Mars D.I.Y. Night

Mark your calenders, Tuesday November 24th, 7-9pm will be the next gathering of Do It Yourselfer's at Mars Cafe.

To start the chilly season off this year we will be making creative neckwear out of repurposed t-shirts.

Supplies Needed:
1. T-shirt you are willing to cut up, one or more needed. Chose one in the color you want your neckwear to be and has as little of design as you can find. (You can't use any of the t-shirt area that has image on it for this project.)
2. Scissors that cut fabric well
3. Ruler
To bring if you have on hand
4. Cutting Mat
5. Rotatory cutting blade
6. Chalk for marking fabric


Here's a little video to get your juices flowing with another type of necklace.



Hope to See you There!

Get your Craft On!

Pssssst... just giving you a heads up that there is a D.I.Y night at Mars Cafe in the works. The time is over... your wait is up, we will once again be creating fun little things on a more regular basis. So I hope that you guys can get those creative caps back on your head, get the scissors out and the glue guns heated up because there are no excuses we are going to get our craft on!

It's very possible it will be Tuesday nights from 7-9 once a month. Stay tuned for further more information.

Crochet Apple Cozy D.I.Y Night

A lot of people ask me what is that for?

Well, once I explain it to them it makes a lot more sense. This great little handy apple cozy helps protect your apple from all those bumps on the way to work. I always grab my apple out of the fridge when running out the door to work every morning and throw it in my purse. In the past my apple would get so many bruises and nicks and now it stays in perfect shape in it's little protector. So now that I have sold you on the apple cozy, you will wish you would have been able to come join us in learning how to crochet and start making your very own cozy.


We had a nice, small crowd, just what we needed for the project because learning the craft of crocheting can be a little difficult. Back in the day I started out with crocheting because I could wrap my mind around the concept before I ever could understand knitting.

Learn to Crochet D.I.Y Night

This next D.I.Y night we are going to take the plunge into learning how to Crochet as well as maybe start creating an Apple Cozy for those who are ready for a little challenge.

I will confess I have not made the cozy ever before but have been aspiring to and I feel this would be a great time to try to figure it out. I purchased one to use as a pattern and have ended up loving taking my apple in my lunch to work with me. It's a perfect little case.

This pic is from Pigatopia Studios

For those of you who have not ever crocheted before, don't you worry. Crocheting seams to be simpler than knitting if you are intimidated by it. When I learned to crochet many years ago I thought I would never be a knitter because knitting was to confusing and took to long. But I was wrong, I did eventually pick up the knitting needles but I would have to save crocheting is a good place to begin in the needle craft department.

So here are the supplies you will need to bring:

1. Crochet Hook 2.5 mm (from my experience the Susan Bates brand is my favorite type of hook. The 3 pack I have linked here would be a good one to purchase because the sizes here will work for our project.)

2. Apple Cozy Pattern Printed out here from the web (ok, that link doesn't work and I can't figure out the pattern so I tried this one and with a few alterations have gotten it to work.)

3. 1 skein of Yarn (bring a simple 100% cotton in a light color. I say light because then you will be able to see what you are doing. If you get black or navy or something else dark like that it will be hard to see your stitches.)

4. Scissors

5. Button

If you are further interested in more fruit cozies patterns take a look here at The Indigo Phial blog.

I hope to see you this coming Tuesday May 19th, at Mars Cafe 7-9 pm!

p.s. if you don't feel like crocheting feel welcome to bring any other project you might want to work on and join us for some good banter.

B.Y.O.P. D.I.Y. Night

When I started the idea of D.I.Y Nights I wanted to have nights that we do not have an organized project and instead everyone brings their own project they are working on. We can socialize with each other as well as get ideas and inspiration from all the different types of crafts each and every person is doing. Sometimes I need to just have a dedicated time that I work on a project that I have been trying to finish forever or I just need to get a shot of creativity from someone else.


So please come join us for the next "Do it yourself night" when you get to actually do it yourself by bringing your very own project, Tuesday, April 21st 7-9 pm at Mars Cafe. Don't worry if you don't have a project to work on, we always enjoy having your company.

what a mess at D.I.Y night!

Book Altering was a popular D.I.Y event to be at last night. We had a fantastic turn out of many people interested in how to alter a book. Some new beginners and some experienced. We only skimmed the top of what you can do with books and only just begun projects that I hope people will continue with. It's a great craft/hobby to build upon.

I have made several books throughout the years. Books for projects assigned to me at college, books for presents for my friends, books for themed craft swaps, the list goes on.

Oh gosh what a wonderful mess we made, paper scraps flying everywhere! You can see more pictures of the mess we made at my Flickr account.

There where several new folks that came to join us last night, so glad you did! I hope that everyone had as much fun as I did and really enjoyed seeing the ideas that come out of each and every person. I like how everyone has their unique ways and ideas that they come up with, I always come out with new inspirations of what I can do in the future.

I hope you are able to come and join in on our next D.I.Y night Tuesday, April 21st. Let me make sure I have this date right.... "Yes!", because I got this last one wrong some how.

D.I.Y at Mars Cafe

The next D.I.Y. night is just around the corner Tuesday April 6 th 7-9 pm. We will be doing some book altering. This has been a little hobby of mine for the last several years. I always find it fun to deconstruct/reconstruct things as well as express myself through collage.


Supplies are very easy to come by.

1. Old book or books that you don't mind taking apart.

2. Pictures, magazines, scrapbooking papers etc.

3. Markers, colored pencils, paint. All pending on what you want to do with your book.

4. X-Acto Knife

5. Pencil, Ruler, Tacky Glue, Rubber Cement, Mod Podge

Bring anything you would like, it's all up to what your imagination!

Here are some pictures of altered items I have made that might help you get your juices flowing.




I've also have enjoyed Sabrina Ward Harrison, a collage artist that has inspired me to journal a little more within my book altering. She has 4 books that are wonderful pieces of art.

D.I.Y. night #6

D.I.Y night number 6! Spent the evening block printing.

We discussed the basics of how to put the image on the block, the differences between all the blades that go with the carving tool, then onto the many ways you can create your image by making it a single color or multiple color print. After we had got a ways on carving our blocks we walked through how to apply the ink to the design and then the final procedure of printing onto paper.

Erin, our beginner block printer started her first carving project a inexpensive eraser and a very simple design. She did a fantastic job, I love the little birdie and lowercase e.


Many people stopped by with interest in what we were working on. and we even had a table of women next to us knitting and crocheting away.

You can see more pictures from our block printing on my Flickr account here.
I am working on our next D.I.Y night project line up for April 7th, please feel welcome to come join us!

D.I.Y. Block (Printing) Partaaay!

Block printing is on the agenda! Come join us with supplies in hand and you will learn the basics of carving and printing a single or double color block.

Supplies:

IMPORTANT!! These supplies are not easy to come by in Des Moines, you should go shopping early for these so you can order supplies if needed. (The Art Store or Hobby Lobby)

1. Speedball Block Printing Kit (ranges in price pending where you get it. $17-25) comes with 1 carving tool with 3 different blade, 1 lino block, 1 brayer, 1 Styrofoam meat tray, 1 tube of black ink.

2. Speedball Block Printing Ink, any colors that you want to do your design with.

3. 1 Piece of Carbon Transfer Paper, available at a sewing store or The Art Store.

4. Paper to print on. (such as nice light colored card stock as well as some printer paper for test prints.)

5. Pencil and Sharpie

6. DESIGN! Bring a simple design that you want to carve into your block.

7. White Staedler Eraser or a Speedy Carve block for beginner block to carve.

8. Band-aids :)

Feathery Fun Fashions

This week at DIY night at Mars Cafe we spent the evening creating lovely hair accessories. Yes, I am sorry all you guys out there, this was a very girly project and I promise that our next DIY night on the 24th of March will not be so frilly. (p.s. it's block printing so go to the Art store and order supplies because they don't stock much.)

We were deep in feathers, fabric, and fun. HA! :)


Many great little creations were made that you very well could see selling for large amounts of $$'s on Etsy.More pictures of our great pieces on my flickr.

If you were not able to come out and join us for this last DIY night we will be having our next creative evening March 24th, 7-9pm. Block Printing is on the agenda and I advise that you get supplies soon because there is not a large stock of it in Des Moines. Either the Art Store or Hobby Lobby. Purchase the Speedball Block Printing Starter Kit or all the items separately.

DIY Fashion Accessories

This coming Tuesday is another evening of Do It Yourself at Mars Cafe from 7-9 pm.

We will be making lovely headbands fashioned from feathers, fabric, and more.

If you are an avid Etsy fan you may have seen this fashion trend showing up here and there on the front page of Treasury as well as on blogs and fashion magazines.

These hair items are being sold anywhere from $25 to $120 and I know we can make them for much less.

Here are some Etsy sellers that I have been admiring their lovelies. Check them out for inspiration.

Ban.do

House of Telsa

Wing Nut Brooklyn

The Candy Theif

So grab your supplies and maybe some extra to share and come join us for an evening of fashion accessories as we gear up for spring fashions.

Stuff to bring....

Headbands, hair combs/clips

Feathers, fabric, ribbon, flowers, etc.

Hot glue gun, tacky glue, needle and thread, items you would need to put your hair accessory together.

Let me know if you have any questions or inquires.

Hope to see you there!

Knitting Know How

FANTASTIC turn out last night at Mars Cafe for Knitting 101! Wow, I am totally impressed.


We spent the evening learning the basics of knitting. Casting on, knitting and the final... casting off. There was not a specific project that we worked on due to the large amount of beginners and lack of time. The basics were the most important to learn so hopefully everyone could then go on to making their own scarf, headband, washcloth and more.

We hope to do Knitting 102 very soon to refresh on what was learned last night as well as learn how to purl and make a pattern with the combination of purl and knit stitches.


Good luck to all the beginner knitters out there! Don't get discouraged over difficulties, just You Tube some instructions or give me a holler it you need any help or advice. Knitting takes time to learn and you just have to keep doing it.

Hope to see you at the next DIY!

Knitting 101= DIY night

Come join us this next Tuesday night February 24th at Mars Cafe, 7 - 9 pm.

We will be having an evening of knitting!

I will be teaching knitting how to for beginners who have never knitted in their life, or have just the basic knowledge and need some help to get them going again.

If you already know how to knit you are welcome to bring our own project you are working on or just join in on conversation.

Here are the supplies that will be needed for the evening:

1. Knitting Needles (I recommend purchasing a pair of needles that are size 14 because it is easier to learn to knit on larger needles. The link here is for Bamboo needles which allot of beginners prefer using because they are not as slippery as metal or plastic.)

2. Yarn (Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick, from Michaels or Hobby Lobby) p.s. grab current week's 40% off coupon to get it for less! Hobby Lobby has theirs online here.

For those who want to just get a little head start on casting on before our evening class check this out!

Warm heart and hands on Valentines day!

You might not need hand warmers on a day like yesterday... 60 degrees. But just wait because I hear we are going to get snow tomorrow.

A small group of us got sewing to make some very cute little hand warmers last night at DIY/craft night at Mars Cafe. Erin of SoZealous brought some fabric samples from her work to re-use as her hand warmers. (How environmental conscious!) I did some screen and block printing on my fabric to personalize it to coordinate with my Valentine cards that have special sayings such as "Wood you be mine?" and "You take the cake!"
Some of the gentle men at Mars even tested them out on their faces for some heat therapy. So as you see there are many other ways these handy little rice packs can be used.


We also had a large group of people who joined us for great conversation. Alyssa from Vitea Design Collective and her Husband Josh joined us in conversation and we discusses all things DIY.


Please come join us for our next DIY night Tuesday February 24th, same time same place! For more pictures go here.

Valentine D.I.Y. Night

Come join us for an evening of creating at Mars Cafe Tuesday, February 10th from 7-9 pm.

You can learn something new as I show how to make re-usable hand warmers. Not only warm the heart of your special someone but keep their hands warm too. cheesy…I know :)

Or perhaps you would like to bring a project of your own that you are working on.

I always enjoy having a creative atmosphere to work on projects. Working side by side with someone else always motivates me! So, I hope you feel welcome to come join us or stop by and say hell0.

Here is a list of supplies you will need to create a hand warmer or several hand warmers

.
Supplies:
1. Fabric of choice and size to create your little set of hand warmers. These can be of any size or shape, it's all up to you.

2. Needle and thread to sew your hand warmer together, pins to hold your packet together while you sew it.

4.Scissors

3. Bag of Rice (for warmer filling)

These are ones I had made so far, a layer cake and also a piece of wood. I have many more ideas of shapes I want to make!

Create and have your Coffee too!

Last night we had another great night hanging out at Mars Cafe sipping on great drinks and getting our fingers all sticky with glue.

Our project for the evening, creating boxes out of magazine pages.

We not only made boxes/containers but also came up with many great other items that we could make too. Some absolutely ridiculous, you would have to spend hours and hours creating them. But just as well, we had fun thinking about it.

Here are a few pics of our evening and our projects.

Please feel free to come and join us for another evening of creating at Mars cafe! Our next DIY night is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10^th, 7-9pm.

You are welcome to bring your own project that you are working on and enjoy the creative atmosphere, or come with supplies in hand and work on the project we are all doing. Check back for project details and supplies. Or follow me on Twitter for updates.

More pictures from our evening here.

Urbanestics D.I.Y. /craft Night

This week for DIY/Craft night we will be making boxes or bowls out of recycled magazines or newspapers.

Supplies that you will need for our project:

Old magazines or Newspapers, whatever you prefer. It makes the final product different looking depending on what you use.

Scissors and or if you have a roller cutter and cutting mat bring that.

Tacky Glue, paint brush to spread glue, container for mixing glue with a little bit of water.

Clips or clamps to hold you box together while the glue dries. (clothes pins, chip bag clips and so on)

Bone, paper folder if you have one. This item is optional, it will help folding your paper if you have one. I have also used a spoon from my kitchen in placement of a bone folder.

Here is a link for "how to" pictures on Flickr.

Let the creative juices flow!

And they did! D.I.Y./craft night at Mars Cafe was a great evening of creating new things, meeting new people, letting all the inspiration move to our fingertips.



Now don't worry if you missed out on this one.... we will be having much more where this came from. Currently working out the date for our next night of fun. Note on your calendar the week of the 25th, the night is still to be determined due to Tuesday night already been taken.

You can view more pictures here.

"CREATE" with me at Mars Cafe!

First official DIY night will consist of 2 maybe 3 simple projects.

The theme for this evenings activities are "organization and inspiration" for the new year. It's always good for me to start the new year out that way so I thought I would start with this to get us rolling.

A. Vinyl Album Cover, Wall Pockets

List of to bring:
1. At least one Vinyl Record Album Cover that you will want to cut up, that would coordinate with your decor. ( Not sure where to find cheep Vinyl Records? Thrift store. They are usually $1 or $1.99 if your thrift store has enforced the $1.99 policy.)

2. 12x12 scrap book paper or any other paper that we will use to decorate the inside of the album. (Coordinate the paper to go with the color of your album cover.)
3. Double stick tape or Rubber Cement
4. Scissors
5. Pencil

B. 99% Recycled Calendar/Planner
(If I am able to gather everything together we will make these too.)

Bring:
1. Go to this website and download the pdf file to print your calender pages off of and bring with.
2. Paper that you will be normally recycling
3. A cardboard box


C. Word Poem Collage

Bring:
1. Old magazines, books, catalogs that we can cut images out of.
2. Scissors
3. Rubber Cement or Mod Podge (matte finish) Decoupage Glue
4. Regular size foam paint brush for spreading Mod Podge if that is what you choose to use.


Upcoming Projects
January:
Knitting 101: learn the first steps to knitting, casting on and doing the knit stitch, in the round.

February:
Cardboard creations: Photo Board/Cork Board, Picture Frames, and more...

Urbanestics D.I.Y. NIGHT!

I am proud to announce that I have been asked to host D.I.Y nights at Mars Cafe.

The first evening will be held on Tuesday, January 13th at Mars Cafe from 7 pm to 9 pm.

We will be working on projects to get ourselves inspired as wells as organized for the new year. You are also welcome to bring your own projects to work on.

I am hoping to soon have a D.I.Y. night schedule of projects so you can come prepared and know what supplies to bring.

Can't wait to see you there!
Let me know if you have any questions.