Little Golden Book Journals

I'm always looking for craft fair ideas I can use for spring or summer shows.  My newest Little  Golden Book Journals are perfect!  It's a quick little project that gets a ton of oohs and aahs. 

I cut the spine off the book, and cut the covers and pages so they would all be the same size. 

I started with the first page of the book and mixed a few blank pages in between every book page so the entire story in incorporated into the journal.

I used my Cinch binding machine to punch holes and attached the wires.  The entire books ended up being close to 100 pages.

I was able to find 9 books in good condition at a local thrift store and made all of them in just a few days.

Such a fun and easy project that my girls just love.  I know there will be many more books floating around our house.

Linking to:
Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Dwellings
DIY Showoff, The Dedicated House, Coastal Charm
Elizabeth & Co., Sugar Bee Crafts,

2015 Upcoming Craft Shows

Craft fair season is just around the corner.  Stop by and visit me at any of these shows this year:

October 3 - Bella Vista High School Craft Fair in Fair Oaks, CA

October 4 - Lodi Street Fair near the corner of Church and W Pine Streets

November 20 & 21 - 36th Annual Plumgrove Boutique in Sacramento, CA

December 5 - Maidu Craft Fair (click the link & scroll to the bottom - I'll be in the reception hall)

December 12 - Benicia Holiday Market & Parade (On First Street between D & H)



Updated Adirondack Chairs

We've been working hard trying to get the backyard done so the girls can finally play outside this summer.  One thing that has been an eyesore are our Adirondack chairs.

I go the first one almost 10 years ago, and then a second one a few years later.  The colors never quite matched and they have really started looking old and worn.

I tried to find a color that was close to the original paint color so I wouldn't have to paint more than one or two coats.  I used Annie Sloan chalk paint and mixed equal parts Louis Blue and Florence. 

They only needed one coat and it took me about a day to paint both chairs.  I rubbed them with steel wool to create the smooth soft finish like wax usually does.  I couldn't use wax because sitting out in the sun all summer would cause the wax to melt.

Here is a look at the before and after:

What a huge difference a little paint can make.  I don't know why, but it still amazes me.

I finally have a place to sit outside and drink my morning coffee.  I could not be happier.

Linking To:

Silver Pennies, Two Crochet Hooks, The Foley Fam, The Chicken Chick, House of Hipsters

Keeping It Simple, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Thrifty Décor Chick

Miss Mustard Seed



Murphys Craft Fair

I had such a great day in Murphys last weekend.  It's one of my favorite places so it was really exciting to do a craft show there.

The weather was perfect and I never could have imagined there would be so many people there!  It was so crowded, you could hardly walk down the street.  I'm sure they were mostly there for the green beer and wine tasting, but they still did some shopping.

I was very happy with how much I sold considering it's starting to warm up and I sell mostly winter items.  It was a success.

For some reason I was really nervous leading up to the show.  Partly because the weather was warming up, partly because I decided last minute to do this show and partly because I did a new booth set up.

Here is a picture of my new scarf wall.  Love, love, love the way it turned out.  So many people walked into my booth just to look at the scarves.  And I sold some!

On the other side of the tent is my hat wall.  I've used it several times and it always draws people in. But, I think I'm going to make some new walls for the hats just like the scarves.  I want everything to look the same and a little more professional.

  And one more of the tables.

I'm already ready for another show.  I don't know if I can wait until fall!

Murphys Irish Day Festival

Stop by and visit me at the Irish Day Festival

Saturday March 21, 2015

10:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Near the corner of Sheep Ranch Road and Main Street in Murphys, CA

Etsy Pictures

I keep telling myself that I'll get my hats listed on Etsy.  I'm working on it, but it's quite a job.  I've made the hats and now I need some pictures.  I took the girls to the UC Davis Arboretum and we just started walking around taking pictures.  I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing when it comes to photography.  But I think I managed a few good ones.

Some were posed and some were totally spontaneous.  Like this one.  One of my favorites.

 

There must have been a bird in the tree and they both looked at the same time. 

 

Madison got so serious as the day went on.  Looking for the best spots running around testing out different logs and trees and benches.  I think she had more fun than I did.

 

 

 

Sidney did not enjoy it so much, but I got a few good ones of her.

 





Linking to:

Moogly

Project Life Week 2

I'm loving the 5th & Frolic kit I'm using this year.   The colors are perfect.  Lots of pinks, which is what we love most in our house.

I spent Sunday afternoon with Madison.  Just the two of us and we had such a good time.  She was so excited to drink hot chocolate from Starbucks.  She wanted everyone to think it was coffee.

I love that she saw the brick at one of our stops and wanted to take a picture of our feet on it.  She's starting to think just like me.

A Little Yarner

Someone here learned to knit this weekend and she was so excited.  I was totally blown away by how fast she picked it up. 

Every free moment she had was spent sitting next to me making her "scarf."  She's already making a list of everyone she wants to invite over so I can teach them how to knit.

Project Life: Week 1

It's no surprise that I LOVE Project Life.  I've been scrapbooking in this format since 2010 and I have no plans to change anytime soon.

I did fall behind last year when I decided to start doing craft fairs.  Everything was put on the back burner so I could make enough product to fill my booth.

I knew this year I needed to start slowly.  I bought the 5th & Frolic kit from Michaels and I'm working on keeping it simple until I get back into the scrapbooking routine again.

Here is a my layout for week 1.

I added a few stickers, some digital quotes and called it done.

The thing that holds me back the most, is trying to fancy-it-up too much.  I need to remember to just get the pictures printed, write down the things I want to remember, and get everything into the slots.

The New Year

I hope everyone had a great holiday.  Mine was a bit frantic with all the craft fairs I did, but we managed to spend a couple days in Arnold for the first few days of the year.  It is one of my favorite places to go.

We spent an afternoon at Big Trees State Park and it was amazing.  

The girls were not prepared for how cold it was, especially after playing in the snow with just leggings and tennis shoes.  It was all good and fun for the first half of our hike.  Then the crying started.  The second half wasn't fun for any of us.

At least I got a few good pictures before we left.

I'm also working on a few goals for the new year.  Most importantly, I'm working on getting my Etsy shop up and running!  Hopefully in the next month or so, it will be ready to go.