry.
NINE Assemble all the separate cutout/painted pieces using a heavy duty glue stick.
TEN Onto delightful details! Add highlights in eyes using white acrylic paint. Add swirls using colored pencil or permanent marker by using a similar color. Add texture and additional delightful detail. Use cut paper shapes, ex. stripes or polka dots to create a contrasting background to pop the creature! Most importantly, create a pet with personality and humor that comes to life with color, contrast, and human-like features!
… for making these two community projects, completely focused on kid art, come together for our community!
Tag us @handmakery with your creations on Instagram! Would love to see your ~ Pet Portraits with Personality! Follow our BLOG for more inspiring process-based art projects! As always, thank you for following along on this artful adventure in beautiful Carbondale | CO at 449 Main Street! Send us a note or contact us anytime at hello@handmakery.com! Much love and happiness creating! xo Ami
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. – Pablo Picasso
ANNOUNCING FALL ART WORKSHOPS!
Workshops + Classes + Events start September 4th, 2018!
PENCIL IN & JOIN US:
DATE: September 7th | First Friday 6 – 8 PM
EVENT: HANDMAKERY’S 1st Year in NEW Location Celebration + First Friday + FREE Art Making to Connect with Exhibit + Open Studio + Gallery Exhibit!
EXHIBIT: Swedish afar artist, Gina Vide of Willowday, and her creations for upcoming book ~ ABC Flower Safari! Gina’s work will incorporate playful + whimsical animals, flowers, paint, illustration, and typography all captured through photography! All ages will love this beautiful + delicate + detailed exhibit! Read more about Gina Vide!
LOCATION: HANDMAKERY located at 449 Main Street in beautiful + historic downtown Carbondale | CO at the heART of the Carbondale Creative District!
Keep checking HANDMAKERY.COM as additional programming will continue to be added throughout the year! Programming will include: children’s weekly art workshops for expanded ages, arts + craft evenings for children/adults/ladies/couples + family, holiday art making, art camps, open studio, one-of-a-kind birthday parties + special celebrations + customized events, specialty summer workshops, special guests + speakers, pop up events, and more! What would you like to see offered? We’ll let you in on a secret… our first Ladies Art Night is coming soon! Take a VIRTUAL VIDEO TOUR of our studio!
A PEEK INSIDE THE STUDIO:
Featuring ~ Children’s Art Workshops, Mini Maker Mornings, Birthday Parties, Adult Arts & Crafts Nights, and First Fridays & Pop Up Events! Take a peek, below!
CHILDREN’S ART WORKSHOPS…
MINI MAKER MORNINGS…
BIRTHDAY PARTIES FOR ALL AGES…
So far, thirty, one-of-a-kind parties have been hosted in our studio in our first year on Main Street! Get your special event on our events calendar! No date is too early to pencil in! Send us an email hello@handmakery.com and let us know what you’re dreaming!
ADULT ARTS & CRAFTS NIGHTS…
Our first ~ Ladies Art Night is coming soon! Create a personalized account or contact us to get on the wishlist!
FIRST FRIDAYS & POP UP EVENTS…
We hope to see you at September’s First Friday on Main Street and in the art studio soon! It’s truly such a wonderful way to discover your community and connect! Tag us @handmakery with your creations on Instagram! Follow our blog for more inspiring process-based art projects! As always, thank you for following along the artful adventure in beautiful downtown Carbondale | CO at 449 Main Street! Send us a note anytime at hello@handmakery.com to let us know what you’re thinking and dreaming! We’d love to hear your ideas! Much love and happiness creating! xo Ami
The art studio was filled with mini maker exhibits and recognition ceremonies as ALL six-week workshops wrapped up last week! We celebrated our fifth exhibit, an end of the week highlight, hosting a FIRST FRIDAY “kid at heART exhibit” showcasing my 88-year-old grandfather, Bob Fadely aka Papa Bob, and his very first art exhibit ~ COLORING IN COLORFUL COLORADO! Megan Tackett, an incredibly talented and enthusiastic writer, captured my grandfather in both a delightful article in The Sopris Sun and live interview on KDNK! After it was all said and done, my most genuine Grandfather shared with me, “Last week was one of the BEST weeks of my life!” “Art (without a doubt) washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
As springtime unfolds the outdoors become artfully alive! Dragonflies always mesmerize with their stealthy speed, shimmery color, intricate detail, and pattern on point. They lead us to our favorite outdoor places and spaces, including rivers, ponds, and lakes. Spring into a simple process upcycling household goods to create a bountiful + beautiful ~ DIY Delightful Dragonfly dreamed up in the HANDMAKERY art studio! Simply take a peek!
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!