And the winners of the MailChimp hat giveaway  (as chosen by random.org) are:

Commenter #24: Marcus Wickes

Commenter #9: Michael

Commenter #4: Roman

Commenter #18: Jeff

Commenter #12: Stan

Winners, we’ll email you with instructions on how to claim your prize, and thanks everyone for sharing where you buy your favorite handmade goods!

If you follow us on Facebook, you may have already seen the fun monkey hats we received from our favorite email newsletter makers, MailChimp. Today, we’re giving away five of these fun crocheted hats to our blog readers!

To enter, leave a comment below answering this question:

Where do you buy your favorite handmade goods?
(e.g. from Etsy, a local shop, a festival, the artist, etc.)

Please, only one entry per person. Random winners will be chosen next Monday, March 26th (at midnight) and announced here on the blog on Tuesday! Also, for shipping reasons, only US Residents are eligible to win.

It’s been a while since we’ve done a crafty DIY round up on our blog, so I’m pretty excited to have one all about gardening. I’m hoping the clear forecast tomorrow holds, because I want to spend the entire day outside! Ok, maybe you don’t have a green thumb and hate working in the yard. Don’t tune me out yet. I’ve got more than just a post about garden projects. Check out these beauties below.

I love terrariums, especially this one from In Words and Pictures. And these little Tillandsia (air plants) are so easy to take care of. They hardly need any attention.

No yard? Have a porch or patio that needs a little plant love? Apartment Therapy’s tutorial for recycling pallets into vertical gardens is pure genius. This would be perfect for growing small flowers, or my personal favorite, fresh herbs.

Ok, maybe you don’t have a green thumb, but who doesn’t love fresh flowers in the house? Especially when they’re displayed in this faux mercury glass vase from Pepper Design.

Or maybe hanging plants are your thing? I love how you can give some distinction to plain ol’ terra cotta with this tutorial from More Design Please.

And finally, have any friends who are nuts about gardening? This is a super cute favor or hostess gift for those who have that green thumb. Template found on Ruffled Blog.

Happy Weekend!

In my opinion, Pecha Kucha Night is one of the most fascinating concepts I’ve ever come across. “What are you talking about!”…you might be wondering right now. “What on earth is Pecha Kucha?” Well, Pecha Kucha (pronounced pe-CHALK-cha; from the Japanese phrase meaning “chit chat”) is a forum that believes that everybody has something interesting to say and should have the opportunity to share it with others. So, four times a year, the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville hosts an evening where people from the community present a topic and a slideshow to the Pecha Kucha audience.

Now, to keep the lectures from getting out of hand, Pecha Kucha has a few ground rules. From their website: Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

So within just a few short minutes, you can be educated on a variety of fun topics and have a great time in the process. Those topics can be anything ranging from “Why Bruce Wayne would have made a good architect” to a brief history lesson on “Hipsters.” (See Pecha Kucha website for other past topics). Quirky? Absolutely! But this is a great way to know more about the people in your community. And you just need to dive in to enjoy the fun.

Now that you have a general idea of what Pecha Kucha night is, let’s get to the details about the event.

Where: Warehouse Theatre
When: March 27, 2012, presentations begin at 8:20
Cost: $5 at the door
What: Come learn about anything and everything — 6 minutes and 40 seconds at a time.
Learn more: http://www.pkngreenville.com/

So you might be wondering what our fascination with Pecha Kucha has to do with Indie Craft Parade. Well, Indie Craft Parade’s very own Elizabeth Ramos, co-host of the event, has been heavily involved with Pecha Kucha for the past few years. She’s been a presenter before (see presentation below), and this year Indie Craft Parade is actually one of the partners supporting Pecha Kucha night. We believe this event is fun, informative, and a great way to spend a night in Greenville. It’s totally worth getting tickets, and who knows what you’ll learn by the evening’s end!

I have a super fun update today. Remember this post when we announced that Brook Glenn Elementary School won our 2011 scholarship? Well, Laura, the school’s art teacher, has shared with us some of the work the students were able to do because of the scholarship funds.

From Laura:
I just wanted to send you guys a note and say THANKS for choosing us for your scholarship.  We have been furiously making all sorts of ceramic projects since I was able to purchase massive amounts of clay and glaze (hooray!).  I wanted to send a few pictures.  Two of the pictures are of clay animals third graders have been working on (the most awesome zebra I’ve ever seen!) and one photo is of a stocked kiln room– something that makes this art teacher very happy.

We’re so glad we were able to help out the kids from Brook Glenn. Looks like these students have an art future for sure!

Needing some crafty inspiration? Head over to the Etsy TV page on Vimeo. They have a high quality collection of short films that feature artists and crafters throughout the States and even around the world. Here’s one from a textile artist that I’ve admired for quite a while. She’s Heather Moore of Skinny LaMinx in South Africa. Her designs are beautiful, and I think you’ll enjoy this as much as I did.

Handmade Portraits: Skinny laMinx from Etsy on Vimeo.

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent us pictures of your current creative work in response to last week’s post! I have a couple of good ones to show you today, and there will be plenty more to come. We really want to see what our friends are working on. So whether you’re a longtime follower, participant, or attendee of Indie Craft Parade or if you’re just joining us, please shoot us a photo of the creative projects you’re working on (or have worked on). Just email jen@indiecraftparade.com and include a brief description of your project as well as photos that do not exceed 500 pixels wide.

Here we go! First a creative headboard by mixed media artist Kristen Solecki.

From Kristen: My fiancee and I recently moved into our new apartment. We wanted something over our bed but did not want a headboard. We are both obsessed with Instagram (who isn’t?) and I printed a bunch of our photos from it but wasn’t sure what to do with them, there were too many to frame!  I designed this great way to display them using two pieces of found lumber and bull dog clips. This works perfect because it is functional art and the photos can be changed and updated with our current favorites. 

If you’re interested in learning how to do this project yourself, Kristen has kindly offered to share the tutorial. Visit her website to get in touch.

Second Cory Godbey has kindly shared a sneak preview into his 2012 sketchbook Menagerie. I’m so glad he sent this over, because it reminded me to tell you all we’re interested in a lot more than just crafty/DIY projects (as awesome as they are). If you’re a fine artist, we’d love to see your work too.

From Cory: I’m in the midst of producing my yearly sketchbook of all new work titled Menagerie. The 40+ page book will feature drawings and sketches of animals and dragons in sometimes dramatic, sometimes operatic situations. Currently I’m doing study drawings of all the pieces. This is basically me working out all of the tigers and bears and creatures that will populate this new book. 

The final drawing of the sketch above.

Another look at the Tiger King.

Menagerie will be released this May. You can find out more about the project at Cory’s blog.

And finally I too wanted to show off a project I did with my little sister this past weekend. We tried making the geometric pendants from the DIY round up featured a little while ago. I think they turned out quite well.

There’s always room for more! Let us know what you’re working on!

Do you use Pinterest? It seems like most of the creative types I know do. Pinterest is a fabulous resource for collecting inspiration and finding new resources. It has a simple but lovely interface, and best of all it stores everything in one place.

But did you know that some people are using it for much more than just a creative morgue? Pinterest is quickly becoming an effective marketing tool for big and small businesses alike. This creative infographic from MGD Advertising gives a lot of insight into just how powerful Pinterest can be in driving people to you. Granted, the examples given below are for huge corporations. Nonetheless, the information might inspire you to harness the potential of a social media site that you already use and love .

For a better look at this graphic click here.

Just a final note: whether you’re new to Pinterest or have been using for some while, please make sure that your usage is professional and above board. And mostly–give credit where credit is due. Pinterest has a good explanation of pin etiquette that is a helpful guide.

It’s March 1st–which kicks off the celebration of National Craft Month. Crafting blogs everywhere are gearing up to help people get their craft on this month, and Indie Craft Parade is no different. During the month of March we’ll be bringing you crafting tips, exploring new DIY projects, and featuring people’s crafts from right here in Greenville. That’s right! We want to see what crafts you’re working on!

Image courtesy of Martha Stewart.

So please, let us know what projects you’re tackling throughout the month of March. Recovering salvaged chairs with new, mod fabric? Decorating a room with handmade accents? Working on a new jewelry set? Trying one of our featured DIY projects? It’s so easy to share! Just email jen@indiecraftparade.com, and include a brief description of your project and picture that is no bigger than 500 pixels wide. We can’t guarantee that every project submitted will be featured, but we’ll do our best to show as many as possible.

Alright Greenville crafters, you have your assignment. Let us see just how creative you are!

We’ve got another festival to tell you about–this time from Columbia, SC! Every month, the Columbia Museum of Art hosts craft . bar . happy . hour, where crafters participate in a “bring your own craft” night. It’s a great way to expand your knowledge about crafting and meet new friends.

Well, they’ve decided to expand the event into a full weekend festival on June 1 and 2. It’s going to be a juried art market located in the museum, and registration is currently open.

From craft . bar . happy . weekend:

Craft Bar Happy Weekend is the inaugural daylong event inspired by the Columbia Museum of Art’s monthly program, Craft Bar Happy Hour. Craft Bar Happy Weekend is a public market that brings together artists and their handmade goods from across the Southeast. You’ll enjoy quality crafts, local food, DJs and the opportunity to make friends and connections with the artists themselves. The Museum’s team will offer workshops, demonstrations and activities that adults, and even the littlest crafters, can enjoy.

All crafters and artisans are encouraged to submit their work for consideration.

If you’re interested in participating, head over to their website, read all of the details. Applications are open until March 23.