SEE YOU TOMORROW AT

HOLIDAY HEAP

YEAAAAAAAA!!!

10 am - 5 pm

2640 st paul street

there will be THREE raffle baskets available for winning on saturday at holiday heap. baskets include handmade goods from the members of the mafia. everything from monsters, to aprons, to jewels, to calendars! you name it! each raffle ticket costs one buck. even better: for every canned good donated, you will receive one free raffle ticket!! all donations will be going to the maryland food bank.

earrings available at ElleP’s etsy shop

(november 24, 2007) the front page of the baltimore sun’s style section featured a full length story on local holiday craft fairs in this city of ours- and let me tell you- there are so many to peruse that there is just NO reason to not buy handmade this year. of course, the much anticipated holiday heap is this saturday at st. john’s church. this is the charm city craft mafia’s BABY and we hope you will join us for tons of shopping merriment!  more on the show in days to come!

to read the full story, with interviews with my fellow mafia members rachel and christa, click here. SEE YOU ON SATURDAY!!

the front page of etsy at this very moment:

notice my friend megan in the top left corner and me in the bottom right corner. hi megan! i love it.

i spent the good part of the evening at bazaart’s preview party where i had to say a bittersweet goodbye to my “french lessons earrings”. i didn’t even realize while making them that they were actually my very own souvenir of the trip. i didn’t come home with a snowglobe or a miniature eiffel tower desk accessory, just a memory that i could only express in silver. i’m so thrilled that the pair found a home with another parisian lover, sad to let them go, and absolutely exhilarated that my special memory lives on apart from me. sigh. time for some rest.

i wish you a wonderfully warm thanksgiving as i sign off to prepare for bazaart, happening friday and saturday, and to travel a distance (somewhere near the picture below) to get some good ole stuffing and pie in me tomorrow.  yuummmm.

i’ve been tagged by “ez”, one of my very favorite bloggers of the beautiful , creature comforts.  (have you seen the accompanying boutique, wren eleven?  i’d check out the jewelry section if i were you- hint hint!)

five random/weird facts about me:

1.  a recent self discovery:  i’m a maniacal workaholic.  i will spend 14+ hours chugging away in the studio or at the computer if  left alone.  luckily, steve usually drags me away.  the only other thing that can take me away is the promise of indian, japanese, or thai food.  actually. . . any cuisine as long as i don’t have to cook it . . .

2.  i recently bought way too many boots cosmetics products.  wow.  i love boots.  i did the 5 day detox plan in order to regain my energy levels- it works!  also got no. 7 natural blush in petal, botanics volumising mascara (though i haven’t worn mascara in eight years), no. 7 amazing eyes pencil in black (because i’m addicted to eye liner), no. 7 high shine lipgloss in flirt, botanics lipstick in hibiscus.  help!

3.  netflix is my guilty pleasure.  currently watching all episodes of LOST

4.   i was a ballerina for seven years and have always dreamed of being in a dance company.  (after seven years, i turned into a rebellious young lady and quit).  i’m thinking of taking classes again because i can’t commit to my gym or yoga memberships.

5.  i believe that beige hose/tights are a creation of the devil.

thanks for tagging me creature comforts!  i tag

low inertia

beth pohlman

red prairie press

nice

midge’s mind 

the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

you might wonder how i prepare for a show? it seems that this is my course of action every time: plan, plan, plan, organize, organize, and then veer WAY off course. example: i spent my day making these one of a kind earrings from a stash of square silver wire and a little bit of sterling sheet for the words. this certainly was not part of craft show plan, but it did feel SO good to complete these. go with your creative compulsions, right? right.

p.s. can you tell i’ve still got paris on the brain?

update - 11/23/2007- sold!

available in the etsy store and here in the boutique soon.

yippie! a few fellow jewelry ladies and i written up in the baltimore city paper’s 2007 holiday gift guide:

pictured here:  megan’s brooch

available here now

yes! it’s thursday the 15th- four days after handmade arcade and i’ve just recuperated. it was colder than i thought it would be in pittsburgh and i just didn’t dress appropriately. i caught a little bug, but i’m back now. unfortunately, this post will be image free, but chock full of links for your exploring pleasure!

things steve bought:

we were next to the awesome t-shirt crew of campfire goods (who i happened to blog about back in june.) they rock- check them out! (steve is now sporting his great lakes tee in navy. )

things i bought:

i finally own my very own camisole from lavender zebra press- a hand-dyed, and silkscreened vintage camisole in a gold/brown color

red prairie press‘ 2008 calendar

a gorgeous garland made of scrap fabric from oh melisa!

and body butter and soap from biggs & featherbelle

i also had the pleasure of meeting julie from etui, olivera of wholly craft! (where you will now be able to find imogene jewelry), and so many other crafters. thanks again pittsburgh! it was a blast. . . even though i didn’t get to visit my favorite shoe store

these will not be available online until monday, but i couldn’t wait to share some sneak peeks with you.

amy ballard from boston!!

congratulations amy and happy early/belated birthday!

(pssst . . . i see that amy also has an etsy shop)

i’ve pasted amy’s favorite birthday memory here:

“My favorite birthday was my 8th. My grandma had a swimming party for me at her pool. I got to wear a very cute pink bikini and eat a 3 tiered, rainbow layered cake!! It was so good and I felt like a princess!
Happy belated Birthday to you as well!
P.S. I also LOVE birthdays so I know how you feel”

thank you so much to everyone who entered the contest. i loved reading your sweet stories