Blue Moon, You Saw Me Standing Alone...

Bom-ma-bom, a-bom-bom-a-bom, ba-ba-bom-bom-a-bomp, b-dang-a-dang-dang, b-ding-a-dong-ding..... bluuuuuuue mooooooonnn

Soooo one of my most favorite songs to sing. Especially when my husband is around and I can embarrass him in public. I met the drummer from The Marcels today at my art show! He was incredibly interesting to talk to and very entertaining! Not many people want to break into song as much as MaryLou and I do, but he did! I have dorky songs, mostly that I've made up, and Lou loves to belt out Zepplin, but we all got down with some doo-wop this afternoon! And we have been ever since -- it may be permanently etched in my brain. Bom-ma-bom, a-bom-bom-a-bom....

I also got to meet some fellow Etsy sellers, discovered Yard Golf, got some scrumptious beef jerky, discovered an all natural skin cream that I hope to blog about later if it does as promised, and got to hang out outside all day. It was absolutely perfect weather! Apparently not money-spending weather though, because this show itself was a bust. It's unfortunate since we've been looking forward to it for so long. I make more money while I'm asleep (because hey, even then I've got the chance at an Etsy sale). Boo hiss, nice knowin ya Milham Park, I won't be sellin my wares on your beautiful grassy hills anymore.

Tomorrow is a new day. I'm making myself that skirt I wanted a few posts ago. Hopefully all goes well! I found the petticoat I wanted to use with it FINALLY in a box marked "Lane's Summer Shit" in the basement. (What a descriptive label huh?) It was like Christmas in June! I forgot I even owned this stuff. Even better, it's not hideous and it still fits! Score!

It's Showtime!

I've got another show coming up tomorrow! It is Milham Art in the Park held at Milham Park in Portage. I hear it's a HUGE show! I haven't actually ever made it to this show in all the years I've been in Kalamazoo, but I sure have heard about it from damn near everyone. It was a major PITA to get into, mostly because of the booth sharing confusion my partner and I caused, but I was finally confirmed yesterday and will be there bright and early tomorrow morning! I hope it's as good as I've been told! Wish me luck!

I've blogged about JennaDesigns before, but man, she just gets better! I met her through Twitter and a mutual love for fabric and sewing machines, and look what she sent me the other day! I had complimented this fabric on her blog, but I never expected her to send me some! AWESOME! I don't know what I'm going to use it for, it's so neat I don't want to cut it up! Whatever it is that I end up doing with it, it really made my day. So thanks Jenna! Hope you are having fun with your new serger!

Back From the Dead & A Soap Story

My camera has been fixed! Not only has it been fixed to near-perfection, but my husband is the one that fixed it! Now, he's a smart guy and an engineer, he builds massive bridges for cryin out loud, but I can't say I actually SEE him fix anything ever. I anticipated fear when he took my ziploc full of camera pieces and my chincy $1 screwdriver set I bought to *attempt* to fix this camera myself, along with the glue I planned to use on whatever the screwdriver didn't work for, and he sat down at the kitchen table and went to work. I sat on the couch researching where to buy my brand new - hopefully orange - Canon Powershot SD1200IS for the cheapest price while this went on, fully convinced that as soon as he gave up I'd be headed towards the nearest Canon camera bargain. Imagine my surprise when not even 15 minutes later he was showing me a still half assembled but WORKING camera! Only 10 minutes after that and a quick lecture about how I should not just pull the camera apart when I got to a point of stripping a screw, I had a complete working camera again! I'm not lying when I say I jumped and squealed with joy. Welcome back to life little camera!

I managed to drag myself out of bed this morning on about 3 hours of sleep to go to the farmer's market FINALLY. I've been wanting to get there for a couple weeks specifically to pick up my Whipped Cream Soap from Laura at Shower Treat Soap. She's been holding onto some jasmine scented greatness for me! This stuff is awesome! It smells fantastic and the feel of it is nice and fluffy and light! I kinda can't wait to shave my legs... I don't think I've ever said that in my life. I also picked up a fantastic green apple vegan lip balm too! It smells extra good and it's not sticky at all. Plus, everytime I see Laura she's got a smile on her face, an absolute pleasure to be around, so nice to see her today! :)

I tried to include a picture of Laura's whipped soap, but the html won't work and I'm not computer whiz, so here's a pic of my newest item instead. Why this picture works and the other one doesn't is beyond me. But hey, aren't the rockets cool too?


Other than that I'm having one of those if-you-don't-have-anything-nice-to-say... sort of days. Mom would be proud, I'll keep the negative to myself today. Maybe I'll call her to bitch later as repayment for teaching me that lesson. Love ya Mommers :) I'm off to the fabric store with my 50% coupon, I'm in the mood for some retail therapy and a new, maybe royal blue, princess skirt.

RIP Canon Powershot, I Miss You Already.

Can I come here and cry a minute? I have yet to cry real tears about this, but I'm sure they are on their way. 2 yrs ago my hub bought me a new digital camera. I did tons of research and asked specifically for this camera when he asked what I wanted. I am in love with it. Seriously. If you didn't think you could love an inanimate object, I'm living proof. I am IN LOVE with my camera.

2 yr olds by nature are impatient and excitable. I told the little one I nanny for that she could take a picture of me since she asked so sweetly. She grabbed that camera out of my hand so fast it went crashing to the ground. The lens is all bent up, a piece broke off, and it won't close.

I called around and starting rate for opening it up and LOOKING at it is around $200. I'm cheap frugal, so I ran to Walmart and bought the teensiest screwdriver I could find, and some superglue. My poor little camera. May you rest in peace. Or pieces, since I already took you apart and I'm failing at fixing you.

*sniffle*

On the upside... Look how much fun we were having right before the camera got broken! It's a regular ol dance party around here. The kids also love my skirt today. They say I look like a princess. And my son thinks it doubles as a garage and keeps parking his cars under me. I've now been begged to make Ali a tiny size skirt like mine- in blue. Lord knows she will not forget either.

FSAM Fabulousness

A very blue tinted photo of my booth... without me in it. Ohhh well. I think I need bright blue table coverings. Light blue just isn't circus-y enough for me.

So Opening Day of FSAM has finally come and gone. It was such a great time! Perfect, windless, sunny weather! My Dad showed up before I did and helped a bunch of people put up tarps (he rules! Thanks Dad!) and then helped me do a bunch of set up for my booth before taking off with my bambino for the day. It was so nice to see him and so nice to meet a bunch of the ladies from my Etsy West Michigan Team. I wish I had gotten a chance to meet everyone! It was just too hard to get away from my booth since I was all alone. I saw so many teammates with their husbands there, I think it's time I put mine to work! I wonder what he'll say to becoming my craft show partner? I'm guessing..... no.

SO MANY people stopped by to say "HEY! YOU'RE THE PANTS LADY!" It was great! I had no idea so many people had seen my Ninja Pants on my site. It was such a pleasure to hear all the wonderful things people had to say about my items. One girl even pretended to karate chop me while doing ninja moves- tooo funny!

My boss stopped by and took over my booth for a few minutes so I could go say some quick hellos which was very sweet of her. She sold a whole bunch of things in the 10 minutes I was gone! I told her that maybe on weekends I should be HER boss now.

My scratcher cards were a big hit! I managed to get all 4 winners by 2pm! That means well over 100 people visited my booth! Not too bad!

I have 3 missing items as well. I really hope they weren't stolen. Who does that? I work my little booty off making things, I don't appreciate being ripped off. Fortunately one of the missing items is possibly World's Ugliest Slapash Wallet soooooo Congrats Proud Theiving Owner of an Ugly Wallet. Karma will repay you. :) Maybe that's what I deserve for making a wallet so hideous. Neon green thread... really now? No Delainie, just no.

All in all, I learned a lot, had a wonderful time, met some fantastic artists, got a tan that looks like I've been relaxing on the beach all week, and made some $. Can't complain!

Next on the agenda -- Milham Art in the Park! This show is BIG!! My partner MaryLou has been wanting to do this show for years and finally decided to go for it this year. We are splitting a booth again. I'm still trying to get my paperwork in order for it (the fax # I was given doesn't work) and then I'm in! I've already been juried and accepted, they just need me to sign stuff! I'm thinking I might take on the Avenue for the Arts in Grand Rapids coming up as well. Who wouldn't want to hang out on dirty ol Division Ave. peddling wares? Sounds like the place for me- haha!

What's that thing?

A little sneak peek at the bridal shower gift I'm making for some friends of mine! I wish I could show all of it since I *finally* finished and it's truly awesome. I hope she likes them since she asked me not to buy off her registry but didn't actually tell me what she wanted me to make. I tried to make it not too girly so he would like them too. I think I suceeded. I'm waiting for Dave to wake up and give his opinion...

The Fulton Street Artisans Market (FSAM) is kicking off on Sunday, June 14th! I've been so excited for this show -- and so very busy preparing for it! The gloomy gray weather we've been having has really been helping me get work done, hopefully we get some sunshine for the show! I had some requests for camera cases at my last show, so I whipped up this (and 2 others) today:

I should have 3-10 more Slapdash Wallets done by the end of the week. Depending on how hard I feel like working. :)

Instead of working too much on Monday, I helped the kiddos do one of my least favorite things. Baking. Not even REAL baking, since it was from a box and I only added eggs, water, and applesauce, but I did bake it, so that counts right? M&M Brownies... they weren't cool enough to cut by the time I left work so I hope there are some left when I get to work in the morning! Mmmm brownies and coffee...

Too flippin cute. That was right before we covered the counter with brownie batter dust. What a mess!

Artsy Beat

So last week I was contacted by ArtsyBeat.com about my Locker Hooked Rugs and wanted to do an interview with me about them! Of course I accepted, especially after seeing the other artists they've featured - Amazing! I'm still in shock a little to be lumped in with them!

See my Artisan Spotlight/Interview here!

That's it for me today, short and sweet, I've got a super-fantastically-awesome bridal shower gift to get to work on tonight! I was requested to not buy off their registry since the bride says whatever I make her will be more awesome than anything from a store. I can't wait to share this project, I really hope they love it!

My First Show!

My first show of the summer went pretty well! It was a first time show for the church that hosted it also, so it wasn't exactly a hopping sales venue, but I met some awesome people! There was a caricature booth right next to ours and the artist working there, Jenny Powers, was AMAZING! My husband and son stopped by with breakfast for my partner and I, and my business cards that I forgot, and she did a fantastic family caricature of us! She even does parties, so now I can't stop thinking of what kind of party I need to have that I can 'order her'. Maybe Megan's bridal shower? It would be fun! Who doesn't like a caricature??

My booth set up was pretty quick and painless. It was really windy and luckily only a few of my items blew away and I was able to catch them! I saw a couple tents topple over and helped stop one from taking off also. I sure hope it's not that windy at FSAM, I had to alter my table set up and it looked too bare this way! Wish I'd gotten a better picture!

I did an interview with ArtsyBeat.com last week that should go live today! I'll post again if it's up today!