Aerie Lane: A Gathering & Crafting Experience

Hello! I'm excited to share my latest adventure in the blog world, and I do count it all as an adventure...from scoring fabulous deals at my favorite stores, being a guinea pig for live mineral sachets you add to your water, testing out a 5 Step Korean skincare routine, or finding new people to share my free cupcakes with. I never tire of trying new products, new clothing or having new experiences!

And today's featured adventure was completely out of my comfort zone! Did you see the word "craft" in the picture above?? When I see the word "craft" it sends a message to my brain to cease and desist with reminders of failed crafts of the past. Then, what am I doing featuring such a venture you ask?

Well I'm so glad you asked. You know the saying, "it's who you know"? It's often true and it's how I stumbled onto this venture for a day.

Meet Cathy and Emily, both of whom I've met around town at school or Bible study. Cathy is a wife, mom and has been her own boss with My 31 for years. Emily is also a wife and mom. She has an interior design degree, but has been helping her husband in his business for sometime now.  They recently opened the charming Aerie Lane in Buford, GA. You should ask them how they joined forces to start this business. It's a great story!

Anyway, one of them mentioned a possible blog feature while interacting on Facebook.

Once again the movie of failed crafts played through my mind and I blurted out each botched craft to Emily over the phone.

She wasn't concerned in the least, so I asked an important question.

Me: Well, what is Aerie Lane exactly? Is it just crafting?

Emily: No. Aerie Lane is a gathering experience where you can paint, create, shop our boutique and laugh with your friends. Or you can get away for a couple of hours and go solo. There's classes for water color painting and hand lettering. You can rent our space for a business or organization meeting, etc. You can bring your own board, sign, ect and use our supplies to create. All levels of crafter are welcome. 

Ok. My interest was piqued.

We set a date and I was surprisingly excited about my upcoming craft experience at Aerie Lane.

Arrive at the Shop

After making a few stories for IG from my office - the minivan, I finally walked through the doors of Aerie Lane. Everything was so beautifully decorated. I paused to take it all in. Music played quietly in the background and candles filled the space with a pleasant aroma.

Emily was already waiting for me behind the counter, but before we began I slowly walked around the room to see each sign and detail.

Antiques and hand painted signs or handmade creations lined the walls...

I admired the shabby chic vibe and felt like Joanna Gaines was going to walk in at any moment, with Chip in tow.  The world was outside, but I was in Aerie Lane.

I walked around their boutique and admired the hand painted prints for sale.

I smiled as I read the witty script imprinted on trendy tees.

Then I walked over to a small section feature boutique style clothing, which you know I love! I'll take one of each please. ;)

Let's Get Started: Project: Framed Sign

Once I familiarized myself with the spacious room, I told Emily I was ready to get started on my creation. Over the phone I asked Emily to surprise me with some stencil options. Her picks were perfect and I struggled to choose just one...

After I finally decided on a stencil, Emily directed me to their fun color selection process...wooden spoons, beautifully arranged in glass jars..

As this was my first go round, I opted for a subtle color palette and went with grey, off white and a brown stain.

Time to start!

Brush on the stain and then wipe it with a rag.

Emily walked me through each step, providing as little or as much guidance as I desired.

I was beginning to have fun. With the stress of how to make it happen removed, I just enjoyed the relaxing experience of doing something creative with my hands. Meanwhile Emily told me stories of patrons coming in on their own and leaving with new connections from other women doing the same at the "craft bar".

I could clearly hear her passion about the value of connecting with others, whether it be on a girl's night out or meeting for the first time. She explained how crafting is a great vehicle for people to disconnect from their electronics and find community. And Aerie Lane offers all kinds of workshop categories to encourage the gathering.

A few words about the Craft Bar from their website...

Aerie Lane's Top 5 Reasons to Craft Bar...

1. Friends don't let friends craft at home...alone
2. It's like a crafter's support group
3. Our Kits on the Go cure your DIY creative block
4. Because sometimes friends need to meet at the bar
5. It's a stress free zone

While the board dries, stain the frame...

With the frame complete, I returned to my board to apply the stencil.

Emily instructed me to add mod-podge to the stencil. She explained that it helped the pain adhere better.  Then I painted my final color over the letterings.

The time flew by and before I knew it it was time to remove the stencils and nail the board and frame together. Emily pulled out her nail gun and went to work putting the right amount nails into my board, while explaining how she and her husband make all the boards for the shop! I was so impressed.

I couldn't believe how pretty my sign turned out!!

We played around with different ways to capture how this board would look in a variety of locations...

On the table. :)

Did I really paint this??

Oh yes I did!!

...on the mantle...

Sitting on an antiqued ladder. Like I said, we were having fun!

I played around in Aerie Lane for 2 hours and didn't even notice the time pass. Emily explained that group gatherings require about 3 hours. You know how we are when we get together!! :) I would love to do one of their porch signs and want to plan a girl's night out.

As I drove home, I realized that Emily was right about crafting as a vehicle to temporarily disconnect from electronics or other draining life factors and CONNECT in refreshing community. I left feeling light hearted from our conversation AND I had a sense of accomplishment as I glanced proudly at my framed sign.

Of course Aerie Lane is local to me, but I've learned that there's several locations. Do you have one in your area?

I would recommend visiting their shop to look around their boutique. Most of their signs and antiques are for sale. They also have jewelry, soaps, candles etc for sale.

Examples of other pieces you could do:

Rustic Centerpieces

Monogram Welcome Pallet

Porch Welcome Sign

To see more examples of offered projects go HERE.
To see a full listing of what what Aerie Lane of Buford has to offer, go here.
Want to book a private event for girl's nights, birthday gatherings, kid's craft and more?? Click here.
Want to try one of their workshops for porch signs, wall signs, pillows, etc? Click here.

What a wonderful day and experience this proved to be and I can't wait to find a home for the sign that I painted and LOVE!

Oh! And of course I left Emily with a cupcake. ;)

Chrissy

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