Back in Action

After a little hiatus from the sewing machine, I received a custom order which has motivated me to get back to makin' stuff. I used an iron on transfer to make this cute wristlet even cuter with the recipient's 2 little boys (above).

Tomorrow I will be bringing the last of my litter of clothespin bags to the Appleton Downtown Farm Market (as well as all the other fun stuff I have to offer). I can't believe these are all I have left and two of them have been pre-adopted!

And Me Without My Camera...

Okay - that's a lie, I had my camera and once again didn't think of taking any pictures until I was putting away my stuff and my camera bag was in the way.

Anyway, on Sunday I participated in the 7th Annual Summer Craftacular in Madison, WI hosted by the Glitter Workshop and let me just say the good people and tourists of Madison were very kind to yours truly.

Not only did I sell a few items, but I had some great "neighbors" that were fun to visit with. To my right was Amy from Modish Life who sold adorable children's clothing, in fact, the stuff was so cute it almost made me wish I kids of my own (I said almost). On my right was Venessa from BailyBelle Creations who sold some really fun jewelry including these really clever fan necklaces.

I also ran into Betsy from Artess, who happened to have just finished teaching a screen printing class - how perfect - and gave me a few pointers and list of supplies for the beginner (screen printing is going to be my new phase after the new year - I can't wait!)

Here's an update on what's new - nothing - ugh...

I've been working extra hours at the old day job so the sewing machine has been sitting dormant, but my next items up on the cutting block are: gadget pouches, cat bags with zippered mouths & can you believe it...MITTENS (it almost seems like a crime to think about it when I am sitting here with the air conditioning on).

Mauk and Mindy

This past Friday my friend Mindy & her mom opened the doors to their new shop, EmmaJeans Boutique, on Main St in Oshkosh during the Gallery Walk and of course I had to run down and check it out (as I have a few items there too).

I have also been entertaining getting back into screen printing, something I really enjoyed during college (oh so long ago) and that fire was fatefully fueled when I happened to run into my former serigraphy professor who, of course, has always encouraged my interest.

This weekend my husband wants to run down to Milwaukee and I might just have to stop in at Utrecht (at his insistance haha) to launch my next phase of creativity...

PS: Sorry about the title Mindy, but I couldn't resist :)

For the Birds

I have been saying that I am going to buy one of these birdhouses for the last year and I finally went and bought one on Saturday at the Downtown Appleton Farm Market. They are made by a father & son team who unfortunately do not have a web site, but believe me they had so many whimsical houses, that it was hard to make a decision. I only wish my house was this cute.

I have been meaning to make a gadget / phone pouch (substitute a cooler word than pouch and tell me what it is, because I don't know about "pouch", other than it is technically an accurate description). Anyway - here they are and I made sure that in addition to my little phone, they would fit an iPhone as well as the htc phones.

I was inspired to include the little strap by a friend of mine that told me that her phone fell out of her pocket while biking. Now she can just hang the "pouch" over her handlebars and no worries - in fact I even kept one for myself (a rare occurrence) and took my cell with me on my bike ride (an even more rare occurrence) and was pleased with how it was functional, yet not in the way.

Showtime!

Yeah! My summer show season kicked off for me yesterday at the Appleton Downtown Art & Farm Market. The weather couldn't have been better and the crowd was great. All in all I would say it was a good show.

I think I almost have my setup to my liking. My friend took to photo above with her phone. I had planned on getting more pictures of the market, but I was so focused on not forgetting any of my show stuff that the camera was left at home.

I don't do the markets every week, but I will be at the Appleton Market on the third Saturdays of July, August & September as well as a few out of town shows. I have also been invited to be the featured artist at Eco Candle Company in Appleton for Art on the Town on July 15th.

On a side note, the duck that was referred to in the title of the previous post had made a nest and laid eggs in our flower bed. We were counting down the days until they hatched, but unfortunately she left one afternoon and never returned. Oh, why is nature so cruel...

8 Years, 4 Cats & 1 Duck Later

Tomorrow my husband and I will be celebrating our 8 year anniversary and it makes me wonder - where does the time go?

Although these pictures are from our wedding day, I think they still are a pretty accurate representation of how we look today (give or take a few pounds), but fortunately no gray hairs yet haha.

Did I Mention...

That I got a mention :)

Thank You Women Magazine for mentioning my items in your graduation gift guide!