What A Funky Time

Yesterday I got up bright and early and packed my car to head to the Everson Museum for the 3rd Funky Flea. By 8:30 we were finally parked (after circling the block twice) and unloading. I managed to get my tent fixed, so I was able to finally use for a show! I put the bent side at the back so hopefully it wasn't noticeable.

I was a little worried about the weather, but other than a few blustery gusts of wind, it was fantastic all day. There was a great crowd of people, both customers and other vendors I got to chat with.

It was a little different being able to set up TWO tables, since I've been so used to the limited space at the Indie Garage Sale. I almost didn't know where to put things - and I realized I really need to do some work on my display. There are two other shows I applied to for this year and they are also bigger sized booths, so  coming up with new ideas will keep me busy.

I loved that the event was at the Everson. Such a great location - 

There was a good mix of vendors selling vintage items, artwork, and other handmade crafts - I'm always tempted to buy so much, but this time I managed to keep my spending pretty low - I got a dress for little M from Sleevescape, and 2 silver trays from a booth 2 spots down from me.

The food vendors were fantastic - Darwin had the BEST turkey clubs, and Roji Tea Lounge  had some delicious libations to enjoy.

 In closing, here are some more photos of my booth -

Did you go to the Funky Flea? What did you think? What did you buy? I'd love to hear. Also, any suggestions for my booth layout are more than welcome.

Stay Funky

2012 Shop Goals

Recently I posted on my facebook page that I had completed one of my shop goals for the year by submitting one of my pieces to a contest. I figured I'd share some of the others with you too:

1. Make an awesome chainmaille belt (for me, first, then possibly production pieces)
2. Create a website - I've been thinking lately of doing a stand alone site instead of using Etsy
3. Start and finish a "picture a day" project - maybe a weave a day? or whatever it is I make?
4. Blog at least once a week (ok - this one leaves much to be desired, but I'm working on it)
5. Take a class
6. Teach a class
7. Do 4-5 shows/year
8. Attend a workshop
9. Work on creating "my brand"
10. Enter at least 1 competition/contest
11. Create a brochure/catalog for my jewelry

(Italics are items in progress)

I've got a few new items in the works, and a giveaway idea or two, so stay tuned! I'm on facebook regularly, and you can also find me on Twitter if you ever have any questions. I'd love to hear from you.

Small Victories

Remember the state of my workbench that I shared with you last time?

Well, here's what it looks like now - 

(Forgive the poor quality cell phone pic)

Granted, at the moment it's only because I have shows the next two weekends, so I had to clean the table to take it with me. I'll take my wins where I can get them.

This also means I'll have a clean slate when I get back to business! I'm planning to reorganize this room anyways, so it's helpful that the big stuff will be moved out of my way. I love a good spring cleaning, and I've had a very bad case of cabin fever for a while now.

I'm plugging away on last minute details for the Indie Garage Sale, but I hope to be all finished by friday when I pack my car and head out to happy valley. If you're in the area I hope to see you there!

Photo from Indie Garage Sale

Tuesday How To : Simple Bound Notebooks

This is a trick I learned when I was in college and we had to hand in a multi-page collection of floor plans and drawings. I did it here to make a covered notepad to give to my nephew.

SUPPLIES:

• Cardstock / Paper for cover
• Inner pages / stuff you want to cover
• Stapler

Gather your pages you want to cover. You'll need to cut the card stock to the same size or just slightly larger. Then take another piece of card stock, 1 - 1 1/2" wide, and cut the length to match whichever edge of the paper you are binding.


Fold this strip in half, then fold one half of that under. Insert your pages in between your cover, then add the folded edge, and staple.

Folded edge = front, flat edge = back

You can also do this just using the edge/binding piece if you don't need a cover for your project and just want to keep a stack of papers together. A great idea for repurposing/ recycling paper scraps around the office as a scratch pad.

Whats Going On Here

Forget about March Madness, it's going to be April Insanity in my neck of the woods - I thought I'd share some of the craziness as it's about to begin this weekend with a trek over to the state capital to celebrate her Champagne Birthday tomorrow.


After that of course is Easter - I am trying hard to come up with easter basket ideas that do not involve candy, and hopefully involve items I can re-purpose from around the house. The twins are 3 so I think as long as we have fun stuff hidden in eggs to find they wont mind if it's their own toys. I found a post with a lot of great ideas here. 


A short list of ideas I'll be including - 

• Stickers
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Puzzles
• Glow sticks
• Coloring books
• New shoes - I got each of them a pair of flip flops for summer
• Chainmaille bracelets (they've been asking for one every time I work on something, it's only fair! :D)
• and yes, some snacks - probably fruit snacks and jelly beans. They actually don't like much candy.

Now the BIG events in April - which are making me a little crazy already just thinking about it, but I am so over the moon excited for - 

The Spring 2012 Indie Garage Sale!

Photo by  Rob @ Indie Garage Sale

IGS is one of my favorite shows - I've sold there several times now, and the crowd of artists and customers just can't be beat. I'm looking forward to seeing my crafty pals again and making lots of new ones. I've got a lot of new items in the works so hopefully they will be well received.

The weekend after that on April 28 is Mayday Underground in Rochester.
I've never attended or sold at that show, but I've heard great things about it. I'm nervous about doing the 2 shows back to back, but hopefully within the next month I'll have enough inventory that I should be covered with enough items to sell. All I can do now is really hope that things sell!

I've been pretty busy lately - making things, finishing my taxes (ugh) and finding other summer shows to apply to. I'll be posting some of the new items I'll have on my Facebook page, so be sure to come and visit!

Useful and Beautiful

So the other day I finished something that was initially inspired by a comment someone left on my page. Here is what I made -

Can you guess what it is?

Give up?

It's a Chainmaille POT SCRUBBER. Why did I not think of this myself? Oh wait, even if I had come up with it, pot scrubbers like this have actually been around for a while - they're like the original steel wool. This is made in a 4 x 4 inch mesh of bright aluminum rings, which dont rust or tarnish so it will take the wear and tear of regular use. I attached it to a key ring for something easy to grab onto. If I plan on marketing these pot scrubbers, I'll be sure to source the bigger rings that will not rust or tarnish as well. It wouldn't suit to have the one part of it I dont make to not stand up to the rest of it, now would it?

This scrubber would be perfect for all your cast iron cookware. Don't tell me you're not using cast iron, or I'll tell you you're cooking it wrong. Since this is the first scrubber I made I decided to test it out on my own pan.

Before:

Scrub, scrub, scrub

After scrubbing:

I'd say it works - and it would look so pretty hanging by your sink when you're done, don't you think? It *almost* makes me want to wash the dishes. Almost.

Mr. Clean Please Don't Hurt Me

I wish I could say the reason I've been quiet on the blog is that I'm super busy working on orders an making things, and while I have been a little bit, thats not the entire reason. The truth of the matter is that I've let myself get pretty disorganized and the state of my work table leaves much to be desired. I know a lot of artists thrive amidst chaos but I crave order and, well, just look what I'm putting myself through:

Yea. Someone come slap me with a swiffer, because this is nuts.

To be fair, I have made some progress on this mountain, but if anyone wants to come help with a spring cleaning, I'd happily compensate with yummy food and sparkly jewelry.

Anybody?