ICP 2011 - My purchases

Libby and I were talking and I think we discovered the real reason we do Indie Craft Parade... so that we can buy cool stuff! I came home with a boat-load of treasures this year, take a look!

Item list:
Crepe paper flower hair pin + Make & Do book - Royal Buffet
Metallic leather feather hoop earrings - Audrey Laine Collection
"I'm kind of a big deal"  white pencils - Phoenix Fire Studios
Paper doll cat + magnets - Jorden Grace Owens Illustration
"Oh my" earrings - foundling
Feathered wing pendant - Floridity
Crystals & bullet casing necklace - MaieDae
Leopard print clutch - Sew Few
Salted Carmel sauce + chocolate bars + truffles - Sweeteeth
Glittered fiber butterfly - Bess Whittington
Custom chevron bag - lightnest
Felt necklace + embroidered bags - Brandy Lindsey + Three Bad Seeds
Fabric flower necklace - Fox to the Opera
Artisan marshmallows - Malo
Handprinted tea towel  - Sarah Lee Parker Textiles
Letterpressed photo frames - Racing Snail Press
Owl locket - Marisol Spoon
Carved porcelain bowl - Rachel Feece Pottery
Letterpressed paper goods - Quill and Arrow Press
Stitched tree card + goat soap - Common Thread + Red Clay Soap

My booth at ICP

I had great fun setting up my booth for Indie Craft Parade, and was pleased with how the display turned out. This year I set up my booth the day before so that I would have time to take some photos. And sweet Courtney ran my booth the entire weekend so that I was free to manage the rest of the festival... I couldn't have done it without her!

Glittered letter garland and paper accordion fans in white, silver, and vellum.

Blossom necklaces arranged on a large mirror.

Huge pinboard display for all the earrings

Rings, in three different sizes. 

I should have made way more of these, I sold out on Saturday morning!

Something new... Menagerie Necklaces! Hand-painted animal figurines with metallic gold accents, on a delicate white chain. Horses, deer, birds, even a lion... they were such fun! I sold out of most of these, but will try and get a few detail shots of the remaining ones.

Bobbies! Still a favorite.

So there you have it. 

If you'd like to see more photos of ICP, check out my Facebook album, or the official Flickr pool.

I'm taking a break from my Etsy shop, but if you see something you'd like, just send me an email or an Etsy convo, I'm always happy to do custom orders.

Weekend Glimpse

I know it's a little late for a weekend post, but I'm still playing catch-up after ICP and getting ready for somebody's wedding next weekend. I'll try to get up the rest of my ICP re-cap posts this week.

I can't belive this sweet baby is 1 year old already! I took about a million photos of her awesome birthday party, including her mini-ruffled smash cake, so look for those in the next week or so.

We had our monthly cooking club over the weekend, and this time it was the boy's turn to play chef. In spite of the silliness in the kitchen, they made an amazing meal for us and cleaned up! Pretty sure that needs to happen more often.

The incredible dinner the boys made: ground steak burgers with pub sauce, bacon, and shallots, truffle salted french fries, homemade ketchup, and root beer floats.

There was another special birthday celebration, my nephew Marshall turned 4. For one of his gifts I got him this hipster-ific toy, and let me tell you, it is pretty fun and gorgeous to boot.

Not pictured:

- piping lots of frosting ruffles

- a pinata

- a firetruck faster than the disarm button

- manicures

- Target shopping

- tacos

- lazy cleaning

- Monk watching

- 90's music

2011 Indie Craft Parade: Recap

Once again, I am blown away by the success of Indie Craft Parade. Thank you to all who were a part of this festival, we're so grateful for your support!

Some stats from the 2011 festival: we had 5,000 wonderful attendees, 74 fabulous exhibitors, 32 amazing volunteers, 10 talented musical groups, 7 incredible food vendors, and 2 exhausted but happy organizers. We can't wait for next year!

Here's a few photos from the show...

 Indie Craft Parade booth, photo by Peter Crane

VIP Gala attendees shopping, photos by Metromix's Angela Cox.  
See their full slideshow here!

 The Bent Strings and Illyria Pottery, photos by Peter Crane

We're recapping every little detail over at the ICP Blog, so head over there for the inside scoop! We even opened a temporary online store for our sweet ICP merchandise. You can see lots of photos in our 2011 Flickr pool, or check out my FB album.

I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to my amazing partner, Elizabeth... I am so lucky to be able to do this with her. We're both forever indebted to our amazing, supportive husbands, and our sweet hardworking moms. Thank you to everyone that applied, exhibited, attended, volunteered, promoted, and supported Indie Craft Parade... you are the reason for the success!

Indie Craft Parade!

You know why it's been quiet around here this week, it's Indie Craft Parade time! The festival has been overwhelmingly awesome so far, I couldn't be happier. I'll have a million re-caps for you next week, but in the meantime, come see it for yourself. We're open one more day, Sunday from 11 am - 5 pm. Don't miss out!

Happy Weekend!

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Just a quick note to say happy Friday!

I hope you have a very lovely weekend.

Fabulous Fireplaces

I don't know about you, but I've had just about enough of this heat. I'm ready for sweaters, apple cider, and brisk windy weather. There's nothing better than curling up by a crackling fire when it's chilly outside. Here's some fabulous fireplaces I've been pining after...

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Oatmeal Crispies

 I love cookies. Big surprise, right? I love most kinds of cookies, but I do prefer mine to be chewy, not crunchy. These oatmeal cookies have just the right mix of sugar and spice, with crisp outer edge and a perfectly chewy center. They're so comforting and homey, grab a few for breakfast (what? they've got oatmeal in them, silly-heads) and your day is sure to be a good one.

Oatmeal Crispies

1 c. shortening
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and the sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, beat well. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Add gradually, mix until just combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until edges appear done but not brown (don't overbake). Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. Yield: 5 dozen

Notes:
- Don't look for the edges to turn golden brown, they won't.
- They're actually better the second day, after they soften up a little
- For the love of everything good, don't add raisins. If you do, please don't tell me. (Raisins = Bad)

Giveaway: Indie Craft Parade VIP Gala

From the ICP Blog:

You’ve heard so many great things about the Indie Craft Parade VIP Gala, and now you have a chance to win two tickets! This is an opportunity you don’t want to miss.

The VIP Gala is your best chance to get to know the artists and get first dibs on their work. With Indie Craft Parade being such a heavily attended event, the Gala allows you to avoid the crowds of Saturday and Sunday. Not to mention the other great perks for attending Friday night: free food and drinks from some of our favorite local establishments and a host of fabulous giveaways. Food will be provided by Ribault Street Catering, drinks from Community Tap, and a coffee bar by Coffee and Crema. This is also the night to win giveaways — baskets of handmade goods straight from our vendors’ booths. We’ll also have live music from The Bent Strings that night, so come and enjoy it.

The VIP Gala will be held on Friday, September 9 from 6 to 9 pm at the Huguenot Mill in downtown Greenville, SC. This ticketed event kicks off the festival weekend, and helps support our artists and the mission of Indie Craft Parade. Check out the full details on our website!

So, how do you get these 2 free tickets? Head over to the ICP Blog, and leave a comment on the giveaway post.  The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday, September 5.

Don’t want to take your chances? You can purchase VIP Gala tickets here and be guaranteed a place at the party!

Weekend Glimpse

We had a quiet little party weekend, it was Cory's 28th birthday on Sunday!

After a celebratory dinner out, we poked around Barnes & Noble for a while. I flipped through the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Crafts, which is now on my wishlist. Such a great book!

Cory treated me to a little shopping trip at Marshall's HomeGoods. I snagged this giant basket!

Here's the birthday boy, blowing out the candle. I know a few people have speculated about the wondrous dessert I was sure to make for his birthday, but as I've mentioned, Cory doesn't like sweets. Isn't that a tragedy? With the exception of the occasional Snickers bar, a handful of Reese's Pieces, or maybe a Rice Krispie treat, he won't eat anything sugary. Good thing I love him in spite of this fault! 

I got to round out the weekend with a little snuggle time with this baby cat. He's about 5 weeks old, and I can't stand the cuteness! He was rescued by some dear friends, who had better watch out because I just might steal him.

Not pictured:

- PF Changs, mmmm!

- bridal shower

- sick of being sick

- MONK, season one

- pizza

- terrible drive-thu service

- pink hair, retouched and better than ever!

- planning

- laundry, ignored

Wedding Photobook

I've professed my love for Blurb before, and they have stolen my heart again with their new professional paper options. I recently got to test them out with a large photobook of my wedding photos, and I love how it turned out.

 I did a 12 x 12 book with an ImageWrap cover, grey end sheets, 78 pages printed on Premium Matte Lustre paper... it turned out perfect, I'm so happy with it!

(More wedding photos can be seen here.)

Color Crush: Peach

Another color I used to despised, now adored... peach. 

Such a lovely accent or sweet star of the show!

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