Crafty Bastards DC

this was a first for me attending Crafty Bastards DC Street Fair . i was pretty impressed with the turn out for this one day show. my intention was to see what kind of crafty goodness was at this show, who was exhibiting, what the foot traffic was like and if people were buying. being an attendee, it seemed there was a good turn out, pretty good variety of vendors and it was well organized. i came home with a few purchases from woolarina, spaghetti kiss & tasha mckelvey. other exhibitors that i didn't buy from this time but really liked were hats from rocks and salt, tee's by squidfire, leather cuffs by fistcuff, lunchbags by goshdarn knits as well as all the other vendors below i took pictures of.


Alitas Jewelry Booth-i loved his work but have a BIG criticism for his booth, it was well merchandised but there was no sign with the company name and no pricing so each person had to wait to ask questions about each product. oh well!

Pear Booth

Pear Booth

Pistol Stiched Booth

Shaghetti Kiss Booth

Something's Hiding in Here Booth

Something's Hiding in Here Booth-i think mustaches are going to be one of the next big image icon's (owls were still all around as well as mushrooms).

1 Girl 1 Boy Booth

1 Girl 1 Boy Booth

1 Girl 1 Boy Booth

Color Hive Booth

Cleo Dee's Squid Market Booth

Cleo Dee's Squid Market Booth-some clever props were used in this booth.

Claire McDermott Booth-all her jewelry shown was made from recycled skateboard platforms.

Claire McDermott Booth

The Small Object Booth-wonderfully clever items!

The Small Object Booth

The Small Object Booth

Greg Metal Booth-beautiful and unusual jewlry resembling enameling or cloisonne but made of more industrial materials. unfortunately he was almost sold out when we made it to his booth but i'll be on the lookout for him again.

Greg Metal Booth

Greenware Designs Booth

Biggs and Featherbelle Booth-their packaging and booth design was really well done. each assortment was well presented with fun colorful embellishing of ribbons and dots. simple, clean and cheerful.

Biggs and Featherbelle Booth
all the booths above with 1 or 2 exceptions were well merchandised and had good signage. i felt there were a lot of booths at this show that needed some work in this area, several vendors ran out of business cards as well but this is only the 3rd Crafty Bastards show (still folks-get it together). the quality of all the products seemed pretty high at the show but there were certain cagegories of product that were not well represented. it will be very interesting to see how well this show evolves and if it lasts. it hope so, it was a lot of fun and a good size. perhaps it could even expand into a 2 day event?

Craft Zine's Booth-making an l.e.d throwie
there were 3 demo's spread throughout the day and tables set up for each item. these little projects were fun and a good way to get out of the sun/or rain depending on when you were at the show.

Craft Zine's Booth-making an l.e.d throwie

Craft Zine's Booth-making an l.e.d throwie

Craft Zine's Booth-making button rings

Craft Zine's Booth-making button rings

Craft Zine's Booth-making button rings

cooking up a story

thanks to my friend marley who passed this along to me. check them out HERE.

60+lbs of tomato's canned

this is a bit overdue but i've been meaning to post about my first ever tomato canning experience. i picked up over 60 lbs of organic (mostly) tomatoes seconds (several varieties and colors) from two local farms and three of us split the haul and did the canning together. you can see how beautiful the red, orange and yellow varieties of tomatoes look when all are canned together.

we started at 11 am and finished at about 5 pm with cleanup (but still had to wait on two batches). we went with whole tomatoes and tomato juice to keep things simple no sauces, diced, salsa etc. we meant business!

our yeild was aprox. 9 quarts (6 whole tomatoe/3 juice) and 2-3 pints per person (per 20 lbs). not bad!

our reward while we cleaned up and waited on the last batches was the freshest tomato juice bloody mary's ever! they were fantastic and i'm so glad we didn't waste the juice! all the tomato "trash" went to the compost pile as well so nothing was wasted.

last year i made a promise to myself to can tomato's since i don't have a large freezer but i also tried my hand at peaches, peach sauce, blackberry sauce and blackberry jam. i experimented with peach and berry infused vodka and vinegars which i still have on hand and they turned out fantastic. economically speaking i'm not sure if it's worth canning but i don't think that's the point. it was fun working together with my mom and my friend on this project and learning a new skill that is certainly useful. i'll probably be making some apple butter and apple sauce before the season is over. i'll certainly be enjoying these goodies all winter long!

*ps. a word of caution~we had one accident at the end of our long day when i set a jar just out of the water onto the granite counter top without a towel. explosion, big mess but no one was hurt. inexperience is the best teacher!

Register to vote by OCTOBER 14th (in MD)

to check your registration info go a HERE

where creative juice comes from...

making lemonaid out of lemons

deer are constantly a problem in my yard. along with them come nibbled plants galore and lyme disease (if you are unlucky-or just stick around here too long).
while surveying my yard this past weekend and again today i've discovered them eating my blooming sedum autum joy!

okay, bummer but at least they have been kind enough to leave me the flowers. so, i'm collecting them for some arrangements.

if you have a bowl, some tape and some similar flowers you can create a lovely little table arrangement.
tape a grid across the bowl, add water and flowers...


and there you have it!

Women Against Sarah Palin

i've been away for awhile from blogging, i've been deeply entrenched as i watch our country head towards yet another possible (avoidable) train wreck. i've been watched both the DNC and the RNC and more importantly i've been speaking with anyone and everyone who will listen about the choices we have at the upcoming election. bear with me as i post some things that in no way relate to crafting, art, gardening, interior design or the other normal subjects of this blog. this subject is so important!

also; see what Deepak Chopra has to say about the upcoming election.


Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters (or for those of you who aren't you may want to read on before you cast your vote),
We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce—on the part of a pande! ! ring and rudderless Presidential candidate—that has a real possibility of becoming fact.Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters.
To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the
second-most-powerful person on the planet.We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin’s political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we’ve so demonstrably benefited from.
First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.Therefore, we invite you to reply here womensaynopalin@gmail.com with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.We will post your responses on a blog called “Women Against Sarah Palin,” which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience—the greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.Thank you for your time and action.VIVA!
Sincerely,Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
New York, NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com
PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!* If you send this to 20 women in the next hour, you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously. Stranger things have happened.

border control, there's no simple solution