CRAFTNIGHT!

This Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 from 9pm till midnight-ish, at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!!!
Project: GRAB BAGS
$2 processing fee, please

Mmmm, ah, well. Yes.

The earth shakes, something we know all too well in California. You just never know when, or how much the shaking’s going to rock-n-roll the land around us. Uncertainty is older than dirt, but sometimes it is the very dirt we walk on that reminds us of this handy fact.
Therefore, taking that theme and running with it in an extra corny fashion, is your very own neighborhood CraftNight. What will you craft? That’s an excellent question. I’m gonna sit right down, pour myself some coffee and wrap up about three dozen “mystery craft packets” and whatever you pick on Wednesday night is whatever you MAKE!

It’s GRAB BAG Night!
Pick and choose, you’ve got nothing to lose!
Every special mystery packet packed by hand and with heart, guaranteed to bring delight or confusion, nobody knows which!
There will be sparkly doo-dads, glue, puffballs and things for you to decorate your project, and there will be tunes to craft to, and the extremely good-looking staff at Akbar will be there to keep you company, and there will be varieties of delicious cocktails and our usual Wednesday Night Special: The $4 cosmopolitan.
See you at the Craft Table,

JP Craft Captain

CraftNight’s Website — Newly Updated for weeks ahead, see what crafts are coming up roses!

Akbar’s Website

TONIGHT! March 31st, 2010 from 9pm until 12-ish, at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!!!

Project: EASTER EGGS!

$2 Processing Fee, Please

SPECIAL GUEST: DJ E-Z Cheeze! Kickin’ it up a notch, adding color and swirl to your evening.

Eggs: not just for breakfast, but before pagans started being thrown into lion’s dens and being stuck on trees, the epitome of FERTILITY! And guess what? We still like to acknowledge all the baby puppies, kitties, bunnies, lambs and wildflowers and that time of extra green grass and dozens of exciting flora and fauna by taking part in an ancient ritual: coloring the shelled, hard-boiled ovum of a chicken.

The traditional PAAS egg-coloring kits will be here, so will the little wire-thingy you dip the egg into the cup with, AND the crayons AND the glitter glue AND the fun! Celebrate SPRING, gather all that hippy energy and celebrate Mother Earth and the egg-ness of the season!

See you at the Craft Table!

JP Craft Captain

CraftNight’s Site

Akbar’s Site

TONIGHT! Wednesday March 24th, 2010 from 9pm – midnight or so, at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!!!

CRAFT: Amazing clothespin craft!!!

$2 processing fee, please

SPECIAL MUSICAL GUEST STARS: The Scumbags • Music to craft by at Akbar!

The sensationalism and puffery that comes with the true and understated brilliance of making clothespin crafts threatens to maniacally restructure the Silverlake social landscape. Don’t worry though, in this postmodern bric-a-brac bricolage world, it really does come down to the quiet and pleasurable act of gluing, painting, and seeing. We’re going to get vast with our mental possibilities, shut out all those distractions, and see what craftiness can be done with a clothespin.

The clothespin I’ll hand to you is the old-fangled kind, two pieces of wood with the little metal springy-thingy that makes it clamp tight to anything. I tried clamping one on my earlobe, it was uncomfortable. It was a crisp, uncomplicated pain, what else could one expect from an item that needs to hold up wet sheets on a clothesline? Have you ever seen a butterfly clothespin magnet? It’s like being immersed in another world to see one of these, it’s both beautiful, and slightly useful… strange, beguiling, comforting. On a planet where the rapid heartbeat of the multitasking masses are daily curdling mornings and nights into blocks of jam-packed efficiency… the clothespin butterfly can help bring us back to us.

You don’t have to make a butterfly though, you can just paint yours a cool color, or make it into a tiny replica of someone you know, or turn it into a desert animal or write a really tiny poem on it. Tiny poems should just be everywhere anyway, not just on clothespins.

See you at the Craft Table!

JP Craft Captain

PS – I’m in a show in NY at Giant Robot! Check my site JuliannaParr.com I made some dioramas! Should be a great show, lots of tiny art for small spaces!

CraftNight’s Site

Akbar’s Site

This Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at Akbar from 9pm until 12-ish it’s CRAFTNIGHT!!!

Project: Paddy O’ Paper Toys

$2 Processing fee please and remember: our drink special is the glorious $4 cosmo!

Did you know that the Chicago River is dyed green every St. Patrick’s Day? I sure didn’t! Remember to wear green at CraftNight, otherwise you may be pinched affectionately by one of your fellow crafters!

We’ve a bevy of funtime paper toys depicting Irish items and the general Wearing of the Green. You color them, cut them, assemble them, and wow people with fantastic amusement from a bygone era! Paper toys are so COOL, yet people don’t ever seem to make enough of them, and we’re here to change that. Come in and see what I’m talking about, and I’m serious about wearing GREEN to CraftNight… hey, it’s your butt, you can decide if you want it pinched or not!

See you at the Craft Table,

JP Craft Captain

CraftNight’s Site

Akbar’s Site

This Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 from 9pm to 12-ish, at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!!!

Project: Dry Erase Boards

$2 Processing fee, please!

2 weeks ago, I was sick sick sick! Dry-erase boards were NOT made, CraftNight did NOT happen! THIS WEEK IS DIFFERENT. I am no longer afflicted with the horrid flu, and dry-erase boards are here and they are SO COOL, I can’t even tell you. I’m not going to tell you. You just need to step into this place, however, because as far as the forecast is concerned, it won’t be raining, so you have no excuse. The Oscars are OVER, BIG LOVE is finished, Tivo exists, just record (fill in the blank) and watch it later, and come make a DRY ERASE BOARD this week! If you need to know more about dry-erase boards, check out my prior post… it’s extremely informative.

Inspiration is all around you, especially at Akbar, our little neighborhood oasis. We implore you, come take advantage of our patented $4 cosmo, it will fill your mind with bright pink liquid epiphany… and perhaps some tiny pastel-colored elephants pirouetting on the tip of your nose. It’s been known to happen…

See you at the Craft Table,

JP Craft Captain

CraftNight’s Site

Akbar’s Site