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Crafty Frog offers place to get art fix

The creative arts studio in Clearwater opened in November, offering classes to all ages.

CLEARWATER - When Michelle Vick decided to give up her career as a graphic artist and stay at home with her two children, she found a new direction for her talent.

"Whenever the neighborhood kids would come over to play, I would give them supplies and a craft to do," she said. "Next thing I knew I was having art classes at my house."

Now that her children are school age, she has taken the art classes one step further by creating a business.

"I thought, wouldn't it be great to have a place to take your kids, a place where they can make a mess and you don't have to worry about cleaning up for dinnertime?" she said.

The Crafty Frog opened Thanksgiving week at the Time Plaza at 1969 Sunset Point Road, Clearwater. The walk-in creative arts studio offers classes in more than 20 different media for all ages, as well as birthday parties, guest artists and special art events.

On Saturdays and Sundays, the studio is open for children whose parents need to run an errand or go to the grocery store. A special craft is planned and the cost of the project ranges from $4 to $6 for each child. "My thing is to give parents a break and keep the kids busy," Mrs. Vick said.

Tuesday mornings are devoted to projects for children ages 2 to 5 and their mothers. Cost is $4 to $5 a person. Ladies Nite is Wednesday evenings and is for adults only. The 5 to 7 p.m. event includes food, a drink and a craft for $10 to $25 a person, depending on the cost of the craft. The Crafty Frog also is open from 2 to 6 p.m. for children's after-school projects. The classes are from one to two hours and include beading, puppets, noodle art, magnets, scrapbooking, mosaics, decoupage, fabric painting and painting on porcelain and wood.

The 35-year-old Florida native said she invested about $20,000 in furnishings and supplies to open the new business.

"The holidays were a rough time to start, but it's going good," she said. "Weekends have been the busiest."