TEDxMileHigh is such a phenomenal event. If you have the chance to attend, get your hiney in gear and get there!
TEDxMileHigh provides a venue to showcase ideas and inspiration from our community. The events aim to prompt discussion and connect people from different parts of the community to start and maintain a dialogue via speakers with diverse presentations.

For Ninjas, this event was a huge opportunity to engage the TEDx attendees and share our story and what we do in the Exhibit Lounge. And it was so inspiring to meet people who wanted to know more – people invested in the Denver community and culture.
We hosted a Make and Take Button Booth and provided a vehicle for attendees to share their own message with all the other folks in the building. We had everything from Apple logos to hearts and messages about TEDx and cats.
And what we were reminded of while manning the Ninja button booth was that creating is fun and it connects people. The line to our booth was wild and people approached us eager to grab glue sticks and sparkly pens. Crafting something, from even the simplest materials, gets people excited. Best of all people in line complimented each other’s designs, shook hands, made connections, and shared materials. It was a good vibe – a familiar vibe that we often encounter at our craft meet-ups.

We won’t soon forget what an awesome time TEDxMileHigh was and hope we’ll have the chance to visit again and stay connected to this powerful source of information and change.

Major super special thanks to Amber Powell and Shaun Asakura – these two just never stop being awesome and supportive. They are part of the team and we’re so glad.
Also, thanks to Nancy Schoemann and Chuck Sullivan for including Denver Craft Ninjas in this event – their generosity in sharing the space allowed us to reach out to so many wonderful people!

We’ve planned an evening of crafty debauchery that surely will be the stuff of legends.
We’ll be doing the things we do best – drinking beer and crafting in a pub crawl around town! On the agenda, you ask? Fashioning up projects from Shawn’s crafty beercentric book! Bracelets, earrings and stunning tiaras from empty beer cans and boxes.
And while this sounds the height of shabby chic, fear not creative friends, we’ll be chillaxing in style aboard the Banjo Billy Tour Bus, departing from Trve and ending up at Three Kings, we’ll hit a few other of our favorite watering holes, stop in for some crafting and fit in a little yarn bombing in along the way.  Could it be more epic? We think not.

Date is July 7th, 2013 from 5:15-7:15 PM. The cost for this event is $25! We’ll provide snacks, craft materials, and some surprises on the bus, but beer tasting at each of the stops is on you! Also, Shawn will have copies of her book to purchase! You know you need one.
Click here to grab your spot and join us for an evening of craft beer and craft fun!

We really think you should grab some tickets to check out this amazing event! Click here for ticket info!
Along all the other cool Exhibit Lounge folks being featured, we hear there will be food trucks and delicious coffee…and really you can’t go wrong with any of these things!

So, grab a ticket and join us on this amazing journey to hear from and learn about the creatives in our community!

It’s often even better when you’re making something that will bloom and grow beyond the initial output. Seed bombs are just that kind of project.
Originating in Japan, seed bombs (or “earth dumplings”) were the idea of Masanobu Fukuoka. His philosophy of natural farming encouraged a kind of gardening technique where weeding, pesticides, fertilizers, and tilling are left by the wayside in favor of letting mother nature choose the seeds she wanted to sow.
In the 70′s, guerrilla gardening picked up where Fukuoka left off. Guerilla gardening groups, like the Green Guerrillas in New York City, used some new and old ways to spruce up vacant lots by building their own seed bombs.
I like to think that Denver Craft Ninjas aren’t a lot different from those Green Guerrillas – sometimes being subversive and making a difference is as small as a seed bomb.

The group for this project was small and wonderful. We chatted and took turns getting our hands dirty mixing dirt, clay and seeds. We talked about our green/brown thumbs, our yards, our plans for our gardens.
We also made some garden markers…which actually took more time than the seed bombs. It gave everyone a chance to flex their creative muscles and whip up something cute for their garden space.

Seed bombs are crazy easy and I encourage you to try your hand at them. Actually, contact me if you need red clay…I’ve got a grip load of it to share! Seed bombs are to be shared. They are to be happily thrown into a vacant lot or that uncooperative corner of your yard. And when you least expect it, they’ll surprise you and bloom.

Thanks so much to 3 Kings Tavern for always indulging us. I swear, I walked in saying, “We’re using dirt and clay today” and they always shrug it off. I’m endlessly thankful for them.

Lots of things are happening at Ninja HQ and we’ll have news in the coming days about all kinds of exciting stuff.
Please stay tuned! We think you’ll like it!

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times

May is the perfect month to do some guerrilla seed bombing! Maybe in your own yard…maybe in the abandoned lot in your neighborhood that’s screaming for some greenery and color!
And we’re here to help you transform your neighborhood into a lovely place for the summer!

Our project this month is to hand roll seed bombs and make some cute little garden markers!

We’ll provide the materials and you be ready to get your hands dirty!
May 19th, 2013 – 1-5 PM at Three Kings Tavern
$23 bucks covers materials (dirt, seeds), containers, gloves, etc. – you’ll walk away with enough seed bombs to go crazy AND with the know how to make them yourselves at home!
Grab your spot via the link here!

Please don’t forget – it’s always better when you bring a little extra dough for a cocktail or two and some snacks to share with your fellow Ninjas!

Can’t wait to see you, Ninjas!

We’re still in shock about the response to our Embroidery Residency!
When we were planning this event, it seemed like a long shot, but we managed to pack Mutiny Information Cafe with lots of faces eager to learn embroidery.
Each week we included some practical information about tools, fabric, floss and instruction about specific stitches that will get any budding embroiderer on the road to being an official stitcher!
We’re proud to say that everyone walked away with skills and ambitious plans to keep their embroidery practice going.
Couldn’t ask for a better end to our embroidery adventure!

The pictures above reflect the fun we had too! Lots of laughs, funny stories about ghosts, Burger King tacos, and embroidery euphemisms galore! Every Ninja had their own take on their style of embroidery and tackled their projects with the stitches they loved. Some even drew up their very own patterns – some of them not as safe for work as others. Pretty typical Ninja event!

We couldn’t do it without Mutiny Information Cafe! Jim and Matt shared their space with us and proved (once again) their investment in the Baker neighborhood and the Denver community. Thanks to them!

We’re already cooking up a new plan for more workshops! Is there something you’ve been wanting to try? Shoot us an email or leave a comment about projects you’d like to explore!

When IKEA asks you to partner with them on a project…you jump on it! It’s IKEA, you guys! Known for modern design and being eco-conscious, IKEA is a brand that inspires innovation and supports the DIY ethic – match made in heaven!

The theme for the event was Reduce, Reuse, Recraft – especially appropriate for Earth Month! Our plan was to use the excess of cardboard that IKEA goes through on a daily basis and repurpose it into usable items.

When we arrived, the space was already set for crafting! Thanks to Annie and her team at IKEA, they had done a great amount of work to make the event run smoothly and helped to provide all the materials we would need.
Annie and I had worked out a couple of projects that we would be sharing with attendees – varying degrees of difficulty and incorporating IKEA products. Before we knew it, folks started arriving and projects started happening.

The most popular of the projects was the cardboard lampshade. Using pre-cut circles, attendees were able to create and embellish their own lampshades and got freebie lighting rigs and IKEA’s LED lightbulbs to use with their lampshade. Brilliant!
We also had a few adventurous folks try the taxidermy deer head and some antlers (note: they were all Denver Craft Ninjas!!)

And speaking of Denver Craft Ninjas, we had a great showing of familiar faces. But even better, we met tons of new people!
The turn out at this event was diverse and interesting and we were excited to see so many different kinds of people crafting together!

If you missed this event, please contact us about directions for these projects! We’d love to share with you!
Thanks SO much to IKEA and Annie for allowing us to be a part of this great event!

For me, Craftcation was a getaway. I needed a chance to decompress and breathe in sea air. In Ventura, you can do that. The ocean is practically sitting next to you and the calm that comes with taking it in was worth the trip.

I was, admittedly, very excited to attend an event that was focused on the crafters, makers, and those who appreciate handmade in all its incarnations. I was also excited to hear, from the mouths of successful crafty bloggers and business folks, how to make my business better.
And I got some of that. To put a finer point on it, Craftcation didn’t meet all my expectations.
Click to view slideshow.

Some of the high points of Craftcation?

• Ventura! What a city! I fell in love with it. It’s super walkable and it’s regenerating. Restaurants, stores, and the beach make it a place worth exploring. 
• The soap making workshop! I’ve been wanting to teach soap making, but didn’t know how. This workshop gave me some guidelines. Still, I might talk to the lovely people from Clean Getaway for more pointers – they are professionals!
• Gustavo Arellano‘s workshop on marketing yourself through media outlets. This was an insightful and eye-opening presentation that confirmed my belief that promotion comes more from having passion for what you do and letting that guide your path.
• The Ventura food tour! Not only was this a walking tour allowing me to become further familiar with the landscape of Ventura, but at each stop we got to taste cheese, chocolate, wine, olive oil, and pastries. We got to meet the fine small business owners of Ventura that take a shared, unique pride in making their city amazing. Definitely inspiring to see people making their dreams materialize.
• Sé Reed. This lady! Holy moly! A phenomenal presentation on SEO from the perspective that being honest and creating content for your community is better than taking shady shortcuts. I would love to see Sé speak again about all the other amazing work that she does! Follow her on Twitter or Facebook to connect with her!
• Evan Kleiman‘s cooking class. This impassioned class had me reeling! Evan is the most divine representation of simple cooking. Everything we made was easy – no foams or fuss. It was honest food that got my engines revved for cooking at home. As an aside, Evan is a delightful person who shared personal stories about her travels and family and that insight into her world endeared me to her forever.

Low points of Craftcation?

• Registration for classes was a bust. I was disappointed to learn that attending classes bore costs beyond the admittance fee for workshops that quickly filled up. As you see above, I got in to ONE craft class (the soap class) – and I wouldn’t have gotten that had I not had the time to jump on registering right when registration opened. I can’t imagine the number of people that were literally relegated to the leftovers , that might not apply to their interests, because there was no room for them in other workshops. 
• Some of the presentations were disappointing. Presenters had a tough time staying focused on the subject matter, seemed unprepared, or they talked about something entirely different than what they were supposed to be presenting on. One class in particular disappointed me as it seemed more an opportunity for the presenter to share their new book than talk about their successes in the world of blogging.
  I know it can be difficult to get up in front of a room of people and present, but most of the individuals that were attending Craftcation were there for what they deemed valuable information that they could apply to their own businesses. It’s a let down to expect expertise and get something else entirely.

Don’t get me wrong. I know it’s hard to plan an event of this size and I’m also deeply aware of the growing pains that come with the popularity of an event like this. I’m positive that the planners of this event wring their hearts and souls into Craftcation and there is no way that my experience is a sole representation of other attendees and their experiences.
That being said, I’m not sure I would go to Craftcation again. The experience, on the whole, was not life changing. But that’s just me.

I can’t leave out that I may or may not have experienced a ghost at my AirBnB. If you want to know more about that – Ask me!

I want to make explicit mention of my Denver cohorts during this trip – Ellen (Helliemae’s) and Lindsey and Mikel (Clean Getaway). These people made my trip tons more fun. We talked, ate, drank whiskey and without them…I wouldn’t have had half the fun I did. So, thanks to them!

Craftcation Goodies!

If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or follow my Instagram feed, you probably know that I was recently in Ventura, CA for Craftcation!

Craftcation is 4 days of craft immersion! There is a lovely balance of craft business lectures and actual crafts.

And the best part of the experience is to grow your craft community by connecting with makers that share an investment in growing their craft business and encouraging the pursuit of craftiness.
Obviously, it was a perfect fit.

I had the opportunity to take courses that untangled the treacherous waters of SEO and also got to make soap!
I learned about how you can combine your blog and your crafty endeavors to create an online presence that helps you build your community. And I had the very fine opportunity to cook with KCRW’s host of Good Food, Evan Kleiman.

It’s important to explore beyond your community and learn about other people on the same adventure as you! Craftcation is a great way to do that!
AND THE OCEAN, YOU GUYS! The whole event is right next to the beach and just sipping a margarita next to that view will set a person at ease no matter what.

I want to share some of the amazing swag that I managed to get my hands on!

From the image above, you can see I got some good stuff and I want to share it with you! Here’s a run down of what is in this Ninja swag bag:

• Denver Craft Ninjas Tote Bag
• Three Pack Washi Tape
• Kollabora Tape Measure and $10 off coupon in the Kollabora store
• Tulip Multi-Surface Peacock Feather Stencil
• She’s Crafttyyyy bobby pin with crochet flower
• Unique Wooden Button
• Stash Candy Quilt Pattern from The Quilter’s Studio
• Bernina Seam Ripper
• Three Pack of Simply Spray Soft Fabric Paint
• 1 Free Month of Creativebug
• 1 Large Wedge of Handmade Coconut Soap (I made it at Craftcation) and a Wooden Soap Dish

Now, the way to win this little goodie is to leave a message in the comments about what you would want to learn if you went to Craftcation or had the chance to attend a craft conference! We’ll pick one lucky winner!
Deadline is April 3rd!
Congrats to Jolea who was randomly picked and won the Craftcation Swag Bag Giveaway!

We’ve teamed up with IKEA for a super fun project that will make use of all the excess cardboard that they’ve got lying around. We’re calling it Reduce, Reuse, Re-Craft!

Join us on April 14th, 2013 at IKEA from 1-4 PM.
But Ninjas, here’s the catch! – we only have 10 spots saved for this event!!
For those of you Quick Draw McGraws – go to this link to sign up for one of our spots!

IKEA will be posting their Family email on April 1st where they will offer 25 more spots! GRAB THEM IF YOU CAN! 

THIS EVENT IS FREE!
That means you get to chill in IKEA, learn how to recycle cardboard in a crafty way, and hang out with the coolest craft group in Denver!

Hurry, hurry! Don’t miss it!