She's Crafty | East Bay Mini Maker Faire Finale

Welcome back to our East Bay Mini Maker Faire Finale!

Malia: Faire Finds

Nothing will part me from my craft faire allowance quicker than handmade accessories and/or the parts to make my own. Finding a one-of-kind piece has become my way of bringing home a memento instead of an event sticker, shirt or poster. So, once I knew we stumbled into merchant-land, search mode kicked on. Geometric jewelry designs are a weakness of mine so I knew the triangles I found at one table were coming home with me.

Speaking of my weaknesses, steampunk is a major one. Although with most finished steampunk jewelry pieces, the cost is high and I'm usually reluctant to spend so much. Instead, I spring for grab-bags of clock parts and metal bits. Lucky for me, there was a sale on Steampunk Maker Kits. Now, I get to figure out what to do with all the fun pieces!


Kaye: More Steampunk!

Speaking of steampunk, there were a number of other areas in the Faire where we saw fascinating, one-of-a-kind, steampunk contraptions and accoutrements. Many of these were not for sale--such as the gear, widget, and metal encrusted vehicle, which was entirely roadworthy according to its owner. Although it looked really cool, I couldn't figure out how he'd wash his car. It's not like I wash my car all that often, but at least my car isn't difficult to wash...I guess you just can't be too practical-minded to get into the steampunk groove. Steampunk is definitely not for minimalists!




Malia: Walking pod

Geodesic domes are already cool enough but imagine one that WALKS! Once I figured out that the raised dome, resting on two rows of triangular appendages actually moved, I stuck around to get some video. It was amazing! And a bit creepy at the same time. I was actually surprised at how level the dome stayed throughout the movements.



Kaye: Geocaching...

Do you have a smartphone, tablet, or other device with global-positioning system (GPS) capability? If so, you can participate in a fun new pastime called geocaching. At this table, we saw folks putting small trinkets and toys into little containers of various sorts, getting them ready to hide somewhere at the Faire. Once hidden, a person would then get the GPS coordinates of the hiding location using whatever GPS technology they had handy and post the coordinates on a board where others could see them and go looking for the cache using their own GPS technology. 


It was interesting to me to see both geocaching and steampunk at the same place. It made me wonder whether the Victorians would have liked geocaching, and how they would have approached that hobby. I like to think they would have loved to go chasing about the world looking for things with pin-point accuracy (well, a 12-foot circle is a pin-point from space!) using future-is-now technology. And then, when they had found a cache, they would have looked at the wonders inside, possibly taken a trinket for a souvenir, and quietly replaced the container for the next person to find, just as geocachers do today. I wonder whether any of the steampunk folk do participate? It seems like such a good fit...

Leave us a comment and tell us what you think. And, as always--stay crafty!

Kaye and Malia

She's Crafty | East Bay Mini Maker Faire

We went on a field trip! A fun-filled, creative feast-for-the-eyes, whirlwind of a craft adventure and we've put together a field report.

Craft Adventure Field Report 001
Event: East Bay Mini Maker Faire 2013
Where: Park Day School and Studio One Art Center in Oakland, California.
Participants: Kaye, Malia, and Selena.

The East Bay Mini Maker Faire is modeled after a larger event known simply as the Maker Faire. Both celebrate creativity, innovation, learning and sharing. And while the Mini Maker Faire is named so because it is a fraction of the size a Maker Faire can be, let me tell ya - it's not really very mini. From flying robots and walking pods to walls decorated with fabiric-cover hangers and makers teaching how to screen print, this event had it all!

To get and in-depth account of what a Maker Faire is all about check out Lori's amazing blog posts, Maker Faire, Part 1 and Maker Faire, Part 2.

Now for the reports...

Malia: Back Entrance Overload and a Nerdy Derby

Set on the campus of Park Day School in Oakland and the adjoining grounds of Studio One Art Center, The East Bay Mini Maker Faire was nestled inside a residential area. We parked at a separate school campus down a small car-lined street and were already confronted with the cool and wonderous.

Murals made by students at Emerson Elementary

Surprisingly, we still had not glimpsed anything of the actual Faire itself except for the busy streets and streams of people walking towards something cool--you could see it on their faces. As we walked down the street and came around a corner we could see why: following heads turned toward the sky we saw a flying robot buzzing overhead, we heard cardboard boxes crashing and the screams of triumph as kids played Angry Birds IRL (in real life), merchandise calling my name under white canopies, colorful pennant flags, aquariums full of water plants...and this was the back entrance!

We got our little maps out and left it up to my niece what to do first. Selena is 18, but like her aunt she likes to make anything vaguely sword like so when she saw Duct Tape Swords we navigated the campus through a few wrong and right turns, down an incredibly packed area known as Food Truck Alley, and found the craft tables over-populated with munchkins half our size. We watched for a bit and planned to come back later.



Then we spotted the Nerdy Derby and watched kids push their hand made cars with fun names like, "Car" and "Death Wave" down tracks built on top of playground slides.


Kaye: Lady of Glass

One of the things I really enjoyed was watching a lady making beautiful beads from molten glass. She had lots of glass rods, each one a different color, laid out on her work-table. She wore special glasses to protect her eyes from the glare of the torch she had set in a clamp directly in front of her; and, with a hand to each side, she twirled the glass rod in the flame with one hand while holding a mandrel with hot glass wrapped around it in the other. Then, every once in a while, she would take the hot glass and mold it against a metal plate she had close by. It was like magic! A shape was taking form! I wish I could have stayed longer to see what the final bead would look like. But, Malia and Selena beckoned me on to explore other wonders. One day I hope to do what that lady had been doing...she had made it look so easy, I just knew I could do it too. I know that lots of things look easy but aren't, but I want to try it anyway. Just once.

Malia: Glovetopus and FIRE!

After scanning the crowd for a bit I spotted a sign for the Glovetopus. I've made a stuffed glove creature before but never a Glovetopus so I had to check it out. That's when we crossed a courtyard area dominated by a tall contraption with what I thought were arms capable of spinning and tanks of propane...ohmygosh, that's a thing capable of FIRE! We waited while the guy in a top hat and his buddy fiddled with nobs, grabbed a sledge hammer and asked for people to line up. The first kid came into the ring and hit a wooden lever much like one you would find at a carnival. Without knowing what to expect, the large burst of fire and heat was surprising but very, very cool!

For now, this is the end of our field report. However, we have so much more about the East Bay Mini Maker Faire to share, so stay tuned and stay crafty!

Kaye and Malia

She's Crafty | He's Crafty

We're all crafty!

So, funny story:

At work one day I was straightening the NEW book shelf when I came across, Made by Dad: 67 Blueprints for Making Cool Stuff by Scott Bedford. I thought, "Duct tape on the spine, it's gotta be cool. Annnd, it'll make a nice blog!" But I left it for another time. Later that very day my mother excitedly presented me with Made by Dad and said, "We gotta blog about this one!"

It was meant to be.

We know plenty of crafty dudes and I'm sure some of you out there know a few too. They're everywhere!

Check out, Men Who Knit. A website devoted to promoting and supporting men who knit. And Mark Montano's Make Your Mark! videos on YouTube are my absolute favorites to watch. We also carry some of his books at our library. He has one of the most fun and fertile imaginations out there.

Of course I know a few male crafters personally too. My dad taught me everything I know and love about knots, which has helped me in many crafting areas. Dad also taught me the craft of splicing wires and got me hooked on the art of collage.

When I first spied Made by Dad I thought of a friend of mine. Dustin's one of the craftiest people I know. He's a blacksmith, does some great embroidery and he sews out of necessity and fun - in fact he's the one who taught me how to turn a pair of normal pants into bell bottoms! And he loves to get crafty with his daughters. He is definitely the perfect target audience for this book.

But so am I. And anyone else who loves to build fun, sometimes gross, but always kooky stuff.

Like this...pair?...of Rock, Paper, Scissors dice I made to quickly end disputes of where to eat out or who gets the last cookie. Users just choose a color and the dice do all the work.

Scissors cut paper. That cookie is MINE!

The projects in the book are leveled from Easy to Tricky. Zen Napkins is probably the easiest. Create simple circles and lines around coffee-shop treat crumbs much like a Zen garden and you're done.

Kaye is getting fancy with her garden in the background.

The Tricky projects are definitely harder but between the detailed blueprints with awesome illustrations and the step-by-step instructions even the Tricky projects seem extremely do-able.

With your brain box and these blueprints, nothing
will stand in your way.

Overall, I love this book. It is crammed full of practical jokes, games, and handmade gifts. I found the instructions easy to follow and the blueprints to be the most helpful guides in a crafting book I've ever come across. So, Dads (or uncles, grandpas, cousins, big brothers, mothers, aunts...), grab your rulers and glue and your nearest kid (or fly solo) and get crafting.

Before I go, I wanted to mention that we will be taking a little trip to the East Bay Mini Maker Faire later this month. On October 20th, Park Day School in Oakland will be hosting a celebration of creativity and learning with hands-on and hand-made fun. I'm sure it will be a blast and can't wait to share our first Mini Maker adventure with you.

Until then, stay crafty!
~Malia