How to make tent weights with PVC pipes

If you do an outdoor craft show, you'll need a tent and weights for the tent so that it doesn't blow away in windy weather. People come up with many different ways of weighing them down with either dumb bells, gallon jugs, cinder blocks, etc. A pretty popular method is creating weights using PVC pipes. I decided to make my own in time for the Inman Park Festival.

Things you'll need:
Four 3" PVC pipes
Four end caps
Four eye hooks
cement
Bucket to mix the cement
Mix the cement with water according to the directions on the bag. I thought it would be a creamy mixture, but it's very rocky and grainy.
I just took a plastic cup to put the cement into the pipes. I actually ran a little low for the last pipe, so I just mixed in rocks from the yard to fill it up. Then just stick the eye hooks into the cement and leave it outside to dry. It takes about 24 hours to solidify. Then voila! just hook them to your tent with some bungee cords.

My Booth

I didn't really take any pictures of the festival, but here is a pic of my booth set up.
There is also a parade and it happened to go by right in front of my booth. So of course, there were a bunch of people in my booth to watch it. So here is the view from behind my tables.

Saturday was really hot, but all in all, it was a great weekend. Next up is the Kirkwood Festival on May 16th.

Inman Park Festival this weekend!

I've been busy stocking up for this weekend's festival, so my goal to blog 3x a week fell to the wayside. I'm hoping to pick it back up after the weekend is over. Anyway, if you're in Atlanta, come out to the best festival in town! I'll be updating my twitter and Facebook page with the exact location of my booth where I'll be having special sales. See you there!

Making Kimchee

When I'm not making jewelry, I occasionally act as my husband's food stylist/assistant for his blog, eatdrinkman.com. Kimchee is pickled cabbage and a staple in the Korean diet. People either love it or hate it. So here I am helping him out by spreading the kimchee sauce all over the cabbage. Once this is done, he puts it in a sealed container to let it ferment for a few days, and then voila, the kimchee is ready. It's really not as simple as I make it out to be, so if you want to read about the details, check out his blog.

And if you're wondering about those earrings I'm wearing, they are the eternity pearl earrings that are available in my shop. The gray pleated top is from H&M.

Designer + Etsy Finds

I saw these fabulous green Roberto Cavalli basketweave sandals on Shoeblog.com and wanted to find a few items on Etsy to coordinate and make a lovely outfit.

Oksana earrings by firelilyjewelry, $36
Red and Yellow Flowers on Linen by LaVitaLola, $55
Gray Plaid Dress and Cape by design7, $85

Bamboo for your shoes

Prada has designed these wedge shoes with bamboo. I personally don't like the style, but the bamboo thing is pretty cool.

image from Shoeblog.com

Havaianas Project

I was going through the many newsletters I receive and was introduced to a group of three creatives who are Havaianas fans. They have traveled throughout Europe, planting Havaianas sandals and photographing them. Take a look at a sampling of their shots:

Images from Flickr

Rainy Days

The weather's been a bit rainy and cloudy, and lately pretty cold. So here are a few rain inspired items I found on Etsy:

1. Rainy Day, by rkdsign88
2. Sweet Spring Showers by rainee day designs
3. Walk in the Rain by Just French
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's by elloh
5. Daydream by nowwearefree
6. Galoshes by Tredlight Photographs

April Goals

For a while now, I've been telling myself that I need to make a list of small attainable goals that help reach my long term goals. I would tell myself that I want to make X amount of sales per week on Etsy but not really have a way of actually getting there. So I started making to do lists in my planner in hopes of reaching the monthly goal that I have in my head. Well Jena, from Modish and Modish Biz Tips, has started a new Monthly Goal Meetup, where you post your business related goals for the month and check back to see what you've accomplished. It's also a way for us to all encourage and help us meet our goals.

So here's my April list:
1. Stock up for the Inman Park Festival.
2. Come up with a great booth set up for the festival. (I like mine now, but I think it could be much better.)
3. Reshoot product photos.
4. Start adding items from the new line I've been working on.
5. Blog 3 times a week.
6. Work on advertising/press campaign.

Egg Inspired Finds

Easter's coming up next week, so I thought I'd bring you an egg inspired collection of finds from Etsy.
Clockwise from top left:

Silk Dyed Easter Egg Kit from thejunebride, $8

Live plant in eggshell from golddyuliaGarden, $7
Bunny rubber duck soap set from DuckySoaps, $12.95
Mosaic egg from Sigmosaics, $12.50 each