Re:Make 2014

September 13, 2014

One summer's day, I checked my email and one message in particular caught my eye. I almost deleted it, but something about it drew me to read the whole message. It was about a free DIY/crafts convention event in San Francisco called Re:Make by the company Brit+Co., and did I say everything about it was free? So of course I had to go. Check out some of the things I crafted, as well as my incredible stops in SF after Re:Make!

Photo credits of me: Sister and Dad

Finding the actual venue was confusing and frustrating, but it was worth the struggle. The whole event was amazing and I wish we could have stayed the whole duration of the event, but I was running against time constraints (and the price of parking...). We arrived an hour after the event was scheduled to start, and people were just trickling in, so the venue was still fairly crowd-less. The first thing we saw was the paint-by-numbers mural on the wall of the Golden Gate Bridge and decided to contribute to that collaborative artwork. Then my sister and I headed to the closest crafts table to the entrance, which was for decorating buckets with simple household materials.  

As I was creating my bucket, I kept looking around me to scope out what else was going on (I had several booths I wanted to check out, according to the list of crafts/booths on the website I had been researching for the past week). I decided to try to find where my dad had headed off to, and found him in line in front of what I found out to be a laser cutter. He was actually getting a dog tag with his name lasered into it, so of course I had to get in line for one too. 

While waiting for the dog tag to be made, I attempted to find my sister (as the crowds increased by that time), and found her among the DIY vases. By that time, I was incredibly overwhelmed by the tables upon tables of crafting booths and endless supply of craft materials to DIY anything and everything I could lay my hands on- it was a crafter's paradise. I also DIY'd some coasters in that area as well.

I picked up my finished laser-cut dog tag and then the three of us headed over to another crafting table to make put icing on our own cookies. Sadly, my cookie kept falling off my stick and after painstakingly (not really) icing my cookie, it fell off and smeared on my hand :( It's ok, the cookie was still edible. By this time we had so much stuff to carry around, we decided to go to the car and drop things off so our hands could be free for the rest of the crafts that were waiting for us.

Tank top: J. Crew (thrifted) || Button up: Old Navy || Jeans: Urban Outfitters || Sandals: Birkenstocks || Necklaces: museum, festival

We walk back in, and we see R2-D2, so of course we had to get a photo! Brings back childhood memories of taking out the Star Wars VHS tapes and watching them with my dad. 

I also remembering seeing "plants" on the list, so I searched for that booth straight away, and I got my hands on my own mini air plant!

We then finally ventured into the stalls area where vendors, crafters, and artists were selling their products and providing craft activities as well. A big name company we saw was Izze, a fizzy drink, and they provided a tote bag craft.

I hate blank canvases, because it takes me forever to choose from the infinite possibilities, so I kept it simple with my initial.

This booth was fascinating to me. It was about sharing the knowledge of circuits to children and making it accessible to them in a simple, easy way to play with in the form of circuit stickers and batteries. You would place the circuit stickers on a path, and have one end attached to one battery, and the other to another battery, and have the batteries touch. Once they touch, it would complete the circuit and light up the mini light placed in the middle of the circuit. Simple concept in a simple format for children to handle.

There were so many other crafts and activities I wanted to complete, but alas, our time was up and we had to leave (ugh and Kandee Johnson was supposedly there with a booth as well because she was there a day before to speak at a panel, but I couldn't find her). But I definitely rediscovered my passion for crafts, and it was an amazing feeling being surrounded by people who care so much for this form of creativity. I never realized how serious people take their crafts, and it was amazing to see what people did with it professionally. 

After all that DIY crafty business, my dad and sister decided to take that day in SF as an opportunity to explore the non-conventional SF spots. We immediately thought of visiting the Mrs. Doubtfire house since Robin Williams had recently passed away at the time. It was an adventure just climbing up the steep hills to the house, but even more breathtaking was arriving at the house.

You immediately knew it was special because right in front, you could see two tree plots covered with rocks full of written condolences, as well as chalked condolences on the sidewalk an driveway. Seeing all the messages from people all over the world was amazing and beautiful for the talented actor that I grew up and enjoyed watching from childhood until today. 

After that visit, we decided to track down the Full House home. After some quick research, we found out this home was in the opening credits of the show, but not the one the filmed the interiors (which was actually a studio in L.A.). We knew it was the right house (despite the newly painted color) because there was another group of teen girls who came to take photos too, and were talking about the cast. 

After that trip down memory lane, we went to one of the typical tourist spots in SF, downtown. We mainly stayed within the Westfield mall and just strolled through.  

I definitely recommend Buddha's Blend from David's Tea! It has a beautiful, fruity, almost floral aroma that even my housemates love!

This day was a great summer day with family (unfortunately Mom had work that day :((( ), and as I type this extremely late blog post, I am yearning for finals to end so I can enjoy my winter break. Stay tuned for my winter posts, because I can assure you I'll be traveling to plenty of places that I plan to share with you all!