My First Out of Town Show...

So last weekend was my first out of town show, Cowtown Indie Bazaar, in Fort Worth, TX. It went pretty well. I guess I had somewhat higher expectations for an out of town show but it sounds like I did better then some. Everyone from Etsy Forth Worth was super nice though and I would probably go back next year.  

Cowtown was the start to my crazy busy fall! I probably won't be writing more then once or twice a week on the blog because I'm actually in the process of putting together a brand new website/blog for the shop. Along with fall shows every weekend, raising a 3 month old, and my mom visiting next week for the first time since we moved to TX my time is very limited right now. :) I also got into Blue Genie Art Bazaar which is super exciting and stressful at the same time. I have calculated I have exactly 4 weeks of working time to make mass amounts of product for the month long Christmas consignment sale.

Oh, I have also been writing blogs over at Austin Craft Riot to help out with the holiday show. Since I'm overseeing all the goodie bags for the show I'm going to post blogs featuring some of the fun stuff people have donated starting next week.  I will try to keep up with posting some of my new projects (both personal and shop related) along with recaps from shows here but if you need a fix head over to Austin Craft Riot.

This was my booth at Cowtown. I had lots of new stuff for this show including new screen print fabrics, clocks, license plate skulls and more. You can find more product pictures on my Facebook page. 

I also had mini, mini mustache pillows that everyone loved. I originally intended these to be heating pads because they are the perfect shape for your forehead or neck but I got bored so I stuffed them the night before the show.  As you can see my little helper was not much help. :)

On Friday after we setup we went to the Fort Worth Zoo. Everyone said that the Dallas Zoo is better but I was pretty impressed. Wade got up close and personal with a baby chimp who came bolting up to the window when he bent down. The weather was beautiful and I think Gabe just enjoyed all the colors and sounds.

Here are some of the goodies I traded for or won in the raffle while I was there. Lets just say I made out like a bandit!

upcycled clothing necklace by The Snootie Pig
vintage domino pendant by Maggie May I?
skull and cross bones dog lease by Lizziebees
 pirate tooth fairy box by Sima Design
recycled paper necklace by Make It Sick
notebook by Subtle Acts
soap and lotion by Clean Jellybean
notecard, print and love notes by Fifi Duvie
awesome owl painting by 3 Bears Studio

Shop for the Cure @ Atown

Atown is having a charity event tomorrow, Wednesday the 12th from 5pm-9pm, where 10% of store wide proceeds and 100% of the raffle donations will go to the Austin Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Amazing "pink" raffle prizes have been donated by many of Atown's local artists including this beautiful jewelry set made by myself and GemJunkie! 

 Stop by to enjoy champagne, chocolate and live music by Austin's own Marty's Music Menagerie. Special guest, Lydia Miller, will also be there to share her story.  As usual, don't forget to shop local while your there! I was in the store yesterday and there is a TON of new stuff including a special line of "pink" products that will be available for sale all month. I didn't miss out on this opportunity to make my own line of "pink" products. Check them out!

 

 Visit Atown at 5502 Burnet Road here in Austin. For more info check out their Susan G. Komen Facebook Event.

Dia De Los Muertos

I've been working all month to make new products for my fall shows starting with Cowtown Indie Bazaar next weekend, Oct 15th.  These are my new favorites! I wanted to give you a sneak peak of what you can look forward to seeing this month at Cowtown and Viva la Vida Fest.

  Headbands made from recycled soda cans and bottle caps. These were really fun to make!

 

New bottle cap charm necklaces in 4 fun colors!

I wear a lot of sweaters in the fall and love to spice them up with fun, colorful brooches!

 

 Skull bottle cap wine charms - set of four.

 Last but not least, I'm finishing up a batch of new skulls made with license plates, bottle caps, and soda cans.

Going to Renegade!

After participating in the 2nd Annual Austin Renegade Craft Fair back in May, Kelly and I took a chance at getting into the 1st Annual Holiday Renegade show this November. Well it paid off! R+R Design and GemJunkie will be back at the Palmer Event Center November 26-27th for the Renegade Craft Fair holiday show! We are working hard, making lots of new products, perfect for holiday gifts.

A reminder, you can also find both of us at the Austin Craft Riot holiday show on November 12-13th along with tons of local handmade artists. Keep an eye out on my Facebook fan page or GemJunkie's for pictures and updates on new products you can find at all of our fall shows.

Craft Project Complete!

So I've been wanting to make this for months and I finally got around to it this weekend. If you remember back in June I had a list of my favorite baby DIY projects and this breast feeding cover was one of them. Well here is my finished version and just in time for fall shows and grandma's visit in October!

While I'm at it...Here is a pic of my beautiful baby Gabe who is now two and a half months old.  He is all giggles and smiles lately especially around the camera. He has started cooing and is desperately trying to crawl or stand on my lap any chance he gets.

PS. As you can imagine I've been busy, busy with baby and getting ready for fall shows along with my Austin Craft Riot duties. The blog tends to come last to all those things and I apologize because I enjoy sharing these projects with you. I've got lots of new stuff I'm working on that I'll try and post soon as well as a long overdue recap of my sisters visit to Austin. All for now.

Get Organized!

With a newborn baby, getting ready for fall shows and trying to keep up with my Austin Craft Riot duties I've been been scribbling notes and lists on anything I can get my hands on. I need to get organized so I can better time manage my day (Example: I'm writing this at 4:30am while trying to coax a two month old back to sleep). So, I created this little weekly check list based on one Etsy put out at last years Craft Party {click HERE to see Etsy version}.


I love planners, especially this ONE from Robo Roku, but I liked the idea of being able to fold this into a pocket size piece that I can easily take in my purse or pocket to run errands, etc. That and I had just downloaded a ton of fun fonts I wanted to play with. :)

The version below is a little different then mine. I generalized the daily checklists for the average crafter/shop owner. Click on the image to download a copy from Google Docs. Enjoy!

This is where I'll be this weekend...