renegade craft fair

so I've been spending this last week frantically sewing for my next craft show. it's the renegade craft fair holiday show in chicago. you have no idea how excited I am. I have always been a crafty nerd even before I didn't really know how to sew. I remember going to the earlier renegades in the summer. like when it was in actual wicker park and it rained and it was all muddy. ew. (I've actually never been to the holiday show before!) and I would always get that internet celebrity shock. like omg, I KNOW that girl's stuff! I've seen it online. OMG! so this craft fair is a huge deal to me. not that I'm an internet celebrity, but just to be accepted is an honor really. It's such a big show!! I guess this means next summer I'm going to have to apply for the regular show. :) to cut costs and to not go into this blindly, I applied with cordinated. Juli and Dan did this show last year as their first ever!! and they also were at the summer fair. check out their shop. they have some really great things for musicians. sadly, my guitar is in my parents' closet collecting dust. my fingers could just never get those chords. :P

anyway, I hope you chicago peeps come say hi! booth #68!

xo,
beth

wishful wednesday

if I had a money tree, I would buy all of my etsy favorites. here are a few.

please click and comment here.

engaged!

my boyfriend proposed last friday! how exciting! we ordered my ring in august and it finally delivered last monday. i had no idea when he was going to ask, but he did it quick on friday morning! i've been looking for ideas ever since and not getting much else done. so i thought my treasury should be all about my ideas so far. and yes, that is my engagement ring in there. 

make sure you click and comment!

etsy wedding

indian summer

for treasury tuesday, i created this autumn-y collection. chicago decided to be 89 degrees today. it's supposed to storm later, so hopefully fall comes back soon.

here is the etsy link, make sure you comment!

indian summer

it's wip wednesday!

i had a really great clutch idea the other day and i finally finished it today. it's a long foldover clutch that closes with a zipper. there is a magnetic snap to keep it folded. i was originally going to put this in my etsy shop, but i sewed it a little crooked and messed up the zipper tabs. so it's all mine! i definitely want to make a few for the shop after i tweak the pattern a little bit. what do you think?

fall over plaid

it was very fall like this weekend and whenever i think of fall, i think of plaid! so i made a plaid treasury today. enjoy!

'fall for plaid' by besu

some of my plaid favorites!

Handknit Yellow Cap... KerreraSkye $69	Tallulah Tulip - Th... sleepyking $26	High Waist Victoria... PinarEris $150
floral brooch, crea... monkeyandsquir... $20	a frog and a slug w... kilsook $20	pink and blue vinta... HuntersLullaby $49
Matryoshka Doll - O... hellosweetworl... $9.99	Bustle and Pocket d... sewmoe $165	Small Fabric Boxes ... PALEOLOCHICHom... $29.4
MONKEY- in plaid MisfitMenageri... $45	the my tartan is re... sweetanddirtys $50	Cute Navy and White... MistyAurora $12
Grey Dress with Hou... nicolecarey $34	Equinox Flat - Back... HydraHeart $55	A-line Plaid Skirt ... whilejupiterdr... $50

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

tools

I'm always looking for ways to make my life a little bit easier. even the small things count! last night I saw a tweet about etsy treasuries. whenever I wanted to save or share one, I would have to take a screenshot and upload the picture. not anymore! look at this super cool html generator martin from whale shark websites created! thanks to handmadeology for giving me the heads up! I can't wait to try it for my next "treasury tuesday" post!

I've been using the website outright for my bookkeeping for a while now. it is so easy! I can not recommend it enough. it automatically imports all of your Paypal transactions and keeps track of your income and expenses. it's amazing. at tax time, it even fills out your paperwork! amazing! anyway, @outright tweeted today about this super cool app that is perfect for craft shows. CREDIT CARD SCANNER! it's called Square and it's free besides a fee for each transaction. sounds good to me! I'm going to read up on it a bit more, but I definitely want to try this out for my shows this winter. who knows, I might get more sales accepting credit cards!

zip pouches!

I've been making zip pouches for a while now and I'm always looking for a new way to use them: cell phone holder, lip gloss stash, change pouch, key fob and now I have LEASH BAG!

I like to hook my pouch onto Panda's leash with my keys. I fill it with these super cute star shaped training treats to bribe her when she decides she would rather chew on a stick than walk. You can also use it for your phone or keys if you don't have a lazy dog like me.

wip wednesday!

i'm working on a mini wholesale order for this shop in new jersey called modern love. it sounds super cute. i wish i could visit! check them out here! here is a photo of what i'm working on. card wallets and pouches! my best sellers!

treasury tuesday!

I decided I need to blog more. I shall start with Treasury Tuesday!

I created this treasury by finding my favorite items in the shops that had recently hearted besu.
super fun!

click here to check it out live!

surprise arrival!

I had a pretty exciting week! My sister in law ended up giving birth 10 days early! Gina, my sister in law was supposed to be due on February 12th. She wasn't feeling well on Monday, so her doctor instructed her to go to the hospital. Her blood pressure was pretty high, so they decided to induce on Tuesday morning. So at 3:26pm my new niece, Scarlett Autumn was born! I went to see her on Wednesday. She is super cute. They were going to bring her home on Thursday, but the doctors wanted her to stay because she was jaundice. They finally brought her home last night. My brother took this with his Iphone when they got home.

Isn't she adorable??? Love her. I can't wait to have my own. haha. I went shopping at Target the other day and I couldn't resist their baby clothes. Seriously, they have the cutest stuff ever! So I bought her a few things.

Hopefully I get to see her soon! I'll post another update later!

new mini wallets!

I finally made the time to bust out a practice pattern for a mini wallet with change pouch. I absolutely love how it turned out! I just have a couple of adjustments to make. Silly me measured the card pockets with a business card, not realizing credit cards are a bit taller! So the credit card pockets will be a little deeper so that the cards fit in the pocket better. My other adjustment will be the tab. I made that a tad too long. My snap tool I was using just did not want to cooperate, so I'll be using slim magnetic snaps for the closure. They are tiny and very cute! I'm going to place those on the change side so the magnetic strips on the credit cards won't be affected. 

I would love to be sewing these up right now, but I had an interfacing order mishap! I was sent the wrong bolt and when I contacted the company I was told my interfacing of choice is out of stock! So I'm waiting on my interfacing! I have another clutch idea that I want to be working on too!

So look for these in the coming weeks. I'll be making some totes and slouchy bags while I wait!

necklace addiction

I've been getting into a girly kick lately. I want tons of jewelry and tons of dresses and cute shoes. But of course I don't have the money to buy all of these things to make me look cute. Very frustrating! At my last craft show, one of the sellers wanted to trade for one of my pouches. She was selling jewelry and hair pins and all those kinds of goodies. She sells on etsy, but it doesn't look like she has these necklaces listed. I picked out this super neat hot pink necklace made out of wood! And she picked out two pouches. Sweet deal!

another craft show!

Well, well, well. Here I am again. Blogging way late. What have I been up to, you ask? Well, I had another Handmade Market show on January 9th! It was super fun as usual, but freezing! The weather in Chicago did not want to cooperate that day and I think the heat was broken at the Empty Bottle! I had to wear my coat the entire time. I was still freezing!

I love that the Handmade Market has such a low booth fee. That way I only have to sell a few items for it to be worth it. I will definitely be participating in this show next year.  I kind of hope Heather decides to continue the shows over the summer. I'll be there again in February, March and April! I better get sewing!