Go Shopping!

While I'm away, check out these beautiful shops at Etsy:

Paper Moon Designs - fabulous jewelry, and she's from Southern Illinois too!

Sushipot Art Objects - cool art by an artist from my hometown of Mobile, AL

Snitterdog - paintings and mixed media from Savannah, GA.

See you in a few days!

Balloons, Bags, and Beaches

On the way to the Balloon Festival today, we stopped at Fabrics by the Pound in Summerdale, where they had boxes of unpackaged long zippers in lots of great colors for $1 each, so I grabbed a few for some upcoming bag projects. They also had some fantastic decorator fabrics at great prices, which really got me thinking about how I've been making fabric choices for my bags, which in turn got me thinking about the whole process, from patterns to fabric selection to construction to finishing. And, I think I finally have a handle on this thing -- being able to make a variety of bags and pouches that aren't too labor-intensive or difficult to complete, while still being fun and stylish. So over the next few weeks I'll be tinkering with my ideas and perhaps offering a few selections for sale.

There were no balloons being launched this afternoon at the Balloon Festival due to the high winds, so we cut that excursion short and went to Gulf Shores. We hadn't planned on going to the beach, so we weren't exactly prepared, but we did stay long enough to get a little sunburned. Some of us just never learn.

Market in the Park

Today we went to Mobile to run some errands, and we stopped by the Mobile Museum of Art for Market in the Park, where we met several artisans, listened to some free music, and admired some of the biggest blackberries I've ever seen. We had a nice chat with Theresa Collins-McPherson, who is a relaxation specialist and also sells handmade natural bath and beauty products, candles, and home fragrances. I'm signed up for one of her classes at the University of South Alabama, where she'll be teaching us how to make organic soap, bath salts, sugar scrubs and more. It was nice to meet the teacher and have an opportunity to ask a few questions before next week's class. We also met Mary Bower, who makes baskets from pine needles. She also weaves with marine rope and does a lot of embellishment with beads and colorful fibers. Beautiful!

I had not seen a gingko tree since I lived near Valley Forge a few years back, so I was pleased to see that some small gingkos had been planted at the museum. I love the way the veins of the gingko leaf radiate out from the stem, and have always seen some design possibilities with the unusual leaf shape. Maybe now I'll act on that inspiration.

We also went to the University of South Alabama library to see an art exhibit, which included some amazing batiks and watercolors by Jean Schulman and photographs by B.J. Ray. Definitely worth the trip!

While in Mobile we also stopped by B&B Pet Stop, which is my favorite pet store ever. They don't sell dogs and cats, but they do host a pet adoption event every Thursday afternoon, so I got to admire all the little kittens and puppies that were looking for new homes. Unfortunately, there's no more room at the inn -- we have all the dogs and cats we can handle now -- so I had to mightily resist temptation and be satisfied with buying 3 harlequin rasboras for my freshwater aquarium.

Icing on the Cake

The cake decorating class is going --- well, let's just say it's going. I find the whole "icing consistency" thing very challenging, but I'm still having fun. I think my frustration stems from the fact that we start class in what seems to be a cool room, but by the end of class it's hot and my "roses" are wilting.

Now that my class is out of the way, other things I have lined up for this week include finishing my cell phone case, starting a small velvet bag, visiting the farmers' market at the Mobile Museum of Art, and attending the Balloon Festival in Foley.