Spring Bada Bing Recap

What a lovely event on Saturday at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery!



Lots of wonderful handmade items, friendly people, and good beer!



The place was packed from 11 until 5 with people shopping, chatting, and just enjoying the handmade goodness around!



I didn't get a chance to sit down much, which was a good thing! The food trucks were so busy that they ran out of food. WOW! It was a great day and I'm so grateful to all that came out to support the event. It was well organized and the Richmond Craft Mafia does a great job of bringing out the crowds! Looking forward to the next one!

Many thanks to my Dynamo for all of his help packing, loading, and unloading along with lots of encouragement. It's been a busy time getting ready for these past two shows! Thanks to my parents for their help and support and my friends for coming out to support me.

Here are some pics of the other vendors at the show!



















These great utensils...

Easy to make rag ribbon wreaths

So, my mom surprised me with this beautiful rag ribbon wreath!



She had seen some online for sale, but just knew she could make it herself. So, she did! And, it turned out lovely.

It gave me an idea to make a couple as thank you gifts for my volunteers that recently helped me with the Fair. So, here are some of my creations...



I had some ribbon stockpiled along with some tule, so I went to town!



All you have to do is get a grapevine wreath or a foam wreath form and some coordinating ribbon.



Simply cut strips of ribbon and start tying knots side by side around the form. Keep the knots tight together. This will help the wreath to be full and poofy!



Stagger the knots so that the ribbon sticks out at different angles to give it fullness and personality! I think it's easier to see on this fall wreath I made...



It's so simple!!



Ribbon is not cheap, but if you catch the seasonal ribbon on sale or get lucky and find some at a thrift store, you're good to go! I also attached some spiders and other embellishments to make it spookier! Just use some fishing line hold them in place!



My mom is so crafty and clever! What an inspiration to me for this project! And, I just love Halloween, so it was extra fun! Email me if you have questions!

more wreaths and flower pins too!

I just love old sheet music! I have collected lots of it from my various thrifting and yard saling adventures. It's great to use in projects. Often, I use lots of it on my cards.



I think it looks great on a holiday wreath too! And...this green is a great green too! Not just any green will do!!



And...love this fantastic red!



These wreaths are all vintage! Old sheet music, ribbon, lightbulbs, Santa, candy canes, and birds! I love old stuff as you can tell!!

Santa looks so much better "old school style" don't you think? Ever looked at the old children's books and cards? They are fantastic happy/jolly colorful illustrations! Fabulous!

But, switching gears....



These cool felt flower pins turned out good I think! They can be a hairclip or a jacket pin! They really would add some color to your day huh?



And...check out these hairclips/pins made from old tee shirts!



They are a little wilder! I just love red!

Have a great weekend!

holiday wreaths

I thought I'd share with you a couple of wreaths that I just completed! I was so pleased with how they turned out! Hopefully my customers at the craft show will like them too!

For this one I used vintage Christmas items. Don't you just love Santa and the snowman?







And, for this wreath I used a mixture of ribbon flowers and burlap to give it great texture. This wreath is holiday without being too Christmasy (is that a word?)





I had to add some bling...

valentine's is just around the corner

With Valentine's Day right around the corner I needed to get to work on my goodie tags for this year.These tags are super quick and easy. All you need are shipping tags from your local office supply store, some scrap paper that looks like V-day, and some stamps!

Stampin' Up! has this new red glitter paper that rocks!!! The glitter doesn't fall all over the floor like when you glitterize the paper yourself. You should check it out!!! You will be pleased! All you need is a heart punch and you can make your Valentine's shine!

I try to celebrate each holiday with my co-workers, family, and friends by giving them a little something to let them know they're special. I usually give food of some sort! I haven't decided what will accompany my tags yet, but I have an idea!

One last tip about creating these tags...DO NOT be a perfectionist! Tear and glue, tear and glue! Don't try to line everything up perfectly. I like the vintage/distressed look. Just go with it!

Glitter makes everything better, doesn't it? Have a great weekend!

Getting ready...

...for the Winter Artisans Bazaar on Saturday, December 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chesterfield Public Libray, 9501 Lori Road. If you're in town come out and see Mom and I and support the Chesterfield Center for the Arts Foundation.

I wanted to give you a sneak peak of some of the items we'll have for sale there.

Here are my favorite items for sale. They are treasure boxes built by Dynamo!!! They were so pretty I really didn't want to sell them. I always want to keep everything he makes. He does beautiful work! He is so thorough and very attentive to details.

Don't you just love the knobs and the colors? I think they turned out great!!!

You will also find ornaments...

And, pillow covers...

And, pot holders...

Mom picked up this "wild girl" fabric in Florida and asked me to make pot holders, so I've been working on them!

More sneak peaks to come! Mark your calendars now!