I was tickled pink by the fabulous response to my 1000 Followers Giveaway last week. At entry deadline there was 214 entries and such lovely notes from everyone! Thank you so much.
I put the total number of entries into the random number generator on Random.org and it cranked out entry no. 33:
She chose the book, 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, to be released in November (she said she didn’t mind waiting.)I hope you’ll pop over to her blog and give her a high-five, some knuckles, or whatever the “way-to-go!” gesture is these days! And, thanks again to all of you for following my little blog!
Be warned if you have a little one on your lap while reading this, I will be revealing a few secrets about you-know-who.
The time has finally come when my three children have lost all of their baby teeth. Although my son has known the secret of the tooth fairy for some time, my girls were only recently ready to acknowledge the truth as well. So yesterday, I pulled the big secret shoe box out of my closet and we dug in. It was painfully obvious that Jeff and I were sleepwalking when tucking into the box little teeth wrapped in paper labeled with names and dates on them. Chicken scratch, barely legible at times. The bottom of the box rattled with the loose, mixed and unlabeled teeth of all 3 kids, apparently from those times that we were just too darn tired from getting up in the night to sneak under pillows for the tooth/dollar exchange. Click on any image to enlarge.My daughter, Jamie, began writing letters with questions to the tooth fairy several years ago. And the tooth fairy wrote back. Jamie brought me all the letters today to share. Each folded as tiny as paper can be folded. I remember how my hand would cramp from writing so small. Just reading them again reminds me how fast our children grow, such innocence to want to be best friends with the tooth fairy.
In my shoe box of teeth there was a tiny bag handmade by Jamie as a gift to the tooth fairy, complete with dental floss handles. Too sweet. Of course, the tooth fairy loved it as documented in her letter. We got the biggest laugh reading letters from Bennett. Most every note was asking for more money. Our favorite was the one he wrote soon after our Mexico vacation when he had returned with some coins as souvenirs. He taped a coin along side his tooth to the note. I guess he figured the tooth fairy could use some help.Dear Tooth Fairy, Can we start getting $5 or $10 for a tooth instead of $1? From Bennett P.S. Here is money for Mexican kids
San Francisco, host to the recent weekend Renegade Craft Fair, is only about 45 minutes south of our Petaluma home. My Saturday began with a stop along the way in Sausalito for coffee where bicyclists by the hundreds swarmed in all directions beside the bay. I crossed over the hidden Golden Gate Bridge, shelled out $6 to the lovely toll booth attendant and was on finally on my way to The 2nd Annual San Francisco Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco.Renegade staff member, Danny Orendorff, greeted shoppers at the entrance. The happy energy hit me at the door, everyone could feel it, everyone had it. This was, no doubt, going to be an incredible experience.As my hunt began for goods, sellers and inspiration, my first visit was with Adriana Osborn of In-Vita Paper Studio. Very, very pretty stationery, and beauty and personality to match.I searched out Cheri Lewis, (shown here with her daughter,) of Mama’s Little Babies after visiting her Etsy shop online. I believe we were cut from the same cloth with our passion for unique vintage illustrations. What she makes with hers is beyond compare.My very first purchase of the day was from artist Matt Adrian, aka: The Mincing Mockingbird. This incredibly sweet print shot an arrow straight into my heart and is now a perfect addition to my studio.Polly Conway, the pollyannacowgirl, won my vote for most enthusiastic vendor. She had a space full of fun and whimsy and the cowgirl boots to go with it. I bought this darling pillow made from a sweet Japanese fabric of a little Dutch couple to use as a bolster for my studio chair.I met Jamie Lau of Jamie Lau Designs who was selling her very charming bags and accessories. Her little happy logo makes me smile.Jamie shared a space with jewelry designer Yueh-Wen Chang of Sora Designs, who’s line of Sunny Skies necklaces turned my head. Aren’t they gorgeous?!Susie and Heidy Bauer of Rock Scissor Paper had every single notebook, tote and set of stationery any creative type could ever need. I loved their colorful and fun coffee mugs! Nadine Nakanishi and Nick Butcher of Sonnenzimmer screen print studio knocked my socks off with their incredible print designs. Their style took me back to my favorite series of prints done by Emigre, (of which I still have tucked away from the early 90s!) And, they are the nicest artists!Mike and John Paul, 2/3 of the dynamic company known as Fuzzy Ink were on hand with some very cool mustache themed apparel and accessories. Kate Sutton is the artist behind the awesome illustrations of the Renegade Craft Fair promotions. I could look at her art forever.I visited with Julz nally, right, of Handmade Julz and bought one of her fun badges to embellish the front of my Swiss army medical-bag-turned-purse. Recognize her friend? That’s the amazing Jena of Modish! What a wonderful surprise as Jena featured my studio on her Handmade Spaces last year!Etsy was well promoted by Anda and Jesse at the show with a table of take-aways, info and display pieces from represented artists.By far the friendliest vendor on site was Mariam Aryai Rivera of The Hand of Fatima Design. She makes eclectic, steampunk, nostalgic, enchanting, and just plain deliciously curious jewelry that you could spend hours looking at. How fun that her brother was there selling with her!Linda Lagunas of Modern Seamster was very much representin’ at the show. She belongs in my collection of pincushions! I got such a kick out of the various plush cuts of meat by Lauren Fleischer of Sweet Meats. Get a load of that family-size ham!All the hammering noise was coming from the free hands-on metal crafting work station hosted by Craft Gym. Very fun.Laurie Okamura and Amy Stocklein of Lucky Bee Press had some incredible designs-turned-letterpress paper goods. Beautiful work, ladies! Hosts Garth Johnson and Jeanée Ledoux of Re•Construct were promotin’ like crazy! So much fun energy coming from that booth, the vortex sucked me right in!I Heart Guts had a fantastic space full of soft fuzzy innards. Something for everyone!Cindy of Cindy Tomczyk Illustration and Paper Parasol Press had the sweetest style of letterpress goods and goodies!If you’ve been around the Etsy block a few times, no doubt you’ll recognize the work of Elizabeth Soule who’s Photography work is as absolute charming as Elizabeth herself. How awesome to finally meet the face behind the lense! Jen Sethasang’s Tattos and Scars apparel was indie at its finest. I asked her about the name, very thought provoking answer…you’ll have to ask her about it yourself!Cakespy dessert detective agency was on hand with sweet product and enough cute to last the weekend for sure! Nora Aoyagi and Anna MacNeil of Handmade Whimsy win my Best Booth Banner award! Loved it almost as much as their fabulous artwork and products!I adored the work of Sandy Davis & Co. of Treatzone who’s vintage-circus and storybook inspired pieces pulled me right in.As far as I’m concerned, The Owly Shadow Puppet’s booth stole the show with some delightful pieces of laser-cut whimsy! Illustrator Anna Branning of Dutch Door Press design & letterpress studio had the most wonderful display of color and delight. You have to see the work that she and partner Mara Murphy have created, including probably the freshest wedding invitations out there. Anna was so kind as to share this beautiful limited edition letterpressed print entitled “California” from their Birds & Blooms of the 50 States series. How nice was that?!It’s thanks to Casey Erlenheim of i melt with you that I ever made it to the show. I’m on her mailing list and the day she sent out a notice that she would be at the RCF-SF I couldn’t get to my calendar fast enough to see if our family had anything else planned! Answer was “no” and the date was set. I am one of Casey’s biggest fans. I never miss an opportunity to buy her scrumptious candles or other products. This day I bought a candle for me, one for my son and some body butter for my daughters. Thank a million Casey!Cute, cute, cute. That’s my review of Lisa Price and her vintage style block print housewares known as artgoodies. Towels, aprons, stuffies. Cute!I had to take a photo in the ladies public restroom. Would you just look what the gals of Roman Ruby Botanicals put at each sink. One couldn’t miss the fun ice cream vendor peddling on foot. How darling is Kayte of dorklandia?…not to mention her delightful frozen treats! Every creative needs a sketchbook, so it was great to see ex libris anonymous at the show selling their suitcases full of repurposed book cover journals.And, finally, it was so great to meet Elaine Elwick Barr of Rock and Roll Crafts as she is also a Petaluman and I have long admired this stenciled canvas of the Bodega French Laundry in her Etsy shop. The BFL is a unique piece of Petaluma history and I was so excited to see she had one of her canvases for purchase in her booth. It is now resting atop the deer shelf in my studio. And, thank you Elaine for making me feel like a celebrity at the show!The artists I feature in this post are only a fraction of the vendors at the show. I wish I could feature them all. I was so impressed with the quality and diversity of art represented there. Vendors traveled from so many far away lands, it was so amazing to hear of the different places. In my opinion, The Renegade Craft Fair is the coolest event going and you can bet I will be at any future ones in the bay area. For more information on buying from the Renegade Craft Fair or their schedule of future events, click HERE! And if you were unable to attend this amazing event but would still like to check out any or all of the artists that were there, you can simply click HERE!
I hope you’ll pop over to her blog and give her a high-five, some knuckles, or whatever the “way-to-go!” gesture is these days! And, thanks again to all of you for following my little blog!
