creativestampingwithjan

Did I See You at Kinmundy Pioneer Days?

I spent Sunday in the woods at Pioneer Days in Kinmundy, Illinois.  I wanted to share what a wonderful day it was for those of you who didn't get to attend. 

The Pioneer Days craft fair has been a popular attraction for more than 30 years.  The setting is in the middle of the woods near Kinmundy, Illinois.  Those woods are extremely unique without the addition of dozens of craft booths and food vendors.  The booths are set in and amongst original log cabins that have been retrieved and renovated to their original condition.  The cabins are set up with period furniture and most have a fire crackling in the fireplace during the craft fair.  Fair goers can step inside these log cabins and step back in history for a peek at how good we have it now!  Alot of the crafters are wearing period clothing as well--overalls, long dresses and aprons.  Oh, yeah, and the food, oh my--you can't beat the selection of yummy food--corn dogs, pork rinds (in three flavors), hand made fudge, etd.  It's a good time.  I am sorry I didn't seem to get any pictures with the log cabins, but will do that the next weekend I attend, which is Oct. 10 and 11.  Check back for that.

This was my booth--see how cool it is in the wooded setting! 

 

I had a lot of Halloween, fall, and Christmas cards on my display board.  It was a funny mix of all of the fall/winter holidays.

See my scarecrows peeking out of that basket.  They were attached to giant candy bars and Milk Dud packages. You can see my skeleton buckets lurking around on all of the tables.

 

You might be wondering where all the people are?  I had taken these pictures right after I set up by booth, so the crowd wasn't there yet.

  

The weather was gorgeous, a little cool and no rain!

  

If you can fit it into your schedule, make sure to attend the next (and last for this year) Pioneer Days weekend which is coming up Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11.  The hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.  I'll be there again, so stop by for a special gift from me.  Just mention this posting.

Hope you enjoyed the booth display.  I really enjoy setting up at craft fairs in the fall of each year.  I have met the most amazing people who are walking through the booths, as well as the other vendors who are set up like me.  Thanks for looking.

What About This for a Treat Bag?

What about these treat bags for my fall craft fairs--I found these Blueberry flavored candy corns at Wal-Mart and made the treat bags to match.  Of course, the top flap is the Top Note Die folded in half, and Frankie's head is the 1-3/8" square punch punched in Old Olive for the head and a smaller square punch for his hair.  Who wouldn't like this in their treat bucket?

Boo 2 You!!

This is what happened to the plain buckets that I had painted black--What do you think?

My 12 Weeks of Christmas Begins Sept. 29!

Can you even believe that?  I will start my 12 Weeks of Christmas email Christmas ideas on Sept. 29, and (here it comes) 12 weeks from that will be Dec. 15.  Each year I know there are days removed from the calendar because the years keep rolling by faster and faster!

What is Jan talking about, "the 12 Weeks of Christmas"?  All you have to do is sign up for my email list, and you will receive Christmas ideas for cards, gifts, wrappings, etc. for the 12 weeks preceding Christmas.  These ideas are FREE of charge as my gift to you to help you be creative and crafting during the busy holiday season.  Perhaps you will see an idea that you can use to save you time and money as we prepare for the holiday season.  This year is looking like it will be extremely challenging for some of us who are losing jobs and struggling in this down economy.  What better gift to give though, really, than something you took your time and energy to hand-make for a friend or relative?

The first weekly email of The 12 Weeks of Christmas will go out Sept. 29, and will include step-by-step directions for this Christmas card featuring the single stamp Dasher.  Stampin' Up! has come out with an entire line of single stamps, in order to make stamping more affordable for you, for those times when you don't want to purchase an entire stamp set.  Contact me for more information @ jan@creativestampingwithjan.com, and make sure YOU are on MY LIST NOW as we approach the Christmas season, so you can receive these weekly idea packed emails.  I hope you enjoy them.

Want To See What We Did On Labor Day?

Lots of activities were going on at my house this past weekend.  First I want to show you that if you are determined enough, you can still play sports games in the yard when it is pouring, you just have to have the right headgear:

 

Second, while I was doing quite a bit of relaxing and catching up on projects around the house, there was actual labor going on at my house.  My kitty knows the true meaning of "labor day".  She set a house record for having the most kittens in a litter born at my house--7!!  Congrats Wonder!

 

Now, what was I doing all this time?  Getting ready for my fall craft fairs by spray painting aluminum buckets for my Halloween projects, between the raindrops.  I had to bring them inside to dry. (Is this table really supposed to be used for dinner?)

 Let me finish these and I'll show you what I came up with.  Interesting?

Finally, my Kids' Scrapbooking Class also finished up last night.  My young stampers have been so much fun.  Their perspectives on scrapbooking and stamping have made me wonder sometimes why I do things the way I do!!  Look how proud she is of her completed scrapbook.  Her grandmother brought her each week and they scrapped together.  She said this will be a surprise for her mother, as she hasn't shown her mother the scrapbook yet.  (I would be crying if that were me.)  

This class consisted of meeting one evening a week for five weeks.  We completed a 6" x 6" scrapbook, containing 30 pages.  They also decorated the cover with their initial and the scrapbook name "Things I Love".

If you, your child, or your grandchild would be interested in another session of the Kids Scrapbooking, please contact me.  I have started a list.  This could be a great winter activity and would make a great Christmas gift for a child to give a parent, or the gift could be a gift of time, and the parent could give this class as a Christmas gift.  There are lots of ideas here!

Is It Too Early to Think About Christmas? No Way!!

Look at this great Christmas card made by my Stampin' Up! sister, Linda Reaney.  I love her idea of using the small star punch to make a wreath.  How easy is that.  You could make a stack of these cards in a snap.  The Sanded background stamp was used, the stars, some small circle red "berries", and that 's it!

Check in tomorrow for another Christmas card idea!