A Hot Hot Weekend for a Craft Show

Good morning! I am happy to say that I final have internet again!! After spending over an hour on the phone yesterday with Comcast to fix a problem that should have been fixed on Monday when the technician was here. But it is all up now and we can move on... hahaha :)

This past weekend I was at a craft show/flea market. This was the first event I was attending by myself, which made me a little nervous about setting up the tent and really nervous about how I was going to get a bathroom break! Luck was on my side though and a space on the covered walkway opened up so I didn't need to set up the tent. As for the bathroom breaks, that was also not an issue since I was next to the nicest vendor, Peggy, who watched my booth while I ran to the restroom quickly.

This was probably not the best weekend to be at an outdoor show, it was HOT HOT HOT out! The temp was well over 90 and super muggy on Saturday. Not the best for my items since they don't really handle moisture very well. But they are all dried out now and as good as new :) I think the heat kept a lot of people inside and not out at the show. I had a lot of interest in my items and people really seemed to appreciate the work that went into them. As for sells though, I got some interest in custom orders and made an even trade with another vendor. I also made a few contacts with other fabulous vendors which is always a plus and makes for a decent show.

Now this trade I made was for the cutest zebra print poofy skirt for my little niece. I know she's not big enough to wear it, but when she is, I think she'll LOVE IT. I mean, what little girl doesn't love a fun skirt to twirl around in! :)

Well I am off to pick up Jonny from tennis camp and then take him to art camp... he's a very busy boy :) I hope you have a fabulously sunny week!




~Jennifer :)

The Evils of the Internet...

So usually I tell you about my fabulous mom and sisters or my absolutely adorable niece or what new project I am working on, but not today. This is going to be a short and sweet complaint about the internet... hahaha.

For the past weekend the family I work for has been gone on vacation and I have been left in charge of the house, dogs and parrot, which I am totally cool with. But something always happens when they go on vacation, the basement floods (has happened several times), something stops working and so on. And this time it was no different. This week the internet at the house has stopped working, which isn't such a huge deal until it's time to pay the bills on time and emails from costumers need to be responded to. Normally I would have taken care of it, but Comcast (I really don't like them) will only let the home owner schedule an appointment for service... so so annoying! I have dealt with all kinds of emergencies for the family, but the internet goes down and I am completely helpless to help them... go figure.

Luckily, part of the family is coming home today and the mom will be able to schedule an appointment to get everything fixed.

Now you might be asking yourself, where is she blogging from then, well I am at my boyfriend's apartment using his internet connection. It's cool here, his cats keep me company and I don't have to worry about someone looking over my shoulder at my personal information or my snacking issues like I would if I was at a cafe or bookstore.

So, with that rant done, I leave you in a much better mood, but still wishing I didn't rely on the internet so much... hahaha :)

~Jennifer :)

Coasters...

It's just a short post today. The family is getting ready to go away for a week, so everything here is very hectic to say the least. In my down time though I have finished several sets of coasters. And I have to say, I am pretty proud of them! Especially since they were the only thing that sold at the recent show... hahaha :) The mom that I work for even bought two sets to take up to Maine for the family. I thought that was very nice of her to support my crafting. Below are a few photos of some of the coasters. Have a fabulous day and always smile :)

~Jennifer :)

If I hadn't started making the coasters....

This past weekend I participated in a craft/vendor show that was supporting a Girl Scout Troop in Souderton, PA. My boyfriend did not come along with me this past weekend. I told him that he didn't have to since I was going to be leaving at 6am. And he completely agreed with me when he heard the time... hahaha. I did have some help though. Jonny, the little boy I nanny for, came with me to help and keep me company. We were on the road by 6am and stopped at McDonalds for breakfast, which Jonny loved! We arrived at the event just a little before 7am to start setting up. For such an early morning, Jonny was doing well and being a huge help in unloading the car and trying to come up with ways to set up the table and arrange the items. There was one thing he was disappointed about... the show was inside and not outside (which I was happy for). After everything was set up and in it's place I took one last look at the table... and noticed I couldn't find Jonny, that is until I looked behind the table again. I found him sleeping on the job! ;) I couldn't really blame him though, if I could have laid down for a nap at that moment I would have! :)
The show itself was kind of slow. I only sold one item, one of the coaster sets that I had just started to make. I met a lot of nice people and had a good time over all. Jonny kept me entertained and occupied, and for the most part he behaved as well as I could expect him to after waking up at 5:50am.

This week I will be working on coasters and trinket chests and also trying to come up with a design for a sign for my mom, oh, I'll also be working also... should be a fun week :)

New Project and Kids off for the Summer

I know I haven't been on here in over a week, I have just been super busy with my job (kids are out of school so I now have no free time) and I have also been working on a new project. I have started making coasters out of tiles with either using stamps on them or doing gel transfers.

Jonny's last day was this past Tuesday... He was done at noon. When I walked up to get him I was surrounded by Jonny and his friend Lachie. Jonny wanted Lachie to come over for the a playdate. And how could I say no to him on the last day of school. I took them to get pizza, then water ice to keep them happy. I had to go to the market after that and they were great helpers. I would tell them what I needed and they would go find it. It was like a treasure hunt for them! Then when we got home, they played outside, went swimming, designed and made a coaster set, went and played tennis, made cupcakes, and finally watched a little tv while having dinner. They spent 6 and a half hours together and got along the whole time. It was a good day for those two... hahaha. And apparently Lachie told his mom it was one of the best days ever... That's a pretty big standard I now have to live up to for a playdate... hahahahaha.


The coasters/tiles have been a challenge for me. First let's go with the stamping. I read a lot about stamping tiles and coloring them in. Everyone said that you needed to bake the tiles after stamping to heat set the ink. I did that. Then I went to color in the image with chalk. Well, apparently heat setting does not completely dry the ink, because it smeared on my first tile. Into the trash that one went. On my next try I colored the whole tile with chalk, then stamped over it and baked it. The ink was still a little wet to the touch so I sealed it with one coat of an acrylic sealer. The seemed to set the ink and still allowed for the tile to absorbed some of the moisture from anything set on top of it. So I think I have figured those out. I just need to figure out how to make the chalk darker when I am coloring in the stamps. Any suggestions?

The second type I have been trying is doing a gel transfer onto a tile. Over the weekend I tried it with a print from an inkjet printer and one from a laser printer. Everything I had read said that the laser printer would work best, and well it did. I have also read that using photo paper and an inkjet printer works well, so maybe I'll try that next week. Since I do not have a laser printer, I decided to try using some of my scrapbook paper to do a gel transfer, and what do you know, it worked out really well. After rubbing off all of the pulp until just the image was left I covered the tile with epoxy resin. They look really good and once I get the edges all smoothed down they will be ready for the show on Saturday.

Jonny is done entertaining himself so I am needed to come up with something for us to do... hopefully he doesn't say no to every suggestion I have ;-) I have included a couple of pictures I took this morning of the two tiles I used the gel transfer process on. They are still a work in progress :) I hope you are having a wonderful Thursday and have something fun planned for the weekend!

~Jennifer :)

My Absolutely Adorable Little Niece

My sister sent me the absolute cutest pictures of my little niece Madeline yesterday. Plus it doesn't hurt that she is completely adorable with her big blue eyes and head full of hair. She is bigger and cuter in every picture that I see of her. It does make me sad though that I am so far away from them and only get to see little Maddie (that has become her family nickname) in pictures. But hopefully I'll get to see her this summer!

The pictures though say a lot about Maddie. In every photo of her she is alert, eyes wide open, expressive and happy. I think she is going to be a very smart little girl. And I do think that my sister will get her wish of knowing what a little her will be like! I hope she's ready for that! ;) My sister and brother-in-law are doing a wonderful job in being new parents though, and I don't think Maddie could really ask for better ones.

It was the photos that made me want to write this post, so I thought I would share two of them (with my sister's consent of course)...



This one is one of Maddie in the bathing suite that my mom knitted for her. My mom told me that when she saw the photo she got tears in her eyes... She is such a proud grammy!

And here is one of Maddie wearing the headband that I made for her to go with the necklace that I made my sister for her first Mother's Day. She is just too cute!!

This brings me to the end of this entry. I have to get back to my nanny job and also finish up a frame for my mother that she requested for a photo of Maddie. I hope you have a fabulous day and that wherever you are it's cooler then it is here in PA today... the high 80's and humid... fun ;) Here's wishing you a cool day!

~Jennifer :)

It's Monday... and all is well :)

So this past Saturday I showed my wares at the Trenton Ave Arts Festival and it was a great experience, I even made a profit this time... hahaha. The show was huge, the biggest one I have been to yet. Tons of people, lots of music and a lot of fun... even if it was a long tiring day.

The night before, with the help of 8yr old Jonny, I was able to pack everything into the subaru. It was a tight fit, but with the creative suggestions from Jonny, I was able to make everything fit... even the all important table that I actually forgot about and had to pack up Saturday morning... hahaha :)

Saturday morning I woke up early, printed off directions and left with my boyfriend John in the car with me. I had really no idea where this show was in the city and neither did John, so it was good that I printed off the directions since both of our phone GPS navs couldn't get a single. We arrived safely though and set up the tent and all my wares in the right space (we double checked several times... hahaha). Everything looked good, even if the sign was a tad crooked and the shelves leaned a little due to the very uneven cobble stone road we were on.


For this show I had gotten a folding pegboard display wall to hang my mirrors and hooks on. It looked good... and then a gust of wind came up and blew it down. I think I might have let out a scream when it happened but I'm not sure... hahaha. I ran over and slowly started to lift up the display. In my mind all I saw was all the glass and mirrors shattered on the road. But as I lift the display I saw that nothing was broken or damaged beyond repair. I was so amazed and relieved!! The other crafters and vendors around me were such a help in giving me string to use to tie the display to the tent and picking up everything that fell, and to them I am so so grateful. I was even more grateful when it happened again... Yes, it happened again even though it was tied in place. The string was that really slippery kind and I think with the breeze rocking the display back and forth it just loosened the knots enough to give out when a stronger breeze came along. But again, nothing was damaged and everyone around really helped me out.

By the end of the show I had sold 5 items and actually turned a profit... first time that has happened... hahaha :) So to me, it was a very successful outing. And the breakdown of the display and tent went very quickly. I really couldn't have asked for more :)

Sunday was spent not doing a whole lot... hahahaha. My feet needed some rest after standing for 8 hours straight and I just needed to relax and sleep a little. Sleep is always good... hahahaha.

I've included a couple of pics of the booth along with the leaning shelves... hahahaha. I hope you have a smooth Monday and great week!

~Jennifer :)