Loved the place. The couple who owns this place should be proud to have a place that has things…read moreorganized so well. The staff was attentive and was helpful in explaining where things were. We felt welcomed as first timers. We got several different kinds of fabrics and a sewing machine shaped brooch. My mom's creative juice is now unstoppable thanks to this awesome gem!

There was such a wide selection of fabrics and notions! We received such good assistance from the…read morestaff, too.

We had the most amazing time with Shaun and Whitney making cutting boards! Five person adventure…read morecrew exploring local activities, which led us to Shaun Boyd's shop, and we couldn't be happier with our experience! With varying backgrounds of power tool use, from "seen 'em on TV" to "tried before and tossed the project," Shaun used his expansive knowledge to guide our creativity into beautiful works of culinary art! Having a group of adventurous friends probably enhances the fun of the experience, but my husband and I will definitely go back for another workshop! So don't hesitate on visiting Shaun! He's amazingly talented at his craft, and a great teacher to boot!

Cutting Board Class FTW! As planning adult outings goes, it can be hard to find something not…read moreexclusively alcohol focused to do with your adult friends. Well, I'd like to introduce you to a great alternative activity: take a woodworking class with Shaun! Our group of 5 had a blast designing and making cutting boards from scratch under Shaun's expert guidance. He took his time to explain each step, and provided a perfect mix of safety practices and hands-on experience with each new technique. Power tools: check! Doing something unique and creative: check! Wrapping up the day with a gorgeous completely custom (and functional) "souvenir" you can brag about to your other friends: check! If you have 4-6 people who like to be a bit goofy and try new things, definitely give Shaun a call and set up a private event. Or if you want to make new friends, sign up for one of the scheduled classes on your own. Either way, you'll leave with a completely original piece and great memories!

Cristi and Art Spot are so great! I am an SYV local but had never been to Grimm's Bluff so jumped…read moreat the chance to do a painting in the vineyard event for a little introduction. Grimm's Bluff is stunning with so many fantastic sites to paint. Art Spot chose their private lake with the mountains and a bit of Cachuma Lake (Cristi joked about it being a unique painting in the vineyard experience to not actually paint vines!). Stunning scene. But before we proceeded to our painting location, we enjoyed sampling a bit of rose and estate sage honey and olive oil, with a little primer about Grimm's Bluff. I had persuaded a friend to join and had told her that I had done a watercolor class at Kaena, where the scene was penciled in and we were instructed on how to mix paints and water and layer in the paint, but it was easy and fun - almost like a paint by numbers with a good glass of wine. So when we got to our painting spot, I was surprised and somewhat intimidated to see completely blank canvases on easels with a few globs of acrylic paint! But Cristi is a great instructor and leader, and made the experience so fun and comfortable (the liquid courage from Grimm's Bluff didn't hurt, either). She gave us detailed tips on color mixing, which brushes to use, and how to just jump in and start. She had an easel up front and led the way, showing us on her canvas what to do. It was a blast and each one of us produced surprisingly passable if not beautiful little canvases - each unique in its own way. I highly recommend Art Spot. I have zero training or natural ability but with Cristi's guidance, now have two cute little paintings (including my Kaena watercolor). There is no reason to be fearful or intimidated- Cristi makes it so anyone can pick up a brush and release their secret inner artist. It is a lovely activity to do with friends on a gorgeous SYV day.

I can't believe we did a painting in 2 hours. My husband, daughter and parents were amazed when I…read moreshowed them my masterpieces. The weekend events are amazing! The scenery is beautiful, the drinks (wine/lavender lemonade) are delicious, and the act of painting is fun and peaceful. Christi is kind and patient, and is a wonderful teacher. In our summer in Santa Barbara, the painting in the wineries is my favorite memory.

Back for another round. When I told them we were coming back to Solvang they said they had to come…read moreback. We were waiting at the door when they opened. My son just started painting and immediately asked when we were coming back again.

I took two girls, aged 16 and 9 yesterday to make a craft and avoid the rain. They had the best…read moretime. The shop has tons of things to make your craft unique from paint to stickers, Pom Pom, ribbons etc. There were lots of different types of items to adorn and one chose a lightening bolt and the other a wiggly snake. The shop is priced fairly - you pay for the item you are buying to create and $15 studio fee. The woman working there grew up in Solvang and gave us good recommendations while helping the girls find what they needed.

The Mosaic floral arrangements that I have seen here are some of the best in the United States. I…read morehave bought numerous pieces from this artist and will continue.

What an amazing workshop! We learned a lot of skills and tricks while creating a sculpture using…read morestyrofoam and cement. The teachers and artists, Fred and Donnell, were fantastic. I loved this class so much and I'm definitely planning on attending another one of their events in the future.

Discovered this gem through a LivingSocial offer: BYOB mixed media arts class for two for $55…read more Booking: Due to the demand for such a unique class and the typical size of classes (4-8 people), you'll want to book 2-3 weeks in advance. I called in early January and booked a class for the last Friday of the month (about 2.5 weeks out). The Location: Nice, quiet neighborhood tucked in the hills off the 192. She's at the end of a cul-de-sac, so there is a good amount of street parking. You walk down a long driveway, take some stairs down into the hillside, and then you enter LeAnne's adorable and intimate art studio. There's a canopy overhead made from yards of fabric loosely draped over tree branches. Two little tents house vintage aprons to protect your clothes, LeAnne's own artwork examples, drawers full of arts supplies, and more. There's a cute little wicker patio furniture set off to the side, next to the rabbit cage. And everything is lit by strings of twinkling lights. Wonderful atmosphere to get the creative juices flowing! The Group & the BYOB aspect: I went with a coworker, and we were joined by a couple. There was supposed to be another couple coming, but they cancelled. Personally, I was pleased with the small size of our group, because it facilitated great conversations and we all really opened up to one another! My friend and I brought our own beer and some cheese and crackers. The other couple brought wine and cheese as well. Highly recommend bringing a good array of treats to snack on while you work; it makes the whole thing seem like a fun weekend gathering among good friends. The Experience: The class is listed as a 2.5 hour class. We stayed from 6pm to nearly 10pm. We got so into our artwork and our conversations, and everyone was having such a great time, I had no idea we had been there so long! LeAnne was amazingly patient and never rushed anything, always allowing us to take as much time as we wanted on each layer of our artwork, and really encouraging both our art and our conversations to develop and grow organically. Her instructions were the perfect balance: enough guidance and suggestions that I didn't feel totally lost, but without strict boundaries, gently pushing me to take creative risks and explore. Not only was the art process itself a great experience, we had a great time getting to know the other couple in our group. I feel like this is the type of class you could make some great friends in! Recommendations: 1. You do have an apron, but you should still wear clothes you wouldn't mind getting paint on! I made the mistake of coming straight from work and almost ruined a pair of nice work pants... (my coworker saved them though!) 2. Bring snacks! If it wasn't for the second group, our snacks would have been long gone early on. 3. Bring a plastic bag or a tarp to put your painting on when you drive home! You put a lot of layers of media on your canvas, and it may not be dry when you leave. All in all, I'm incredibly happy I stumbled upon this LivingSocial deal. I would go back for another session in a heartbeat, and I highly recommend it to friends, couples, anyone at all. There's nothing else like it in the Santa Barbara area, and it's an experience worth trying at least once. Even if you don't think you're creative! You will make a masterpiece, and it will be associated with a great night.

The whole event was great but the towards the end when it came down to pay most of my groups of…read morefriends had groupons and the owner seemed very irritated like as if she didn't want us to use them.

A memorable experience seeing a danish home and see how Solvang was built. The family that lived…read morethere had a lot of traditional exterior and interior and items which was cool to experience for a low price of $5/person. The employee was super awesome explaining the history of the home. In the outside shed, it contained the solvang in the early days of 1920s or 1940s. Look for the little danish rubber ducky throughout the rooms. I really enjoyed the historical items in the home and architecture style

Great little museum with so much history! The Elverhøj Museum & Art Gallery offers a fascinating…read morelook into Danish immigrant history. Walking through the rooms and seeing how people lived back then was incredibly interesting and well done. We also played the Hidden Gems Garden & Patio game, which made the visit even more fun we found all the gems and even got a prize! Such a nice interactive touch, especially if you're visiting with family. Admission is only $5 per person, parking is free, and the experience is totally worth it. We learned a lot and truly enjoyed our time here. Highly recommend if you love history, culture, and charming local museums. Great customer service.

The Sacred Space in Summerland is such a beautiful and calming place. The moment you walk in,…read moreeverything smells amazing and the atmosphere feels peaceful and grounding. There are so many lovely areas to sit, relax, and just appreciate nature and the energy around you. The entire space feels thoughtfully designed for calm and reflection. Everyone we encountered was very friendly, and the crystal selection was absolutely beautiful. A perfect spot if you want to slow down and recharge for a while.

What a beautiful space with such an array of wonderful things to support your wellbeing. We walked…read morethrough the space and enjoyed the beauty and peace of the landscaping and decor. We also went home with a few items to cleanse our aura. The variety of books, crystals, and fragrances made it hard to choose. The staff were so kind throughout our visit. We will definitely be back again!

Signed up for a hand-built bowl making workshop and loved every bit of it. Our instructor was Elise…read moreArnold and she did a great job teaching us the basics and sharing many techniques and tips along the way! She had a lot of options for us with regard to the shapes we wanted to build. The price point is decent - although a bit on the pricier side, but so is everything in SB/Goleta! :) Would highly recommend this place to anyone wanting to try hand-building/pottery. I'm definitely going back there.

I watched too much Great Pottery Throw Down and had to give it a whirl, but where? Fortunately, I…read moreencountered this really amazing resource in Santa Barbara. They have pottery wheels, benches, glazes and kilns plus classes and workshops so you can learn how to do pottery. It is harder than it looks but worth the effort. I can finally center my clay! Yay, I got it, my second time through a Wheel I class. You need to try things a few times to get them, at least I do. I big thanks to Jared for his teaching. Now on to opening the clay . . . learning could take a while. Still, if you have any interest in pottery, you are lucky to live in Santa Barbara. As for the workshops, we tried the Raku Workshop and it was awesome. I don't think you can go too far wrong with that as you don't have to make the bisqueware. Listen to me using pottery lingo. Anyway, you can buy a pot to glaze and the Raku drama is available. So fun!