we heart experiences

We're huge fans of experiential gifts ~ of any kind! As someone who is often overwhelmed by 'stuff', I find it very refreshing and exciting when I am gifted an experience instead of a 'thing'. Whether it's the brand new restaurant in town I've been wanting to try or a voucher for a class I've had my eye on, it feels like such a special treat when someone thinks of you in this thoughtful kind of way. As we approach the holiday season, we wanted to let you know we offer gift certificates to the Makerie too ~ for any amount! Each one is uniquely handmade and packaged in a petite fabric pouch ~ perfect for a stocking stuffer or a last night of Hanukah surprise. If this idea is tugging at the 'ole heart strings, it's as simple as sending an email to play@themakerie.com with a subject heading 'gift certificate' and including the details of what you'd like. We'll take care of the rest. So just in case the Makerie is on your holiday list, all you have to do is give a little hint to the ones you love by emailing the link to this blog post and you never know what the magic of the season may bring!

Here's to the happiest start to your holiday season!

~xo

the 2013 makerie sewing scholarship!

We are absolutely elated to announce our Makerie Sewing Scholarship! The Old Glory Antiques Fair will be generously offering one full Makerie Sewing package (including a travel stipend up to $500) for the 2013 Makerie Sewing event. For the next three weeks, we are accepting scholarship applications via snail mail. We are looking for applicants who embrace the spirit of the Makerie and are deserving of a creative weekend away, but may be unable to make the financial commitment at this time.

Our big hearted sponsor of this scholarship, the Old Glory Antiques Fair, is making this all possible. The theme of the 2013 Fair will be "authentic beauty... with a story to tell." Old Glory will be celebrating the art of handmade with a special tribute to a treasured art form, the American quilt. The quilt reflects authentic beauty in every stitch, simply and lovingly telling the stories of the people who created them. To weave in the time honored tradition of quilting, we are adding a handmade element to the scholarship application process this year, as you’ll see detailed below.

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Eligibility & Application Process:

:: financial need (we will work off the honor system here)

:: write us a letter (handwritten or typed) under 500 words detailing why you would be a beautiful fit for the scholarship and what attending the Makerie Sewing would mean to you. This can also be a nomination letter, as long as you have your nominee make the quilt block, as detailed below. You don't even have to tell them why they're doing it ~ which is so much fun! Be sure to include your contact information & please be assured that all entries will be kept confidential.

:: create a “paper quilt block” in the spirit of Celebrating the Art of Handmade: The American Quilt at the Old Glory Antiques Fair.

Please include the quilt block according to the following guidelines with your mailed letter.
~ size: 4” x 4” paper (feel free to get creative with paper stock)
~ flat & mailable within an A4 (4-1/4”x6-1/4”) envelope
     *we recommend starting out with a piece of paper cut to the correct size
~any medium (fabric scraps, color pencils, pen, collage, etc. – just needs to remain flat & mailable)
     *French General is offering to mail you paper & fabric scraps!
~create your quilt block to represent yourself – use words, color, pictures, whatever your creative heart desires!

We will be using all submitted quilt blocks in an installation at the Makerie Sewing and the Old Glory Antiques Fair. We can’t wait to see what you make!

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Scholarship Application Process:

** new extended deadline **

Mon, Oct 15 through Tue, Jan 15  Mail in your letter & quilt block to:

The Makerie
PO Box 4810
Boulder, CO 80306-4810

Tue, Jan 15                                         LAST DAY for post-marked applications to be sent in!

Thurs, Jan 31                                     Scholarship winner notified here on the blog!

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Awarding a Makerie Sewing scholarship means the world to us and one of my personally most cherished parts of our event. I just can’t thank Old Glory Antiques Fair enough for their incredibly kind generosity in making this all possible.

We would be grateful if you would pass this along to anyone you know who might be interested in applying or nominating someone they love, as we truly cherish each and every applicant.

~xo

we will all be changed

It's really hard to believe another season is upon us and I can't believe we're going into our third year! I've been thinking so much about this journey and wanted to share a few personal thoughts with you. When I first started the Makerie in 2011, I had no idea how it was all going to go. I jumped in with both feet (exhilarated & terrified at the same time!) and kept saying to myself, 'Just try one. That's all you have to do. Just one event and if it doesn't go as planned, you can move on with your life knowing you gave it your all.' And so I did. And it was really beyond my wildest dreams in countless ways. What I didn't think about until right after the inaugural Makerie was how was I going to do it again? I had been so focused on the details of everything our first year that it honestly never crossed my mind to think about doing another one. It was a funny thing and I found myself debating how to move forward, or not at all. I have always liked ending things on a high note. :) Ultimately I decided I had to try it again to prove to myself it wasn't just a wild dream (or a fluke). We held our second event last April and it was again, so much more than I ever imagined. I still can't get over the incredible, thoughtful, loving teachers, students, supporters and volunteers that congregated at Chautauqua in our beautiful Boulder, Colorado. As we head into our third season, I'm just filled with gratitude for each and every person who has helped shape the Makerie into what it is. I have always said this is something we are all creating together and I mean that with all my heart. I cherish everyone who has touched our event in any way, and it wouldn't be what it is without them, that's for certain. Putting together the Makerie is an ever-growing experience so thank you all for giving me the opportunity to learn, grow and change in ways I never knew. It's the most incredible honor to be able to create a place that gives the gift of creative time. We all need it so much. We can't wait for you to see what we have in store for 2013 (right around the corner!) so in honor of that, do take a few minutes to watch our brand new video by Kevin Von Qualen about this little event we love called the Makerie.

~xo

we're still here!

Ah summertime ~ full of freedom, sunshine and lots of plain 'ole fashioned fun. We've been swimming, running lemonade stands, bike riding, hiking and doing lots of spontaneous art projects (which of course I love). We've been taking some terrific family trips, the kids are in a handful of camps, and I've been spending a lot of time offline and unplugged. I feel a bit detached from things, but during the time I have been online, I discovered this authentic, honest movement happening in the blogging world and appreciate the openness and bravery I'm seeing from each post I have read. It's so easy to portray a perfect life online and leaves most of us wondering ~ how DOES she do it all? Well, my mom's favorite thing to say to me is: "Honey, you can't do it all." And I'm finally starting to believe her, even though I sure try! :)

In keeping with the spirit of openness and authenticity, I wanted to share where I am too. First, we're still here, planning away for 2013! That you can be sure of, and boy do we have some exciting new developments! As much as I love summertime and the freedom it brings, I also find it trickier than ever to balance things this time of year. I cherish my time with my little ones and want them to have the best memories of their summers. I strive to schedule just enough camps to give them awesome experiences, but also want to preserve lots of unscheduled time for us to be free and spontaneous. What other time in their little lives can they have this gift of total freedom? Babysitters are infrequent, which also leaves me very little time of my own during these months. My 'to do' list grows bigger and I often feel overwhelmed. (Confession here ~ I sometimes write really easy things on my list just so I can check them off!) If you're reading this, thank you so much for still being here since it's been over a month since I last posted. (Yikes! How did that happen?) I want to be here more... I really do. I think about the Makerie all the time and the amazing people who have made this journey one I'll never forget. Please be gentle with me, as I'm working on being gentle with myself too! Even though our online presence during this time isn't as full as usual, I want to assure you we are busy as ever behind the scenes over here. Some pretty special projects are in the works that we're really excited to share. Please make sure to friend us on facebook, follow us on twitter and join our email list for the latest announcements!

For the next few weeks, our family will be checking the last things off our summer list, which includes a move to a new house and we can't wait. I cherish this creative community with all my heart and appreciate all of your support more than you will ever know. So hang tight, we'll be back with some amazing announcements soon!

Love,
the Makerie