Crafting has long been a favorite hobby of mine. In fact, some of my first posts on this blog are about hosting DIY parties and partnering with a company called Brit + Co to test their craft kits. I took a pottery class a few years ago and did a few crafts as new things I did last year. It reminded me of the many crafty things I wanted to try and the tools I had already bought and were waiting for me to use. 

So, one of my goals this year was to finally use the supplies I had and try crafts I have wanted to for a long time! Austin has a lot of options when it comes to creative classes, so throughout the year, I worked my way through my list.

Here are the crafty things I tried!

DIY Miniature Kit

This DIY kit was gifted to me and is a good introduction to miniatures and building dollhouses. Every part of this diorama was put together by me, minus some of the plastic food. It included gluing together the shelves, folding the pastry boxes, and even installing the real light! I spent 7 straight hours putting this together from start to finish.

I was gifted another DIY kit recently, so I’m excited to do that one in the new year. The company is called Rolife. This is the bakery kit, and this is the greenhouse kit I’ll be doing.

Custom dollhouses, like the ones by Geneva who is a DIYer, are so impressive to me, and this seems like a gateway to that.

Candle Making

I first tried candle-making years ago at a place that has since closed. 7th Street Candle Co invited me in for their candle workshop, which included creating a custom scent for the candle. Not only is the candle aesthetically cute since it’s in a wood bowl, but it’s also a special scent that I made drop by drop. Their candle workshop is beginner-friendly, and I had a fun time trying it out!

See the full candle-making experience in this post.

Embroidery Kit

I’m embarrassed to say this embroidery kit was bought almost two years ago (at Blue Genie), and I finally opened it and completed it! When I started, it took about an hour. This was my first time trying embroidery, and I know it’s a craft I want to try again. Embroidery can be done on clothes, which is my ultimate goal.

Mountains of Thread is an Austin-area company, and she also sells her embroidery kits on Etsy.

Silversmithing Jewelry

A new silversmithing studio – Sisu Studio – opened in Austin, and I was excited to try it. We got to design our pieces (a ring for me) from picking the stone to the type of band, all while being led by an expert silversmith. It was fun to create something that I’ll wear often and be able to share that I made it!

See the silversmithing experience in this post.

Stained Glass Class

Stained glass has been another craft that I’ve been wanting to try for a long time! (This experience was much different than the glassblowing class for my bachelorette party.) This was another great beginner class, and we got to pick our favorite colors for our sunbeam.

See the stained glass class in this post.

Perfume Making

Did you know there is a walk-in perfume bar in Austin? My candle-making class included creating a custom scent with essential oils, so it makes sense that you can do the same process to make a custom perfume! I went back to 7th Street Candle Co for their drop-in perfume-making bar, this time creating a scent that is more floral.

See the full experience in this post.

Tortilla Making

Can you believe only one of these crafty classes this year is food-related?! I wanted to go to this workshop because I had never seen the process from corn kernel to tortilla. (Where are my food nerds at?) I love that fresh tortillas are a tradition in many kitchens around the world and that we could honor that in this workshop. So, it’s a little different, but I did make a tortilla!

See my experience making tortillas in this post.

Mosaic Making

I won a visit to The Mosaic Workshop in a charity raffle and was excited to try this medium again. (I made a mosaic on a glass bowl last year.) This time around, there were more tile and color options. It’s also a little easier to mosaic on a flat surface. What do you think of my finished piece?

See the mosaic-making process in this post.

Gem Kit

I spotted this craft kit at the store, and sometimes, that’s how it starts. These are called diamond gems or diamond/gem painting. The surface of your print is sticky and color-coded. You’ll use a tool to stick each color gem onto the labeled color. This wood plaque is 8 inches in diameter, and the project took about six hours.

Block Printing

For my final workshop of the year, I went back to 7th Street Candle Co for a block printing workshop. Audrey, one of the owners of 7th Street Candle Co, studied this craft in college, so she walked us through picking a design, carving the linoleum, inking, and printing. I picked a cute mushroom pattern, and it took a few prints to perfect the block. Finally, we printed on notecards and napkins. Yes, I have a print-making kit on my wishlist so that I can keep experimenting with this craft!

See the full experience in this post.

As you read, so many of the crafts I tried were things I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m so glad I got to try them. I know I’ll be crafting in the new year, though maybe not new mediums. I’m looking forward to exploring some of these further and finally working on all my sewing goals.

If you want to be more creative, there are lots of ways and tools to do it. You’ll find inspiration and even relaxation in the tasks. I hope this post inspires you to try something new!

Want more DIY inspiration? Check out these posts:

• From Clay to Pot: Where to Take a Pottery Class in Austin
• DIY Marbling-Themed Party
• Best Places for Creative Classes and Art Workshops in Austin

The post I Made This! – My Year of Crafting appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

So, to commemorate the season of cookies, this post shares a recap of all three experiences and some of the 43 types of cookies I had in 10 days.

My Cookies

I pre-ordered Kat Lieu’s timely, newly released cookbook – 108 Asian Cookies – and aimed to bake all my cookie exchange contributions from the book. This is a fun and colorful cookbook, with many familiar recipes that include Asian ingredients like red miso.

I made 5 different cookies from the cookbook for the parties. I had trouble locating some ingredients – namely, pandan extract and ube jam – so I had to make slight variations.

The Low-Key Girls Get-together

Cookie count: 7

I made: Black Sesame White Chocolate Cookie and Matcha Peanut Butter Blossom

My friend Jane had a few friends over for a casual hang-out and to officially meet her new baby! I love that a few of us baked “viral” cookie recipes (oatmeal banana bread chocolate chip cookie and almond butter croissant cookie), and they went viral for a reason: they were delicious cookies!

The Christmas Market

Cookie count: 21

I made: Boba Cookies and Raspberry Linzer Cookies

My friend Sandra has been obsessed with Christmas markets, so she wanted to recreate the vibe at her house, along with a cookie competition. She made an incredible spread of Christmas market food, like brats and meatballs.

I don’t think the competition categories were announced ahead of time, but they were the most festive, prettiest, crowd favorite, and most creative. Someone made the mortadella cookie, which won most creative. It looks like a sausage slice and was on The New York Times’ annual cookie list this year. The most festive cookie went to the gingerbread non-binary people, and the crowd favorite went to the lemon crinkle. Prettiest cookie went to the raspberry linzer by yours truly! It almost makes me forget that hours before, I was in a cookie crisis because I burnt the first batch. My prize was some mahjong goodies!

The Cookbook Club Friends

Cookie count: 15

I made: Miso Hot Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I joined a cookbook club this year, and it’s been a lot of delicious fun! The group has been meeting since 2019, cooking from a different cookbook each month. I often meet up with “restaurant foodies,” so it’s fun to discuss recipes and taste dishes with “cooking foodies.” For one, I’ve never seen more impressive cookbook collections! It’s also a good introduction to different cookbooks.

This cookie party was no different; there were so many tasty cookies!

Cookie Party Thoughts

Eating 43 types of cookies at 3 cookie parties in 10 days is kind of crazy and so delicious! (Where are my dessert lovers at?) Here are some of my random cookie observations:

• Ginger molasses is a classic holiday cookie recipe, and I loved it at every party. Call me a grandma.
• Want a festive cookie? Use red and green sanding sugar or dye, peppermint, or jam.
• Taste-wise, you can’t go wrong with a crinkle or thumbprint cookie, and they can be very easy to make.
• If you’re hosting a party, there is a chance people will bake more than 1 type of cookie.
• Chocolate chip is a solid cookie, but not for the holidays. I vote for more fun, though you’ll always have people who love the classic.

Baking cookies is much lower-stakes than most desserts. Should I keep hosting cookie potlucks in the new year? Maybe with themes? How many more recipes should I bake from the 108 Asian Cookies Cookbook?

Looking for more food party ideas? Check out these posts:

• How to Throw a Pie Potluck Party + Pie Recipe Ideas
• Paella Party to Celebrate 10 Years
• How to Throw a Tinned Fish Party

The post Holiday Cookie Party: Recap of 3 Parties and 43 Cookies appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

I have been wanting to try linoleum printmaking for a long time. I was signed up for a workshop earlier this year (somewhere else) that got cancelled, so I’m glad I was able to make it happen this year.

Audrey, one of the owners of 7th Street Candle Co, studied printmaking in college, so we got her expert guidance on how to do this.

7th Street Candle Co

But first, if you haven’t caught my other posts, I need to tell you about 7th Street Candle Co. It is one of my favorite shops in Austin because it carries cute gifts, many by local Austin artisans. They also sell their line of delightful candles.

And there are workshops! They started with candle-making workshops and have expanded to hosting local artists to teach crafts other than candle-making. For example, some of their past workshops have included watercolors, terrarium building, and sewing. The shop also has a walk-in perfume-making bar.

Linoleum Printmaking Workshop

Ok, back to the workshop details.

The workshop includes the use of all the tools necessary, like the linoleum blocks, carving tools, and ink. Audrey also walked us step by step through the process. I liked that it was an intimate class, so we could easily get guidance and feedback.

As I’ve noticed in the various workshops I’ve taken, ideation is something that can take a majority of the time. Since this was a fall-themed workshop, Audrey had prints of things in the fall theme, like leaves and mushrooms. We first traced or free-drew a design on tracing paper.

After completing our design, we rubbed this onto our linoleum block. The pencil easily transfers, and this was our guide when we started carving.

There are different-sized carving tools based on how fine the lines are and how much we need to carve away. The carving is the tricky part, making sure your lines are correct.

When we felt our carving was complete, we inked with a pad to test it out. This helped show where we needed to carve more. In the photo below, you can see three iterations of my block. As you can see, I could have left my print more “rustic” with the outside lines, which is a cool look, but for this one, I decided to make it very clean.

When we were satisfied with our final design, we inked our block with a brayer, a hand roller that evenly spreads ink. Audrey had mixed ink to create our requested fall colors – dark green, dark orange, brown, and dark red.

Ta-da! What a good-looking final product! We printed on a set of notecards and a set of napkins.

I’ve been following a handful of printmakers on Instagram, and after trying out this medium myself, I am in awe of the detail of their prints. It takes time and patience to create the beautiful prints I see.

I’m looking forward to exploring this medium more, so thank you to Audrey and 7th Street Candle Co for giving me a great introduction into how it’s done!

Ready to check out 7th Street Candle Co for their gifts and workshops? Visit their website to learn more.

7th Street Candle Co
507 W 41st St, Austin, TX 78751
https://www.7thstreetcandle.co

If you’re feeling inspired, check out some of these other creative experiences in Austin:

• Best Places for Creative Classes and Art Workshops in Austin
• Crafting Mosaic Art at The Mosaic Workshop in Austin
• Making Jewelry at Sisu Studio – Austin Silversmith Class

The post Linoleum Printmaking Workshop at 7th Street Candle Co appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

If you’re looking for an easy way to craft for a few hours, I’ve got you. I won a charity raffle for a mosaic workshop, and my friend Kathy and I dropped in.

Mosaic Workshop

The Mosaic Workshop is an art studio in East Austin. They have scheduled intro classes every week if you need extra instruction, but you can also drop-in 11 am to 6 pm daily. Space is first-come, first-served, and weekends are the busiest times, but it’s a big studio.

We are fairly proficient in crafting, so we were confident we could figure it out with a little instruction from their team. For drop-ins, their instructors give you a run-down of what to do and help you get started. Instructors also walk around to answer questions and give tips.

The studio has plenty of inspiration on their walls and plentiful supplies to make your vision come to life. The pricing comes from the size of your base and range from $25 to $45+. That price includes all your materials and time. They have a large variety of panel shapes and sizes and it can vary week to week.

I recommend brainstorming a design or two and knowing your vision before arriving to save some time. Here’s an example of the different ways you can lay out your tile!

How to Make a Mosaic

Let me walk you through the mosaic process. For reference, I spent about 5 leisurely hours creating my 8-inch circle piece. I spent almost 2 hours ideating (I did not plan a design ahead of time) and gathering materials before starting to glue down my tiles. We definitely took our time.

First, pick your base. As you can see, there are lots of shapes to choose from!

Then, I sketched out my design and considered my color options. There are lots of tile types and color options, so that can take some time.

When you’re ready, you’ll start gluing your tiles down to your base. I kept my border and flower tiles as they were (square tiles), while the blue tiles I chose different tile types and cut different sizes for a more varied look.

After everything is glued down, you can take a grout kit home with you ($15) or you can have the studio grout it for you ($25).

The grout kit comes with video instruction, and I thought it was easy to follow. It took about 20 minutes for me to grout my piece. I painted the edge of my piece instead of grouting it for a cleaner look.

I love my finished piece so much! And we had a fun time chatting and crafting together. I can’t wait to go back!

The Mosaic Workshop
729 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78702
https://www.themosaicworkshop.org

Looking for more craft workshops in Austin? See these posts:

• Making Jewelry at Sisu Studio – Austin Silversmith Class
• From Clay to Pot: Where to Take a Pottery Class in Austin
• Custom Perfume Making in Austin at 7th Street Candle Co

The post Crafting Mosaic Art at The Mosaic Workshop in Austin appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

7th Street Candle Co provided a complimentary experience, and all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the businesses that support my blog!

About 7th Street Candle Co

I previously visited 7th Street Candle Co to make a custom candle. It was a great experience and I’ve been enjoying it at home. (See this post to read about the experience.)

Audrey and Zaid started 7th Street Candle Co in 2018, and when they opened their brick-and-mortar shop in 2023, they were able to make time and space for candle workshops. 

When you walk into the shop, you can see their wall of essential oils, a very important part of their business! They’re now giving guests another way to infuse scents into their everyday, and they invited me in to try it out.

Custom Perfume Bar

The fun of the custom perfume bar is that it’s a walk-in experience you can take advantage of any time! If you know scents, it can easily take you 30 minutes to create, or if you like to chat and smell everything like us, it can take an hour and a half.

How does it work? Similar to the candle workshop, you’ll sniff through their collection of essential oils to try different combinations. You’ll dab oil on paper, taking note of base, middle, and top scents, though you don’t necessarily need one of each.

After deciding on your scents, you’ll measure out the oil slowly to get your perfect combination. You might like the scents together, but different quantities will affect the end product. My final scent features black tea, chamomile, vetiver, and agarwood.

Finally, you’ll bottle your scent, add the unscented carrier oil, and your new perfume roller bottle is ready!

I love this experience as a spontaneous outing if you don’t want to make plans, or a beginner scent activity if you can’t commit to a candle workshop. It makes a perfect experiential gift, so plan an outing with friends.

Ready to try it for yourself? All you have to do is walk in!

Also, check out their workshop schedule for upcoming events. You can use the code “ANITA15” for 15% off your workshop!

7th Street Candle Co
507 W 41st St, Austin, TX 78751
https://www.7thstreetcandle.co

Looking for your next creative activity? Check out these posts for inspiration:

• Take a Candle Making Class at 7th Street Candle Co in Austin, TX
• Making Jewelry at Sisu Studio – Austin Silversmith Class
• Taking a Stained Glass Class in Austin
• Best Places for Creative Classes and Art Workshops in Austin

The post Custom Perfume Making in Austin at 7th Street Candle Co appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Making Stained Glass

I found Sundazed Glass and decided to sign up for their sunrise class. Each class is a specific design so you can sign up for the design you like best. The owner Lesleigh started making stained glass about five years ago and now teaches in-person and online classes as well as making commissioned pieces.

Don’t worry if you’ve never made stained glass before. It is beginner-friendly and you’ll be thoroughly guided in every step. Sundazed Glass provides all the materials, including tools like safety goggles and finger gloves to keep you safe.

The first step is picking your glass. There’s a wide selection of colors available. The hard part is figuring out what colors will go well together!

The next step is cutting your glass. You get as close as you can to the pattern and then use the grinder to perfect the piece and smooth out the edges.

Next comes covering the edges of each piece in copper foil and smoothing out the bubbles.

Now we get to what I think is the hardest part – soldering. It’s a careful process of melting your lead to adhere to the copper foil. (I did this during my silversmith class, but there is much more soldering involved here!)

After soldering the top, bottom, edge, and a loop for hanging, all you need is a quick clean, and your piece is ready for display!

Stained Glass Studios in Austin

In Austin, there are a few places where you can take a stained glass class.

Sundazed Glass is a private class space in South Austin. They have a few in-person classes every month. Based on my experience, this is a great, more affordable introduction class in Austin. They also have courses if you want to take it further.
Address: 2104 Prather Ln, Austin, TX 78704
Website: https://www.sundazedglass.com/

Blue Moon Glassworks is a studio in North Austin that has been in Austin for over 23 years. They have 3-hour beginner classes as well as 4-week courses if you want to go more in-depth. The classes start at $150 per person.
Address: 2139 W Anderson Ln., Austin, TX 78757
Website: https://bluemoonglassworks.com

B The Stain is a good option if you are closer to Cedar Creek, about 30 minutes southeast of Downtown Austin. This is a convenient location if you live near the Austin Airport or by COTA. There are beginner classes with a variety of designs starting at $125 for about 4 hours. There are also multi-week classes for intermediate and advanced crafters.
Address: 590 Mesquite Drive, Cedar Creek, Texas 78612
Website: https://www.bthestain.com/

Helios Fused Glass is a little different, focusing on fusing glass directly together rather than the stained glass connection method. They’ve had stained glass classes in the past, but they have more beginner fusing classes. Helios Fused Glass is also a supply store for glass and tools.
Address: 13581 Pond Springs Rd., Ste 107, Austin, TX 78729
Website: https://heliosglass.com/

Hope you try making stained glass!

Need more crafty ideas? See what else I’ve been making:

• Making Jewelry at Sisu Studio – Austin Silversmith Class
• Take a Candle Making Class at 7th Street Candle Co in Austin, TX
• From Clay to Pot: Where to Take a Pottery Class in Austin

The post Taking a Stained Glass Class in Austin appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Pie Potluck Party

My friend Claire is a fellow foodie, and after throwing a cake potluck for her birthday last year, a pie potluck was the only logical follow-up. This is my kind of party! There were 23 pies, both sweet and savory.

Our host has a caffeine allergy, so no chocolate, tea, or coffee pies were preferred, but that didn’t stop guests from baking up some delicious pies. There wasn’t a sign-up sheet, so it was a surprise to everyone what pies would show up. (For your event, you could create a sign-up sheet if you’re worried about duplicates.) I imagine the summer heat and pie lattice swayed most to cream pies, and there was plenty of fruit. The table had pies with strawberry, banana, peach, pineapple, blackberry, lemon, raspberry, and pear.

I made a strawberry cream pretzel pie with a pretzel crust, cream and jelly swirl filling, and fresh strawberries on top. I used a combination of this Half Baked Harvest crust and a loose interpretation of Sally’s Baking’s filling. This pie was a play off of strawberry pretzel salad.

I think sweet when it comes to pie (I’m sure you’re not surprised), but there were plenty of savory pies as well. Pies like Vidalia onion pie, mushroom pie, quiche Lorraine, and chicken pot pie made it ot the table.

While we had sweet and savory whole pies and hand pies, we didn’t have any pizza pies, which could be another interpretation of the pie theme. It’s host/hostess rules if guests can go outside the classic pie and bring pie-adjacent dishes like tarts, cobblers, quiches, and galettes.

The hard part was trying all the pies! I aimed for the smallest slivers.

Pie Recipe Ideas

I don’t have the exact recipes used at the party, but I’m sharing a bunch of recipes to help you decide what to make for your pie potluck.

Depending on the party rules, you could also allow tarts, cobblers, quiches, and galettes. Don’t forget hand pies and mini pies!

Sweet (usually fruit, cream, chiffon, or custard)

• Banana Cream Pie
• Strawberry Pretzel Pie
• Milk Bar Pie
• Perfect Apple Pie
• Cherry Pie
• Peach Pineapple Pie
• Pumpkin Pie
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (Vegan)
• Lemon Meringue Pie
• Sweet Potato Pie (Vegan)
• Oreo Cream Pie
• Chess Pie

Savory

• Vidalia Onion Pie
• Mushroom Onion Leek Pie
• Tomato Pie
• Curried Cauliflower and Cheese Pie
• Spanakopita Pie
• Chicken Curry Pot Pie
• Shepherd’s Pie

Now you’re ready to throw your pie potluck! Can I have an invite?

Now craving pie? Check out this post about where to get pie in Austin.

Looking for more party ideas? See these posts:

• How to Throw a Tinned Fish Party
• Paella Party to Celebrate 10 Years
• How to Host an Epic Crawfish Boil

The post How to Throw a Pie Potluck Party + Pie Recipe Ideas appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

A new silversmith studio opened in Downtown Austin, and it’s a great option for a bachelorette party or get-together.

Keep reading to learn more about my experience.

About Sisu Studio

When Sisu Studio Founder Madison Carpenter first tried silversmithing in 2019, she hated the class. Her college class didn’t allow her to make what she wanted, but it did provide her with a foundation. So, she took what she learned and kept creating. After traveling the U.S. and launching her jewelry collections, she opened the doors to Sisu Studio in March 2025, something she first thought about in 2021. Here she shares her love of making jewelry by welcoming people to try it for themselves.

This cute pink house on West 6th is where people are flexing their creativity by creating custom sterling silver jewelry. It’s a thoughtful and light-filled space where you can try something new.

The workshop is very approachable and good for beginners. You’ll be doing about 30% of the creation while the Sisu Studio team guides you and helps perfect your piece.

Austin Silversmith Class

My sisters-in-law and I enjoy crafting, and we’ve never done silversmithing before, so this was a fun activity to try together.

When you arrive at the studio, you’ll receive a handy worksheet that details all the decisions.

You have a few things to decide on to make your piece:

• What kind of piece: pendant, ring, bracelet, bolo tie
• Features on your piece: depending on your piece, you’ll have a few options about the type of band, additional detail, etc. There are example pieces to help you visualize it.

One of the most fun parts of the workshop is choosing your gemstone. There’s a good variety, and you can also bring your own to use.

Then you’ll sit down and the silversmith instructor will walk you through each step, which includes soldering your piece together. The Sisu Studio team will help with filing (to get rid of the sharp edges) and polishing.

After three hours, your piece will be ready to take home. What do you think about our pieces?

I love my new ring! I was immediately drawn to this colorful gemstone, and the ring is a perfect mix of statement and classic. I enjoyed the process of customizing my piece, thinking about how to balance the eye-catching colors of the gemstone while matching my simple jewelry preferences.

FAQ

Here are some things you might need to know about this Austin silversmith class:

Making a reservation: Necessary and made on their website. You don’t have to decide what you’re making at the time of booking, and no deposit is needed.

How long is the workshop: 3 hours

How much does it cost: It depends on what piece you’re making. Pendants are $85, rings are $95, bracelets are $105, and bolo ties are $115. Then add in the price of your gemstone, as marked. My stone was $38.

Group bookings: email them if you have more than 8 people

Parking: Find street parking off Campbell Street. There is a metered lot near El Arroyo’s.

If you like trying new things and crafting, this could be a fun activity for you. It’s even more fun when you invite friends to join you!

Sisu Studio
1617 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78703
https://www.sisustudioatx.com

Looking for more crafty ideas? Check out these posts:

• Best Places for Creative Classes in Austin
• Take a Candle Making Class at 7th Street Candle Co in Austin, TX
• 10 Fun Austin Bachelorette Party Activities

The post Making Jewelry at Sisu Studio – Austin Silversmith Class appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

7th Street Candle Co provided a complimentary class, and all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the businesses that support my blog!

Read until the end for a discount code to take a class!

7th Street Candle Co

This Austin candle shop was created by Audrey and Zaid when they first started pouring in 2018. Their candles are non-toxic and made with essential oils. They also source their aromatics from local farms and dry ingredients themselves.

Once you start smelling their candles, you’ll see how they grew their wholesale business into opening their shop in 2023. It’s hard to choose a favorite scent! Their cute space in Hyde Park has room for candle-making workshops as well as retail space to feature their candles and other local artisans.

This is a place you can find the perfect gift – either the workshop experience to create something custom or something special like jewelry or framed art.

You can also bring in your empty vessels for a candle refill. It’s a great way to reuse old vessels.

Candle Making Class

The first big step in making our candle was sniffing the shop’s collection of essential oils. They have over 50, so it took time to figure out our favorites. Unlike the candle class I took before, 7th Street Candle Co allows you to create a custom scent that you mix yourself instead of a combination you simply choose.

We dabbed different oils on paper to test the scent combinations together. There were so many to choose from. Oils are labeled base, middle, and top to know how the fragrance will come through in the final scent. Of course, Audrey is an expert and able to give guidance if you’re looking for a particular vibe, but the process involves a lot of testing. Everyone has their scent preferences.

After choosing our preferred scents, we begin measuring 12 grams of essential oils. The scent changes with every drop, so this part of the process involved slow testing, constant sniffing, and a bit of math to get the right ratios. While a bit stressful, this was also the most fun part because we were creating our own scent – and hoping it turned out well. I added gram by gram to get this combination of fig, sandalwood, black tea, and bergamot.

After finishing the hard part, we mixed the oil into the wax and then poured our candle. How satisfying!

It was then time to enjoy a snack and shop the store as we waited for our candles to cure. Time allows the wax to harden a bit so that when we add the dried decorative elements to the top, they won’t automatically sink to the bottom.

Soon enough, our candles were ready to go home! I’ve since burned my candle and I love the scent!

If you’re looking for something creative to try, a candle-making workshop is beginner-friendly. You’ll love being a mad scientist and figuring out your perfect scent. Check out their website for their upcoming workshops.

Ready to take a class? Use “ANITA15” for 15% off your workshop!

7th Street Candle Co
507 W 41st St, Austin, TX 78751
https://www.7thstreetcandle.co

Looking for your next creative activity? Check out these posts for inspiration:

• Best Places for Creative Classes in Austin
• From Clay to Pot: Where to Take a Pottery Class in Austin
• Best Cooking and Food Classes in Austin

The post Take a Candle Making Class at 7th Street Candle Co in Austin, TX appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Learn something new this year! Austin has PLENTY of places and classes for you to exercise your creativity. Who knows, maybe you’ll pick up a new, favorite hobby or blossom a newfound passion into a business one day. At the least, you’ll try something new and that’s always good for your brain.

Below is a big list of classes, mostly for adults but some for kids, sectioned by topic, that you can find in Austin. You can be creative in so many ways, and hopefully, there’s something here that piques your interest. These group classes are open to the public, though most require a class fee. Some offer private lessons also.

Craft Classes and Venues with a Variety of Class Topics

A few places offer classes about multiple topics, so here’s where you’ll find them. These workshops include topics such as brush lettering, making bath scrubs, home décor, and more.

• CRAFT
• MAKE ATX
• Austin Tinkering School
• Upstairs Circus
• Something Cool Studios
• 7th Street Candle – custom candles and more – See my candle experience here
• Fuzz Lab
• Asmbly Makerspace
• The Mosaic Workshop
• The Paper + Craft Pantry

Plant and Floral Classes

Where are my plant people? These plant classes will teach you to make plant things and arrange flowers.

• Wild Vine Floral
• The Natural Gardener
• House of Margot Blair

Sewing, Knitting, and More Classes

Want to learn to sew to make your own totes or alter thrift shop clothes? Or maybe you want to learn to quilt or knit to make things like blankets and scarves? This section of classes is for you! Some might call these grandma crafts but they don’t know what they’re talking about.

• Honey Bee Quilt Store
• Hill Country Weavers
• Sew Much More
• Northwest Sewing Center
• Austin School of Fashion Design
• Beehive Craft Studio

Woodwork Classes

If you want to learn a bit about woodwork – from the fundamentals of the tools and design to creating your own stool – here are some shops to check out.

• Austin School of Furniture and Design
• Woodcraft

Pottery Classes

Have you ever wanted to learn how to throw clay? These pottery classes offer one-time and multiple sessions for you to learn how to make pots, bowls, and more.

• Austin Pottery
• Broad Studio
• Feats of Clay
• East Side Pot Shop
• The Art Garage
• Mud Club ATX
• Mud Studio

Check out this post to learn more about pottery classes in Austin.

Glass-Blowing and Glass Art Classes

If you can stand the heat, come play with fire and blow glass to make things like stained glass décor, beads, and vases.

• Blue Moon Glassworks
• Ghost Pepper Glass
• Helios Fused Glass Studio

Jewelry Classes

In these jewelry-making classes, you’ll learn how to twist metal, weave beads, and create various types of jewelry.

• Sisu Studios – silversmith class – See my experience here
• Sea of Beads
• Aviv Collection – charm bar, permanent jewelry
• City + Stars – charm bar
• Loveweld – charm bar
• Nina Berenato – charm necklaces and bracelets, permanent jewelry

Painting and Art Classes

Art is probably one of the first associations when you think of creative class. We might have gotten a taste of this in elementary school, but painting, drawing, and creating are alive and well in these classes for you to re-visit now.

• Austin Creative Art Center
• Austin Creative Reuse
• The Contemporary Austin

Creative Writing Classes

As a blogger and marketer, writing is a big part of my job, but it’s also helpful for many careers. These places will help you tap into your creativity and bring what’s in your brain to the paper.

• Writers’ League of Texas

Photography Classes

Did you upgrade from your camera phone? Learn how to use your fancy camera by taking a photography class.

• Precision Camera

Improv and Theater Classes

I took improv classes a few years ago, and it was so fun! Every week in the eight-week course we learned different techniques and it accumulated into a recital show for the public. Most of the theaters have a free intro class you can try out.

• Fallout Theater
• ColdTowne Theater
• Merlin Works
• The Hideout Theatre

Cooking and Culinary-Related Classes

Is it a surprise that these are some of my favorite classes? From cooking to chocolate-making to beekeeping, these classes will teach you about specific cuisines and processes.

See this post to see all the details.

Conclusion

This list of classes reminds me that there are plenty of ways to exercise and expand our creativity. We might be creative in different areas, but I believe everyone is creative. Recognizing this and finding ways to explore it helps our brain, sparks energy, and is a lot of fun. I hope you find ways to be creative this year!

P.S. If you need more ideas for creativity, try this list!

The post Best Places for Creative Classes and Art Workshops in Austin appeared first on Fearless Captivations.