Craft show weekend

We had such a busy busy weekend and I barely had a second to rest my bulging belly. On Saturday we went to CAM at Eastern Market and set up the little Lumpkin stand. It was such a fun event, I wish more people came. Actually, I wish more people just knew about Eastern Market's gloriousness period. Unfortunately it's in it's third year now and every time ask someone about it they say " oh yeah, I've heard of that I always mean to go but I forgot" well trust me, if you go that first time you'll be hooked. It's just such a great experience. It really feels like a community run institution there, like you're part of something wonderful when you take part. OK, anyway, the rain did not hold out as I had hoped and the day was rather stormy. So not many people+ bad weather= sorry sales, but the rest of the vendors made it an event to remember. I got a bunch of fun stuff from the regulars there and a couple of new items from people I never met before.

On Saturday, I was very excited to have some time away. The last road trip before baby arrives. We drove to Philly for the Art Star Craft Bazarr and it was everything I'd hoped it would be. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the vendors still had tons of merchandise left over from yesterday because they all got rained out too. We even managed to get there early enough to get a free goodie bag packed with postcards and buttons and lots of junk. The Bazzar was at Penn's Landing this year and the water and the breeze was lovely, although I saw quite a few vendors chasing their wares down the sidewalk as it got caught in the breeze.

These were my favorite vendors:


1. Sarah Ashley Terjanian
She had really interesting flowy dresses that were completely designed and hand made by her using fabric which was also designed and printed by her, they were really nice pieces of art. Unfortunately slightly out of my price range:(

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2. Owly Shadow Puppets

Andrea Everman was there with her lovely laser cut shadow puppets. That is truly the perfect use for a laser cutter, I think it's the best use ever actually. There were lots of laser cut goods there but none as original and useful as these whimsical shadow puppets. Although I didn't purchase any puppets this time, I DID buy one of her screen printed Shadow Theater fabric panels. Evidently she sell a little theater for placing in a door way on a tension rod, but sometimes the prints have minor flaws and so she sells them to crafty people at deep discounts for use in making their own custom theaters. Stay tuned to see what I do with mine!

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photo from http://www.angryolive.com
3. Angry Olive
I really loved this stand and I'm really mad because I seem to have lost the card I got from the girl. Anyway, she makes very original kids items that are actually priced accurately reflecting the time, skill, and materials it requires to craft a truly high-quality children's heirloom. I had a real appreciation for her work, and I almost bought a little cotton baby bomber hat, but I'm holding out to see what she puts in the etsy shop she's said to open shortly.

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4. Sweet Pepita
A fellow yetilovessemonster member, and oft mentioned cake recipe source for my vegan baking needs. I finally got to meet Shannon Delanoy of Sweet Pepita yesterday. I didn't even know she was going to be at Art Star and I forgot to mention to her that I just used her vegan cake recipe fro the yeti blog for Lorenz's b-day cupcakes the other day. I bought one of those little organic pixie hats for Lumpy#3 and I am very excited about it. all of her items are very well made and extremely reasonably priced. I like that she uses recycled and organic fabrics because that's something I've been trying to transition into with my own business.

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5. The Blackspotbooks
This little stand had very nicely crafted blank journals and unique jewelry. Some of the journals were only and inch tall and they had nice ratty tattered pages and rustic leather covers. I enjoyed them. They also had a beautiful 8 week old baby and I'm still in awe that the mama looked so great only 2 months after birth, but that's a side note. The craftsmanship was commendable.

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Overall it was a lovely weekend full of crafty goodness. As for my own crafting, I spent a couple hours before bed making this "God of Wrath" dress for M1 to wear today for her school play. She requested skulls embroidered on it (if I had time-she's so generous) but left them out because it turned out to be a pretty snazzy little dress. Even though it's a bold color with some spooky stitching it could still serve as a fun fancy dress, but probably not with the skulls. Plus they would have looked cheesy. I was amazed that it actually fit her so well when she tried it on this morning. I didn't use a pattern, I just tried to eyeball the size compared to another loose dress she has. I didn't feel like messing with buttons and zippers so I made the neck and bodice plenty roomy for pulling over the head. the fabric is an old round tablecloth someone gave me. I tried to incorporate the existing serged edge into the design so I wouldn't have to mess with sewing a neat hem. It turned out really nice I think. I'm going to the second performance of the play this afternoon. I'll be sure to let you know how it went.
Bye for now.