martha mcquade (scarf shop)

julia miller

west cermak (trinh mai & jeff nelson)

tia salmela keobounpheng (silvercocoon)

berry holz

me (painted fish studio)

elizabeth pechacek

zac fittipaldi

betty jager

vandalia street press

beez kneez

betsy burr & beth chekola

last saturday’s last minute handmade gift market at wonderland park coffee shop was a big hit! the work was amazing, the crowd was fun & fabulous, and the location was perfect. and i couldn’t ask for better partners in julia and martha. here’s hoping it becomes an annual event!

we’re doing it again! julia, martha, and i have put together the second last minute handmade gift market. it’s next saturday (a week from tomorrow) from 2-6pm at wonderland park coffee in minneapolis. true to the name, we found our venue at the last minute, with a nudge from my sis and legwork by julia.

we’ll be joined by some of the great creators that joined us last year, and we’ll have a few new faces. our current vendor list:

betsy burr
beth chekola
betty jager
berry holz
martha mcquade (scarfshop)
julia miller
tia salmela keobounpheng (silvercocoon)
west cermak (trinh mai & jeff nelson)

please spread the word, and come see us on december 15th!

happy weekend!

i think i have more tea towels that i don’t use because they’re too beautiful than i have tea towels of lesser distinction (the cheap ones from ikea with tea & wine stains). and yet, i still want more, more, more! i really like this set of 3 hand printed tea towels in burnt orange (or in slate?) from etsy shop printing grounds. bonus: they’re printed in minnesota!

photo credit: printing grounds

i’ve been a fan of local artist jennifer davis for a really long time, and i have been waiting for the perfect piece to speak to me… 2 weeks ago jennifer’s hand painted shooting targets were featured on the jealous curator, and i knew right away that i needed a jennifer davis target. i placed my order, and asked for a target that had orange on it, and i now have one hanging in my “studio”. YAY, ART!

photo credit: jennifer davis

barbara gilhooly‘s window installation at gallery 360
xerxes & 50th, minneapolis mn
november 16, 2012
fujifilm

rachel

kate

tracy

valerie

me

i joined the girls on the east side last friday at rachel’s, and we painted sugar skulls. i have to admit, i knew nothing about sugar skulls going into the evening, so it was extra fun for me! i did a tiny bit of research, looked at a lot of pictures, and played with lots of color.

about a month and a half ago, jenn forwarded an email about painter kat corrigan‘s 30 dogs in 30 days july 2012 project. i immediately contacted kat and asked if she could paint hannah and have her be the july 25th dog. i’ve always wanted a portrait of hannah (cheesy?) and july 25th is the 8 year anniversary of being her owner. you can read more about hannah’s arrival on kat’s blog. (i should commission her to paint gus, too!)

photo credit: kat corrigan

on saturday i went to the highlandfest with some friends. we ate cheese curds & browsed the art fair. then we drank beer on their patio. it was a perfect summer day.

the east side girls came over on friday night for some bookmaking. i wanted to find a technique that i was pretty sure no one had done before, so i went to kevin smith’s non-adhesive binding, vol. 2: 1- 2- & 3-section sewings, and decided to start simple with a 1 section (8 sheets folded in half) binding, then try a 2 section (2 sets of 8 sheets folded in half) binding. and at the end of the night, we tackled a tricky 3 section binding.

so, while i haven’t felt very creative lately, i’ve been doing my best to facilitate creativity for others.

happy july!

last friday i went to my 2nd art group meet up with some really great ladies on the east side of town. formed by rachel and valerie, they found me on etsy and invited  me to join them along with kate and tracy. they’re a talented group — with different skills and focus — and it has been fun getting to know them and watch our projects emerge. friday’s theme was around placing a figurine on a paper mache box and everyone had a different take on the project, which i love.

about a month ago, we decided to do a christmas market… we being martha, eireann, cynthia, julia, and me. as if we don’t already have enough craziness swirling around at this time of the year, we thought it’d be fun to add more! and it’s coming together nicely: we each take a to-do when we can, we’ve found a great location (modern times cafe), and we’ve got amazing artists joining us.

yes, we’re sorta crazy, but i think we all like it that way. if you’re in town, come by and see us. if you’re not in town, tell the people you know that live here about our last minute handmade gift market!

oh my, this is right up my alley: 2012 printable calendar, mid century chairs from local etsy seller blue tricycle. eeeeeeee! also: the mini calendar, perfect for stuffing stockings!

photo credit: blue tricycle etsy shop

last friday i took the day off, slept in for a ridiculously long time, then scrambled to run all my errands before settling in at willow house for their 2nd annual craft fair. once my table was set up i was able to explore what everyone else had made:

karen made scarves, cowls, and hats with thrifted sweaters. i think all of but one of us crafters bought something from karen! i love my new cowl/neck warmer.

anna manned a table full of fabulous fabric goods sewn by jenn, holiday napkins made by her (anna’s) mom, and story blocks that she (anna) made. it was so much fun to watch anna sell her awesome blocks! yay!

julie brought beautiful stained glass pieces and a collection of spirit dolls. the pink, wide-hipped beauty on the left? her spirit is creativity, and i brought her home with me.

ann’s wood toys were a hit: i saw numerous buyers with their hands full of knights and castles and more. i bought a little horse from her last summer, and still love it.

i wanted one of everything on kristin‘s table, but settled for a set of small beeswax candles for me, and a gnome ornament or two as gifts.

thanks, kristin & ann! the shopping was fabulous, and the sales were an added bonus!

julie of olfactory scents contacted me a few months ago, inquiring about a trade: a couple of my polaroid prints for some of her natural bath products. i’m as concerned about what goes on my body as i am about what goes down my drain, so i was interested in what she had to offer. and i wasn’t disappointed! she loaded me up with little samples and i am ready for more. julie’s lotion bar leaves my skin soft all day, and her salt scrubs are just the right coarseness: not too rough, but you know they’re doing their job. the knitter’s balm is soothing my already-too-dry hands. and she’s a stickler for detail with the packaging, making any item perfect as a stocking stuffer. also: sample sizes!

julie also creates ceramic buttons!

photo credit: olfactory scents etsy shop

i think the best part about participating in craft fairs is seeing new work and meeting new artists. here are some of my favorites from mcba’s book arts festival:

plenty of fish in the sea green grass press

merry happy december whatever lunalux

fangs a lot cherry pi press

happy holidays vandalia street press

it’s cyber monday! use promo code HOLIDAY20 to get 20% off your order in my etsy shop! offer ends tonight at midnight, CST.

i’ve had my eye on trigo‘s monster coin purses for a while, and i finally got the chance to chat with the monster maker at the nokomis urban craft fair a few weeks ago. she makes these little guys as her day job, and she’s got a great selection of recycled materials that she works with. i bought one for myself that looks a lot like scrappy the recycled tire coin purse (pictured above). in addition to holding coins, he’s also a great cat toy! my kitty won’t stop batting him around the house.

photo credit: trigo etsy shop

i first met christy of redshoes26 design last summer, when we were both participants in the walker art center’s local art mart. she was very friendly and easy to talk to, and since then we’ve kept in touch online and have chatted about applying for shows together. i see her occasionally around town, and she and i were both at the nokomis urban craft fair last saturday. she makes good stuff, that christy!

christy has lots of wonderful greeting cards in her etsy shop, but i am most fond of her twin cities icons. above, one of my favorite minneapolis landmarks: the grain belt sign. she has minneapolis and st. paul icon sets of cards, perfect gifts for those with a tie to the twin cities. but she’s also got cards for all locales and occasions. give her shop a visit!

photo credit: redshoes26 design etsy shop

on saturday i made one last visit to the pottery garage. laurie and her husband are packing up and moving to georgia, and there will be no more open studio days, and i’ll miss that. and i’ll miss laurie. sniff.

the drill press, my new best friend.

yesterday was a shit day, and i really didn’t want to spend the evening in a public arena. i wanted to crawl under the covers and hide out in my air conditioned bedroom. but i had registered for open studio at minnesota center for book arts, and i really needed to get over there so i can finish some projects.

the open studio workshop on tuesdays is pretty new, and it’s a great deal: for $10 (members), the bookbinding equipment is available from 6-9pm (letterpress and screenprinting equip is also available for different fees). usually it’s $20 per hour to use the bindery, so clearing time on a tuesday night is a nice money-saver. i had 2 reams of paper to cut for coptic-bound and secret belgian bound journals.

i also made use of the drill press for photo album pages. i bind albums with 2 screw posts, and i’ve been punching those holes by hand. it has gotten to the point to where i hate making photo albums because punching those 2 damn holes in every page really sucked. so i used the drill press to drill the 2 holes in about 250 pages, and life is going to be a little better.

the highlight was working with artist richard stephens. he was the monitor in the bindery for the night, and i needed to brush up on my drill press skills. we talked while we figured out the machine, and i realized that i was familiar with his linocuts — i bought a bunch of his cards at the loring park art festival a few years ago. he’s currently working on a book with writer steven schild, called these old men know things. it’s steven’s haiku, paired with richard’s linocuts, and richard is handbinding each book. it’s a small edition — i can’t remember the exact number, but it’s under 25. what a treat to see it coming together!

jenn made me this scarf!

i haven’t had a mom for many years, so mother’s day is just another day for me. but i am lucky enough to have a good friend who invited me to brunch with her little girl, her hubby, and her great in-laws yesterday. we ate family-style at the longfellow grill, and i wore the scarf she made me for my birthday.

rachel, doing her amazing work, last october up north

after brunch, i went to target, and as i was walking in, i heard my name. i turned, and it was rachel, in all her colorful glory! it was about a year ago when we met via blogland, and realized we were practically neighbors. i sent her a note that said i’m sure we had passed each other in the aisles of our target at some point. since then we have met in person a few times, but it was yesterday that we finally bumped into each other target.

then it rain showers passed thru, so i napped a bit, and cleaned the house. when the sun came out i walked the dogs and listened to a neighbor play his accordion on his porch. i made popcorn, had a glass of wine. it was a good day. hope your mother’s day was great!