Friday, November 9, 2012

Flock and Gather Craft Night




We had a wonderful time last night at the Mendel Art Gallery! As we stretched and flexed our creative  muscles we ended up with these great gift tags for the holiday season. We also had a chance to visit and to work on some ideas for packaging for the Walden Sweet gear.
Thanks to everyone who came out and braved the cold.



Friday, November 2, 2012

Revving Up the Holiday Cheer

With the holiday season just around the corner the Flock and Gather Craft Collective is excited to be organizing and participating in two ways to help you enjoy the holiday season!


Save the Date! - Flock & Gather Craft Night!
Make some wonderful holiday themed garlands and gift tags.
November 8th at 6pm at the Mendel Art Gallery in the studio space just off the main gallery.

http://flockandgather.blogspot.ca/2012/10/flock-gather-craft-night-november-8th.html


Also, the count down begins! The Flock and Gather Winter Wonders Handmade Market!
A highlight of the holiday season. Buy unique locally made gifts this Christmas season.
Friday December 7th @ 6pm - 9pm
Saturday December 8th at 10am - 5pm
St. Joseph's Parish Hall
535 8th Street East (corner of Broadway and 8th Street)
Saskatoon, Sask

In addition to some of the best art, craft, and design Saskatoon has to offer, there will be artisans from Edmonton, Regina, Montreal, and more. Definately a must see!

For more information and vendor profiles:
http://flockandgather.blogspot.ca/



Friday, August 10, 2012

Adventures in Drying Racks

Over the last year or two we have managed to pick up or build most of the equipment we need for the studio. With one exception; a drying rack. Surprisingly these are harder to come by than you might think.

They are ridiculously expensive if you buy them new, so that was definitely not an option.

The home made solutions we have been using are really starting to slow us down and cause a lot of problems and headaches. Try finding room for 300 sheets of 11"x17" paper laying flat in a small space.

So over the last year we've been scouring the province for one. A couple weeks ago, finally success! One came up for sale on Kijiji. The only hitch was that it was in Edmonton and we are in Saskatoon.

The plan was to make an epic day trip to Edmonton and back.

Trailer rented and car borrowed I was off early Friday morning.








The rack turned out to be far larger than we need. Approximately, 4' x 5' x 6' high with 50 racks and it weighs over 300lbs!




Luckily the guy selling the drying rack owns a sign shop in Edmonton and had a forklift to load the rack onto the trailer. We strapped it down the best we could and I prayed it wasn't going to fly off the trailer between here and Saskatoon!





The drive went far better than expected, and I only had one minor incident.






The funny part is that right now we don't even have a space large enough for the rack! So for the moment it is being stored outside in the backyard! Wrapped up like an ugly Christmas present. I can't wait to unwrap it and start putting it to some good use.




Sunday, August 5, 2012

Sunday Sweets: Summer Vacation

We are so excited to be going on summer vacation and be spending some time in the great outdoors!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Sunday Sweets : Inspiration: Summer is Here!

Summer has finally arrived on the Prairies! We are surrounded by green grass, blue open sky, as well as  blossoming shrubs and pots planted full of petunias. I really have a great appreciation for this time of year and being able to enjoy the colours and the natural beauty of the great outdoors. It is Truly Inspiring! Here are a few of the images that I have taken over the last few weeks. Enjoy!






Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Custom T Shirts

Recently a friend asked us if we could print t-shirts for a family event. Of course we said YES!

The only hitch was that we had never really printed t-shirts before. How hard could it be, really? It is just a simple one colour shirt. The process went pretty well, but we certainly did learn a lot! Man is registration different with fabrics than it is with paper...


Our friend supplied us with the finalized artwork and t-shirts. All we had to do was print off the films, mix a custom ink colour, and print.




Dana mixed a fantastic cream colour that looked awesome on the light blue t-shirts. We did discover that printing light colours on darker shirts is a little tricky. The inks are so transparent that the colour of the shirt really affects the ink colour. Having said that she was hoping to get a real weathered kind of look, so I think that actually ended up working in our favour.

Here is how the final product turned out. Thanks Jen!


Monday, July 2, 2012

Erin Weiss Custom Dolls

This year was my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary and I decided to ask Erin of Boolah Baguette to make custom dolls. The process was pretty easy, all I had to do on my end was find a photo of my parents when they were first dating and Erin took care of the rest.
When Erin emailed us to say that the dolls were ready for pick up we were truly excited!

What is so incredible about Erin's work is the attention to the details.

With just a couple of photos emailed off and a bit of time Erin came up with the likeness of my parents when they were first dating to a tee. The details that we love are the scalloped collar, the sparkling button on the dress and the cat glasses that my mom wore. As well as the other details that we just can't say enough about which is the red tie and the sideburns that my dad fashionably sported. Her work is truly amazing and it is one of the reasons why we buy local and handmade. Thanks Erin!!!