It's been a long long time

Hello.
I do miss blogging. I no longer have "Santa Clarita Craft Lab." That was a bit sad to deal with, however I moved the studio to my house and I have a lovely smaller space upstairs in my son's old bedroom. I am very happy to have this space. It's a "mini Craft Lab!"

I have been spending a lot of my time writing a screenplay, so my crafting time has dwindled down. I am ready to start creating again. I think I want to start sewing. I'll keep you posted.

I am teaching a class on Saturday April 24th @ CJ's Angels in La Verne! You can check out all the details here:
Living on the Plane of Manifestation

Here's a photo of my new space.

You all have been through so much with me over the last few years. Thanks for hanging in there. I have so many new and exciting things happening. I'm really excited to share all of it with you.

Yoli Manzo returns to SCCL!

I'm so excited about the upcoming Class and Visit from Yoli Manzo, aka Sacred Yoli! Yes. It's true. Yoli is returning to teach another fabulous class here at Santa Clarita Craft Lab!

Her class is scheduled for Friday October 23rd, and she's teaching a "Day of the Dead Shrine Wreath Class." Yoli travels all the way from Sacramento to be here with us and it is such an honor to have her. She is a great Mexican Pop Artista. Her art work always tells a story.

This is a current Piece that Yoli will have exhibited at the
"SomArts Dia De Los Muertos Show 2009"
You know there's a story in there somewhere.
Fantastic Yoli!

Here is a little something about my girl Yoli:

Yoli Manzo, was born and raised in the Silicon Valley. She now makes her home in Sacramento, California where she immerses herself in cultural art exhibiting muse from latin folk art such as Dia de los Muertos, Frida Kahlo and religious saints. Her signature has been described as having a very sharp edge that is admirable for a woman artist. She uses mixed media, strong colors, plenty of glitter and her edgy wit worthy of her label. Yoli Manzo and her art work, including shrines, jewelry, handbags, dolls, skulls and paintings have been featured in art galleries, television, and art festivals throughout northern California as well as internationally via the web. She is a member of the Scary Art Collective and Northern California Mixed Media Artists.

This is from Yoli's "Graffiti" series.

And here are the details for her Day of the Dead Shrine Wreath Class:

Day of the Dead is a Celebration of Life and Ms. Yoli Manzo, aka Scared Yoli will put us in the right spirit while teaching this class!

Students will adorn their black Altar Wreaths with their own hand painted skulls!

This is the Wreath we will create in Yoli's Class.
It's Fabulous!

Students are encouraged to bring their own photos, mementos, and other special objects to adorn their Shrine Wreaths with a personalized touch!

Check out the detail on the skulls.
Yoli will instruct us on how to paint our own skulls.

Dedicate your Wreaths to that someone Special and celebrate his/her life.

Class starts at 7pm and goes until 10pm! This class is only $45!

Over the last couple of years Yoli and I have become really good friends, although most of our time together has been spent on blogs, myspace, facebook, and via emails. She has gone out of her way to meet up with me on several different occasions to show her support to SCCL and to me. She is so busy sharing her kindness and generosity to so many others, and I am extremely grateful and proud to be on her list of people to support.

I hope you can take the time to join us on Friday October 23rd and Celebrate with us the gift of Life by creating this wonderful piece of art taught by this wonderfully special and talented Artista, Ms. Yoli Manzo.

This is one of my Favorite pieces by Yoli Manzo.
I feel it represents the way she reaches out to people through her heart
and her art.

Day For Kids!

Saturday September 12 SCCL participated in a local event called Day For Kids put on by the Boys and Girls Club. It was a great time had by all! Each participant was given their own booth and all we had to do was provide an activity for the kids to do. So natch we provided a craft project!

I made a few hundred masks for the kids to decorate. They were really cute and the kids loved them! Mayra helped me set up and work the table all day. We had a lot of fun watching the kids create and we also enjoyed talking to all the parents. The event was from 12-5 and by 2pm we were out of masks! All my fliers were gone before the event was over. However, Mayra and I improvised and made another project for the kids to do!

Santa Clarita Craft lab would like to thank all those families that stopped by and shared in the fun at our booth.

And Yes! I've got pictures!

We had two masks for the kids to choose from. A Mardi Gras Mask and a Skull Mask!
The kids loved both!

Kids of all ages enjoyed our craft activity!

The skulls were well received!

Our booth was always packed!

This little boy was so proud of his mask!

Isn't this the cutest baby!

Day for Kids September 12, 2009 Newhall Park Santa Clarita Craft Lab.

Want to thank Mayra Montes for helping me throughout the day and a thank you shout out to Amarie Hill for helping me with the masks!

Zinnia! An Abosolutely Fabulous Place to Shop, Take Classes, & Just Hang Out!

Zinnia! A Space for Contagious Creativity!

I am absolutely in love with this wonderful space of contagious creativity! Zinnia is a place where you can find inspiration for all the ideas you have swirling around in your head. I highly recommend visiting my friend Tamara and her store Zinnia located in So. Pasadena.

They just recently moved to a brand new location and it is just beautiful! Luckily for the neighborhood it's only about 4 doors down from their previous space. Zinnia is now located at 1024 Mission Street, So Pasadena.

Their opening day was Friday September 4th and guess who stopped by for a visit? That's right! Yours truly. OMG! When I walked in their new space it was like walking into a fantasy world. I now know what our little fairies feel like in their sweet little fairy jars!

Tamara and her gang of 6 (or more) have transformed this space into a wonderland of awe. It is amazing and so inspirational. Please take a few hours out of your day to visit Zinnia. If you can't visit in person, head over to their website and take a look at all their pictures and all the things Zinnia offers. I could go on and on, but I will let my pictures tell my story.

This is what it looks like when you walk in the front door. And that is their doodad bar!

Opposite angle of the store. They have lots and lots of collage images & papers!

They also have lots of stickers & rub-ons!The doodad bar head on. Check out all those scoop bowls! Very Classy!

And they have such beautiful ribbons, trims, and other great fibers! Oh My!

Talk about great reading and resource materials! Zinnia has a great selection of books and magazines to inspire all levels!The shelves are filled with handmade art and lovely gift items!

This is their current window display. Every holiday is celebrated at Zinnia! You can always find the perfect gift, decor, or crafting supply for what ever the up coming holiday is.

I visit Zinnia as often as I can. Hope one day you can visit them too. Tell them Santa Clarita Craft Lab sent you!

SANTA CLARITA CRAFT LAB has been having a lot of fun!

Last week's Open House was a blast! We had around 10 people and the majority of them were all newbies to SCCL! That was such a great treat. I met a lot of really cool people and very artistic I might add. And as always it is also great to have my OGs in da hawse! We did mini collages and everybody had a great time.









I am selling these mini collage packets in my store for $2.50. They come with all the inspiration you need to complete your own piece of art.

I've been getting into the act too. If I can, I am taking classes at my own studio. Initially I wasn't and I was feeling so left out! Haha! I'm so happy I have been. I have to admit SCCL has had some really exciting classes! I took the Birdhouse Soldering class and really loved the way my Birdhouse came out. I also took the Andy Warhol Stamping class and had so much fun.

This is my birdhouse. Tyn Atol teaches this class. I love my finished piece of art! And I did it all in one class!


This class was so much fun. We got to play with these really fun stamps! Amarie Hill teaches this class and she brought in so many fun things to play with. This little seamstress was made by yours truly. I think it fits perfectly in my studio!

We had a great Patchwork Portrait Collage Class taught by Erin Engleston. She is such a cool artist and a great instructor. Hope when we schedule this class again you can take it. You learn a lot and of course you always leave with a completed project!

Don't you just love the purple hair. As you look at each picture notice all the detail in the background.

This student was so pleased with her work, and as well she should have been. I love it when students leave SCCL happy and satisfied.

When you take a class at SCCL you will learn so much during the class, but you will also leave with a completed project. You can immediately start to show off your art! All supplies are included when you take a class, which saves you the trouble of going out on the hunt for supplies. After you take a class, you decide if this is something you want to continue to perfect. If the answer is yes then you can go out and invest! I am carrying as many of the supplies from our classes in my store, and each instructor supplies students with a handout of instructions. If I do not carry certain items/supplies we will surely (stop calling me Surely) let you know where to find them!

Have a wonderful day and go out and get your Craft On!

Open House Tonight and it's FREE!

We are having a "Meet & Greet" kind of Open House tonight! We will also be doing some crafting! I plan on having a couple of crafts going on at the same time. There will be shopping too! For all those attending Open House tonight you will get 10% off your entire purchase!

We will be making felt appliques and mini collages! Sound like fun? Come spend a relaxing evening crafting with new friends and feel free to bring a friend of your own! Open House is FREE!

Open House is from:
7pm - 10pm!
Feel free to call for more information:
(661)255-7526
or visit our website!

www.santaclaritacraftlab.com

Blogging? What Blogging?

Can you believe that it's been so long since my last blog? So much has happened. I don't even know where to begin! We have had so many great classes and incredible artists teaching at SCCL, that my head spins just thinking about it. Obviously it's been keeping me busy.

I do want to Blog about my wonderful FRIEND Yoli Manzo and the class she taught here at SCCL! It was amazing! She drove all the way down from Sacramento to spend the weekend with me. She is a wonderful artist, lady, and friend. We had such a great time while she was here. She also taught a fabulous class at our very good friend Annette's CJ's Angels' shop. Both classes were off the hook!

BFFs! Right Yoli?

Frida Doll Class!
Does Yoli knows how to throw a class or what! First of all we asked that our students come dressed like Frida Kahlo. It was so much fun! I even got in the act! We celebrated Frida's birthday with food, cake, and door prizes. The tres leche cakes was really really good. Yoli's class instructed us in how to make these really cute Frida Dolls. She brought in the coolest supplies too. We had fabric, flowers, paints, embellishments, and naked dolls to play with. By the end of class we had a wonderful collection of Beautiful Fridas. Here are the pictures!

I'm telling ya, we went from nakie to undies, to full on costumes! Painting our Frida Faces was so much fun!

I got to help with the sewing!

This is Lovely Sylvia! She won the GRAND Door Prize!

This is me showing off my Frida Doll & Costume!

Here are our Beautiful Frida Dolls!

Our Beautiful Students holding their Beautiful Frida Dolls!

This was the feast we had for our Frida Doll Class!

And Guess What?

Yoli is Coming Back to teach another class!!! Yay!!! Save this date: Friday Night October 23! She will be teaching a "Day of the Dead" Class. Don't have all the details yet, but I will be letting you all know as soon as I know! I'm so excited by this news. It's a real honor to have Sacred Yoli teach at SCCL!

There is so much more to blog about. Hopefully I will be able to get a couple more in, in the next couple of days.

Come shop at SCCL! We have so many cool products. OMG! That's another blog all on it's own!

Check out our website for the cool classes we have for this month!

See you all in class.