Featured Follower ~ Play Me Mama Crafts

It’s time for a Featured Follower! This week I’m so excited to introduce you to Play Me Mama Crafts!

Jennifer is a creative business owner from Toronto. In her Etsy Shop you will find handmade, affordable and Eco-conscious products. As a mother of two she creates child and family friendly products that are often made with re-purposed or organic materials.

She offers a line of dress up cloths for those kids who dream of being a super-hero or a butterfly…or maybe both!

T-Shirt Superhero Cape

 

Silk Wings

 

You will also find her adorable “Got Snot” Cloth Hankies. Who doesn’t need these during cold and flu season. Made from soft organic fabric these will be so much nicer on runny noses then scratchy tissues! And so much more attractive!

 

Cloth Hankie

Check out Play Me Mama Crafts’ Etsy Shop here to see more!

Featured Follower is a regular feature where I feature someone who is following and interacting with me on one of my Blogs (Sea Flower Studios and Handmakers Haven), Facebook Pages (Sea Flower Studios and Handmakers Haven) or Twitter Accounts (Sea Flower Studios and Handmakers Haven). To have a chance to be featured follow me and be sure to leave me comments!

International Yarn Bombing Day

Today I was introduced to something I had never heard of before…yarn bombing!

I received an email letting me know about a fun event happening in Toronto this weekend to celebrate International Yarn Bombing day. I have to admit the first thing that popped into my head was thousands of strings of colourful yarn hanging from trees and houses in a bright fun mess. But that’s not quite what yarn bombing is.

Yarn bombing is a type of street art that features displays of knitting or crocheting covering ordinary objects in the community such as street signs, trees, public buildings and monuments. Yarn bombers have also been known to cover cars, bikes, phone booths, buses and just about anything else. Yarn bombing is meant to celebrate the art form of knitting and crocheting and also is considered a non permanent version of graffiti that adds colour and warmth to cold or sterile public places.

To celebrate the first ever International Yarn Bombing Day Michaels Craft Stores are partnering with the nation’s leading yarn artists to yarn bomb five of its stores across the nation including Toronto (other locations are Chicago, Dallas, New York and LA) to help increase awareness for the growing art form, generate some donations for the Starlight Children’s Foundation and just
have fun!

This Saturday, June 11th  from 1pm to 5pm visitors to the Michaels Store at 30 Billy Bishop Way in Toronto will find the store has been Yarn Bombed inside and out! Also the store will be hosting a knit-a-thon to help raise money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation which helps seriously ill children and their families cope with pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities. This is an event worth checking out! ♥

Culture from Coast to Coast

Canada will be celebrating Culture and the Arts come September 30th, October 1st and October 2nd. “Culture Days is a collaborative pan-Canadian volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities.” There are many ways you can get involved. You can plan and host an event, volunteer for Culture Days, provide a venue, or simply attend one of the many fabulous events happening as part of the weekend.

They currently have a Call for Event Organizers. If you have an event that you are already organizing or a great idea for a cultural event then they want to hear from you! There is no fee to register and you can be an individual, business, group or municipality as long as you believe in the importance of Arts and Culture in Canadian Life.

For more information about registering an event or to search the listing of events already registered in your area check out their website here.

Beautiful Pottery from Lurearts

I’ve said before that one of my favorite things about participating in craft shows is having the opportunity to meet other vendors. At the recent Toronto Etsy Street team show (Check out a video from the Toronto Etsy Street Team show here) I had the pleasure of having a table beside Pam from Lurearts. Although she’s a fellow team member we had never had the chance to chat before and it was wonderful to be able to meet her and spend the day getting to know her. Not only is she a kind and fun person but she had beautiful pottery and ceramics in her Etsy Shop Lurearts. Here is your chance to get to know a little about her! Enjoy! ♥

What inspired you to first learn pottery?
I remember the first time I touched real clay in Elementary school. I was so excited that the teacher had to send me out in the hallway to calm down… Sad but true… Then I took a class in University and was hooked.

Spend a Day in The Beach

Are you planning to be in the city (Toronto) this weekend? If you are then why not spend the day in The Beach! Take a stroll by the lake, get an ice cream and while you’re here you can visit the Movies and Makers Craft Show where you’re sure to find something you’ll fall in love with. There will be vendors offering all sorts of treasures from Sock Monkey’s to Organic Body Care Products to Pottery and of course I will be there with my jewelry! The show is being held in the historic Fox Theatre at 2236 Queen Street East in The Beaches this Saturday May 24th from 11:00 am to 5:30pm. For introductions to many of the vendors and more details check out the Movies and Makers Blog here.

Grace Design is Having a Sale!!!

One of my favorite Etsy Shops is having a 24 hr sale and I wanted to be sure to let all my readers know! If you follow my blog you may remember reading a Blog Post about Alison from the Etsy Shop Grace Design. Alison makes beautiful purses and bags using linen, ultra suede and kimono fabrics and has just introduced some pieces this spring that incorporate screen printing. There are some amazing items and even some of her new spring line available at reduced prices! The sale is on only today and will end at midnight tonight so check out her shop now!

Ultra Suede Cheetah Bag

 

Not Far From the Tree

 

Being relatively new to Toronto I’m always excited when I discover all the fabulous activities and organizations this city has to offer. Today was one of those days that I found something wonderful!

I came across an organization call Not Far from the Tree. A small team of staff and many volunteers work together to pick fruit from trees across the city of Toronto when a homeowner is unable to do so themselves. The initiative started in 2008 run only by volunteers and together they picked 3003 lbs of fruit from 40 trees. By 2010 there were 8 staff and 700 volunteers who worked to pick 19,695 lbs of fruit from 228 trees. That quick growth surely shows what a valuable organization this is! After the fruit is picked the homeowner is allowed to keep up to 1/3 if they choose, 1/3 is split by the volunteers who picked the fruit and the final 1/3 is donated to shelters and food banks in the neighbourhood. I also discovered that in February they were busy tapping maple trees throughout the city to collect sap to make maple syrup!

As a girl who grew up in the country surrounded by forest I’ve spent many days helping my dad tap trees to collect sap to boil down for our own maple syrup, finding wild strawberry patches with my brother and picking raspberries and blackberries from the bushes that were right on our property. I’m thrilled to discover that very thing is happening in an urban setting! To find out more information or to register your tree, volunteer or donate please visit their website here. They also have an Etsy Shop to help raise money to support their cause. Be sure to take a look! ♥

DylaniumKnits is Bringing Fashion to the Craft World

Today I’m so excited to introduce one of my teammates from the Toronto Etsy Street Team (TESTy), Dylan from the Etsy Shop DylaniumKnits. Dylan is full of excitement for what he does and is helpful and supportive to everyone on the team and in the handmade community. Here’s a little look into his creative life! Enjoy! ♥

Come see me at Radiolaria Artisan Market

I’m so excited about my next show and would love to see some familiar faces there! If you’re looking for something to do this Sunday, March 6th from noon until 8pm come check it out! It’s the Radiolaria Artisan Market at 1166A Dundas Street West (just west of Ossington) in Toronto. In addition to the Artisan Market there will be a brunch cafe, live music and coffee being served in the Fiat Gallery! A portion of the proceeds from the day will go to St. Christopher House. Hope to see you there! ♥

Transcendental Mirror: The Ultimate Variety Show

I had the great opportunity to take part in an Art Show this past weekend in Toronto’s Kensington Market. It was a 12 hour event that featured 12 artists and a variety of entertainment. Being there for 12 hours gave me the chance to meet a wonderful group of people and I was introduced to so many new things.

One of the events I was excited to learn about is the Transcendental Mirror: The Ultimate Variety Show. It’s a bi-weekly Variety Show featuring improv, poetry, live music, dance, theatre, comedy and art. The show is hosted by Lauren (of Laurentinas Improv Club) and David (of David Swartz Art)

The next show is this Thursday, February 24th, 2011 at 9:00pm to 12:ooam at the Waterfalls Indian Tapas Bar and Grill at 303 Augusta Avenue in Toronto. Admission is $5.00 at the door.

This week’s entertainment will include  Virpi Kettu, Willow Rutherford, Asha Mokrosz, Yehudah Cullman, Aaron Abacassis, Victory Bells, Stella May, Martha Ramsay, K. Dawkins, Justine Cargo, and many more …

For more information you can visit the Ultimate Variety Show Blog or call 647-855-1327 for information, tickets or to sign up.