If you're excited to find out which creatives up for this year's Big Brain Awards will be crowned and awarded cash prizes, you'll want to grab a ticket to Artopia on April 27 (where we'll celebrate the finalists and announce the winners).

And if you want to get in on the action, here's your chance . . .

See also:
- Announcing the 2013 Big Brain Finalists
- 2012 Big Brain Awards Winners Announced

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http://pinterest.com/pin/56787645273724224/; http://pinterest.com/pin/323625923192889401/; http://pinterest.com/pin/525865693959641457/

With gardening season getting into full swing, Pinterest has exploded with ideas on how to personalize your very own modern provincial urban organic Tuscan-inspired garden (oof). Pinners seem to the think the best way to achieve this is to fill the garden with extraneous weird shit under the guise of decorating.

You know what looks nice in a garden? Plants. Let's try to stick with that in the future. In the meantime, here's a list of some of the worst trends we've seen this season.

"Sculptures"
Pieces of scrap metal you found in the alleyway are not sculptures, and unless that bath tub is functional, we really have no idea what it's doing in your garden.

See Also:
The Five Worst Wedding Trends on Pinterest
The Five Worst Pregnancy Trends on Pinterest

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https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeCookiesCrafts

The caffeinated, sugar-induced craft bonanza that is Coffee, Cookies & Crafts will usher in a marathon of gifts, craft supplies, and interactive activities at downtown's Bragg's Pie Factory this weekend during Art Detour. (Stay tuned for our map and a list of our must-sees.)

And while there will be plenty of reasons to walk around downtown Phoenix on Saturday and Sunday to see what local artists have been busy creating, we'll be the first to say we can't wait to get our hands on some locally made soap, robots, and metal work (we're looking at you, 11th Monkey).

More info and the craft vendor list after the jump . . .

See also:
- Big Brain Awards 2013: Nominate Emerging Phoenix Creatives for Cash Prizes
- The Grumpy Cat Does the Harlem Shake (Sort of)
- Three Calls for Artists: Modern Phoenix Expo, Tempe Public Art, and platFORM

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Pinterest

We'll be the first ones to admit that we've given Pinterest a hard time over the year- from the worst pregnancy trends to the 5 Christmas trends we want to avoid at all costs.

But whether we're chocking it up to the holiday spirit or one too many egg nogs, we'd like to take this time to acknowledge some of the finer things that Pinterest has brought us - specifically, the various styles for wrapping Christmas presents. Because all kidding aside, that shit's art.

See Also:
Five Christmas Pinterest Trends to Avoid at All Costs
The Five Worst Pregnancy Trends on Pinterest

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http://www.etsy.com/listing/116916779/inappropriate-santa

Not every craft is a holiday success -- the cookies burn, the glitter spills, and you go a little overboard with the bedazzler. But something about the holiday season allows some of us forgive ourselves for our artistic failures, while leading others to turn to handmade cyber warehouse Etsy, where hundreds of pages currently advertise a range of holiday decorations from vendors around the globe.

In Etsy's holiday shop, ugly, inappropriate, and straight-up wrong is not in short supply. There are countless creepy Santas made from papier mache and dozens of "up"cycled wreathes that have seen better days in the can. Today, we're looking at ornaments, and we're not ashamed to admit that we're scraping the bottom of the barrel.

See also:
- The Seven Saddest Costumed Pets on Etsy
- The Six Ugliest Holiday Sweaters on Etsy

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When we last spoke with James Waldron and Nicole Whittington, the creative forces behind Handmade Riot, the two were just getting things rolling with their independent business creating toys, postcards, and home accessories.

The couple promised to have new and exciting things before year's end. Make no mistake, they delivered -- and right in time for Crafeteria 2012.

See Also:
- Handmade Riot: Home Accessories and Toys by Phoenix Artists
- Crafeteria: The Crafty, Handmade Lineup for 2012

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A lineup of 40 local crafters will let their hands rest and machines cool down on Friday night; they'll be behind their booths, talking shop, and selling their goods during the seventh Crafeteria in downtown Phoenix.

The event, hosted by Frances in the Medlock Plaza on Central Avenue and Camelback Road, runs from 6 to 10 p.m. and plays by one rule: everything must be 100 percent handmade.

Crafeteria's an annual gathering for arts and crafty types and one of our favorite places to do some serious holiday shopping. This year's lineup includes a few new faces -- and more than a few names we're excited about ...

See also:
- Frances Vintage to Open a New Location at Biltmore Fashion Park
- A Phoestivus Market Brings Local Crafts and Brews to Downtown Phoenix in December

More »

Laurie Notaro is an author, crafter, and expert at finding a good cocktail. She grew up in Phoenix, but is currently based in Eugene, Oregon. Each week, she'll be joining us to share a crafting adventure, draw a flowchart, or remember a few of her favorite things about Phoenix. Today, she her adventures in lamp shading, for lack of a better description ...

Laurie Notaro

Tucson, 1997: When I was an editor at magazine, I spent most of my lunch hours combing through Value Village on Fourth Avenue. It was the king of thrift stores, and it was rare that I didn't walk out of there with something amazing in my hand.

Enter the green lamp. A sprightly, fun, jadeite green ceramic lamp with an adorable finial and a rotting cord. I don't remember if the lamp came with a shade, but for the $3 I bought it for, I'm sure I barely cared if it didn't. It sat in my apartment for a year, my garage in Phoenix for six and in my basement in Eugene for eight. I loved the lamp, but not apparently enough to clothe it.

Finally, several weeks ago, I bought some linen on sale that would be perfect for the fun lamp, and couldn't wait to get started on making a shade.

See also:
- Laurie Notaro on Recipe Theft, Cheap Toilet Paper, and Not Being Invited to a Close Friend's Party on Facebook
- Laurie Notaro's Existential Showdown on Yelp
- Laurie Notaro's Five Reasons Why Haboobs Are Awesome

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PHX Craft Rave

​Forget the candy necklaces, glowsticks, and happy face pills -- this rave is all about the crafts.

Join hundreds of local creative-types on Saturday November 17 at Scottsdale Studios for the annual PHX Craft Rave -- 10 hours of make-and-take madness.

The event, hosted by Kathy Cano-Murillo, aka The Crafty Chica, and Cyndi Coon, of Laboratory 5, features how-to projects including glittered shrines, graffiti totes, needle felting, screen printing, paper arts and others, technique tips from local artists, and free crafting stations (as well as a few drool-worthy giveaways for the first 100 guests).

See also:
- Christine Lee Talks Process and Material in ASU's Crafting a Continuum Visiting Artist Series
- Maker Bench No Longer Available For Public Use, Owner David Uhlman Says Plans for Maker Faire are on Hold
- Rehabbing Furniture with Laurie Notaro (Episode Two)

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photo by: Larry Stanley

"folded creased woven" 2003 outdated phonebooks, steel

Artist and designer Christine Lee will give a talk at the ASU Art Museum this Tuesday evening as a part of ASU's Crafting a Continuum Visiting Artist Series. Lee works with salvaged materials to create sculptural installations that have been displayed across the United States.

We caught up with her to talk about her art practice and to get a sneak peak of some of the things she'll be addressing tomorrow night at ASU Art Museum.

See Also:
- Five Useful Apps for Visual Artists and Art Enthusiasts
- Cupcake Liners: No Longer Just For Baking

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