oh, what a staple gun can do.

before: square bulletin board covered in cheap fabric for $5 on the clearance rack at hobby lobby

after: cute little clip board for hanging/displaying earrings, or any other small lightweight thing that could be attached to paper and clipped on!

how to: I cut neutral cream-colored fabric to size (with a little extra to wrap around the edges) & stapled it in place on the back edges. I used two pieces to make sure the old brown cloth didn’t show through, & realized right afterward that I probably should have ironed it first. The trick here is to stretch it nice & tight before stapling, & to use lots of staples to secure it. then I stretched lengths of green ribbon across, eyeballing a generally equal distance between them & stapled them to the backs too. i used an iron photo easel to make it stand up on the table. done & done!

before: shabby chic style tabletop floral birdhouse fence thingy (maybe supposed to be used as a background for indoor plants?) for $4 at goodwill

after: tabletop hanging necklace display for craft shows!

how to: I started by removing the little birdhouses & attached grass by unscrewing the poles & gently pulling them out. Then I used a little green paint to dab over the little painted flowers to make it more leafy & less floral, & painted the pink ribbon detail into two green leaf details. i also dabbed on some green paint over the gray checkerboard edges. i added a few little nails into the top of the display (corresponding with each fence point) to hang the necklace hangtags. add the necklaces & presto! show-ready! I really love how these two cheapies transformed, & was really excited about how much they added to the look of my craft show booth! i’m getting there, slowly but surely.

craft show woes.

{this post could alternately be titled 'when the going gets tough, the tough use a bedsheet for a tablecloth'. which is what i did!}

it seems like every time i prep for a craft show i have some crazy story to tell, beyond just my usual procrastination and resulting late-night preparations the night before. my husband's favorite one to tell is how the night before my very first craft show i starting pricing my products at about midnight. of course, by pricing i do not mean writing a price on a sticker and sticking it on the item {oh no, for that would be way too simple}. i started tea-dying and hand lettering each tag to be different with a price and a small item description. when at about 1 am the tags were dyed but not dry enough to start lettering them, i sat dabbing them with paper towels and then trying to dry them with a hair dryer. at about 2 am, i gave into the 'you are a completely crazy woman' look my sweet helpful husband was giving me, and finally went to bed.

oh, perfectionism.

luckily, the two days leading up to this most recent craft show were not as dramatic or eventful. this time it was just a complete and total breakdown of my sewing machine, and some unpleasantness that looked and felt suspiciously like pink eye in my right eye. i tried to prevent the late-night before getting up at the crack of dawn for the show by staying up as late as i needed to on thursday night instead of friday {the show being on saturday}, but as it was, i still didn't finish several coasters and my new shop-name banner i had planned to, due mostly to the broken sewing machine.

it all ended up working out fine- i had enough product to fill my booth, and was really happy with how it looked. i feel like each show i've done has moved me a little bit closer to how i've wanted it to look all along. even though the sales were quite a bit disappointing for this particular show, i did get some good feedback on my display and product, which is good. and, i remembered to take pictures!

designer's downtown market, july 2009

my happy little price tags! {not too elaborate this time}

since i had one borrowed folding chair and nowhere for my husband to sit {he came to help me set up and then stuck around long enough to bring lunch! best husband ever!} he also ran out to target to get us a second chair. they were so affordable he got two, knowing how much i love a matching set! and in green, to boot! what a good man...

i also have to give him a big huge, official, blog thank you for all the help he's given me recently. i have a big exciting change in the works for this blog that i'll be unveiling very soon, and he's been instrumental in helping me work though all the details. he is so much more creative than he lets on! thanks so much, babe!

all in all, i must say my favorite part of the day was when we got home, took all the craft stuff out of the car, then immediately loaded it back up with stuff and headed to the beach for a few days! we're here enjoying sand and surf {and naughty fried seafood} but spotty internet, so it may turn out to be a little vacation from all things technological as well. have a great week!

cookies + cupcakes

happy fourth of july!

leave it to a former senior art director at martha stewart {and current book/stationary designer} to come up with one of the most genius cupcake ideas of all time {not to mention a truly beautiful blog}. each cupcake with a cookie on a stick sticking out of it? yes, please! why is it the most simple ideas that are always so gorgeous and lovely {and delicious, in this case!}? trademark example of the wonderful-ness of martha, thanks to the amazing designers behind her branding. awesome!

{just because she worked for martha stewart, i can almost forgive her for her photos being so perfect, and for the general "i should be making things more" feeling i get from reading. ps- i do realize and apologize for so many scrolly little parenthesis for just one paragraph}.