Weekstagram & The Hintonburg Craft Fair

I realized that I haven't done a weekstagram post in quite a while. Whoops! More like monthstagram, amirite?? I also forgot to mention I hit my 200th post last post, how intense is that? I'm having a blast with this blog and I hope those of you who follow enjoy it too! Now on with the photos!!!

 I love palette knife paintings, especially this one I keep walking by in the mall lately.

This beautifully gnarled tree growing around a dead one while on a mini hike with the Mr last weekend. 

This weeks mani and my birthday gift from mom. Such a gorgeous ring!

An upside down shot of my table today at the Hintonburg Craft Fair, it was a pretty good day!  

I decided to change out the buttons on my coat. Just goth enough while still looking semi professional. 

Hat I made out of some scrap wool I got from work based off the pattern of my favourite hat. I think it came out pretty spot on, if I do say so myself!

The Hintonburg Craft Fair was today, and despite the first real snow of the year, it being freezing, and there being several other craft shows happening at the same time, there was an astounding turnout! There was a steady crowd the whole day, and a wonderful assortment of artists. Two delicious discoveries were these chocolate candied almonds (which I sampled but forgot to run back and buy!) from www.nut-candy-chocolate.com, delicious and gluten free (if that tickles your fancy), as well as some amazing mini cupcakes from Petite Treats. I bought a candy cane mint chocolate, chocolate with an orangey icing (I can't remember what kind it was technically but it was tasty) and a tiramisu one that the Mr claimed was also delish. Baked goods are my one weakness at a craft fair. If I don't buy anything else, I will always but a snack. 

Another fun first for this craft show worth mentioning was my use of the Square card reader, a credit card reader that plugs into the jack of your phone/tablet which allows you to accept Visa and Mastercard. The reader and app are free, and they only take a small percentage of each transaction (less than etsy/paypal do). It was a breeze and I must say not only did it make things more convenient for myself and customers, it made me feel that extra bit more professional.

If you're a vendor interested in expanding your payment options, it's definitely something to look into. The only thing I will note from my research is that the most they deposit in a month is $2002, if you go over that then they hold it for a certain amount of time. If you would be making more than that at shows with the card reader it might be a good idea to look into it further so you don't get hung up waiting for transfers. 

Tutorial: Quick and Easy Clothing Display!

One thing I've noticed a lot online around pinterest and craft sites is that people need display ideas, and are constantly looking. In getting ready for this craft fair I decided I wanted to bring my clothing with me which meant I needed to come up with a display rack, for next to nothing since I had no disposable income for this project, and no car to make it to ikea.

I did however, have one of these in storage.
Before:

Almost the same exact one I had.

Now this project took about 5 minutes to do.
First what you have to do is unhook and remove the top racks going across the top, and the ones holding it up. Now you're left with an 'A' shaped frame.
Next you take the piece going across the middle and unhook that, and rehook it to the very bottom run. This will make it stand more narrow but free up those top rings.
Lastly, using vicegrips (or something similar) pull off the rungs going across on one side. I removed both of them. That leaves room for the things to hang, assuming they're not too long.

Thats it! I covered the places where the bars were with some tape so they weren't rough, and it's ready to go! It's not the sturdiest, but braced against the side of the table at a craft fair it should more than do the trick.

After:

Display Ideas

Even though I have no shows lined up in the near (or distant) future, I like looking at different ways to display clothing, jewellery and the like. To dream of owning a store to call my own and imagining what it'll look like. There's some great websites full of ideas, not to mention things like forums, Pinterest, and DIY sites.

Portraits of celebrities for jewelry holders. Source.

Or bigger photos used for hangers. 

Jewelry tree from recycled utencils.. I'd love to make something like this. Source.

A recycled box turned earring display with a mirror! Genius. Source. 

Make a mini clothes rack for mini hanger paper clips to display earrings? (Also, perfect for doll clothes).