one of my favorite places in baltimore, which i admit, i just do not visit enough, is the american visionary art museum. the museum answers the question “what is visionary art?” just so:

“Like love, you know it when you see it. But here’s the longer definition, straight out of our Mission Statement: “Visionary art as defined for the purposes of the American Visionary Art Museum refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself.” In short, visionary art begins by listening to the inner voices of the soul, and often may not even be thought of as ‘art’ by its creator. “

alongside the exhibition and permanent collection, you will find, hands down, the BEST museum gift shop. known as sideshow, here you will discover not only an inspiring collection of books, paper, and stationary, BUT toys, trinkets, and vintage goodies- some stored in apothecary cabinets. if i remember correctly, the last time i shopped there, i walked away with michael jackson thriller stickers, a few milagros, tin toys, and a set of fake teeth? currently, admission costs are $12 for an adult and $8 for a student. if you’re feeling a little light in the wallet, don’t worry, you can still gawk around in the store- it’s free to get in there!

oh yes, i digress. i brought up the avam because i wanted to make the exciting announcement that imogene will be at the museum’s annual holiday sale!! bazaart 2007 takes place on saturday, november 24. more info as the event approaches!

did you make it out to pile of craft back in june? if so, you know what a hit it was! are you ready for more?

CALL FOR ARTISTS for the charm city craft mafia’s first holiday show, “holiday heap”! To take place at beautiful St. John’s Church on Saturday, December 1 from 10am-6pm (one more hour of shopping added!) apply here!

the winner of our earring giveaway is. . . .

and it looks like she is brand new to etsy too!

everyone-please don’t forget to check out all the awesome links that the contestants each contributed. they will lead you to some must-haves.

this is ONLY a sneak peek at what you will find in the shops- there were 27 contestants!. . . you’ll have to click the links to see for yourself! thank you to everyone who participated. i will definitely have another giveaway in the near future, so please keep checking back! you all are doing a wonderful job! go etsy shop owners!

oh and speaking of that- don’t forget to check out mine too!

do you have an etsy shop? would you like to win these sweet earrings AND promote your store? i have a contest idea!!

please leave a comment with a link to a favorite item listed in your OWN etsy shop. i will close the comments when they reach a certain number. afterwards, i will put the names of each shop owner in a box and pull one out- the winner will receive the “branch earrings” from me! why? because i love all etsy shop keepers and wish i could gift everyone with a pair! winner will be announced on thursday (8/9). good luck!

well, i’m due for a few posts now aren’t i?

let’s see. . .   i  returned from providence on thursday evening with a tan!  after two days of swimming through jewelry supply warehouses, we spent the last day of vacation in newport, ri laying on the beach.   while some of my treasures must remain a secret for now, i will share with you pictures of a few goodies:

after a few days of sending out shipments and recovery (shopping and tanning can be hard work!), i attended ms. broken plate’s baby shower!  wow! was there an overabundance of tiny adorable things!  unfortunately, my contribution was neither tiny nor cute! (i gifted the diaper genie II :))  Congrats again juliet!  i can’t wait to see the little booger!

So did you miss me on 2modern yesterday?  don’t worry- i haven’t been fired.  there seems to be some technical difficulties with my login.  hopefully this will be fixed by next sunday and i’ll give you a double blog dose.  what do you say?

and finally- one more new item available here.