I love having a summertime birthday. As a kid it meant never bringing in treats to share, but the (near) guarantee of having an outdoor party? Yes, PLEASE!
It's amazing how many of you crafty folk are also summer babies. And with Etsy's 5th birthday approaching, I decided to make a little treasury to celebrate....
And of course I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you about our upcoming
Etsy Crafty Party. If you'll be in the Seattle area June 18th, come on by! We'd love to have you.
{ bon anniversaire! }
ps - just a few more days to enter my sweet
giveaway! :D
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Posted by
kelli g. { bug miscellany }
A few days ago I received an email from dear friend T, requesting advice on styling two different dresses she likes. And then she told me to blog about it. So here we find ourselves with a new, fun little experiment she titled "what would Kelli wear?"
It's no secret that I love color, and that I'm willing to pair some 'interesting' combinations together. Does this mean I'm capable of handing out fashion advice? I nunno. I wear what I like, what makes me happy, and often, what makes other people think I'm a little b-a-n-a-n-a-s. So T may love what I've put together here, or she may hate it, but it sure was a lot of fun to put together.
Without further ado, may I present scenario #1.
T loves this dress, but can't decide on an appropriate occasion to wear it. Too white for a wedding and too dressy for her office, she wants to know how to style this dress in a more casual, everyday wear kind of way.
I've done my best to create three different 'casual-ish' looks for this cute little baby doll number from
ModCloth.
Take a look:
{ gal about town }
{ to market, to market }
Stay tuned for scenario #2...
{ what do you think? }
ps - only a few more days to enter
my giveaway on Gypsy Diaries!
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Posted by
kelli g. { bug miscellany }
Today I thought I'd share with you a little recap of my first craft market experience. It was a great learning experience, and not to mention lots of fun to hang out with
LittleGrayFox, and to share a booth with the lovely Panda of
ASHCreations.
On Saturday, the three of us crafty gals set up bright and early in a sunny parking lot in Belltown, for the Punk Rock Flea Market.
I brought about dozen tablecloths with me, unable to make a decision at home, and ended up using this funk-tastic one from German Ikea. I thought the snappy colors would draw people to our corner of the lot.
One thing I did not take into consideration, was that the rare sunny day might actually work against me. I had the hubbers fashion a cardboard triangle, to prop up my new white magnetic board display. He had just completed it, so I really hadn't consider any further modifications. And lo and behold, the gorgeous sunshine we'd all been hoping for shone down on us.....and produced a wicked glare off my magnetic board! So to all the good people of Seattle I may have accidentally blinded, I do apologize! I am currently searching for a fabric to cover the shiny surface.
This fair also afforded me the opportunity to display a new creation - my pom flowers. I have yet to add these to my Etsy shop, and Saturday was a chance to see how people might respond to them. It turns out people really liked them! I had some wonderful responses, especially after the warmth goaded me into using two as hair sticks to pin my hair up. An unexpected use, but they did work to support my crazy curls for the entire day.
At the last minute, I also decided to bring that wooden box with me, to use as a display for my brooches. As you can see, I decided to add white card backings to the pins, so that shoppers could quickly differentiate between magnets and brooches. The box definitely helped break up my display, but I think in the future, I will utilize it slightly differently. It looks a little messy here.
My last obstacle was deciding what to do with the rest of the table. For a four foot wide space, I was already very 'prop heavy,' so I decided to simply lay out the rest of my brooches. I am happy with the different experiences and level changes the table as a whole achieved, but I think the arrangement on the table came off a bit messy, rather than the "effortless, casual" look I was going for. Going back to the drawing board on that one. But I do still like my "text bubble" signage. I'm keeping those around, for sure. (It WAS supposed to be lined up with that little birdie pin. d'oh!)
This brings me to the last, and perhaps most valuable lesson I learned on Saturday. This should come as no surprise to you, but....."punk rock" fans (as a generality) are not my target market, it turns out. : P It pays to consider carefully the venue in which you choose to market your wares. I had never done/been too/heard of this particular event before, so it was a pure experiment from start to finish. Did I sell a boat-load of things? Nope. Did I learn a heck of a lot more than I would by just attending a market or fair? Oh, YES. And for that (and the fun craft-girl bonding time), I am grateful.
Oh, and also: we were treated to a 40 minute serenade by a jazzy horn choir (featuring punk rock john hamm on the sax), right in front of our tables. A day full of unexpected surprises. : P
{ have you ever done a craft fair? }
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Posted by
kelli g. { bug miscellany }
As a summer baby, is it any surprise that I love this season? But here are some other reasons why.
Summer is the time to be.....
JOYFUL
This adorable sundress has my inner child jumping up and down ecstatically (calm down in there, willya?). The colors, the flounciness, the irreverent mixing of patterns - it all shouts 'hooray! summer vacation!' And even though I don't get those anymore, I still love that feeling.
FRESH
"strawberry jam with balsamic vinegar" by JannasJams
I'm a recent jam convert (having previously been afraid of any sort of 'altered' fruit, to include pies, which THANKFULLY I've gotten over), but I have become absolutely fiendish in my desire for fresh, flavorful preserves. These gorgeous jars have my tumbly rumbly for some toasted jammies!
BOLD
If there's ever a time to try out a new bold look, it's summertime. Of course that would not stop me from wearing this gorgeous necklace all year round. Royal blue and yellow is a new color combo for me (a digression of my mustard and navy obsession), but I have to say, I think I'm loving it...
CAREFREE
It seems impossible to feel anything other than lighthearted and free when the warm summer breeze starts blowing. Dianalemieux's beautiful photograph captures this fleeting feeling perfectly. When I look at it, it's like I can smell the grass and feel the late afternoon sun shining down upon me.
ADVENTUROUS
Summer is the time to adventure, to explore, to get lost, and be found. Go ahead -- stop and take that snapshot. Who cares if it's just a crumbly old building to everyone else? To you, it's incredible. And who knows? It could turn into a sweet postcard like this one. Images like these make me imagine the incredible adventure this photographer was on, and brings back fond memories of my own wanderlust.
{ what does summer mean to you? }
Psssst! - don't forget to enter my
giveaway! :{D
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Posted by
kelli g. { bug miscellany }
THAT'S how you start off a Monday!
The oh-so-lovely Gabby of
Gypsy*Diaries is hosting my first giveaway! You can enter
here, as many times as you like, just be sure to follow Gabby on her marvelous adventures.
Now, you may be asking yourself:
Your {
bug miscellany } prize pack includes all kinds of fun stuff -- even some things that haven't made it into the shop yet! Hop on over to
Gypsy*Diaries for the full scoop.
This giveaway will run until Sunday, June 13th (11pm GMT ), with the winner announced on Monday, the 14th.
Thanks, Gabby!
ps - congrats,
Panda, on your FP Treasury! :{D
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Posted by
kelli g. { bug miscellany }
....that this Saturday I will be at the Punk Rock Flea Market in downtown Seattle!
The market runs from 10am through 10pm, and is only $1 to get in!
Crafts, bargains, bands and booze -- there's a little something for everyone!
If you're in the area, come hang out with me - 'cuz I'm kinda wiggin' out! :P
{ happy weekend, everyone! }
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Posted by
kelli g. { bug miscellany }
If there's on surefire way to chase off the rainy blues, it's a good cup of tea....and a little Etsy browsing.
(And, it's been like a WHOLE WEEK since I featured a Treasury....)
Click to check out
Panda's adorable new one:
I love the combination of uber-cutness, and a pinch of tuffness. :{D
{ how do you chase away the rainy blues? }
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Posted by
kelli g. { bug miscellany }
One thing I did not take into consideration, was that the rare sunny day might actually work against me. I had the hubbers fashion a cardboard triangle, to prop up my new white magnetic board display. He had just completed it, so I really hadn't consider any further modifications. And lo and behold, the gorgeous sunshine we'd all been hoping for shone down on us.....and produced a wicked glare off my magnetic board! So to all the good people of Seattle I may have accidentally blinded, I do apologize! I am currently searching for a fabric to cover the shiny surface.
My last obstacle was deciding what to do with the rest of the table. For a four foot wide space, I was already very 'prop heavy,' so I decided to simply lay out the rest of my brooches. I am happy with the different experiences and level changes the table as a whole achieved, but I think the arrangement on the table came off a bit messy, rather than the "effortless, casual" look I was going for. Going back to the drawing board on that one. But I do still like my "text bubble" signage. I'm keeping those around, for sure. (It WAS supposed to be lined up with that little birdie pin. d'oh!) 
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