Artist Spotlight: Part Eighty-Two

Remember that awesome book I won?  Well, it's time to tell you some more about her, Andrea of Blue Highways.

She lives with her husband and boxer dog in northeast Ohio, and she does book binding and art full time!  An avid reader, she's always loved books, and now she makes some of the most beautiful ones I've ever seen.

She loves working with different fabrics and papers, and all different types of closures.

She also loves to try different binding techniques, each of which is gorgeous.

Heck, even the innards of her books are beautiful.

So why the name Blue Highways?  According to Andrea, old road maps used to have the back roads, those less traveled, printed in blue.  Those are the roads preferred by her.

Since she also encourages customers to contact her for custom items, working with them on size, fabric, binding, page count, type of paper, and more, be sure to check out her blog for ideas.

Success!

On more than one front.

First, about this past weekend and the Carlstadt Fresh Air Market... I had a blast!  Eric came in the morning and helped to set up, then stayed 'til one or so.  He ended up buying coffee from a local roaster, pickles from a local pickler, and rolls & pie from a local baker, then heading home to make our dinner.

Meanwhile, our friends Tori & EJ stopped by to visit and ended up helping for a bit too.

That's Tori in the photos.

The fun thing about this market was that there was no one runaway hit item.  People bought shampoo, makeup brush cleaner, facial scrub, mud mask, shaving soap, all different other soaps, candles, and lip balms.  It was pretty cool to see so much interest in so many different products.

And the washcloths got a lot of attention, partly because while I was sitting, I started a second trinity washcloth, which I've since completed.  One woman actually commented that they're great for babies because they're so soft.  I hadn't thought of that, but she's right!

And my other success... I won the Highlights contest at the Handmade Artists Forum, and got to choose a print from Nancy's WildWireArt!  I chose "Flow," and it came today!

It looks even better in person, and Eric loves it.  Now we just have to get it matted & framed.

So how was your weekend?

Artist Spotlight: Part Eighty-One

You've met this artist, Nancy Pace, here before.  But she's been up to a lot!  There's the gorgeous jewelry, of course.

She even does custom pieces for her customers, so if you don't see something that exactly suits you in her shop, be sure to contact her and see what she can do for you!

Now she's also listed her artwork too!  There are some really fun and decorative pieces painted onto repurposed denim.

And then there's her fine art, available as original paintings or prints.

Check her out and make sure to follow her blogs, one here, and one here.

We'll be vending this weekend!

Reef Botanicals (and some washcloths & photos from Fabric of my Mind) will be at the Carlstadt Fresh Air Market on June 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Come visit!

In the park on Broad & 3rd Streets in Carlstadt, NJ.

Highlighting Other Artists

The Handmade Artists Forum has a series of ongoing contests, "hosted" by various members, a different one each week.  The challenge is to create a Highlight according to a given theme, and then get the most comments on that Highlight.

I hosted one where the theme was "cliche sayings," and the winner got 2 bars of Reef Botanicals soap & a lip balm.

The one running now is "If you could be anything, what would it be?"  So... watching our 3 cats living a life of luxury, with down comforters to squish, beds to nap on, food to eat, warmth to gather, fish to watch, and humans to be petted by, I figure if I could be anything other than human, I'd want to be one of our cats.

I therefore present to you, "Oh, to be a cat!"

Now, of course I'd love it if you went to the Highlight to comment on it and help me win, but I'd also love it if you went just to get a closer look at the items I featured and check out the other wares by their creators!

What's Doin'?

Well... lots.

I've joined the newly formed Carlstadt Green Team, a town committee geared toward caring for and wisely using the new park that was created down the street from my house!  The team runs a monthly Fresh Air Market there, and so I'm gearing up for my first one on June 10.  It's on 3rd & Broad Streets in Carlstadt, NJ, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., so if you're in the area, come visit!

In preparation, I've made brand new batches of Lavender Soap & Oatmeal Honey Soap, and this coming week I'll be making our Mock Turtle Shampoo.  I've also been stocking up on cotton bamboo washcloths for the market & shop.

So... I've added some new photos and washcloths to Fabric of my Mind.

This tortoise was munching away on a leaf; I suppose I caught him during his lunch break.

This aster was in my own yard a couple years ago, and I love this photo.  I may need to have one printed for myself to hang.

Much like the gardenia yellow basket weave washcloth I knitted previously, this one's in an awesome sprout green cotton bamboo.

And then, still on my green kick, I did this pebbled washcloth that's got a seed stitch for a nice, scrubby texture.

This eyelet washcloth would be great as a face cloth, since it's so soft.  I went back to the gardenia yellow for this one.

Meanwhile, I've added our Oatmeal Honey soap to the Reef Botanicals HAFshop, as well as the Autumn Harvest Square Pillar.

And in the yard this year, in addition to veggies, Eric is growing hops for his beer brewing.  So I decided to expand too, by trying some flowers.  They seem to be turning into a tropical rain forest, the leaves are so thick!  They started like this...

(And that lone twig in the mulch between the two patches of flowers is a blueberry bush.)

And as of a couple days ago, the first flowers appeared!  They're itty bitty, teeny weeny white flowers.

Can't see 'em?  Look.

And this weekend, we'll be in Vermont, but I'll tell you all about that when we get back!

Artist Spotlight: Part Eighty

You've met her here before, Debbi of Yankee Burrow Creations!

It's wedding season now, as I was reminded when I had to go to two different craft stores for plain ivory ribbon, so I'll show you some of her wedding-appropriate items.

First, there's this invitation frame.

What an awesome and beautifully quilled way to turn your wedding invitation into a keepsake!

Then there's this great crocheted ring bearer pillow.

The classic white would go with any wedding color theme.

Last, but not least, I think this silhouette would be a gorgeous and unusual gift for a couple just starting in a new home.