The Best Craft Party Ever

When Steve and I were making our plans to attend the Maker's Summit in Greenville last weekend, we had to decide if we would stay Saturday night, or head back home as soon as the conference was over.  But after the conference, in the very same space, was The Best Craft Party Ever, which included dinner, craft supplies, and access to some awesome printing techniques.  So we decided to stay.  How can you turn down something called "The Best Craft Party Ever"?

Dinner was catered by a local restaurant and it was lovely.  We sat at long tables and met people who we hadn't gotten a chance to speak with during the day. 

While we waited for the food to be served, we got to check out some 3D printer demonstrations.  I had never seen a 3D printer before, but they must be the next big thing because I just read about them on Design Mom yesterday too! 

After dinner, we went to the screen printing station, where we got to print our own t-shirts!  We learned about how they prep the screens and I was amazed that you can use a special heater on the ink that makes it dry almost immediately! 

I'm super excited about my new shirt: a) because it's gray, and b) because it's inspiring.  It seems like you're setting yourself up for a successful day by putting on a "Make it Happen" shirt in the morning. 

Next, we went to check out the letterpress and print our own posters.  The letterpress was interesting because the ink goes on a disk on top of the machine and then as you pull the lever, two rollers grab the ink, roll it over the stamp part, and then the whole thing squeezes shut to make the print. 

Again, both cute and inspiring. 

And the fun didn't stop there!  We picked up our craft supply boxes and got to work on the individual projects that we'd chosen. 

While we worked, we had a chance to meet a few more people, including Stephen Fraser, one of the founders of Spoonflower.  You know that we already love Spoonflower for printing our own fabric designs, so it was amazing to get to hear more of the story behind the company. 

Steve chose to make the beeswax candles.  They were really easy and kind of addictive.  You just cut the sheet of wax to the size you want, put the wick near one edge, and roll very carefully.  I love how they look and am not sure if I want to burn them, or just enjoy them whole. 

I chose the paper wreath project and opted for hearts, in honor of the month.  I'm actually still working on it to get the look that I want, but I came home with lots of cool paper to use. 

If you can believe it- there's more!  Tomorrow I'll share pictures of some of the items we got in our gift bags, plus the giveaway that I won while we were there.