Boutique Scrapbook

Here is a recap of our day, along with contact info for the women who participated in case you need more things:

Saturday, November 20th was bright and crisp at 199 Lakeview Lane, and many friends, family, and neighbors joined us throughout the day at Paula's beautiful home.

Delightful cards were for sale from Kirstin Larson, who flew all the way from Seattle to join in the fun. 

She also designed our invitaton and bag tags.  So talented!  You can order more things from her by going here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/kirstoons

Jean Ernst was selling her wonderful handbags. 

I bought one to use for my knitting, and the quality of the construction is superb.  Not to mention just right pockets, both inside and out.  She also had bags for little girls, and cozy hat and scarf sets that went home with several lucky customers.

Jean's bags are always available for sale at Wild Rumpus in Linden Hills, or you can contact her directly at figbash28@gmail.com.

A fun  find put smiles on many faces-fur topped socks! 

Sandy Reding was on hand to keep us fashionable in the snow.  If you didn't buy enough, you can contact her at sereding@comcast.net.

The ultra creative photos of Dawn Karas could be made into any combination of letters-and she framed them for you while you shopped! 

What a great wedding gift, or for any occasion.  If you have the perfect person in mind, contact her at dmkaras@comcast.net.

Sally Borgen had her own creative corner-graced with whimsical paintings, aprons, pillows, and cards. 

You can find her at Junk Bonanza each fall,

and if you want to find out where else she will be, or to order more of her creations, you can contact her at sallyhart1@msn.com.

Uniquely creative ornaments could be found throughout the room, birds made from wool, or wood and natural moss, or German glass glitter! 

Tiny mouse ballerinas twirled across a tree, and glittered walnuts were ready to hold secret notes, treasures, or beautiful earrings. 

Paula, our gracious hostess, had all kinds of imaginative things for sale.  If you need more of her things, you can contact her at pmspahr@gmail.com.

I little bird (perhaps a magpie?) told me she also has some of her things at Wild Rumpus.

Alyssa Thomas of Penguin and Fish joined us as well. 

She had everything from hand drawn tshirts for kids, stuffed kitties, embroidery patterns and kits, and fun patterns.

You can find her at http://www.penguinandfish.com/ or on etsy at http://www.penguinandfish.etsy.com/.

Krista O'Malley brightened up the room with her holiday paper cones filled with homemade caramels

 - two gifts in one!  She also had adorable photo or card holders made from wooden spools, and beautiful necklaces. 

You can contact her for more goodies at krista_omalley@yahoo.com.

Gorgeous bracelets crafted from crocheted glass beads and natural stones were made by Margaret Oltmans. 

Absolutely stunning, and beautiful craftsmanship.   If you wish you had picked one up, you can contact her at meoltmans@gmail.com .

Beth Bogle of eeceebb brought her delightful kids clothes,

along with cashmere scarves and her signature Love Lids. 

If you missed her on Twin Cities Live last week, you can catch the piece by going here:  http://twincitieslive.com/article/stories/S1860270.shtml?cat=10744

Or go here to schedule a party or buy more of her unique things!  http://www.eeceebb.com/

I brought my button bracelets,

along with game necklaces, vintage neck chains, and wool and button pins. 

 You can buy more at http://www.maybabykp.etsy.com/.

It was a day full of new friendships and lots of fun.  Thanks to everyone who helped make it a wonderful success!

Beth's on TV Today!

Beth Bogle of Eeceebb will be hosting a fashion show today on Twin Cities Live, airing locally on KSTP at 3 pm. 

If you had a chance to stop at the boutique and see her amazing creations, you know how much fun this is going to be. 

We may even see Paula making an appearance!

THANK YOU!

To everyone who made it to our show over the weekend, we have deemed it a tremendous success in so many ways. We have made new friends and are all inspired with fresh creativity.  Major thanks to our hostess and fellow artist and the one who made the idea happen, Paula Spahr.  She is an absolute delight, and we all hope we can work with her again in the future!

Stay tuned for pictures from the event, and profiles of each artist along with their contact information in case you want to purchase from them in the future.  And we are all very grateful that the show wasn't today, as the ice covered roads would have given us a very different result...

Thank you again for supporting handmade!

ALMOST THERE!

We just finished putting together the big show.

You will be AMAZED when you walk in the door.

So much creativity in one room, your head may explode.

Maybe that's just me...

Get there as soon as you can before it's all gone!

Doors open at 6 pm, Friday, Nov. 19th or
9 am on Saturday, Nov. 20th.

You won't want to miss this one!

meet our lovely hostess !

The woman behind the idea of this boutique, and the one who brought us all together:  Paula Spahr

She has opened her home to all of us, inspired us, and fed us.  She selected all of us to share our things with you in less than two weeks time.  Here is just a very small sampling of what she will be offering:

Paula is a mixed media artist with an emphasis on re-purposing items.

This is called "Lakeview Lane", and is created from a  vintage bowling pin and Manzanita branches.

How cute are THESE?  They are snail photo or business card holders.  Bodies are reclaimed decorative details from columns and battery adaptors, and felted sweaters.

Paula works from her studio in her home in Wayzata, and you just never know what you will find in the nooks and crannies.  She has even found an ingenious re-use for used dryer sheets!

Be sure to stop by her home at 199 Lakeview Lane on Nov. 19th or 20th to see what else she has created!

more fun to come!

We are less than two weeks away from the big show!

It's time to introduce you to another artist who will be selling her wonderful things:

Alyssa Thomas of Penguin and Fish

Alyssa Thomas is an accomplished illustrator, designer and life long artist.

As a child, Alyssa would make everything from beaded bracelets to large papier mache masks…all to be bartered for at her "trading post" outside her bedroom door.

Today she sells her wares through Penguin & Fish. Penguin & Fish offers Alyssa's line of lovely and quirky hand embroidery patterns, embroidery kits and one-of-a-kind plush animals.

She recently published her first children's book, No Monster Here, and is designing her first fabric collection which will be released next year.

Check out more about Alyssa and Penguin & Fish at:
web: www.penguinandfish.com
blog: penguinandfish.blogspot.com
etsy: penguinandfish.etsy.com
facebook: facebook.com/penguinandfish
twitter: twitter.com/penguinandfish

Just think of all of the holiday shopping you will be able to get done, long before you eat that Thanksgiving turkey!

Please share this blog with family and friends who love to buy handmade.  We will see you at the show!

Meet More of the Artists:

In addition to the creative women in the previous post, you will find work from Sally Borgen:

Sally Borgen has had her hands in fabric, glue, paint, glitter, yarn, beads and a mixture of these for 40 years.

Founder of Stitchery Retreats in the 70's and 4French Hens in 2005, she is the perennial life-long learner. 

From folk art to soldering, she's traveled to take classes with some very creative and well-known artists and continues to take classes when she's home. 

A retired teacher and media specialist, she says " I'm constantly reinventing myself because there's always something new to learn. 

I'm mostly self-taught, so it's thrilling when I take a class with someone whose work I admire.

Experimenting and trying new mediums not only keeps me busy, but it truly keeps me sane!" 

Also featured at the boutique-try to figure out how Margaret Oltmans crochets with tiny beads:

"Beads into Bracelets"

Jewelry created with beads and stones - mostly "bead crochet" and mostly bracelets.

Created by Margaret Oltmans, Works at 609.

More from Margaret:

There will be so much to see at the "2 Short of a Dozen" Holiday Boutique, you will be able to get all kinds of holiday shopping taken care of in one spot! And rather than heading to the mall, you can shop in a warm and friendly setting and buy unique products while supporting local artists.

We have even more creative people to share with you-stay tuned!