Recently we let Frances take home one of the Paint with Water Pads. She loved brushing the water on and watching the colors on the pages magically blend into paint.

When we ran out of pages, I realized we could make our own! I got some paper, a permanent marker, and some regular markers. Stamp markers would be great for this project if you have them.

I drew a picture with the permanent marker (Frances requested a pig). Then we filled in the picture with stripes and dots using the regular markers (or stamp markers). Then we were ready to paint our very own paint with water picture!

I’ve always loved collage. In college, I used to cut up magazine and make collage postcards to send to me high school friends at other schools (hey, this was before facebook!) When I met Amy and heard about SoulCollage®, I knew we had to have a workshop at Bull City Craft. One of my main visions for Bull City Craft is to create a creative space for the community, and SoulCollage seems to fit perfectly.

Still, I didn’t really understand what SoulCollage® is until I took the workshop myself. The collages become personal tarot cards or postcards to yourself. Amy teaches you not only how to make them, but also how to use them to inspire yourself and to reflect. It really got me thinking about different parts of my life that I don’t get to spend much time on right now, but that are still a part of me.

Here are some of the cards I made. If you are interested in trying it yourself, check the calendar to see when we are offering the workshop again!

Silhouettes – portraits cut out of black paper and mounted onto contrasting (usually white) paper – first came into fashion in the mid 1700s.  Before the invention of photography, silhouettes were a quick and inexpensive way to record a person’s image in profile, and so they became quite popular.  By the late 1800s, silhouettes gave way to photography as the most popular way to have one’s portrait made.  It is increasingly difficult to find a skilled silhouette artist who can produce these wonderfully unique portraits.

We at Bull City Craft feel lucky to have booked professional silhouette artist Zachary Murray to visit the store and cut silhouette portraits for you and your family!  Silhouettes make delightful gifts – or you can keep the silhouette for yourself to decorate your own home!  Why decide?  After the first $25 silhouette, copies of the same image are $10 apiece.  You can keep one, and give one or more as gifts!

Zachary has been professionally cutting freehand silhouette portraits for the past eight years.  We are sure that you will be as delighted with your silhouette as we have been with his work in the past!

Zachary Murray will be in the store on Saturday, November 24 from 10am until 5pm.  Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity!  Call the store at 919-419-0800, or e-mail us at Bull City Craft so that you can reserve a time to have Zachary cut silhouettes for you and your family!

Every day, hundreds of teachers all over Durham and the surrounding areas share their excitement and love of learning with children.  As Thanksgiving approaches, we are thankful for YOU TEACHERS!!  Thank you for the love you give the children each day, thank you for the energy you devote to them — thank you for the creativity you inspire in them!

Tomorrow night, Thursday November 15, we are celebrating teachers at Bull City Craft with a Teachers’ Stress Relief Party.  From 4-6pm, gather with your fellow teachers from around the Durham area to relax, share in the free refreshments, and relieve stress through conversation and crafting.

We are offering some budget relief as well – teachers will receive 20% off of all purchases made in our store from 4-6pm tomorrow evening.  That’s 20% off of crafting and art supplies, stationary, toys – everything! Your purchases don’t have to be for your students; they can be just for you, too!

So leave your planners at school – we have made all of the preparations!  At Bull City Craft, we are looking forward to taking care of you teachers for the evening, as a small token of thanks for all you do to take care of our city’s children all year long!

Tomorrow, June 15, we’re painting Monet’s Bridge on canvas. Here it is painted on a tray.

Next Friday, it’s the Matisse goldfish painting. I love this one! Matisse said he wanted to convey the happy feeling he had when he was painting to the people who viewed his paintings. I think he really succeeded with this one.

Friday, June 8th from 7 to 9: Paint and Pour

O'Keefe Flower Tote bag for Paint and Pour

Summer is here and the days are longer and lazier. Spend a relaxing evening with us, a glass of wine in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. We’ve expanded our Paint and Pour schedule to bring you classes every Friday and Saturday evening. Fridays will be dedicated to our newly introduced canvas paintings and Saturdays will be for our popular “Mastercraft” projects where we combine an art masterpiece with one of our crafts like the Starry Night Bird House.

Paint and Pour is from 7-9 on Fridays and 6:30-8:30 on Saturdays and is $30 per person. It’s easy to make a night of it with all the great neighboring restaurants just a few steps away like Nanataco, Thai Cafe, and the Q Shack. We’ll even give you a discount if you support local business–bring your receipt from Wine Authorities and we’ll give you $5 off the price of the Paint and Pour class! This is Friday we will be working on Georgia Okeefe’s Jimson Weed on a Tote.

Open on Sundays! Plus, sewing classes on Sundays. Lots of great sewing projects for kids and adults. Check the calendar or Facebook for details, or give us a call.

Store Hours:

Sunday 12-5   •  Monday-Thursday 11-6   •   Friday 11-8   • Saturday 12-6

Summer Camp Registration is open! Brochure is posted on the Kids page. Discounts if you register in the store in Saturday, April 7 at our 1 Year Celebration event.