Good reason to unpack

I have my last craft show of the year this week (yippee!!). Since the two shows were so close together, I decided to leave my heavy stuff in the car. Well, I learned why it's a good idea to unpack...it's very hard to get to the spare tire with craft goodies on top of it!

Meep

What to do with 20 dinged, scratched, cracked, and fun bowling pins?!

Well, I filled the holes and cracks and then painted them white.
I free-handed black paint for little penguin bodies and eyes, and then...
...dressed them up for the holdidays!
Christmas is coming~
Falalalala!!

Piper

I just had to post a quick picture of my sweet Scottie dog, Piper. I bought a new camera (dRebel!!) and she was my first picture, of course! She's 5 1/2 already and the smartest dog I've ever had. She got her name because when I first got her, she was louder than a bagpiper! She know just talks, a lot. Piper loves to watch the bunnies and even has puppy dreams that she's chasing them. I bought her a Kong ball and she played with it for hours today! Scottie dogs have always been my favorite breed. I collect a lot of vintage Scottie goodies...and even have one in my business logo. I was so excited to use my new camera that Piper eventually sat under my dining room table to hide! Dogs are the best!!!!!

Sugar Chalets

At the end of October, I searched for "Vintage Christmas" on eBay and lovely little Putz houses started to appear. These villages looked like they came out of a European storybook. I did a little searching and came across a few crafty bloggers who made their own glitter village houses a la Putz. They all had great tips and they seemed like so much fun...I just had to make a few. I painted the houses before I glued them on their snowy base. I used Mod Podge over the whole house before dousing it in diamond dust glitter.

I glued the roof on each house...I decided to paint each one first (thank goodness!). The doors and windows are out of Ultra Black cardstock. I was going to cut them out like the Putz houses, but I wanted them to be really sturdy for selling at Sugar Plum craft show.

I found a bottle of fake snow at Michael's. I used a plastic knife to spread the snow on the roof and base of each house. While it was wet, I spooned diamond dust over the whole thing. I was so surprised at how fast it dried! The little bottle brush trees were a steal at Big Lots. The wreaths are pipe cleaners that I made and dry brushed white paint on top.

Halloween hang-ups

Here's the half way done picture of my little Halloween door decorations. I cut the wood, drill the holes, and then paint the wood blocks. I then go through all my files of vintage postcards, clean them up in Photoshop, and print them to fit the dimensions of the wood. I think vintage postcards have the best images, colors, and themes! I am always amazed at how original ones are still floating around!!

Record Bowls

I started turning these......into these last year. I had a stack of warped, scratched records that I knew I would never listen to again. I thought about the best way to recycle them and came up with record bowls! I use my oven, tongs, and gloves to create unique bowl shapes. I have to put a little warning tag with them about not filling the bowls with anything warm or putting them near a heat source. The bowls would then return to their original state!

Sugar Plum Arts & Craft Show

My booth is ready to go!! I added the fall garland this time and the great bookshelf to the left of the table. I got it at Target and it completely folds flat!!! Great for craft shows...as long as I don't find a place for it in my house. I really love it. I showcased my Halloween paper in my hatbox this year. I thought having it separated from the other paper would make it easier to find. You can also see the great blue suitcase that comes in so handy for displaying the record bowls. I love all the vintage display props in my booth!!!

Here's a better view of the hatbox with the Halloween papers. I got to use the pink baby scale to put the bottle brush trees on. I was so happy I brought it since it's usually one of the pieces I don't bring.









I used two metal lunch boxes for the cupcake pics. They were such a hit! I stocked up on the ribbon clothespins, too. The jewelry box held the solder pendants with the vintage pictures. I love the cupcake pics the most!