Things to Do in North Atlanta

Kathy Antar opened The Sewing Studio planning to provide sewing services for design professionals and event producers, but was soon flooded with phone calls and emails from people who simply wanted to know how to use their sewing machines. To meet that need, The Sewing Studio began to offer a selection of beginner, intermediate, and advanced sewing classes. During each 2.5-hour session, students learn how to thread machines, wind the bobbin, and practice various stitches using their own machines. In addition to classes, Kathy custom-designs furniture upholstery, bedding, and window coverings and supplies expert design-consultation services, which can transform a client's dream design into a tactile reality.

A menagerie of more than 500 pigment-free plaster pieces such as butterflies, animal figurines, tiny princesses, and popular cartoon characters awaits eager artists of all ages at Plaster Zone. Colorful paints and lustrous glazes enliven each objet d’art, whose decoration process may take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours depending on the size, detail, and any ongoing space-time entanglements. Unlike clay or ceramics, plaster does not need to be fired, and participants get to take their creations home immediately.

The studio hosts birthday parties in addition to its open painting hours that cater to 10-fold groups of children with cupcakes, juice, and their choice of plaster to paint, with shiny veneers of glaze and glitter available for a finish brighter than a Mensa-certified disco ball.

Game - Time - Sports' family of coaches have dedicated their time and energy to developing effective exercise habits in kids starting at a young age. Hosting summer camps and programs, they seek to develop motor skills within kids while incorporating sports. With programs designed for children aged 18 months to 10 years, each level is named after the goal it's trying to achieve, such as Introduce, Develop, and Refine. Every staff member is NAYS-, first aid-, and CPR-certified, ensuring that children and CPR mannequins can play safely. The staff also provides aftercare for $10 a day.

Artist and fashion designer Stuart McClean was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, where his lifelong devotion to creation began during childhood under the artistically trained eye of his mother. Today, after years of crisscrossing the United States, Stuart has left a multi-colored mark on Inman Park with the gallery that carries his name. Outfitted with a large collection of bright, feel-good pieces, including canvases, photography, and sculptures, the gallery reflects Stuart's Caribbean roots, alluring visitors to browse its vibrant gems amid an atmosphere that is warmer than a bear hug from a grizzly bear in a teddy-bear costume. Works from world-renowned artists snake along the walls and even lead to a second story, which is actually a dark, wooden balcony that wraps around the gallery and pours elevated views of the first floor into meandering eyes. In addition to general browsing, the gallery can also be rented out for weddings, parties, and fundraisers throughout the year.

Some people have earned a scholarship to a prestigious art academy, spent time outside a café in France with a canvas and portable easel, and were born with the ability to reflect their inner-torment with freeform splashes of acrylics. Some people just want to have a good time and paint. At Fine Art Parties, instructors cater to this second bunch with parties at their studio or in the client’s home furnished with blank 12"x16" canvases, wine, tea, and cheese for all. Taking inspiration from masters such as Warhol, Matisse, and Van Gogh, instructors lead guests through a simple three-step method that results in a framable work of art. In addition to their group events and private functions, the studio also hosts romantically themed couple painting parties, which take place under the starry night sky, and human body classes with live nude subjects or reanimated wax statues.

The sound of fans cheering the Atlanta Braves or the neon lights beaming from the nearby laser-tag course signals to guests entering Stars and Strikes' 55,000-square-foot facility that they are far from their neighborhood's bowling alley. At state-of-the-art bowling lanes, guests enjoy food and bar service while watching sporting events on large TVs. An adjacent room crisscrossed with a thicket of neon-green lasers joins a bumper-car arena where players raucously prepare for their workday commute. Complimenting the myriad activities and arcade with more than 100 games is a restaurant and bar boasting gourmet pub fare such as blackened-tilapia salads, popcorn-shrimp wraps, and green-bean fritters.