As part of our Christmas celebrations at work, my coworkers and I attended a craft workshop at a local craft workshop / retail business! They had just opened recently, so it was really fun to explore the space and see what they brought to the community.

• 100mm Plastic Spheroid Ornament
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrush

Pattern by Ali at Love to Draw Things

The night’s craft was pretty straightforward, as we were painting gnomes onto clear plastic Christmas ornaments. We were provided with the supplies and a tutorial on how to draw a cute gnome, along with a bonus wooden ornament for us to practice on. Pro tip: If you think you made a mistake with the acrylic paint on plastic, you can always scratch off the error by using your nails or something else sharp! That was definitely a lifesaver for me as I tackled my gnome. While I like to think of myself as creative, I’ve always struggled with drawing and painting. However, I genuinely believe that the point of a group craft workshop is just to have fun and support each other! There shouldn’t be any pressure on the appearance of the final product.

As you can tell, my gnome is far from being the cutest thing out there. In fact, the whole night I kept joking with my co-workers that my gnome looks ready to throw down! He looks like a boxer getting ready to enter the ring with his hood up, which was not my intention, but I’ll take it anyways. It was fun to see everyone put their own spin on the same concept, especially when it came to the beards! Some looked swirly, others fluffy, but all were adorable in their own way!

I think the space at The Hive Creative Collective is really cute, as there is a store area for local vendors / makers, along with big tables for group workshops. I will say that the instruction-style is fairly hands-off, so if you prefer step-by-step tutorials, this might not be the venue for you. However, if you feel ready to flex your creativity in new mediums, this is a low pressure way to do it in good company!

I’ve always known that I’m a sucker for group workshops and craft nights, so I will probably be back at the Hive again. It’s funny, when I was in Edmonton, I always wanted to go to the punch needle or weaving classes at Fern’s School of Textile Crafts or Gather Textiles, but kept hesitating on the price tag. I think if I have opportunities like that again, I’ll jump at the opportunity, regardless of the cost, because I know that the atmosphere and teacher expertise is invaluable.

Until next time, happy crafting!