Art Fairs & Art Links!

My husband, Chuck & I love to explore art fairs but find little time to do so now that we have three kids. They don't seem quite as interested in them as we are! We used to love going to the Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver & the Fairhope Art Festival on Mobile Bay in Fairhope, AL. I was also lucky enough to attend the Broad Ripple Art Fair in Indianapolis with my mom -- great show! I love art fairs because, regardless of budget, you can usually find some little work of art or craft that was created by hand, something not always possible in galleries.

Now that we have little time to travel to these events, I'm loving the internet and the surge in popularity of sites like Etsy, Poppytalk, and papernstitch. Soooo many creative minds out there just creating like crazy and many of them doing it as their sole source of income. I encourage you to browse these sites if you haven't. Make it a goal to find something for your home. This morning I've been surfing papernstitch & found the following items that I would love to add to our decor....

With my love of Airstreams, this caught my eye by the talented Jenni Horne.

Love this planter by Irene McCollam & Leslie Greer of Greenware Design. I want to hang one in my bathroom. Or a couple of them together! This is a favorite shop because I have a soft spot for succulents.

One of my favorite artists, Sarah Ahearn, has a great little shop with delightful collage art. Check out her blog too for some inspiration! I dream of taking one of her classes someday!

Finally, I love these little magnets & think I might have to get them while Brooks is in his robot/monster phase!

Project of The Week....Succulents

It's my hope to feature a weekly project on writecreateclick. It might be something to improve your home, a project to do with your kids, a project to bring out your inner artist (we all have one, you know) or just a simple craft to do for yourself or give as a gift.

This week's project would fall into the "improve your home" category & is one of my favorite things to mess with - succulents. Succulents are plants that retain water in their leaves which often gives the leaves a strange "fat-looking" appearance. Succulents originate in arid or desert climates but they do surprisingly well anywhere, as long as the soil is dry or sandy and the water is sparse. I love that they require little care & was shocked to find that some of mine that I failed to bring indoors actually survived the Arkansas winter (not exactly Phoenix!). This morning I took my favorite brown containers that held my paperwhites over the holidays & replaced the bulbs with several varieties of succulent. You should try it too. Mix equal parts potting soil and sand and plant several varieties in each pot. Don't worry about crowding. They are more attractive if the pot is full.

If you're looking for succulents, I highly recommend Chris Olsen's Botanica Gardens if you're in Little Rock. He usually has a great variety to choose from and several sizes of succulent as well. It's just a great little shop & a gardener's wonderland. I challenge you not to find something that you want! If you aren't in Little Rock, many home centers carry succulents too, but I encourage you to try your local garden shop first! Good luck!