bubbledog blog

have a retro 80's christmas - part 3

Still looking for a gift for that special someone who is stuck in the eighties?  Well, if my other suggestions haven't tickled your fancy yet, try one of these retro t-shirts from 80stees.com.   They have tons of designs to choose from, but their cartoon inspired shirts are definitely my favorite.  These pics are of my nine favorites. 

survived my holiday craft shows

I haven't blogged in a while, but it wasn't because I was being lazy or relaxing... no, I was getting ready for two craft shows over this past weekend.  The Indiemade Craft Market was Saturday and the Bust Holiday Craftacular was on Sunday.  It was a fun, but BUSY weekend! 

The Indiemade Craft Market was in Allentown, PA.  It is held in the Starlite Ballroom which is this retro banquet hall complete with working disco ball.  The vendors set-up on the dance floor and there is food, a bar, and live music all day.  This year had a good crowd at first, but then it slowed down to a crawl about halfway through the day when it started to snow.  Packing up and loading the car was fun in three inches of snow :)  Still though, I had a good time.  My friend Laura (dogboneart) was also a vendor at this event and the company is always good to have.  This was her last show... or at least that's what she says ;)  I had to take a picture of her set-up because it looked great!

The Bust Holiday Craftacular was held on Sunday in New York City.  It was a HUGE show with 200 hundred vendors.  I have never seen such an enormous indoor set-up and it was amazing to see.  There was a steady amount of customers and there was a line around the block almost the entire day waiting to get it in.  It was a long show, from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, but the steady stream of customers helped make the time go by. 

 My only real surprise of the day was that the tables were not as deep as the tables that I am used to.  I had to do some last minute adjustments, but I was still pleased with my overall set-up.  Unfortunately, since the tables were packed in one right next to the other, the only way in and out of the vending space was to crawl underneath the table.  This made for some awkward moments.

Aside from the business and getting to meet customers and see their reactions to your work, the other great thing about doing these shows is getting to meet the other artists.  On Saturday, I got to spend some time swapping stories with Kim and Julia from Brubaker Design about our adventures in screen printing.  They make great printed kids clothes, totes, and holiday gift tags (I really like these JOY tags).  Stevie from Stevie Lynn Jewelry, who makes cute diecut acrylic jewelry, and I talked a lot about doing different shows.  She has a very busy show schedule with lots of travelling.  I really like her Apple A Day pin... go check it out!   On Sunday, there wasn't a lot of time for talking, but I did manage to get to meet Jemma from Jemmanimals who was directly behind me.  She makes three dimensional plushies, my favorite of which was her hot dog (unfortunately this is to a sold link, but I am sure she will have more listed at some point).   In addition to being talented, all these people were really nice and I really enjoyed getting to meet them!

 

free shipping on orders of $20 or more

Free domestic shipping on items in my etsy shop through midnight EST on Monday, November 30th on orders of $20 or more.  To receive the free shipping just enter "BLOGREADER" in the message to seller at checkout and wait for a revised invoice from me.  Unfortunately, Etsy doesn't process discounts, so I will have to do it manually.  Here are a few of my current items for sale :

Etsy Buy Handmade bubbledog

holiday giveaway winner

Congratulations to Eric C for winning my Christmas Card giveaway!  I used the free random number generator on random.org to select the winner.  Thanks to everyone that participated.

gingerbread men

I've been working on some new holiday items for upcoming craft shows.  These little gingerbread men are screenprinted on canvas, adhered to wool felt, and then hung with embroidery thread.  They are real thin (about 1/8" thick) and my idea is that they can be sent inside a Christmas card as a little surprise gift.

Speaking of cards, my Christmas Card Giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight.

happy thanksgiving

Smurfette helped me out by posing for this litte Thanksgiving picture in my front yard.  It may look more like something out of the movie The Village, but my intention was to use it to say, "Have a Smurfy Thanksgiving!"

have a retro 80's christmas - part 2

Here is my second round of 1980's inspired gift ideas.  I get very nostalgic with the imagery of old-school eighties video games.  Whenever I could save up enough of my allowance as a kid, I would beg my parents to let me spend it at an arcade.  I love the thought of those dark arcade rooms with all the noises from the games, the eighties music in the background, the neon light decor, and the waiting in line with your quarter sitting on the machine to reserve your turn to play.... ah, the memories. 

Anyway, these two items caught my eye as a good gift for that thirty-seomthing nostalgic someone in your life.  The Donkey Kong Jenga is interesting; I'm not really sure how it works, but I love the idea and design.  The Pac-Man and Ghost Sour Candy Tins are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  I don't only offer them as a gift idea, but they are on the top of my want list for the holidays ;)  I absolutely love the two ghosts.  My friend Amy sent me a pic of them over the summer and I have been meaning to blog about them ever since.  I want, I want, I want!  

 

bubbledog's holiday giveaway

This is my last blog giveaway of the year.  There will be one winner for this giveaway and the prize is one set of my 2009 Christmas Cards.  To learn more about these cards, check them out in my etsy shop.

The winner will receive six cards.  Each card is printed on heavy white cardstock, has a glossy finish, is blank on the inside, and comes with a coordinating white envelope.

• The winner of this giveaway will be chosen at random. 
• All entries must be made by midnight EST on Saturday, November 28th. 
• The winner will be announced Sunday, November 29th.
• No purchase is necessary to be entered into the drawing. 
• This giveaway is open to US residents only.  
• Void where prohibited.

You can have multiple entries for this giveaway:

1.  Receive one entry by leaving a comment on this post.  Just make sure you enter your email address correctly when leaving the comment (that's how I will notify you if you win).  If you read my blog in a reader or through email updates, you will have to go here to leave a comment.

2.  Receive one additional entry by becoming a fan of mine on Facebook between the date of this post and the end of the giveaway.  Go to bubbledog on Facebook.

3.  Receive FIVE additional entries by making any sized purchase from my etsy shop between now and the end of the giveaway.  Just mention "holiday giveaway" in the message to seller at checkout.

Good luck :)

have a retro 80's christmas

I went out for dinner last night with some friends and was surprised with an awesome belated birthday gift of these Rubik's salt and pepper mills.  They are totally cool... to grind the salt or pepper, you spin the top of the cube just as you would play with a Rubik's Cube puzzle.  Coincidentally, I have been plannig a retro 80's gift guide for my blog and I haven't been able to decide when to start it.  Well, besides being a great addition to my kitchen, these grinders have also inspired me to start my list!  Here are a couple of other Rubik's related gift ideas:

This cube clock provides time, temperature, a calendar, and an alarm for only $19.99 at Perpetual Kid.  It's battery operated (which I don't love) and I don't know the dimensions, but still... it's pretty awesome!  You can also find the Rubik's salt and pepper mills at Perpetual Kid, so stop being jealous and go buy your own pair ;)

If you happen to have an extra $600 sitting around, you can get this Rubik's Cube Table from Jellio.  Jellio has some great retro inspired pieces.  If you search through their store, you should also check out the Gummi Bear lights and the Candy Dots bench. 

I have no affiliation with any of these stores or products... I just like anything 80's inspired!

craftacular

Yay!  I just found out that I was accepted to the BUST Magazine Holiday Craftacular!  I've never been before, but I looked at some pictures from past years and it looks like a great show.  It will be held on December 6th at the Metropolitan Pavilion 125 West 18th Street in New York City.  If you are in the area, come stop by and say hello!