Neckwear Explosion

I think I took about an 18 hour break from Saturday's show before I started prepping for the Boutique Bridal Bazaar next month at the 78th Street Studios. My brain was on overload at the fabric store that day. I decided that if I can help it, I'm not going back until after the show. So I bought stacks! The poor dining room table won't be cleared for weeks! OK I'll probably clear it off for the holidays...for a bit.

And today my husband left the house wearing my latest creation, that took several pattern adaptations to create....a skinny neck tie. Woohoo! I'm excited. Happy Thursday!

At the Show

Saturday was my last show for a month and it was a fun one! I got to share a booth with my good friend Cayce and I really felt like our work complimented each other's well. There was a great group of artists and makers there and I love to chat with new people. The hot new item were the mens tie-able ties. I only brought a few to test the waters and I sold almost all of them! And now for an Instgram round up of the event.

I got a few goodies too (one I'll share later...) but this bracelet from Oceanne and this recycled leg warmers by Carla Morris made my day! The heat in our booth fluctuated from literally boiling (we were next to the radiators) to freezing so the leg warmers saved the day! Were you there? What did you get?

A Moment

Many words have been said about the horrific violence last Friday. There are just too many thoughts running through my head to coherently express. It's heartbreaking but somehow isn't absorbing because it just doesn't make sense. So I spent time with my boys, decorated our tree and did my best to spread a little light where I could. Love the ones you're with and have a happy Monday.

One Day Only

This is my last show of the holiday season and it's going to be a good one! Come out to the Last Minute Market tomorrow for handmade goodness! There will be artists and makers galore with lots of goodies to finish off your holiday shopping needs. And, there will be a photo booth my friends! My favorite new part of these craft shows lately! So come and visit me with Three Little Bees (we are are sharing a booth) and will be there from 10-6! Did I mention there will be bow ties?

Happy Friday, friends!

Sharp Dressed Man

Are these boys handsome or what?! The most exciting new of the week is that I managed to make some real live adult mens bow ties that tie! Woohoo! I'm super excited that they turned out well! JJ seemed impressed with them too. So if you are into matching accessories than I've got you covered! You can find them here or come out to the Last Minute Market on Saturday and see me there! Happy Wednesday!

Creamy Broccoli Soup

I'd recently been talking to a friend about whether or not our boys would eat soup. They both seem to handle to spoon well for cereal with minor spills so it seemed logical. So when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I thought it sounded tasty and it looked pretty easy to make. I did my best to follow the recipe with minor substitutions (vegetable stock in place of chicken) and just an addition of a little lemon juice. 

               

While the recipe is clearly very good for you. I felt like it was lacking in the taste department. So if I don't like something, then it's hard to make the boy eat it. He was pretty excited about the cool spoon and the grated cheese on top but he wasn't feeling it either. What's your favorite broccoli soup?

Gimme the Loot

Another weekend, another craft show! This time I was just attending to buy some gifts and see some friends! Bazaar Bizarre at the 78th Street Studios is always a packed event so we headed out early to be the first ones there. We parked at 10:00 and the lot was already full! A number one reason for going was to check our Magbooth and get some awesome family photos. The photographer was really friendly and was the perfect welcome into the show!

We picked up this adorable little pouch by Mallory Hill for our friend's birthday. They were so nicely made and impossible for me to pass up! She loved it!

Neon orange letterpress notecards by Wishbone Letterpress. There was just no chance I was leaving without these. The triangles and the color called to me and I had to have them! 

And we also grabbed these wooden bottle openers from The Sawdust Woodshop. They wood was really pretty and they are magnets. They seemed like the perfect stocking stuffer and were such a deal. We were in and out of the show in pretty good time and beat the huge crowds that tend to arrive a little later in the day. O was a champ and he enjoyed seeing all of the handmade goods! Happy Monday!

Cleveland Craft

A very big thank you to all that came out to the Cleveland Handmade Market last Saturday. The weather was fair and it was a perfect day to check out the creatives that live right here in the area. There were about twenty or so vendors selling their wares in the beautiful Tower Press Building on Superior.

It was so sweet to meet so many nice people! O and JJ made an appearance and little man was spotted as the Etsy bow tie baby! He has no idea how many people have seen his face. Hopefully he won't be annoyed when he's older! I think the new hoop displays worked out great!

The giant gold balloons were a hit with me and near the end of the show Santa and Mrs. Claus showed up to say hi! Thanks again for coming out! Now I'll be back in my workshop getting things ready for Last Minute Market on the 15th!

Mark This Day In History

We rode a train yesterday. Are you listening?! We rode a real live mini train at the Cleveland Botanical Garden's Glow event. O seriously almost fainted from excitement! Just look at that blurry little face!

Two tickets to paradise. We had the nerve to scoff at the $3.50/rider price (I think that this price was in place since it was Circle Fest and all of the museums were free) but when he saw that train go by he gasped with pure joy. So like good parents we gladly handed over the dough.

The train ride was short but honestly the sweetest thing of his whole life! He talked about it for the rest of the day. Like "seriously guys, do you remember that train ride?!" Circle Fest was a lot of family fun, we saw horse drawn carriages, lots and lots of lights, and even had a popcorn ball. This weekend was filled with really great events but nothing tops that smiling little face! Happy Monday friends.

Shameless Self Promotion Part 2

Tomorrow I'll be here from 10:00-6:00 with a dozen or so other awesome Cleveland artists! Come out and support the arts and shop local this season!! 

And while you are out and about check out Banyan Tree's 12th annual Hot Toddy Party! It's a fun day of shopping, eating, and hot toddies! Tomorrow also marks our very first holiday party of the season and I'm excited! Have a very happy Friday friends!

P.S. This is a three part series...

Holiday Cards

Do you send out holiday cards? I've always been a fan of getting mail so we try to do it every year. I think it's nice to send a little cheer to the ones you love. It's much easier to come up with a theme now that we have a cute kiddo to take photos of. In the past we've picked lovely letterpress cards, made glitter reindeer postcards, but now we just snap hundred photos of O until we get the right one! This photo is from last year's photo session. Look at that chubby little babe! It takes both of us to wrangle, distract and photograph him but in the end they seem to be pretty cute postcards. And if you have any editing skills you can add text on your own and create some nice effects to the photo. This year we are doing basically the same thing but with an older O and decided to give Vista Print a go. Tell me, how do you spread holiday cheer?

A Sunday Trip

To end our long holiday weekend we took a Sunday morning trip over to the Cleveland Museum of Art with hopes to check out the Balloon Installation and the fully opened Atrium. Unfortunately, the wait for the exhibit was two hours  so we opted to just walk around and see other things.

We watched other people walk through the balloon filled room. Little Man was pretty impressed with all those purple balloons! We looked at the William H. Johnson painting exhibit, the Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal, and the ancient artifacts. 

Then we decided to enjoy lunch in the Atrium and then let O run around a bit. The Cafe had lots of nice choices and we got a discount since we are members so that was a nice treat! It's so nice to have a free and fun family thing to do that is so close to us!

Holiday Display

On Sunday I spent about two hours in Michael's. I went in with a plan for my table display for the upcoming holiday shows and thought "this will only take 10 minutes!" Famous last words. The short version is that I went in for wooden crates and came out with embroidery hoops...of course I did. It was a team effort in every sense because I needed brainstorming help, inspiration, and muscle. Here's what we all did.

I took the hoops apart and traced around the circle making a larger one. Then cut out the burlap and covered the inner hoop, pulling the fabric tightly around it.

I cut the excess fabric and then my dear husband stepped in to do the nailing. The tough part was avoiding the metal screws in the hoop while also securing it to the base. I bought three round wooden plaques to use as the base for each stand.

This is a photo before the hoop was actually assembled to give you an idea.

When you don't have a workbench, you have to use the coffee table and your foot to hammer things together. I think the team (I had to phone in a friend or two with the brainstorming portion so they aren't all pictured) did a great job and my table will look awesome this Saturday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all get to spend your holiday with people that you love and lots of tasty food! We'll be spending ours with some pretty awesome friends and I'm excited about that! I'm bring a mushroom and leek tart, this photo is a quiche but it's such a pretty photo I wanted to use it! Stay happy and warm! And don't forget to check out the opening of the Made in the 216 Holiday Shoppe on Friday if you are in Cleveland!

Image Source

Holiday Velvet

I know that it's not right to boast, but look at that face! He kills me with his cuteness. Oh and not to mention the very fun new velvet bow ties that I just finished! They are up and active in my shop but I wanted to show you a sneak peak!

Shop Handmade

The holidays are quickly approaching so I thought I'd let you know about the handmade markets where you can find me! This week opens the Made in the 216 Holiday Shoppe that I mentioned last week!

You can also find me along with lots of other great makers at the Cleveland Handmade Market on Saturday, December 1st 10:00-6:00 at the Tower Press.

And my final show this season I am teaming up with one of my best friends at the Last Minute Market in the Screw Factory in Lakewood. Saturday, December 15th from 10:00-6:00. It's always a great show so please come on out and support local arts!

Have a happy Monday! I hope you all have a short work week!

Dear Dad.

Dear Dad. You have had a pretty exciting week. While I'm sure that you aren't feeling exactly top notch just yet, I know that you are feeling amazed and blessed by this incredible gift that you received. One of the most amazing parts in all of this is that when you really needed something, something that felt like an impossible thing to ask for, not one but four...or was it five people stepped forward to offer it to you. That in and of itself tells a story of what kind of man you are. Generous, funny, smart, and loved. Very, very loved. You are surrounded by a community of family, friends, and acquaintances that are hoping for nothing less than a speedy recovery for both you and your donor. You deserve this gift. And the (selfless) giver, well he will be in our hearts and minds forever.

Top Image: Stephen Cutri

Remember That Bracelet?

Sometimes you have jewelry that you just love but never seem to wear. For me it was this brightly colored bracelet. I wore it, but not often. It was a bit bulky on my wrist and made it hard to actually do anything with it on. But I kept it, it was a gift, and I loved the idea of it. So, here's how I made it work for me.

I gathered up these supplies:

Old bracelet

24 inches of chain

Nylon coated wire

2 crimp beads

Pliers

Once I cut apart the bracelet I attached one end of the nylon wire to the chain, slid the crimp bead over the long end of the nylon wire and the shorter piece that I strung through the chain and crimped it closed. Then I strung the beads in the same pattern as the bracelet was and crimped the other end to the chain. And done!

This was a very quick and easy project that turned something I didn't use into something that I'm excited to wear! It slides easily over my head so I didn't need a clasp. Little Man really likes it to and was wearing it before I got a chance to try it on.

Holiday Shoppe

Can it be?! Thanksgiving is really next week? Well then that means it's time for my first show of the holiday season! If you are in Cleveland please come down to Room Service for the Made in the 216 Holiday Shoppe! Lots and lots of local artists will be selling their wares so come on out to support us!

The Kick off party is on “Black Friday” November 23 from 5:00-9:00! DJ Pleasure Cruise will be spinning tunes, Hot Toddy's, Christmas Ale and Wine will be there too! The shoppe will be open through December 31 so if you can't make it for the party, please come during regular store hours! Woohoo!

A Beautiful Monday

Happy Monday friends! I'll be spending most of my day at the Cleveland Clinic while my father gets a kidney transplant. It's an amazing blessing, a selfless gift and we are truly thankful. I stumbled across this artist, Andrew Holder on Pinterest a while back and wanted to share some of my favorites with you.

         

They are beautiful and capture some of my favorite elements of print. I would gladly fill my house with his work. Hopefully one day we can! Have a great day!

Images: Andrew Holder