Creative Outlet Studios is 1!

A splurge to celebrate. Some of us (*cough*Lauren) have a weakness for doughnuts.

It's hard to believe that just one year ago we officially opened our doors! Hard to believe, because in some ways the first year starting a business can feel like a lifetime, but more significantly, in that short time the space has come to life with such a wealth of special people and creativity! We cannot express the gratitude we feel from everyone who has supported and encouraged us and the studio this past year. One of the best parts of meeting everyone has been hearing the stories of what inspires each of you to create and make things. It is incredible how much talent surrounds our community. In the coming year we hope to bring exciting new workshops and equipment to peak your interests and encourage you to try new skills. Please post any comments below with how we can help you grow as we move forward (or just say hi!) :-)

While we celebrated our 1-year anniversary quietly this weekend, we can't wait to mark it and celebrate with you all at our Maker's Marketplace next month!

-Lauren & Susan

Lady Bim Pop-Up Flash Sale

It's been a bit quiet on the blog for a while, but we're excited to break the silence with news of a sale!

We invite you to a special pop-up flash sale featuring fantastic designer children's apparel by Lady Bim! These gorgeous garments & blankets are uniquely hand-embellished on bamboo, hemp, and organic cotton. In addition to the sale, volunteers will be live sewing Bimmies (super adorable plush toys from Lady Bim's remnant fabric, filled with sustainably-grown kapok) in the remnant and shape of your choice. Bimmies will be donated to Pretend City, a local children's museum supporting childhood growth and development.

We hope you'll join us and experience these beautiful pieces in person!

Lady Bim End-of-Summer Flash Sale

Sunday, September 8, 9am - 4pm

at 

Creative Outlet Studios

2035 Placentia

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Craft for Community Zine

We had a special station at our Etsy Craft Party to incorporate Etsy's fantastic 2013 theme, "Craft for Community." Led by the amazingly talented Rachel Hillberg, participants at the Zine station were given several community themed prompts, including Etsy's provided word bubbles: "Together we can _____ to create a more fulfilling and lasting world." It was great to see everyone really sit and take their time with their pages to create an "issue" that is individually interpreted but collectively whole. So enjoy as you flip through the pages of this e-zine, made by you, for you! You may even find some printed copies in the studio on your next visit! Check out this article in the current issue of Juxtapoz for more on the current state and roots of zine culture.

Etsy Craft Party 2013

It's been a week and we're still smiling from our Etsy Craft Party with the Academy of Handmade. This was one of the larger events we've hosted and it was beyond fulfilling to see so many people collectively crafting and having fun...in our studio! We hope you enjoy the photos below (whole album on our Facebook page) and join us again soon for another great event or workshop!

If you don't know already, we at Creative Outlet Studios love a good party! And it's probably safe to say our favorite part is theming and decorating. We've been loving bright tropical colors and you can't peruse blogs or pinterest lately without coming across an abundance of geometric inspiration. These tutorials helped us whip up some seriously simple but impactful decor:

Pretty Paper Party Balls by A Subtle Revelry

Geometric Mobile Tutorial by Paper Runway

Origami 'Bipyramid' Tutorial by Mr Printables

We were also lucky to have the fabled sister/daughter/graphic designer extraordinaire, Whitney (many over you have heard about our other 1/3 traveling through Australia), back to not only make our awesome graphics for the event, but to bring them to life with the gigantic folded paper sign for the party!

How about I let the pictures do some talking now?

KC's Natural Dye Reveal!

Trying out the magical Cricut & Cuttlebug from Provo Craft

Gift Bag station with the super talented Hydrangea Hippo
(tutorial at How About Orange)

Smiles courtesy of Epson's LabelWorks PRINTABLE ribbon!! 

Leather & Felt Scrap Pins led by fashion repurposing maven, Marisa Lynch!
Find photos of some uber creative finished pins on her blog, new dress a day,
as well as her own fantastic creations & tutorials!

Letterpress Gift Tags were guided by the lovely Desiree B. & Emma of Fiskars

Crafters got to choose fabric swatches including colorful remnants from Volcom (check out their New Future blog on environmental responsibility) and print one of 3 awesome designs, including a commemorative design from Hearts and Laserbeams! Thanks to the Meagan Segal of Mome Rath Garden & Miriam Dema for leading the screen printing station!

Rachel Hillberg of Elephant Dust Handmade led everyone through the basics of zine making with a "Craft for Community" theme. Check back here for a link to the finished "e-zine," or sign up for our newsletter to get it in your inbox!

In addition to a portion of proceeds benefitting local charity, Share Our Selves, the all-donation dessert bar was generously and yummily (??) filled with sweets by Cake Bar, Parchment, Bake All The Things, and Baker Bliss Maker.

The other big hit of the night was the Raffle Bar, curated by A Little Known Shop, which featured amazing prizes from a ton of local Etsy sellers as well as our other amazing sponsors! Find a complete list of contributors at the bottom of the post.

Hank and Her Ponies set the perfect tone for the evening!

Culinary awesomeness outside with The Wine Lab at The Camp & Piaggio on Wheels

Surprise performance by our friends Special Blend at the end of the night!

We can say with complete confidence that we can't wait for Etsy Craft Party 2014! We look forward to seeing Etsy shop owners grow and continue to foster the face-to-face community throughout the year. Here's a list of the fantastic people and business who helped make the night!

Thanks to our sponsors, volunteers & featured Etsy sellers!

                                   

ilovetocreate
Provo Craft
Epson
Fiskars
Volcom
Hearts and Laserbeams
Whimseybox
Kauzbots
Sheswai Nail Lacquer
Grow by Eleanor Whitney
Wine Lab at the Camp
Piaggio on Wheels
A Little Known Shop
New Dress A Day
Hydrangea Hippo
Elephant Dust Handmade
Hank and Her Ponies
Special Blend 
Merrily Yours
Cake Bar
hallojak
Desiree B.
Hello Beautiful
Miriam Dema Art
Mome Rath Garden 
Parchment
Bake All The Things
Baker Bliss Maker
Kellsworth Ink
SewMuch2Luv
Whimsy & Ink
Ruth Soap
Paper Jam Print Shop
iloveyoulikeyou
BOSS Girls Inc
Blooms in the Air
Corazones
The Sunshine Grove
Delovely Details
Athee's Designs
Audrey Miller Art
Minimalista Clothing

Mother's Day Gifts & Mother's Night Fun

Mother's Day is only a week away! Give her the gift of inspiration with a custom diy kit! Combine two or more items as a gift set for mom and receive 10% off your purchase with gift wrapping available in store or as supplies to take home and diy!

Give yourself a Mother's Day gift! Join us for Mother's Night, an evening of craft and fun and some good old fashioned 'me time.' We'll be creating beautiful sets of hand embroidered note cards. Sign up here and share with your friends on Facebook.

Crochet Hook Valentine's Heart

I knew I wanted to make some crocheted hearts to decorate the shop this Valentine's Day, but got extra excited when I realized the crochet hook makes a perfect little Cupid's arrow! Pattern below!

Crochet Heart with Arrow

US Crochet Terms

ch = chain

sc = single crochet

hdc = half double crochet

dc = double crochet

tr = treble crochet

dtr = double treble crochet

sl st = slip stitch

HEART **Edited 2/3 to correct error in row 2**
ch2

row 1: 3 sc in 2nd chain from hook, ch 1, turn (3 sc)

row 2: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch 1, turn (4 sc)

row 3: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (5 sc)

row 4: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (6 sc)

row 5: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (7 sc)

row 6: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (8 sc)

row 7: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (9 sc)

row 8: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (10 sc)

row 9: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (11 sc)

row 10 (shaping the top of the heart): dc in 1st sc, 2 tr in next sc, dtr in next sc, tr then dc in next sc, hdc in next sc, sl st in next sc, hdc in next sc, dc then tr in next sc, dtr in next sc, 2 tr in next sc, 2 dc in last sc, fasten off, weave in ends

ARROW END
ch 4

row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, 3 sc in next sc, sc in last sc, ch 1, turn

row 2: sc in 1st two sc, 3 sc in next sc, sc in last two sc, fasten off, weave in ends

To attach the arrow end to the crochet hook, you may want to stretch the triangle to expose the two holes that you made 3 single crochets in on both rows. With the pointed end of the crocheted triangle facing the hook, insert the non-hooked end of the crochet hook over the top of the triangle into the first hole, then up through the next hole as shown below. I made the mistake the first time of turning the triangle the other way which made it look like the arrow head instead of the feathered end.

Next insert the hooked end through the heart from front to back and back to front as shown in the finished photo above.

This is my first shared pattern, so I hope it serves you well! I would love to see photos if you make one!

Lauren

Grand Opening & Patchwork Recap

Leading up to last weekend, we wondered more than a couple of times what we had gotten ourselves into...a pre-opening party, grand opening day, and Patchwork Long Beach...in 3 consecutive days!? Ready or not is was time for our close-up! Without the tremendous generosity & help of so many friends and family, there is truly no way we would have pulled it off. I'll leave any further sappiness to personal thank-you's! At least tears of gratitude can't smudge internet writing!

A couple of pictures actually exist from the grand opening festivities! We were so caught up in the moment, that these are all we have to share. Our (big) little banner at the top left actually doubled as the backdrop to our Patchwork booth as I'm sure it will for many future events. All it took was some crocheted chains stitched on a drop cloth and the fabulous bunting made by Jessica at Beerandbaking.com (not only did she make the awesome arrow cookies and honeycomb candy at the bottom, but she's a crafty one too!). The pre-opening party was such a hit, our favorite little customer had to take a rest in our comfy lounge area.

Grand opening Saturday was just as fun, but maybe a little windier...we were able to capture our sandwich board (made by Grandpa!) before it's corner was chipped clean off in a gust! Inside, however, we were crocheting and letterpressing up a storm and giving tours of the space! If you didn't make it in last weekend, don't fret, we are always happy to show you the space!

By the time Sunday rolled around, we were running on pure adrenaline. As our first craft fair booth (can you believe it!?) it came together pretty smoothly, but it's amazing how easily things can become disastrous. For example, how did I not realize until the last minute, that there was no way all of our supplies were going to fit in my little Ford Escape? Or that finding your destination can be a matter of having a navigator or not! (Thank you Megan, Jessica & Sean for all your help!!). Our letterpress was a big hit and we still have the gift tag linoleum blocks at the studio if you didn't get a chance to try it out that day. If you did miss the Long Beach show, there's still one more in Santa Ana on the 25th! 

It was so great to meet so many new people over the weekend! If you entered our drawing, keep an eye out on Facebook and in your e-mail as we will be announcing winners soon!!

-Lauren