December 2012 Team Challenge Winner!

Congratulations to RNEST's Team Challenge winner for 
December's "Woodland Winter" theme...

PeachesProducts with her Arctic Fox Grey Batik Stuffed Animal!

Thanks to all the artists who participated 
and to everyone who voted!

Be sure to check back on January 10th for our next Monthly Team Challenge!

(January's theme will be "A Visit To Middle Earth"!)

December Team Challenge: "Woodland Winter"

Welcome to RNEST's December Team Challenge! The theme for this month was 
"Woodland Winter"

December Team Challenge: Woodland Winter
(An Etsy Treasury with all the submitted items!)

Earlier this month, we asked our RNEST members to get creative and make items representing an interpretation of "Woodland Winter"...and now YOU, our loyal blog readers, get to pick the winner!  Here's the list of our contestants!

Woodland Wedding Invitation Set by kaseyAjohnson

Holiday Yeti Letterpress Printed Postcard 5x7 by FlyRabbitPress

Custom Lumbering Lumberjack Hat by KarenSwimmer

Humphrey Hedgehog Ring Holder Dish by LoveAndWhiskers

Elegance-Beadwoven Earrings-Gold by KelleysBeading

Evergreen Pine Tree Applique Embroidery Hoop Art 8" by FrecklesAndFrizz

Baby Bears Ready For Hibernating by MoyaLazyFactory

Yeti the Mr Kim by MoyaLazyFactory

Snowflake Recycled Bottlecap Pincushion by MoyaLazyFactory

Votive Candle Holder by FrancescaDeCaire

Arctic Fox Grey Batik Stuffed Animal by PeachesProducts

Japanese Maple Leaf Copper Enamel Earrings by kurpiz

Decorative Tree Handmade Copper Ornament by ManicMetals

Harvest Pixie Scarf by KeenTied

Small Snowy Owl by KiraArts

Cast your vote for your favorite on the poll in the upper, right corner of the blog! 

(Deadline to vote is by midnight on Wednesday, December 19th)

November 2012 Team Challenge Winner!

Congratulations to RNEST's Team Challenge winner for 
November's "Put A Bird On It!" theme...

FlyRabbitPress with her November Bird 11x9.5 Print!

Thanks to all the artists who participated 
and to everyone who voted!

Be sure to check back on December 6th for our next Monthly Team Challenge!

(December's theme will be "Woodland Winter"!)

Monthly Meeting! (November 2012)

Monday was our Monthly Meeting for November!

Here is Casey (PeachesProducts) modeling one of the hats made by one of our newest members, Mary-Anne of The TaylorShop.

This was Mary-Anne's first meeting with us! And she got to do the honors of picking the "Featured Member" for November. 

(we also used one of her handmade hats to place the slips in!) 

Jina (MoyaLazyFacory) was the winner this month!  So her shop gets to be featured in the nifty little CraftCult widget at the top of the blog sidebar!

At the end of the meeting, we did some "secret critiques" on some items...including this big plaid barn owl made by Kira of KiraArts (which she had brought in for John of JackBear Stamps as a trade for one of his hand-carved stamps)

They way we do the "secret critiques" is, the artist asks a question about their item, then everyone at the meeting writes their answer on a piece of paper anonymously, and puts it in a hat.  Then all the slips are given to the person whose item is being critiqued.  And they can either keep the results to themselves or share them with the group (which is more fun!).

We also did a critique of this lovely 3-color, letterpress-printed bicycle poster by Chris of FlyRabbitPress.
Usually the question is about the price of the item..."What would you pay for this?" or "What would you expect it to cost?".  It is hard for an artist to price their work.  It's a constant battle for an artist between what the work is really worth and what people will pay for it.  These critiques are a way we gain some insight into how much people are willing to pay for an item...which is sometimes more than we realize!  

Of course, our group has a unique appreciation for the amount of work it takes to produce handmade items!  But one of our goals is to spread that appreciation and knowledge to others!

November Team Challenge: Put A Bird On It!

Welcome to RNEST's November Team Challenge! The theme for this month was 
"Put A Bird On It!"

The idea of "Put a Bird On It" has become something of a tongue-in-cheek joke this year in the craft community, due to a sketch on the IFC comedy show "Portlandia".  But, come on!  Putting a bird on something can sometimes make it prettier!  (If you don't understand the joke because you haven't seen the sketch, click here to watch the video on YouTube and get a laugh.)
Earlier this month, we asked our RNEST members to get creative and make items representing an interpretation of "Put A Bird On it"...and now YOU, our loyal blog readers, get to pick the winner!  Here's the list of our contestants!

Lampwork Bead Miniature Glass Bird by FrancescaDeCaire

Put A Bird On It Cross-Stitched Towels by MFcrafts

November Bird 11x9.5 Print by FlyRabbitPress

Killdeer Rubber Stamp - Hand Carved by Jackbear

Love Birds Card Set by kaseyAjohnson

The Party Bird Domino Pendant by InMyHeadStudios

Blue and Green Hair Clip by TribalTrends

Love Birds Embroidery Hoop Home Decor by FrecklesAndFrizz

Oliver The Owl Pillow by HeatherVitticore

Turquoise Blue Bird Silver Viking Knit Necklace by Kurpisz

Put A Bird On It Special Edition Nubbin by KiraArts

Cast your vote for your favorite on the poll in the upper, right corner of the blog! 

(Deadline to vote is by midnight on Wednesday, November 14th)

October 2012 Team Challenge Winner!

Congratulations to RNEST's Team Challenge winner for 
October's "In Disguise" theme...

Jackbear Stamps with his Lucha Libre Rubber Stamp!

Thanks to all the artists who participated 
and to everyone who voted!

Be sure to check back on November 1st for our next Monthly Team Challenge!

(November's theme will be "Put A Bird On It"!)

Pics from October's Meeting

Here are some pictures from our October meeting!

Choosing a name out of the hat for this month's "featured member".

Cara from SewIndieShop is our winner this month!

After we finished some official business, John (Jackbear Stamps) wanted to test out some new "temporary tattoo" ink he had just bought.

A beer mug temporary tattoo using one of John's stamps.

Show off those guns, John!

Then more people had "Tattoos" done!

This was the other stamp design John had with him...a zombie! (fitting for October!)

A rare picture of Kira, who takes most of the photos at the meeting.