Create: An Etsy Craft Night w/Red Giraffe Designs at Whole Foods

Whole Foods in Upper Arlington is helping their shoppers get crafty! Earlier this week I took my first Etsy Craft Night. Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, Whole Foods invites a local Etsy artist to lead an arts and craft class in the cafe of the store. This week's Etsy artist was Kate Stevens, owner of Red Giraffe Designs. Kate showed us how to dress up a clay pot with masking tape, stamps and acrylic paint. 

Each of the twelve class participants picked out a succulent (mine is flowering right now!) and a clay pot to paint. I loved the geometric patterns Kate created with masking tape and decided to go with that technique. After taping off an asymmetrical pattern on my clay pot, I used teal, pink, gold and black paint to fill in the shapes.

At this point my clay pot looked a little bit what I imagine Mark Rothko would paint, if he had painted clay pots instead of canvas.

Since we used acrylic paint, we hardly had to wait for the paint to dry and I was able to remove the tape and reveal my design shortly after creating it!

I love how these colors go together - it makes me think of spring!

I didn't like how big my spaces were in between the different shapes, so I added dots of color to my pot. I love painting, it's very relaxing and it was nice to sit with so many people while working on an art project. It made me realize how much I miss the art classes I took in high school and college!

In addition to the clay pot project, Kate also had a plant tag for us to make. We took wooden skewers and poked the pointy end into a used wine cork. Kate said we could write the name of a plant on it or someone's name if we were giving it as a gift. To match the bright pink on my pot, I painted a pink heart.

I definitely plan to attend more of these Etsy Craft Nights. I like crafting at home and I spend a lot of time in my job creating crafts for kids. It was nice to spend time crafting with adults and to have someone else come up with the project - I got to be creative and make my project (also without worrying about one of my cats walking on wet paint or eating my thread... both of which have happened when crafting at home!). The class was also a great value, $5 for instruction and supplies! 

Another great thing about these classes is that you get to meet a local Etsy artist. I have been shopping on Esty for years (I even had my own shop for a little while!) and have been able to purchase some really wonderful gifts for myself and friends and family. Kate sells jewelry on Red Giraffe Designs. You can visit her website, her Etsy Shop, and like Red Giraffe Designs on Facebook.

The next Etsy Craft Nights will be on making Valentine's on Tuesday February 11th with Allison from Igloo Letterpress and making bath teas on Tuesday February 25th with Austi from Quirky Clean. You can stay up to date on upcoming events at Whole Foods Upper Arlington by liking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter.

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