Success at St. Rita's Craft Sale

Our craft show at St. Rita's School was nothing short of a huge work of awesome! We were busy all day, which is just how I like it to be. Unfortunately that meant I didn’t get to walk around and mingle with my fellow crafters and Rochester Artisans. I’m sure there was amazing work to see and I missed it. But that’s also better for my wallet! 

The St. Rita’s Show is a very well-known show in Rochester and always well attended. The parking lot was filled all day. The organizers are more than, well, seriously organized. They had the kids from the school stopping by to ask us if we wanted food or raffle tickets all day.

We were set up in a classroom this year instead of the gym where we are usually located. I didn’t get my show application in soon enough and the gym got filled. I think we did way better than we expected to do in a classroom and I am very, very pleased with our show total. 

This was our third show here and we've gained quite a few repeat buyers. They came by saying they were afraid we weren’t there because we weren't in the gym. I have to say that made me fly up to cloud nine! People were looking for us! I am always deeply humbled by positive responses to my work. How lucky am I to be doing this?! Yippee!

 

New display for domino pendants. Very vintage cheese stand.

This year we are trying some new display ideas. I love this antique wood Kraft Cheese display stand. The slanted shelves have little lips at the ends - perfect for holding a lot of domino pendants (it's looking empty because I took this photo at the end of the day). The back of it is open so the cords hang out, and it makes for easy loading. But it's a little awkward for customers to pick up the dominoes. The cord comes pulling out and the viewer can't put it back on the shelf themselves. Quite a few women acted like they broke something when they picked one up. Not the kind of feeling I want to promote here. I'm wondering if this may be better suited to show Scrabble tile pendants as they don't have cords on them.  

What do you think?

Domino pendants all in a row

The cute little girls are a new design this year. They're really funny. The close one here calls out the girl on the right because she "eats paste". The clip art of the girls are from Lisa's Altered Art. 

Scrabble tile display

I better get busy making more tile pendants or we won't have many to show at Mayday Underground in two weeks!

Mixed media collage on a small shipping tag

Also new this year - small original pieces of mixed media art on shipping tags. This one measures 4 3/4" x 2 3/8". It's the perfect size to make original art that is affordable for most people. They can be set up on a shelf or used as a bookmark. You can do lots of things with them for display. They make really nice gifts, too.

Game piece charm bracelets and domino/BINGO earrings

Reclaimed hardware mixed media earrings : New this year!

Reclaimed hardware mixed media bracelet : New this year!

I think this nice old wood drawer needs something lighter behind the jewelry. The dark wood is swallowing the pieces. A nice tan fabric or handwritten ledger paper will fix that!

This was a great show to start off our holiday craft show season. I'm really looking forward to the rest of our shows. The next show is:

Saturday, November 5, 2011
Mayday Underground Crafts + Art
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Main Street Armory
900 East Main Street, Rochester, NY 14605
The BEST indie craft + art show in Western NY
First 50 people to arrive get a FREE swag bag of handmade goodies! 
Get there early if you want swag. There WILL BE a line.

- Vickie 
xoxo  

Purple, Orange and Black: Halloween!

It's a wicked awesome Rochester NY Etsy Street Team Treasury by Jackbear Stamps!

All of these creepy critters and delightful handmade pieces are made locally by Rochester, NY artisans from the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST). I will add that they are all delightful people, too! I am having a great time being on this team. It's really fun to get together in person with other Etsy sellers and talk shop.

We have a very active team. Our Team Blog is always hopping with great crafty info and even better giveaways. Each Wednesday, our team features a new giveaway. That's every week! You could win all of your holiday gifts and be done with shopping this way! Plus you'll be giving handmade. Win win!

Keep your eyes on the RNEST blog for some sweet events we have planned! You don't want to miss them! 

(While you're here, please take a moment to visit this Treasury and hand out some clicks and favorites! Our whole team will appreciate it!)

- Vickie 
 

St. Rita's Craft Sale: This Saturday

What a busy week! I am gearing up for this Saturday's show - the first one of my season. I always get a little nervous about the holiday craft show season. It means I have to leave my studio and talk to people. I'm just a tiny bit socially awkward. Shhhhhh... don't tell anyone. That's between you and me. 

So if you want to find some of the best handmade around, you can find it St. Rita's Craft Sale - where you will also find me being socially awkward behind my table. :)

Saturday, October 22, 2011
27th Annual St. Rita School Craft Sale

9:00 am – 3:15 pm
St. Rita School
1008 Maple Drive, Webster, New York 14580

** Our booth is located in a classroom, Room 14, this year (not the gym) so be sure to check out the classrooms, too! **

 

Now more than ever, I believe that supporting local small businesses (that includes artists and crafters) this holiday season is that can help our community become stronger economically. 

Your dollars could be making a day job out of a part-time art gig. That, in turn, not only makes the dreams of an artist come true, it helps families in our community to pay for food, housing, or medicine. It also creates jobs for your neighbors, family, friends, and maybe even you. And right now, Rochester needs you. 

Please think about how spending your holiday shopping dollars at the big box chain stores or the big online shopping sites means those dollars won't be supporting the "little guy" in our community.

A handmade gift, even if it wasn't handmade by you, is always a classy, gracious, and generous way to go. It means so much more to the recipient when you give handmade, especially these days where gift cards and electronic gadgets rule. Yes, that new gadget may say "I love you!" to your loved one, but wouldn't a handmade gadget case be a great choice to go with it? 

Giving handmade is giving love. Love to your loved one, and love from the artist who put their hard work, time, and energy into the creation of something out of nothing. With your purchase of handmade you are also spreading joy to the artist so they may keep spreading joy and love in an immeasurable way. 

See? It's not just about money. 

See you at St. Rita's!  

- Vickie

Upcoming Shows: Get Your Tiny Works of Awesome!

While I grieve summer's warmth ending, the cool, crisp air of October heralds the art and craft show season here. This is a busy time in my studio.

The finished dominoes start stacking up. Sometimes I want to line them all up in a long, winding row like I did as a kid and then knock them all down. They are just too stinkin' cute to do that though!

So while I am crafting like crazy here, you can take a moment to pull your calendars out and schedule trips to my upcoming shows.

We (I say "we" during craft show season a lot as Mr. M helps and other family members do, too) won't be going far from Rochester, NY and the surrounding suburbs for shows this year. If you live within 50 miles of Rochester it's really worth it to come to these shows. Some fabulous artists will be there!

In My Head Studios' 

Upcoming Art + Craft Show Events

Saturday, October 22, 2011

27th Annual St. Rita School Craft Sale
9:00 am – 3:15 pm
St. Rita School
1008 Maple Drive, Webster, New York 14580
Our booth is located in a classroom this year (not the gym) so be sure to come look for us!

 
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Mayday Underground Crafts + Art
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Main Street Armory
900 East Main Street, Rochester, NY 14605
The BEST indie craft + art show in Western NY
First 50 people to arrive gets a FREE swag bag of handmade goodies! 
Get there early if you want swag. There WILL BE a line.

Thursday, November 10, 2011
Holiday in the Vineyard Art and Craft Sale
10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Casa Larga Vineyards
2287 Turk Hill Road, Fairport, NY 14450
Open until 7:00 pm so stop by after work! Wine tastings!

Saturday, November 26, 2011 
35th Annual Irondequoit High School Art and Craft Sale
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Irondequoit High School
260 Cooper Road, Irondequoit, NY 14617

The Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) is potentially cooking up some hot, hot, heat for December events! Stay tuned for more about our plans for world domination extreme crafty fun soon!

Giveaway Alert: Click over to the RNEST blog to win one of my handmade domino pendants! The giveaway runs until Tuesday, October 11th!

Happy Friday!

xoxo

- Vickie 

Be In It To Win It

I am giving away this "Blooming Brightly" Fine Art Domino Pendant, truly a Tiny Work of Awesome *, at the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team blog this week!!
 

Created from my hand-painted and hand-cut papers, these bright and cheerful blooms seem to pop right off this lively domino pendant. Shiny little purple sparklies add a bit of twinkle to what is already a very glossy finish. The edges of some of the paper is distressed to add more dimension. The pips (dots) on the back of the domino are 2 and 3.

The artwork on a domino pendant measures about 1-1/2" x 3/4". That's smaller than the size of 1/4 of a business card. Even the tiniest pieces in my collages are hand cut!

The winner (it could be you!) will get her/his choice of necklace length in either black waxed cotton cord or silver-colored base-metal ball chain (pictures shown with black waxed cotton cord). The domino pendant hangs on a silver-plated bail.  

* What is a "Tiny Work of Awesome"? It's a one-of-a-kind, teeny, tiny, original piece of mixed media collage that I create on various very small objects like dominoes, Scrabble tiles, and other game pieces and surfaces.

Head on over to the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team blog to enter for your chance to win! 

You can earn up to SEVEN entries by commenting, liking, blogging, and tweeting! 

Hurry! You only have until Tuesday, October 11, 2011!

Open to US and Canada only. 

 - Vickie