Art Star Recap

It has been quite rainy here in Philadelphia the past couple days, and it promises to keep being rainy for a few more. Luckily, the pups and I have enough work to keep us busy indoors.

The Art Star Craft Bazaar this past weekend was wonderful as always despite the rain. A rainy Saturday proved who the diehard craft fair shoppers were. All of them walking around with their ponchos, rain boots and umbrellas. Nothing could stand in their way when it came to bringing handmade goodness home!

Here are a few photos of my booth setup as it looked on Saturday before I had to put my walls up. I forgot to take photos again on Sunday. I like to set my booth up a little bit different each time I do a craft fair. Since I am still relatively new to doing craft fairs I am still trying to figure out what looks best and what sort of displays people seem to respond to more. I think I have finally started getting most things right. I am still figuring out how to display my aprons and scarves though. They can be a bit tough.

Now that Art Star is over I have to play catch up and make sure I steadily put all of the inventory on my etsy shop. So while I might not be sewing and working like I'm competing in a crafty marathon anymore, I still have my work cut out for me when it comes to making sure my items get to go to new homes.

My mom and dad had a good time wandering around the Bazaar and picked up this lovely packet of fat quarter fabric pieces for me from Sara Lee Parker. Her print designs are beautiful and of course I had a textile geek moment where I just stared at the fabrics in awe of her impeccable printing and beautiful line quality.

I especially like the print with pups on it. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before. I am very excited to use these fabrics to make something special. I am not sure exactly what that is yet, but when I figure it out I know I will share it with you all here!

This weekend when it wasn't raining it was busy, and when it wasn't busy, it was raining, so I did not really get to walk around and check out the other vendors until about 5:30 on Sunday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to check everything out right? So I ended up not being able to do the shopping I was hoping to do, but I got to chat with some other lovely vendors and I encourage you to go check out their shops!

I talked vintage fabric with Gretchen Miller of Dahling Accessories. Her purses are beautiful and I swooned over this lovely blue clutch made from a vintage blue ditsy floral fabric. Too cute!

I got to chatting with Caitlin Phillips of Rebound Designs. She makes these amazing purses from old books with beautiful covers. Since she always keeps the inner pages, she is constantly looking for people to use them and graciously offered to send me some to use in my cut paper pieces.

Rebecca Harkin of Chirp and Bloom took some lovely photos of the banners in my booth set up and featured them on her blog Threads and Snippets! I love her use of vintage fabrics and I was drooling over photos in her blog from a trip she took antiquing. I am sure you will see why when you go check it out!

So while it may have been rainy, it was still a good time all around. I got a few offers from local shops who want to carry my items and I was happy to see some of my favourite items find new homes. The rest of my inventory will be posted on my etsy shop as the week continues, so keep an eye out for some of the new lines of products I have been busily working on and be sure to let me know what you think!

Sneak Peek at Art Star Craft Bazaar Items!

Shhh! Don't tell anyone my dear readers, but I am going to give you a sneak peek at some of the items I am bringing to the Art Star Craft Bazaar this weekend! I am very excited to be debuting some new products there and I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I have enjoyed making them!

Remember, if you are in the Philadelphia area this weekend to check out the Art Star Craft Bazaar. It is on the 14th and 15th from 11-6 on Penn's Landing. There are over 100 wonderful vendors and you are sure to go home with something fantastic, even if you are on a budget!

Here are some of the vendors I am excited to check out:

- PidgePidge - http://www.etsy.com/shop/pidgepidge I am a sucker for a good hand woven scarf. I can't wait to see all the beautiful colors and textures!

- Chez Sucre Chez - http://chezsucrechez.com/ Beautiful cross stitch work. I have admired their booth at a few craft fairs, and I think think this time I will go home with a piece from them and maybe even one of their kits so I can try it myself.

- Hello Bluebird - http://hellobluebird.net/ They are actually a store from West Reading, Pa and their booth always looks fantastic. So many wonderful artists and pieces to choose from! I bought a print from them last year, and I think I will probably walk away with something from them this year too!

- Twig Terrariums - http://twigterrariums.com/ I have the opposite of a green thumb. The other week I thought I accidently killed the small succulents I have. It would be funny if I were joking but sadly it is true. That being said, I still love greenery, plants and little bits of life that you can place on a desk, bookshelf or anywhere else that might need a little brightening up. I am really interested in seeing what Twig Terrariums has to offer and maybe if I am feeling brave and up to the challenge of more plants then I will be bringing a wee terrarium home with me.

That's all for now kiddies! I will be back on Sunday night or Monday with photos of my booth set-up and of course photos of the items that found their way home with me! Hope you enjoy your weekend no matter where you are, and if you have the time, please do an anti-rain dance for us here in Philly this weekend! It's looking a bit stormy...

Recipe for a Puppy Spring Surprise Salad

I have been keeping myself more than a little busy with preparing for the Art Star Craft Bazaar this weekend. So in lieu of a blog post from me, my pups have put together a post on their current favourite spring snack. I guess we will just call it the Puppy Spring Surprise Salad. Mostly because I am still surprised that they eat this sort of thing...

You will need:

- A handful of maple tree seeds. (You know, the crunchy helicopter kind)

- A pinch of onion grass (The smellier the better)

- The heads of 3 dandelions (for a garnish of color)

- A cup of clovers (for good luck)

- A smidgeon of regular grass (for texture and nutrients)

Toss all ingredients together until well blended. Season with some dirt to taste and add a few bugs if you are in the mood for a more exotic tasting salad. Serve outdoors in a free range manner. Serves two small pups. Mieze and Biene recommend doubling the recipe if you expect company.

I am not even remotely kidding when I say that my dogs eat these things every time I take them outside. I have looked up what it means when dogs eat this much greenery and usually it just means that they are about to be sick. My pups never get to that point, and yet they still keep eating these things. I would venture a guess that they are vegetarians, but the way they lick their chops when we are grilling chicken tells me otherwise.

I would complain about their affinity for these things, but I know that as soon as it gets colder again they will just start trying to eat the leaves that fall off the trees. When it snows they will try and eat their weight in snow. To my dogs, the outdoors is like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, everything is edible.

One Week Until the Art Star Craft Bazaar!

For the past couple weeks I have been working on some new and lovely items for the Art Star Craft Bazaar on May 14th and 15th here in good old Philadelphia. This will be my second year as a vendor and I am very excited to be a part of it once again. It continues to be my favourite craft fair not only as a seller, but as a buyer as well. I get a pretty good haul of items every year there, and I am looking forward to the hand made goodies that will be making their way home with me this year.

Here is a sneak peak at one of the items I have been working on to sell at the bazaar. I've been making some tea cup pin cushions and this is one that I dropped off at Art Star yesterday for their raffle. So make sure if you stop by the craft bazaar next weekend, that you take a chance on some of the fantastic hand made items that myself and other vendors have donated!

Just look at that strawberry button, how could you deny yourself the pleasure of having a pin cushion with a strawberry button on it? I know I couldn't. I am making a couple others with the strawberry buttons since they are so adorable. The rest of them have vintage buttons and all are made from old tea cups and repurposed fabrics. Giving an item a new lease on life never looked cuter! If only I had the space in my sewing area to accommodate as many cute pin cushions as my heart desired. *swoon*