It's a Win-Win with Elonzo Music

If you haven't heard of Rock Hill band Elonzo, then it's time you put on your headphones and do some downloading. Or... you could just do a little shopping with Verabelle for your chance to win their latest CD.


I love all things local, and music is no exception. Last month, Maggie Davis Bourdeau of Elonzo tapped away on the keys in a Verabelle Scrappy Tank and vintage accessories at Charlotte's Snug Harbor. This coming month, I honor them (and you!) with a slew of giveaways.

Maggie (with band) in a Verabelle Scrappy Tank

Here's how you can hear Elonzo's folky rock tunes:
- Make a purchase from Verabelle and automatically receive a coupon code for one free song download.
- When you buy something from Verabelle, you'll also be entered in a drawing for their latest CD, A Letter to a Friend.
- Attend one of the band's upcoming shows. They have a stop in Charlotte June 17 but will be touring in South Carolina over the next several months. And the other perk: when you purchase a CD from Elonzo, you get a Verabelle scratch-off lottery ticket to win discounts or freebies!


The tour of giveaways starts this Saturday, 4/30, in Raleigh at the Designers Downtown Market. I'll be giving away CDs to two lucky shoppers and another two next Friday, 5/6, at Greensboro's First Friday Indie Market.

We also dressed singer/songwriter Anna Bullard (left)in Verabelle last minute, and it was such a hit that she decided to purchase her outfit. Sophie's Suspender Shorts really looked great on her!

The New DIY

This Spring, I'm declaring SIY the new DIY! With this project, you don't need a hammer, a shovel, paint, or a power tool. Just grab a needle and thread and Sew It Yourself!

The new SIY kits from Verabelle come with a drawstring ruffle and a set of 8 (5/8") covered buttons, both made from vintage scraps from my fabric bin.  Instructions and illustrations provide ideas for adding the embellishments to your clothing - an easy weekend project for personalizing something from your wardrobe or an ordinary find from Goodwill.

Paint that Mug

Mother's Day is right around the corner, and what woman doesn't love a good dish? Of course, you can make it even more special with something handmade...

Buy a piece of plain porcelain at Goodwill and bring it with you to the atrium at Amelie's French Bakery Thursday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. for Crown Town Handmade's Make Out session, Paint that Mug. As part of the monthly free craft night, supplies will be provided with instruction from CTHm member Emily Brown of By Emily. You’ll paint your piece and take it home to bake in the oven to set the paint. Then your finished dish will be microwave and dishwasher safe and ready for mother.

Here's an idea of what you can create at the Make Out session. (Photo courtesy LoucheLab)

And Crown Town always provides Make Out attendees with a coupon to use in the instructor’s online shop. So you know what that means… Mother’s Day gift set: done.

Cape Lookout National Seashore

Last week was National Park Week and I did several blog posts in tribute, including a giveaway (winner announced below). But who knew that I'd spend the last day of National Park Week at Cape Lookout National Seashore, as part of our family beach trip? Here's a photo recap of our day-long excursion.

how many people does it take to reach around a lighthouse?

home of the lighthouse keeper. paul's mom chats on the porch.

 paul & me. a shell collection.

found on the beach: jellyfish. horseshoe crab.

wild mustangs spotted on the boat ride over.

 breezy ocean-side. bay-side with shallow warm water.

To end this celebration of our country's national parks, it's now time to announce the winner of the National Park Week Giveaway for a Verabelle buffalo applique. Thanks to all who entered the contest by telling me about your favorite park experience or sharing your national park wish list. There were a lot of wonderful stories and ideas of places to visit! But now the winner has been randomly drawn, and the prize goes to....

Brian M.

Congratulations!

Here's the story Brian shared as his entry: "Once when I was camping at Custer (State) Park in SD I thought we let a buffalo inside the fenced off camping area. It was dark... and it was a boulder."

National Park Giveaway: A Patch for Your Pack

Since most of the stops on my National Park Wish List are out west, today I thought I'd host a giveaway for the region's native - an applique of Blanche the Buffalo. During our recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, we saw many of Blanche's cousins. Hundreds. Here are two of them. Meet Pete and Freddy.

To enter the contest: Leave a comment below about your favorite national park experience (OR) leave your own national park wish list. (Don't forget to leave contact info in case you win.) You can also get an additional entry by sharing the contest on Facebook or Twitter. Just leave a comment telling me you've done so for the extra entry. On Tuesday, 4/26, I'll randomly pick a winner, and you'll get to pick the applique color of your choice.

If you win, you can sew Blanche onto your backpack for your next wilderness adventure.

National Park Wish List

As part of National Park Week, I thought I'd put my park wish list in writing. Out of 394 natural and historic sites, I've narrowed it down to my top 10...

1. Olympic (WA)

2. Mammoth Cave (KY)

3. Badlands (SD)

4. Grand Tetons (WY)

5. Acadia (ME)

6. Zion (UT)

7. Great Sand Dunes (CO)

8. Everglades (FL)

9. Hawaii Volcanoes (HI)

10. Yosemite (CA)


Visit the National Park Service website for a calendar of events and a list of free admission days beyond those offered during National Park Week. You can also search for parks by state or the activities offered. Browse and be amazed by the 394 options!


Stay tuned later today for a contest where you can share your own national park wish list and experiences!

National Park Week: A Photo Tribute

This week is National Parks Week, and as a lover of America's national parks, I thought I'd devote a few posts throughout the week to honoring one of our country's most brilliant ideas. During April 16-24, you can enter any of the parks for free, so check out a map and take advantage if you can.

Did you know there are 394 national parks in the U.S.?! I have only been to a handful, and I can't imagine that I'd ever get around to all the natural and historic sites preserved by the National Park Service. But in honor of National Parks Week, I thought I'd share some of my favorite trip photos with you from Yellowstone, Glacier, Congaree Swamp, Grand Canyon, Painted Desert/Petrified Forest, and Joshua Tree National Parks. These photos span intense backpacking treks; weekend getaways; a month-long, cross-country, father-daughter RV trip; a helicopter landing into the Grand Canyon; and roadside snapshots. Enjoy! Oh, and please comment - what's your favorite National Park experience?

Yellowstone National Park 

(the world's first national park, established in 1872)

World's Largest Fleamarket

Ok, so maybe it's not the world's largest flea market, but it feels like it! The first Saturday of every month, the International Collectibles and Antiques Show comes to Charlotte, but twice a year a slew of additional vendors from around the world set up to peddle their wares. I went to this huge biannual show a few weeks ago. Here are some of my favorites I found while browsing.

I'm a sucker for kitchen kitsch! 

Clockwise, from left: I already have quite a collection of vintage glasses and always find it hard to say no to new ones. Bakelite napkin holders featuring cute critters. A set of plastic vintage canisters would be high on my shopping list, if only I had a place to put them!

(L) I love vintage buttons!
(R) a lamp made from popsicle sticks and marbles



More...

Addicted to Appliques

If you like appliques as much as I do, then you'll love today's post that I wrote over on the Goodwill blog! See my ideas for updating your own thrift store finds with a simple DIY applique process. Click the Goodwill link for your reading pleasure. :)

One of my new Scrappy Tanks for the spring, 

available in my Etsy shop. 

I used a simple applique process to create this look.
Earlier this year, I also wrote a little review of Kayte Terry's new crafty manual "Applique Your Way." This is one you may want to add to your own bookshelf for more inspiration on updating your look with handmade embellishments.

Craft Calendar

It's the season for craft shows and festivals, and my calendar is packed! I've been a busy bee the past few weeks getting ready for not just one, but two, craft shows this week! Here's where you'll find me for the spring and summer.


4.13   Charlotte Country Day Art Sale (CCDAS)
4.14   CCDAS
4.15   CCDAS

4.16   CCDAS/Crafty Feast, Columbia SC

4.28   Crown Town Handmade Make Out

4.30   Designers' Downtown Market, Raleigh NC
5.06   First Friday Indie Market, Greensboro NC

5.14   Outdoor Yart Market, Charlotte NC

5.19   All Arts Market, Charlotte NC (tentative)

5.20   All Arts Market, Charlotte NC (tentative)
5.21   Femme Fest, Charlotte NC

5.26   Crown Town Handmade Make Out
6.03   NoDa Gallery Crawl (street-side), Charlotte NC
6.19   Summer Solstice, Greensboro NC
6.30   Crown Town Handmade Make Out
7.10   The Big Crafty, Asheville NC
7.28   Crown Town Handmade Make Out

Slice 3: A Picture Show

The last detail of last weekend's party: the picture show. Who doesn't love a movie in the backyard? We tracked down a projector from a friend of a friend, hung a sheet, and... showtime! Everyone brought blankets and beer, and we made popcorn and poured samples of our latest home-brews, a curry IPA and coconut porter. Our fellow home-brewing friend, Dustin, even passed around tastes of his latest, a cherry vanilla stout. And our pre-show entertainment: sweet, haunting tunes by Veda Woolf. On the big screen: Hitchcock's North by Northwest. It's amazing how much of a good time $4.95 at VisArt can get you.

Slice 2: Pedals (a bike scavenger hunt)

Part two of our "Pies, Pedals, & Picture Show" party this weekend: a scavenger hunt! After sampling nearly 20 flavors of pie, getting a little exercise around the neighborhood seemed like a good idea. We split into five teams, with each team having one person on a bike; the rest went at it on foot. Equipped with cameras and smart phones, we all documented our findings for reporting and voting later. We had 45 minutes to explore the neighborhood to see what we could come up with. Here's the list of findings my friend, Sarah, put together along with the associated points, if you'd like to do your own Spring scavenging.

1. an intersection that is odd, confusing, or changes names (2)

2. most springlike yard (1)

3. highest street number (1)

4. coolest car (1)

5. person walking a dog / the most dogs / strangest combo (1/2/3)

6. someone on a bike (not in the hunt) (3)

7. highest / lowest priced home for sale (1/1)

8. street with the most porch ceiling fans (2)

9. squirrel on a wire (5)

10. happenin' hangout (1)

11. Charlotte skyline (3)

12. most colorful (3)

13. typical Plaza-Midwood moment (2)

14. 2 Volvos together (2, 3 bonus points for 3 Volvos)

#5 a couple walking a dog / #13 typical Plaza-Midwood moment

#12 My interpretation of most colorful: This yard was filled with garden gnomes and tiny houses for them to live in.

Pies, Pedals & a Picture Show... Slice 1: Pies

Pies have long been a tradition of my family, with fond memories of my grandmother Vera Aileen's graham cracker pie. I fell in love with her sugary graham cracker crust and rich cream filling when I was knee-high and never turned back. Her special graham cracker pie was nothing more than a vanilla cream, but in my opinion, it was the crust that took center stage and made the pie worth naming, not the filling. In fact, every time she'd whip up one of her pies, she'd leave me a bowlful of crushed graham crackers and sugar to devour with a spoon.

About five years ago, I got the biggest craving for pie - both to savor it, myself, and to share it with friends (what pie is best for). I baked up five in one day, and we had what became our first annual Pie Day. Every year, it's gotten a little bigger, and finally this year I took my head out of the oven and let everyone else do some baking. As of this weekend's event, we've now gone from five homemade pies in our first year to... brace your sweet tooth, friends... eighteen!! 

This year, we co-hosted the daylong party with another friend-couple, Sarah and Nat, who held the pie-eating portion in their own kitchen. I brought a Shaker Lemon Pie (pictured with the striped kitchen towel, below), a new recipe with thin slices of whole lemons and a flaky double crust. But the winner of the day (yes, we vote - pie chart coming): Laura's Spinach-Proscuitto Pie. Mmmmm, savory pies are delicious!

Here are both my and Laura's recipes, and later this week, I'll share more of the party activities that spanned two houses and the whole neighborhood in between: Pedals and a Picture Show!