Below are photos of a custom Nativity I finished recently–

It’s funny because while doing research for this, I thought back about nativities I’ve seen in the past, mainly the one my mom probably still have stashed in a box someplace, and my grandma’s world famous (okay, family famous) nativity, probably over 70 years old at this point. I actually found a picture online of one that looks strikingly like Grandma’s, which is still set up on the table in the living room every year, complete with little electric lights to illuminate inside the barn, all the various farm animals and, as per grandma’s tradition, a baby Jesus who only appears in his manger on Christmas day and absolutely no earlier. (He’s usually hidden behind the barn in the trees, but it took until you were old enough to actually see over the top to be able to discover that secret)

It’s similar, but not exactly the same. I feel like Grandma’s figures are somehow thinner and more angular– it must be foreign-made because no American would make the kind of long, thin characters that it has.

At any rate, it was a fun challenge to translate something so iconic (like, textbook definition of iconic) into my own little artistic language. I wanted to straddle that line between being traditional enough to please the client, and not being too hokey, while still maintaining my own voice in the work. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out.

This is waaaay overdue, but I thought it was better late than never to post a little something about the Indieana Handicraft Exchange, way back on October 2 and 3rd. It was an awesome event, as always– lots of people, lots of music, lots of family and old friends who were nice enough to stop by and say hello. I also got to meet some friendly new crafters, and made some excellent trades, I must say : )

Ira and company, on the display board.

The last of my bib supply– gotta get sewing on some new ones!

Somehow only “puke” seems to be left. I should sew some more “hurl”– I like that one : )

Aunt Flo pouches

It was a super quick trip– I was down and back in Chicago in a mere 36 hours (seriously– that includes the 6 hours of driving!) but it’s always such a good time, I knew I had to make it work!

I seem to be cursed lately. I’m not sure what’s been going on, but every time I turn around I manage to spill another drink all over the place. This has happened twice in the bedroom (in the middle of the night, which is even better– groggily running to the kitchen to grab a towel), twice at work and, the other day, I spilled my entire glass of water on a stack of Harolds I’d just sewn. Thankfully, because all my stuff is synthetic felt, they dry out without any harm. However, it got me thinking– what if I did use real wool felt, the kind that shrinks all up when it gets wet…

Ah well, I guess I didn’t have enough to do this afternoon but play around in photoshop, but whatever– this picture cracks me up. They’re actually pretty cute, don’t you think?

The awesome goodies that we can home with after Renegade–

(Clockwise from the top left)

David Bowie Mugshot Painting – Empty Your Eyes (shhhh, it’s a present!)

Flatstock Print – Crosshair Silkscreen

Yummy smelling soaps (which I cannot wait to use!) – Oliba

Ceramic Tile Coaster – Jessica Gonacha

Cute-pie cupcake cards – Cakespy

Filigree Necklace – Courtney Fischer

Seeds + Pebbles Scarf – Red Prairie Press

Gocco and Collage Cards – Essimar

Strelka the Space Dog Print – Berkley Illustration (I heard she sold out! Glad we snatched her up early!!)

Flying Bear Tote – Mis Nopales, my new crafty obsession. So freakin’ awesome.

Cupcake Magnets – the other half of my trade with Cakespy

Ridiculously cute Alphabet and Bears prints – Baumbirdy

I haven’t put anything up on the walls yet, sadly. I think the prints may go into the living room, or I might be selfish and keep them in the studio– we’ll see Anyway, it was an excellent haul, I must say. Totally spent all my money!

Hey look, I’m in today’s Chicago Tribune! Awesome!

And the online version–

Well, my Renegade weekend has now come and gone. All that build-up and prep and the two days just seemed to fly by, I keep forgetting that it’s actually over! After last year’s Rain-agade fiasco, Mother Nature definitely made up for it with one of the most beautiful weekends I can remember from the entire summer. Sunny, breezy and not too hot, it certainly made for two great days to be outside surrounded by craft!

It took me probably a good 4 hours (divided over Saturday and Sunday) to finally see all the booths that were there– it was HUGE this year and the quality of the vendors is always just astonishing. I am humbled and amazed to have been included in such a quality assortment of artists.

I shared my booth this year with the amazing Jessie from CakeSpy and I could not have asked for a better pairing. Her work is ridiculously adorable, and Jessie herself was about the best boothmate I could’ve possibly asked for– fun, considerate and nice as can be. I’m lame and didn’t get a good picture of our entire booth, or even just her cake-inspired goodies, but please check her out at cakespy.com. Her blog is great.

I have to say, that in addition to meeting customers and hearing people’s comments when they see my work, my other favorite thing about craft fairs is feeling like a part of the amazing crafting community. I was able to talk to a number of Crafty Friends, and meet some great new people. I love how everyone is so dang friendly at these things– it makes me so happy to be part of such a vibrant and welcoming group of people.

Here are a couple shots from the weekend–

The new and improved Puppet Display Board

Felt Canvases

Applique Burp Cloths

Always gotta get a shot of the animals and monsters. They're so photogenic

My lovely assistant.

Renegade at night-- A little spooky, huh?

Breakfast from Milk and Honey to start off Day Two. Heck yes it tasted as good as it looks.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who came out! I had a fantastic time! P.S. Stay tuned for a post of all my Renegade buys

Hey! I’m featured in the Storque on Etsy, thanks to those loveable characters at Renegade doing the Etsy Picks in honor of the fair! They’re so swell! Check it out here!!

P.S. Also check out the amazing company Mr. Glass is in– I LOVE me some Berkley illustration! We have two prints already and I’ve been eying space dog as well

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be putting the finishing touches on the half-million things I’ve been sewing up for Renegade– I’ve got some tagging to do, and packaging of the last-minute puppets. Oh yeah, I’ve also gotta, you know, pack everything into boxes, haul it down three flights of stairs and pack up the car (praying that it all fits). Minor details

In the meantime, even more exciting that selling this weekend may just be the shopping opportunities (I know, I mentioned before, but it’s worth mentioning again). Browsing through some of the vendors that will be there, I put together a collection of a couple of the coolest things I came across–

Top left: Have I mentioned yet my love for Moth Designs? Well, let me make it clear: I LOVE Moth Designs. I bought this tote for my best friend’s birthday this summer yesterday and it was quite a hit. We sell out of her totes at work so fast I haven’t been able to get one for myself, so I’m thinking of trying to snag one this weekend. I love Moth’s mission to promote dialogue with the Arabic-speaking world, and I love her illustration and sense of graphic design. Really, really great stuff.

Top right: Ashidashi “Back to School” socks. Really, how awesome are these? I can totally imagine giggling quietly to myself in the middle of a particularly boring lecture just thinking about the fact that inside my shoes I’m wearing a Number 2 pencil.

Middle Left: I just recently discovered Earth Cadets and have been smitten by her totes and things as well. A particular favorite is this Pear and Whales design. I’ve always had a thing for pears. And whales.

Middle Right: Have I mentioned, also, that I’ve been on a total necklace kick recently? Luckily I’ve been able to keep my purchasing in check, but my coveting has definitely been in high gear the last month or so. I got a necklace in New York from a designer at a little flea market and, okay, another one from another flea market. Plus that one I bought at work in August. Okay– crap– it seems like maybe my purchasing isn’t as in check as I thought. At any rate, I’m totally into this Copper Circles Necklace from Brown Sparrow’s Nest’s shop. Super cute and autumn-y and the color combo is great.

Bottom Left: Mis Napoles seems to have an entire flying animals motif in their shop and I was torn between this winged bear shirt and the slightly perturbed flying pug. Looking back, maybe the pug is my favorite. I do love that bear, though. He just looks so unhappy to be in the air. Why is it that makes unhappy cartoon animals so adorable?

Bottom Right: We just got this poster in at work and I’ve been eyeing it like crazy. Mat Daly makes all the posters for the Renegade Fairs (this year’s is particularly gorgeous, but there aren’t images online, so you’ve just gotta nose around Chicago to see for yourself), and his other paintings are fantastic as well. For this selection, it does help that I love Fleet Foxes, but I think I’d still want to hang this poster in my house even if it were for Van Halen or Sisquo or something.

Anyway, the weather looks like it’s going to hold, so I am looking forward to a super fun– and sunny!– weekend at Renegade! Come say hello!

Hey, do you know what next weekend is? It’s Renegade Craft Fair Chicago, that’s what! I’ve been sewing away every spare minute the past month in preparation, and I’ll be sharing a booth with Cakespy, who makes THE most adorable pastry-inspired crafts.

Seriously? Zombies chasing a frightened cupcake? I love it.

There’s a potential for a cute-overload in our booth, but I think it’ll be probably just the right amount of adorable to make for an awesome weekend. I’ve already been talking about all the awesome crafters I want to check out and the purchases I want to make– Renegade is a little like Christmas for someone like me

I’ve spent the last year crossing my fingers that we’ll have good weather this year and not a repeat of Rain-agade 08. Here’s hoping… Anyway, we’ll be right across from Renegade Handmade just east of Damen, so come say hello!

During my break between summer classes and fall classes in August, we were able to go to New York City for a couple days for visit an old friend of mine who’s been doing an internship in the city this summer. I hadn’t seen her in way too long, so it was great to catch up, and we found plenty of adventures to keep us busy for a few days. I did forget to factor in that, traditionally, everyone leaves the city during the month of August, and for good reason, so it was a little toasty but we made it work. Between a picnic in Central Park, bus tours interrupted by sewage leaks, Upright Citizens theater, some (extremely) minor celebrity spotting, cheap rush “9 to 5″ tickets, multiple Pinkberry breaks, thrifting in Bushwick and some Nathan’s Famous.

The last time I was in New York was before I’d moved to Chicago, so after 2 years in Chi, I found myself constantly comparing the two cities while I was away. I tried to keep as many observations in my head as I could, as I know they weren’t nearly as interesting to my host as they were to me Mostly, I noticed that having a mayor like Daley who’s so hyper-vigilant about the city’s appearance does mean that Chicago is crazy clean compared to New York. There was waaay more graffiti (Apparently Bloomberg doesn’t have a “Mayors Graffiti Blasters” truck like we do.) However, New Yorkers are required to recycle and, for all Daley’s boasting that Chicago is such a green city, half of us still don’t have recycling pick-up. Also, I definitely appreciate that the El is above ground and open to the air– even when it’s hot outside, it’s a pretty good bet that it’s even hotter when you’re cramped and underground. I do like that in Manhattan everything is so compact, which means there’s something to do or see on just about every block. Even living in the “City of Neighborhoods,” it becomes pretty clear that the Midwest mentality of streeeetching everything out is alive and well, even in this urban center. At any rate, it was a nice little compare and contrast opportunity, and a good vacation to boot.

Now, where to go next?