Kids Art Fair

Every year on the Monday night before the start of the Ann Arbor Art Fair, the original Street Fair team puts on the Townie Street Party with live music, food drinks and free hands-on art activities to get the locals in the spirit of the fair. One of the highlights of the Townie Party is the Kids Art Fair. Young artists in grades 1 through 8 from across the county work for months to put together displays and art for the fair. The level of professionalism was incredible this year and I was extremely impressed. I was a bad blogger, forgot my camera and didn't even get the artist's name, but I purchased the above origami piece from a sweet young girl who makes magic with paper.  

This next item is a calendar created by Ella Markley. I met Ella a while back at Blue House where she had seen the 2011 calendar I designed. Her version is so well-executed and thoughtful -- great things are in store for this budding artist!

She got all the details right from the Lollipop Designs name to the themed drawings for each month. My particular favorites are the mailbox overflowing with love letters in February and the two girls -- Ella and her best friend -- watching the fireworks in July.

 

If you didn't make it to this year's Townie Party, don't miss next year to see the next round of Kids art! You're sure to be inspired.

Cobblestone Farm

Have you ever been to Cobblestone Farm in Ann Arbor? It's like a heavenly slice of nineteenth century rural life right in the middle of town. I recently did this little drawing of the barn to help promote it as a rental property so if you're looking for a place to host your wedding or big family reunion, check it out!

Crafter Love from Chatty Crafty!

Hello! The boy and I are still in between spaces and shuttling boxes between our apartment and the new place, so my blogging schedule is a bit off — not to mention I haven't cooked a thing in ages! But we're slowly getting there and I hope to be back on track soon with new recipes from a new kitchen and new creative endeavors. In the meantime, a long overdue look at two vendors I was introduced to at Chatty Crafty back in June. The collection of vendors at this show was just stellar. I just loved the booth of Let's Be Friends (above and below).

The creative mastermind behind Let's Be Friends is Felicia and she has such a great eye for creating an environment for her critters. Look at the emotion she manages from that sewed fellow up top — love!

The other booth I swooned over was Ophelia Terrariums. I'm a sucker for the recent explosion of terrarium happiness, but these gals are over the top. There is such detail in each one — a variety of earth layers in different colors, a wide range of plants and plenty of little people and animals and scenes to adore. The images below are all from the super-talented Shashank Shrestha who volunteered his time and energies to take hundreds of remarkable photos at the show.