Saturday, December 1, 2012

The 2012 Holiday Hit List's Super Swag Bags, Delightful Door Prizes, and Toy Drive

      Are you coming to the San Diego North Park Craft Mafia's Holiday Hit List on Sunday, December 2nd! Well, you should!

     In addition to doing some unique holiday shopping with over 30 amazing vendors, the first 100 families in attendance will receive a swag bag filled with gifts and coupons from many of our vendors.

     Our swag bag is free and contains items such as stickers, pencils, bracelets, and holiday candy! Look through your loot before you shop to find coupons for Sunday's event as well as discounts to some of our vendor's online stores. The following vendors have donated items for our swag bag: Art Tiles by Carla, Attic 802, Bees Creations/Menagerie, Dancing Bear Indian Trader, EV&J, JAX Hats CA, Jewels of Friendship, little pink plum, My Lucky Dragon, Petal Prints Boutique, R. Priest Ellgy Co., TaBou Treasures, and YourLifEvents.







          We will have free door prize drawings starting at 2pm. Get a ticket for the drawings by visiting any of the Craft Mafia member's tables: Belle Pepper Couture, Attic 802, Jewels of Friendship, or R. Priest Ellgy Co. Shop with vendors at the Holiday Hit List, spend over $10 and get an additional ticket! Donate a new unwrapped toy for the toy drive and get an additional ticket! The door prizes include items such as holiday dolls, gift baskets, purses, and bracelets donated by vendors such as Bees Creations, EV&J, Miss Finch's Finery, YourLifEvents, and others . You must be present to claim your door prize, winners will be announced at the craft mafia member tables. Drawings begin at 2:00 pm and end with a final drawing at 5:45 pm.

     Did you know we are collecting toys for charity at the Holiday Hit List? Please bring a new, unwrapped toy to the Toy Drive Booth in the foyer by the photo op and gift wrap table and you will receive an extra raffle ticket for the door prize drawings. The Toy Drive Booth will also feature live music by Ivan. The toys will be collected by Ivan and Sobi TV and donated to
C Troops 1-18 PH Calvary RSTA. Show you care and bring a teddy bear!

     We hope to see all of you at the 2012 San Diego North Park Craft Mafia's Holiday Hit List! Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The 6th annual Holiday Hit List Handmade Shopping Event


The 6th annual Holiday Hit List is organized and hosted by the San Diego North Park Craft Mafia and offers a great way to shop local and handmade. Come out December 2nd for this holiday social and shopping experience – best part it's a FREE, all ages event. You can take a break from the holiday hustle and listen to some live music from Ivan Cheong from SobiTV.com as he sings for toys to benefit the families of the Troops 1-18 PH Calvary RSTA. Please bring a new toy donation and get an extra free door ticket to our Craft Mafia Drawing with awesome prizes from all the amazing vendors you will find at the event. We will start drawing winners at 2pm, but don’t wait come early because the first 100 families will receive a free swag bag, one per family. Then get crafty with us as you choose if you are a Grinch or a Santa this year and make a mask to show your true colors. The fun starts at 12 noon Sunday December 2nd and runs until 6pm at the Barracks 17 Event Center in the historic NTC Promenade at Liberty Station, 2710 Historic Decatur Rd San Diego 92106. Free parking and tasty treats offered nearby and throughout the Promenade. Avoid the mall crowd and give your friends and family handmade and unique gifts this holiday season.

 
 
 


Monday, November 12, 2012

 
Come out for a cool crisp November day of Vintage and Vintage inspired shopping out front at the Heartland Masonic Lodge in El Cajon. Open 9am to 3pm this event is free to attend and will also offer music by DJ Fast Eddie and coincide with a 5 dollar pancake breakfast inside the Mason Lodge. Be sure to check out San Diego Vintage Flea Market on Facebook  to see the great line up of vendors. You may recognise some vendors from Mafia shows including Lottie Hop, My Lucky Dragon and Rae Wolf Designs. Stay tune to the FaceBook Event Page and on twitter at #sandiegovintagefleamarket.


Where- Heartland Masonic Lodge #576

When- Sunday November 18th
From 9am to 3pm

Saturday, November 3, 2012

2012 Holiday Hit List is Looking for You!




Hello crafters!

The 2012 Holiday Hit List is now officially less than a month away!  We have been getting applications from so many of your favorite sellers for this year's show.  We will making our first round of vendor selections in the next few days.  It is very exciting!

At this time we want to open up our show to new crafters who may not have participated in one of our shows.  What do you need to do to be considered?

1. Sign up for our vendor newsletter.  This is a must!  We will be re-sending out the link to the vendor application in email format as soon as Monday, and the only way you will get it is to be on our vendor list.  You can sign up for the vendor newsletter here: http://sandiegonorthparkcraftmafia.com/

2. Have a resale license/certificate.  You can read more about that here: http://www.boe.ca.gov/info/reg.htm

3.  Have pictures of a website ready for review.  We want to see what you plan to sell! (Special note- at this time we are unable to accept vendors who sell food products.  If you have any questions regarding this, please email us from our website).

4. Fill out the application and pay the fee.  We require payment before you are officially accepted to our show.  In the case that you are not accepted, you may expect a refund.

That's it!  Pretty simple really.  Another special note- due to the amount of jewelry applications we receive we have to limit the number of jewelry vendors we accept.  If your jewelry is different/unique/fabulous/and or just different from the norm, we'd love to see it!

We hope to be hearing from some of you soon!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Photos of a Crafty Sunday

Dia de los Muertos style!!! A special thank you to all our amazing vendors!

Monday, October 1, 2012

So Many Must See Events for October

October is lining up to be a busy month in the craft world! First on my calendar is Bates Nut Farm's annual Pumpkin Festival October 6th and 7th in Valley Center. The weekend will offer over 80 Arts and Crafts vendors, hay and pony rides, a straw maze, food vendors, a performance by the Bayou Brothers and the Vally Center Lion Club all you can eat pancake breakfast. Check out Bates Nut Farm updated calendar on their new website, batesnutfarm.biz.If Valley center is too north for your travel taste, the Hillcrest Hoedown will take over at Normal and University at 1pm Sunday October 7th. Offering bands, craft vendors, and local pet adoption all with a Hillcrest Hoedown party twist. Next up is the pop up market place The Urban Emporium October 12 at 98 bottles. Held the second Friday of the month the event always offers something fun from live art demos to chances to win prizes when you shop at the local handmade craft and fine art vendors.

The event I'm looking forward to the most is the North Park Craft Mafia's Sunday Crafty Sunday Dia de los Muertos October 12th at the Centro in Balboa Park. We will have free handmade sugar skulls for the first 50 families to come thought the door. We will also be giving away marigolds or Flor de los Muertos, and will have a craft table where you can make your own Calarea (skeleton) mask. Come learn about this amazing holiday and check out over 30 local crafty vendors offering their handmade goods, some with a Dia de los Muertos twist. Also showing in  the Centro Cultural de la Raza gallery will be the creator of “La Cucaracha” comic strip Lalo Alcaraz , with his show Art for the Dead. The Centro will keep the celebration going all month with Art for the Dead in the Park, with a Muertos Marketplace October 26th and 27th, children's craft workshop October 27th, Bread for the Dead offering October 30th, and Ofrenda and procession November 1st. Check out http://www.centroculturaldelaraza.org/ for more info on these all the Centor events.

The events just don't stop this month! There are Octoberfests around the county including the famous La Mesa Octoberfest October 5th to 7th. You could attend  Santee Fall Festival which offers fall fun and crafters October 12th to 14th or head downtown for Raw San Diego featuring independent artist from all medias October 18th. Latter this month we have the 2012 Holiday Craft fair in Escondido at the Loyal Order of the Moose on October 27th. Then end the month with Some Like It Haunt Swing Dace party October 26th to 28th.

Have a Crafty Event for October we missed? Share it here with your local craft community!
  


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Sunday Crafty Sunday - Dia De Los Muertos Non-jewelry Vendor Applicants Still Being Considered!!!



Hey Non-jewelry Vendors! We've got a great show coming up with a great opportunity to sell! The San Diego North Oark Craft Mafia's Sunday Crafty Sunday Dia De Los Muertos - Day of the Dead show at the Centro Cultural de las Raza in Balboa Park is on its way on Sunday, October 14th and we're still looking for non-jewelry applicants. If you're innovative and creative, making handmade stuff, this is the show for you! Whether you deve into pottery or dabble in the art of plants, it's a great way to get your stuff out there and show the world who you are. Love to create based on a theme, here's a great opportunity to get those creative juices flowing. Start getting your stuff together and create to your heart's content. The Dia de los Muertos theme is the way to go for this show. Plus it's a key to opening a door for a chance to be considered for our Holiday Hit List in December. All first time vendors must participate in one of our past shows to be considered for our Holiday Hit List. This is our last show before our Holiday Hit List makes it's mark in December. Remember if you're an innovative and creative non-jewelry vendor with handmade goods get your application in now before it's too late!

Vendor List Sign Up, click here.
 
 



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Learning the Lingo

I ripped the page out of my women's magazine and hung it over my mirror when I saw a little blurb that said this:

CRAFTERMATH- The clutter left lying around after you finally make that thing you found on Pinterest. (ha-ha)

I decided to double-check the definition on the end-all-be-all of online dictionaries, urbandictionary.com (WARNING- urbandictionary.com will define any term in commom usage, even the naughty words, so beware!).  This is what they said:

CRAFTERMATH- The resulting and overwhelming mess that is left lying all about after a full day, week, or month of creative pursuits. Massive amounts of creative supplies jumbled and piled all together, all about ones workspace, making it impossible to continue crafting until cleaned and possibly preventing any inspiration whatsoever.

I think a craftermath might look a little like this:




I know my room has looked a little like this.  In fact, it kind of does right now!

If you found either quote enchanting, guess what?  You can purchase them online!  How about a vinyl wall quote for your craft room?

http://www.enchantingquotes.com/customquotes.html

Or a magnet, mug, or t-shirt?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/products.php?term=Craftermath&defid=6368334

If you have survived a craftermath- or even if you just helped create one- I would love to hear any other cute crafting puns or phrases you have picked up over the years.  My internet search didn't come up with much, and maybe we need to publish a crafter's dictionary that goes beyond bobbin, bauble, and baste.

Got any good ones?




Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Day of the Dead Craft Show October 14, 2012 12-5pm


Dia de los Muertos is coming soon, mark your calendars!! Let’s celebrate it more than one day! The San Diego North Park Craft Mafia Sunday Crafty Sunday show is a perfect place to get your Day of the Dead merchandise. This one day free shopping experience will be a great chance to buy local and handmade from over 20 vendors. Additionally, we will be giving away 50 decorated sugar skulls and marigolds to shoppers through the door (one per family & while supplies last). The SDNMCM’s crafty altar will be on display, and there will be a chance for visitors to make their color their own Calaveras Mask, while supplies last. Sunday Crafty Sunday, Dia de los Muertos gift bazaar will take place October 14, 2011 from 12pm-5pm at Balboa Park in the Centro Cultural de la Raza, 2004 Park Blvd, San Diego. More information about this event and the SDNPCM visit: http://www.facebook.com/events/144478085696199/

Today we are sending out our vendor application for Sunday Crafty Sunday to our Vendor list. If you would like to participate, sign up for our list. We will be sending out the vendor app weekly. Also, for first time vendors: All vendors who want to sell at our Holiday Hit List are required to have participated at one of our shows in the past. This is the last show before our Holiday Hit List, so be sure to sign up. We have limited space. Vendor newsletter sign up, click here

Monday, August 20, 2012


2011 was San Diego's first Pirate Faire, but due to venue issues it was announced early this year there would not be a 2012 event. There was a similar issue for the Long Beach Pirate Faire, the two events have since been brought together and a new location in Vista has been found. Once again called the San Diego Pirate Faire this event will include both communities of Pirates and plans to be the largest invasion of Pirates to San Diego. The Gold Coast Pirate Faire was established in 1993 and was the original West Coast gathering for Pirates and Pirate enthusiast. Mark your calender for September 15th and 16th for the Antique Gas and Steam Museum in Vista. Pirate activities, vendors, good food and classic pirate partying will commence both days from 10 to 5. Come out and see hundreds of costumes, live music and battle reenactments with grog to follow. Keep a weather eye out and you may even see a Craft Mafia Member or two amongst the vendors. So don you best tricorn and head up to Vista to experience a one of a kind pirate invasion.
Gold Coast Festivals

Gold Coast on Facebook 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Something's Fishy



Glittery fish . . . a seahorse ballet . . . dancing jellyfish . . . a snapping clam  . . . an underwater adventure all rolled into one. Take a dive under the ocean with Garibaldi, as this curious little fish makes his way into a hungry whale’s mouth! Will he ever get out? Come to his rescue by helping Mama Mia free her little one from “Lazy Old Mr. Whale’s” jaws.
‘Something’s Fishy,’ produced by Millie Patterson’s Weaver’s Tales, will capture the imagination of the young and young at heart, taking them for a swim under the ocean, with its charming fish and large array of ocean life. Performed at the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park in this full stage puppet show a team of five puppeteers work together to breathe life into these puppets and make a story come alive. So come see a story come to life with puppets, take a dive under the ocean and help Mama Mia save Garibaldi from being “Lazy Old Mr. Whale’s” lunch when you come to see ‘Something’s Fishy.”





"Something's Fishy"
 
By Millie Patterson's Weaver's Tales
Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater
Balboa Park
 
August 15 - 19
Wed. - Sun.
11:00 am, 1:00 pm & 2:30 pm
General Admission: $5.00
Seniors / Military: $4.00
Under 2 are free

Contact:
Marie Hitchcock
Puppet Theater
Website:
www.balboaparkpuppets.com
Box Office:
(619)544-9203 open on show days
Email: balboaparkpuppets@yahoo.com
Facebook: Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Art Soup- A Drop In Art Studio for Kids

     Well, it's officially August and that means some of you are pulling your hair out as try to figure out how to occupy and delight your children during these dog days of summer.  If you can get to Encinitas, a delightful new option has sprung up in the plaza by the police station off of El Camino Real.  It's called Art Soup, where you can "explore your natural curiosity and create your own masterpiece."





What is Art Soup?

Art Soup is a creative, art-based social club experience where kids are encouraged to ignite their creative spark, explore for their natural curiosity, imagination, and ideas free from the rules and confines of mom's kitchen.

 Art Soup offers an imaginative world and hands-on activity gallery for 2-12 year olds. Drop in any time between 9:30-5:00 (they close at 5:30pm) M-F where your kids can explore our Open Studio Activities or opt for our seated Art Studio experience for only $10. They are open Saturdays 9:30-5:30 pm.  Check the calendar for Sunday schedules - they close for private parties and special events.



     Ongoing projects include painting a VW bug that is stationed in the corner of the room, easel painting, drawing, chalk art...just plain creating!  During Spring Break and summer they offer themed camps, and here's a bonus: weekdays they have a $5 morning special from 9:30 to 10:30 am.

Check out their website for more information:  http://artsoupsd.com/

Their brick-and-mortar address is 191 N. El Camino Blvd., Suite 203,  Encinitas 92024 and their number is (760) 230-2060.  Hope you can visit!

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Glow in the Park, August 4, 2012 7-11pm



This is going to be an amazing event. Imagine anything and everything that glows in the dark, lights, leds, luminescence. Glow in the Park will feature many artists that have created installations of artwork & projects that "Glow". Dancing Bear Indian Trader will have their teepee set up and people can go inside to learn how to make beaded glow in the dark bracelets.

Here's some  more infomation about the event:

Are You Ready for Glow-in-the-Park?

Glow-in-the-Park artists from around Southern California will be installing their pieces in Grape Day Park Saturday August 4th.  Join us from 7pm - 11pm to interact and explore the pieces. 

Artists include Bella Luna/Anne Herlihy, Rebecca Goodman, Jon- Loren Bazan, Ben Nelson and Lepidus Films, Michael McGaugh, Bettina Heinz, Joey Chavez, Judith Shadzi, Students from the USD Architectural Dept.,  Mid-Air-Trio, Dancing Bear Indian Trader, Gwyn Henry, Misty Cater Clark, Brian A. Gibson and Chrisanne Moats.  Local artist Andrea Zuill has created artwork to promote the event.

glow-in-the-park header 

Glow-in-the-Park is an innovative summer evening of installation art that will transform Grape Day Park into an Art Park featuring works of art illuminating the space with light and sound installations, inflatable art, film as well as performance, environmental and water pieces.   This event is free and appropriate for all ages.  

Glow in the Park will allow everyone to 'play' with hands-on interactive activities like Joey Chavez's glow blocks, Misty Cater Clark's glow in the dark hand print experience and make beads in the Dancing Bear Indian Traders "Luminaria Tipi".
The event is being produced by the Escondido History Center in association with the Escondido Arts Partnership/Municipal Gallery. This event is made possible with grants from The San Diego Foundation's Arts and Culture working group and the Matt McLaughlin Endowment Fund, as well as the Escondido Charitable Foundation  
Glow-in-the-Park highlights the diversity of contemporary artists working in our region as well as introducing Grape Day Park to large scale installation art.  

Grape Day Park is located in Downtown Escondido at 321 N. Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025.
Information at: www.grapedaypark.org and www.escondidoarts.orghttp://www.escondidoarts.org




Monday, July 23, 2012

Craft Night this week at Dancing Bear

This Tuesday night, July 24 will be craft night at Dancing Bear. It's always a lot of fun to make stuff, socialize and eat some treats.

Dancing Bear just got some lights for their class room area. The lights are fluorescent magnifiers.

During craft night, they are offering a 5% discount for craft night participants.

There will be room for sewing if you bring your sewing machine. Bring an extension cord just in case.

Please RSVP if you plan on going so that we can make sure to have space for you. Bring something to share to eat.

Dancing Bear added a sewing night on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 6-9pm, and every 1st & 3rd Tuesdays from 6-9pm there will be Native American beadwork classes as well.

Location for store is:

1016 West Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA 92025

Phone number: 760-747-2323

RSVP: craftnight@sandiegonorthparkcraftmafia.com

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Visit the Craft Mafia at the Comic-Con Art Show!

Comic-Con happens once a year right in our own backyard!  It's such a fantastic event and visitors come from all over to partake in the festivities.  Each year there is an Art Show section that showcases artists.  Here you will find a variety of art, jewelry, clothing, and other hand made craft items.  We thought it was about time that our Craft Mafia group had a space at the Art Show to let visitors see what our group is all about!  Located in the Sails Pavilion upstairs at the Convention Center, the Art Show has many items for sale by silent or voice auction.   Bidder numbers and Art Show information can be obtained from the administration table inside the Art Show.  The Craft Mafia table will feature some great pieces that are all handmade by Mafia Members!  So, if you are lucky enough to be attending this year, be sure to stop by the Art Show and maybe even bid on something!

Visit Comic-Con online to get all the latest info about what's happening this weekend!  Also, don't forget about the Local Artist Showcase happening on Saturday at the Village 631.  Read the blog post below for all the info! 

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Homemade Water-Proof Fabric?


Yes, there is a way!

This all started with cleaning my make-up brushes and deciding to wash the holder for them too. The lining fabric disintegrated. I had heard of laminated fabric before. I assumed it was either purchased that way, or sent through one of those paper laminating machines. A quick internet search later, I find out it can be done at home with Iron-on vinyl (and an iron of course). It seemed like the perfect way to make a make-up bag that would wipe clean easily. I needed a new crochet hook anyway, so I looked for the iron-on vinyl while I was at Joann's. The one they carry is by Pellon and it's a boxed 15" by 2 yard roll in the notions aisle. I posted my project idea on facebook and was instantly asked several questions on the performance of the material and what it looks like. So, I thought I would share my iron-on vinyl experiment will all of you too.

I cut the vinyl to the size I wanted and applied it to a larger sheet of fabric. I did this to protect my ironing board from the vinyl's adhesive because I have seen ironing boards ruined my adhesive! Having a larger piece of fabric also makes it easier to get the vinyl positioned. I followed package instructions for application, but noticed a few spots that were winkly and realized they were from where the pointed end of my iron was and I just went back over them to smooth them out. After doing the first piece I noticed a small cat hair stuck in near the edge, so make sure use a lint roller on the fabric and board before to so you not add in any "extra material" to your laminating. It's also a good idea to save the backing paper in case you need to iron it while you are working on it.

In the image below on the left is the vinyl before ironing, in the middle is just the regular fabric, and on the left is the vinyl that has been ironed down. The vinyl layer does not distort or cloud the print on this fabric, it just makes it shine since this is the gloss version of this product (some manufacturers also make a matte version)



I am quite please with the results of the homemade water-proof fabric. Working with it, however, is a different story and takes some careful selection of project and construction techniques. 

I had no actual pattern to follow going into this project and was just using an extra piece of fabric to test how this laminated fabric works up. In the past I have often sewn purses and other things by putting the right-sides of the fabric together, sewing almost all the way around the edges, and leaving a little opening to flip the piece right sides out. That did not work very well with this laminated vinyl because it is a little delicate at stress points and tore right by the opening I flipped it through.

I was able to iron one seam flat very carefully by pressing it with my fingers then putting it between the backing paper and ironing just the seam. That turned out fine, but when using that construction method I like to the whole iron the piece once I flip it out to press in all the seams. I put it between the pieces of the backing paper to iron it as per the instructions on the package. It got all wrinkly, so that was a disappointment. 

I noticed while sewing on it that the vinyl makes a bit of plastic build-up that sticks to the needle. It also wants to not feed through the machine when it's near the edge, and just generally was a bit "stickier" than regular fabric. The vinyl does make the fabric thicker too. I was in a bit of a rush trying to sew it and got frustrated with how the seams were not behaving, so I took them apart and re-did them with bias tape instead of trying to sew it inside out then flipping it right side out. Try not to be in a rush when you work with laminated vinyl as your needle marks will show in the fabric, as well as, the pins you use to hold it together while you sew, so pin in the seam allowance if you need to pin!

I would highly recommend that you practice using this material on a test project to experience how it behaves so that you do not ruin something important. Please feel free to comment on your experiences with this iron-on vinyl, or ask any questions you might have.




Sunday, June 24, 2012

Local Artist Showcase and Coffee During Comic Con


As Comic Con approaches some are still scrambling for tickets, others have volunteered their slave labor, and other are just plain excited. Another exciting event happening outside Comic Con is the Local Artist Showcase at the Village 631 in the East Village Saturday July 14th.

Some awesome artists who may not have made it to the convention floor will gather for good food, coffee, wine, art and fun at the Village@ 631, near 9th and Market. A short 10 minuite walk from the front of the San Diego Convention Center, the Village @ 631 will offer amazing artisan food deals and drink specials, a chill place to escape the crowds, prime balcony for people watching, and some local artists offering their wares for sale. Specials will run all day and the artist will be set up from 2pm to 8pm. Check out some of the local artist, including some of the North Park Craft Mafia Girls who will be showing,
  






A few spaces for tables are still available, email rae@raewolfdesigns.com with your artistic URL for details.