today i am thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving!

crafty supermarket wrap-up

What a crazy day! Waking up at 7am is no good for me.  After slicing through the thickest fog I have EVER seen, we made it to Cincinnati around 10am.  Walking in, there was a line already at the front door.  It just kept getting longer and longer, and by the time it was time to open, it wrapped around the front of the building!

Mamus had a great day! It was his first time being able to take credit cards, thanks to Square, and it nearly doubled his sales. (We thank Sunday Afternoon Housewife for that tip!) The whole event had a great vibe about it. I think Crafty Supermarket is one of the best, most exciting, eclectic craft fairs I've ever been to. 

I successfully purchased most items I set out to purchase, along with one bonus item for a baby shower gift!

Here's my loot:

From top left down:
1. Colette Paperie - http://www.colettepaperie.com/ - calendar & mini-journal
2. Owlette Collective - http://www.etsy.com/shop/owlettecollective - bib
3. One Pearl Button - http://www.onepearlbutton.com/ - postcard set
4. MorningLori - http://themorninglorivine.typepad.com/ - Petit, Caleb
5. The Littlest Bean - http://www.littlestbean.com/ - Barrettes

You'll notice the shoes are missing: one day....

Happy Monday! Hope you enjoy a short week thanks to Thanksgiving. (I sure don't get one, so enjoy it for me, too!)

Things I will buy at Crafty Supermarket

Tomorrow is the day! Crafty Supermarket in Cincinnati!

I am lucky enough (well, that's all relative) to NOT be vending. I also am NOT working while in town, like I did during the Bloomington Handmade Market. I have plans to eat at Melt with my dear friend Greg Beale, help Mamus sell out of holiday ornaments & teeth, and buy stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. Well, hopefully not too much (I am trying to save money for school, you know).  Here's a run down of what I plan (hope) to buy! 

1.  MorningLori Petit

 

I got my first plush from MorningLori (Lori Brown) last Christmas, and it's time to add another friend (or two).  According to her blog, she has a "heap of new plush" she's bringing. I better go see her first thing so I get best choice.

2.  Colette Paperie Calendar

No matter how terrible I am at using them, I love collecting calendars. This will be my first 2011 calendar purchase - and will be completely unlike your typical calendar or organizer!

 

 

 

 

3. Smartfish Shoes

I love these shoes. Everything about them is perfect.  Shoes made using sustainable and local materials, without the use of any adhesives, and 100% vegan. It is not the season for flats, but I may have to take the plunge.

4.  Hair Barrettes by The Littlest Bean

I have been in dire need of new hair barrettes for quite a while now. My hair hasn't been this long in over 15 years, and I can't wear it up in a ponytail any longer (too cold!).  These are cute & colorful, and my favorite kind of clip! Having thick hair really limits my choice in barrettes.

5.  Polaroids by One Pearl Button

I've been following this Alli's blog since last time we were in Cincinnati for Crafty Supermarket. This will be her first craft show, and I hope to help her have a positive experience. I have a certain special friend that loves polaroids & can't wait to see what surprise I can pick up for her from Alli.

Feel free to holler at me if you're there, I'll probably buy something from you too!

holiday ornaments

I've been hard at work this past week on some holiday ornaments. Mamus is known for his little holiday monster ornaments, so needless to say, we have piles upon piles upon piles of glass bulbs lying around.

Last year's monster batch.

Feeling somewhat inspired after seeing this paper installation by Cathy of California - I decided it was high time I make some holiday ornaments.  I love paper, I love working with paper, I love digging through piles of discarded scrapbooking paper nobody wants. Aside from my hex signs, I don't use my huge basketful of scrapbook paper quite enough. Enter my perfect opportunity.

May I present these beautiful, hand-crafted, paper ornaments. Glass bulbs covered with cut paper - somewhat reminiscent of a pinecone.

I'm trying to come up with a snazzy name for them. Any ideas?

too busy!

I've been way too busy this week. Between work, visiting Cincinnati, and Ben Kweller, I haven't had time to think - write - relax.


On Thursday (my only day off during a 2-week period) we went to Fabricate in Cincinnati to drop off some artwork for the Microcosm show that Mamus is participating in. I also dropped off some men's knit bandanas for the shop. Fabricate just moved down the street next to Take the Cake, so it was great to get to check out their new digs. They've definitely moved up - lots more space! I'm excited to check it out again once they get everything together. I got a sweet pin.

Following our visit, we went and gorged ourselves at The Loving Hut - a vegan chain that's popping up everywhere.  Within the last year, they've opened something like 160 locations! Crazy! It was pretty okay, but my favorite part was the pie - Raw Blueberry Cheesecake Pie (everything else tasted like basic chain fare, nothing to write home about, nothing better than what I could lazily put together at home).

Saturday, we took off to Bloomington after a crazy day at work to see the beautiful musical stylings of Ben Kweller.  I can't get enough of this guy! What a weird show though - it was at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater so there were seats and no room to get up and move. It felt like most of the crowd wasn't interested in moving anyways, so I ended up seat dancing and singing-along mostly. It was a completely one-man show - it was Ben & his voice & guitar or piano. I can't wait to get to Austin so I don't have to wait 2 years between shows.

 

extreme craft weekend

This weekend was Murphys Seasonal Bazaar & Bloomington Handmade Market. We also made a visit to Bloomingfoods (actually, 2!), Paper Crane, and Fountain Square Mall to visit Yarns Unlimited and Stefano's Ice Cafe.  I was busy, and pooped by the end of it - to say the least.

The weekend began at the Murphys Seasonal Bazaar, where a bunch of us were crammed in the west hall offering a seemingly non-stop mile of art & crafty stuff (okay, a mile is a bit of an exaggeration). I loved how close in proximity we were to friends (like Martha of Sunday Afternoon Housewife and Michelle of Busty's Fun Bags) so we could actually chat! It was busy at times, but as with most first fridays, we had more lookers than buyers.

The next day we were up before the sun to head down for Bloomington Handmade Market. I wasn't vending, but Mamus was. I was running around town while he was slinging teeth & ornaments.  I spent a few hours "working" at Bloomingfoods, and then picked us up some delicious lunch. I got to visit a favorite local yarn shop (even though I read many good reviews, it doesn't hold a candle to Mass Ave Knits) & we got coffee from our favorite Bloomington coffee shop, Stefano's Ice Cafe.

After wrapping up a pretty successful day, we headed over to Paper Crane for the after party (and to finally check out the space!). The space is beautiful - simple without being overwhelming. I'm excited to see where they go with things as they grow! We spent a while chatting with other tired folks like Mike Altman and Luke of Opera House Press before taking off for the hour long drive home.

And now I am 2 days into an extremely long work week - 6 days, 4 demos, and Georgetown Market's two-day anniversary sale.  Not to mention the load of special orders I have to complete, and the men's scarves I'm making for Fabricate in Cincinnati.  Whoa, I just got tired thinking about it!

Luckily there is a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow (week), and his name is Ben Kweller.

 

Have you ever seen a better tour poster?  Once again, for the third time in under 2 weeks, I will return to Bloomington.  If you know me, you know I don't like Bloomington.  But, I think it's rubbing off on me. Any tips on where I should visit this weekend while I'm there? 

Pomegranate Tattoo

Well, I got it! I went with the beautiful bird with pomegranate branch illustration by Afsaneh (joojoo.com). 

Thanks to Megan at metamorphosis for the amazing work.

Murphy's Seasonal Bazaar

Join me at Murphys Seasonal Bazaar tomorrow, November 6th, from 6pm to 10pm, for part 2 out of 3 of my seasonal events!

 

I'll have more than enough warm, winter goods for you to wrap yourself in.  And by the looks of things, you're going to need it.  We've see a few rogue snowflakes today!  

If you don't see anything you like tomorrow, I'm still taking custom orders!  You can find the available styles & yarns over at nutritiousknitting.blogspot.com.  Handmade gifts make great holiday gifts, and it's even better if it's customized to fit your preferences!

Saturday I'll be at the Bloomington Handmade Market with Mamus slinging his goods. 

He'll have some of his ever popular monster balls, cute hair pins, new drawings, & these amazing little teeth.

 See you soon (hopefully)!

great awesome giving aways!

There are some pretty awesome giveaways going on around the internets right now, and I thought I should probably share them with you! Most of these giveaways require a simple comment, and extra entries are given for twitter follows & facebook "likes" - you get the drill.  Check 'em out!

The Dainty Squid has teamed up with Boojiboo to giveaway one awesome handmade apron. You can enter until November 4th!  (P.S. The Dainty Squid will be announcing a new giveaway each week - don't miss it!) I know, when you visit her site, you might be distracted by the bright colors & cute kitties - but please remember to enter!

The Long Thread is working with Sweet Pea Patterns to give away 5 super-cute baby shoe patterns to 5 super-lucky winners.  You have until November 4th to enter.  While you're over there, please peruse her site. The Long Thread is consistently posting things that are too cute for words - including tons of projects you can make yourself!

The Vegan Etsy Team is working with a number of their team members to do a fabulous prize pack giveaway to help celebrate World Vegan Day (that's today, November 1!).  This contest runs through the end of the month, so enter now before you forget! This blog makes shopping vegan on etsy a little easier, I'll probably be shopping for the kids over on Indy Vegans according to the team members/contributors on this blog. 

Love, Lizze is a new (to me) blog that I've recently stumbled upon.  She's giving away her first set of Babushka Sisters she created.  These little dolls are super cute and would be perfect for just about any size kid.  You have until November 5th to enter, and can enter once each day.  I want these for my dogs to cuddle with (they will ONLY be allowed to cuddle with them when they're sleeping). You can always bypass entering and just buy a set here.


Rawmazing is giving away a neat 2011 calendar with 13 months of recipe cards.  The calendar is in a CD jewel case so it's a great desk calendar. (Have you seen these calendar templates popping up on the internet?  Ali at One Pearl Button just made the cutest one out of photos she took of her friends greyhound.) Anyways, they're giving away 2 calendars - one for you and one for a friend.  This contest is only taking entries until 10pm tomorrow!

Pink Dandy Chatter  has teamed up with Orglamix to giveaway three colors of the different formulas (like eyeshadow, blush, foundation, etc. - details on the blog). There are a ton of ways to earn entries to win.  Check it out! Mineral makeup is a great alternative to pore-clogging chemical laden cosmetics.  Let your skin breath!



I hope I informed you about some giveaways you didn't know about yet.  Good luck!

horror movies

Well, October has come & gone.  Halloween is over - but that is no reason to put away the horror movies.  I used to try and watch one horror movie a day in the month of October (I don't have time for that anymore!) but this year I only managed to get a handful in.  Here are three noteworthy (bad & good) horror/bloody/creepy films I came across this October.

1.  The Human Centipede:  I don't know whether to call it a horror film, science fiction, or just downright outrageously creepy.  I was squeamish during the whole film - just thinking about the situation the characters were in.  To be honest, the movie had a terrible start. If it weren't for the creep level, I probably I would have turned this off half-way through. I don't know if I'm happy about that or not. If you like creepy films - I recommend it!






2.  The Death Factory: Bloodletting:  Lots of blood & gore. This film totally bored me and couldn't really keep my attention.  The story behind everything was okay, I guess, but I don't felt it was explored very well. I can't really say much more about it.  If you like bloody messes, it might be for you.








3.  I Think We're Alone Now:  Okay, so not a typical "horror" film.  This is actually a documentary about 2 obsessed Tiffany fans. If I were Tiffany, I would categorize this under "horror." The fans are completely out of their minds over Tiffany and have no clue how outrageous they are. Great film, interesting characters.  If you like documentaries, and pop culture, watch it!






Did you catch any awesome horror (or not so horror) films this month?