Crafts in the Park

Last weekend, I vended at Crafts in the Park in nearby Lititz, showing my new summertime hair things and pins made from British Wensleydale wool. It was the largest show I've done, with so many vendors set up amongst the trees. I borrowed a tent from my friend Jody, and my family helped me set up, and even took me to breakfast (sit down restaurant- how luxurious!) after getting my booth ready.

I just had to create a new sign for summer, reflective of the color of things cooking up in my kitchen studio. Using the rest of the felt, I made the banner. It's put together with glue! and it lasted! couldn't believe it. I reused my store display for the Lancaster Yarn Shop - the shutter with little torquise shutters on the sides, the top of my pot rack table (seen in the book, "1000 Ideas for Creative ReUse" published 2009) became my upper tabletop display, and the little magnet house I created for the Square One Coffee Indie Arts show turned into a brooch holder. I loved how everything came together and reunited at least a little of my old painting with my new accessories.

Here's my little famous hair clips, bigger now and all dolled up with felty balls in the centers, some with beads.

As my tradition now before shows, I went around the park looking for my favorite vendors- selling the things I think are coolest. I easily spotted the booth of Michelle McGinn from across the way, and fell in love with her wood paintings, all hung on a vintage door. Everything was in similar colors to my work...it would have been fun to be set up closer together.

I ended up taking home a precious painting of hers, a mother bird feeding her two babies.

I built it!

this is a holder I built for our Indie show at Square One Coffee, and to use at my booth for shows.
It is a corner shelf, turned horizontal, with some left over molding I SAWED myself. I nailed it together, put a hanger on the back and painted it.
Each pocket will hold an encased 8x10 matte. or smaller items of course.

Houses for Habitat for Humanity

so this was the big to-do this weekend, as I worked on this and worked on this, and worked on this. It took so long! this was done on a cabinet door and it's really big and heavy. I think about 3 feet wide. I am still putting a sealer on sections of it. I have dreamed of making a large piece like this for several months but I was busy with red and black Lancaster city birds, and matching Lancaster city folk art chairs. It was really fun to work with this much color again, and incorporating more texture in my art. I am really inspired by "my favorites" from Etsy. The colors in this piece tend to be the colors I favor in other peoples art, so that was interesting for me to pin down. Also I really love felt-y cottages, and great big bright flowers and buttons, and this piece incorporates all of that. I think it would be a great piece for a kids area, or kids room.
It is made with:
cabinet door from Lancaster's Habitat for Humanity ReStore
IKEA fabric plus around eight other fabrics
paint
2 place mats
lacey cotton trim
buttons
a coat
a sweater I felted
a cotton sweater
a polar fleece shirt
two belts
ball fringe
a pair of pants
part of a handbag
(all of the clothes are from the Lancaster Goodwill bins on Rte 30)

and here are two I made also this weekend, to get an idea what I was going to do for the big one.
these are all for the Indie girls show we are doing at Square One Coffee in Lancaster benefiting Habitat for Humanity. This is an especially neat event for me to create art for, since I use salvaged materials from the ReStore on a regular basis. half of the money we raise selling our art will go back to Habitat here in Lancaster.

weekend

so these are the spring rolls that Brian's wife makes...Brian being the owner the Dogstar bookshop on Chestnut St. in Lancaster. I had them first in July for our Indie art show there. I ordered them last month for a holiday party, and this weekend- so I could eat them all weekend. They come with peanut sauce, and the spring rolls are spicy! so you can breathe really good after eating them:-). They are so full of color, I feel very healthy devouring them.

So I'm going to start including on my blog pictures from my house. I'm doing this because other bloggers do, and I LOVE seeing other people places, and how they have things, and what their house looks like. This is my dresser. The jelewry box was my Grandma's and I always loved looking at it in her room, and one day she gave it to me. A few things in this pic are from etsy artists, but at 2:05am I am too tired to list who they are made by. You probably recognize a few of the things from the pics I've posted. I don't have a lot of funky etsy things, but I wear what I have ALL the time, and basically any time I leave the house:-)

I was up til 3:30 last night painting, and making a mixed media collage, of little houses, and then I stood about 10 hours today doing the same thing. But I'm good now:-) just finishing up touches, and now I'll have some really fun things to bring to the Indie show in February at Square One Coffee, benefiting Habitat for Humanity.

I am sourly out of so many supplies, so I need 1. money, and 2. about half hour alone in AC Moore.