One month to go!!!

We are excited. 

Are you?

one more thing...

something's hinding in here

Well girls, September is more than half over. Is it just me? Where is the time going?

I always love September. I love the back to business feeling. I love buying school supplies. I love apple season and crisper weather. And I love getting back on a solid schedule.

Speaking of schedules- we should have the Spark schedule ready to post this week!

We hope you are starting to gather up the supplies you will need to bring. Please don't stress over any one item! If you can't fit it in your suitcase, there will be someone willing to share. That's how we roll at Spark! 

One more thing we will need you to bring: an open mind and heart.

Please start to prepare yourself to push past your insecurities and embrace the projects and other students without judgement.

My mother-in-law gave me some awesome advice a few years back. She is a seasoned artist and she has taken many classes over the years. I had taken a class and I wasn't happy with how my project turned out. She chuckled and said that the class wasn't about creating a masterpiece. It was about learning new techniques, gaining inspiration, and enjoying the process.

You may find a new passion at Spark. Or you may find a new friend. 

Whatever your experience, we promise to send you home with a new treasure.

class supply list

Okay girls! Here is a list of items that you will need to bring with you to Spark. There are many items that you can share with a friend if you are coming together. If you have questions, please feel free to email Margie or I and we will do our best to get back to you quickly. Please watch this list over the next few weeks in case we add something.  We will let you know when the list is absoluetly complete.

Collage classes:

Black Stazon
workable fixatif (Krylon)
paper towel
apron
gel medium
favorite word stamps and/or large alphabets (optional)

paint brushes:  (All paint brushes available through Scarletlime website)
· 1" Flat brush, or Foam Brush
· 1/2" Flat brush
· liner brush

black permanent pen (fine tip)- Faber Castell or PermaBall Pilot or fine tip sharpie works great!

DecoPauge or Mod Podge

wet wipes (IMPORTANT)

any personal ephemera you want to use- copied if you don't want to use the original (i.e.- letters, papers, receipts, postcards, etc) this isn't nessciary.. there will be some on hand.. but in case you want to use their own.

Stamping and reverse applique classes:

a ball point pen (it's important that it's ball point)

an image to carve: must fit in a 3X4 inch square, less intricut images are better for beginners...there will be some on hand if you don't want to come up with your own.

a shirt, apron or other item of clothing to applique

Jewelry class:

basic jewelry tool kit (wire cutters, round nose pliers, chain nose plier)

Junk Journal class:

vintage book (as close to 9" tall by at least 6" wide) not too shabby, you will want pages and spine in decent condition.

$1 photo brag book (necessary for inside photo page protectors)

around 12 -15 photos ( horizontal & vertical) (subject:metamorphosis) 4X6

liquid adhesive (I prefer Tombo mono multi-liquid glue or Tim Holtz glossy accents)

stapler (I prefer Tim Holtz tiny attacher)

distressing or sanding block if you would like to rough up the edges a little.

metal straight edge

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That should cover it for now. If we do add to this list we will make note of it in future posts so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Margie!!!

Happy Birthday to one of my very favorite people in the world!

Margie broke the mold when she was born. She's one of a kind and to know her is to love her.

You can wish her a happy day on her facebook page!

what sparks you? Liz Eaton

I was asked the question:

What sparks your creativity? 

    A creative space where I can create for 5 minutes here & 5 minutes there is the type of studio that I have tried to create in my home. I always have music playing, from the time we wake up, until we all go to bed, usually something on pandora one. or on iTunes. My studio is very little people friendly. I keep all things that little hands shouldn't get into out of reach & everything else is with in reach & free for them to "get into" whenever they choose. We, meaning me & my boys, spend most of our days in the studio. It's right off the kitchen & the backyard, so the boys can come & go & get me when they need me, but I usually am plucking away at some project...it might be jewelry, art journaling, a mixed media wall hanging, sewing a quilt, making a frame or sign, working on a photo project,  or doing shrinky dinks with Dax. I love that we have this space in our home that everyone has full access to, that we LOVE to be. It is for sure the heart of our home.

& that is exactly how I want to keep it.

Oh & if I ever need to get some fresh vibes going, the best thing I have found is to do some inspiration window shopping on the computer, through blogs or pinterest, or by going out to my favorite stores, like anthropology, the central phoenix area shops, downtown mesa or anywhere else I can escape for a few (hopefully) kid free hours. The best inspiration, though, always comes when I can get away for a few days for a girls trip. I am heading up to Utah for one next month & I can't wait!

If you need some help sparking your creativity, check out this spark the event, I know it is going to help get my creative juices flowing. Until then, I hope these photos spark something in you.

Liz will be part of our Handmade market this year! You can see more of her work on her blog and in her Etsy shop.

welcome september

1. Walnut, 2. dove, 3. blocked, 4. Papaya, 5. artisan.bread, 6. Shiro Plum Dream, 7. locavore, 8. Brown Tree Leaves!, 9. color inspiration

September

The goldenrod is yellow,

The corn is turning brown,

The trees in apple orchards

 With fruit are bending down;

The gentian’s bluest fringes

Are curling in the sun;

In dusty pods the milkweed

Its hidden silk has spun;

The sedges flaunt their harvest

In every meadow nook,

And asters by the brookside

Make asters in the brook; 

From dewy lanes at morning

The grapes’ sweet odors rise; 

At noon the roads all flutter

With yellow butterflies–

By all these lovely tokens

September days are here,

With summer’s best of weather

And autumn’s best of cheer.

-Helen Hunt Jackson

We only have very few days of Summer left.  Fall is coming. And so is Spark!

Stay tuned this week for information regarding what you will need to bring with you.

devoted

Devoted is the word of the day. Maybe you didn't know that. It is.

You may be asking why devoted is the word. 

As Spark gets closer Margie and I talk on the phone almost everyday. We go over details. We talk logistics. And we mess around and laugh a lot. We think we are pretty funny. We crack ourselves up.

Today when I hung up the phone after talking to Margie I thought about what it is we are doing.  Putting on an event like Spark, where everything is handmade and attention is paid to every single detail, is no small feat. 

And yet we love every single minute. We are totally 110% devoted to the reason we do Spark in the first place. That reason is to inspire women to use their creativity to better their life. Every single person involved in this event shares our same philosophy. We are all working for the same purpose.

It is simply amazing to see what can be accomplished when a group of devoted people pull together to create something. The result is astounding.

Happy Labor Day Weekend! We hope you do something creative.

Elements used to embellish the above graphics are made my our very own Rhonna Farrer who just had the grand opening of her new online store. Click on over and check it out!

class preview: nesting

To be honest, we had kind of a hard time nailing down what class Cathe was going to teach. 

We originally suggested to her that we might like a jewelry class of some sort. She sent an idea, and another idea and another and another.  This Cathe, well, ideas just pour out of her.

We had a hard time picking exactly what we loved the most, but we finally agreed on the nest necklace.

This year, we want Spark to feel like coming home.  We want everyone to feel like they just stepped into their grandma's house. And everyone they know and love are there. And grandma has been baking.

We feel that the nest necklace is a perfect symbol for home.

The nests Cathe will be making in her class may vary a little from the above photo, but the concept will be the same.  This will be a great intoduction into wiring for beginners and a fun free form project for seasoned jewelry makers. 

We can't say enough how happy we are to have Cathe on our Spark team this year.  She amazes us at each turn.  We can't wait to spend some time with her, and you.

happy birthday j.mills

I call him J.Mills.

Megan calls him Babe.

And Margie calls him..... Babe. Because she is funny.

Jeremy Miller is Megan's boyfriend and the mastermind behind all of the Spark films.

Here's why we love Babe:

 This is what he does in his real life.

Pretty manly huh?

This is what he did for us.

Babe gets the Spark vision.

Even if there aren't motor cross bikes involved.

We love Babe.

Happy Birthday to the greatest cinematographer around.

Love, April & Margie

why handmade?

Oh girls Spark is getting ever so close!

We are keeping very busy these days, getting ready for the big event.  

As you know, everything at Spark is handmade. And why is that? Well, let me tell ya.

Creativity is like a muscle. When you use it a lot, it gets bigger and stronger and you find that other parts of your life get better as well. Your balance gets better. You seem to have more energy and enthusiam.

Putting Spark together is a huge workout for our creativity muscles. When the event finally rolls around we are all pumped up and super ready to share our spark.

And when something is handmade, you know that a little love has gone into it.  It's like the difference between getting an email and getting a letter in your mailbox.  We are truly grateful for each person that comes to share their inspriation at Spark. We want you to know that each person makes the event different and special every year.

And that is why we are working away in our studios and planning and scheming. 

And we can't wait to share it all with you.

If you have questions, regarding the event or otherwise, please feel free to contact us.  We will do our best to respond quickly.