I'm in the Miami Herald

Guess who's in the Miami Herald today? None other than yours truly!

 

I was interviewed for an article on Miami Etsians a few weeks back and totally forgot about it. It's a great way to start of the holiday shopping season.

Check out the article and read all about it.

Catch up post... birthdays and beaches

I've been a slacking blogger! I've just been so crazy busy the last couple of weeks, I haven't had a moment to site and blog about the insanity.

First off, I'm sad to say that my craft room hasn't improved. But there is a really good reason. Last Friday, June 10th, I along with my Handmade Miami chicas hosted Etsy Craft Party and Handmade Miami's 1st Birthday Party! It was so great to have new people come out and share their love of craft. But it was just amazing to realize that Handmade Miami is one year old. We've done so much in one short year and we've really made the handmade community in Miami come together.

the HMM chicas

The day right after that was one of my best friend's birthdays. We went to the mall to get a new outfit and along with some friends we took the fabulous Melissa out to dinner for her birthday. Meli is all about doing her own nail art, so if you want to see her nail creations and recommendations, check out her blog, Meli's Fabulous Nails.

the fabulous birthday girl

And today, June 17th we did a community service project at work. We spent the day cleaning up a beach. It was great to give back and even though it was really, really hot, you can't complain when this is your view at work. But now I am dead tired! Man that sun can really zap your energy.

And in between all of that I've been planning something for Handmade Miami. It's pretty big and super exciting. It's gonna get really hectic around here really fast, but in a good way. As soon as I can spill the beans about the good news I will (and trust me I'm dying to tell everyone!)

Etsy Craft Party Miami

Friday, June 18th was Etsy Craft Party day all over the world. Here's a peek into our party here in Miami. It was a great event and we had an awesome turnout. It was great to see that so many Miami crafters are out there. Though we didn't make it into the top 50 parties to be able to get one of the gift boxes from Etsy, with our own ingenuity and some extra supplies, we were able to have a great party with plenty of crafts and giveaways for everyone. Plus everyone had a fun time making things and meeting new friends.

Our Miami Etsy Craft Party was held at Sweetness Bake Shop & Cafe. Everyone really enjoyed all the goodies they had to offer. It was a hot Miami summer night, but everyone kept cool with iced coffees, gelato and of course, who could resist the Sweetness's gourmet cupcakes.

Right outside the front door we set up our sign-in table. People came, signed in and got their name tags. Then it was time to pick up the goodies, we had some of the tutorials and templates printed out from the Etsy Craft Party Kit. We also had coloring pages for the kids (and the kids at heart) and our friendship bracelet kits.

We filled up the place, and had a great time crafting the night away. Etsians and non-etsians alike all got in on the fun.

After some trial and error, everyone got busy making their friendship bracelets. After a few tips and a little mini-refresher course, people seemed to get the hang of it and really got going. It brought back memories of making them in middle school!

Some people opted to color or draw. Some even make their own Etsy Birthday party hats! We asked our Craft Partiers to make handmade Birthday hats in honor of Etsy's 5th Birthday. We had some great handmade birthday hats at the party. But hands down the winner was Johanna, who made these great blue hats for her and Elizabeth. (There is Elizabeth showing off her hat) Vanessa treated them to some yummy dessert shots from Sweetness.

We also got to meet some great etsians and just plain craft folk from the area. It's always nice to know that someone else out there has an unhealthy JoAnn's obsession and totally has stacks of project cut out, but not sewn.

I think the Etsy Birthday party is definitely gonna become a yearly event around here. And we're definitely gonna start getting together as a Miami crafting community more often. There are already plans for another meetup this week. So if you want to be included, just leave a comment, and I'll add your email to the list.
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Etsy Craft Party

Have you heard about the Etsy Craft Parties yet?

On Friday, June 18th Etsy challenged its members and local creative communities to create, join or step up to organize an Etsy Craft Party in their town. Along with the awesome Vanessa of Sophie's Keepsakes, we're organizing the Miami Etsy Craft Party.

We're having our Etsy Craft Party at Sweetness Bake Shop & Cafe. They are a new family-owned bake shop and have the most yummy desserts around (and yes I stopped by twice this week). Anyone can stop by between 8pm and 10pm, meet some cool crafty people, learn to make a friendship bracelet and have some goodies. By the way, the friendship bracelet supplies are free :).

Vanessa also had a great idea for the party. We're asking everyone to make a handmade Etsy birthday hat. The hat that gets the loudest cheers will win a dessert of their choice from Sweetness, courtesy of Vanessa.

It's gonna be a great night and is sure to be the first of many.

Check out the Etsy Storque article about Craft Party night. And check out the Meetup Everywhere site to find an Etsy Craft Party in your town. So this Friday get out there and get your craft on!