All posts tagged: festival

lavender festival.

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If you’re a fan of lavender, I highly recommend the Lavender Festival in Cherry Valley. It’s not a U-Pick type of experience (which is something else on my list of funs to do!), but it’s an immersive lavender experience.There’s shopping, music, hay rides, crafts, food…plus, it doesn’t get ridiculously crowded so you can enjoy in a relaxed setting. This year I went with my sister, niece, and nephews.Food First things first, there was so many lavender-inspired foods and beverages. It was warm out so we tried the lavender lemonade, iced tea, and ice cream. I wished we were hungrier because then we could have also tried the lavender cheesecake and beef brisket (yes, beef brisket!). Also, they have an afternoon tea and a sit-down farm to table dinner that I would have loved to be a part of. Next time!Shopping The farm has an extensive line of lavender projects for sale. They also invited a few local makers to vend. You name it and they probably infused lavender into it – tea, lotions, honey, face …

aurelia style.

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My friend Aurelia of Aurelia Style hosted her first crafty workshop last week and I had to get in on all the fun! Headdresses for all! Aurelia had sample headdresses out for inspiration. Each one had a story. It got me thinking that I should have been thinking about a theme for my piece. Ha! Instead, I perused the bounty of supplies for inspiration. There were beads, flowers, buttons, tulle, felt, feathers, chain, …so many colorful supplies! I decided on neutrals and flowers…lots of them! Aurelia shared her pro tips for composing a headdress, like how to create height and volume, and helped us whenever our projects didn’t ‘look right.’ Here’s my finished piece! What I love about workshops is the chance to explore a new craft and use materials I would have never thought to buy or put together. Lace, beads, flowers, and feathers? Yes! Also, there’s a foam visor under there holding the structure together! Genius! Here’s the headdress crew in all our headdress glory. Thanks, Aurelia, for a relaxing and crafty workshop! …

cabrillo boulevard.

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Lucky me, there’s an Arts and Crafts show every Sunday in Santa Barbara! It’s half art and half craft and all fun. Plus, it was a gorgeous day for a walk down Cabrillo Boulevard. The market is easily walkable, and depending how intrigued you are in the goods for sale, you can probably stroll the whole street in an hour or so. There were paintings, photographic works, … …glass art, wood pieces, … …jewelry and other wearables… Some of my favorite finds included these mini kaleidoscope necklaces. The kaleidoscope charms are functional; I’d never seen kaleidoscopes so tiny until I saw these. My niece scored a turtle necklace (currently her favorite creature). And my nephew got a yo-yo lesson from this fascinating yo-yo guy. Until next time Santa Barbara! Santa Barbara much? Share you favorite SB spots below! 

aha!

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I was recently in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a wedding. Leave it to me to figure out where the closest handmade event was being held on a wedding weekend getaway. Boy, did I score big time in Santa Fe! Behold the AHA (After Hours Alliance) Festival of Progressive Arts held at the iconic Railyard just southwest of downtown Santa Fe. There were so many great artisans and can I just say everyone is super friendly in Santa Fe (It’s true!). There were jewelers, fine artists, ceramicists, and woodworkers. So much talent! I’ll feature some of my favorites here. Ceramicist Esther Ann Smith makes wearable and usable art inspired by the sea. I love how she was able to achieve a golden hue on many of her pieces; it looks so great with the calming shades of turquoise. She also hand stamps some of her wares with fun objects like thimbles! Local artist Keith Secola uses his skateboard style and Native American heritage in his works. Just look at this beauty! I love the dark, clean lines and his color palettes. …

AFOL.

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We went to Brick Fest for my nephew’s 12th birthday. He taught me some new lingo – “AFOL.”  It means “adult fan of Lego.” There really is no age limit to being a Lego fan though. I had been hoarding a box of Lego bricks since college, and, yes, I did buy them while in college. Talk about AFOLs. I just couldn’t get rid of them. And then, a few days before Brick Fest it dawned on me: I should make Lego shoes! Because when going to Brick Fest, you must walk around in Lego-dazzled shoes. Am I right? My Dad dug up my box of Lego bricks from the garage, I grabbed a pair of wedges from Payless, and then I got to hot glueing! An hour later: Lego shoes! Hoarder schmoarder. I have a pair of Lego wedges now! These were the perfect accessory for the occasion. My feet have never been photographed as much as at Brick Fest. Ha! Happy birthday Nephew! AFOLs!!