Vending Awesomeness!

Just got done vending at a string of awesome shows over the past few weeks! Lots of interesting venues, environments, people, handmade eye candy, and colorful sights! :) Thanks so much to Steel City Rockers vs. Mods, to PCC for a terrific Crafts N'At, to Friends of Ohiopyle for a delightful weekend at Music in the Mountains, and to the Steeltown Shakedown for the most colorful, old skool-ified weekend I've had in a while. :) And a big welcome and fat 'thank you' to all of my new customers!

Check out some of the best sights!















Cuties in the Rockers vs Mods pin-up contest!


Testing my new display setup at Rockers vs Mods.


Adorable rocker baby with her rocker daddy (who just happen to be my brand new niece and brother-in-law- lol).












The fabulous space and artisans at the Pittsburgh Craft Collective's annual show, Crafts N'At!







Can you believe this view of the Monongahela River from my tent at Ohiopyle' Music in the Mountains? It looks photoshopped! It was beautiful!




Crafty pal Rachel in her flirty and fabulous hand-altered dress at Steeltown Shakedown (that she helped organize). You should see the awesome flame applique she handsewed onto to the bag to match her sweetie's car! :)





Old-skool cool!


This weekend will be my last show until the holidays! Come and check me and lots of other fabulous local artisans out at Art Harvest on Sunday, September 26th from 12-5 at the East End Food Co-op! :)

A Long Weekend!

So I had an exhausting, grossly hot and sticky-sweaty weekend vending at SSW. But the long hours and oppressive heat and humidity ended being worth it- it was terrific! Besides pretty good sales (much better than it seemed while they were happening), I had absolutely the best time connecting with my fellow crafters there. It was so wonderful to be with like-minded people for passionate, intelligent conversation, laughter, and letting it all hang out.

I sold some of my favorite pieces, including several new ones, and had some incredible shopper. It's always really cool when your favorite pieces go to one of your favorite customers. :)

Pittsburgh has so many talented artisans. I was able to buy some handmade yoga mat spray in Lavender Vanilla (she has Citrus, too) from Naturally Lela, and some rally cute and unique burp cloths from The Point and Pootinkies for my new niece who may arrive any day now. :) I would have bought so much more if I had had time to shop and didn't spend my very brief intended shop-time chatting instead. :P My goal eventually is to procure (yes, I am on a mission) a fabulous bag from both Wren and Rita and Jilsy Designs in the near future. :)

A big shout out to Carrie and Nina of I Made It! Market for the exhausting hard work put into making this weekend happen!

The highlight of the weekend was drinks and chatting at the Double Wide Grill on the South Side Sunday evening. Yummy salad and seitan BBQ wings, some of my favorite people, and awesome banter- I left feeling high on the glow of the evening, and I'm still there. :) I think I may have gotten so exuberant over the great time that I talked over people a lot. Sorry gang! Thanks for a brilliant night! Check out their Etsy shops: Charmed By Nature, Barker's Herbs & Heirlooms, and Luxe.

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So immediately after the highlight of my weekend was one of the lowest points ever, creating a real emotional roller coaster. Just after dropping a friend off at her home on a quiet country road, I killed a sweet little brown bunny with my car! :( I saw her running toward the road and yelled in my head, "Nooo bunny!" I braked and tried to slow down and hoped I had missed her, but then I felt a tiny bump. It was so dark, 11 at night with few road lights. I stopped to look for her on the road and didn't see her at first, but then noticed the glow on the black road of little white tail. I cried so hard, just petting her and telling her over and over how sorry I was. :'( Then I picked her up and moved to her to the grass to safety. She was so soft and so warm and she was shaking, and all I could do was sob hysterically. When I left her, I cried the whole way home and for a long time after I got there. I haven't cried so hard since I lost my Grammy. ;_;

I hurt that poor little beautiful little bun- I murdered her with a monster of steel! And I had to leave her all alone. What if she had babies??? One second she was jumping and running with bright eyes and freedom, and the next she was "gone". I can't wash the feeling of her hot skin and soft downy fur beneath my hands, shaking and fragile and so vulnerable. I feel terrible. :(

I am going to work on a painting of a sweet bunny in a happy, wild, peaceful place where nothing can hurt her. Maybe she can go there. I'm so sorry, bunny. :(

Three Rivers Art Fest- IMI and Crafty Kids

This past Friday, I was lucky enough to work with I Made It! Market (IMI) at the Creativity Zone at the 2010 Three Rivers Arts Fest in downtown Pittsburgh! Local crafters were invited by IMI to plan and offer a crafty project to kids attending the fest as part of the free activities going on. Doing so would not only help IMI continue to establish itself as the best nomadic indie crafts market around, but also expose children to handmade and the arts. As a bonus, those crafters who participated were able to sell our wares to the Three Rivers Arts Fest crowd. Yay! :)

The crafty project I chose for the kiddos involved using fabric from vintage fabric sample books (found at Creative Reuse Pittsburgh) to make DIY journals. The fabric was used as the cover, and the kids chose paper to be stapled inside.



Fabric pieces from vintage fabric sample books were used as journal covers.


I brought vintage sequins and beads, foam shapes, and plenty O glitter for them to decorate their covers. Despite my nervousness that the local kids' scene would be tough on me, they loved it! :)



I made a few journals as samples.


This was also my first experience selling at Three Rivers, and I was thrilled at how receptive the crowds were. It was a fabulous day, despite sunburn. :/ A huge thank you to Carrie of IMI, who was so kind and sweet as to encourage me to sell to customers while she took over my craft project. Carrie, you are a rock star! *HUG* :)



Craft table at the Arts Fest IMI Tent, all ready to go (pre-glitter disaster).




Kiddos DIY.




Word of the day? Sparkle!

Handmade Out Loud: Pittsburgh Crafter Vintage Hotcakes

I met Dawn, known via her Etsy shop and at craft shows in the Pittsburgh area as Vintage Hotcakes, a couple of years ago through our local Etsy street team, Etsy Pittsburgh. I immediately adored Dawn and fell in love with her darling bags! She makes more than bags though, crafting quirky, one-of-a-kind handsewn potholders, decorative pillow covers, and baby bibs in addition to uber sweet wallets, wristlets, and purses. What makes Dawn's eco-friendly designs stand out, besides quality workwomanship and hip styles, is that all of them are made from awesome vintage and repurposed fabrics!


Some of my favorite sources of upcycled material that she uses are these nifty vintage linen tea towels with calendars or wild birds printed on them. She has quite an eye for other fabrics, too, many of which she finds at estate sales. The coolest are these fun, loud fabrics from the 1960s and 70s in crazy huge patterns and colors. Dawn also upcycles vintage accessories like handkerchiefs and men's ties, incorporating them into things like wristlet straps and decorative patches (see pics of my bags below).


I have been lucky enough to pair up side-by-side or share a table with Dawn to vend our wares in the local crafty scene, which means I often get to see her freshest new products. As a result, I own three of Dawn's bags, one each of a wallet, wristlet, and shoulder bag (thanks for trading, Dawn)! lol They never fail to stand out in a crowd and garner compliments and curiosity. Check out Vintage Hotcakes on Etsy to get your own- she does custom work, too!


My own Vintage Hotcakes collection: