Art Star Craft Bazaar 2014

Divine weather at Penn's Landing.

Awesome articulated stained glass puppets at Le Puppet Regime.

A hand cut and hand printed paper insect from the dapper dudes at New Academy Press.

Crafty friend and boothmate Sarah-Maria of Meerwiibli.  I came home with that fantastic fox dress!
(sorry for the blurry photo, I don't know what happened here)

Fun patterns and cute animals at The Wind and The Sail.

A Tadpole Creations headband.  Turn yourself into one of Renee's adorable stuffed animals!
(Modeled by the lovely Megan of Art Star.

Stitched wood wall decor from Little Green Things.

The annual Philadelphia Art Star Craft Bazaar took place at Penn's Landing, May 10-11th over Mother's Day weekend (even my Momma came to the show!).  It was a great fair, seeing some familiar faces and meeting new people!  Sarah-Maria from Meerwiibli and I requested to have our booths next to each other.  It was great fun to catch up with her and her hubby.  We both wore cat dresses of her design on Saturday... and it was pretty darn cute.  

The weather took a turn for the worse late afternoon on Saturday.  A crazy rain storm rolled in, blowing in intense winds and dampening the day.  Thankfully I had invested in a brand new EZ Up pop-up tent, before the show, with roll down flaps.  Though there were times when I thought our tent might take flight, the Horrible Adorables stayed put and dry.  Sunday's weather was beautiful and sunny, almost making the ickiness from the previous day a distant memory (almost!).

I've snapped some photos of some of my favorite vendors from the show above with links to their websites.  There was a super diverse mix this year, and it was nice to see some totally original and unique wares that I've never seen before! 

With a belly full of vegetarian comfort food, and a lightened car load from the many creatures adopted, I bid Philly a 'good bye' and an 'until next year!'

Souvenirs

Cleveland, OH - 2008??                                                 Chicago, IL - 2013

New York, NY - 2013

Los Angeles, CA - 2012                                                   Las Vegas, NV - 2009

Beacon, NY - 2014 (got this guy signed by Ron English at an opening)

Philadelphia, PA - 2013

Baltimore, MD - 2013                                                Milwaukee, WI - 2013

I love designer toys, but my personal collection is pretty modest.  It consists of mostly small blind boxed figures.  With blind boxed toys, you take a chance of what you are getting... and usually don't end up with the one that you really wanted.  I love choosing just the right box out of the row of identical packages, gently squeezing the sides trying to predict what's inside, and pulling open the crinkly silver wrapper.  I love the surprise!  Even though most of them don't end up being what would be my first choice (or second), each one is special to me because I buy them as souvenirs!  A couple years ago I started buying one in each new city that I visited when I would come across a toy store.  When I look at my collection, I see all the places I've been!  I started purchasing them very sporadically at first (one here, one there), and regret not starting the souvenir hunt sooner... because I would have so many more items in my collection!  Oh well, I guess I had to start somewhere!  I have a bunch of trips planned this year.. some cities I've already been to, but a couple new places too.  I'm excited to add a few more silly toys to my group!