Odd Duck spreads it's wings in a new nest

My crafty pride and joy is the annual Odd Duck Bazaar & Indie Craft Fair. I organize this event with my very-awesome partner Shelley Mitchell from Kitschy Aprons. This year we've provided the Duck a lovely new home in downtown Hollywood at Federal & Monroe Street. On Saturday, March 31st, more than 80 handmade vendors will convene to provide the most peculiar craft show in South Florida.

We've painstakenly hand-selected our participants, striving to offer a diverse selection of goods with a variety of price points. This was no-easy task! Shoppers can expect items ranging from log coasters, robots made from vintage roller skates & tin canisters, steampunk jewelry, dog bedding, children's clothing, original art, paper goods, to victorian puppets. Admission to the show provides several freebies as well. The first 100 paid attendees will receive re-usable tote bags with the hand-printed Odd Duck logo, full of goodies, valued at more than the $5 admission price. The first 500 attendees will receive a copy of our event Zine (a mini-magazine) with craft lessons & coupons. All attendees can bring their own re-usable water bottle to use at the free water refilling station hosted by One Beautiful World. Trash to Treasure is hosting the free craft tent where shoppers can learn how to make custom beads. Live acoustic music will be played by sosos and Bela Kawalec where attendees can sit in the shady courtyard and enjoy a bite to eat from one of our food vendors: Ms Cheezious or Be-Faer Shaved Ice. To top it all off, if you didn't get enough Odd Duck all day, join us at the after party a couple blocks away at Mickey Byrnes Irish Restaurant. All guests will receive two-for-one drinks until 8pm and have the opportunity to mingle with the talent of Odd Duck Bazaar.

So, as you can see, I've been working my little duck tail off to bring you an event you won't forget. I hope you'll come out and enjoy the beautiful day with us and celebrate everything odd. The venue is located at 1770 Monroe Street, Hollywood 33020. www.oddduckbazaar.com

Holiday Greeting Cards

Every holiday season (well, almost every) I like to make our family holiday card through my shutterfly photo account. My account is free and the website features are easy to use. They offer nice discounts as well. To help cut costs, we take our own family photos. This year we took advantage of a beatiful state park as our backdrop (we visit several during the cooler months). The trick is to take lots of pictures because you're bound to end up with at least one good one! It's only frustrating when you look back and realize only the first one was worth keeping.

I like receiving custom photo cards from our friends and family. Our social network reaches near and far, so this is my favorite time of year to check the mail. It's especially nice to see how much people have changed and watch kids grow from year to year. From my family to yours, we hope you have a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season! Cheers!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Etsy Treasury

An Etsy.com Treasury is "an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery." For those of you non-etsian's that means someone like me (an Etsy shop owner) puts together a digital collage of other creations and vintage items found on Etsy. The shop is "ever-changing" because things are always selling! The curator can update the treasury as often as items are sold, which keeps the treasury always up-to-date and full of interesting items.

I personally have a lot of fun putting these treasuries together. I find them to be one more avenue for me to express my thoughts and interests. As a teenager I used to cut images out of magazines and glue them onto poster board, creating personalized collage art for my room. I'd hang these things everywhere - including the ceiling. The collages always had themes - each clipping having some connection to the next. The Etsy Treasury reminds me of the countless hours I spent pawing through magazines as a teen. When I find myself with nothing to do, I'm browsing the pages of Etsy and instantly inspired to start copying links into the little Etsy Treasury boxes. My latest is titled Indian Summer and I think it's my new favorite!

Indie Craft Show THIS Sunday!

If you find yourself with some free time this Sunday you should probably come and check out a new indie show in town. Art: Sunny Side Up is being hosted at the Hilton Hotel in Deerfield Beach, FL, from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. This is not just an indie craft show though - it's also a fundraiser for a local school, plus there will be live music and other great activities! It's only $3 to get in and cheaper if you come with a friend! Use the handy vendor map below to find my booth. Hope to see you there.

Popsicle Stick Village

Earlier this summer I wrote about a project I was working on with my children. We started building stuff with popsicle sticks and invited our friends to have fun with us too. A couple of my mommy friends started building at their homes with their children. At the end of the summer, we all got together with our creations and created a popsicle stick town. First, I have to admit, I had a lot of fun building with my children. We spent hours, on and off during the summer, planning, gluing, waiting, and painting. Although the bulk of the building was done with popsicle sticks, we used a variety of wood (including toothpicks). When it was all done, it was even more fun finally seeing what everyone else created!

Vintage Cockade

My last post was about the vintage ribbon I scored while visiting Maine. I won't be able to use all of the ribbon for this project, but some of it is definitely a perfect fit. For a low fee, I paid for a tutorial on Etsy.com. The tutorial taught me a 1920's-based ribbon work technique. The technique creates a cockade, otherwise known as a ribbon star. The cockade can be used in a variety of places including as a holiday ornament, necklace, or decorative gift wrapping. I plan to use mine as holiday ornaments. I can't wait to decorate my tree with vintage cockades! The ornaments are also 100% Eco-friendly because I salvaged the ribbon and did all the sewing by hand. It didn't take me very long to complete either. I worked on it while relaxing and watching TV. I know this would be a great project for traveling too! It doesn't require many supplies and does not take up very much space. The style possibilities are endless because ribbon comes in all sizes, colors, and patterns. So, what do you think?

Vintage Ribbon

I recently visited my grandmother, and to my pleasant surprise, she was having a garage sale. The first table: full of fabric and ribbons. I snatched up a couple of vintage fabrics and a handful of vintage ribbons. I quickly started brainstorming about what I can do with the vintage ribbon. I've come up with a couple of strong possibilities but I'm still open to other ideas. I'm curious, what would YOU do with vintage ribbon if you had the chance?