Indy Craft Experience

Last weekend I went to a craft show called the Indy Craft Experience (ICE). As you probably can guess from the name alone, this was a craft fair that aimed to be a bit more sophisticated than most. Rather than funnel cakes and corn dogs out in the sun, there were macaroons and the poodle  (a hot dog in french toast bun topped with apple slaw) in an air-conditioned art gallery. While most craft fairs have anything goes feel with vendors selling everything from barbecue sauce to hair scrunchies, the vendors at ICE were "curated", giving you the feeling of Etsy brought out into real life.

As one of the first 250 through the door on Saturday, I got this awesome swag bag, which completely justified the $5 entry fee. It was mostly filled with business cards, but there was a pet rock, some 3x5 art cards, a couple of fabric pins, a magnet, and other fun items, not to mention the tote bag itself.

I love the design on the tote: Ice, Ice, Baby

Walking around the show, had to laugh after one too many crafters decided to put a bird on it, but there was really some great stuff. I felt weird about taking pictures of the vendor's wares while I was there, but I figure it's okay to repost some of the pictures from the ICE website. There were several tables of sewn items, including these cute tote bags and summery circle skirts:

A Squared W

SoSheSews

The ridiculously cute amigurumi at the NeedleNoodles table made me want to pick up their book Creepy Cute Crochet and give crochet another try.

NeedleNoodles

And I loved this jewelry, but sadly, it was not in my (tiny) budget.

Cameoko

I was able to pick up this adorable and inexpensive art print by Katie Coleman Illustration, which really captures the essence of our cat.

"I'm tough"

Pippin thinks of himself as hard-nosed tiger, spending his days ruling over the squirrels in the woodsy view and keeping his mouse toys in line, which is a little at odds with the reality that he desperately (desperately!) needs to be petted the nanosecond I wake up in the morning because he had to go 8 long, arduous hours without anybody adoring him.

The Indy Craft Experience was a pretty pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning. My only regret is that I ran out cash and didn't get to try a poodle...

Adventure: Fabric World

At kitting group this past week I heard about this place called Fabric World that is essentially a Big Lots for fabric. Apparently they had a ton of remnants selling for 25 cents apiece, much of it designer fabric, going fast. It sounded like a dream come true. This place was literally calling to my thrifty soul.

So when I was let out of work a bit early on Friday, I knew just how to kick off Memorial Day weekend. I took the 30 min drive over to Stone Mountain to check it out for myself.

And it did not disappoint.

While they had a few things on bolts, most of the store was table after table of fabric remnants. It was just the kind of treasure hunt I love. The signs around the store were layered, so you could see how the fabric started at $2.00 per piece and then worked its way down to 4/$1.00.

The cashier told me that people had been coming in and buying two or three carts of fabric at a time! I can't really blame them - it was the deal of the century, especially if you are a quilter. I also overheard several women talking about how this was their second and third trip, and that the remnants were starting to get picked over. I don't know what they were talking about - there were still gems like this to be had:

I am not much of a stash person (in my mind I still live in our tiny 650 sq ft apartment in Tampa, where clutter is the enemy), so I tried to be a bit choosy, focusing on finding larger pieces of fabric and knits.

An hour or so of digging and $4.77 got me all of this!

I got knits to experiment on as I learn how to use my serger better, some fun cotton prints for project bags or whatever, some lightweight cotton for a summer scarf and a couple of things I have no immediate plans for but thought were nice. I think I'm most excited about these geometric prints that I'm going to make into a tote bag and purse:

Okay, maybe I am a bit of a stash person after all. It's a good thing Fabric World isn't right down the street, or my closets would explode, but it's definitely nice to have an inexpensive alternative to Joann's.

An award and a parade!

First I would like to say thank you to my dear friend Kristen over at Glitter, Gloss and Glaze, who awarded me the Liebster Award. This is given to new bloggers with less than 200 followers.

Kristen is one of my Tampa Bay friends that I sadly had to leave behind, but I love keeping up with her blog.
 
Anyway, I'm very honored and I'd say that this calls for a parade! Kidding, kidding. This past weekend I went the Inman Park Festival, a neighborhood arts and crafts fair known for it's quirky, anything-goes sensibility. It was a lovely day, and I was able to cross off several things from my Atlanta bucket list: taking the MARTA train, eating a King of Pops popsicle, trying a new food truck (well, in this case a 70's camper-van called The Pickle). Best of all, there was a parade. Oh man I love a good parade. In all honesty, I care more about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade than the food afterward.

And this parade did not disappoint. There were kaleidoscope marching bands:

...boxy cardboard superheros....

...an LGBT marching band with sparkly outfits. I didn't get a picture of the baton twirler because I was so mesmerized, but trust me, he was working it...

...a Chinese dragon...

....whatever these are...

...the Bridesmaid Brigade...

....Elvis....

...cross-dressing....

...and dozens of gnomes! Apparently they were trying to beat some kind of world record. Many had funny signs ("I'm sexy and I gnome it") or a clever spin, like the "Gnomeland security" group.

It was all just so delightfully eclectic. Added to fun was the group of drunk guys next to us that cheered for literally everything that came by, no matter how absurd, ranging from summer camp to termite protection. By the time the parade was over, I was sunburned but satisfied. Inman Park, you know how to throw a party.