Monday, November 28, 2011

Time Flies

These last two weeks have whizzed by. Speed of time! Flying.

I've kept busy in the studio experimenting on my new felting machine, a Simplicity machine. Fun. I'll work on it after the holidays. And also sewing some new things for the shop - my Artfire shop - and the Dec 3rd show.

The little white bags with the kids on the cell phones were made from Ikea fabric. The wine bags from a table cloth and dish cloths. There's also a Magic Carpet Ride bag made from a home dec fabric that reminds me of little throw rugs and place mats.



The big white bag with the girl in the knit cap sold as soon as I put it online.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

FARMERS MARKET LIFTOFF

Enjoyed my first venture as a vendor at Farmers Market at Clear Lake Shores. I opted for the big tent in order to get the benefit of more foot traffic. Pretty good traffic, but other vendors said the crowd was more sparse than usual.  My main focus was on set-up, to see what would work and what wouldn't. There are some things I will change for next time. Farmers Market is a lot different from craft shows. The u-shaped format appeared to discourage lookers, so I may opt for bins the next time and front tables only. I'm thinking that over.  Here's a pic of my set-up.

I sold one of my favorite bags, the red, white and blue Macro Hobo that I made from a hoodie. I have toyed with the idea of keeping it for myself, but held out. Sure enough, a very nice lady bought it. I hope she enjoys it and ALL THE POCKETS inside, eight roomy ones.

 The neighbor to my left was Helen of Cloth & Ink. I wrote about her last week when I visited FMCLS, but hadn't taken any pics. I'm making up for it. Here's a couple of Helen and her booth. She really does have lovely lovelies. Check her out at www.cloth-ink.com and www.etsy.com/shop/clothandink.

The weather was perfect. A little cool in the morning. It warmed up, but was still quite pleasant. I was fine in a long-sleeved tee. The wind whipped through, some pretty good gusts. I'm happy to report that my set-up survived the winds. Nothing fell over. Just a sign flipping up here and there. 

The neighbors on the other side of me were super nice ladies, retired school teachers raising money for a scholarship with a bake sale, homemade goodies. Yum. Yum. One of the nice ladies, Fran, who also has a word-of-mouth embroidery business, gave me a kolache for breakfast and then sent me home with the leftovers. I bought some peanut brittle for MSH; they're one of his favorite desserts. I must confess that I also bought a chocolate cherry cake - or is that cherry chocolate cake. It's a chocolate cake with cherries in it. Super moist. Super good. Triple YUM. Back on the wagon Monday!

 I also sold some market bags. Specifically, several MarkeTees and a MarketCase. And a couple of GiftBags.








 I am proud to report that Charlie the FMCLS fearless leader has invited me back after the holidays to ply my wares - my Market Bags. So I may go once a month or so after the first of the year and offer my MarkeTees and other Market Bags to the public. I'll be at FMCLS twice more before Christmas, December 10 and 17.

Speaking of Market Bags, the ones shown in this last pic are lined. Very nice bags.

First Day at FMCLS, I'd rate as successful. Ending with a great hamburger at Joe Lee's just down the street from the farmer's market, accompanied by MSH. A nice day all around.


Monday, November 7, 2011

St Christopher Art Fair 2011

I participated in the St Christopher 2011 Art Fair on October 15th. Had a pretty good turn-out and business was good. Sold several handbags and market totes. Met some nice people and saw some really pretty jewelry.

Valerie Corbeille's jewelry is wonderful -- of course. She has some vintage collage pieces that are absolutely beautiful. I took a couple of shots, but the pics don't do her jewelry justice.


Here's some pics of my booth and also one of Valerie's pieces.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Farmer's Market

Saturday I stopped by the Farmers Market at Clear Lake Shores. I may set up shop there a couple of Saturdays or so during the holidays and preholiday season. I'm waiting for a response to see if space is available on the dates I want to participate. I'll let you know when I know for sure.

While at the Market, I met Helen from Cloth & Ink. She produces some wonderful fabrics and accessories made from her fabrics. She uses earth friendly materials and her products are first class. They are stunning. You can see them on her website www.cloth-ink.com and her etsy store www.etsy.com/shop/clothandink. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.


I also enjoyed half a cheese quesadilla, bought some chicken jerky for Mollie and some sausage for Tom. I got to visit with some really nice people and will definitely be going back -- even when I'm not one of the vendors.


Be sure to visit the Farmers Market at Clear Lake Shores on FM 2094. Check out their website at www.farmersmarketatcls.com.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

'TIS THE SEASON

YAYAMADE will be at the AVA Holiday Shopping Extravaganza on Saturday, December 3, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., off FM 646 and Hwy 3, next to Kid City, League City/Dickinson. There should be around 100 vendors. It's INDOORS, so you'll be toasty warm. Come on out and Shop YAYAMADE. The pic shows my booth at AVA HSE last year. There will be a few changes this year.
Oh, my gosh. It's been over a year since I posted anything on my blog. Shame on me. I really have trouble with balance. Or maybe it's that I have trouble multitasking. Or -- I just haven't blogged in ages. Let's see if I can remedy that. Stayed tuned.

Just for a cute pic, here's one of my Ghoul Gift Guardians. Her zipper mouth -- open it up and place your treasure inside. Cute GGG will guard it for you until your gift recipient tells her to "open wide."