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Opening Night Celebration!

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First Friday was our ~ Opening Night Celebration at our NEW art studio location at 449 Main Street in downtown Carbondale | CO!  With a wide array of ages and not knowing exactly how many guests we’d have joining in, we kept it celebratory + simple + full of dazzle, painting and embellishing ~ Celebration Crowns!  Main Street was blocked so everyone could enjoy an evening strolling the streets of historic downtown!  The night was festive and full of flavor, with everyone back-in-town from summer adventures.  The community was alive, vibrant, and actively adventuring around this artistic town!

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Opening Night on Main Street!

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We hope you’re enjoying the last days of summer!  Have you heard the news!?!  HANDMAKERY just moved to Main Street!  We’ve been working all summer to get our new studio up, running, and ready for HANDMAKERY’S Opening Night Celebration ~ First Friday, September!  We’re so excited to be located in downtown Carbondale | CO!  We’ll now be located in the heart of historic downtown at 449 Main Street, in between flowers, yoga, coffee and across from piping hot pizza, sounds tempting, right!?!  Yes, we definately have the BEST neighbors!  We’re incredibly excited to be part of the community and the Carbondale Creative District!

Summer involved planning, designing, constructing, ordering, organizing, and decorating our new studio which we LOVED!  Highlights of our new space include: being nestled in the heart of the community, 14′ ceilings, timeless wood floors, historic charm, a crisp + clean + modern flair, natural lighting + big windows, all our favorite art supplies, and maybe our favorite element…  a teeny-tiny restroom!

PLEASE PENCIL IN + JOIN US:

September 1st | First Friday 4 – 8 PM

HANDMAKERY’S Opening Night Celebration + First Friday ~ FREE Art Making + Suprise Giveaways + Studio Tour!

STUDIO SNEAK PEEK EVENT:

We hosted a ~ Studio Sneak Peek + Free Kids Art Making last Thursday from 4-6 PM!  Several families + creatives came to tour the NEW studio and out-on-the-town to create ~ a wondrous wearable~ to shine + showcase + sport + spotlight around town on ~ First Friday, September 1st!  We had 100+ people attend this spectacular evening event!  A HUGE thank you to everyone that attended our first event!  The support for mini makers on Main (…and coming soon BIG maker events….including adults, ladies, couples, family + friends) was incredible!  See additional photos of the sneak peek in this week’s Sopris Sun newspaper on page 8!

Take a peek at our video-clip gone-wild over on Instagram, highlighting all the artful activity of our ~ Studio Sneak Peek!

At the ~ Studio Sneak Peek, artists created {hands on + mixed media} Owl Feathered Necklaces using cardboard, beads, jumbo pipe cleaners, markers, glue, stickers, string, sparkles and more!  Everyone had a great time in the studio!  Over the last several years over on Instagram, I’ve admired Wendee Wingfield, a local + Roaring Fork Valley photographer.  Wendee RSVPed to our event, I couldn’t even believe it!  We had never met before but when she walked in with her five children, I was beyond thrilled to finally meet Wendee and her children in person!  Wendee Wingfield generously sent me a gorgeous collection of photos she took of the ~ Owl Feathered Necklaces her children created in our NEW art studio on Main Street.  If you’re not on IG yet, it’s a fantastic place to meet new friends with similar interests!  Find us on IG @handmakery!

Take a glimpse at Wendee’s Wingfield’s photos below and discover her amazing talent + beautiful collection over on IG @wendeewingfield!  You’ll be amazed at what she sees through her lens and the life she creates!

Photo credit (below): Wendee Wingfield Photography

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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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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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Art Studio: A Place to Make + Create

Excited to share with you our art studio, the place where we make and create!  Most often we are featuring DIY projects that we’ve created within our School Year + Summer ~hands on + mixed media~ Art Workshops with children.  A few weeks ago, my superstar-art-friend Meri Cherry (yes, that’s her really name…don’t you just love it), over at Meri Cherry Blog mentioned that she was thinking about creating an artful roundup, featuring art studios + creative spaces!  Honored that she invited us to join in!  As some of you know, HANDMAKERY was recently invited to join a group of 20 international bloggers focused on creating art with children, the Rockin’ Art Moms!  It has been amazing and truly inspiring to connect with this fabulous group of women!  We’re so excited that you’ll get a chance to not only peek into our studio, but you’ll also get to say h-e-l-l-o and peek into the studios + creative spaces of some of our favorite Rockin’ Art Moms!  Enjoy the tour!

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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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Autumn Art Outdoors

Happy Fall!!!  Isn’t the weather gorgeous?!?  What a beautiful time of year, maybe our favorite!  The last few years we’ve celebrated Oktoberfest in historic Downtown Carbondale | Colorado, creating Autumn Art in the Outdoors!  This year we will NOT be at Oktoberfest, but wanted to spread the word on this event as we’re excited to announce that the Town of Carbondale Recreation will be continuing the tradition of pumpkin carving and making art with children!  Please come out to support this local event and know we’ll be there in spirit!  Here is a peek at our booth, last year and in Fall of 2013, creating festive HARVEST CROWNS + WANDS!  Happy Oktoberfest!  Hope you are following us on Instagram + Facebook!

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