The Bazaar Line-Up

I have three more bazaars this season.  Some are fun and others are frustrating, but I always look forward to the next one to see if it is any better.  I am starting to recognize other vendors who are making the rounds, too.  I decided to post some of the items I am selling to convince my hoards of readers that you should each come out and visit me at a bazaar. 

This is the Dream Cream.  It is a thick moisturizer handmade with Shea butter, cocoa butter and olive oil.  I use it head to toe and I love it.  It comes in Tahitian Vanilla, Citrus Twist, Ginger Lime, Cucumber Melon, Mountain Stream and Tall, Dark & Handsome (a man cream that smells DIVINE, especially on my own man.  Mmmmm!)

Next up is my handmade lotion.  I wasn't actually planning on selling lotion because I feel that the Dream Cream is a better product.  However, I had the bottles, so I filled them and they have sold very well.  I have sold out of Tahitian Vanilla lotion.  I have Huckleberry, Cucumber Melon & Green Apple. 

The larger 8 oz bottles are $8. 

The upside down tottles are 4 oz for $6.

This weekend every bottle of Green Apple lotion is $1 OFF!

Time to try out this great scent or give it as a Christmas gift.  It is the most subtle of the fruit scents in my opinion. 















And now for the jewelry.  Oh, how I love vintage inspired jewelry.  I really thought I would see other vendors with jewelry like this at bazaars, but so far all the jewelry I've seen other than mine has been beads.  So, if you are looking for a unique and stylish gift, I highly recommend something from this vintage inspired collection. 

I have these cabbage rose necklaces in assorted colors.  Some are with strung glass pearls, while others are with black Czech glass beads.

This is my newest necklace design.  I actually designed it with Janae in mind.  Isn't it gorgeous?

I also have bracelets....

... for only $10...

Rings...

... and earrings....

COME AND SEE!!!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Faith Assembly Christian Center

1800 North Road 72

Pasco, WA

9 a.m. to 3 p.m

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Marcus Whitman Elementary School

1704 Gray Street

Richland, WA 

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Richland Alliance Church

1400 Sanford Ave.

Richland, WA

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Here We Go Again

Valine wanted me to post a report of the last bazaar.  Okay, I'll give you the run down.  Friday, the Kennewick Senior Center, was mostly a bust.  The highlights of my day were that my dad came and bought me lunch, then later my mom came to say hello and I sent her home with a sample of my new face cream.  I sold very little, but I did sell a few bars of soap, a few jars of cream and one of my rose and pearl necklaces.  I was too tired to be bummed, because the next morning I was out of the house by 6 a.m. to make it to Ferris High School by 8:30. 

The Ferris bazaar was awesome!  First of all, they had senior boys waiting at the door to unload your car  in the rain.  The bazaar was supposed to start at ten, but by 9:30 there were already customers milling around.  Don't worry, thanks to that strong senior guy, I was all unloaded, set up and ready.  It was a steady flow of people ALL DAY LONG!  There were other soapers there, and I know at least one other company was selling skin care, but I did very well, especially for a newbie.  Best of all, I got to see Victoria and her lovely daughter Ella.  It was a fun day.  I love the bazaar scene. 

So, here I am, ready to do it all again.  This weekend I will be at:

Island View Worship Center

1520 Fowler

Richland, WA

Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6th

9 a.m to 3 p.m

The church is located at Columbia Center west.  Fowler is the road that leads down to Cash & Carry.  Instead of going east toward Cash & Carry, you turn west off Columbia Center Blvd.  There should be signs to guide you. 

Spread the word and enter to win an 8 oz cream.  Post the info about the bazaar, then leave me a comment.  (Eastern Washington bloggers only-- my apologies to all others.)  I will enter you into the drawing.  Come see me Friday or Saturday and receive a second entry.  Thanks!

Come and see me there!



This Crazy Idea

About three months ago I got this crazy idea to do the bazaar circuit this fall.  I saw myself with a cute little table full of soap, lotion, jewelry and more.  I signed up for bazaars, paid my money and started making stuff.  I must have been downright crazy.  I'm always caught in the middle on this.  You see, I like to make way more stuff than I can use.  And, I always buy way more supplies than I can use, but when you start making stuff to sell, you realize that all those supplies are somehow insufficient and you need more.

I put my foot down this week and said, "No more supplies!"  I filled every jar I own.  Made every last tube of lip balm and bottle of lotion.  It is actually a whole lot of stuff.  I really hope it sells.

Mostly the shows are in Tri-Cities, but there is one in Spokane this weekend.  I would love to see some friendly faces.  Friday I will be here. 

I guess it's hard to read the fine print.  It is at the Kennewick Senior Center, which is at 500 South Auburn in Kennewick. 

Saturday I will be at Ferris High School in Spokane.  The bazaar is a fund raiser for their all-night graduation party. 

Please spread the word.  I love bazaars.  They are such a fun environment, everyone sharing their talents with all those hand-made things.  I have vowed to take one child to each bazaar.  Mazie is joining me on Friday.  I don't know who will be with me on Saturday, maybe Dylan.  He will be the only one willing to get up at 5 a.m. to get to Spokane and set up on time. 

Hope to see you there!!!

Finally

I suppose I should have posted when it happened, but the biggest news right now is that our house in Big Timber, Montana finally sold.  This is one huge burden off our shoulders.  The week before we got the offer on the house, Nathan interviewed with Stillwater Mining.  We went back and forth.  Should we go back an try to recapture the life we had, or should we hang on a little longer with the faith that we are where we are supposed to be?  As it happened the offer on the house and the offer for the job came the same day.  We took the offer on the house and closed that chapter of our lives.  It was a bittersweet decision.  We miss Big Timber-- the people, not the weather.  The kids miss going to school and having friends.  I miss having a real house and having time to clean it.  Josie would be in Debbie's preschool this year.  I would have had whole mornings to myself.

However, I just couldn't go.  We love the long growing season here.  We love our families.  It's hard to be far away from them.  Nathan doesn't love his job, but it pays well.  I spend a lot of time with my mom.  I missed her those five years we were away.  My kids see their grandparents everyday and their cousins every week.  I just couldn't give those things up again. 

So, we move forward like we always do.  The kids are adapting to home school.  The boys both have one more football game and then there is wrestling and basketball to look forward to.  Dylan takes art lessons from his great-grandma, and now spends a lot of time drawing.  Our house is chaotic and loud.  We are closed into a very small space.  Everyone fights and yells and it often feels like there is no peace at all.  But, we harvested our garden and bottled about 50 quarts of grape juice.  I canned tomatoes and spaghetti sauce, pears and pickles.  I even made raisins for the first time with our table grapes.  This lifestyle on a little farm in a tiny house isn't glamorous, but it's okay.  For now, at least. 

I do hope that someday I will have a house again.

Sad News

Remember how I did this post awhile back about our new little kittens.  Sadly, one of them is dead.  I went to visit a friend and when I came back, the kitty was lying dead in the middle of the driveway.  I looked her over thinking maybe the dog had done it, but then I realized it wasn't the dog.  It was my car.  I know she didn't run out in front of me.  I can only assume she was up in the underside of the car when I backed out and bailed as I started going forward again.  The girls are sad.  Josie asked several times that day where her kitty was.  Of the two, there was one that loved to be held and cuddled and one that was always running away when you tried to pet it.  Of course, I killed the one that loved to be cuddled.  I'm really sad.  The kitty seemed to like me best, so whenever I would sit outside she would come sit in my lap. 

It has been a few days, and the live kitty meowed pathetically for her sister.  The kids have been spoiling her.  She now lets Josie pick her up and carry her all over the place. 

I know this is how it goes with pets.  Still, I'm bummed, and there is no one else to blame besides myself.

DIY Heaven

I think I need to change the name of my blog.  Instead of Clutter & Chaos, I may have to rename it "All Things Handmade". 

My friend bought the DIY mineral foundation kit from Brambleberry.  She made me some foundation, but it was a shade too light and pretty sheer.  I kept bugging her to let me borrow her recipe book, just because I wanted to read all the recipes and see how hard they were.  Instead, she brought me her whole box of mineral make up ingredients.  She's used about a tablespoon out of the entire kit, and she accidentally bought two copies of the make up book, so I get to keep one.  (Sweet!)

Tonight I made myself the full coverage mineral foundation.  LOVE IT!  Then I looked through the box and I saw all those shades of brown.  I just couldn't help myself.  I made three small jars of eyeshadow.  THEN, I melted down a few tubes of lip balm and made THE PERFECT shade of lipstick. 

I know, I know.  I should post pictures.  I'm not good at self portraits.  You'll have to take my word for it.  I'm looking HOT right now.  Ratty capris and all. 

So, here's the handmade tally:  I am currently making all our lotion, body butter, lip balm, soap, vintage jewelry, some summer dresses for the girls, and now make-up.  I am a DIY addict.  I need therapy.

The same friend said she may be able to get me hooked up with the owner of a country store on the highway so I can sell soapy things and make some cash.  I have a whole fall line planned.  Now, to find the cash for supplies....

Crazy Woman

If you've ever been to Big Timber, Montana, you know that the town lies in the shadow of the Crazy Mountains.  If you ever stopped to pee at the rest area between Greycliff and Big Timber, you might know that they used to be called the Crazy Woman Mountains because some woman went crazy and left her wagon train and wandered into those mountains and died..... something like that.  It was a short stop; I didn't retain much from the historical marker. 

Now, if you had ever LIVED in Big Timber, Montana, you'd know that just about everyone has a T-shirt or sweatshirt from Crazy Woman Trading Company, and what do they say?  "Crazy Woman," of course.  So, why does everyone look at me like I'm crazy when I wear my crazy woman T-shirt?  Dang.  I should have gotten the hooded sweatshirt, because then I could wear it everyday in the fall.  Next time I visit......