Do Wear Pink and Do Not Chew Tobacco

As some of you may know, I am doing my first Craft Fair in two weeks and am beyond excited. I did my pre-fair research on the Etsy Forums and it seems as if I am not the only one who has questions about craft fairs, since there are 4955 threads in the Question Section.  

I didn’t read them all, but enough to happily report that I am now totally prepared to rock this fair. I learned all the basics - like, DO wear pink since it softens your appearance and makes you more approachable. Unfortunately, I don’t own a pink shirt or sweater so it looks like a trip to the mall is definitely in order.

The list of DON’TS is much longer and includes such things as don’t eat, read, chew gum or tobacco and DO NOT ever talk on the phone! I can however drink, as long as the bottle isn’t hidden in a paper bag. But, above all, the most important thing when doing a craft fair is to have fun. That is something I plan on doing!

 

One good bit of advice from the forums was to have inexpensive "Impulse" items. Since so many of my Journals are time consuming = $$$, I went to town making my share of low cost items. 

 

These darling little gift cards ($1.00) and mini envelopes ($1.00)

are my least expensive items and my favorite!   

 I

 

Can anyone have too many shoes or tags? 

 

If these magnets don't sell they're going on my fridge!

 

 

I've got a lot more new items so hope you'll stop on by and say hello. I'll be the gal wearing a pink shirt! If you can't make it you can always visit me at The Beehive.

 

The Moms, Dads and Grads Craft Faire

May 10, 2014

12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Clockwork Couture  

707 South Main St

Burbank, CA  91506

Keep Calm and Iron On

During the 1950’s, if your clothes weren’t wool, then they probably needed ironing. Gladys, a lovely African-American gal, would come to our house 3 times a week to help my mother with cleaning with one day totally devoted to ironing. Our basement was typical for the era, knotty pine walls, rattan furniture with tropical flower cushions, an ironing board and a radio to keep Gladys company. I can close my eyes and remember the sound of the hissing iron, the smell of freshly laundered sheets and the joyous sound of Gladys singing.

Tony, the husband, irons his own shirts. He’s lucky or rather I am because ironing shirts was not part of the marriage contract. Ironing Tea Dyed Parchment Paper on the other hand is something I happily did for my latest Journal.

 The Key to My Heart has grown up. No longer is it just a 3 ½” x 5” Journal,

 

 It's 5" x 7"!!

 I used parchment paper, which works wonderfully for journaling.



 

The page count quadrupled,

from 25 to 100

 

I developed a personal relationship with the Parchment Paper after spending so many hours with it.

1.  CUT 100 sheets of paper
2. TEA DYE 100 sheets of paper
3. IRON 100 sheets of paper
4. INK 100 sheets of paper
5. PUNCH HOLES in 100 sheets of paper

Although the grown up version of Key To My Heart took me much longer to create than I expected, I like to think that more time equals more love. This is a custom order but I plan to add this to my Etsy shop Inside The Beehive. Think I need Gladys!!!!

 

Wall of Fame

Since this post has its genesis in Baseball, I’d like to start out with a famous quote that I’m sure most of you are familiar with, “If you build it, he will come.” I know the quote is suppose to refer to a Baseball Field but if you think about it, the quote, in a round-about-way, is also about Bucket Lists.

Which leads me to another quote, “If you write it down, you can make it happen.” The author of that famous quote is no other than EllenBee, and it too is about Bucket Lists. Hope I haven’t lost you yet because this fairy tale has a happily ever after ending.  

The husband and I go as often as possible to NYC to visit my daughter Cassandra. This time, Tony planned to tackle one of his major Bucket List items - a visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  I too wanted to cross something off my list, so after looking through my Bucket I decided to  visit the holy grail of seam binding – Zipperstop.  

As many of you know, one of my great loves in life is Seam Binding. I worship those 100 yard wheels of  Hug Snug Seam Binding with names such as Paradise Aqua, Siam Pink and Turkey Red. I use them on almost every single Journal I create.

So, last Tuesday I left the hotel, gave the cabdriver the address and together we headed to my chosen Temple of Worship. I have to admit that I was surprised when the cab driver stopped in front of a small store in China Town.

 

Once inside I was granted free reign and was able to roam the aisles.

A wall of Seam Binding? Nirvana!!

 

Peeking into the many boxes of Seam Binding ready to be mailed.     

 

I started off the day thinking my Bucket List item wasn’t really a major item, but I was wrong. It was because as l left Zipperstop with a bag of delicious Seam Binding, I also left with something so much more - new friends. Thank you Jeff and the rest of the crew who made my visit so memorable! 

I'd love to hear about your love for Seam Binding. Please do share.