Handmade in Texas: DFW Edition March 24, 2010

Earlier this month I spent 10 days in Texas, first in Forth Worth, then Dallas, and then Austin. First I was in Fort Worth for the Funky Finds Spring Fling. I had a great time as a vendor at the fair (you can read about my adventure by clicking here), but I also met some really great people at the fair and saw lots of awesome crafty goodness. After I finished my visits in North Texas, I headed down to Austin where I was blown away by the sheer amount of awesome handmade goodness. Today’s blog is dedicated to all that awesome handmade goodness I found while in the DFW area, and tomorrow I’ll write about all the awesomeness I found in Austin!

First, as I mentioned, I was at Funky Finds in Fort Worth. One of the first vendors to catch my eye was The Curious Cake Shoppe. I talked with Tania of the The Curious Cake Shoppe for quite a while. She was such a super sweet gal, and I wished I had the need to buy up a cake right then! I told her I can’t wait for someone I know to get preggers so I can order up one of her awesome diaper cakes.

Diaper Cake by The Curious Cake Shoppe

Tania whips up these diaper cakes with ingredients like Luvs baby diapers, bibs, stuffed toys, onsies, washcloths, pacifiers, and receiving blankets. These would make a great shower gifts for any one who is expecting a wee one. You can check out all sorts of her adorable creations on her Flickr page and you can order a pre-made or custom order diaper cake right from her site at http://www.curiouscakeshoppe.com/

Another vendor I saw at Funky Finds who really grabbed my attention was aplcreations.  Her handmade reclaimed paper journals are both super cool and environmentally friendly.

Upcycyled Paper Journals by APL Designs

These journals are just the right size to keep in your purse or on your kitchen counter for jotting down needed grocery items. You can order these upcycled journals from aplcreations Etsy shop.

2enju was another eye-catching vendor. She had tons of adorable, well made handbags for sale. I loved all of her patterns and especially was fond of the bags that had the longer over-the-shoulder straps.

Hobo Handbag by 2enju

She doesn’t have many of those longer strap bags on her Etsy, but you can see a lot of the awesome hobo style bags as well as gorgeous dresses and headbands.

At Funky Finds I was very lucky to be situated right across the aisle from Le Pippin. All of their cute totes were staring me in the face all day long. Lucky, at the end of the day the ladies of Le Pippin came over to shop my booth and I suggested we make a trade.

The awesome and functional tote I got from Le Pippin.

I got this super functional, well made purse. It was perfectly sized for carrying around only the essentials while I was on the rest of my trip. I really love my new purse and if you check out the Le Pippin Portfolio you’ll see that they make all kinds of other awesome stuff from key fobs to darling wrap-style dresses.

While not a specific vendor, Etsy Fort Worth was a sponsor of the Spring Fling and they did have a booth where they were selling goods from their members to support a local food pantry. I was really impressed with the Etsy Fort Worth team’s organization. They had an awesome scavenger-hunt type promo going on during the event and all their members had team member buttons on. They have a very impressive list of members which you should take time to check out!

While I did spend most of my time in Fort Worth at the Funky Finds, I had time to walk around downtown the evening before in Sundance Square. I checked out a couple of really cute shops there. One was called Earth Bones and the other, Vessels. Both had fun general merchandise, and they both also had some really nice handmade jewelry. At Vessels, I saw some nice jewelry by Karen Nellen of KKDesignz, and actually found that Karen was working behind the counter, so we chatted for a while. Right now her website is under construction, but hopefully soon you’ll be able to see some of the great jewelry I saw at Vessels.

So, that is my DFW area handmade goods round up! I hope you’ll take the time to check out these awesome handmade artists and also that you’ll check back tomorrow for the Austin edition of Handmade in Texas.

Funky Finds Spring Fling: Texas Day 2 March 14, 2010

Today was the Funky Finds Spring Fling in Fort Worth, Texas.  It was an awesome fun time! I got to me tons of great people and see lots and lots of cool handmade goodies! I arrived at the Spring Fling bright and early at 7:15 am, and got my booth all set up:

I had a great morning meeting some fellow vendors as well as Jessica, the organizer. Jessica is such a super nice Texas gal with fantastic organization skills. This fair was awesome with balloons, full color maps, free buttons, free ink pens, and so much more! There were swag bags for the first 50 customers, and I couldn’t believe that people were lined up out the door waiting to get in for their swag bags and to get their shopping on! I had one lady tell me she had spent $100 at the Spring Fling and I was so happy to hear that. I told her how wonderful it was for her to put all that money right back into her local economy and support handmade crafters. The fair was packed most of the day:

The Crowds at the Spring Fling

One of the best parts of the day was when my good friend Marci showed up to help me with my booth. Marci and I haven’t seen each other for two years, so we got to spend the afternoon catching up and snacking and talking about everything!

Marci!

Over all it was a great day at the Funky Finds Spring Fling, and a wonderful couple of days in Fort Worth. I’m up in Sherman now at Marci’s for a couple of days. We’re going to take a trip to the Dallas Zoo on Tuesday during the day, and then I’ll be leaving from Dallas to Austin on Tuesday later in the day for SXSW. Check back for Zoo day updates and SXSW updates. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter. I’m using hash tag #SAH  and #sxsw once I get to Austin Tuesday.

A Trip to Fort Worth, Texas: Day 1 March 13, 2010

You always know you're in Texas when there are free-standing Lone Stars for no apparent reason.

Whew! I made it to Forth Worth, Texas. Yesterday I left Indianapolis, IN at 4:30 pm on a bus and arrived about 3pm today in Fort Worth. The bus trip was not the worst thing ever. I heard some horror stories from others that made me check under the bus for my luggage at every stop, and sleep with my feet wrapped around my carry on. All was well though- a few highlights include the attempted proselytization  by some 22 year old “non-denominational” preacher who I told straight out could not sit by me on the bus, a pair of Aussies sitting in front of me on the way to Memphis, and a short walk around Dallas to a McDonalds with a man who told be I shouldn’t be scared of him even though he’s Muslim (I wasn’t scared anyway…).

I was very happy to arrive in Downtown Fort Worth, and got to take a walk to my hotel which was only about 2 blocks from the bus stop. I did some catching up on the internet, talked on the phone with my husband, and then took the longest shower I may have every taken. It took a lot of soap to wash off 24 hours worth of bus riding grime!

I was going to take a nap, but my growling stomach reminded me I had only eaten once in the last 24 hours, so I put on my tank top (YAY SUNSHINE!) and went out and ate at the closest Tex-Mex place I could find, which happened to be Mi Cocinas. I ate some delicious fish tacos, then went out for a stroll along Main Street. I stumbled across some cool shops and passed out some post cards for the Spring Fling tomorrow, made it down to the court house, and headed back to the hotel.

Tarrant County Building

I just couldn’t get over the blue skies on my way back and there was a lot of wind downtown this evening, but I still decided to stroll slowing and stop and read some interesting markers along Main Street.

More wonderful buildings and blue skies

Interesting Marker about Butch Cassidy and the Sundace Kid

Cool Information Marker Photo

So, now I’m back at the hotel. It’s not that late, but I’m considering sleeping for the next 11 hours straight. I have to get up bright and early for the Funky Finds Spring Fling. I was happy to see dfw.com listed the Spring Fling in it’s Dirty Dozen. I’m looking forward to meeting and talking to a boat load of Texans tomorrow! See you there!

Sneak Peek at New Pendants for Upcoming Fairs March 3, 2010

I have already mentioned a couple times this week that I am pretty busy getting ready for my first fairs of the year and for my trip Texas (7 days away!). I have been working on pendants all winter of course, but I just got some new designs and also made new pendants out of some popular favorite older designs. I’m pretty short on time this week, but I thought I would take just a minute to share a few new pendants.

I'll have a large variety of Hedgehog Pendants just because hedgehogs are so darn cute!

This Saturday, March 6 will be my first fair of the year at Monrovia Elementary School. It’s their second annual craft fair, and I’m looking forward to the event so I can get back in the habit so to speak before I head down to Texas for the Funky Finds Spring Fling on March 13th and the Standard Recording Company SXSW Day Party on March 18th.  I have a feeling the hedgehogs will be popular at all the fairs, but I really think these new Mr. Moustache Pendants are going to be a hit in Texas.

Mr. Moustache necklaces will make their debut in Texas at the Spring Fling!

I have a few more plans for Mr. Moustache, including some earrings and rings, but you’ll have to check back later for those!

Handmade Monday: Bottle Cap Magnets March 1, 2010

Happy Handmade Monday! I must admit I’m pretty busy this week. It’s midterms this week at school and I also have several classes that are ending this week, which means I have a lot of grading to do! Top that off with the facts that I have  fair this Saturday (first of the year!) and next Saturday is my 2nd fair of the year, all the way in Fort Worth, TX, and you might understand why I’m feeling a little frazzled today! I still wanted to take time though to check in with the blogosphere and put up a little something for Handmade Monday, so I thought today I would share with you some bottle cap magnets I am making to take down to the Funky Finds Spring Fling in Fort Worth on the 13th.

I really enjoy making bottle cap magnets. It’s a pretty easy process where I use a 1″ hole puncher and stamp out the circles, the glue them into the bottle caps with enormous amounts of ModPodge, let it dry thoroughly and then pour in a thick layer of epoxy resin. After the resin is totally dy, about 24 hours later, I glue on a super strong neodymium Rare Earth magnet on the back with E-6000 glue and, ta-da, bottle cap magnets. They are super easy to make and a really fun intro to using resin, plus they really enhance the front of your fridge!

Fun Blue, Cream, and Brown Bottle Cap Magnets

You can find lots of images on Etsy for creating these magnets. There are several sellers, like Piddix for example, who have the circles ready for you to print off your computer and punch out with your 1″ hole punch.

Funny Cats Doing Funny People Things

If bottle caps aren’t your thing, you can also make really fun magnets with glass baubles (I don’t really know what to call them). These baubles I got ages ago from Paper Source and the images came, again, from Etsy. All you need to do to make these magnets are to cut your images to shape, glue on with ModPodge (put a couple thick layers on the back) and then glue on your magnets.

Fun Cats Doing Normal Cat Things

So, if you need to dress up your fridge, here are two easy options. Let me know if you’ve every made bottle cap magnets before. Also let me know if you’ve ever pinched your fingers with those strong rare Earth magents- Ouch! I hope you have a Happy Handmade Monday!

They Choo-Choo Choose Me! January 21, 2010

I’ve been featured on the Funky Finds Blog “Will You Be My Valentine?” which was posted January 19th! Right up in the top left corner- that’s one of my Valentine’s Day Pendants! I’m so excited that I got a feature! This would be my first (hopefully first of many), but it really makes me feel good to know that people like what I do enough to share it with friends and fellow blog readers. I just want to say thanks to Jessica at Funky Finds for all she has done for me since I decided to apply for the Funky Finds Spring Fling in Texas in March. Thanks Jessica!

Of course if you like this sweet little heart pendant or its pink heart partner you can pick it up over in my Funky Finds Shop! Funky Finds is so great because they don’t charge a fee when an item sells, so please check it out, not just for me, but for all these other fantastic Funky Find Spring Fling Vendors.

p.s. Anyone get that title reference? It’s from my all time favorite t.v. Valentine’s…

I Have A Funky Finds Shop! January 10, 2010

It’s brand spankin’  new and I would love for you to check it out. Unlike Etsy, which I do totally adore for all its great finds, Funky Finds is free for me to sell on, so I hope you will check out my shop and consider making your purchases through the Funky Finds Shop! I’ve got a few things added, and will be adding lots more over the remainder of the weekend. All you need to do to visit my shop is click on the Funky Finds banner in my side bar. Please go check it out!