For while back in the mid aughts, I hosted a series of parties that served a number of fantastic purposes for me: I'd invite great friends over for hang outs, I'd get to teach people about art and crafts, and I'd get to make stuff, which was what I'd be doing otherwise anyway. I hosted a bi-weekly Craft Night, and we alternated between learning and making a new craft, and an "open craft" format so people could bring knitting projects, sketch books, whatever they wanted, and just hang out and make things.
The best part about it though was that people came for the crafts, but they stayed for the great parties that came about when friends got together. Sometimes our crafts would be a great hit and people would stay for hours inspired to finish whatever they were working on. Sometimes we'd mess around with an idea for a while, and then spend the rest of the night watching weird stuff on the internet or making fun of each other. Not everyone who came wanted to do an activity, but everyone felt comfortable.
Friends would bring drinks and snacks, and I would provide the materials for each new craft we learned. I had fun planning ahead and researching our new projects, and loved to tie them into the seasons. We made yarn creatures for Easter, carved pumpkins for Halloween, and made Christmas cards in December.
Since we would usually have a broad range of experience among our participants, I would try to keep it simple and open to artistic expression. Planning a craft that was too time or labor-intensive would often mean people who weren't confident wouldn't try, and most people who did wouldn't finish their project by the end of the night, and that's kind of a bummer. You also want to make sure you have enough critical tools for everyone to share--if your project requires exacto knives or glue sticks, you'll definitely need more than one so people don't get hung up waiting their turn.
We made things like Artist Trading Cards, small, tradeable collages that represent the maker. We Started out with cardstock cards cut into rectangles of 4" by 3". Using magazines, old art books, small sketches and even photocopies from other sources, we'd select images that represent our personalities or a particular idea. You practice laying them out in a way that makes a shape or tells a story that you like before glueing anything down, then once you have the design you like, use a glue stick to secure your pictures. Once it's all assembled, I'd recommend sealing your collage with a clear lacquer like Mod Podge to keep everything down and looking shiny.
I was in the middle of a baby-crazy phase at the time. Don't ask.
Space was sometimes an issue, since I was living in a small two-bedroom duplex with my sister and boyfriend for most of our Craft Nights. We luckily had a lot of counter space, and it was just as likely that some people were just there to hang out anyway, so didn't necessarily have to account for everybody.
Sometimes though, we did have to get pretty creative with space. One fall we'd planned to have a pumpkin carving party on our back patio, but as it so often happens in Oregon, it rained. Friends still showed up, toting their pumpkins, so we laid tarps out on the living room floor held down with all manners of soup pots, buckets and garbage bags to collect pumpkin guts. We managed to carve eight or nine pumpkins inside and didn't stain the carpet!
Another fun and easy craft is the Potato Self. Everyone brings their own potato, and I would provide a selection of fabric scraps for clothes, yarn for hair, colored markers for facial details, Popsicle sticks for arms, buttons or other little craft items for eyes and details, and a hot glue gun for adhesiveness.A measuring tape is also helpful to make sure you cut out clothes that will fit your potato. In the next couple of weeks I'll publish a tutorial on how to make these adorable potato people!
Space was sometimes an issue, since I was living in a small two-bedroom duplex with my sister and boyfriend for most of our Craft Nights. We luckily had a lot of counter space, and it was just as likely that some people were just there to hang out anyway, so didn't necessarily have to account for everybody.
Sometimes though, we did have to get pretty creative with space. One fall we'd planned to have a pumpkin carving party on our back patio, but as it so often happens in Oregon, it rained. Friends still showed up, toting their pumpkins, so we laid tarps out on the living room floor held down with all manners of soup pots, buckets and garbage bags to collect pumpkin guts. We managed to carve eight or nine pumpkins inside and didn't stain the carpet!
Another fun and easy craft is the Potato Self. Everyone brings their own potato, and I would provide a selection of fabric scraps for clothes, yarn for hair, colored markers for facial details, Popsicle sticks for arms, buttons or other little craft items for eyes and details, and a hot glue gun for adhesiveness.A measuring tape is also helpful to make sure you cut out clothes that will fit your potato. In the next couple of weeks I'll publish a tutorial on how to make these adorable potato people!
Spitting image, I dare say.
Craft Night was a big hit for a good couple of years, but after I while I got busy, or lazy or something, and they sort of tapered off. I've thought about the idea of hosting Craft Nights again, or shaking it up a bit and hosting a Saturday Crafternoon one of these days. It's a great way to get people together in the darker months, and as the calendar is insisting on reminding us, nearly over. What an awesome occasion to gather your friends together for beers, hot glue, pliers, glitter and good times!
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