Craft Show Recap: Midsummer Mini Mayday! (July 2012)

This past Saturday was the "Midsummer Mini Mayday Underground" art & craft show, organized by my friend (and fellow RNEST member) Casey of Peaches Products.

The show was at the Decibel Lounge in Rochester, NY.  My space was up on the stage.  I enjoyed being up there...I had a nice view of things.  (above photo courtesy of Casey)

Here was my "dry run" setup at home in my living room the day before the show.  I had an idea in my head that I really wanted to have a setup that didn't include my typical 6 foot table, since I knew the space wasn't going to be typical and we would need to be flexible in our setup.  I just wanted to use the suitcases, stacked up, to have a literal "trunk show" feel.  I used an old stool to hold the Owl Nubbin suitcase.  I couldn't use the huge trunk I usually use, since circumstances had me bringing my car instead of the pickup truck, and the huge trunk doesn't fit in the car.  But I have a smaller trunk that I just propped up on 2 wine crates.

And here is what my setup looked like in the venue.  It is slightly different...more on an angle, since space was tighter than we thought it would be.  But I specifically designed the setup to be flexible (one of the reasons I didn't want to rely on using my usual 6 foot table).

 The view from the stage "entrance".  You can see my stacked suitcases waaay at the end there.

 The view from the front door when you first came into the lounge.

 My view from the stage.

 Some cute pom-poms that were part of Fuzzy Bunny's display down on the floor.

Not all the monsters would fit in the trunk, so mom had the idea to take some of them with long arms and attach them to the pole!

 Casey and her new friend...Howard!  (I traded him for some of her wonderful feather hair clips!  Gotta love artist trades!)

Casey at her booth.  So happy! (happy everything worked out okay with the booth/table setups!)

 Casey's plush owls!  We both make plush owls (it's her fault I got into owls!) but our owls have different enough styles that we aren't in competition with each other.  She uses patterned & batik cotton fabric and I use fleece and felt.  I have one of her owls and an octopus in my craft room (more trades from previous shows!  I think Casey and I make a trade at every show we are at together!) 

My "booth neighbor", Jen of Old Familiar Way.  She does quirky-cool illustrations and makes shrinky-dink jewelry/accessories with some of those illustrations.  My favorites from her are the Doctor Who pins.  I have the Dalek pin (that Casey gave me for my birthday) and I bought the TARDIS pin at the show.

 The other vendors on the stage with me...Henry (left) and Papersaurus (right).

 This kid, Henry, is only 13 and he does some amazing drawings.  His dad was there with him, but he did all the drawings himself.  He is so detailed and has such a specific style!  Check out a closeup here.  He's just started selling his work, so there's unfortunately no website/Etsy shop for me to link to yet.

 Michele of Beauty In The Eye and her cool jewelry and bottlecap creations were also on the stage with me!

Kelly, one half of the husband & wife team of Our Secret Treehouse.  They have some great illustrations!  I love the woodland creature pictures!

 I was directly behind Salt City Chains (that's my director chair at the upper left).  My mom has been in love with her work since the last Mayday show in the spring, and finally bought herself a necklace from her to wear to my brother's wedding.

 More Doctor Who themed crafts! (have I mentioned how much I like Doctor Who? LOL!) This TARDIS magnet was by Sabra of Cat Clay.  She had the design on earrings and pendants too.  She also had a Dalek design! 

 Some work by Jina of MoyaLazyFactory.  Her stuff is absolutely adorable!

 Little owls!

Very cool, tiny, recycled soda bottlecap pincushions.  I remember trying to make one of these once, but getting frustrated and giving up!  I'd much rather buy one from her! (or make a trade! *wink*)

This little plush sewing machine is just darling!  I love it!

I forgot to take a picture of Sweet Pea Felts...but you should check her stuff out!  It's adorable!
Overall the day was really fun (even if I didn't make a lot of sales).  I can't wait for the next Mayday in November!

RNEST Monthly Challenge: June (Carnivals & State Fairs)

This month's theme for June's RNEST Monthly Challenge was Carnivals and State Fairs. (the theme was chosen at my suggestion after spotting it on the list of trending topics on Etsy's Merchendising Desk post for June). This is my entry, Barnum the Stripey Sweater Monster.

"STEP RIGHT UP!

See the Amazing Barnum juggle balls of yarn and swallow pairs of scissors!

Barnum loves carnival life (where he can eat all the cotton candy he wants!), but he hopes to graduate from being a carnie to working as the ringmaster of his own circus someday, and train acrobatic sock monkeys!"

- description from my Etsy listing

I enjoyed staging the photos here. I took two of my scarves and arranged them to look like a striped carnival/circus tent.

I originally didn't start making Barnum with this month's challenge in mind. I had the body made with the limbs and ears attached, and had him set aside for hand-sewing the eye and heart on, and stitching up the stuffing opening. It wasn't until after I knew about the challenge that I decided he was a good candidate for a Carnival-themed monster, and I added the hat, moustache, and bow tie (because...you know... bow ties are cool!).

Voting for the challenge starts today, so be sure to check out all the entries on the RNEST Blog and vote for your favorite! (there will be a poll in the top-right corner of the blog.) I won't guilt you into voting for me if you like something else!...but it would be nice if you liked mine best!

Treasury Tuesday: In Bloom

It's almost officially summer! Next Tuesday it will officially be summer (also my birthday!). Me, and a bunch of other other RNEST members were featured in this flowery, summery treasury...

RNEST In Bloom

I also had work featured in a wedding treasury, Here Comes The Bride by my friend and fellow RNESTer, Crys from aDifferentView. And speaking of weddings, I was also featured in a wedding blog by a Rochester bride-to-be who is wanting to showcase local artisans. Go check out the post on her blog, Bridefied!

Want more Etsy Treasuries?...go check out my Treasury Tuesday post on the RNEST Blog.

Etsy Favorite Friday!: ArtSnack

I met ArtSnack at Mayday Underground (sorry, the artist's real name escapes me at the moment!). Her work is great because it's like play food in pillow form! Her work is delightful and the foods she chooses to translate into pillow form practically scream summer!

Pink Watermelon Pillow

I think the watermelon is my favorite! My mouth is watering just looking at it! (I may just need to go buy a watermelon this weekend!) Mmmmm...

Orange Creamsicle Pillow

Mmmmmm...Ice cream!

Ice Cream Sandwich Pillow

Be sure to check out ArtSnack's Facebook page as well as her Etsy shop!

Stoneybrook 2010

CJ had the past week off for vacation. We hadn't really planned anything as far as going away anywhere, so we did a "stay-cation" and just took a couple day trips together. Wednesday, we went to Stoneybrook State Park in Dansville, NY.

Notice that Luna does not look particularly interested in following me to the water.

Whatever...I LOVE the water! My mom tells me that I could literally swim before I could walk. Even though the water was pretty chilly, I could have stayed there most of the day!

Luna, however, is not a huge fan of getting wet. She can swim, but she just doesn't prefer it if she can help it. That doesn't stop us from trying though! (I know what some of you are thinking..."Poor puppy! Your mean owners made you get wet!")

I think she still loves us anyway!

Blueberry Picking 2010

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE living in the country? Well, not that I didn't go blueberry picking when I lived in the city...but the blueberry farm I went to yesterday is right down the road from where I live.

I went with my friend Amy and her 4 kids. I also brought Emily, the 11-year-old girl I've been watching for the summer while her dad is at work.

I just got that straw sunhat a few weeks ago. (every country girl needs a straw hat for when she does out in the garden!) CJ says I look like a movie star when I have the hat and sunglasses on. The bells & beads necklace was courtesy of Emily. She made it for me earlier in the day and wanted me to wear it.

Sterling Renaissance Festival 2010

Anyone who knows me knows that I was kind of born in the wrong century. I'm all about swords, corsets and all that medieval kind of stuff. (extra points for Celtic stuff!) So going to a Renaissance Faire is a field day for me!

My family all went to the Sterling Renaissance Festival on Saturday. It's an hour from where my parents live (and 2 hours from where I live). My brother and his girlfriend were coming into town from Staten Island and it was something fun and special we could all do together. Since I've been married, I've tried to go to a Ren Fest at least once a year. Last year we didn't go to one because we bought a house and were trying to conserve money (it's usually at least $25 per ticket, plus money you pay for food and souvenirs). Two years ago, we went to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire in Ohio with my husband's family instead of going to Sterling. So I was glad we had a good excuse to go to Sterling this year. It was the very first Ren Fest I went to, in 1993 when I was 11 years old and we lived near Sterling, and holds a special place in my heart. And this year was the first time since '93 that my family has all been there together.


I love the cast and performers there! We had our pictures taken with Don Juan and Miguel, who have been doing the Festival for 27 years. They are great performers and funny guys, but they are also the sweetest and most humble guys as well and are always appreciative of their fans. When you see their shows every year, you practically know the routines by heart, but they are always still funny!

A downfall of the Sterling Ren Fest is that it is usually SO HOT (due to it being held during the summer months). I knew it was going to be hot, so I didn't wear my green velvet cloak (that CJ bought me on our honeymoon). If you go, make sure to bring adequate drinking water, or you'll end up having to pay $2.50 for small 8 oz bottle of water that you guzzle down in 5 minutes! My family brought water and soda in from the cooler that was in Dad's truck, and we still ended up having to buy a few bottles.

There are Renaissance/Medieval Faires all over the country at all different times of the year. At one point, CJ and I wanted to try to go to a different one each year. We went to one in Pennsylvania for our honeymoon, one in Virginia for our first anniversary, and one in Ohio for our 2nd anniversary. These have all been summer Faires...but I'd like to try to find one somewhere that is scheduled in the fall so we can enjoy the faire in a cooler temperature.