Gem Junkie on Etsy

Well since things didn't work out to great for Pommes Frites at the Gibson Street Market I joined forces with Kelly from GemJunkie and Etsy Austin this past weekend. Saturday afternoon we both set up tables at Newflower Market Art Bazaar. They treated us really well and I hope to make it back there soon. Sunday we were back on Gibson and South Congress and decided to try and share a tent. I think it worked out pretty well and we are going to give it another shot at the Salado Market Days coming up on August 7-8th. Here are a few goodies I took home from Kelly this past week....

Surprisingly I don't have any brass earrings in my collection (I'm a silver girl) so I was excited to get these two pairs of antique brass earrings with turquoise and green mosaic beads. I love the birdies!

I also got these adorable silver pears and ceramic pendant. Check out more of Kelly's famous $5 earrings and bead supplies at GemJunkie.etsy.com!

I'M BACK!

Well, after a very busy, very fun week with my boyfriend and his brother for his birthday I'm back! I've uploaded some new photos of our animals and life in Austin at Flickr. Unfortunately, we were rained out of First Thursday and the Saturday market this last weekend so I have no news on that end. I should be back at the Artisan Market on South Congress this weekend and we will be setting up early at 10:00am. I am really looking forward to it as I will hopefully be sharing a booth with Kristen from Pommes Frites. She works with reclaimed, re-purposed books and her work is amazing. She is a member of the Etsy Austin Street Team and you can visit her shop at pommesfrites.etsy.com or her blog...click HERE.

I am very excited because I have also joined the Etsy Austin Street Team and am hoping to participate in the Etsy Austin Craft Riot in November. Because it is required for the application due at the end of the month I am now an official tax paying business of the state of Texas! I'll will have more information on this Christmas craft fair soon as I will be making samples over the next couple weeks of new products that I will sell there. Some of the things I have in mind is Texas license plate ornaments, bottle cap wine charms, reclaimed wood bird feeders, and decorative Christmas wall hangings.

Because I had free time this weekend I was able to take photos of all my new products and will be updating my shop today. I am also back up and running on Twitter as you can see from the Tweets to your right. You can now follow me at: twitter.com/Taralee13

Here are a few things you can expect to see for sale on Etsy....

Vintage Charm Necklaces made with old keys, watch parts, brass locker tags, Milagros charms, and czech flower beads. I am also working on some charm necklaces made with old game parts such as scramble, monopoly, dominoes and jacks. I know these types of necklaces are very popular but I couldn't help myself when I found all these beautiful vintage pieces. They are all authentic vintage pieces I found in second hand stores with a few things bought from suppliers on Etsy.

Bottle Cap charm necklace with the tree of life, an owl and pearl. This was one I made for fun and I am working on a few more custom options with birthstones and family initials/names. I love working with the bottle caps because they are easy, colorful and unique. Here are a few other bottle caps pieces you can find for sale...

I used to sell note cards (mostly Christmas stuff) in high school. So when I came across an old atlas and this fun owl stamp it all came flooding back to me. I used the old atlas index to stamp on and cut out the owls and the maps to make these colorful everyday cards. I also have a variety of birthday and thank you cards. All the paper and envelops are recycled. You can also see the finished packages of recycled gift cards I made out of cereal boxes and fabric.

Etsy Craft Party

Tonight is the official Etsy Craft Party! In cities and towns worldwide people will be gathering together to celebrate crafting in their community. I will be attending a party here in Austin hosted by the Austin Etsy Street Team. We will be screen printing, making buttons and sharing crafting stories at the Milago Condominiums downtown from 7-9pm.

The Austin craft party is currently the 16th largest community party behind Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Portland, Boston, Brooklyn, and Vancouver (to name a few). You can find more information about the Etsy Craft Party HERE and to see if there is one available in your town go to Meetups.com.

Summer Trade Guide @ Oh, Hello Friend

I'm so happy to say I was one of shops to be showcased on the Oh, Hello Friend Summer Trade Guide for Etsy! There were a lot of great shops and products chosen to be showcased in the guide so I am flatter to be a part of it. I hope I can negotiate some trades for some beautiful jewelry and paper goods *wink*. See more on the Summer Trade Guide and how it works at Oh, Hello Friend.

RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR REVIEW

I loved it! It was a long Saturday and a little overwhelming but it always can be with these kind of events. Coming from a small town in Idaho we don’t get many big craft fairs and when I would visit a fair it was usually a bunch of crafty old women with country décor and baked goods. This was not country crafts! It was a very young, very modern group of artists and craft fans. I was impressed with the variety of products and shops that were there, and there were a lot of them. Many of my favorite sellers from Etsy were in attendance along with some amazing local artists. There was everything you would expect to find at an indie craft fair: screen print T’s and posters, unique ceramics, jewelry, letterpress cards, printed pillows and home décor, hand sewn bags, buttons, clothes and more. This year’s Renegade mascot was an owl and a theme reviled itself as you walked the isles of the Palmer Event Center. I wasn’t there to shop but I ended up taking a few things home from some of my favorite Etsy sellers in support.
Stuff I picked up at the fair:
1- ‘You and me are awesome’ poster, unknown! I lost a few business cards and I’m terribly sorry I did because I really liked these guys and would like to give them credit.
2- Tree print, Laura Berger Art & Illustration, www.laurageorge.etsy.com
3- ‘It’s not that far, really’ 5x7 card, Rar Rar Press, www.rarrarpress.etsy.com
4 - Letterpress cards, Letterpress Delicacies, www.letterpressdelicacies.com

The main reason I attended the Renegade Craft Fair was to scope out how the professionals set up their booths and present their products. I’ve done a few craft fairs back home with my future mother-in-law but it was nothing compared to some of the beautiful setups I saw this weekend. A couple common themes were vintage display cases, luggage, furniture or crates to house products; and colorful banners and fabrics with shop names or Etsy store info. These are things I’m going to take into consideration over the next couple weeks as I prepare to set up my own craft table at our local Artisans Market on South Congress. Here are a few photos from my favorite shops and artists…

Pictures starting left to right and down:
1- Mary Ink, www.maryink.etsy.com
2- Laura Berger Art & Illustration, www.laurageorge.etsy.com
3- *Letterpress Delicacies, www.letterpressdelicacies.com
4- Circa Ceramics, www.circaceramics.etsy.com
5&7- *A Wahl Designs, www.awahldesigns.blogspot.com
6- Smug Mug, www.weekendcreations.etsy.com
8- Clay Wood & Cotton, www.claywoodandcotton.com
* Austin Locals

If your anywhere near one of these major cities I would definitely check this craft fair out: Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Brooklyn. Its free and a great place to find unique handmade gifts, home decor, jewelry and clothes. You can find more information at www.renegadecraft.com.

You can see all of my pictures from the craft fair at My Flickr. Enjoy!

RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR

I am so excited that this year the Renegade Craft Fair is coming to Austin for the first time! This weekend hundreds of artists and thousands of shoppers and crafters alike will pile into the Palmer Events Center here in Austin for this two day event. Local crafters including the Austin Craft Mafia, Stitch Lab, Wonder Craft and more will be at the fair putting on workshops and demonstrations. I'll be attending the fair on Saturday along with an exclusive gathering Friday night with some of the admin staff from Etsy. You can bet I'll have my camera and notepad in hand so I can tell you all about it!

For those of you who are not familiar with the Renegade Craft Fair, here's a little history:

Renegade got its start in Chicago’s Wicker Park in the fall of 2003, and has spread like wildfire ever since. In 2005, the fair traveled out east to Brooklyn, NY where vendors set-up shop in McCarren Park and the infamous McCarren Park Pool. By 2009, the fair had expanded out west to San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA. And to kick-off the 2010 season, Renegade is moseying down south to Austin, TX for its very first event there.

The Renegade Craft Fair is coordinated by Sue Daly & Danny Orendorff. Sue is the co-founder and proprietor of Renegade, and makes jewelry + housewares under the name Timber! Her husband, Mat Daly, designs all of the beautiful silkscreened owl posters for each of the fairs. Madelon Juliano is our administrative assistant and trusty sidekick at the fairs.

The inspiration for RCF came when two friends wanted to take their hobbies to the next level, and start participating in arts + crafts shows. After looking into some local events, it quickly became apparent that there were no shows representing the DIY community, which already had a huge presence online. Everything was either geared towards fine arts + crafts – or country crafts. So, the idea to host an indie craft fair was sparked – and the rest is history!

You can read this excerpt, see photos, a list of artists, cities, dates and more at RenegadeCraft.com. If you can't make it to one of these great fairs then you can still shop the beautiful crafts at RenegadeHandmade.com. Renegade Handmade is an online extension of the Renegade Craft Fair with products from over 300 artists and a great blog that talks about the fair, artists and all the wonderful crafts.

ETSY HOW-TUESDAY

Etsy's How-Tuesday Blog has some more great Mother's Day craft projects I couldn't pass up sharing. My personal favorite is this handmade necklace. It is simple and personal. Click HERE to find more great Mother's Day How-To projects including parchment flowers, garland, hand painted tea cup & saucer, origami and much more!

Letterpress Contest at Oh, Hello Friend

If you haven't seen it already, Oh, Hello Friend a craft and design blog I recently started following is having a letterpress give away contests in support of Letterpress Week. Lots of talented artist are giving away beautiful custom letterpress business cards, prints, stationary and even letterpress jewelry! I highly recommend you checkout the blog, its beautiful, and enter the contests but don't forget to visit the shops and leave them a comment or two for support:

Ruby Press
Bookhou
Chatham and Caron
Louella Press
Roll and Tumble Press
Gwen Delicious Jewelry
Tomboy
Pearl & Marmalade
Monki Vintage
Eight Hour Day
Snap & Tumble
One Canoe Two

TRASH TO TREASURE

One of my favorite things to do when I'm not feeling very creative is to browse the antique and thrift stores for fun junk. I usually find something that sparks my interest and I've found you can pretty much make something out of anything. My love for unusual garden decor started in high school when my mom bought a wind chime made out of silverware. It was simple but it made a beautiful sound. These wind chimes are made from various items I found everywhere from the darkest corners of an antique shop to Craiglist unwanted. All of them are currently available for sale at Etsy.

ETSY FAVORITES - EARTH WEEK

With the summer almost in sight, this week’s Etsy Favorites are all about traveling! And since tomorrow, April 22nd, happens to be the anniversary of the first ever Earth Day event held in 1970 all the items have an eco-friendly theme.

The Wren Burlap Travel Bag$155

Mary Ink Hand Printed Organic T-Shirt $28

Rare Turtle Watcher Jacket $89

Gaia Conceptions Hemp/Cotton Blend Dress $75


The Generation Handmade Ballet Flats $50

Uzura Eco Friendly Hemp Handbag $45

Mama Made Reusable Snack Bag $7.25

The Broken Plate Pendant Company Ceramic Bracelet $40

Hippie Kingdom Handmade Paper Earrings $16

ETSY'S HOW-TUESDAY PROJECT

I had to share this weeks Etsy's How-Tuesday Project. It is a great recycling project that transforms grocery bags into a fun crochet purse or bag.

STARTERS & MARKERS

I finally found enough time this last weekend to finish my starter seeds. I guess I’m still on Idaho time because I am now four weeks behind for spring planting in Texas. As you can see I used egg cartons and toilet paper rolls to create starter beds for the seeds. I found it helpful to tape sections of paper rolls together and label them with the type of seed. Because the cardboard absorbs the water I set them on a tray next to a window. Most of what I grow in my container garden is herbs for cooking and cut flowers. Since I lost almost all my plants to the Idaho winter and/or the stressful move to Texas I had to start from scratch. My basic shopping list includes:

Basil (trying a Lime Basil this year that I’m very excited about)
Oregano (great for making French bread)
Sage
Mint (got to have it for those summer time drinks)
Chamomile
Lemon Balm
Strawberries
Heirloom or African Daisies are a must!

I know what you’re thinking, “Where’s the good stuff like tomatoes and rosemary?” Well, as much as I love growing them neither of us eats many tomatoes and the other basic herbs like rosemary, thyme, celery and dill are not herbs I use frequently. I use Basil, Oregano and Sage for cooking because it suites my taste palette; and I use Mint, Chamomile and Lemon Balm for making drinks. I also found I’m more drawn to certain fragrances. For example, Common Sage reminds me of home in Idaho and Pineapple Mint has a refreshing summery scent. I suggest you pick the herbs or flowers you use the most or ones that have a special meaning to you because you’ll enjoy your garden a whole lot more.


Because I’m now in Texas I found cactus seeds are fairly common so I decided to try some for fun. Above is a picture of my little cactus growing garden I put together out of mini terracotta pots and an old bread pan. I actually got a little too creative and probably would have been better off just spreading the seeds in the bread pan. However, it actually worked out to my advantage because unlike most seeds the cactus pots must be covered with glass during germination to create a greenhouse effect. I didn’t have a piece big enough for the bread pan but due to a recent household accident I had several smaller pieces of glass that fit over the terracotta pots perfectly. I’m hoping in a couple weeks I’ll have cute baby cactus like these that I can arrange in other indoor/outdoor pots to make cactus gardens.


While I’m waiting for my seeds to grow I decided to work on another project making garden markers. I simply started by researching on Etsy what other people were making and found one I wanted to recreate myself. If you don’t have time or resources to make your own, here are a few suggestions to buy garden markers:

Set of 10 Cooper Plant Markers at Takit $23



Rustic Ceramic Markers $10 each



Engraved Silverware Markers $6-8 each

Hammermann
Wooden Hive

And my favorite handcrafted garden markers by Daisy Chestnut $8-12 each.


I’m attempting to make something similar but with images of vintage botanical prints. I’ll let you know how they turn out!

HOW-TO TUESDAY

There are some create how-to projects at Etsy.com for their How-Tuesday series...click here to check it out. While you're there don't forget to check out my new spring products for your own crafting inspiration!