You are what you love

I only just met them, but I might already love Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins.

Gobsmacked

My heart is still a'flutter from all of yesterday's excitement. You know those days that surprise and delight you to such an extent that you are still smiling and shaking your head in amazement several days later? It was one of those. It was like my wedding reception in several ways: I smiled so much my face ached afterward; I laughed loud and talked so much that my voice is a bit scratchy today; and I did not have enough time talking to anyone because practically every single person I ran into is someone I would love to have a nice long sit-down with. I am going to attempt to devote at least a paragraph here to each milestone along Saturday's progress. But I was so busy floating around on cloud nine that I forgot to take any photos until the very end when I suddenly remembered how much I love chasing other people's toddlers around with a digital camera.

So I guess I will start with the Grace Church Holiday Craft Fair itself. Chere and I had our tables on either side of Jamie, so we were a like an armada of Mowery women in the back corner of the church basement. Which is great because I don't get to hang with my SIL's nearly enough. Kevin was there for part of the day as well. However, he refused to go down the street to Mother's to get his beautiful pregnant wife the creamed chipped beef platter that she was craving for breakfast. She was running on about three hours of sleep and was STARVING. And, dude, she's gestating your kid--she doesn't do that for just anyone, you know. Sometimes, Kevin, your inattention to Jamie's needs makes Baby Sack cry. And probably Jesus, too.



Getting back to the fair... Jamie and Kevin's table was all yard sale stuff. Chere was selling hand painted glass Christmas ornaments and handcrafted beaded bookmarks as a church fundraiser. George was stuck changing a flat on the side of 695. Gary and Kate stopped by with their (70 pound) puppy Hank. Charlene was flitting around from stand to stand inside like a merry bumble bee. And Robb was outside helping Ken run the sidewalk sale. It's really the best place for him to be during a yard sale because Robb undergoes a strange transformation into a used car salesman. It must be a repressed second personality buried deep in his psyche. When he wakes up in the morning, he's still regular Robb. But when he lines a bunch of junk up on a table and sees his first potential customer, Bobby MowRAY takes over. "I see that you're interested in the dented metal lamp. This particular lamp was a wedding gift from my Aunt Marilou--God rest her soul--and it has a lot of sentimental value to my wife who is bedridden and whose only joy in life is gazing upon this very lamp, but I could give it to you for five dollars. You have honest eyes, and I can tell that you would give this lamp a good home, so I think I could go as low as three fifty. What do I need to do to get you to drive home with this lamp today? Two dollars? Sold!" Customer and lamp walk away, and he reverts to Robb again. It's an impressive performance. And it frees Ken up to tend the burgers and dogs on the grill.



In my little corner of the craft fair, I was quite blown away by my sales yesterday. Here's the recap:

4 small watercolor paintings,
1 acrylic painting,
1 Moleskin journal,
2 kerchiefs (head scarves),
3 bracelets,
4 scarves,
and all 26 tea towels.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my customers! This was, by far, my best year yet. You never can tell in advance what is going to be a hot seller, and this year it was tea towels. I probably could have made twice as many and still maybe come home with an empty basket. Last year the greeting cards were flying off my table--mostly purchased by a petite man dressed head to toe in leather. This year I arrived with 100 cards, and I came home with 100 cards. So I will be posting 3 packs of the Christmas cards in my Etsy shop in the next few days.



As I was getting my table set up in the morning, this woman walked up and called me by my maiden name, "What are you doing here?" Thus began the shock and awe of my day. It was Lesley, a Bridgewater College classmate and fellow English major. I have seen her since graduation, but we lost touch. I knew she was living in Baltimore, a fact that I keep filed in the back of my mind, so when I'm downtown there's always that tiny chance we'd run into one another on a sidewalk somewhere, but it's a big city. All the while she worked with Laura. Seriously small world. She was selling Mary Kay at the craft fair, so now I totally have a non-pushy Mary Kay hookup. (Let me know if you want to order from her, and I can put you in touch.) Between customers I visited her table, and we chit-chatted and caught up. This must be what hanging out at the VFW is like. We used to study together, especially senior year, so we are like old war veterans of English literature. And although we might not be parsing Chaucer or Hemingway together anymore, it is comforting to sit with someone who fought in those same trenches. Most importantly I discovered that Lesley is hooked on the Farmville, too.

Mid-morning in strolled Becca who had been threatening to attend. I had not seen her since the day last month we lunched at Five Guys and then visited the Sandy Spring Museum. I am really glad that she came to the fair because she just returned from her grandmother's funeral in England, and I wanted to give her a hug and an ear. And a place to sit down. She's been on the move constantly for the past two months between all the business trips, conferences, vacations, and family tragedy. Under the circumstances the funeral trip was as good as it could have been, and she cemented a fast friendship with one of her grandparents neighbors. As I mentioned before, we did not have nearly enough time to talk, so I will have to give her a phone call this week. And I need to thank her for making my table look more presentable. And get her birthday card into the mail!



And while I was still talking with Becca, across the crowded church basement, I caught a momentary glimpse of a bearded redhead smiling at me with his wife and two tiny children in tow. "What the hell....?" James Flippin' Jackson--another BC alum--was standing in the doorway. Except that the last time I saw James might have been on his graduation day, which was only slightly later than my graduation day. And he did not tip me off that they were coming to the craft fair, which made this like the best surprise ever. I have been watching his life with Angel, Emma, and Dustin in photos on FaceBook, so it was fantastic to finally meet them all in person. I gave him a huge hug, and he was all, "Are you crying?" Well, just maybe I was. Those children are delightful! Dustin and I did some counting together using the cake walk numbers on the floor. But then Dustin left me and fell madly in love with the Rose granddaughters--and can you blame him? He was trailing Ashlyn while grinning ear to ear. And Emma wrapped herself up in one of my purple and pink scarves. Again, not nearly enough time with James and Angel. But they will be living near York, PA, so hopefully soon we can have a real visit.

So that was my super awesome yesterday. Still can't quite believe it all...holy cannoli.

Craft fair preview part three

It's pandemonium here at Fig Point as I scurry around making the final preparations for tomorrow's Holiday Craft Fair in between my shifts at the Big-Box.



I finished a merino wool and mohair ladies stocking cap. (It's a little darker and a little greener in real life.)



I gave all the scarves a nice spritz of lavender infused water.



I tagged the bracelets that Mom made for the craft fair.



I designated several small acrylic paintings to bring with.



I matted more watercolor paintings.



I found my stash of note cards.



And I made more note cards.



And I made more note cards.



And I made more note cards.



And I made MORE note cards. !!!

I made a bunch of funny little signs and tags and homemade business cards and stuff. And then I ironed a table cloth and bent my ironing board. It was apparently not meant to bear my entire body weight. Long story. I leaned over it when I was plugging in the iron and felt it dip down and not rebound. Now it's sort of wonky. Okay, I guess that wasn't a long story at all.

So. See you tomorrow at the Grace Church Holiday Craft Fair! (Details are here.)

Craft show preview part two

I know that I showed you the tea towels before. But I made a bunch more, so it's like they had babies. And then their babies had babies.



As my mother once said, after baking a hundred dozen cookies for my grandparents' anniversary party and in response to her twin sister asking after dinner if there were maybe any cookies in the house: "I've got about a million of those em-effers." That's pretty much how I feel about the holiday tea towels. Again, $3 each - or 4 towels for $10.



Last year I did not make nearly enough Christmas cards. So this year I am rolling out two new prototypes. First is what I call "Pinked Presents." These cards are made from tiny pieces of cotton holiday fabric that have had their edges gently clipped with pinking shears. I then machine sewed the fabric onto an ivory (the manufacturer calls it "Palm Beach White") acid-free greeting card with a plain edge.



And I tied a little thread bow at the top of each stack of presents for heightened adorability.



The other series of holiday cards I am calling the "Banners." (Not to be confused with Sue and Joe Banner.) Each card features a simple watercolor sketch of a banner with hand lettering of the word Merry, Noel, Joy, Happy, or Love. These are painted directly onto bright white acid-free cards with a deckle edge.



All of the greeting cards come with matching envelopes and are packaged individually in clear acetate sleeves. They are blank inside. They measure 5" x 7" and (if you are so inclined) fit perfectly into a standard 5" x 7" picture frame. All greeting cards are $4 each - or 3 cards for $10.

More to come...

Craft show preview part one

These small watercolor paintings are matted to fit right into a standard 5" x 7" picture frame. And they priced to move at $20 each--perfect for your office holiday gift exchange.



Your grandmother called, and she wants her tea towel back. I made a heap of these holiday kitchen towels for purely nostalgic reasons. They are exactly the sort of thing my grandmother would buy at a craft fair and tuck into my Christmas gift. And now that I think about it, they are exactly the sort of thing she would have liked to find in her stocking. Holiday tea towels are $3 each -- or four towels for $10.



There will be scarves but not quite as many as in past years. Wild, woolly, warm, and wrecycled. (Okay, that was a stretch of the alliteration.) Once again they will be $20 each -- or two scarves for $30.



Oh, and I wanted to show the cute packaging I made for the kerchiefs! It was quite a battle getting the headscarves into the envelopes, so I am kind of dreading the first person to ask to take one out and try it on. I'm sure I will never get it back in there. Again, the kerchiefs are $15 each and totally reversible and machine washable.

More to come...

You are invited

The pleasure of your company is requested at the annual Holiday Craft Fair at Grace United Church of Christ taking place on Saturday, November 21st, from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. Grace Church is located in the Federal Hill neighborhood at 1404 S. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21230.

This will be my third year participating in the event, and I am bringing an assortment of watercolor paintings, hand knit scarves, homemade greeting cards, embellished dishtowels, and much more. It's been a busy craft year!*

Also featured at the fair are vendors from Pampered Chef, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Cookie Lee Jewelry, Lia Sophia Jewelry, Tastefully Simple, Avon, and Longaberger. The church is again selling homemade baked goods, cook books, and personalized glass Christmas ornaments. New this year are beaded bookmarks which will nicely compliment any books you are gifting this season. You will not want to miss the hilarity of the cake walk or the abundant good deals at the rummage sale. Stop by and have lunch with us--hope to see you there!

*This week on the blog I will be posting photos of some of my handmade goodies that will be for sale in Baltimore on Saturday.

Paris in stitches

I just got started on a little commission piece for Charlene intended as a Christmas gift for her Paris-obsessed girlfriend. So far I have gathered the materials and source images and made the initial sketch in tailor's chalk.



I will start backstitching the outline in pale yellow today. This is going to be a big project.