HP Spring Fling Update!

Sorry it has taken so long to update you guys on how Handmade Parade turned out! If you frequent any of the vendors blogs or flickr accounts, you may have heard all the fun details, but just in case you haven't you can see all the fun first-hand on our flickr group. Be sure to add us as a friend, while you are at it! We looooove friends.

The date for our fall Handmade Parade looks like it will be the second Saturday in September. Second Saturady Art Walk is a huge event in Sacramento every month and we are going to try to be a part of the fun. We are looking into a few different locations and will let everyone know when we decide.

We will also be taking vendor applications once we know the location and how many people we can accept. It will still be on the smaller side as craft shows go, but that is a good thing! We want Handmade Parade to stay intimate and fun. Not only will it be a great time to sell your creations, but to meet other crafter/artists (and bloggers!) while we do it. Now, what could be better than that?

Just like last time, if you would like to be included on our postard mailing list, email me at handmade_parade@yahoo.com

See you at the next parade!

Meet Bethany!

Why I craft...I don't think there is anything more exciting than learning a new skill. I love the moment when an idea becomes a design becomes a reality.I love the way something handmade makes you aware of effort, skill, and perfection in imperfection. I like the idea of a world where you can shake the hands that create the things you use and wear. There has never been a time in my life when I wasn't creating something. I have embroidery that my mom had saved from when I was 3.

These days it is generally handbags featuring recycled materials, women's accessories, wool felt bunnies, embellished t-shirts and all manner of paper craft. I also am working on a project to create a new wardrobe using all vintage patterns, and writing for my little craft blog.

In the last few years I have participated in Craftalicious in Santa Cruz and Bazaar Bizarre at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. I have been a guest on DIY's Craft Lab with Jennifer Perkins (from the Austin Craft Mafia) demonstrating gift wrapping techniques and will be on again this spring demonstrating how to use spray paint and power tools and Shrinky Dinks to make egg art. I hope there is never a day when I wake up without the desire to make something.

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Visit Bethany at her blog Bitter Betty Blogs and at her etsy shop bitterbettyind.etsy.com.

Meet Sarah!

Sarah Potter hails from Davis, California and is a super talented sewer. She also has a great blog, called Sarah P Dot at www.sarahpdot.blogspot.com and an etsy shop at www.sarahpdot.etsy.com. Visit her and say hi for us!

Meet Shannon!

Shannon Udell comes to us from Roseville, CA and is an amazing fiber artist.

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"I'm always searching out bits of folklore and fable to incorporate into my work and working hard to bring out some imaginative original items. Finding a place for the old fashioned or nostalgic in our lives can give us a moment to breathe.When I'm not sewing my fingers off in the living room, I'm reading, or I'm homeschooling the newly-immortalized Muki and Bubb. I love my husband, girls and dogs, God, my garden, the ocean and all the thousands of little things that swirl around to make my life! You'll see it all pop up in the things I sew.I grew up in the 1970's, when Sacramento was a small town with a growing culture of young artists and cool blues bands. My mother is a textile artist and my dad is a photographer. My love and vision for art and all things handmade grew quietly in my hideaway beneath a large oval quilting frame with my very own needle and what scraps I could salvage. The blocky forms in my work derived from the homespun items that I wore and played with and ate from and lived off of in my childhood home and garden."

On the web, I am:

http://mukibubb.etsy.com

http://myspace.com/mrsudell

http://mukibubb.vox.com

http://mukibubb.blogspot.com/

http://flickr.com/photos/mukibubb

Meet Carolyn!

Carolyn is a crafter and pastry chef from Berkeley, California. She tells us why she crafts and what inspires her today.

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Why I craft...I'm a pastry chef by trade falling into baking after college as an art form I could get paid to do. After 25+ year I made a conscious decision to l move out of the kitchen for a while. I love to sew, embroider, knit, crochet, fold paper, cut, embellish glue, bead, you name it I'm never idle. I love all things vintage having a collection of 200+ eggbeaters not to mention all the egg cups and beaded purses-- it's all crazy, I know...So in my hunt vintage things I also look for fabrics that I have turned into handbags, eyeglass cases, coin purses and now embellishing tea towels with it too. I love stitching and use it as an excuse to watch movies and then there's the scraps of paper I play with--cards, collage, boxes. Connecting with other crafters and artists is inspiring.

Visit my crafty blog:

Laughing Duck

And shop Laughing Duck!

Meet Jenn!

Our next crafter profile is Jenn from A Girl Named Rosebud. *Pictures will follow, Blogger is not letting me upload tonight, Boo Hiss!

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Why do I craft?

Because craft opens up a whole world of possibilites.
Because craft keeps me sane.
Because craft is a whole lot of fun, don't you know?

I have always considered myself to be a creative person. I'm pretty hands-on. I like to make make things. Craft appealed to all those pieces of me. It's fun to look at a piece of paper or a ball of yarn or some large pile of wool in my closet and think, "Well, I'm going to turn it into x, y, or z." Or sometimes it becomes more like a, b, and c. You don't always know how something is going to turn out, and a lot of times, I'm pleasantly surprised.

I started out by doodling and making crazy things out of construction paper as a kid, moved on to making things out clay -- I made a pig for my eighth-grade teacher once -- and then started wielding crochet hooks and knitting needles. I enjoy all craft and am always open to learning something new.

Craft also opened me up to the world of indie crafters, and it has been amazing to see all this talent from all over the world! I'm proud to be part of a diverse and dynamic community and really believe in shopping handmade and indie. And so I try to spread the word as much as possible.

You can find my handmade goodies at my shop, Rosebud Designs (http://www.agirlnamedrosebud.com/), and you can read my indie shopping blog, indie*galore (http://www.indiegalore.com/), where I try to do my part to spread the word about other fantastic crafters and their shops.

Handmade Parade updates

It's Missy here... taken over for a minute! I just wanted to share a couple of new developments with you! :)

First, the postcards are here! They are really cute and you should all want one... so make sure you email us, handmade_parade@yahoo.com, with your snail mail address so we can get one to you! And if you are an artist, they will be on their way to you shortly!

And second, I made a flickr group for Handmade Parade! The group is open to everyone so that customers and crafters can all come conversate and chat, but we are asking that only pictures from vendors and Handmade Parades be uploaded :) This is a great way to pre-view the show! And to see shows past as we grow! You can find the flickr group here, http://flickr.com/groups/377703@N22/
It's new and it was just born today... so be patient. I'm sure many more pictures will be uploaded soon!
Thanks for reading! Make sure you leave a comment so you can win a prize... plus we just need ya to show us the love sometimes :)

Meet Vallen!

Vallen Queen is the talented gal behind Queenly Things and also a proud participant in Handmade Parade.

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Why I craft. I craft to justify all the television I watch. If my hands are busy and I am productive it doesn't feel quite so slothful to be watching Law and Order reruns or back-to-back Midsomer Murder all weekend. Plus I just get inspired when I see all the lovely things other folks are crafting. My motto is "Hey, I can do that!"

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Catch up with Vallen at her blog, Queenly Things.

Congratulations!

LeAnn has won our first comment prize! We told you guys that we would have giveways and giveaway we shall!

Missy has graciously given us one of her lovely notepads for our winner. Since LeAnn has been sweetly visiting and commenting since Handmade Parade's blog started. Thanks LeAnn!

So keep commenting and let us know what you think of our little site!

Love,

Claire and Missy

Handmade Parade Grand Marshalls

Meet Melody!

Melody of Handmade Luck is our next profiled crafter. We are so excited to have her as part of our Handmade Parade Spring Fling!

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Why I craft?
It’s a necessity to sanity. When I find a few minutes when I’m not doing anything, I need to do something. My grandmother used to say that I had busy hands, but for some reason she stopped saying that when I became a teenager (maybe she didn’t want to give me any ideas). I’ve always been into creating and fixing things. I remember making homemade eye shadow when I was eleven out of crushed up mica and blue chalk. I also used to take jewelry that was given to me and swap parts and create new stuff that I liked better.
When I was twenty-one, I realized that they sold beads in stores, so I started beading basic stuff and giving them away as gifts. Beading got lost along the way, as well as the rest of my free time. When I wasn’t mothering my son, I was busy working two jobs or going to school to finish my degree. It wasn’t until after I graduated and was at home with my daughter that I found, when she was napping, some free time. Since jewelry making had always been a passion, I took it back up as quickly as I set it down, and I haven’t stopped since. I also like getting my hands dirty, so decoupage was a natural selection for me. I make coasters and magic boxes that invoke frivolity and capriciousness, something of which this world definitely needs more.

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You can find Melody's work at her etsy shop, Handmade Luck and a profile at Sacramento Craft Mafia.