What a Great Summer

So sorry that it's been a while. I've been busy with the Farmer's Market and with moving back to Texas. This has been a crazy busy summer but I wouldn't have changed much about it. I may have placed some kids in individual plastic bubbles from time to time but other than that it was pretty amazing.

I had a great time working with Lauren. She is so organized and has so many awesome ideas that it really inspired me. If you haven't checked out her way cool stuff you need to. http://lmlowel.etsy.com Plus you can check out our joint Facebook page under Funky & Feisty and loved again.

The Farmer's Market was a truly incredible experience. Sure there were days when I barely broke even but I almost always at LEAST broke even. Babysitters were probably my biggest expense. I met wonderful people and got to talk... A LOT!

There was Sarah AKA Hula Hoop girl who makes and decorates her own hula hoops. I now have one and have been trying to learn how to use it. It's tons of fun and I swear that one day I will get the hang of it. You can find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SarahLousCustomHoops Ya know ya wanna...

Sarah hared a space with her brother CJ who is an incredible photographer. You can check him out here http://cjzimmerman.carbonmade.com/ I hope you do check out his stuff. I really liked it and I'm picky. ;)

Then there were the Medici girls and all their delicious bread. I will miss that bread but if you are in the Bloomington/Normal area you can find them at the Farmer's Market. You can also visit the wonderfully tasty Medici restaurant and Bakery in Uptown Normal.


Not at the Farmer's Market but equally amazing is The Zoo Lady. She is an INCREDIBLE face painter. The kids begged for their faces to be painted whenever she was near. Of course I gave in.

I also had a chance to meet Emily Busha who makes the cutest ever PJs and library bags you've ever seen. She dyes her own shirts and then creates great designs for them using freezer paper. I swear the girl must never drink caffeine! The library bags are sturdy... We've tested ours out... retro cool and have two pockets inside; one for your library card and one for Change for your library fines. You can check out her blog which has a link to her etsy shop that I think is empty right now... Work on that Emily! ;) http://apronwings.typepad.com/apron_wings/


I also got to meet Monica Innis. She makes beautiful jewelry. She uses great colors and everything is unique. I don't think my descriptions can do her work justice but you can check out her etsy shop http://www.innisms.etsy.com and see for yourself!

I am going to miss all of this about IL but I will be back next summer and will hopefully have bigger and better things planned.
Please at least give these folks a nod. They all work really hard to create some really fun and amazing things. They wouldn't be on here if I didn't really respect them and what they do!

I LOVE what I'm doing

I am absolutely loving what I'm doing this summer. I love making stuff and I really dig going to the Farmers' Market. It could be that it gives me a few hours away from the rugrats. It could be that I get to hang out with a great friend for hours at a time. It could be the really cool people (and pooches) I meet there. It could be the praise I get for the stuff I make (who doesn't like a little ego massage from time to time?). It could be all of these things together. I just know that I am loving it and honestly think I have found my calling.
Truth be told, I am a bit nervous that I will slack once I get back to my real life in Texas. I also wonder if I will lose an audience without the loved again... stuff right next to me. I wonder if there is a possibility that I may be able to eventually cut hours at work and still have enough money coming in. I wonder if I should expand my repertoire by including furniture and found objects. I wonder if there is a way to make the little building behind my Texas house a studio of sorts. I wonder if I will have more time to do this with one kid going to kindergarten next year. I wonder if any of you have any unique gift needs... Is that a subtle enough hint? ;)
I wonder all of these things but don't really get a knot in my stomach. I get excited. I almost get giddy. I am curious and anxious to see where all of this leads. I will keep you posted.

Funky & Feisty and loved again...

So Lauren and I had our first 'joint craft gig' this past Saturday at the Farmer's Market in Bloomington, IL. We were prepared thanks to help from the book 'Crafty Superstar' http://www.gracedobush.com/craftysuperstar/ . I was nervous as heck the night before. I want our joint little business venture to be successful. I want people to like the stuff I make as much as I like to make it. I have been having so much fun these last couple of weeks making things in a room with Lauren while the kids played and fought in the other. I want an excuse to keep it up!
I got up at 5am the morning of and got ready. I packed the kids in the car still in their jammies to take them to Lauren's house. We had gotten a sitter for the day. Heck, if nothing else, we had a day together without the little ones. That may be worth the effort on it's own. We packed up the mini-van and headed out.
A nice man pointed us in the direction we needed to go. Of course the way was blocked by the tent of a very grumpy lady who seemed to think we were putting her out by trying to squeeze by. I know... I'll let it go. We found our number, #52, on the sidewalk and set up camp. At first it looked like we might be out of our league... everyone had canopies, we did not. We weren't ready for that investment yet. Once everything got put in it's place I think we looked like we knew what we were doing. It's nice to be able to fool people every once in a while.
The bell rang and people were shopping. Lauren sold two dresses right off the bat. I will have to get some pics so that you can see why! Of course you can go to her etsy shop at http://www.lmlowel.etsy.com and see for yourself.
The day was great. We sold stuff... Lauren was the big winner in that department... talked to a lot of people and had a great time.
All of my anxiety seemed to melt away after my first sale. I made enough to break even which is better than losing money. We got about 30 names on our mailing list and we had people asking about special orders and wondering when we would be back again... If you're wondering we'll be there every other Saturday!
You can check out my artfire site at http://FunkyFeisty.artfire.com
If you are on Face Book check out our fan site at http://www.facebook.com/?sk=2361831622#!/pages/Funky-Feisty-and-loved-again/124439284250355?ref=ts

The Crafty Life

So things are looking up in my little crafting corner. My friend Lauren and I are working together to do some craft events this summer. I am very excited.

Lauren does some amazing 'up-cycling' (that's the hip lingo for re-purposing which was the hip lingo for recycling). She makes clothes and rag dolls from old clothes. She's been working on some really cool headbands and scarfs from old t-shirts. You can see some of her stuff at her etsy store. http://www.etsy.com/shop/lmlowel I'm not sure it's been updated in a while but if you like her stuff and want to see more just let me know. I get to work in her studio (which is a fancy name for extra room that you can leave your crap out in without it bothering anybody) with her this summer. I can't believe the stuff she comes up with! I'm in awe and feeling a bit out of my league.

We have been chosen to have a booth in the 'Artists Alley' of the Downtown Bloomington Farmers' Market. http://www.downtownbloomington.org/index.php?id=6

We will also have a booth at the Raspberry Grove Equestrian Center MayFest Renaissance Fair on May 29. Now there's a mouthful for ya. http://www.equi-coach.com/center/mayfest/mayfest.htm

Another thing we're looking into is having our own open house and inviting other local artists to participate. That's still very much in the works though.

I really hope that this summer boosts up my 'Crafty Confidence' and motivates me enough to open my own etsy store. THEN I hope to get into etsy Fort Worth. http://www.etsyfortworth.com/
I would love for this to be the summer I really find my groove in the craft world... Of course working so closely with some one who sews makes me wish I had room for a sewing machine... Baby steps Cheryl... Baby Steps.