Saddle Up Babsy!

SXSW has begun and Etsy has arrived to keep it crafty. You will have the opportunity to meet Etsy Admins from Brooklyn, and create some crafts to take home. At Venue 222 , 222 E. 6th Street Austin TX 78701, March 12th - 13th from noon to midnight there are no badges required. Etsy Austin will also be at the show with Babsy the cat from noon to 7pm. You can saddle up and take your picture with her. The team will have a Wall Of Wow displaying a sampling of wares all hand made locally and team members available to answer any of your questions. After 8 pm Venue 222 will bring out the rock and roll. Saturday you wil be entertained by Neighbors and The Black Angels. Sunday at 5 pm there will be a DIY Panel with KnittaPlease, Burdastyle, Threadless, and Spoonflower. The BurdaStyle DIY Fashion Show will hit the stage at 9 pm and then Quintron and Ms. Pussycat will be on deck with DJ Rana June providing the music.

Hammer It Out's Guide to Zilker Park

In Austin, people do not often leave their own neighborhood. When you are from somewhere else it does not take you long to settle into the groove of your little slice of town. The one exception to this is the community park. Zilker Park is one of the most important pieces of Austin, without this sprawling green space I do not think we would have as large of an outdoor culture as we do. You could spend days exploring the park starting with the Zilker Botanical Gardens learning about all sorts of flora and fauna. The Garden is booked as a perfect backdrop for weddings year round. You can take a dip in Barton Springs, a natural feed public swimming pool. Then stroll on over to the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens to get inspired by an amazing collection from the works of Charles Umlauf.

Special events include the Kite Festival on March 6th that will have the sky filled with kites that you can learn to make at the park as well as the South Asian New Year's Festival April 9th. At the The 54th Annual Zilker Garden Festival March 26th-27th you can buy plants and art from local vendors, and hear talks from experienced gardeners about planting in Austin. Zilker Park is where you also will see the fireworks on the Fourth. Patrons of the Hill Side Theater are treated to Shakespeare in the Park, movies outdoors, musicals, and concerts. You can also visit Splash! to learn about the Edwards Aquifer. The park is also the home of the Zilker Tree which is lit during the holidays each year. It is built on a replica of one of 17 of Austin's remaining Moonlight Towers that provided light at night since 1895.

Now down to the important stuff food and beverage. Barton Springs Rd., leading out of Zilker Park, is stuffed to the brim with amazing local fare. You will first run into Chuy's and if you love enchiladas and Elvis, you and he will get along just fine. If you would like a place to sit, have a drink, and a chat, check out Flipnotics. If you need some Bar-B-Que, which I completly understand, The Green Mesquite will get you all fixed up. If you need Bar-B-Que and an awesome brew made on site by Brian Peters then Uncle Billy's Brew & Que will cure what ales you.

If only a burger will do, make a bee line to the Shady Grove which is also known for its live outdoor shows. When you find yourself dragging from all the great music and fun head into Romeo's Cafe for a big bowl of pasta. Austin Java has a little bit of everything to please a large group. You can end your day at the Barton Springs Saloon, a neighborhood bar with a great patio to watch the rest of the town go by.

-Megan Russell
www.hammeritout.etsy.com
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Got Plans this Weekend?

This coming weekend, a few lovely ladies of Etsy Austin will be participating in exciting events that are sure to get you in the holiday spirit (in case you need that extra lil nudge). On Saturday, Cathie Fuentes (Sweet Wolf), Kim Soliz (Devil Girl Design), and yours truly (DGAJ) will be at the Viva La Vida Fest, hosted by the Mexic-Arte Museum. Admission to this spectacular event is free, and the festival will be from 2-10pm on 5th St. (between Congress and Brazos). There will be an extensive contemporary and pre-Columbian West Mexico art exhibit, crafting for kids, food (pan de muerto, tamales, and of course sugar skulls), live music, a marketplace, and a grand procession at 6pm.

After you've stopped by Mexic Arte's VLVF, be sure to come say hi to the ladies of The WonderCraft at the Mixx and Make Event at Mixx (612 E. 6th St) from 9pm-2am for mask making, an eating contest, live music, coffin cakes from Blue Note Bakery, and a chance at a giveaway and some freebies! Admission is $6 if you RSVP ahead of time (you can do so on the Events section of WC's website) or $8 at the door.

Whether you're looking for events to get you in this month's spirit or you just want to make your weekend plans a little more interesting, these festivities are sure to be the cure-all you need! Hope to see y'all out this weekend.

Action Jackson out.

We Make Stuff Recap

Recap time! I'll make this short though since I mainly wanted to share some eye candy with y'all. Yours truly was at The Scoot Inn this past Saturday from 7pm-12am for the We Make Stuff event (hosted by Electric Promotions). The night consisted of free Nadamoo ice cream, delicious drinks provided by Treaty Oak rum, raffles, button making with The Wondercraft, a fashion show from rockin Austin designers, and skateboard art! And, to top things off, proceeds from the nights' raffles went towards Art From the Streets. On a side note, for all you lovely people out there who love Austin's Rare magazine as much as I do, there's a great AFTS interview in this month's issue, so be sure to read (available in print or on Rare's website). All in all, it was a good night and I was lucky to have the company of fellow artists who I knew...and more importantly, liked. :) As always, the night featured a gander (yes, we're geese) of Etsy Austin's lovely ladies. Check out their shops cause these chicks seriously rock:
-Kim Soliz of DevilGirlDesign
-Anne Marie Beard of AnneMarie
-Samantha Hlavalty of NepenthesBathtime
-Cathy Fuentes of SweetWolf
-Merritt Gade of MerrittGade
-April Wright of AprilWrightDesign
-Jen Bryan of LucyBlueStudio
-Beth Hempton of SnuggleHerd
-Beth Albrecht of PairedHearts
-Kim Sae-Eua of Broken Ear Productions

Action Jackson out!