April Workshop with Goodwill Akron: Silverware Wind Chimes

This past weekend, I hosted another workshop with Goodwill Akron.  This time we made wind chimes out of old silverware, beads and fishing line.  We had another amazing class, and a lot of fun!

The set up and supplies: Pre-Drilled silverware and fork with bended prongs.

Lots o beads.

Getting Settled in.

Hard at Work.

Works in Progress.

Snacks.

Finished Products.

More of the completed work.

We provided everyone with the same set of base materials (two forks and other pieces of silverware plus some fishing line) and let them decide how they wanted to decorate and embellish their wind chimes.  Every wind chime turned out great and different, which is my favorite part of creating: everyone brings their own unique point of view to the project.

If you missed the workshop, fret not, the instructions for the wind chime I shared are live on the Goodwill's blog.  The wind chimes we made at the workshop loosely followed this DIY.

Happy (late) Earth Day!

February Workshop with Goodwill Akron: Upcycled Jewelry

This past weekend, I hosted my second DIY workshop (of 2015) at the Kent/Ravenna Goodwill.  

We had an amazing turnout!  The ladies had a lot of fun and learned something, too!

The attendees at the Jewelry Workshop

Some of our found objects and supplies.

Adding a smaller chain to a larger one.

Deciding what to do next.

More beads and fixings!

Some of the finished products!

Another finished product!

This workshop was different than the others I've lead because we were able to conduct the workshop in a community room at the store.  I much prefer this setup to the free-form workshop in the store.  I felt it was much easier to work with everyone as a group and then, one on one as questions arose.  I hadn't really prepared a lesson plan, per se, for this workshop, but will definitely be integrating that into future workshops.  Because I didn't know everyone's skill level in advance, I didn't want to stifle any creativity, hence why I didn't chose one piece of jewelry to make.  In the end, a lot of the ladies chose to string beads on a piece of wire and connect to the chains we had provided (found).  We also were able to make a few bracelets utilizing this tutorial as a guide.  Check out Goodwill Akron on Twitter to see all of the final products!

If you missed the workshop, fret not, the instructions for the necklace I shared in this post are live on the Goodwill's blog.  I also think I'm going to do a quick "Jewelry-Making Basics" post later this week, utilizing some of the skills the ladies picked up on Saturday.  Stay tuned!

Recap: Goodwill Festive Holiday Sweater DIY Workshop

Saturday I hosted a DIY workshop at Goodwill Akron's Corporate Headquarters with the help of Jennifer (she is a Communications Manager there).  We set up some tables, all of our DIY supplies and snacks just inside the store.  A few of my friends had pre-registered for the event, but we were able to convince a few shoppers to make Festive Holiday Sweaters with us.  The results were amazing, and the workshop was a lot of fun!  Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves!

Don't worry!  If you missed the workshop, Goodwill put out all of their festive holiday sweaters on Saturday, and there were still a bunch left!  

I don't know when the next workshop will be, but I'll be sure to keep you all updated!

Happy Holidays!

All Photos ©Me, except the ones of me - those my mom took!

Sneak Preview: My Festive "Sweater" DIY

I didn't know if I'd get a chance to make my own Festive piece at the workshop on Saturday (which you can still register for btw: http://bit.ly/sweaterevent), so I decided to make something to wear to the workshop!

I took an old chambray shirt I was about to donate to the Goodwill (sorry to anyone who may have wanted to pick this up), and a few of the supplies that I will have on hand on Saturday, and put together this chambray festive shirt!  Some leaves from fake flowers made for the "garland" on the back, plus an old necklace for "lights".  Then I cut out three different colored triangles, a star and a tree stump from scrap fabric to make my trees.  As Adam was photographing the finished product, he asked if it would be too much to add buttons as ornaments.  He's so smart.  I may still do that, but wanted to keep my shirt simple.

Join us on Saturday at the Goodwill on Waterloo Road to make your own!