Renegade Craft Fair Finds

This weekend is the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale in Chicago, so my sisters and I made our way over to Pulaski Park Fieldhouse this afternoon to see what we could find.

There were so many talented artists there, over 150, including some Chicago staples such as Circa Ceramics and Ork Posters. I noshed on a delicious vanilla cupcake from TipsyCake and also bought a few prints from a new favorite, Delicious Design League.

This print will be a Christmas gift for my sister, Jessica, the newest Chicago resident in the family. It's called "Chicago Style - 1893":

It will look cute in her kitchen next to her "St. Louis Style" print by Dan Zettwoch, which she also already owns.

The next print is one which I purchased for the nursery and is called "Cutie Bear". I think it lives up to its name:

Each 18x24 print was priced at only $20 and contains 3 colors/screens. And best of all, if you choose to frame the prints, they are a standard size so no custom framing costs will be incurred. What a great deal! Check out what other prints the Delicious Design League has for sale on their online store. All in all we had a successful trip to the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale.

Next weekend is also the Bucktown Holiday ArtShow.

It is held at Holstein Park Fieldhouse, 2200 N. Oakley Ave. in Chicago on December 11-12, 2010 from noon to 5pm each day. I hope to make it there as well and will report back with any purchases :-)

Happy Easter!!

Kitschy Kool: Volume 2: Nativity Sets

So I realized this week what our tree was missing, a Nativity Scene! I'm not really sure I want a traditional carved or ceramic one, so I went on the search for a kitschy-cool nativity set... what? Jesus, Mary & Joseph can be "kool" too :-)

So here are my finds so far:

Option #1: Children's Felt Nativity

I mean, what's not to love here! You all know my feelings on felt this season, so what a great addition:

Option #2: Little People: Christmas Story Nativity

Ok, maybe I just love toys, but isn't this cute...err, I mean kitschy kool:

Option #3: Vintage Christmas Manger

Of course, last but not least, I could not leave out my favorite site Etsy ! And look what I found in their vintage listings, a 1950's cardboard nativity set:

Ok, so time to vote, which of these kitschy kool nativity sets belong under my tree?

Winter Finds (Plus, the Real vs Fake Debate)

In honor of the newly fallen snow on the ground, I thought I'd highlight some my favorite winter finds over the last week or so.

First of all, I did go on a hunt for felt Christmas decor at my parents house, as previously discussed, but I didn't come back with much. However, when I returned I did order an amazing needle felted ornament online to perfectly commemorate 2008! It's from Etsy seller feltcafe:

I'm in love and cannot wait to receive it... GObama!

Next I splurged on some duds to keep me warm in the windy city.  The first one being The North Face Metropolis Jacket I bought in brownie. A serious splurge, but I found a great 20% off coupon code and bought it off Moosejaw. I figure with a 4 block walk from the loft to the train and another 4 blocks from the train to work each morning & night, I think I deserve it! Today was my 2nd day wearing it to work and in my mind it already paid for itself as I battled the wintry mix this morning.

I love it because it's long enough to cover my legs and with boots will protect most of my pants from the black sludgy aftermath of the snow storm. Speaking of boots, I also purchase these The North Face Boots and am eagerly awaiting their arrival:

You know, it's funny the things you get excited about when you commute by public transit as opposed to via a heated car :-)

I also grabbed a couple cute sweaters to wear to work from Anthropologie and this is my fave, the Pick-And-Choose Cardigan in grey! (sorry I can't grab the image for the post!)

So, now I feel really selfish about all the things I purchased FOR ME when this is the season of giving. So I'll move to something a little more green... both responsibly and literally! 

I have been going back and forth in my head, and out loud with my new husband, about getting a Real Tree versus a Fake Tree this Christmas. And just as I was debating the look, the cost and the carbon footprint that both would leave, a great blog i follow posted this today. So decision is final, it's going to be real this year! Now I'm trying to convince Dave to drive out to a tree farm to cut down our own (I really, really want to do this!) or to just go pick one up at a tree lot.  To me, that loses a little of it's luster, but I'm not sure i'll win this battle considering all of the driving back and forth to STL that we have been doing lately, and will be doing thru December.

Oh well, Tree Lot or Tree Farm, I can't wait to wear my new outerwear & sweater out to grab a wonderful Christmas tree and to be able to decorate it with my awesome new ornament!

My Feelings on Felt

I love the throw-back look of all the felt Christmas decor that is out this year. My favorite right now is the Felt Garland I found online at Crate & Barrel along with this Felt Mitten Ornament Set .

But I have two issues holding me back from purchasing these online right now:

1). Although I do make a few exceptions each year, I cannot stand paying full-price for any holiday decor when I know it will be 70% in the outlet section just one day after Christmas.

2). These handcrafted gems are also mass-produced gems and I prefer to buy handmade from those whose independent hands have made each one, uniquely. So, I'm trying to search Etsy for similar felt garland, but haven't had much luck. 

Solution: I may have to buy the garland, but I remember from my childhood that my mom had made a bunch of these quirky, little felt ornaments. I also know that after many years of being beaten out for prime tree space by her newer, shinier ornaments, they are now hopefully sitting in a box untouched. But little do they know, that are now back en vogue this season. At least to me. So I plan to go home for Thanksgiving, dust off some boxes and see what I can find.

And alas, if they happened to have been sent away to the land of misfit ornaments, then I may have to break down and either buy my Crate & Barrel finds, or more likely I'll pick a few faves off of Etsy, like these kitschy little creations from seller Cuore

Or these from seller Shannon Harris:

I'll keep you posted on what felt I find!