Midland Summer Art Fair- Books 116-120

Over the weekend I attended the Midland Summer Art Fair for the first time as a vendor.  This show was especially cool for me because I used to go to the art fair with my Mom and Grandma almost every year as a kid.  This time I got to be on the other side of the booth.  The weather was not the greatest with threatening clouds on Saturday, and 58 degree rain on Sunday morning.  It cleared up both days in the afternoon and there were still tons of shoppers coming out to enjoy the day.

I drove up to Michigan Friday morning, so naturally I spent Thursday evening frantically finishing more books and getting them under weights to dry.  I finished 3 case bound books Thursday night and didn't make it to bed until well after midnight.  I'm apologizing in advance for the bad pictures in this post.  All of these books sold, and most I snapped pictures of with my phone during the show.

Two of the case bounds feature papers with music notes.  One is white with gold writing and tan book cloth.  The other has purple book cloth and a multicolored background.  I think the purple one is my favorite of the two.

The third case bound was a special book for my Mom.  My parents are taking a trip to Alaska over the summer and Mom wanted something to write in during the trip.  I found a woodsy paper with moose and bears for the cover, and birch bark paper for the end sheets.  The ribbon closure has tiny hiking boot footprints.

The coptic journals were quite popular during day one of the show, so I finished up two more coptics Sunday morning while sitting at my booth.  I had made the covers last week, and folded and punched holes in the signatures Thursday night before leaving town.  All I had to do was sew them together.
The first coptic journal had green covers with a gold and yellow flower pattern.  That color green is one of my favorite colors.  The second coptic used paper with a canning jar pattern.  I thought the canning jars were cute, and kinda hipster at the same time.  (I just realized I have a vegetable paper too.  Maybe next time I can combine the two for maximum irony.)

Overall is was a great show for me, and I will definitely keep it in mind for next year.  Next up for Minimeg is Art on the Circle at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, OH in two and a half weeks.

Michigan Cards and Books 61-81

In three weeks I'm doing a craft show in my hometown of Midland, Michigan.  Usually I do my shows around Cleveland, Ohio where I'm currently living.  Because this is a special show, I decided to make some special Michigan themed books and cards.  (And also because I don't think the Ohio/Cleveland cards will be very popular outside of the Ohio...)

I started choosing papers and cutting out the little Michigans on Saturday after skating and running some errands.  I had all 21 books cut, folded, and sewn by the end of the day.  On Sunday I attached all the cutouts and added a little heart over Midland.  Two years ago I got a Xyron 5 inch sticker maker for 50 cents at a yard sale.  I had only used it once or twice, but it turned out to be the perfect tool for this project!

After finishing the books, I started working on some blank greeting cards in the same style.  This turned out to be a great way to use up some scraps of decorative paper leftover from the Women of Achievement Awards I made in February and March.  I was able to attach a 4x5 inch scrap to a card blank as the background, and then add the state of Michigan on top.

My favorite card so far is the one with a Robin in the background.  It worked out great because Robins are the state bird of Michigan!  All these books and cards will be available at the Midland Summer Art Fair June 1st and 2nd outside the Center for the Arts in Midland.  I am offering "pre-orders" through comments here or on the Minimeg facebook page.  Make your selections now, pay with Paypal, and pick them up at the show.