Category: Arts & Crafts

Artascope Studios | Saltwater Etching for Copper Class

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My daughter will go to art school in the fall and I am both extremely proud and extremely jealous. She will be living her art dream, while I will remain a closet artist who refers to myself as a crafter and keeps my skills in the hobby realm.

I’m actually okay with it. I’m happy that she found her passion young, and I like to think my genetics helped even if only in a small way. Certainly having a craft room and access to endless craft supplies had to have fed her artistic talents at some point along the way.

My creative outlet may be different than her path, but my love of art classes is intense and if it’s a class on something I have never tried before I am even more intrigued. When I saw that Artascope Studios was offering a Saltwater Etching for Copper class as one of their Sunday One-Day Workshops, I couldn’t sign up fast enough. I mean that literally. I think I was the first person who registered for the class.

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#atozchallenge | J is for Jewelry Making at Artascope Studios

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As you may have noticed from my blog, I love to do crafts. It’s why I have an entire menu option dedicated to projects on my website. I usually have some craft activity happening. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to my to-do list because I can’t seem to stop adding craft projects. I blame those genetics on my father. He’s always adding to his to-do list although his “crafts” usually involve power tools and six trips to Home Depot.

I’m always on the lookout to learn a new craft too. A few years ago, I started taking some Art Night Out® classes at Artascope Studios. After a few classes, I got a little braver and signed up for their “boot camp” which unlike a fitness boot camp did not build strength and fitness although it did exercise my creative muscles. Boot camp included three classes and a three-month membership in their studio. While some of the classes, offered at both art night out and boot camp, were for crafts that I had tried before, I did expand into other areas.

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Scrapbook Crop

Finally, a Local Scrapbook Crop

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I have been amassing a large stash of scrapbooking supplies for many years now, but sadly my supplies have been sitting mostly unused for the last few years. I am still focused on creative pursuits, but other activities, including a move to more digital memory keeping, has taken me away from more traditional scrapbooking.

It’s not only other crafts vying for my time that has slowed my progress with scrapbooking, but also less opportunity. When I first started scrapbooking over a decade ago, there were many  chances to go to crops and larger scrapbooking events. Creative Memories, and other home party businesses, were in full force, so I had opportunities to go to a crop on a regular basis. But in recent years, there have been less events. Part of it is the cyclical nature of crafts. There is a natural ebb and flow of interest.

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Recycled Magazine Circles Decorative Bowl

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The first year with my One Little Word® project, I selected embrace as my word, and one of my goals for the year was to embrace more creativity in my life. I had been fascinated with recycled magazine crafts for a while and decided to give it a try.

It’s a super easy project, although it is time-consuming to make a lot of circles, and you will need quite a few to make something larger like a bowl. It makes for a fun, creative activity while watching TV. There are many great sites out there on the internet that give various instructions and show all the amazing things you can make with recycled magazine circles. The cool thing about this craft is that it’s not exact, and there are many variations on the path to a successful project.

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Day in the Life™ Memory Keeping Project

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Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a scrapbook, or journal, from your grandmother that showed what her life was like for one typical, average day; maybe from when she was first married, after she just became a new mother, or some other snapshot from her past? There would be so many things, that at the time probably seemed insignificant or unimportant, that would be so fun to look back on now after the passage of time.

Another class that Ali Edwards offers on her site is a Day in the Life™ which encourages participants to document one day from the time they get up until they go to bed that night. Technically, it’s documenting the full 24 hours. You can learn more about Ali and her One Little Word® project that I do each year on my previous blog post One Little Word® Memory Keeping Project. She’s amazing, and I highly recommend following her blog.

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