Deluxe recap

Hey everyone! I meant to post this Deluxe recap yesterday, but I was under the weather again. I think it was just another allergy attack, but man were my taller half and I out of commission this weekend. The poor guy has been sick for over a week now, too. Bummer.

Anyway, Deluxe was fun, if not a big financial success for me. I always enjoy seeing my lovely fellow crafters (three cheers for being back to back with the delightful Sweetheartville once again), doing a little shopping and passing out some business cards. I shared space with Tara of Mason Designs (her new and awesome venture). We went for colorful and happy but not overtly Christmas-y. Is my Grinch showing?

The whole booth:

Here's our brightly colored table designed to lure in the shoppers. Did it work? Eh, a little.

Here's the table in the middle, which underwent several transformations after this photo was taken.

And the long table with most of our stuff. Doesn't our jewelry go well together?

Oh! And the best part of all. Briana of Sheez Krafty came by to say hello. Her keen eye caught sight of this little visitor shopping for Wizard of Oz rings:

Little ladybug, you are welcome any time.

Even though the shows are over, I'm keeping busy. Between two custom orders, two sales overnight and a bunch more family gifts to make, I better get back to it. Stay well (and warm), everyone!

Grama's Christmas Present

I've been having a crafty winter so far. Between shows and commissions and holiday presents, I've had a lot to do. I am almost done with a gorgeous piece that I can't wait to share -- only I have to, since it's a gift. I'll show it off soon, though.

In the meantime, I completed a hat and scarf set for my grandmother's Christmas gift. I feel safe putting them up here since they're for my grandmother who doesn't even touch a computer. I based them on a pair of patterns from Crochet Today's holiday edition but modified them for my preferences. Here's the scarf (photo taken a couple of weeks ago):

As you can see, I added a slot to pull one end of the scarf through. I thought it would be practical for my gardening grandmother. Check out the hat:

And here they both are together:

I am madly in love with this yarn from Loops! It's Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton yarn (all organic) in Caribbean and Lemonade. I may have to make myself a scarf from it next.

I need to assemble a few final things tonight for Deluxe tomorrow. If you're in the OKC area, don't forget to come shop!

Deluxe on Saturday

My final craft show of the year is this Saturday. The lovely Tara and I will be sharing space at Deluxe in Oklahoma City on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The show will be packed with tons of amazing artists. You don't want to miss it!

Deluxe!

I will officially be selling at the Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar in Oklahoma City on December 12. Woo hoo! Check out my side bar for the cutie-patootie graphic featuring the awesome work of Fried Okra. :)

Blue Dome!

It's the start of the big, Blue-Domed weekend. As we speak, my cohorts in the Tulsa Craft Mafia are getting our booth ready to go. I'm headed over on lunch to do some more helping, but I won't be around much today. I still encourage everyone to go out tonight and enjoy the sunshine. If you're the brave, dedicated type, come back tomorrow for shopping in the rain. It'll be a fun, magical experience -- I promise!

After you say hello to us Mafiose in booths 104 and 105, go by booth 55 to see Sara and JD, the Deluxe directors. Make sure to buy lots of goodies from everyone to support the local economy and your favorite indie crafters, too!

I'll see you at 1st and Elgin!

Deluxe weekend

I rose early Saturday morning all full of Deluxe anticipation. I got ready, loaded the car, and awaited the arrival of lovely Miss Holly. We were well on our way to arrive by 10:00 when the rain started. With the rain came the stupids. I was driving the stretch of I-44 around Chandler where the number of lanes goes from two to one. Cars waited until the last minute to get over (not me, of course!), and suddenly the vehicle in front of me slams on his/her brakes. It had been raining just long enough for things to be a nice, slick mess of oil and water, so I was sure I wouldn't stop in time. By some miracle, I managed to slam on my brakes, swerve a little to the right, and stop inches short of Doofus's car. I couldn't believe I hadn't caused an accident. The car behind me followed my lead but swerved slightly left. I sighed. I didn't think I'd get out of that without hitting or being hit. Suddenly, I heard a slam, and then another, and another, and, as I watched the truck that was now behind me still moving, I felt a tap on the left side of my rear bumper. Erg! I was so miffed. I could see him in my rearview mirror not slowing down for whatever reason, but I was sure he'd notice me there at some point. Nope!

I debated whether or not I would stop. I knew that was the right thing to do, but dammit, I wanted to get us to Deluxe! My conscience won over, so I pulled off the right side of the highway at about 9:15. I went back to talk to everyone else, make sure there were no injuries, and piece everything together. Everyone was really nice and understanding, and nobody was hurt, thank goodness. The boy (maybe 17) in the truck that hit me didn't even realize he had. I think he might have been in shock. The truck at the very end was smashed, but the people inside were totally fine. All in all, the accident involved two cars, three pick-up trucks, and a mini-van. Does it surprise anyone that the two of us who managed not to hit anyone were the cars? Anyway, I surveyed my own damage and didn't see enough to worry about, but I decided to wait for the police any way. It took them an hour, I think, to get there. The officer who showed was incredibly nice and told me I didn't need to stay. As we began to leave, my battery wouldn't start! I was a little freaked and totally ticked off at this point. The combination of the cold rain and the hazard lights drained it right down. The wrecker wasn't able to jump me, so we waited another 45 minutes for AAA. Miraculously, the charge box got my car moving again in seconds. That was a huge relief. We then got back on the road and made it to the location at 11:45 -- 15 minutes before the show started!

Photo of our booth, shamelessly stolen from Holly here.

Other than the car debacle of the morning, it was a good day. The show wasn't all that profitable, but it was a lot of fun. I sold my first body scrub, so yay! I also got to meet some sellers I've spoken with online but had never met in person. Also, there is one good thing about a show at which I don't sell very much: I have plenty of stock for my next one! This weekend, I'll be selling at the Blue Dome Arts Festival. I expect December Deluxe this year to be awesome like last year's, so you'll definitely see me there.

I hope your weekend was far less eventful than mine. :)

Deluxe!

Tomorrow is the Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar in Oklahoma City! Please come find me. I'll be sharing space with the uber-awesome Tulsa Craft Mafia, so you know our booth with be chock-full of goodies. I'm driving up with the wonderful Hollyrocks, which is going to be so fun. Here are the show details once again:

What: Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar
When: Noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 9, 2009
Where: Centennial Building, State Fairgrounds, Oklahoma City
Cost: FREE FREE FREE!
Details: www.deluxeok.net for more info

I better see you all there! :)

Exploring the City Different

I'm home, and all is well. Santa Fe was a delicious delight this weekend, and coming home sure felt like punishment for something terrible I must have done in the past, but I've decided to whoosh right past the post-vacation blues into "Oh my God! Deluxe is this weekend!" mode. First, though, I do have some photos to share. I didn't take my usual route of snapping shots of everything I see. My camera's just bulky enough that I didn't carry it around much. Plus, my wonderful companion gets kinda embarrassed when I go all tourist on a new town. (He'll gladly whip out his GPS or fire up Google Maps on his iPhone, but me taking pictures is just too much. He he!)

My favorite thing to take pictures of is, for sure, signs. I just love the names of stores and their lovely illustrations. Here are a few I liked:

Here's a knickknack store called Moxie, photographed because we have a mutual affection for the name.


Cheri Cherie had, hands down, my favorite sign in Santa Fe. Check out this close up:


So adorable! For the record, Cheri Cherie is a fun children's store with some toys and books, but its highlight is all the costumes: ballerinas, cowboys, and lots of other goodies. The blue tint was due to the cloudy, raininess of our Saturday. Yep, it was cold and wet in the high desert, too. To be fair, we had beautiful sunshine the rest of the trip, but Saturday saw me all bundled up.

This is the (again, blue-lighted) sign for our fabulous motel, the Silver Saddle. If you are looking for a place to stay in Santa Fe and don't care about fancy amenities, this place will treat you right. It's a small property on Cerrillos Road, which is close to downtown but still far enough away to offer great rates -- $45 a night, to be exact! Woo hoo!


Inside Room #8 (where we stayed), you will find this wonderful story of Billy the Kid. It starts out, "Legend has it, Billy the Kid was half horse and half devil." AWESOME. Can you even read that without a a slow-speaking, grizzled old man voice playing in your head? Next to it once hung an old tintype of Billy the Kid, but some nasty former resident made off with it a while ago. Instead of framing a print from the internet, the motel owners hung a photo of Emilio Estevez dressed as the old-west legend from the movie Young Guns. OMG DOUBLE AWESOME.

And because a trip to Santa Fe isn't complete without a stop at the Loretto Chapel, I present you with my photos of the legendary spiral staircase:
In its full glory.

Ooo, shadows reflecting on the ceiling.



And with beautiful stained glass glowing in the background.

I could write a novel on our brief trip, but I'll spare you all the pain-staking details. Suffice to say it was one of the most exhilarating trips I've had in a long while. I felt rejuvenated and inspired just being there in the sunshine, taking in the wonderful smells, enjoying my 80 minutes of divine pampering at Ten Thousand Waves, exploring the amazing array of art and architecture, and spending a weekend the way I like with the one I love.

And now, back to business as usual and Deluxe this weekend!

More OklaTravelNews!

Hey there friends! I'll be on OklaTravelNews today around noon (CDT) to promote Deluxe. I'm so excited to help spread the word about this awesome event. As with last time, tune into the Web site right at 12:00 p.m. to watch it live or catch it any time between 1:00 p.m. today and 11:59 a.m. tomorrow. To catch it after air time, click the "Last Show Archive" button on the viewer. I'll be sporting a few Okie-made items on the show, so look out for them. :)