Crafts Crazy

The following is a guest post by Danielle of Art Room Meloday.

Chicago hosted its 9^th Annual Renegade Craft Fair in early September, and I was there to enjoy the crafty festivities. After checking into my Chicago hotel and taking in a couple of the local sights, I made my way to Division Street in Wicker Park, and enjoyed a weekend of crafting workshops and handmade delights. Read on for descriptions of some of my favorite vendors.

Alternate Histories

This vendor was one of the most creative that I found during my visit. Alternate Histories brings the past to life by refashioning archival images with anachronistic monsters and science fiction elements.  Matthew Buchholz uses digital pictures and prints the finished product on recycled paper, making these environmentally responsible as well. There were many prints from which to choose, and I ended up buying Floating Saucer Crafts and the Chicago Fire, a rendition of a lithograph of the true cause of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; I will give it to my UFO-crazy brother for Christmas.

AD LOVE

I have seen Angel D’Amico-Bauer‘s work before, but never had the opportunity to browse and purchase until this weekend. Angel (aka AD LOVE) is a freelance illustrator and designer who creates one-of-a-kind hand screen-printed clothing. I bought a super-comfy teal tank with her rendition of the Brooklyn Bridge and plan on gifting it to a New York-native friend. She is sure to love it!

Girls Rock! Chicago

Girls Rock! Chicago had a booth at the Renegade Craft Fair this year, and I was super excited to see them there. This nonprofit organization gives girls ages 8-16 an outlet for creative expression through music education programs, because they “believe that girls are rarely encouraged to explore self-expressive creative outlets and are less likely to be given access to musical and technical instruction or equipment” otherwise. In addition to information about their motivational week-long summer camp, they offered button-making, which brought out the artist in everyone.

For Strange Women

As someone who has frequently been labeled as strange, I was drawn to this booth like the proverbial moth to a flame. Jill owns and operates For Strange Women, and offers unique perfumes and concoctions that are sure to tickle your fancy. I bought a tin of Absinthe Lips, made from all-natural ingredients and flavored like Absinthe prepared with sugar; and a vintage-style solid perfume locket in Patchouli. When I got home, I realized that these would make an awesome gift for my mom, so I visited Jill’s website and ordered more for her.

Hello Wars

For all of you Hello Kitty and Star Wars lovers out there, Hello Wars is pure Nirvana. By cleverly blending these two childhood icons into characters such as Darth Vader Kitty, Chew Kitty, and C3KO (among others), this vendor has created a line of merchandise that is at once creative and eye-catching. My niece happens to be a fan of both of these, so I bought her a Storm Kitty shirt that she’s sure to love.

For those of you who missed out on the Renegade Craft Fair this year, don’t fret! The 6^th Annual Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market in Chicago will be held December 3 and 4 at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, and you will be able to do all of your last-minute holiday shopping then. See you there!

Tags: Chicago, craft fair

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Let me begin by explaining why we all need hobbies.

Too many people assume that hobbies are for folks with too much time on their hands.

Nothing could be further from the truth, though. The famous actress and comedienne Lilly Tomlin gave us some good advice when she said, “For fast acting relief, try slowing down.” The fact is, the busier we are, the more we need a way to relax and refresh ourselves, and the best way to do that is to get a hobby.

A hobby is something that engages your brain, preferably involves your body, and has no object beyond your own enjoyment. Hobbies usually involve collecting, crafting, or some kind of sport, although some folks consider certain types of research or experimentation as a hobby.

Some folks are lucky enough to have shared a hobby with a parent or other relative while growing up, and in that event they can be said to have had their hobbies given to them. Other folks stumble upon new hobbies at county fairs or friend’s houses.

Then there are people like me, who realize that we need a hobby, but aren’t sure how to find a good one. I guess the difficulty here comes from having to define a “good” hobby for my situation.
Setting Priorities

After a little thought and a lot of discussion with my long-suffering husband, I decided that a “good” hobby for me would have to meet three criteria;

• It would have to be affordable
• It would have to be convenient – something I can do at home
• It should not have deadlines or inflexible schedules that will interfere with my family time

Of course, any new hobbies I consider should also be interesting enough that I would stick with them, so with these priorities in place, I was able to narrow my choices down to three; scrapbooking, gardening and playing the piano.

Considering the Options

I already know that I like scrapbooking because I’ve had some experience with it. Having put together a few family books, I am aware of the advantages of this pastime;

• It’s a relaxing activity which will also result in my big box of photos being organized
• It’s relatively easy to do, and if I keep the materials properly stored, it won’t take up much space
• I get to decide how much to spend on my materials, and I can make up for a paucity of pennies with a profusion of panache.

I don’t have much experience with gardening, but I have plenty with yard work. I’ll assume that gardening is much more interesting that mowing or raking, and I anticipate other advantages to gardening, as well;

• It will be a great reason to be out in the fresh air and sunshine
• I’ll be able to decide whether my plants will require a lot of nurturing or just a little water
• I could either save money by growing plants from seed or I could choose to have fun while shopping for plants at my local nursery.

Piano playing seems the most problematic of these hobbies, but I think I’ve found a way to simplify it.

You see, I tried to learn the piano in high school, but soon gave up. Not because I disliked the instrument, mind you, but because the process of learning it was so troublesome. I seemed to be constantly rearranging my schedule to accommodate lessons, practices and recitals.

Fortunately, I now have an option that simply didn’t exist when I was in high school; I can now learn to play the piano online. This option offers me several benefits what might make this a “good” hobby for me;

• I’ll be able to make the lessons and practices fit my schedule, not the other way around.
• I’ll be able to work at my own pace, and decide how far I want to take this talent
• I could either learn piano sheet music by rote or learn piano chords and playing “by ear”.
• I’ll be able to decide when and if I perform, so there’ll be no scheduled recitals to worry about

Perhaps if these options had been available when I was in high school, I would now know how to play the piano properly.

Choosing My New Hobbies

After much analyzing, the obvious has finally occurred to me; I’ve been over-thinking this whole process. Why is it so important to find one “perfect” hobby, or even a “good“ one? I could have three hobbies as easily as one, so long as I don’t attempt to do each of them every day.

For instance, gardening is a warm-weather hobby, while scrapbooking can be saved for the cold, wet days when going outside is not fun. Once I’ve actually learned the piano, I won’t be playing it every day, or even every week. It will be a nice skill to have when we have company over or when I just feel like playing it.

So, if you’re compiling a list of hobby tips, you may want to add the idea that if you can’t find the perfect hobby for yourself, the answer may be to find two or three hobbies instead. It’s nice to have options, isn’t it?

Do you have a hobby that you might recommend to other readers? Do you have an interesting story about how you picked up that particular hobby? I’d love to read your responses!

About the Author

Melissa Cameron is a busy wife, mother and freelance writer who likes to research complicated topics and simplify them for the average reader. She makes her home in Austin, Texas with her husband and two daughters.

Tags: Hobbies

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Some of the fabrics I voted for in the recent butterfly-themed fabric design contest on Spoonflwer

If you have any aspirations of becoming a fabric designer, you should try designing fabric for the Spoonflower design contest. There is a new contest every week, with a prize of $100 in Spoonflower credit, which you can use to buy fabric printed with your own designs or other fabric offered in the Spoonflower marketplace. Even if you don’t win, you’re sure to benefit from the practice!

I’ve only entered once so far, but I’m seriously thinking about trying to come up with a design for the upcoming coffee-themed contest. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the submissions in the contests overall, but of course there is a wide range of submissions from people of all skill levels. However, there are a few things I’ve noticed (as a voter, rather than a designer) that might help you if you have aspirations to win this contest.

Make Your Entries Professional

Seriously, there are some top-notch fabric designs in every contest. Take a look at your design and ask yourself if you can picture it on the shelf at your favorite fabric shop. If not, go back and revise your design until it represents your absolute best effort.

Don’t Use a White Background

Are you a quilter? Quick, go to your fabric stash and check to see what the predominant colors are in your fabrics. How many of them have white backgrounds? Not many, if you’re like most of us. Keep this in mind when designing.

Use a Patterned Background

I’ve noticed that many of the fabrics with patterned backgrounds look more professional than those with solid-colored backgrounds. Of course, you have to make sure that your background complements the design and does not overpower it. This is something that may be tricky to get right, but if you do, it can make a world of difference.

Learn to Tile Your Designs

The best designs almost always those that are tiled without looking like they are. You need to learn this skill if you want to be a fashion designer. It is something that takes some practice, but the last thing you want is to submit a design that has an unsightly line in it because it doesn’t tile properly.

More Information on Spoonflower Design Contests

If you are interested in entering Spoonflower’s fabric design contest, check out the upcoming themes and start designing. I look forward to seeing your entries.

Tags: designing fabric, fabric design, fabric design contest, fabric designer, fabric designs, Spoonflower

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