38th Annual Lighting of the Washington Monument

image by spike55151

Mark it on your calendar! Thursday, December 3, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Grab a cup of hot chocolate or a coffee while you are there and witness Baltimore's Monumental Occasion with a new twist! This year the city is going green with energy-saving LED lights replacing old-fashioned bulbs on the Monument.

I love attending the monument lighting. The local school choirs and bands are pretty entertaining and they lead up to a very exciting grand finale. This city never disappoints with fireworks displays, and this event really something to see. When watching this display, it almost seems for a split second like the Washington Monument is turning into a rocket getting ready to launch!

It's a really a fun thing to experience -definitely not to be missed!

Written by: Tigerlillyshop

Random Baltimore Photo

For more information, please click on the image.

Holiday Shows!

So many shows, so little time! Here's a list of shows across the country happening in the next few weeks. To see shows BEST members are doing, please check out our interactive calendar here. Happy Shopping! And thanks to Hello Craft for compiling this comprehensive list!

Kraftwork

Atlanta, GA

Thursday, Dec. 3rd

SF Etsy’s Handmade Ho Down

San Francisco, CA

Thursday, Dec. 3rd

INDIEana Handicraft Exchange
Indianapolis, IN
Friday, Dec. 4th

Craftland Holiday Show 2009

Providence, RI

December 4 – 31

Seven days a week, 10am – 6pm
Open until 8pm: Thursdays and Saturdays

Holiday Handmade

Denver, CO

Friday, Dec. 4th

Saturday, Dec. 5th

No Coast Craft-O-Rama
Minneapolis, MN
Friday, Dec. 4th
Saturday, Dec. 5th

One of a Kind Show & Sale: Chicago

Chicago, IL

Friday, Dec. 4th

Saturday, Dec. 5th

Sunday, Dec. 6th

BikeCraft

Portland, OR

Saturday, Dec. 5th

Handmade Mart
Silver Spring, MD
Saturday, Dec. 5th

Holiday Heap
Baltimore, MD
Saturday, Dec. 5th

Renegade Holiday Craft Fair: Chicago
Chicago, IL
Saturday, Dec. 5th
Sunday, Dec. 6th

Urban Craft Uprising

Seattle, WA

Saturday, Dec. 5th

Sunday, Dec. 6th

Boston Bazaar Bizarre

Boston, MA

Sunday, Dec.6th

BUST Holiday Craftacular: New York

New York, NY

Sunday, Dec. 6th

One of a Kind Show & Sale: NYC

New York, NY

Friday, Dec. 11th

Saturday, Dec. 12th

Sunday, Dec. 13th

BUST Holiday Craftacular: London

Bethnal Green, London

Saturday, Dec. 12th

BUST Holiday Craftacular: LA

Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, Dec. 12th

Handmade Arcade
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, Dec. 12th

Cleveland Bazaar Bizarre West

Cleveland, OH

Saturday, Dec. 12th

Sunday, Dec. 13th

Bazaar Bizarre San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

Saturday, Dec. 12th

Sunday, Dec. 13th

Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colossal Holiday Sale

Portland, OR

Sunday, Dec. 13th

Holiday Booty Market
Washington, DC
Saturday, Dec.19th

Renegade Holiday Craft Fair: SF
San Francisco, CA
Saturday, Dec. 19th
Sunday, Dec. 20th

Friday Finds - Black Friday (and a Sale!)

Forget the crowds at the malls, wouldn't it be nice to do your shopping from your sofa? These shops are offering free shipping now through Monday November 30th.

tarabu

GreenstarStudio

The Garbologist's Wife

LolaMiren

designsbylesliebrown

dandelionblu

jenmenkhaus

shellydaly

DoxalloDesigns

GlowGirl16

SunflowerExpress

Worn Dress

Happy Shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We all have so much to be thankful for...

Find the BEST at Bazaart!

Looking for a great Mall-ternative for Black Friday, this year? You can find BEST's own Greenstarstudio, JennyJen42 & Tigerlillyshop at Bazaart at the American Visionary Art Museum!

Friday Evening • November 27 • 5:30–8:00PM: BAZAART Preview Party & Sale Beat the crowds! An opportunity to get the first shot at the original creations by 50 regional artists and craftspeople prior to the Saturday Bazaart extravaganza (see 11/28 listing). Spend a relaxing evening strolling among Bazaart artisans and their wares while nibbling light fare and enjoying a special beverage. Location: American Visionary Art Museum, Jim Rouse Visionary Center, 3rd Floor. Admission to Preview Party & Sale: $20 at the door.

Saturday • November 28 • 10AM-5PM • FREE ENTRY: BAZAART: Artful Holiday Shopping
American Visionary Art Museum's Annual Holiday Marketplace of original creations by 50 regional artists and craftspeople. Painting, sculpture, papercrafts, metalwork, jewelry, textiles, mixed media, and other work that simply defies categorization! FREE ENTRY. Location: American Visionary Art Museum, Jim Rouse Visionary Center 3rd Floor. Note: Bazaart shoppers are welcome to tour the entire Jim Rouse Visionary Center for Free! Ongoing exhibitions include the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre automata, Baltimore Screen Painters, Emily Duffy's Bra Ball and more.

Thanksgiving Sales!

It's that time of year again! Whether you are staying home this Black Friday because you like to sleep in, dislike crowds, or it's just too darn cold, these BEST artists have a thank you gift for all you stay-at-home-shoppers: Free Shipping!

All these shops are offering free shipping from Wednesday, November 25th through Monday November 30th.

tarabu
GreenstarStudio
The Garbologist's Wife
LolaMiren
designsbylesliebrown
dandelionblu
jenmenkhaus
shellydaly
DoxalloDesigns
GlowGirl16
SunflowerExpress

and Worn Dress will be offering free shipping Friday, November 27th through Monday November 30th.

So whether you are nervously surfing on The Night Before Thanksgiving or avoiding the carnage that is college football, here's your chance to score free shipping on handmade treasures.

Make sure to see each shop's announcement for specific details. Have fun shopping!

Written by: tarabu

Let's Go Out - Thanksgiving

Oh Thanksgiving.....a time to express our gratitude and give thanks. A time to appreciate our families, friends, pets and anyone or anything that brings sunshine to our lives. Thanksgiving is also a time to eat....a LOT. So, bring on the stretchy pants, chunky knits, comfy boots and snuggly hats. It's gonna be a cold one!

Wool interlock hoody jacket with pocket and frogs, by Sandmaiden

Classic low-cut V neck foldover sleeve tee in gray,

and, rouched scrunched stretch leggings, both by lamixx

Vintage tall brown leather riding boots, by ladiesofleisure

Knittles super awesome earflap hat, by Knittles

Written By: Lola Miren

Indie-Pendence: Jack and Immy Children's Consignment

There is a brand new eco-friendly place to shop in Southeast Baltimore. For gently used name brand kids clothes and high quality gear, Jack and Immy Children's Consignment is the new store to visit in Fells Point.

Portia Romond and Pintet Halasan saw an opportunity and made it happen. Both are local moms with young children and know first hand the challenges of juggling all of the "stuff" that goes along with having children. For those of us residing in the city, efficient row house living requires families to purge clothes and baby gear as kids grow every season. The consignment shop is a great option for recouping a bit of money as your kids outgrow their gently used items in these hard times.It is an environmentally conscious shopping and selling experience right here in our community. These ladies are committed to offering affordable clothing as well as providing a creative resource for families to consign. They named the shop by using each of their youngest child's names, Jack and Imogene. And of course, the store is kid friendly with an area to color and play while parents shop -always a bonus.
Jack and Immy's is located at 2108 Fleet St. in Fells Point.
Open Tues. -Sat., 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and can be reached at 410-732-0195.
See their website for terms.


Post written by: Tigerlillyshop

Tutorial- All in knots, Gerber daisy headband how-to

Often when I visit craft stores they have bins and bins of inexpensive spools of thin satin ribbon. Between the rainbow of colors and the bargain pricing, I can not resist adding a spool or two to my cart. So after years of craft store shopping, I have boxes of dainty colorful ribbon and no clue what to use it for, until now.


What you will need:
1.75 yards of 1/8th inch wide satin ribbon in two colors
1-felt sheet
Scissors
Hot glue gun
Large button at least 1” in diameter
Headband


1. Cut 14 pieces of each color ribbon into 4.5” strips.


2. Tie a knot in each piece of ribbon, directly in the center of the ribbon.


3. Cut two pieces of felt in a circle with a 1.5” diameter.


4. Using one of the felt circles as a backing, take the ribbon and fold it in half gluing the cut edges to the base felt as seen in fig. 4.


5. Keep gluing all the ribbon petals around the edge of the circular base. Try placing the ribbon so you do not see the felt backing. (Note: I layered my color ribbon by placing all the darker ribbon down first then gluing the lighter ribbon to the top)


6. After all the petals are in place glue the button to make the center of the daisy.


7. Hot glue the back of the flower approximately 3” from a bottom prong of the headband, see fig. .


8. Take the second piece of felt and hot glue one side. Place the glued circle on the back of the flower, sandwiching the headband between the two pieces of felt. Press firmly on the back until glue cools.



Post written by Design by Night

Cut the Craft This Weekend

Op Art and Glass Bead by SugarPaperie

Spring Tree by Jennyjen42

The Chair Dipper Just-one by Pinkkiss

To of our BEST members, Sugar Paperie and Jennyjen42 will be selling their wares in the Manayunk area of Philadelphia this weekend at Cut The Craft. A first time show by the Sardine Clothing Company. The BEST crew has been busting out of the Baltimore borders and traveling beyond the state! Here is yet another show where we represent the B-more gals! The weather is suppose to be beautiful and perfect for a drive to beautiful Philadelphia! Pink Kiss, of our cousin group Charm City Craft Mafia will also be there to represent! Check out other vender's here on their facebook page and get more info here.

Hollyfest

Hollyfest will celebrate its 25th anniversary this Saturday and Shelly Daly will be there for her fifth year! The Friends School show is a big, bustling family oriented show that takes place in two gymnasiums and the new cafeteria as well as outside for the sale of, you guessed it, Holly...as well as other greenery and potted plants! It offers lots of handmade crafts, music and fun events for kids. Besides the crafts which include some amazing ceramics, jewelry (of course there’s lots of that), fiber art, photography and fine art, there is Gourmet to Go packed with yummy donated home baked goods which are sold as a fundraiser for the Parents Association. The kids can enjoy the Elf Booth where they can make inexpensive “secret” do it yourself gifts for their parents while they’re off doing some shopping. One of my favorite things every year is the holiday wreaths and plants which sell at great prices. There’s even lunch available in the cafeteria, usually pizza or hot dogs with drinks and chips. Maybe this year with a brand new cafeteria that just opened, the lunch menu will get a little healthier!

The hours are 11-4. The event is in the gymnasium and cafeteria at the back of the campus. There are traffic guides all around the campus and plenty of parking. There is a $5 entry fee as the event is a fundraiser. This is a great place for kids to feel comfortable roaming and looking for inexpensive gifts. I always make sure I have a stock of $5-10 items after seeing kid’s disappointed faces the first year when I told them the price of an item they had their eye on for a gift!

Sorry no website for the event, but you can visit www.friendsbalt.org for directions.

Post written by Shelly daly

Let's Go Out(side)!

Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow!

No need to hibernate in the winter, stay warm with these cozy yet fashionable Etsy finds. These hot handmade fashions will keep you toasty while you are toasting the holidays and will add some sizzle to your winter wardrobe.


Elegant black coat by All Made in Wonderland


Felted Victorian Spats by Rudman’s gallery


Chunky Neckwarmer / Cowl - Tweedy WHEAT by knittles

Striped fingerless gloves- Moss green / black by Corpseknit

Happy Birthday Anne!!!

 Anne of Atelier Beads.

For the Kidlets! Cylburn Nature Story Hour

image by mobycat

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!! Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Grab your little ones and join Lori and Jami for Cylburn Nature Story Hour on Friday, November 20th from 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Explore nature and celebrate Thanksgiving through storytelling and a craft. Cylburn Nature Story Hour will be held at Rawlings Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The Conservatory is located at the corner of McCullough Street and Gwynns Falls Parkway.

Bring a friend!! Admission is free.

Holiday Heist - November 21st!

Don' wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday to get started on your handmade holiday shopping. Join the DC Craft Mafia at Holiday Heist this Saturday, November 21st from 12-6 pm at the The Soundry in Vienna, VA. The event features 35+ crafters, including the following BEST members :

Block Party Press
Elisa Shere Jewelry
Jamie Zollars
Jill Popowich Designs
Yummy & Company

The event will also feature craft workshops, door prizes and a raffle benefiting The Washington DC Humane Society. We look forward to seeing you there!!

My Favorite Handmade Treasure: Plush Goodness

I've struggled with writing one of these for so long now, because every time I think I've decided on my "favorite", I remember something else that I just couldn't part with. Handmade things have been a part of my life since before I was born. My mother made me a quilt... for nine months. She passed the time, while she was pregnant, sewing and stitching. I've got oodles of ceramic pieces I've collected from generations of women before me. Our house is filled with paintings my husband's grandmother did. As an art student, we both collected work from our friends and hosted art swaps at the end of each semester. For years we've requested only handmade gifts for the holidays and birthdays. And then there's the plush... oh my, is there the plush. I justify my plush purchases as "research" and "business", ordinarily, but earlier this year I ordered an incredibly unique bit of Plush, that I absolutely wouldn't call anything but "mine, all mine".
That's my little family... as Plush.

Have you ever?!

These "PlushCatures" are made by Leeanna, the genius behind Plush Goodness, a fellow Etsy Plush Team member. I first "met" Leeanna in cyberspace, when she commissioned me to make a Knitimal version of her sweet dog, Waffle, and it was somewhere around there that she told me she'd once made a plush version of her husband and herself for her niece; when I saw the pictures of them, I was totally sold. I knew I needed a plush version of my husband, our dog, and myself. It was a stroke of luck that I realized we could time it so they'd be ready for our first anniversary.

I sent along photos, and invited her to check out our wedding blog; Leeanna asked some very good questions, designed to get the most out of her subjects. I provided her with nuggets of info and color preferences and little things that would make the pieces REALLY ring true.

Like for example, the extra careful attention paid to Mason's double coat. You can't really see it here, but the legs have two layers of fleece "fur" that actually move and wisp like Mason's hair. She captured his two tone ears and really got his majestic tail. And there's gorgeous stitching on the body to accent his blond highlights and dark brown lowlights.
Hubby's wearing his favorite colors & cool stripy socks (he's always got cool socks on). She totally captured his giant, wonderful smile. The jeans look SO real. The gold stitching on the pockets and fly front are impeccable. She even used reclaimed denim & other materials because she knew we'd want it that way.

me? well, i'm easy. All I need is a t-shirt with the neck cut out (check), a comfy pair of jeans (check) and a pair of crocs (double check.. how cute are they!?). She got my two tone hair & my favorite colors... and notice my smile is more of a smirk than a big full on smile?

yep. that's good detail.

I love all my handmade possessions, but I feel safe saying I finally have a FAVORITE handmade treasure. When I'm away from home or at a show, I can still take my boys along with me... in my suitcase! If you're interested in being Plushed, visit her shop and drop her a line. We've already decided she's going to make a new set of Us's for our anniversary every, oh, 10 years or so.