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CRAFT LAB



Last Updated: 11/26/2007

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Gender: Female
Status: Single
Age: 24
Sign: Libra

City: Austin, TX
State: TEXAS
Country: US
Signup Date: 8/17/2006

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Friday, September 12, 2008 

Come join me at The Make Studio in the Historic Bishop Arts District of Dallas (313 N. Bishop Ave.)for a fun jewelry class and a book signing on Sept 20th. After class from 3-5pm the party gets started! I will be there signing copies of my new book The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry. There will be yummy cupcakes and drinkies not to mention tons of fun crafty door prizes!

From 1-3pm I will be teaching a class on making your own Revamped Vintage Necklace. Each student will be able to make their own necklace and matching pair of earrings learning how to use jewelry tools, string beads, basic wire wrapping and more. I am going to bring a suitcase full of vintage jewelry supplies for you to play with, but feel free to bring your own goodies as well. The class is $50 per student which includes all the supplies you will need and your own beading board. Feel free to bring your own set of pliers (flat, rounded and wire clippers) or I will have sets available for $10 each.


Never fear Austin I will be teaching 5 new classes in October at Craft-o-Rama. call (512-707-2405) or email Craft-o-rama in Austin to sign up for the new batch.


Collage Cuties Class: Tues. 10/16 6:30pm-8:30pm
Love what you see on the scrap booking aisle, but don't care a thing about it? Incorporate all the fun papers into your jewelry! In this class you will make a bangle bracelet, large disc earrings and necklace using paper and decoupage medium. Learn to look at pictures in magazines, junk mail, wrapping paper and more in a whole new way. Feel free to bring any paper you would like to class, but Jen will also bring a large stash of her collage curios like vintage wrapping paper, wall paper, book illustrations, old cards and more for you to choose from as well as jewelry supplies and decoupage medium. Fee is $40.



Charm Bracelet and Earring Class: Sat. 10/25 11am-1pm
Learn the fundamentals of jewelry making while whipping up your own one of a kind Revamped Vintage Charm Bracelet, and matching earrings. This fun and informative 2 hour class will cover the basics of jewelry making like the difference between head and eye pins, wire wrapping, and how to open and close a jump ring. Class supplies include everything you need to make your charm bracelet and earrings including a giant assortment of vintage beads and charms from the Naughty Secretary Club stash for you to choose from! You will need flat and round nosed pliers as well as wire trimmers for this class. You will be able to buy a set from the instructor on day of class as well for an additional $10. Fee: $40 and includes materials.



Starting Your Small Business
Tues 10/14 7PM-8:30PM
Did you know you could have your own craft business up and running in under an hour? Signing up for Etsy is that easy. Or do you think a traditional website is the right angle for you? May take a little longer, but it is not a whole lot trickier. Once you have your business all set up the next steps are letting the world know, networking and making some sales. This 1.5 hour long class will you give the run down on getting started! Fee: $30

Marketing Your Business
Tues 10/21 7PM-8:30PM
The success of your business is 40% what you make and 60% how you market it. Not yet signed up for Twitter? Don't have a blog? Not swapping swag with other crafters? You could be missing out on easy, crucial and often free ways to promote your crafty business. Whether you knit booties or solder jewelry this class will help you understand the best avenues to market your small business. Fee: $30

Taking Your Business to the Next Level
Tues 10/28 7PM-8:30PM
Things are running along smoothly with your small crafty business, but you want to know what else the world has to offer. How do people get product lines, book deals and TV shows? There is no secret formula, but Jennifer Perkins has experience in all three areas and will tell you what she knows. Fee: $30
9:48 PM 
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Tuesday, August 12, 2008 

Sorry for the mass note but I wanted to let the world know that my new book The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry is out today!!!!! If you love kitschy jewelry and especially love making it yourself then might I suggest you run right out to your local Borders or Barnes and Nobles and snag yourself a copy (remember if they don't have a copy PLEASE ask them to order one), order it off of Amazon or get a signed copy at Naughty Secretary Club!

 

Also if you could help me spread the word about my book I would love you forever and ever! Re-post this bulletin, Twitter about it, if you make some jewelry from the book add it to our Flickr group, if you have the book and heart it please leave an Amazon review, mention the book on your blog. Every little bit helps!

If you are going to be in Austin on August 30th, please stop by Craft-o-Rama from 3pm-6pm for the Naughty Secretary Club Book Release Party!  We are co-hosting the party with Craft Magazine to celebrate the launch of their 8th issue, so the party is sure to be extra fun and extra crafty!

 Xo, Jen

P.S. enter the word BOOK into the coupon/voucher field when you check out at Naughty Secretary Club and get 25% off your entire order all August long!

3:00 PM 
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Monday, May 05, 2008 
This morning I awoke to a Christmas miracle in May, Craft Lab is back on HGTV. In case you have not noticed Craft Lab has not been airing on DIY or HGTV this year. Apparently they were making room in the schedule for more dude oriented shows and less crafty TV. A sweetie pie named Darlene emailed me this morning to let me know the show was back on Monday mornings on HGTV. Hooray! Thanks to everyone who emailed me and the network about the show! The world needs more crafty television in my opinion. Every Monday at 6:30 AM ET/PT you can tune in for some handmade goodness in the Craft Lab. It appears that they are showing Season 1 which means Season 2 is somewhere out there and hopefully one day will get shown. I don't know if my tattoos in season 2 and lack of teleprompter and more ad lib scared em or what, but hopefully one day it too will be on because there are some super duper fun episodes! In the meantime set your Tivo to watch and learn how to make cloth dolls, celebrate The Day of the Dead, airbrush a skateboard and make a canvas treasure box.

Also if you were so inclined and enjoy watching Craft Lab you could write HGTV and say hooray the show is back on TV and email DIY Network and ask them about the new episodes from season 2. I know you want to see some graffiti on tennis shoes, Tiki bar madness with flaming cocktail garnishes and soap shaped like popsicles. The networks also really listen to the people on the posting boards so you could put in a good word there. I'd love you forever and ever!

4:42 PM 
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Sunday, September 30, 2007 

Guess what tomorrow is? Not only the first day of October, but also the start of Craft Lab Season 2 on DIY Network! Whoo-Hoo hooray! Lemme give you a rundown of what episodes are on this week...

MONDAY: Looks like we are having a Crafty Chica day because Kathy will be my guest on Craft Lab at 11:30am for Day of the Dead and again at 12pm for All That Glitters. All that Glitters is the new episode and I love it because my husband Chris is one of the guest crafters!

TUESDAY: My good friend Traci Bautista stops by Craft Lab land to make Crayon Cupcakes with me.

WEDNESDAY: There are so many things I love about this episode. The guests company is called Brew Holster Cult and she is in an all girl ACDC cover band called ACDShe. Check out Leather Brew and if you want a sneak peak watch the clip below.



THURSDAY: It appears that this is another double whammy Craft Lab today with two episodes. My guest is plushie rock star Jenny Harada at 11:30 making a Furry Monster Mask. At 12pm Matt Maranian, the author of my favorite book in the whole wide world (Pad: The Guide to Ultra Living) is my guest with the Retro Home episode. If you have seen my house you know how much I loved this episode.

FRIDAY: I was so excited that we had a jewelry making episode on Craft Lab I could have squealed! Check out the Beaded Jewelry episode with Maya Brenner.

Also don't forget they are still showing Craft Lab on HGTV Monday mornings. OMG I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING WEIRD. On Craft Lab DIY tomorrow my husband is going to be on the episode and on Craft Lab HGTV tomorrow my mother Fredda Perkins is the guest with her episode about Making reproduction glass 40's frames!

Stylelicious is still on every Tuesday and Thursday on the DIY Network at 1:30pm. This week catch the episodes Vintage Revamp and Ties. Another family member on TV. My younger sister Hope Perkins will be showing you how to hand paint a tie!
3:21 PM 
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Monday, September 10, 2007 
Today I got an exciting email from my friend Faythe Levine, there is a new clip of Handmade Nation out (AKA The Indie Craft Documentary). In case you are not familiar with Faythe and her team, they have been traveling the country filming different crafters about their beliefs in crafts and the DIY culture. I know I for one have been filmed at Stitch Austin and at the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair for the event. Faythe will be at Stitch again this Nov 10th showing a preview of Handmade Nation that is going to be amazing and we can't wait!!!! In the meantime watch the preview, pass it on to friends and enjoy.

4:14 PM 
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Thursday, September 06, 2007 
Who knew!?! They are playing season 2 of Craft Lab on HGTV again! For those of you who don't get the DIY Network tune in Mondays to HGTV at 7am Central to see what crafty goodness you are missing out on.

Sept 10, 2007
Polymer Clay MP3 Player Holders. They recently re-did the Craft Lab landing page on the DIY Network Website and this is one of the how-to artilces they added. I can never go to the movies and look at the boxes of candy in the same way after this episode.

Sept 17, 2007
Pet Name Plates. On this episode we learn about etching and enameling metal to make name tags for your pets, but for all your jewelry designers out there these could easily be necklaces too!

Set 24, 2007
Copy Machine Art

Oct 8, 2007
Lucha Libre. Hooray the episode that airs on my birthday is one with friends Kathy Cano Murillo and Susan Beal!

Oct 15, 2007
Gasket Material Book. Josie and her amazing book, Collage Lost and Found, is one of the reasons I decided to go with North Light when writing my own book Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Jewelry.

Oct 22, 2007
LED Desk Lamp

Oct 29, 2007
Ceramic Bisque. I heart Alyson and Duncan Crafts oodles! Plus my grandmother did ceramics so episodes about it always make me sentimental.

If you wanna see more Craft Lab on HGTV be sure to write them and let them know.
5:50 AM 
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Monday, July 30, 2007 
Hey when did Craft Lab get moved to twice a day? Where have I been? Funny they never tell me these things. Oh well. So anywhoodle looks like you can watch Craft Lab at 11am Central and 2:30pm Central Monday-Friday on the DIY Network. Maybe they are getting ready to show season 2! I just recently found the "Craft "Lab Channel" on the DIY website. You should check it out there are some fun snippets from Season 2 like making vintage collage photo art with Michael DeMeng and a Flower Spider made with Jonathan Fong! Ok lemme tell you what is on this week!


MONDAY: Crafting with Dad and a Wire Basket Doll.
TUESDAY: Origami and Floral Art
WEDNESDAY: Garden Sphere Mosaics and Wire Drawing (That episode is the one in the picture above)
THURSDAY: Altered Book Techniques and Heat Tool Techniques
FRIDAY: Recycled Paper Making and High-Tech Crafts

Don't forget to watch my Austin Craft Mafia pals and I hang out on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:30pm also on DIY Network. Dang they changed the time on Stylelicious as well didn't they!

TUESDAY: It's Animal Magnetism and Karly makes a purse that looks like a hamster running on its wheel.
THURSDAY: Tina, Susann and I are Putting It On and I make some wacky headbands.



I have been thinking about filming Stylelicious a lot lately. Doing this book reminds me of the experience. When I do Craft Lab I don't make any projects so I have some script to memorize and I familiarize myself with the guest, but beyond that there is not a lot of prep-work. On Stylelicious I was on 17 episodes and we all came up with our own projects and not only made them, but also made all the step outs. Then rehearsed the segment over and over with our producers. This is a picture of Kate and Nicole helping me practice Thursday's episode of Stylelicious. It was a TON of work. The book is a very similar beast except instead of producers you have an editor. I need to have 25ish stepped out full projects and 12ish mini projects. So not only does that mean I show up at the photo shoot with the done bracelet, that means I also need to bring 3 other bracelets in various stages of progression for all the how to pictures. Ya see what I mean. In book and TV land there is never really just that done item, that would be way to easy. It's the step outs that kill me and add all the work on top. OK I need to quit complaining and go and make some book jewelry. I hope I can find my pinking sheers. Last night at the Austin Craft Mafia meeting I had Jenny teaching me a blanket stitch so I could work on book projects as we discussed various crafty issues. Did I mention I have not even started the writing portion of the book!
4:08 PM 
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Sunday, July 08, 2007 
Do you get google alerts? If you run a small business you should, they are free. I get them for Jennifer Perkins, Naughty Secretary Club, Austin Craft Mafia, Craft Lab and Stitch. So basically when those words appear on the internet I get an email about it. When you enter the words you want to get alerts about just be sure to use quotes. For instance if I entered Naughty Secretary Club rather than "Naughty Secretary Club" I would get emails about every post on all three of those words. I recently got a google alert about Craft Lab leading me to You Tube. I did not realize that there are several different little snippets of Craft Lab on You Tube that various people have posted. They are all from the infamous season 2 that I keep going on and on about wishing DIY Network would air. The clip I got the alert about was an episode called Beaded Jewelry where I make jewelry with Maya Brenner. Maya is a well known jewelry designer in Los Angeles and the author of Beaded Jewelry: Create Your Own Style. Thought you might enjoy the clip and get to see some jewelry making from Craft Lab in the process.



Now that I have wet your appetite for Craft Lab, let me tell you what you can see this week at 11am Central on the DIY Network. MONDAY: Chris DeRubeis and I airbrush a skate board and helmet. Chris came back for season 2 and we airbrushed a guitar and sadly my airbrushing skills had not improved much. It is super hard, that is why I was so impressed with my airbrushed Naughty Secretary Club T-shirt. TUESDAY: Connie Okdie and I re-create the ocean floor out of polymer clay. WEDNESDAY: Susanna Conaway and I make a stained glass picture. THURSDAY: Chef Ray and I do some fruit and veggie carving. This guy makes me giggle he goes super duper fast it was a wonder I didn't chop my finger off trying to keep up. FRIDAY: Bethany Mann and I make some funky gift wrap. Bethany came back for season 2 where we made some punk rock eggs that were awesome. Be sure and check out Bethany's Bitter Betty Industries.

If that is not enough you can catch the Austin Craft Mafia ladies and on the DIY Network Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2pm on Stylelicious. TUESDAY: Tina Sparkles, Vickie Howell and I show a few tricks to try. In this episode I show you what to do with your broken necklaces. Sew them to your clothing of course. THURSDAY: Hope Perkins, Susanne Kohane and Tina play with men's ties!

Remember if you heart Craft Lab and Stylelicious write DIY and let them know. If you miss Craft Lab on HGTV feel free to drop them a line too!
6:30 PM 
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Wednesday, May 30, 2007 

I almost forgot CRAFT IN AMERICA: Memory, Landscape, Community a three Part PBS Series starts tonight (thanks Ginger for reminding me)! I don't think you are going to see the familiar Indie Crafter Faces that you might recognize in Handmade Nation, but the series looks fascinating nonetheless. Here is a little blurb from their site…

The centerpiece of our efforts at Craft in America is the production of a nationally broadcast PBS documentary series. The intention of the television series is to celebrate craft by honoring the artists who create it. In three episodes entitled Memory, Community and Landscape, Craft in America television viewers will travel throughout the United States visiting America's premier craft artists in their studios to witness the creation of handmade objects, and into homes, businesses and public spaces where functional art is employed and celebrated. One of the main objectives of the series is to convey to a national audience the breadth and beauty of handmade objects in our culture.

Here are the run times and you can click here to watch a preview.
Memory May 30, 2007; 8p EDT/PDT
Landscape May 30, 2007; 9p EDT/PDT
Community May 30, 2007; 10p EDT/PDT

The other added bonus is that there is going to be a traveling exhibit called CRAFT IN AMERICA: Expanding Traditions In Texas they are coming to the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft February 22 through May 4, 2008.

Ok I need to go set my DVR.
6:24 PM 
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Tuesday, May 29, 2007 
This memorial day afternoon I decided to bust out my Simply Swank Soldering Kit and give it ago. Below are some pictures of my first attempts. Sure I have soldered on Craft Lab, but that's TV. I learn the basics when filming the show but truthfully it's stressful I'm trying to remember what I have to say next, I have a little bud in my ear with producers talking to me, I can't always learn every detail of what the guest is teaching. Soldering is one of those things that I have done enough times to have the gist of things, but have always wanted to practice and learn more.


I know I keep harping about Craft Lab Season 2 but I had some guests that did some really amazing soldering that really inspired me to want to learn. Some of my favorites were Kate Richbourg who owns an awesome bead store in San Francisco called Beadissmo. She made soldering look so easy. Yvonne Palermo came on the show and gave me one of her microscope slide soldered pendants and I thought this reminds me of when I used to work with resin as far as the use of images between the glass and it is a lot less stinky. The guest who really really made me want to solder was Josie Cirincione. She wears the most amazing jewelry that she made and soldered herself that I totally covet, plus her book Collage Lost and Found rocks my face off. My first little piece is pretty bumpy and rough. My kit did not come with sanding tools. Practice makes perfect and I am going to tinker around with it some more this evening.

While were on the topic of Craft Lab here is what you can see this week…Tomorrow it's a little Printer Play with PC Smart. Wednesday cutie pie Heidi Kinnamon makes layered cards. Thursday CW Roelle bends wire into the shape of a rock star. Friday Barbara Matthiessen teaches you and me some Altered Book Techniques.
12:20 AM 
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