Coming Up: Art Sale from UESF and Sharon Art Studio

Looking for some new art for your home? The United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) and Sharon Studio’s is hosting its Retired Teacher's Sale. To me that sounds like they're selling retired teachers, but I won't go there. Oops, already did.

The retired teachers will be selling hand-made art and crafts in like jewelry, textiles, photography, glass and mixed media.

Plus, there's FREE ceramics hand-building in the ceramics studio open to all ages, from 11-3. Children under age 10 should be accompanied by a parent.

When: Sunday, March 19 from 10-5
Where: Sharon Art Studio, 300 Bowling Green Drive, SF

Coming Up: SF Symphony Celebrates Lunar New Year

Celebrate the Year of the Rooster with the San Francisco Symphony. Kids will love the festival reception included for all with tickets. The pre-concert festivities start at 3, and include crafts, lion dancing, games, free food (including dessert) and a tea bar. The concert starts at 4, with the Chinese Dragon Dance and traditional folk music, along with orchestral works by Asian composers.

Preconcert crafts, included with your ticket. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony

When: February 4, 2017
Where: Davies Symphony Hall on Van Ness in SF
Tickets: $32-$76 at sfsymphony.org or by phone at (415) 864-6000.

Coming Up: Family Fun at the Presidio Officers' Club

The Presidio Officers’ Club is hosting Family Fun, an afternoon of kid-friendly holiday craft-making. Make winter bird hand puppets, decorate cookies, learn about park wildlife at the Roving Ranger truck, and explore the Presidio Nature Lab, an all-ages, hands-on exhibition that makes the great outdoors come to life. Free snacks available for all – and the first 100 families will receive a special Presidio goodie bag. This event is hosted by Presidio Trust and Golden Gate Mothers’ Group.

When: Saturday, December 3 from 11-2
Where: Presidio Officers' Club

Coming Up: DIY Felt Mask Workshop

Fall is here, and so is a workshop to make gorgeous felt animal masks. Check out the creation below, which you can make at the MiniMakers workshop later in October. See more masks at the bottom.

In the workshop you'll make felt woodland animal masks which you can use for Halloween, dress-up or as wall-art (you'll get wall plaques to hang them if you want). The workshop is put on by Chelsea from Lovely Indeed, Amber from Damask Love, and the Land of Nod.

Coming Up: Glass Pumpkin Patches in the Bay Area

Glass pumpkin by Upupa4me/Flickr.

I already have a full patch of glass pumpkins in my house (plus a glass-blown apple) but I'm always tempted to add more. Here are several places to get some pumpkins that won't rot!

Palo Alto
What: Great Glass Pumpkin Patch
Where: Palo Alto Art Center (1313 Newell Road)
When: Exhibition: September 29-October 2 (10-7 or 10-5), Sales October 3-4 (10-5)
Details: After several days of previews, you can purchase pumpkins! This is the largest glass pumpkin patch in California, with more than 10,000 hand-blown pumpkins for sale by 29 artists.

San Jose
What: Glass Pumpkin Festival at Santana Row
Where: Santana Row Park, across from Left Bank Brasserie
When: Saturday and Sunday, October 10 (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and October 11 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
Details: Stroll through thousands of hand-blown glass pumpkins crafted by BAGI (Bay Area Glass Institute) artists and renowned glass artisans from around the country. The pumpkins will be available in an assortment of colors, sizes and a range of prices.

Half Moon Bay
What: Hand blown art glass pumpkin patch
Where: La Nebbia Winery, 12341 San Mateo Road on Highway 92
When: October 10-11 (10-5)
Details: Hundreds of hand blown pumpkins by artist Douglass C. Brown

Fun science projects to do at home with Project MC2

As a StreamTeam member, Netflix sent me a really fun package earlier this month, related to their original series Project MC2. If you're not familiar with the show, it's about four girls who team up as teenage spies, to become secret agents. The tag line is "smart is the new cool."

As part of the package, Netflix sent us some science experiments to do at home. Lucky us - school hadn't started yet, and my kids ripped into them. You may have some of the items needed in your home already, and here are the instruction sheets they gave us, which are pictured below.

We made a glitter tornado in a test tube, using water, glitter, dish soap and food coloring.

Shana Tova - Happy New Year!

I want to wish all my Jewish readers a shana tova, a happy new year. I'm about to start cooking for the holiday, but wanted to share a post from the past, with some links and explanations for the holiday!

If you're not Jewish, the holiday of Rosh Hashana may be something of a mystery. It's the Jewish new year! Instead of blowing party horns, we blow the shofar, a ram's horn, to wake us all up and make us look at our lives and how we are living them. It's a time for reflection and change - for the better.

Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, we're supposed to be introspective and figure out how we want to improve ourselves. We give more charity. We ask others for their forgiveness for anything we've done wrong in the past year. We start the year with a clean slate and part of that is making sure we've worked out any issues with other humans.

Coming Up: Proud of my Family Weekend at Children's Discovery Museum

Children's Discovery Museum is hosting activities to celebrate Bay Area family diversity this weekend with activities throughout the museum. You and the kids can make rainbow friendship bracelets, explore what family means to you, learn the meanings of the colors in the rainbow flag, and more.

CDM representatives will also be at the Silicon Valley Pride Festival on Sunday, August 30 at Almaden Boulevard. Look for the Museum activity "Bubbles are Rainbows" between noon and 4 p.m. in the Family Garden area.

When: August 29-30
Where: Children's Discovery Museum, San Jose
Cost: free with admission

Coming Up: American Craft Council San Francisco Show

Interior design lovers - don't miss the American Craft Council's 40th annual San Francisco Show. It features 225 top contemporary jewelry, clothing, furniture, and home décor artists from across the country. It's the largest juried fine craft show on the West Coast. They expect 12,000 attendees.

They'll feature two special showcases:

Coming Up: Summer Picnic at Berkeley Art Center

The Berkeley Art Center wants you to go to their day of art in the park. The event is free, but the art activity is fee-based. If you join or renew your membership on site, you'll get a free silkscreen.

What's happening? At 12:30 take a guided tour of the 45th Annual UC Berkeley MFA Graduate Exhibition with BAC Director Aimee Le Duc
From 1-2, listen to live music from Sara Rodenburg
From 2-3, there's a silkscreening workshop with Rock Paper Scissors Collective. Bring your own t-shirts or totes to silkscreen (fees apply). Food is available for purchase (Phil's Sliders).

When: Saturday, June 6 from noon to 3
Where: 1275 Walnut Street, Berkeley
Cost: free

A weird meal to make: pasta dogs

One of my friend's mothers posted a picture of this food idea on Facebook. I thought it was the weirdest looking thing, and realized that my kids would eat it up (literally and figuratively).  

All you need is spaghetti and hot dogs (I'm guessing that sausage or veggie dogs would work fine too). Poke about 6 uncooked spaghetti pieces through the hot dog pieces so they extend out equally on both sides. I thought it would be easy to make them go straight through, but I couldn't get them to do that (not that I tried that hard). They made it through the other side without breaking, but were at angles.

How to make marzipan objects

I love marzipan, and am always amazed by how they it can be shaped into different objects. I recently bought a jar of marzipan (you can get it in the baking aisle of your grocery store) and my daughter and I spent an hour making things from it.

While I have some pictures blown up below, you can see most of what we made during our marzipan session above.

Coming Up: Carnival of the Animals - Concert, Ballet, Crafts

The Palo Alto JCC is putting on a concert great for kids and adults, Camille Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals.” Each movement represents different beasts of land, sea, and sky, and will be accompanied by a lively ballet performance. In addition to a concert, there will be animal mask making and instrument "petting zoo" for the kids.

Symphony Napa Valley Assistant Conductor Derek Tam conducts the two performances featuring a string ensemble and two grand pianos (read more about the work at the bottom). Bay Pointe Ballet is a professional ballet company serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

When: Sunday March 1 at 10 a.m. and noon (2 concerts)
Where: Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto (3921 Fabian Way)
Tickets: $15-20 online or by calling (650) 223-8664. $15 is for members and kids ages 3-12. $18 general admission in advance. $20 tickets at the door.

From the JCC: "One of Camille Saint-Saens’ best-known works, “Carnival of the Animals” was first written in the wake of a failed concert tour of Germany. Embarrassed by his failure, Saint-Saens turned his sights on something more lighthearted and became immersed in writing this charming musical suite, declaring “mais c’est si amusant!” (“but this is such fun!”). The choruses of wild creatures are infused with comedic allusions to more serious fare, running the gamut from Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld to Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust. “Carnival of the Animals” premiered in 1886 at a private concert in Paris and has since become a favorite in children’s repertoire for both small ensembles and full string orchestras."

Coming Up: Lunar New Year Celebration and Kids' Activities at SF Botanical Garden - Free for Residents

There's a free Lunar New Year celebration at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. There are special performances and hands-on activities to celebrate the Year of the Sheep and the many magnolias from China blooming in the Garden. Performances by the White Crane Lion Dancers, lively folk dances by The San Francisco Sunset Recreation Center Dance Troupe, tai chi performances with dazzling sword forms by Jing Cai Tai Chi Team and more.

Family-friendly children’s activities include garden crafts and special story times in the library with Oliver Chin that celebrate the customs, traditions, food and lore of the Lunar New Year. See the full schedule here.

When: February 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Performances and activities take place in and around the County Fair Building near the Garden entrance at 9th Ave and Lincoln Way.
Cost: free with admission to the garden (garden entrance is free for SF residents with proof of residency). Nonresidents: $7 general, $5 youth 12-17 and seniors; $2 children 5-11; children 4 and under free. Families of 2 adults and one or more child pay just $15

Coming Up: Patchwork Show - Handmade Goods - Free

Start your holiday shopping, if you haven't already, at the Patchwork Show: Modern Makers Festival, at Jack London Square. It's their largest indoor festival showcasing an eclectic mix of handmade goods from local emerging artists, crafters and designers. From avid knitters to aspiring makers, you'll find more than 100 local independent vendors featuring art, knits, clothing, ceramics, garden finds, paper goods, pet gear, body goodies, housewares, and more.

In addition, the event has curated food trucks, DIY craft workshops, food artisans, live music and DJs. The weekly farmer’s market will also be taking place on the waterfront.

When: November 16, from 11-5
Where: Jack London Square, 55 Harrison Street, Oakland
Cost: Free

Coming Up: I Heart Art Celebration at the de Young Museum - free

Join the I Heart Art Celebration this Sunday at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

It celebrates the launch of the I Heart Art book, which has art activities and journaling specific to the de Young Museum.

The book was awarded an Oppenheim 2014 Toy Portfolio Gold Award that recognizes exceptional new toys and products for children.

As part of the celebration, the de Young is offering free art making activities in Wilsey Court, and interactive kid-friendly tours directly related to the book. The event is hosted by the de Youngsters.

When: Sunday, September 21 at 10
Where: deYoung Art Museum, Golden Gate Park
Cost: the activities are free, but the gallery tours require an admission ticket

Fun Classes in the Bay Area

There are a ton of classes in the Bay Area for adults and kids. I wanted to share a few that I came across.

Our friends at a Little Yumminess offer 2-3 hour cooking classes for adults and families. You can check out the list here.

If you're looking for some parenting tips, a number of classes are taught in the East Bay, under the umbrella of parenting with positive discipline. They're taught by Marcilie Smith Boyle, and I can't vouch for her, but the topics look good. The classes are evenings in Oakland.

I did a long post earlier this year about Bay Area kids' art classes. I'll add one more to the list: Sketch Collective, which offers a variety of classes for kids in San Francisco. This includes a one day camp on Columbus Day from 9-3, which visits the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. Don't worry about transportation - they'll start at the studio on Geary and Commonwealth and take Muni together.
They offer kids and adult drawing classes on weekends as well.

I've written before about Laurel Street Arts in San Carlos, which I know from painting pottery there. But they have other art instruction too, including classes on Italian-style painting techniques, canvas painting, Halloween spiders (for kids), and more. The adult classes are in the evening, and if you get on their email list you'll find some discounts listed.

Wonderbug Adventures sounds like fun, doesn't it? These San Francisco classes explore ecology, plus play, art and song for kids ages 2-5. They have a new program called Adventure Yoga, which sounds so much better than regular yoga! This class is for kids ages 2-10, and is at Stern Grove (October 18 at 10:30 a.m.). It's a family-friendly 45 minute yoga class in the meadow - sounds like my kind of yoga!

S'mores Dip

I recently posted a review for S'mores Dip, which I said we were going to try. Well, we did and I wanted to report back. It was a hit! My daughter had a backyard campout and we had this dessert instead of real s'mores, because we didn't have a campfire going. The girls LOVED it.

You'll find the s'mores dip recipe here, but it was very easy. I took someone's advice and mixed some graham cracker crumbs with butter on the bottom of the pan. This might make cleanup easier (if you don't burn the crumbs like I do). I would have skipped this part, however we had a bag of crumbs leftover from a pie crust and I wanted to use them up. I put too many in the pan.

Coming Up: American Craft Council San Francisco Show

Interior design lovers - don't miss the American Craft Council's San Francisco Show. It features Bay Area interior designers John Anderson, Alison Damonte, Tyler Dawson, Chad DeWitt, Jiun Ho and April Power, plus others. It's part of the second annual "Make Room: Modern Design Meets Craft" showcase, with six craft-inspired room vignettes that you can explore. The theme this year is "Let's Entertain."

It's also the largest juried fine fine craft show on the West Coast. They expect 12,000 attendees.

When: August 8-10 from (times vary)
Where: Fort Mason
Cost: $14 for one day pass, $30 for three day pass. Friday evening admission after 5:00 is $5. Free for kids 12 and under. You can get advanced tickets here.

Coming Up: Art Pantry Pop-Up Sale

If you live in Marin (or will be there next weekend), check out the the Art Pantry warehouse clearance sale at their 2-day pop-up shop. This mom-owned store will be selling off their entire inventory of kids art supplies and craft-related gifts at up to 50% off retail prices, including items you can use for school or for birthday gifts.

Kids are welcome, as they'll have a crafts table and refreshments both days.

When: July 26-27, 10-5
Where: 27 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley