Saturday, July 31, 2010

Renegade Craft Fair!

Another great day in the bay! Last Saturday (and Sunday) was San Fran's Renegade Craft Fair . A & I went and spotted this year's hottest trends in the crafting world: monsters, robots, squid, and lots and lots of mustaches! There were tons of silk screened sensations and letterpress lovelies. The fair also boasted workshops for people to do on top of all of the cool craft items on display.
I now officially want a letterpress machine, I'm sure I could just squeeze that into a spare closet!
I even got to see/ meet some of my blog heroes. I think I want my house decorated like Paper Pastries' booth! All in all there were tons of talented folks and it was very inspiring!


Friday, July 30, 2010

Frugal Friday!

Oh today was a good day! Not only was I ever so productive (and that would be due to the fact that I am still jet-lagged and got up at five a.m. this morning), but I also somehow managed to remember that today was the Stagecraft Studios Warehouse Sale! It's going on today and tomorrow and is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 'A' and I went today and I got a vintage bingo ball spinner, some vintage Max Factor make-up (that I used to use at the Theater Department at OSU), an amazing 1960's jacket with mink collar and a few other lovely little items. Sales such
as these make my heart soar and make any day just a little bit better! If you're local check them out! Their prices are very affordable and there are so many different possibilities with what you could use the costumes for!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The B is Back!

B (me) is back from France, as of late last night, after two inspiring, get-to-know-yourself kinds of months, and is ready to get cracking! I brought home two small suitcases (that would shock and horrify you if you actually picked them up) and everything made it safely home...except for a really cute vintage lion statue...but A's going to fix that!
Today I have lots of little errands to do and craft supplies to pick up. I need a little sleep and then I 'm ready to start creating on U.S. soil again!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Frugal Friday!

Being frugal, or "budget conscious", is incredibly important to us at A & B. We pride ourselves on not limiting creativity or style because of a smaller budget.

I want to make a point on Fridays (and probably other weekdays as well!) to share some of the different ideas we have and/ or links to others' great inspirations to show how easy it can be to make beautiful gifts, cards, or other creations on a budget.

Last year I wanted to come up with an updated version of the "cookie in a jar" gift. I wanted to make something that was vintage inspired (of course!) but that also
looked stylish and like care had been taken in making it.

We love this gift idea because it's low cost, can be adapted for any occasion, doesn't take many supplies, can be made pretty quickly and it's something that people can use over and over again.

First, you need mason jars (or any other jars for that matter) you can get them for free on your local Freecycle pretty frequently and Goodwill and other thrift stores often have them pretty cheap as well. (Also, remember if they're missing their lid it's okay because you can buy those at the grocery store.) For my tags I used adorable Cosmo Cricket paper (you can of course pick any kind that you like, vintage newspaper, or book pages would be really cute too!) that I could write the recipe for my cookies on the back of.

Next, I picked a cute vintage inspired fabric from a local fabric store, and cut it into a square to go around the lid. This is another area where you can pick whatever fabric you like that will make it your own and best applicable to the occasion you're making it for.

Lastly, I used a ribbon that I liked and attached the tags that I had whole-punched and voila! All that's left is adding your favorite cookie, soup or
other dry ingredient mix and you're done!

Homemade/ handmade gifts are so personal and mean so much. I think it's always such a treat to get them (and make them!) and it's nice to know that you don't have to buy a ton of supplies, be Martha, or break the bank to make them in bulk and with your own style.

We hope you enjoyed this spin on a classic gift that can be used for all occasions! See more handcrafted items on our flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aandbcreative/

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Welcome to A & B creative!

Hello!

We're A & B creative and we can create everything from A to B. But seriously, there are few creative ventures we're not interested in. We love making things with our brains and our hands!

I started very young by making greeting cards and selling them door to door. I also threw in some great wolf and snowscape cards my great grandmother had received as gifts for donating to various charities. That's where the business savvy comes in. It was pure profit! I also created signature design pieces, like a glittered platform shoe covered in feathers that sits on a very sweet family member's shelf to this day.

We find our inspiration in many places, some of them literal places, like these: Versailles, China Town in SF , the Berkeley Recycling Center, Vernazza, the Oregon wilderness, Alameda antique flea , and pretty much anywhere old and cool with a sense of history.

Contact us at AandBcreative@yahoo.com for custom projects and style consultations!