I must say that even though we are older now, we still love to rock out.
What tunes do you love to hear in the car?

Are there any projects you have been learning or relearning?

Do you think this video is as cute as I do? Share with me any cute music videos you find, please.

Do you have any interesting thrift store finds to share?

Do you have any fun games in your house?

We are starting off Sharing Sunday with a look at one of my loves….my cat. Her name is Ami (ahh-mee, not amy). Here, you can see her on my chest, on my red & white comforter from Ikea & get a peek at my pink bedroom walls. Yes, my bedroom walls are pink. Wait ’til I share a photo of my bathroom walls (totally not pink).

What color are your bedroom walls?

It was nice to share my encaustic work with so many people. I enjoyed explaining the hot wax painting process. I really need to paint some more to share with you. A few of the ones that didn’t sell are going up at Whole Body Studio Spa, here in Austin, TX.

We were able to step away from our booth for awhile to shop around on the last day. Here are the awesome things I picked up!

I bought these adorable earrings from Figs & Ginger. I had been eyeing the deer on their site, but I didn’t see them, so I bought the bunnies. After they gave me the bunnies they noticed there weren’t any deer out & I waited as they restocked & bought those too!

I stopped by Cut Out Collect to see if she had a cutie apple pouch I saw on her site, and she did! She only had one, and it was waiting just for me, or so I like to think.

I made it down to Naughty Secretary Club’s vibrant booth and we made a sweet, sweet trade. She got a PB & Jay notebook from me and I got a delicious strawberry bracelet from her. I was looking for a particular bolo I wanted to buy, but it had sold. =(

Shu picked up this awesome Tanooki Mario pin from Pixel Party. I wanted to get one of the Fire Flowers, but I couldn’t think of a place to put it.

I wish I would have had time to see more things, and to support more people. I hope to do that at Renegade Craft Fair – LA. If you live in the LA area you should come by and see us in July, we’d LOVE to meet you!

After Renegade Craft Fair we made a decision to have fair exclusives. I have three ring designs that sell really well, that we are making exclusive to any event we participate in, or you can get them in Austin, TX at The Wonder Craft….only. That’s kinda fun, huh?

If you were at Renegade Craft Fair in Austin, we’d love to hear about your experience there, and what fun things you picked up.

I am most excited about Craft Academy! I have been planning out these courses for months! Craft Academy is my way of becoming a teacher without having to work for someone else.

The design of Craft Academy is kinda like a mini art school, with even more fun courses. There is a summer session called Summer Lovin’, the Fall Semester, a winter semester called Holiday Hits, a spring break course called Spring Fling, an actual Spring Semester and some single day/weekend courses. The planning has been super fun.

I started asking people last fall if I could film them for a video tutorial for my site as a way of practicing, to see if I could get the video and audio to where I would be happy with it. With each video I’ve done, my skills have improved.

I asked my Twitter friend AJ if she’d like to join me in my quest, and she said yes! We’ve had quite a few meetings, and countless email exchanges working out the logistics & logo. The logo was tricky because we were never fully happy with anything we’d come up with. It even took us awhile to come up with the school colors! I suggested red & purple, for two reasons….one, I’ve always liked that combo, and two (most importantly), purple is her fave color & red is mine!

One of the key things I do for my main job is teach social media tactics to small businesses. In a training I went through to learn about those things we had this amazing community forming. Through that course I made some amazing friends and we all help each other out. I loved it so much, I wanted to build that for artists and crafters, so I could spend time sharing and learning with like minded people. Thus, Craft Academy was born.

I have been working hard on the main site. I should have worked on it before the classroom site, but the classroom is what I am most excited about. We opened registration for Craft Academy yesterday, it was a great day! Now I am furiously working on getting the main site live.

I am just so excited about it all! If you’ve read this far, it would be awesome if you joined Craft Academy. I promise it will be a lot of fun! I’m going to get back to work now, but I hope to meet you soon.

-Renée

April is coming to a close, but we still have one more thing to teach you. All this talk about April showers is perfect for our new project: wet felting! Get your towels ready and create your very own fabric with this rainy day technique from Merritt.

SUBJECT: Merritt Gade

The Basics

Name: Merritt Gade
Shop Name: Merritt Gade Fine Handmades
Story behind the shop name: I’m not particularly good at naming things, so choosing my own name made the most sense. Plus, I knew I wouldn’t have any trouble with other people having it and Google finds me even if the name is spelled wrong.

When did you start selling online?
I opened my Etsy shop in February of 2008, but only really started promoting and improving it in January 2009.

Where were you born?
Grants Pass, Oregon, which is about four hours south of Portland, about one hour north of the California border, and an hour and a half from the Pacific Ocean.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the woods about 30 minutes west of Grants Pass. It was pretty secluded, but there were quite a few neighbors, a nice park on the Rogue River, and two small stores. There were also mountain lions and power outages, but also swimming holes and great sledding.

Where do you live now & why?
I live in South Austin. I moved to Austin 10 years ago with my best friend. We wanted to try a new place totally different than the North West and picked Austin. We’d heard good things and wanted a sunny, arty, fun place to try. Neither of us has left and I couldn’t be happier here!

Fave thing about where you live now?
Austin continues to grow (which I know is sad to some), so the Handmade/Arts & Crafts scene has grown a lot in past ten years. I feel totally supported by this community in what I’m doing, and there are so many ways for me to support back. Also, I love the near-constant sun.

Fun Facts:

What is your motto?
I’m not sure I have a real set of words to live by, but I’ve always found peace in “Hope for the best, Plan for the worst, and Take what comes.” It reminds me to not be too negative or irresponsible, and that life does what it wants regardless.

Do you have a fave craft to make?
I truly love metalsmithing the most. I love using hammers and pliers and torches. I love the slow-moving, patience-needing problem solving of metal projects. I love inventing with metal.

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall?
Spring and Fall probably equally. In Central Texas, these seasons stretch on forever, the foliage changes daily, and the pleasant weather is so freeing.

What 5 things do you need to make it through the day?
A decent night’s sleep, coffee, water, something fun to look forward to at the end of the day or week, and Joe.

Fave article of clothing to shop for?
I don’t like clothes shopping. Not even shoes. If I had a perfect figure and all the money in the world, I still wouldn’t like it. I’m more at home in a craft, bead, or hardware store.

What’s the last song you listened to?
Something from the latest album by Modest Mouse on my Shuffle.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
TV. I was going to say LOST, but then realized I was thinking about the question while flipping between Ellen, Live with Regis & Kelly, and HGTV. I like listening to people talk while I work. I put on movies and listen to podcasts, too, but a lot of times the TV is just easier.

If money was no object and you could do anything you wanted for a living, what would you do?
I would make pretty things all the time, but pay someone else to market them.

Finish The Sentence Time:
Always…take care of your tools.
Never…not try.
Love…more than one hobby.
Live…by your own rules.

Supply list:

• Roving: Wool that has not yet been spun into yarn, found in bundles or by the ounce

• Center fabric: Cheesecloth, mesh, crocheted or knitted cloth, anything that is very “holey”

• Sheer fabric: Chiffon or something similar, can be cheap, should be smooth and tightly woven

• Liquid laundry soap

• Hot & Cold Water

• Towels

• Flat, large, water safe surface

This time on Craft 101 [01011010110], AJ is here again to give you the finer points of egg dyeing. She’s just in time for a certain bunny related holiday. So grab your eggs (gently!) and let’s get messy!

To find AJ’s wonderful creations, visit her Etsy shop:  AJthePurple!

Supply list:

• Egg Dyeing Kit (PAAS or similar)  or  Standard Food Coloring
• Vinegar
• Water
• Eggs (Hard Boiled)
• Paper Towels or Cloth Rags (only if you don’t mind getting them stained)
• Brushes, Sponges, or any other texture-making tools