Bastion Square Market Recap - vol v!

We woke up to a glorious day on Sunday which was just perfect for a day at the market! The drive downtown was quite pleasant and Fraser and I enjoyed our new car pal - Mr. Bull.  I nicknamed Fraser's car "The Bull Ship" based on his license plate "BSP" so when my mom brought me this adorable little cow key chain we decided he would have to hang up in the car! Isn't he sweet?  

With heat in the forecast I decided to dress up in my best summer attire and sported a nice old lady chic skirt I bought from a thirft store last summer and overhauled. I also figured it would be a great chance to wear my vintage style geek glasses to really top the look off. We were back in our old spot this week and as always the day started off a little cool (perfect cardigan weather) and as the sun shifted onto our tent the layers could be peeled off! Hooray!

After getting all set up and ready to go our neighbouring vendor got moved to a different spot and my L shaped set up looked sort of odd without someone beside us on the right side. With little time to spare, I decided to switch up the set up and flip the entire display the other way! It turned out to be easier than I thought and opened up the tent display for customers to walk on in!

I did a little crafting this week to restock some items and also made a new card showing the contents of my postcard sets. Rather than customers trying to riffle through my neatly sorted packages they can take a glance at this baby and see the sets with ease:

I've even got my new sets on the backside:

Haha! I am thrilled with the updated card and once again appreciate the convenience and awesomeness of having my own laminater! Yay!

The market itself was a bit on the slow side, but I did make a few sales and got to meet a bunch of nice people! I also really enjoyed the cute dogs hanging around too:

If I lived near an Ikea I would totally pick up one of their rad pet dishes to bring water for the pups to drink from, but since there aren't any on the island I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for a cheap one! For the time being I will have to suffice with stuffed pets and by the end of a long hot day at the market I was stoked to have the car all packed up and see Mr. Bull greeting me again:

Aww, such a cute gimpy smile that cow has! This week I'm hoping to get a bit more crafting in and prepare for another market next Sunday! Anyone else do weekly markets? Any tips?

The Best Idea EVER!

I have the crappiest pin cushion.  It is one of those plastic magnetic kidney shaped ones that is supposed to hold all your pins neatly for you.  It also has a hole in the middle of it which holds a seam ripper (which is more awkward than anything).  I bought it in a clearance bin for $2 and although I thought it was a great buy at the time, I dropped it (and it smashed - messing up the magnets and their pin holding abilities) and the "once a rad deal" is now the bane of my sewing existence.  It still sort of does the job so I can't rationalize buying a new one but when I saw this amazing idea (link) from Alyssa at Elemental Carbon - my mind was blown. Behold - and ordinary pretty dish:

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How pleasant! Now check out the secret underneath:

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Bam! Thrifted vintage plate turned amazing magnetic pin dish! Brilliant! Seriously - this is the best idea I've seen in ages and although it could be influenced by a few recent (and completely infuriating) battles with my current pin cushion, I just love this!  Since I already asked for a new pin cushion for my birthday this year I think I'll hold off on making one just yet - but come the 26th if there are no functional pin holding devices in my house I'm going thrift shopping for a dish! Hooray! What do you think? Maybe I should make one anyways and have a spare around...

tell me one thing you would never do

I recently decided to spend some of the iTunes gift certificates I had been holding onto since xmas (don't ask me how that happened - usually I spurge on things right away) and figured the newest Metric album was a great place to start my spending!  I've been listening to Metric since about 2003 (which is an awfully long time when I think about it) and always enjoy their pop-y up beat tunes. Their album "Synthetica" is no exception and I have been listening to "Lost Kitten" on repeat for days now. You may think I've exaggerating, but after listening to the song 8 or 9 times during a trip to Langford Fraser actually told me, "I think it's time to switch to the next song."  *Sigh* I guess I'm a little obsessed. If you feel like getting hooked here's an online version to enjoy:

I actually looked at a few videos with the song on you tube and figured the stagnant image of the album cover was best. There was one with a shirtless dude dancing at night on a street but that one sort of disturbed me too much to link to.  I prefer skin covered up thanks! Ah well. I also didn't realize how terrible the lyrics are - but I seem to go for melody so I'll blame that for my addiction. I also really like singing along to songs and find listening to them on repeat for days is a great way to ingrain them in there. I'm sure by the end of the week I'll be over my little song crush and be on to something new - if not, consider this my formal apology Fraser - I hope this doesn't change your mind on our engagement.  How about you? Do you ever go nuts over a certain song or album?

In other news - I'm off to the Bastion Square Sunday Market yet again today! The forecast calls for lots of sun and sales so I'm stoked! Okay...climatologists aren't very good at predicting my craft sales...yet...we'll see how it goes...

Triangle Quilt

Once in a while I get the urge to do some quilting. Of course, a quilt isn't exactly my usual quick and simple project, but this amazing triangle quilt from Happy Together Creates (link) is as close as it gets! Look at those colours:

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 Ah! How wonderful! I love the mix of neutrals and colours and the random arrangement of triangles! I'm in love! The instructions they have on the blog are nice and clear and have loads of pictures and tips too!  I also really like the draw of the quilt's simplicity which is a great place to start for beginners like me. I have successfully completely one quilting project before but since it is hanging on the wall above my mom and dad's bed I certainly don't get to enjoy it very often.  Perhaps I could do a trial run of a triangle quilted wall hanging and see how picky it is to line up all those points! OoOo! Also gives me a great excuse to do a little cotton shopping...What are your thoughts?

Friday Find: Aorta

Today's find is right up my alley - quirky, one of a kind, and including very wide set eyes. Take a peek:

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A little confused on what it is? Why one of the fabulous upcycled appliqued squid ties from Etsy's Aorta (link)! Check them out:

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Ahahaha! I love them! The mix of texture and pattern is just perfect and although I am far from a tie wearer, I can think of one person who might be talked into wearing a squid themed one for special occasions....yay! What do you think? Should I whip out the sewing machine and make my own Kate version?

Bastion Square Market Recap - vol iv

Another Sunday has come and gone and I'm back again to report how the craft show went! Each week I try to improve my booth, learn from my wrongs, and become a master of craft efficiency and love to share my findings with all of you! This past Sunday was a most beautiful, hot, summery day and to switch things up, Thea (the market coordinator) moved me to the middle of the square - and boy oh boy, was it ever picturesque! Just check it out:

And if that doesn't appeal - how about some nice Victoria greenery!:

With the temperatures pushing into to low 30 C's, I was thankful I got to set up right under a big gorgeous tree:

The wind wasn't too furious this week so we skipped the tent walls and I set the tables up to avoid gusts blowing away my goods. I'm really loving how the L shape of the two tables is working out and as always I was thrilled with how bright and (hopefully) welcoming my booth turned out under the shade of the tree:

 

I even got the chance to wear my mint green dress I picked up a few months back. It was originally a maxi but with my extra long legs the length looked bizarre. Time to whip out the sewing machine and make it tea length (my fave!)! Yay! Throw in some handmade accessories to showcase items at my table and voila - a breezy cool summer craft show outfit:

As for the market itself, the inner square spot was a bit slower than the back road I usually set up on, but I did appreciate the shade! The spot was bustling with people here for the long weekend and I even got to meet a blog reader (and hand out a freebie to her)! How fun! I got lots of pleasant compliments on my items and set up and had an okay day of sales. I really enjoyed the nice ocean breeze wafting up the square and the nice atmosphere thanks to three different busker gigs in the area! 

As far as battling the outdoor elements, I think I've finally got it down. I switched the finishing nails on my bulletin board that holds earrings and combined with the "back to the breeze" placement, I didn't have a single fly away item! What a quick and effective fix that was!

I also raided the dumpster yet again and got an old cracked floor mat for some added cushioning! Standing for seven hours can certainly get tiring and mat certainly seemed to help (oh, and the price was right). Take a peek:

I think the next step would be to get a fold-able high chair/stool that would put me up at a welcoming buyers level and take the pressure off my arthritic joints. It isn't a high priority for me at this point (especially since I've got the cushy mat), but might be worth keeping my eyes peeled for in case I see one on sale one day. 

As for my plans for next week - I'm hoping I'll get to go back a busier spot and just need to make some more products to restock! I've already made a whole slew of fabric button earrings this week and now I'm onto mustaches since they seem to be a hit. I figure if I'm full of spare time I might make a few more rings and embroidery hoops but since I've already got a full schedule we'll see how that goes.

What are your thoughts? Any craft show tips for me? What do you look for when you shop at craft markets? Anything I can do to draw you in?

Nice Expression Jean...

This is quite possibly the funniest picture I have seen in a long time. I think this one (specifically that facial expression) will haunt Jean for many years to come. Just check out my niece as captured by my brother in law Neal:

Ahahahahhaha! So hilarious (and cute)! That girl sure loves running and I the pigtails really top it off. Hopefully you find it equally funny and it's not just a "Kate is the crazy Aunt showing too many pictures of her niece" moment. Oh dear. What's on the agenda for your Wednesday? Any funny pictures or links to share to perk up the mid week?