Summer Craft Classes- 2012

Summer Sewing and Jewelry Classes, sponsored by the St. Clair Aeronauts
Learn to modify and sew your own clothes and accessories!
Learn to design and draft your own patterns!
Learn how to make beautiful Jewelry!
Stay busy over the summer!

Sophia St. Clair will be offering beginning sewing and pattern drafting classes as well as jewelry design and construction classes this summer in her home. All classes are for beginners and intermediate crafters. No experience is necessary. Mrs. St. Clair also has sewing machines, jewelry pliers and other necessary sewing and jewelry making tools but there are only 4 places in each class. Classes are $10 - $20. Scholarships are available. Please inquire if you would like to apply for the St. Clair Crafters Scholarship. Students are responsible for purchasing materials like cloth, patterns, buttons, beads, clasps, wire and thread. A list of needed items will be given out before each class.


Two types of classes:

BROP- (Bring Your Own Project)- Know what you want, but don't know how to make it? Bring your materials and we will make it together. I can teach you how!

One Day Workshops- Look for one day workshops on making Bustles, Bloomers, Bags, Spats and more. Even more topics on demand. Tell me what you want and I'll make a class for it! Show up with your materials and go home with a finished piece.

Interested? Contact Sophia St. Clair to get on the mailing list, sign up for classes or find out more:

Stclairaeronauts@gmail.com
Stclairaeronauts.blogspot.com
925.787.2591

See examples of Sewing Projects HERE.

See examples of Jewelry Projects HERE.

See the St. Clair Aeronauts at the 2012 Maker Faire!

You too can meet Capt. St. Clair and his crew! Be a Part of History....Alternate History!


We will have a area in the San Mateo Maker Faire for the StClair Aeronauts Steampunk Airmail Delivery Service.

We'll have parchment paper and pen and ink. We'll have Airmail stamps circa 1883. We'll have envelope paper and envelope patterns (we'll even have a little glue!). And, of course, we will have our fearless crew of Delivery persons in Uniform to deliver your precious messages!

So come by, and write a letter to someone at the event. You can pen a criptic message, or start a short story in the middle of the action. Make your envelope, address it and add a stamp and we'll make every effort to deliver it that day.

You'll hear our crew wandering Maker Faire exclaiming. "Airmail, Airmail Delivery for...." Just imagine your own name there and take home a memento of the 2012 Maker Faire.

Or, if you don't care to write a letter, come sit in the parlor and watch the busy world go by and bustling airmail delivery persons go about their business... and be sure to bring your camera to snap some action shots with a few useful steampunk props and members of the crew!


See Pictures of the St. Clair Aeronauts in action HERE.

See Video of First Mate, Mrs. St.Clair HERE, HERE and HERE (about 2 minutes in)

Want to see some letters from our first event? Check out Letters written for the Sunnyvale Steampunk Convention, 2008 HERE.

Steampunk New Year's Eve Tea Party!

Join us for a Steampunk Tea Party at our house on New Years Eve.

All the fine china hot tea and baked goods (and finger sandwiches!) you can manage and some steampunk parlor games or readings or storytelling or crafts and so on to occupy us until Midnight and beyond.

We live in San Jose, so guests would need to make their way to the South Bay, but we could probably manage some crash space. We also have two indoor cats who are super friendly but shed.

What to Bring:


Yourself
Wayward Friends and Family
Any Small Children you belong to
Something stylish And Steampunky to wear
A Tea Cup
An iPod of music you enjoy
Party games you like to play (hey, we can even keep it Historical! Wink anyone?)
Any celebratory streamers/horns/hats/etc you have hanging around (or kidnap from Target, hehe),
A plate of your favorite finger sandwiches or other savories and an appetite for tea and cake.

We'll privide tea (Black, Green, White, Chai, Roobios, Herbal, Oolong, you name it... its in the Tea Cupboard) and china teapots, the cups and saucers we have and enough baked goods to sink Amsterdam.

When: 8pm, December 31st (7pm if you want to help decorate)

Where: 501 Raymond Ave, San Jose, CA 95128

RSVP Much Appreciated. Last minute attendees, Please don't hesitate to Join us!

As Always, everyone is welcome!

First Class!

Our first class will be next Sunday, September 25, at 1 pm in San Jose. Parking is tight so best carpool if you can. Please let me know if you are coming so that I have enough supplies (and I can send you detailed directions).

I made another batch of soap last night and this one went perfectly. We will have plenty of castille (olive oil) soap to play with for milling.

Feel free to bring your own additives (such as essential oils and pretty much any food-safe plant matter) next week and we can try them out. The essential oils and some additives (such as dried flowers) can also be used in the bath bombs.

Here is a website with soap ideas: http://www.crafterstouch.com/tip.aspx?tipid=31

See you next week!

Adventures at pH 14

Soapmaking is not as forgiving (or edible) as candymaking, which I learned/remembered tonight. I tried to make a little batch to play with for the Academy workshop in two weeks and things went really well and much faster than I remembered. So I poured it all into the mold immediately.

whoops

Now I have a batch of "well, let's see what we end up with" instead of a batch of soap. Ah, well. There always tomorrow night.

And clean up will be much easier (if less yummy) than for candymaking.

Sometimes you don't know what you know. And sometimes you don't know that you don't know what you think you know. So practice first.

St. Clair's Academy for Incorrigible Hoydens

My Fellow Aeronauts,

Recent travels on the Continent (the little European one) have led us to conclude that our Educational Horizons need broadening so we have established St Clair's Academy for Incorrigible Hoydens.

A Hoyden is defined as High-Spirited, Boisterous, and/or Saucy. We do not require that an Aspiring Hoyden be a Lady, or even Female, for that matter, just Incorrigible.

This Academy's purpose is to gather persons with Desirable Skills and set them to sharing said skills. We plan to meet at an Aspiring Hoyden's home for an afternoon to learn a trio of skills.

Students contribute a small tuition ($5 to cover materials and/or refreshments).

We will try to keep our Lesson Trios in line with our Steampunk values of Artifex, Soluta, Letalis (Creative, Independent, Lethal).

Topics currently planned are:

Soap-milling (How to Make "Anything" Soap, creative), Cold Process Soap-making (or Fun with Oils and Caustic Lye, independent), and Bath Bombs (lethal) in San Jose on September 25.

Some sort of Mod skills so that my Nook Color doesn't stick out at Nova Albion for October 23 (details are vague at present; suggestions or volunteers are welcome/desperately needed!)

Paper Gift Boxes (creative), Candied Citrus and Ginger (independent), and Chocolate Truffles (lethal) on November 20

The Hoyden Academy Team

Artifex, Soluta, Letalis

St. Clair Aeronauts Picnic at San Gregorio Beach 7/3

Our Westercon Plans fell through, but that is no sadness when there is a sunny beach to enjoy. Join us Sunday for a steampunk beach picnic and photoshoot. Wear your favorite steampunk beach attire and prepare for a charming interlude at the sea, snapping period pics and eating tea and sandwiches!

When: Sunday, July 3rd noon - 4pm
Where: San Gregorio State Beach

What to Bring:

Friends and loved ones
Small children if you have them
Steampunk Inspired Beach Wear
A hat or parasol (we expect sunny weather in the 70's)
A blanket or beach chair to sit on
A towel in case you get your feet wet
A camera to snap period pics
Props for fun vignettes
Beach toys for building castles in the sand
Flowy scarves (it will probably be windy)
Goggles so we know you you are
A picnic lunch
A thermous of tea and your favorite tea cup
Something to share

As always, everyone is welcome!