Patchwork Culver City

This past Sunday was the Patchwork show in Culver City, California. Since most of set up was on Saturday, I had time to walk around the show and check out cool stuff. The booth next to me was MandaLanda who did super creative things with vintage books and book pages. Even their booth walls were covered in vintage type. Another eye-catching booth belonged to Make Shop Live who specialized in recycled and repurposed goods like the bottle cap magnets on the left. Cute felted toys filled Jenny Smith's booth. I gave the "Best use of Kraft Paper" to Klai Brown's creative booth. It was the perfect background for her ceramics. Melissa Renzi had a display of her collages and last but not least, this adorable owl onsie® from Random Nicole (one of the fearless leaders of Patchwork!).

Patchwork Santa Ana

Yesterday was the Patchwork craft show in Santa Ana, California. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the crowds were out. We had a great location in a corner spot.

My booth mate, Gilded Moon sells beautiful jewelry (I bought a pair of earrings at the show last weekend and have my eye on another pair!)

Here's my table stuffed with cards, bookmarks, notepads, paintings and a few more miscellaneous items.

After the last show, I decided our booth needed some jazzing up so I made bunting. I saw bunting on a blog by South African artist Heather Moore (etsy shop skinny laminx) and thought that it looked really quick and easy, which it was. At a local quilt shop, I purchased for $10 a pack of 42 pre-cut pieces (Moda, California Girl) with the edges pinked. I simply cut each piece down the middle and had enough pieces for 3 strands of bunting. I pinned and sewed the fabric onto 12 foot lengths of twill ribbon. It was an easy one night project. Here's the result:

I like to walk around the show and check out everyone's booth and product but I rarely have the chance. Before the show opened I snapped a few pictures as people were setting up. Here are a few of my favorite items and displays. 1. Beautiful necklace made from vintage parts by Bazaar Latino (I purchased one from her etsy shop just last week)

2. Eye catching display from Bazaar Latino's booth mate Hephzi Creations. I love the way she lined the vintage suitcases with fabric to display her jewelry.

3. Huggable dolls from Imaginery Friend. (You can reach her at Girlalwaysfallin@aol.com)

4. Cool things made from vintage items- like these paper art dolls. I love the one in the middle with the sheet music skirt (darn, I think she sold!) These are from You Are It and you can see more at www.sewsweetnsimple.wordpress.com and at missvickyb.blogspot.com.

Two weeks until Patchwork Culver City! More show inspiration to report then.

Spring Craft Shows

It's time for the spring craft shows and so far, I have 3 scheduled. Patchwork Long Beach on May 20, Patchwork Santa Ana on May 27 and Patchwork Culver City on June 10. These are all great shows with music, food trucks and way too many cool things to buy. (It's a wonder I make any money!) You can find out more about all three shows at patchworkshow.com. I did this new promo postcard to hand out and I think it came out pretty well.

Patchwork Culver City

I've just finished up 2 weekends of craft shows. Patchwork Long Beach was a wet and soggy day but the sun came out about 11 and so did the crowds. I didn't bring my camera because it was pouring rain when I left my house. It was supposed to rain the following weekend for Patchwork Culver City but the weather was beautiful and we were all indoors. My booth was right inside the door from where the food trucks parked so the smells were fantastic all day. I had to indulge in some fries from Fresh Fries who serve up things like sweet potato fries with nutella and peanut butter and "Curry Crazy" fries with curry mayo and mango chutney. You can follow them on twitter here

I had some new displays in my booth that I purchased from my local Borders Bookstore when they went out of business. The wood shelves are great but weigh a ton! The vintage suitcases from my favorite local thrift shop came in handy because they gave my display some height and I stuffed them with product for transport.