bubbledog blog

clover market

I was at the Clover Market for the first time this past Sunday.  Clover Market is a seasonal outdoor market in Ardmore, PA that features an eclectic mix of crafts and vintage items.  It was a beautiful sunny day and there was a decent crowd of shoppers.  My booth was slightly secluded, but I was still happy because it was right across from the food trucks (which is both wonderful and dangerous).  According  to some of the other sellers, this particular day was a little slower than usual, but I was still happy with my results at the end of the day.   

I really try to avoid buying things at shows that I am selling at, but I did manage to do a little bit shopping throughout the day.  I didn't buy much, but here are some of the things that I came home with:

These awesome cards from Rachel Ink




and this adorable print from Zoe Tilley Poster

and this card (soon-to-be framed artwork for my wall) by Open Eyes Press



These sellers had so many great designs... you should definitely take some time to check out their etsy shops! 

In addition to selling and shopping, these live shows are a great place to catch up with other sellers that I've gotten to know over the years and to meet new people.  I've known Renee from Tadpole Creations for some time and she always has great stuff and the most amazing booth set-up (I forgot to get a picture).  If you are ever looking for a baby gift, Tadpole Creations is the place to go!  On the "meeting new people" side, I got to meet Jane from Wynn Studio who was super sweet and had some really cool art pieces from jewelry, to prints, to awesome painted plywood cut-outs.  Her etsy shop is a little empty right now, but you should mark it and check back!

That's all for now.  The next show for me is July 13th in Tinicum, PA. 

upcoming craft shows

I've been working steadily getting ready for some shows that are coming up over the next few months.  If you live in the area, stop by and say hello!  Here's where I will be:

TRENTON AVENUE ARTS FESTIVAL
Trenton Avenue and E Susquehanna
Philadelphia, PA 19125
Saturday May 18, 2013
12pm - 5pm

CLOVER MARKET
12 E. Lancaster Ave
Ardmore, PA 19003
Sunday June 9, 2013
10am - 5pm

TINICUM ARTS FESTIVAL
963 River Road
Upper Black Eddy, PA 18972
Saturday July 13, 2013
10am - 6pm
Sunday July 14, 2013
11am - 5pm

I have a few new pillows and prints that will be making their debut at these shows.  I have also been working on new color combinations of some of my older designs.  Here are some new puppy pouches that I completed last night.

new pins in the making

Lately, I have been working on building up inventory for some upcoming craft shows in May and June.  I spent the last couple of days printing, cutting, and shrinking these little critters that will soon be turned into pins.  I have to give them a clear coating to protect the image, attach the pinbacks, and then they will be ready to go.  I re-made some old designs and have a couple of new ones too.  I am particularly fond of the crab though it was a pain to both cut and shrink... also, I am not sure how many people are looking for a crab brooch to wear around town :)

hamsters

This new set of hamster stickers is now available in my etsy shop.  The set includes a dozen different hamsters taken from the images that I use on my webpage at different times of the year.  I don't know what it is, but I love changing this little hamster drawing and will probably come up with a dozen more.  There is something about his blank expression that makes me just need to put him in a new situation.  My favorites are the cowboy and the diamond thief. 

hamster pillow

So, it seems that one of my hamster pillows has been off living the high life.  He went off to live in The Big Apple with a blogger named Victoria.  She has taken him on some adventures that you can see on her blog hamster pillow.  I hope that all of my hamsters are out there living exciting lives of fine dining, subway travel, fun in the snow, and high fashion shopping!  You can adopt your very own hamster pillow right here in my etsy shop. 

Victoria, also has a great blog about Jello molds called The Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn.  Be sure to check it out!

two color gocco prints

So, I love printing with my Gocco screen printer when I print with one color... but when I print in two colors, it is definitely a love-hate relationship.  The end results are usually always nice, but it is not the most efficient device when it comes to registration (lining up the different colors).  Today, there was lots of huffing, puffing, and cursing under my breathe, but now that everything is done, I am pleased with the end results (minus the small pile of prints that went directly into the recycle bin). 

Here are the prints while waiting for the first color to dry:

Here are the prints that made it into the "keep" pile after printing the second color:

guinea pig plush

I just added this new guinea pig pillow to my plush pillows in my etsy shop.  I actually had created these about a month ago for the Crafty Bastards Arts & Craft Fair.  They sold out instantly on the morning of the show before I even got to take a picture of one.  I hope you like them :)

new holiday stuff

I have spent the last few days updating my website for the holidays... new colors, new banners, and (of course) new items for my etsy shop.  This new fox snowglobe card is available in a set of six cards and envelopes.  If you like the design, but want to get crafty on your own, you can download this free pdf that I offered last year and customize your own card. 

I have a few other items featuring these new happy Christmas critters.  There is a magnet set, stuffed plush ornaments, and a set of pinback buttons.  You can check out all of my Christmas items in my etsy shop.  I'll be adding a few more holiday things over the next week.

I am also trying to put together a new giveaway that should be up soon... I hope to have it ready by Thanksgiving so check back soon! 

one very tired crafty bastard

I just returned home from Washington, DC and found that after two weeks of dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I now have both power and internet again... hooray!  Between the return of this regular access to 20th Century technology and a not so subtle (but very sweet) hint about a lack of posts (yes I mean you, Lauren and Jamie), it is time to get back to blogging!  So much has gone on in the last few weeks that I could go on and on forever... so for now, I will just focus on the great day I had yesterday.

Year after year, Crafty Bastards has always been an amazing show with great vendors, super friendly shoppers, and an awesome vibe.  This year, the fair was moved to a new location and, for the first time, had an admission fee.  I thought this could have a negative effect on attendance, but if it did, you couldn't tell... this fair was P.A.C.K.E.D. with people.  Even though the venue had changed and was in a new neighboorhood, lots and lots of attendees from years past still made it.  It is always so nice to see familiar faces at these shows!

The entire day was super busy and by the end of the show, I had sold out of many items!  Here are some pics of my booth before the show started:

I should have taken some "after" shots, but by that time it was already getting dark and I was racing to pack up while there was still a little light.

Before leaving, I grabbed a copy of The Washington City Paper which had a really nice insert that featured some of the vendors.  I was very happy to have my little cat purses make their way into that spread... check it out:

So, after returning home and unpacking, I have spent the afternoon putting together a list of things I need to restock and make for the upcoming holiday season. I also started taking some pictures of my new holiday items as I hope to have my website all decked out for the holidays by the end of the week. There are lots of new holiday designs coming, so come back and check them out :)

mariachi-huahua

About two weeks ago, I spent hours upon hours working on drawing a collection of chihuahua mariachi band players.  I kept going back and forth with some of the illustration elements and color choices.  I thought the ears might be a little confusing being bent down, but I kept picturing what my dog would look like had a stuck a tiny sombrero on her head (she is running to hide from me at even the mention of this).   As for the colors, I wanted to have a sort of "fiesta" feel and to also have a kind of retro look.  Here is the set of five players on pinback buttons.  What do you think?