Ok… after a bit of time off from doing my annual summer camp and beach going I am officially back in the real world. Well as much as I can be since the count down to the wedding has begun (less than a month away time flies!). Currently I am working on another gallery exhibit (details to follow once I have them). But lets get down to business….

Craft Show Review: I know it’s been a little bit, but the last show I was in was the Hamilton Street Festival~ to start, load in was a little confusing since there was no one at the barricades on the street, so you kind of needed to figure out how to get onto the street yourself. Once on the street, it was easy to find your spot since it was clearly marked. Attendance was wonderful with many shout outs for wearableJULES, but no one was buying. Good music and food. Since it was only one day and not too long, the heat was bearable (def bring the sunscreen even if under a tent). So even with the booth fee being very affordable, wearableJULES will most likely not attend this show next year.

A Very Crafty Wedding: Food… mmmm mmmm mmmm. So I know picking a caterer can be very stressful. But here’s an idea for you, after looking at many legit places where all they do is big events and its their way or the highway, maybe think about choosing a place that you both love to eat at. We chose an Asian Restaurant that has done larger events, but normally does not (or shall I say they do not get their bread and butter from large parties). The manager, John, was so incredibly helpful. Instead of the other normal places telling me what I get and there being no budging with choices or prices, John wanted to know what I wanted, how much could I spend, where could we save some money. He wanted to make me happy. He is even going to make 2 trips for delivery for cocktail hour and dinner! He wanted to make sure that the food was as fresh off the wok as possible. What normal catering company does that. I know you could get burned at not the normal places, so make sure they have done larger events, with clear labels of all the food and what is in it. But I think going off the beaten path to find food Joe and I love and want to share with our family and friends makes it even more special.

She was one HapPeep customer this past weekend! She could not wait to put on her little lavender Peep-Peep Earrings. I don’t know about you but I get so excited when I see people (especially kids) enjoy my work. I think near the holiday season I will have to put a call out for the HapPeepiest customer photos… hmmm I think that will deffinetely have to happen. Not sure what the prize will be but I would love to see what people come up with.

Currently I am in the works to do one more show in a few weekends, but after that I will have some much needed time off of doing shows every weekend to be in the studio. The felted gems are turning out to be my favorite new project. I am also playing around with a few new ideas for felting and different techniques.

Craft Show Review: Haddonfield Crafts & Fine Arts Festival~ This weekend seemed to have been an extremely long show… it was hot hot hot! Luckily my tent was under a tree which significantly helped the temperature inside my booth. Ok, again this was the first time that I had done this show, but financially wise it was not very successful for the time+booth fee. There were lots of people at the show, it seems like this is a big family event. wearableJULES again got rave reviews, so that was a plus, but most were just lookers. It could be possible that it was my first year and I know it takes a few years to really see an impact, however, I have had a lot of first time shows with more success. The staff were extremely pleasant, but at times absent or not clearly marked. I had lovely neighbors, which always make shows better, especially to watch your booth while going for a bathroom break. Bathrooms… unless you asked very nicely to use a stores bathroom (which you technically had to be a customer to use) I am still not sure where they were. I briefly was able to walk the show, from what I saw there were some wonderful vendors and not so hot ones. Like any craft show there are always a few you question “How did they get in?” Unloading was easy… you had to be there by 7 to unload your car and get off before set up. If you arrived after that time you would have to cart your booth to your space. It was nice to see at 715 there were no exceptions to late arrivals so set up happened very easily. Parking was set up for artists and free YAY! Packing up was a little difficult. You either had to wait for everyone to break down or find a side street to pack your car (I luckily found a side street that was close by). All in all the jury is still out on wearableJULES applying next year.

A Very Crafty Wedding: FLOWERS!!! weeee how pretty. Here’s the thing though… I never quite understood why one would spend thousands of dollars on flowers that die the next day. I feel that it is very wasteful and not very eco-friendly. So for center pieces, we went around to all different stores and bought different color (still matches the color scheme) and sized planters. We are then getting mums and potting them ourselves. Therefore, you get to take home a living plant and plant in your own garden or keep it in the pot. How much more symbolic too… the plant grows with our relationship (insert awwwwwwww). The boutonnieres will be Peep-Peep Cluster Pins (eeee I’m really excited for that one). The ladies will have real flowers and same with me… but we will be getting them from the local market! I feel much happier using someone local and she is not charging us an arm and a leg. So flowers are costing a few hundred instead of a few thousand. Woohoo!

Random Side Note:

Meet the newest member of the family! We named her Marleeta. This wonderful creation is from one of my favorite artists, Angela Davidson… Handmade by Angela. I don’t know how you could not completely fall in love with one of her critters! Check her out… now =)