fifteenth

bloomington handmade market has now come and gone. there was a pretty nice turnout & a nice selection of products/artists - overall pretty successful for a first time craft show/fair. i didn't do as well as i had hoped, but still good!

here are a couple of shots of our "booth":





it was crazy sunny in there the first half of the day - probably the first day in a few months that i got my fill of vitamin d!


my poor scarves didn't sell as well as i had thought they would. but i've come to somewhat of a conclusion based on comments & whispers that i've heard - everyone believes a hand knit scarf is something that they can make themselves. james suggested that my knitting is "too good" and doesn't look hand knit (awww, isn't he sweet) so people are not so inclined to purchase such an item.

regardless, since most of my knitting patterns are based upon my own designs, i think having a pattern (or small pattern book?!?) available for sale may be the way to go. maybe even a kit...

james had tons of success with his monster balls:




aside from the fair itself, my car was trying to overheat the whole way down there - but we made it. we unfortunately drank some terrible coffee but then made up for it with some super delicious coffee (from stefanos cafe! we met some super nice people. some lovely friends drove down to meet us and eat fried pickles & greek food. and on the way home we stopped to get a thin mint blizzard!

next up, holiday hoopla - indieana handicraft exchange mini on friday, december 4th @ the chatham center. i'll basically be selling monster balls for james, a few scarves, and perhaps some of my own holiday items (handmade stockings? knit ornaments?). should be fun fun fun - terrible sleep pattern time in full effect!

fourteenth

so what do you do to avoid finishing projects and getting things ready before craft fairs? (or, whatever responsibilities you may have pending)

apparently - i decided the thing to do is bake!



but first, i put james to work cutting out my tags/cards. (multi-tasking at it's finest?)




then i baked corn bread, blondies, and these yummy fruit jam strips!




Glazed Fruit Jam Strips

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg yolk
1+1/2 cups Original Bisquick mix
**jam of your choice for filling (i opted for strawberry, organic apricot, & a delicious homemade grape given to me by a local farmer)


Glaze (optional)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons milk


1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. In medium bowl, mix brown sugar, coconut oil, butter, vanilla and egg yolk until blended. Stir in Bisquick mix until well blended.

3. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each piece into an 8x1-inch (approximately) strip. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. With handle of wooden spoon or chopstick, make a slight indentation lengthwise in each strip. Fill each indentation with about 1 1/2 tablespoons fruit spread.

4. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool slightly on cookie sheet.

5. In small bowl, mix glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over tops. Cut diagonally into 1-inch strips.



These little guys are reminiscent of fig newtons, but with a crunchier crust - almost like a short bread. The coconut oil lends just a tiny bit of coconut flavor. At least now we are going to have snacks for the Bloomington Handmade Market!

There's always tomorrow to finish everything up...right?

thirteenth

here's a preview of items i'll have at the bloomington handmade market this upcoming weekend, November 21!



i'm not sure where exactly/how exactly this will be set up, but come find james (blahmamus.wordpress.com/) and i and we'll be sure to hook you up with some pretty awesome stuff. he's working on some pretty neat ornaments that you're probably going to need for this years christmas tree.


"The Bloomington Handmade Market is a contemporary art and craft fair that showcases modern handmade goods from 40 local and regional artists. The event will be held on Saturday, November 21 from 10am-4pm at the John Waldron Arts Center, located at 4th and College in downtown Bloomington, IN.

This will be a one-stop shop for all of your holiday gifts! Find everything from metalsmith jewelry, hand-bound journals, knitted hats and scarves, herbal bath products, silk screened shirts and ties, plush animals, hand-drawn coffee mugs, fine art for your walls, and so much more!

Admission is FREE and open to the public."

twelfth

1. i'll be doing this!:

bloomingtonhandmademarket.blogspot.com
i'll be sharing space with my co-conspirator / lovely boyfriend. come buy creepy stuff from him and jewelry bits or hand knit items from me! we'll love you forever.

2. i'm getting flooded with requests for knit items from friends. weird! well, i guess not really. it always happens at this time of year. hats, gloves, baby caps, scarves, head bands. all of these requests come AFTER being accepted for the handmade market. ima be a busssy girl.

3. i have a for real interview this sunday!! for now, it's part time, entry level - which is not really what i'm looking for - but it is "very realistic that a full time position with a substantial pay rate increase" will be available soon! i'm so beyond stoked. even if i get a part time position and cut back the store to part time - life would be easier. less time at the store = less time for stressors to present themselves.
the best part - this company deals with natural + organic face + body care products - which fits right on in with what i already do an know. i should be 10 steps ahead of any other beginning associate.

4. holy crap it's october 7th! the holidays are so soon, and i haven't even given it a thought yet.

5. can someone PLEASE give me more free time?

eleventh

1. franny's surgery - ouch!

2. submitted an application for bloomington handmade market

3. etsy favorites: version 1.


4. art vs art: next friday. please go vote: http://vote.artvsart.com/city/indianapolis/3913761503 - james (canvas #75)could use the cash to create more quality pieces for you!

5. i want to make a calendar of cute for holiday gifts. time to read up on book binding and the likes.

cupcake tour

new york: burgers and cupcakes



boston/cambridge: sweets





indianapolis: the flying cupcake




sweets wins, so far. tour continues for the rest of my LIFE!

tenth

i've been quiet here in blog world, not that i have really ever been loud.

anyways, i've been crafting it up - alot - and coming up with some new ideas. don't worry, you'll see soon enough...

amidst all this crafting, bike riding, baking, scrabble playing and puppy watching (this has been my summer, so far), i've been planning my east coast trip with james for my birthday! (which is in 11 days - 28 - ick!) i'm so beyond excited....this is my first trip since i was about 17 - and boy, do i need it!! we're going to get into a lot of food, shopping, exploring, and bike nerd stuff (naccc09boston.com/ - more him than me).

so, if you or anyone you know is looking for a hand knit item, a beautiful bird pendant or pin, or maybe a clutch (more, soon) please hop over to my etsy or zibbet shop.

and while you're at it, let me know which site you like better. so far, i've only had one sale and that doesn't give me much to go on.

etsy can be found here: ohcomeon.etsy.com
and zibbet is here: zibbet.com/ohcomeon