CAFAM - Etsy Craft Night - Punched & Stitched Paper

Hola Amigos!

Last Thursday night I had the privilege of leading CAFAM's Etsy Craft Night. The project I hosted was based off our pierced and stitched paper craft.  It was a really exciting opportunity for me and I am just so honored to have the chance to be the featured crafter!

Last week the L.A. Skin & Ink Show opened at CAFAM and we wanted to highlight this extraordinary show within the imagery included for the project. The funky imagery included vintage California references, handmade items, and tattoos inspired by the show.

We shared a variation of this tutorial here with everyone showing how to pierce the image which is very similar to the tattooing techniques described in the exhibit.  The Black and Gray style tattoos that Los Angeles is famous for is created with a single needle just like this paper craft!  We also highlighted the second step where you can embellish the project further with colorful stitching.

I got to wear a microphone to shoot a video for a project shot for a USC student (shown top left) - More details on project use to come about the video/project.  Also, I had some great members from the Pretty Pink Ponies Etsy Team - Christina Cabral and Samantha Galletly (shown bottom left) helped assist and demo the project with the attendees and were a big help!

Everybody was hard at work all night on their projects - it was really inspiring and beautiful to see what everyone was coming up with.  It was interesting to see what images were used out of the images included as templates as well as how many people came up with their own subject matter for their projects.

There was a tattoo inspired rose that was quite popular.  It was a bit more in-depth then some of the other images but it came out so wonderful with the addition of the stitched elements.  Of course the California image was quite popular and I think most people tried their hand at the CA shape as their tester.

I got great feedback from the attendees on the project - I hope that the next time I share the project with a group I can have a wider range of needle shapes and awls so we can vary the piercings.  This will also help in adding some of the stitched details because the holes will be more manageable.  Overall, having just hat pins and embroidery needles as the tools was plenty - Its just good to note potential options and variations.

The craft night was streamed live on Stickam and at one point we had over 300 people watching our crafting online! The Stickam site is really slick for broadcasting and all you need is an iPAD which captures the videos as well as the sound simply and effortlessly.

We hope to see you at the next CAFAM Etsy Craft Night in November.  They are always held on the 1st Thursday of the month and have a different project each time.  I will make sure to share the info on the project as soon as I know more info :)

Hope y'all have a fantastic & productive week!!!

XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: Punched Paper Stationery and featured guest at CAFAM Etsy Craft Night

This Thursday KC is the guest crafter at CAFAM's monthly Etsy Craft Night.  Here is a sneak peek at the project available that night.  We are making needle pierced and stitched paper on this week's how-to project.

Supplies needed

• Medium weight/thick card stock. Thicker paper provides more definition and will hold up a larger needle pierce.
• Various size needles.These can include sewing pins, embroidery needles and can even include awls or other industrial piercing tools.
• Item to protect work surface such as towel or foamcore to punch the paper design into.
• Tracing paper and your design flipped or reversed. When outlining an image the pierce holes will produce a flipped version of a design, unless you flip the tracing image first.
• A pencil to freehand draw your image.

1. Draw the image to be pierced with light penciling on the backside of your paper if you wish to freehand draw the pencil lines. You can also place the image on which ever side you like to be the smooth side (back) 
2. Use the lines of your image, or your pencil lines as the template to create your pierced lines.

A finder needle such as a sewing needle will make a very tiny and more of a stippling affect dot.
Personally I like to use a larger instrument or needle for the outlining of the shape and then work my way in with a smaller needle for the inside detailing work.

Also watch your speed and placement because placing the holes/dots too close to one another can result in a "blob" and be visually distracting.

Here is an example of the finished card:

It is easy to make a plain piece of paper a simple and modern card just by punching the outlines!

Or you can create a new variation of your logo with this technique:

Wanna Come make the project with me?

Etsy Craft Night: Punched & Stitched PaperLed by KC Cooper Sears
Thursday, October 4 from 7:00-9:00pm
$7/ Free for CAFAM Members (includes materials, drinks, and snacks)
In the CAFAM Courtyard

Make your mark with crafter KC Sears and create punched cards and pictures. KC will have funky imagery to inspire you—think vintage California, handmade items, even tattoos—and after you pierce the image, embellish it further with colorful stitching.

Hope to see you there!!!

XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: Make a Crafty Party

We had such a wonderful response to our Etsy Craft Party at CRAFTED last month and wanted to share some project tips to include in your own craft party.

For a Paper Craft Party

Always perfect for a paper party - rubber stamps & ink, paper punches and craft paper.

Project ideas:  Make your own DIY gift wrapping paper, Tags, Embellishments, Wall Art, Stationery

Also fun to have on hand - Postage Stamps!

Here is more details to get your stamps ready. 

By adding some bottle cap magnet blanks attendees have the option to make magnets along with the paper crafts super easily. 

Simple instructions can be found here.

Fabric Fun Party
Grab your girlfriends and update your wardrobe with a craft party :)

Sewn Fabric Bows can be a great wardrobe addition & easy for all levels of sewers.

Fabric yo-yo's

Add to shirts, purses, brooches, earrings, necklaces and all kinds of things.

Buttons

Even covering things with buttons is enough to make something new again!

Fabric + More Sewing  

Add some Lavender for some great gifts:

Heat Pads / Ice packs

Gather up your dryer sheets and make some fabulous sachets!!!

Around the House Party

Corks

Project ideas: Cover Votive Candles, Make Cork Boards, Wreaths, Mini Planters

Green Cleaning

Easy to make - DIY Laundry Detergent with 3 ingredients 

Don't forget every party needs some food and a signature cocktail :)

Check out some fun cocktail ideas from our Pinterest Vault

What is a celebration without some decorations?!?

We love finding party ideas on Pinterest! Check out our Weddings & Party Board to figure out some ways to decorate your party utilizing all kinds of fun themes.

Do you have any projects that are a craft party hit? We would love to see your party fun and hear any tips for our next party :)

XOXO, KC

Etsy Craft Party at CRAFTED Wrap-up

Last Friday was a very successful Etsy & CRAFTED Craft Party.  The event had about 1,000 people attend and over 20 craft stations and demos areas.  Make. Shop. Live. is lucky to have a store right next to the main craft demo area, so we got to meet a lot of new crafters and visitors to CRAFTED.

Mark Montano, our celebrity Crafter and author of the Big Ass book of Crafts, had a busy table and was on hand to demo a beaded wristband and assist the many that got to make them. If you missed the in-person demo his zip tie bracelet project is in the Big-Ass Book of Bling available in November.

Did some one say Raffle?!?

Some of the make-n-takes for the evening:

Tie Dye

DIY Post Cards

KC broke away from the tie dye station to show folks how to make their own envelopes in our market stall.

Say wha-aaaaat?!? Photo Booth Fun!!!! Thanks to Lauren of Mitsymoto Designs and Andrew from Object Mfg. Co. made this sweet photo booth to capture the fun. Did you get your picture taken in the booth? Check out the amazing photo booth pictures here.

Thanks to all the artists that pitched in on the decor and decorating the warehouse!!! the decorations came out so amazing!!! It was totally transformed :)

For even more pictures of the fun you can check out the photos from CRAFTED here or on the Etsy Flickr page here for parties all over the globe.

Be on the watch for more events at CRAFTED as the holiday seasons approach!   And cheers to this being our 500th post!  We are just getting started with our upcycled and green community here at Make. Shop. Live.  Thanks for being a part of it.

XOXO, KC & Kevin

Big CRAFTED & Etsy Party tonight in San Pedro!

Join us down in San Pedro tonight for an amazing Etsy Craft Party!!!

Parking is Free!  There are a ton of demos and craft setups for you to get creative in!  Several vendors will be doing demos of their process in shop.  KC from Make.Shop.Live will be doing live demos of DIY Envelopes and an outside Tie Dye workspace.  Bring your old shirts and some friends, tonight!!

XOXO, KC

Etsy Craft Party at CRAFTED this Friday!

The creative makers of CRAFTED at the port of Los Angeles have been hard at work getting ready for the Craft Party and we hope you can come party with us! On Friday, August 24 we will be hosting an Etsy Craft Party as part of their worldwide craft party meetup. We’re hoping to make it the biggest and best in SoCal!

Etsy Craft Party: From 7-10pm we will craft party like it’s 1999! For more details and to RSVP go here.

Our theme is “Wish You Were Here” and we certainly wish you were here for this event! Activities will include:
★ Loads of craft projects with the expert makers of CRAFTED! (a small materials fee may apply for some booths)
★ Demos by talented artists
★ Shopping and browsing CRAFTED market stalls
★ Food trucks and a wine bar
★ Live DJ and photobooth
★ Nail bar
★ Tie-dye station
★ Message in a bottle make-n-take
★ FREE PARKING! FREE ADMISSION!

Also, any posts you may share about the event, please feel free to send my way or tweet us at @makeshoplive and @CRAFTEDport_la or hash tag #craftparty  so we can share with our community.

We look forward to having a good time with you that evening! Hope to see you there!!!

XOXO, KC

B-Day Wrap up and upcoming stuff

Kevin here,

Saturday was a hot birthday for KC at CRAFTED.  Several people were just passed out in the community chairs, including me!  What a summer!  Many shoppers took advantage of the 29% sale, so that was fun.  Overall, we ran around making sure the plans were in order for the Etsy and CRAFTED party this Friday evening.  Mark your calendars now.  

KC will be on vacation this week until the party, so the blog will be light and easy.  We have some summer tutorial recaps tomorrow and great finds to show later in the week.  Check back soon!

--Kevin