Featured this week at Mitchell's Farmers Market: world map trivets and vanilla macadamia nut coffee candles!  

My obsession with maps spans more than a decade.  It stems from a combination of their alluring graphic design and the dreams of travel they invoke.  For Christmas last year, I made coasters from similar materials for fellow teachers and close friends, so when I came across the vintage-style pieces of map paper this weekend, I knew exactly what to do with them; it was serendipity! 

The candles were a new venture.  Thrift store coffee cups have always been a major attraction for me, so I pick them up whenever I can.  My cupboards hate me for this, so I decided to clean them out (to make room for more!). I've never made candles before, so these six are the result of my latest experiment.  

Come to the supplementary Farmers Market tonight from 5-8 p.m.  Most of the same vendors will be set up in our usual spots at 5th and Main.  Hope to see you there!  

Oh, and check out the lamps I made for a special order.  You can get a feel for their height by their location next to the door. Hope you enjoy them, Lindsay!

So, when my studio looks like this:

the living room looks like this:

Don't feel too badly for Chris, though, I cleaned the place up pretty well shortly after taking these.

While almost everyone who stopped at my table at the Farmers' Market today had something nice to say about my wares, one market-goer turned out to be incredibly rude.  He approached my table and picked up some of the beer cap magnets.

"So, do you dig through the dumpster to find all this stuff or what?" he asked, referring to the recycled bottle caps and wine bottles I use for my crafts.

"Actually, I work at a restaurant and the bartender saves them for me," I replied.

"And people actually buy this stuff?" he wanted to know.

"Yes, a lot of people are looking for something recycled," I explained, to which he laughed, rolled his eyes, and walked away.

Now, I realize that not every person who approaches my booth is going to like what I have to offer, but the thing is, most of those people just don't say anything.  It's unfortunate that the people we tend to remember the most vividly are the ones who have had a negative impact on us.  Maybe the guy was just having a bad day and needed to take it out on someone, but I was not impressed.

I am, however, incredibly grateful for all the support I received from the people who complimented my work.  My goal is to focus on the good and not let the little negatives get me down.

Today's Farmers' Market was a huge success!  I sold one of my lamps to a former student, and had a customer pre-pay for an order of two more!

Check out my latest creations!  I constructed the bases from empty wine bottles and natural fiber rope.  Chris helped put the lamp kit together, and I embellished the shades with white burlap.

The first couple weeks of summer vacation were rough on me.  I had been so very busy the last month of school with both my teaching job and my role in the Area Community Theater production of Cabaret that I barely had a free moment.  When both ended in the same week, I was presented with a seemingly endless amount of free time.  Awesome!  Right?  Well, actually it left me feeling a little depressed.  What was I supposed to do with all of this time during which I didn't have to do anything?  The answer:  craft.  I have been busy working on making jewelry, wine bottle vases, and--new to me--lamps.  My first trip to the Mitchell's Farmer's Market last Saturday was quite successful, which has motivated me to make more stuff!  With hope, I can ride this wave of motivation for the rest of the summer to make a little extra spending money at my booth.  Who knows?  I may even attempt to sell some crafts on Etsy!