long beach craft mafia

Rock Paper Scissors

noreply@blogger.com (Long Beach Craft Mafia) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:00:00 +0000

March 6th-28th at CSUF Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana.

Rock, Paper, Scissors features watercolor, printmaking, bookmaking, stationary and jewelry from Orange County and Los Angeles based artisans. Inspired by the growing popularity of indie crafts in Orange County this exhibition presents affordable art with a purpose.

Featured artists: Crayon Fawn, Jim Lorigan, Eugenie Goldschmeding, Shana Salaff, Paper Pastries, Erin Shea, Yevgenia Mikhailik, Lilia Lamas, Heather Richards, Alex jackson and Wendy Peng.

Address 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701

Meet Me at the Center of the Earth 2010

noreply@blogger.com ((m)) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:06:00 +0000

Nick Cave's Soundsuit Invasion No. 1 in LA, courtesy Fowler Museum at UCLA from Fowler Museum on Vimeo.

Wanted to share a tittybit of info regarding my favorite artist Nick Cave (not the singer). His traveling exhibition Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth will be held at Fowler Museum @ UCLA until March 30, 2010 (I can't believe I missed the opening)!

Get the rest of the scoop on this awesome fashion/sculpture/multi-media exhibition at the Fowler Museum site.

<3 Marc (Ain Soph Aur)

craft supershow in january, get your discount code here!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:15:00 +0000

special thanks to the folks at craft supershow for hooking us up with a discount code for admission into the show in january! wanna get in on the discount? use code craft14 when you're purchasing your admission ticket and you'll get 5 bucks off! pow!

for more info on the craft supershow, check out www.craftsupershow.com!

(brrrrrrrr...)

noreply@blogger.com ((m)) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:58:00 +0000

Hi all, hope everyone is doing well and you're all getting into the holiday spirit.

If you are on facebook, I just made a new album with inspirations for my next project.

You can also become a facebook fan.

Okay, that's it. Go back to making gingerbread men, stringing popcorn on the tree, and sitting by the fire contemplating how lucky we are to have the opportunity to experience such joy in out lives.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

♥ Marc (Ain Soph Aur)

check out hearts and laserbeams on tv!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:12:00 +0000

as you may or may not know, if you're ever in georgia you can pop into shopScad (in both savannah and atlanta!) and pick up hearts and laserbeams gifties in person.

amy from shopscad shared a video on facebook today of a news bit that was filmed in the atlanta shopscad, and i am alllll over it! how exciting! as you watch it, keep an eye out for our plate designs, glue gun tee, and in the background of one shot you can see our tiny magnet set tins!

click here to watch the video.

workshop schedule for saturday's trunk show!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:32:00 +0000

hey folks! make your plans, here's the times and topics of the free workshops we'll be offering at saturday's trunk show!

remember the workshops will be held at open on 4th street, just a few doors down from the trunk show going on at songbird!

noon - 2pm: stretching for crafters
janice sprenger of wanderlove will be teaching various stretches that'll help prevent carpal tunnel and keep you feeling energized and crafty!

noon-2pm: yarn pom poms
tamara zielinski of crayon fawn will be showin ya how to make super cute yarn pom poms!

2pm-4pm: paper fans
sit a spell with klai brown of lerf ewe and you'll walk away with a fun paper fan you made yourself!

2pm-4pm: papercrafted notecards
steph calvert of hearts and laserbeams has a few tricks up her sleeve and is ready to share some unique greeting card techniques!

(click for print quality flier)

New OC Weekly Interview

noreply@blogger.com ((m)) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:28:00 +0000

New interview in The OC Weekly Gettin' Made blog, featuring new member Janice Sprenger of WanderLove, Marc Anthony Coronado of Ain Soph Aur, and Jennifer Martin of RadCo.

Click here and get the dirt on our awesomely talented new members!

hearts and laserbeams book giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:43:00 +0000

heads up folks, steph's hosting a giveaway for a free copy of "we feel fine: an almanac of human emotion" at her blog!

the hearts and laserbeams blog

online contest closes midnight, sunday december 13th so get commenting and good luck!

Black Friday - Cyber Monday sale in the Kelso Doesnt Dance etsy shop!

noreply@blogger.com (Kelso) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:02:00 +0000

Black Friday - Cyber Monday sale in the Kelso Doesnt Dance etsy shop!

20% off orders of $30 or more
+FREE upcycled snowflake stickers!

enter code "BlackFriday" in the message to seller at checkout

and wait for a revised PayPal invoice before paying

valid 11/27/09-11/30/09

Come check the new Little Golden Book Notebooks, map & newspaper wallets, appliqued tees and roll up totes!

http://www.kelsodoesntdance.etsy.com/

-Kelso

LBCM 1st Annual Stuff Swap

noreply@blogger.com (Radco.) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:27:00 +0000

This past LBCM meeting was like no other. After discussing our upcoming six holiday craft shows, we went out under the stars with hot cocoa in hand to swap goods. Each LBCM member brought wearable pieces suitible for trade and/or craft supplies that he/she no longer wanted.
Below are a few fotos. Good times!

To see more please checkout our flickr album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42720286@N06/sets/72157622702767405/

-jen Radco

Marc checking Klai's new shirt for thread count and washer machine stability.

Janice and Lexi checking out some new finds.

So many things to look at!

Join us at DesignerCon

noreply@blogger.com ((m)) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Join us tomorrow (Saturday). I'll be there, along with my friends from The Long Beach Craft Mafia from 10am-5pm. I'll be selling a few select fashion items, a couple of abstract photo prints, and small paintings of lady papa and her kooky family. It's $5 to get in and FREE for children 12 and under. Come on out! Check out the DesignerCon website for more info.

*Marc (Ain Soph Aur)*

long beach craft mafia trunk show OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:48:00 +0000

(click for print quality flier)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Steph Calvert
Long Beach Craft Mafia & Hearts and Laserbeams
Phone: 714-655-5272
Email: heartsandlaserbeams@gmail.com

Store Contact: Jennifer Hill
Songbird – Location of Trunk Show
Phone: 562-439-4444 (store) 562-212-2256 (cell)
Email: thehillhut@verizon.net

Store Contact: Shea Gauer
Open – Location of Free Craft Workshops
Phone: 562-499-OPEN
Email: open@thestoryofopen.com

4TH STREET HOSTS FIRST LONG BEACH CRAFT MAFIA TRUNK SHOW
10 indie crafters come together to fill all your holiday shopping needs.

Long Beach, CA, USA – November 15, 2009 – Long Beach Craft Mafia will set up temporary shop at gift shops Songbird and Open for their first group trunk show on Saturday, December 12, 2009. The all-day affair will take place from 10:30am – 7pm, and will feature a raffle, free workshops, bake sale, and a truly unique assortment of handmade items by some of the best indie crafters Long Beach has to offer.

This location is the perfect fit for the group - “Songbird is a gift store that has something for everyone -- it is ‘cheep’ and cheerful, with bright colors and fun, quirky gifts for all,” Jennifer Hill (owner of Songbird) says, “I love the entire craft movement, and get inspired by being around other crafty and creative people.”

The holiday gift boutique will be set up at Songbird, at the corner of Junipero and 4th. You can pick up presents for everyone on your list, including hand-stitched felt dinosaurs and cacti by Lexi Lee of Little Bit, fashion items by Marc Anthony Coronado of Ain Soph Aur, upcycled and laminated map wallets by Kelso of Kelso Doesnt Dance, funky one of a kind jewelry by Jen of RadCo and Nicole Montoya, crayon sculptures and food-themed hats by Tamara Zielinski of CrayonFawn (as recently seen on Entertainment Tonight!) and much, much more. The emphasis is on handmade items you can’t find at the mall, presented by the artisans that created these original pieces.

“Retro Row is THE Long Beach destination for independent and innovative design,” shares Liz Abbot of Leatherette Heart (www.leatheretteheart.etsy.com),” a lot of us have merch in stores there. It’s totally fitting that the Long Beach Craft Mafia bust out their first trunk show in this area. I know when I get my shop on, it’s on 4th Street.”

When you’ve finished shopping the boutique at Songbird, picked up a delicious snack from new member Janice Sprenger at the bake sale there and entered to win the raffle prize (a free gift basket full of goodies from Long Beach Craft Mafia members), take a short walk down 4th Street to Open for some hands-on workshops. The free classes will be held from 12-4pm, and will include quickie fun crafts for all ages. New member Klai Brown’s paper fan workshop and founding member Steph Calvert of Hearts and Laserbeams’ papercrafted greeting cards are sure to be a hit with all experience levels, including eager kids and unsure adults looking to get their crafting feet wet.

“I’ve been a Long Beach Craft Mafia member since early 2007,” Steph Calvert of Hearts and Laserbeams (www.heartsandlaserbeams.com) says, “and I feel like our group has really grown by leaps and bounds in the past few months. We’re reaching out to the community through our monthly get-togethers, and folks have responded really positively. With our trunk show and crafty workshop extravaganza on December 12th, we’re all just really excited to help bring the indie craft scene into the spotlight and to encourage folks to buy handmade this (and every) holiday season.”

The first Craft Mafia (www.craftmafia.com) was founded in 2003 by nine crafty buisness women in Austin, Texas. The group originally came together through a shared love for craft, DIY ethics and mutual respect. As the Craft Mafia developed it became a forum for networking, promotion and shared ideas. Since it's development in Austin, other Mafias have popped up accross the globe. The Long Beach Craft Mafia is a southern California chapter of the world-wide Craft Mafia group. The local chapter exists as a marketing and networking tool for local independant arts and crafts businesses. Membership provides opportunities for growing members' individual businesses through participating in craft shows, hosting events for the community, and sharing information about arts and craft techniques as well as successfully running a do-it yourself style business.

The Long Beach Craft Mafia holiday trunk show takes place on Saturday, December 12, 2009. The bake sale, raffle and holiday shopping will take place from 10:30am to 7pm at Songbird, at 2240 East 4th Street, Long Beach, CA 90814, and the free craft workshops will take place from noon to 4pm at Open, at 2226 East 4th Street, Long Beach, CA 90814.

###

For more information on the Long Beach Craft Mafia and its members: www.longbeachcraftmafia.com
Contact: longbeachcraftmafia@gmail.com
Phone: 714-655-5272

we feel fine book preview is live!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:26:00 +0000

OMG guys! i'm super excited to share that a photo i put up on a blog post years ago has been selected for inclusion in the upcoming book "we feel fine: an almanac of human emotion".

you can read the whole story about how this happened by clicking here!

and you can read the original blog post they found my photo in here.

you can check out the preview of the book by clicking here, and can preorder a copy here.

i'm just a chock full of superexcited links! hooray!!!

Animal Instinct

noreply@blogger.com (Long Beach Craft Mafia) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:50:00 +0000

Come out this Saturday, November 7th, to the Animal Instinct show at the ARTery in Costa Mesa. Tracey Taylor, the gallery curator, was awesome enough to ask Lexi Lee of Little Bit and myself, CrayonFawn, to be a part of the show. 80% of the proceeds go to benefitting the Humane Society of the U.S. The show runs from 7 to 11PM.

Hope to see you there!

Sushi Anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Long Beach Craft Mafia) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:09:00 +0000

I got a text message last night from my friend Sharon saying that she saw Mary Hart from Entertainment Tonight wearing one of my sushi hats at the end of the show in celebration for Halloween. Lucky for me, my friend e-mailed some photos shot from the T.V. Sure enough! It is one of my hats. Needless to say, I am stoked!

Tamara Z / CrayonFawn

Pseudo Voodoo: Shrunken Apple Heads

noreply@blogger.com (Long Beach Craft Mafia) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Ever wish you were a witch doctor and had the ability to shrink heads? Yeah, me too. Did you know you can live out your dreams with some pseudo voodoo by making shrunken apple heads?

I have had this awesome "Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture" craft kit for about five years now that I found in my friend's parent's garage. I have kept it as a decoration because the box is so freakin' awesome with the mad scientist on the front and I have never bothered to open it—until now.

The box contains: The "Shrinker" a plastic contraption that connects onto a lamp and requires a 40 watt bulb, some white beads for teeth, black beads for the eyes, brown and white synthetic "hair", and some brown cord.

I opted not to use anything in the box and to keep all the materials that were left in tact and use the box only as my inspiration. So I made my shrunken heads out of stuff laying around my house instead.

Here is what I used:

three peeled apples

long white rice for teeth

raisins for eyes

lemon juice, salt, and some water mixed together

oven heated to 170 degrees (the lowest oven temperature)

The first step is to peel the apples and create ugly over exaggerated faces. I made the eye sockets deep, the mouths creepy, and the noses big.

After I carved the faces, I pressed some raisins in the eye sockets and embeded some rice in the

mouths for some wicked looking teeth. To keep the faces from turning brown, I bathed the apple heads in the a lemon juice and salt water mixture.

Now it's time for the oven... Since I have the patience of a five year old, I decided to speed up the drying out process by putting the apple heads in the oven for about five hours at a time at 170 degrees. I rotated them in and out of the oven making sure they didn't get too burnt. I am guessing it probably took about 15-20 hours for the optimal pruned face look.

I didn't want to stop there. I added some bright orange, lime green, and dark green roving wool as hair. Then I stuck a safety pin through the top of the core (where the stem usually is) and tied a thin black ribbon through it.

Viola! Creepy shrunken apple heads, just in time for Halloween! Like what you see? Come win one at the Long Beach Craft Mafia's Halloween Party at The Que Sera, Wednesday, October 28th. It is guaranteed to be major fun!

-Tamara Z. of CrayonFawn

halloween party prizes announced! get your costumes ready!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:10:00 +0000

ok folks, we've got a handle on the costume contest prizes so you best get your costumes ready to rock!

first prize: a long beach craft mafia tote bag containing a halloween art print from hearts and laserbeams, plus all kinds of other goodies from our members!

second prize: a long beach craft mafia tote bag containing halloween ears from little bit, plus all kinds of other goodies from our members!

third prize: a long beach craft mafia tote bag containing a wallet from kelso doesn't dance, plus all kinds of other goodies from our members!

so that's what you could win, you best bring it! hope to see you october 28 at que sera in long beach! the party starts at 9, no cover, live bands, and OOO! did i forget to mention? the first 20 people receive free limited edition long beach craft mafia merit badges featuring artwork by little bit for joining the fun!

costume contest will happen probably around 10ish after the first band goes on, so if punctuality isn't your strong suit there's still hope!

long beach craft mafia halloween party! make your plans!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:13:00 +0000

long beach craft mafia is workin on building the soCal crafty community through a series of monthly hang-out style events where you get to meet your fellow crafters in a non-work environment. next up is our halloween party at long beach bar Que Sera! come in costume and you'll have a chance to win some fab prizes, as well as hear some live music and have a beer or two!

hope to see ya there!

Furniture Make Overs - 2 Projects, 1 Week! - the folding chairs

noreply@blogger.com (Kelso) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:18:00 +0000

I've seen similar make overs done occasionally around the internet but had never done anything like either of these projects myself so I started not knowing how long it would take or how they would come out. I figured everything seemed pretty easy and pretty quick so I would just see what happened and it turned out that I finished 2 projects in 1 week! By myself, 2 projects, 1 week, never having done a single furniture make over before, there may be a few spots that aren't exactly perfect but I have to say, I think they came out pretty good!

So here we are, project 1, the folding chairs...

I had been thinking about someday needing more folding chairs but the ones I had seen available in big box stores were either good looking & unstable or stable & covered in black or tan fabric reminiscent of an office cubicle. I thought out of these options I would probably choose the black and recover the fabric portion. Then a few days later I came accross these while looking for books at a local goodwill. (In case you dont already know, I frequent thrift store book sections for large books to make my upcycled wallets http://www.kelsodoesntdance.com/)

Worse than the cubicle inspired chairs! BUT they were only $4 each! On sale from $7, why they were on sale, I dont know, could it be the ugly brown vinyl? The 3" rip in one of the seat covers? The piles of dirt around the corners of the seat? I'm not sure but they were both stable, the foam still in good condition, had screws to remove the cushions and I had already decided to remove and recover them so the vinyl, rip and unreachable dirt, no big deal! I knew I wouldnt be able to redo them right away and I only "someday" needed them but I couldnt resist.

While visiting Chicago for the Renegade Craft Fair I found this home dec fabric at The Needle Shop, a great little fabric store, for its size they had a surprisingly large selection of home dec fabrics, I knew I'd regret it if I didnt get the chair fabric here. There were several good ones but I choose this Jessica Jones for J. Caroline fabic from the Amusement Park Collection.

I unscrewed the cushions, removed the vinyl and staples and was left with the foam and wooden base (theres a little discoloration in the foam where the vinyl was ripped but it seems in ok condition.)

I was lucky enough to find a pink spray paint that was a pretty close match to the fabric (I dont like to use spray paint but I dont think a brush on would have worked for this project.) I cleaned the metal and used a spray primer followed by the pink spray paint. I bought 1 can of each and had to go back for a 2nd of both. It took patience and muscle, because the chairs have so many angles then turn or flip them for another angle (no one told me spray painting was so hard!)

I thought it would look best to paint the caps another color then also realized I should paint the rivets. I first ripped small pieces of tape to go around the circles, when that took a while I tried cutting holes in the tape with an exacto blade. Some of the orange paint got a little over the lines so the rivets arent perfect(these are the best ones) but I think they're pretty good. It's amazing how that small detail makes the chairs look so much better!

When cutting the fabric I was more concerned with lining up the pattern than making it the right size. I just cut a rectangular piece knowing the extra would be hidden by the metal. I started by staple gunning the middle of each side and worked all sides of the cushion at once so the fabric would stay tight. As I went along I had to trim it a bit around the curve of the chair back and around the threaded pieces the screws went into.

I liked the orange and pink combo and wanted to paint the screws also since a few of them would show on the back. But they needed to be primed... with the spray primer! The spray would have knocked them over and holding them would have primed my entire hand but luckily I came up with, what I thought was, another great tape idea (the other being exacto blade circles on a cutting mat!) I stuck the the screws to a piece of tape to keep them upright while spraying. (I'm sure others have used this same idea or had the same problem in the past, dont forget to share tips & stories in the comments!)

I scotch guarded the cushions and once everything was dry screwed them back on to the metal base!

Thats it, the folding chair make over! Stay tuned for project 2 - the fabric decoupaged side table.

-Kelso of Kelso Doesnt Dance

long beach craft mafia dye party on oc weekly!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:08:00 +0000

don't miss our post on oc weekly this week! long beach craft mafia got together to test out some dye products from tulip and have an awesome contest to enter!

check out the article and enter the giveaway here.

we're taking applications!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:46:00 +0000

hey folks, if you missed our meet n greet last week don't fret - you still have a chance to put in an application for membership to the long beach craft mafia!

all the info you'll need is over on our join page and applications are only accepted through september 18 so get crackin!

also, stay tuned for our next crafty borrachas event! we'll be getting together all you crafty peeps to go bowling, date and time to be announced soon!

kickin ass and takin names! (and new members!)

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:25:00 +0000

do you have a indie craft business? are you local to the long beach area? you should think about joining the long beach craft mafia! we'll be having a meet n greet wednesday, september 2 at 7pm and you should be there if you're interested in joining!

what's gonna go down? mainly, you'll get to meet us and decide if you like hanging out with us. you can ask us anything you like, especially if you've got questions on what to expect from your membership and things like that. and we're workin out the details, but you'll most likely receive a free tote bag screenprinted with our faboo logo!

what should you bring? just your merry selves, a couple of dollars if you'd like to have a beer or twelve with us, and maybe a show and tell item or two!

while we're definitely a the more the merrier type of group, there are some guidelines to new membership:

-you must have a indie craft business or be in the process of starting one.
-you must live in the long beach area, and if you don't you must be willing to drive to long beach for meetings and get-togethers.
-to become a member you must fill out our application and submit pics of your work, which will then be reviewed by our current members before deciding if you're mafia material. attendance at our meet n greet isn't mandatory, but it's a really good idea so see ya there!

long beach craft mafia meet n greet night
at que sera
1923 east 7th street
long beach, ca 90813
wednesday, september 2, 2009
7pm

mini market on sunday!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 17:32:00 +0000

hey folks!

hearts and laserbeams, leatherette heart and crayon fawn will be selling at sunday's mini market at urban outfitters' space 15 twenty. sunday, 10am - 4pm, it's free, and it's close to the hollywood farmers market! get your grocery shoppin AND your indie craft on all in one place!!!

more info can be found here

craft show opportunity! check it out!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:32:00 +0000

we just heard about this recently, check it out! looks like it'll be a great opportunity, and they would love for more artsy crafty types to join in the fun!

*****

UNIQUE LOS ANGELES will run for two days, Dec 13 and 14, and have a special VIP party and preview the evening of the 12th. The almost 94,000 square foot venue (which looks out across the city!) will feature over 225 booths, making it the first 'large-scale' LA indie consumer event. It's going to be awesome, and the support and buzz around it already has been really great - so far Pabst, Etsy and Chronicle Books are sponsors and many people are getting in touch to partner with the event. Please visit www.uniquelosangeles.com/vendor.html to check out the Vendor page.

craft mafia members get an early bird special: apply by this Friday at midnight (Oct 10th) and receive a $30 refund when accepted. hooray!

long beach craft mafia in this week's oc weekly!

noreply@blogger.com (steph) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:50:00 +0000

(photo by jennie warren of oc weekly)

this is so exciting folks!

if you pick up this week's oc weekly the cover story is an interview with the long beach craft mafia! check out our fantastic covergirl liz of leatherette heart! tyra banks eat your heart out, we found long beach's next top model!

vickie chang of the oc weekly interviewed all five active members, including liz abbot of leatherette heart, kelsey cooper of kelso doesn't dance, tamara zelinski of crayon fawn, lexi lee of little bit, and steph calvert of hearts and laserbeams.

(photo by jennie warren of oc weekly)

you should totally pick up a copy of the magazine, it's available pretty much everywhere all throughout orange county and it's FREE! if you're out of the area and would like one mailed, email me at heartsandlaserbeams@gmail.com and i'll get one to ya! or you can take a gander online here!

thanks for lookin, thanks for supporting handmade stuff by indie artists, and have a great weekend!