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Wooden Block Banks! • April 17th, 2019

CRAFTNIGHT! @AKBAR! 9pm • April 17th, 2019 • Banks!

What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin. 

Mark Twain

Cube-shaped wooden banks are on the agenda this week. They’re unfinished hollow wood blocks, each one comes with its own plastic stopper! I’m breakin’ out the paints, you can paint each side a different color, or make little scenes, or write poems on the sides, whatever you like, theme it your way!

After you’re done painting your cube bank, you can glue some cool shapes to it, like googly eyes, or gems, or small fancy bits I’ll have on hand.

When you get that incredible windfall of cash from all the tax credits, loopholes and exemptions from not having to pay your 2018 tax return, you’ll have a place to put it! Oh… wait, sorry, I thought you were a corporation, I was talking to the wrong audience.

Woo, that was awkward, ha. Ahem.

This little bank could be just the place for loose change! You know, a spot for those bothersome nickels you find in your pocket at the end of the day. Maybe you need a home for all those pesky pennies weighing down your coin purse? Scrounge whatcha can and put it in yer new block bank! Whatever you don’t spend on penny whistles and moon pies can be used for a scoop of frozen yogurt, YAY!

See you at the Craft Table, JP Craft Captain

April Antics in Progress:


APRIL 24th – Cactus Wind Chimes


BET YER BOTTOM BINGO AKBAR • 7:30pm • APRIL 21ST, 2019 • An Easter-themed situation, want more details? FIND OUT MORE INFO


I’m directing Thelma & Leweeze the Musical!!! 4 shows, come seeeee!

THELMA & LEWEEZE the MUSICAL! @Cavern Club Celebrity Theater! May 3-11 TICKETS ON SALE NOW!


JP Happy Hour Mondays at Akbar: 4pm to 9pm! 15th, 22nd! Come on in and say hello!


 

Posted by on April 15, 2019 in EZ Craft, SPECIAL EVENT!

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TONIGHT! Spring Varietals! • April 10th, 2019

CRAFTNIGHT! @AKBAR! 9pm • April 10th, 2019 • Variety!

As I type this, I am on hold with Juror Services, and they have TWO songs on rotation for their hold music. The songs keep getting interrupted by static, the tunes are muffled and muted, they are standard “Muzak-style” jazz-ish numbers but… TWO songs?

The Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles can’t afford a playlist of more than two songs? This is unacceptable. But this is the “normal” of automated government management: websites that STILL look like they were designed in 1998 and antiquated touch tone phone hold systems from 1983.

Civic duty is my bag, despite feeling like every bridge in the country, real and metaphysical, is crumbling. Woo hoo!

ANYWAY. We were going to do fusion beads tonight, but instead we’re going to do “variety” because I found some fun stuff in the craft vault and I want to do that instead! This means tonight shall be a selection of different crafts, a little of this, a little of that!

See you at the Craft Table, JP Craft Captain (and possible Juror!)

April Antics in Progress:


April 10th – Wooden Block Bank, 24th – Cactus Wind Chimes


BET YER BOTTOM BINGO AKBAR • 7:30pm • APRIL 21ST, 2019 • An Easter-themed situation, want more details? FIND OUT MORE INFO


THELMA & LEWEEZE the MUSICAL! @Cavern Club Celebrity Theater! May 3-11 TICKETS ON SALE NOW!


JP Happy Hour Mondays at Akbar: 4pm to 9pm! 15th, 22nd! Come on in and say hello!


 

Posted by on April 10, 2019 in EZ Craft, SPECIAL EVENT!

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TONIGHT! Kites are FUN! • April 3rd, 2019

CRAFTNIGHT! @AKBAR! 9pm • April 3rd, 2019 • Kite Craft!

We have kites, we have KITES, WE HAVE KITES!!! These are plastic kites, and honestly, when I ordered them I thought to myself “these are pretty inconsequential, just a bit of frippery. And then they arrived.

And they’re BIGGER than I thought they’d be, these kites, they actually might WORK. I don’t mind much if a craft isn’t functional in the traditional/acceptable version of craft trends in the nation. I’m okay with a craft being 100% inoperative at its completion. To me, the PROCESS is where it’s at with this week-to-week sit down. The goal is to have us doing something with our hands that is not work, or tasks, or a phone.

The bar is the place, the craft is the novelty, the cocktails are the liquid courage, the interaction and connection between each other as human beings via ART is the secret mission. If a craft ends up actually being useful, reaching a second life after its inaugural conclusion, well, that’s a BONUS!

So WOW, I’m pleasantly surprised, you could actually take your newly decorated kite out and fly it! And if you were to sit on the porch with a kite and ask it some advice, a kite might say:

  • Ya gotta put in effort to rise above malarkey and FLY.
  • A very long thin and almost invisible-seeming string can mean a lot. The anchors in our lives can be hidden, but imperative.
  • Some days you soar like an eagle, other days it’s hard to get off the ground.
  • The great expanse of sky and the nuances of the wind can lift your spirits. Get outside when ya can.

Tonight I have a lot of PENS for you to draw shapes, sayings, scenery, etc. on your kite. If you don’t like to draw, consider writing, perhaps a ballad or a jaunty tune?

Here’s my favorite kite-flying song by the Free Design, since kites are, indeed, fun. “All that’s between us is a little yellow string, but we like each other more than anything”

See you at the Craft Table, JP Craft Captain

April Antics in Progress:


April 10th – Fusion Beads, 10th – Wooden Block Bank, 24th – Cactus Wind Chimes


BET YER BOTTOM BINGO AKBAR • 7:30pm • APRIL 21ST, 2019 • An Easter-themed situation, want more details? FIND OUT MORE INFO


YURI’S NIGHT LA 2019 • April 6th At the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Pavilion! SparkleBlob runs the VIP Lounge and a CraftNight experience celebrating 50 years of the Apollo Space Mission! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!


THELMA & LEWEEZE the MUSICAL! @Cavern Club Celebrity Theater! May 3-11 TICKETS ON SALE NOW!


JP Happy Hour Mondays at Akbar: 4pm to 9pm! 8th, 15th, 22nd! Come on in and say hello!


 

Posted by on April 3, 2019 in EZ Craft, SPECIAL EVENT!

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TONIGHT! CRAFTAOKE!!! • March 27th, 2019

TONIGHT! CRAFTNIGHT! @AKBAR! 8pm • March. 27, 2019 • Puzzles and Craftaoke! • Lowkey Fundraiser for SparkleBlob!

It’s FINALLY HERE YAHHHHHHH!!!!!

We are BEYOND AGOG to share with you Crafts AND Karaoke!!!! Starting at an earlier 8pm, we’re giving you that EXTRA HOUR to sign up and enjoy this Wednesday thing with extra aplomb!

Back in the day, 17 years ago, CraftNight used to be in Highland Park at a place called Mr. T’s Bowl. This place was a fixture for many in the community, it had a bar, it housed The Gutter Restaurant, there were punk nights, dancing nights, club nights, and it was a place where everyone of every age would gather. I would come into the Gutter restaurant and draw on small postcard-sized pieces of paper while waiting for my delicious lunch, made by Katie or Lecie (sisters and owners of the Gutter, they’re very good friends of mine, yes.)

Someone saw me drawing and said “Oh, may I join you?” and I was like “Yay! Yes!” Soon, it became a THING. I brought drawing supplies. Then it got crafty, and as we ate and crafted, karaoke started. So then weekly, I’d bring supplies bought from my own pocket, and people would craft, there was singing and drinking and eating, and it was kind of nebulous. Then one night it got crowded.

This is when 87-yr old Mr. Joe T pulled me aside and said “JP, get out there and LEAD those people!” And that is how your Craft Captain was born. There’s something to be said for an elder giving you the confidence boost you need to do what you must, and that’s what Mr. T did for me.

Joe loved a happening. He loved watching “the kids” enjoy his establishment, he even got CraftNight a Xmas tree so we could hang home made crafted ornaments on it. When he passed away, we lost someone really special.

Eventually, after he passed, Mr. T’s was sold, and refurbished by the new owners to make a working bowling alley. There is a KJ there who hosts karaoke on the occasion, and we’ve brought KJ Terioke to CraftNight to bring singing and crafting together again for a very special night. So in a way, the essence of Mr. T’s will be with us this evening.

Joe inadvertently helped to start what is now SparkleBlob, the 501c3 that runs CraftNight, Gothtober, SparkleBlob’s Annual Holiday Puppet Show, and so much more. For more information about us, visit www.sparkleblob.org

See you TONIGHT at the Craft Table, JP Craft Captain

April Antics on the Way:


April Crafts: 3rd – Kites, 10th – Fusion Beads, 10th – Wooden Block Bank, 24th – Cactus Wind Chimes


JP Happy Hour Mondays at Akbar: 4pm to 9pm! April 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and more!


 

Posted by on March 27, 2019 in EZ Craft, SPECIAL EVENT!

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TONIGHT! Spring Flowerpot Craft! • March 20th, 2019

TONIGHT! CRAFTNIGHT! @AKBAR! 9pm • March. 20, 2019 • Spring Flowerpot Craft! • Donations welcome! (we’re a 501c3)

HAPPY SPRING! The Vernal Equinox is HERE, and it’s also a FULL MOON!

The daylight is longer, painted lady butterflies are bravely migrating from Mexico to Oregon in huge droves, Insta-Influencers are trampling the poppies, people are wearing SANDALS and SHORTS, the weather is warmer, everyone’s switching from hot to iced coffee, stores are full of bathing suits, allergies are going bonkers: it’s SPRING, YES IT IS!!!!

What are we gonna do about it? We’re setting you up with a bright and cheery faux flower kit that involves pipe cleaners, felt, sparkly bits, and a buncha other shiny nurbs for decorating. It’s dimensional, it’s vivid, it’s all the vibrant

It’s also PRACTICAL. This faux flowerpot kit thingy doesn’t need to be watered like a real flower, thus, it will last for a really long time, and you can relax. It absolves you from any real kind of plant-caring responsibility, it means you can make it, set it on a windowsill, and just FORGET IT. Because let’s face it, more tasks and functions just need to be put on hold for a minute, okay? Ugh, it’s been too serious lately, time to take a break and enjoy this new fresh weather! Not having to water this faux flower means you’ll be free to explore the bright and reckless bloom of spring’s frivolity at it’s absolute most delicious.

It is time to thaw out! Pack away your sweaters, bring on the leisure, imbibe the rosé, run through the mustard fields, wave to the wispy clouds and chase every shimmering promise!

See you TONIGHT at the Craft Table, JP Craft Captain

March Antics:


CRAFTAOKE!

8pm @Akbar, it’s a rollicking good time featuring our special guest, KJ Terioke and a rollicking good painting puzzle craft!

More info HERE!


JP Happy Hour Mondays at Akbar: 4pm to 9pm! March 25th, and then April 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and more!


April Crafts: 3rd – Kites, 10th – Fusion Beads, 10th – Wooden Block Bank, 24th – Cactus Wind Chimes

 

Posted by on March 20, 2019 in Assembly Craft

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