Autumn WAS in the air...

We had a change in the seasons since last weekend... it seems summer has returned to Wisconsin! It was in the 80s which means a JEEP ride was in order.

We headed to Wollersheim Winery on Sunday with friends and family. This is the view from above and you can see my girls rolling down the hill - of course! We did the wine tasting and took our favorites to the patio to enjoy.

The sandbox is GENIUS ~ our girls actually ask to go there because of it. Always appropriate for a 3 year old to ask "can we go to the winery this weekend?" Well, my husbands family is French so I guess it was inevitable that they would be so versed in vino at such a young, tender age - ha!

Sophie and Elle ~ post hill roll.

Sophie was NOT so fond of the "dairy air" we were blessed with. She had her nose plugged for almost the entire trip! Country girl? I think not.

We took family and friends back to our place for chili dinner and apple pie. Along the way we stopped at our "farm house" that will soon become our brand new home. It's 150 years old and fabulous - 2 foot thick stone walls. You can read more about it here - it will be the subject of many blog posts VERY soon if things proceed as planned. This is our friend Tony waving to my husband outside.

And here's my Elle. She was 2 when we bought this property and is now 6. Sophie wasn't even a thought when we started. The past 4 years have flown by and simultaneously dragged on (an effect of a family of 5 in a 1000 square foot townhouse??) Hoping with huge hope that we will be in our "new" home come spring... I'll keep you updated.

So that was our weekend. Very little crafting was completed which is NOT good seeing that I have 5 shows this holiday season. What can I say ~85 degrees in Wisconsin in October is pretty distracting! I hope you had an enjoyable weekend too.

And here's a glimpse of LAST weekend. We got our Halloween on when it was 50 degrees - phew!

XOXO Molly

Autumn is in the air...

We've had some chilly nights an frosty mornings lately here in Wisconsin. I love the changing seasons... it's what makes the Midwest "all that" and then some. Autumn is particularly inspiring to me. We had friends over last Friday night for an Autumnal meal ~ portabella mushroom tarts, french bread topped with baked tomatoes and melted chevre, balsamic marinated flank steak and spinach salad with dried cranberries and apple ~ yummy! All this with good red wine and an apple pie for dessert. These flowers are left from the evening - loved them in the morning sun.

These felted wool rose brooches are my favorite way to recycle worn out sweaters. I pulled out this project over the weekend while we watched the Badgers get stomped on... At least I had something to show when the game was over!

How does Fall inspire you?

XOXO Molly

Flea Market Finds

Sunday we made the trek to Elkhorn for their last flea market of the 2010 season. We missed the first 3 so it was a MUST on my list and I was thrilled when my husband and girls happily tagged along. Since we are ABOUT to start building our new home we really weren't in the market for furniture... YET... but we got some good ideas. Instead I focused on - BIG SURPRISE - finding a few good buttons. Here's a taste of what I brought home.

An autumn collection - celluloid, metal, glass, wood...

Love this guy!

Some feminine fancy... rhinestones galore! Dainty indeed!

And primary colors always catch my eye - fun "realistics" here...
horses, bowling pins, a bear, anchor, flower, some bakelite...
Can you see the tiny key and heart shaped padlock?? A treasure!

This acorn is my favorite find of the day - so tiny and wonderful - where was it hiding through the years and what was it on to begin with? Today it makes me smile!

And here is Sophie's favorite find - a pink celluloid shank button that will become her new necklace later today... She cannot wait...

But she will have to because this Mommy has to tackle this pile of non-goodness for fear her marriage might end if she doesn't. Yikes! Actually my husband has been a love about my MESS. It's been growing since The Creative Connection and I didn't have it in me to tackle it last week so today I will begin....

And most likely I will continue tomorrow because, for some reason, when I start to organize things get FAR WORSE before they get better.

For instance I started photographing things to de-stash in my Fabric House Etsy shop rather than actually putting all this away. My mind isn't quite focused on the essentials... like gaining back the dining room table for the well being of family dinners. Someday, right? I cannot wait for my STUDIO in the new house. I continue to dream about the inspiring place it will be.

So there you go ~ a glimpse into my weekend behind and week ahead.

I listed LOADS of new autumnal goodness in my Etsy shop so be sure and take a peek. If you see any thing you can't live without, I'm offering my lovely Blog Readers 25% off through Thursday, September 30th at 6 pm CDT. Simply note BLOG OFFER at check out and I will promptly refund your discount ~ Enjoy!

XOXO Molly

Call for Crafty People!

As I'm putting together my winter and holiday show line up I wanted to share this wonderful opportunity with all you Midwest Area craftsters in case you don't know about this show or haven't yet taken the time to apply.

My very first show experience was with Naomi and her FABULOUS Craftacular in Madison, Wisconsin in December 2008. Little did I know what a treat it was to be part of such a seamlessly organized show ~ well promoted, heavily followed, top notch quality products... you name it. I was blessed to have it be my first show experience ~ because these events can be QUITE never wracking to unseasoned artists and crafters.

Applications to this years big event are still open through October 8th so I encourage you embrace this opportunity to become part of Madison's Handmade Movement that is so expertly lead by Naomi (with help from her loyal hubby Jerome.) Give yourself this gift ~ you will be happy you did.

XOXO Molly

P.S. - Fingers still crossed that I get in... acceptance letters go out shortly after the deadline so I will let you know. My schedule so far is listed to the right - lots of fun shows to look forward to!

The Creative Connection Event

Where in the world did the weekend go?? The Creative Connection Event in Minneapolis was a long time coming and then whizzed right by. What an amazing place to spend an extra long weekend, among countless creative souls and inspiring minds. I was overwhelmed and impressed to say the least!

I arrived at about noon on Wednesday and before I knew it my booth was set up and Preview Night was over... the hours literally flew by. I was honored to meet organizer and lovely past editor in chief of Country Living magazine Nancy Soriano right off the bat ~ she was gracious and kind, someone I would love to spend time with. Then author Amy Barickman of new book "Vintage Notions", Indygo Junction and The Vintage Workshop stopped by the booth and shopped a bit - yes, she actually purchased a few of my goodies and chatted about her next book idea... wow wow wow! My heart was singing with excitement.

The next few days were filled with classes for Creative Connection participants. They were able to shop for a few minutes here and there but we sure would have liked to have seen more of them. Hopefully next year the Market hours will run past the class hours so that we can mingle longer. Co-founder Jo Packham from the gorgeous magazine Where Women Create also stopped by the booth and was equally as lovely as Nancy. They are are a truly inspirational duo. They pulled off an amazing event with a hard working, well oiled team. We heard only good things from all the attendees. Job well done ~ Many thanks!!

A few booth shots. My lovely banner was printed at Spoonflower and put together by the ever talented Mary Ann Abbot - love that girl. She makes me happy!

Plans are already being made for next year so be sure and stay tuned to The Creative Connection Event website for details. Surely an annual not-to-be-missed event has been born, don't you think?

XOXO Molly

Divine Twine

So excited about this DIVINE TWINE... have you heard of it, seen it, touched it, loved it yet?

Whisker Graphics came up with this fabulous twine, perfect for your every crafting project. I'm planning to use it for my tags and packaging. Can't wait to put everything together! Check out their site for other great designs as well. I ordered a big box of red, apple green, licorice black and aqua twine to have for sale at The Creative Connection Event in Minneapolis in September. Now that my two August show are over - thank you to all you shoppers! - my mind and heart are fully focused on the amazing 4 day event ahead. Be sure and take a peek and consider a class, seminar or shopping extravaganza at TCC... would LOVE to see you there!!

Be there! I simply can't wait... so much to do... it used to be 6 months away and now it feels like it will be here tomorrow. Off to craft!

XOXO Molly

Summer Craftacular

Hoping to see you at the Sixth Annual Summer Craftacular!

The Summer Craftacular will be held Sunday, August 15th from 10 am to 5 pm at the East Side Club at 3735 Monona Drive. We will be utilizing both banquet rooms as well as the outdoor lawn / Tiki patio area. These spaces combined will allow for approximately 80 booths. We are very excited about this new venue! Not only is the East Side Club a great, established location, but it also offers amazing views of Lake Monona, great parking, cash bars (we will be using the upstairs main bar as well as the outdoor Tiki Bar), and a helpful staff. The Tiki Bar will also offer some simple food options for purchase.

Summer Goodness... be there! Cheers!

XOXO Molly