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Annual Riot Rooster Indie Craft Fair

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November 19, 2016 By Rebecca D. Dillon

Yesterday evening my dear friend, Bambi, and I went to the 8th annual Riot Rooster Indie Craft Fair. This two-day funky market and bazaar takes place every year the weekend before Thanksgiving and is a mecca of handmade, upcycled, recycled, odd and useful gifts made by regional artists and makers.This was the first year we both were actually able to attend and we were not disappointed.

The annual Riot Rooster Indie Craft Fair is an annual fundraiser for Girls Rock Roanoke. Girls Rock Roanoke (GRR!) is a volunteer-run, community based organization in the Roanoke Valley. At Girls Rock Roanoke camp, girls ages 8-16 will form bands, write their own songs, and perform at a final Showcase. They also participate in workshops on women’s music history, self defense, screen printing, DIY clothing, body confidence, stage presence, teamwork, songwriting, tech talk, and more. Their aim is to support girls as they develop self-confidence, amplify their voices, and fully realize their power to make a difference in the world. Camp activities and volunteers create a nurturing space that fosters creativity, communication, collaboration, and inclusivity. You can learn more about this organization or simply make a donation by visiting their facebook page here. You can also find them online here.

While we weren’t able to buy everything we wanted at this year’s Riot Rooster Indie Craft Fair, Bambi and I did make the rounds and snatch up business cards for future purchases. Bambi purchased some pretty awesome upcycled arm warmers to wear at work now that the weather is getting colder as well as a tiny pottery vase from Entropy Designs.

I also made a purchase from Entropy Designs and bought this super cute pottery mug as well as a fun lidded container with a similar design but in yellow. (You can find Entropy Designs on Etsy here.)

Bambi and I also both made purchases from Lucky Buttons, owned by two rather fabulous local Roanoke favorites, Jordan and Lucy. Bambi and I have both known Jordan and Lucy for many years through their band, Another Roadside Attraction. (You can have a listen at ReverbNation here.) In addition, Lucy is also much of the energy and life behind Girls Rock Roanoke.

Bambi and I both bought rings from Lucky Buttons. I bought this ring made from a commemorative coin from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Bambi bought one from Wisconsin. Both of our rings were just a smidge big, but Jordan was able to quickly re-size them for us on the spot!

I also bought this fantastic bracelet made from wheat pennies. I LOVE the magnetic clasp.

And I bought some of Jordan’s locally famous RoadSide Miracle Mustache Wax for my boyfriend. (You can find Lucky Buttons on Etsy here.)

Some of the other fantastic vendors included The Artful Sojourn, Naturel Mistik, Lunachick, Pillowslips, Witty Fox Craftworks (pictured,) Whole Studio, Magpiper Metalworks and Art by Sharell.

For more wonderful indie crafters I’m in love with, be sure to check out all of my favorites on Etsy here. There are lots of wonderful options there to knock out all of your holiday shopping. Or, if you’re a crafter yourself, be sure to check out my post with 50 unique DIY Christmas gift ideas here.

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Filed Under: Homemade Gift Ideas, My Life Day to Day, Shopping Tagged With: coin jewelry, craft fair, handmade jewelry, indie business, jewelry, pottery, riot rooster, shopping

DIY Cloud Clay Jewelry Dish Craft Project

June 22, 2014 By Rebecca D. Dillon

I was inspired by several potty cloud dishes on Etsy and decided I’d buy some air dry clay and make my own. I gave my cloud shaped jewelry dish low “walls” which proved to be slightly more difficult than I thought it would be. This was my first attempt but I’m thinking I’ll try my hand at a few more before it’s all said and done since I still have plenty of leftover clay.

To make your own DIY Cloud Clay Jewelry Dish you will need the following:

Activa Plus Natural Self Hardening Clay, 2.2-Pound, White
8-Piece Pottery Tool
Krylon KSCS039 Short Cuts Aerosol Spray Paint in Bonnet Blue
Washi Tape, optional
Bowl with water
Rolling pin
Flat surface

Let’s get started!

To make your dish take a chunk of the clay and roll it into a ball. Then, using a rolling pin, roll out the clay on flat, porous surface until flat. It should be about 1/4″ thick. Using the needle point clay tool, cut out a cloud shape in desired size. This will serve as the bottom base of your cloud shaped clay dish.

Now you’ll need to create the sides for your dish. Take another chunk of clay and roll it out into a long snake like shape. Make sure it is long enough to go all the way around the border of the clay cloud you just made. Using the rolling pin, roll out the cylinder of clay until flat and the same thickness as your cloud. Use the needle point clay tool to cut the flattened strip to desired height and so it is even on both the top and bottom.

Place the clay strip around the edges of the cloud all the way around. Smooth the wall of the cloud onto the cloud base with your fingers on the inside and outside. Smooth using the wet sponge or your fingers dipped in the bowl of water. Use the damp sponge or damp fingers to smooth out the rest of the dish.

If you are in a particularly dry area you may want to loosely place a plastic bag around your dish for a day or two so it dries slower and therefore more evenly. This will help to prevent it from cracking as well as allow for minor touch ups throughout the drying process.

Once your clay dish has dried completely, sand lightly with fine grain sandpaper if desired to further smooth out the dish.

Next, evenly spray your cloud jewelry dish with the spray paint. Allow the first coat to dry completely, then apply a second coat. Once your second coat has dried, your dish is ready to rock and roll! Use immediately or give your dish a bit more oomph by running a colored strip of washi tape all around the edge of the dish.

You can also dress up the walls of your cloud dish using permanent markers, paint pens or even removable Bistro Chalk Markers which allow you to remove and change your designs again and again. You can also use this dish as a wall hanging by using Gorilla Glue to attach picture hanging hardware to the back.

Looking for more inspiration for your clay cloud project? Here are a few of my favorite cloud shaped clay pottery pieces from Etsy.

Clockwise from top left: Cat in the Clouds Ceramic Wall Hanging by Pearson Maron; Cute Cloud Magnets by Sal + Sol; Little Cloud of Happiness by Joy Elizabeth Ceramics; Clouds Cup and Saucer Set by Jenni Oh Crafts

For more fun DIY craft project ideas follow my Jonesing for Crafts board on Pinterest. You can also find me on find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or follow Soap Deli News via Blog Lovin’ and never miss a post!

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project Tagged With: ceramics, clay, cloud, craft project, crafts, diy, pottery

Things I Love Lately – DIY Crafts and Handmade Products I’m Ga Ga For

August 2, 2013 By Rebecca D. Dillon

I’m still not quite back into my regular routine of things since my vacation. And as I generally spend my weekends crafting and the weekdays blogging after my regular 9 to 5, I haven’t yet had a chance to whip up any new DIY projects or beauty recipes. While that means I’m just one short day away from giving those creative juices some time to run wild, it also means I won’t have any new bath and beauty recipes to share with you until the beginning of next week. But don’t fret. Life happens and as I’ve learned, it is what it is. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this little collection of diy crafts and handmade products that I’m a little ga ga over lately.

DIY Craft Projects I Love Lately :: 1. DIY Glitter Dipped Air Plant Holder via 52 Weeks Project / 2. DIY Diorama Bookends via Sea of Shoes / 3. DIY Vintage Book Tablet Covers via Squirrel Junkie

Handmade Products I Love Lately :: 1. Creature Cup Set via Creature Cups / 2. Hot Air Balloon Gadget Case via Lazydoll / 3. Custom Baby Animal Totem via HandyMaiden

More to Love Crafted By Hand :: 1. Princess Leia and Imperial Trooper Moss Terrarium via Moss Love Terrariums / 2 . Bright Multi-colored Stripey Accent Pillow via Geometric Electric / 3. Washi Tape Stripes Cosmetic Zipper Pouch via Allisa Jacobs

Which one is your favorite?

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Shopping Tagged With: accent, accessories, bookends, books, cosmetic bag, craft project, crafts, cups, decorating, diy, etsy, handmade, home decor, indoor gardening, pillow, planter, pottery, pouch, recycle, shopping, tablet cover, terrarium, upcycle, vintage

DIY Ring Holder – Handmade Clay Heart Tree Stump Ring Holder for Couples and Newlyweds

April 7, 2013 By Rebecca D. Dillon

DIY Ring Holder - Handmade Clay Heart Ring Holder for Couples and Newlyweds - Great Homemade Wedding Gift Idea

Since spring is wedding season, I thought it’d be neat to make a ring holder for married couples. So I used some of the White Das Air Hardening Clay I had left over from my American Horror Story Inspired DIY Project from February and clay pottery modeling tools to create this cute, handmade carved tree stump ring holder. The design of this ring holder was inspired by the printable gift wrap and gift tags that I made back in December 2011. I simply took that design of a carved tree stump and reproduced it into a three dimensional sculpture.

To create this project, I first shaped a chunk of clay into a tree stump. I used a wet sponge to help smooth down the edges. If you’ve ever taken a pottery clay you know what a world of difference keeping a bucket of water and sponge on hand makes. Once I had my basic tree stump shape down I used the loop tool from my pottery modeling tool kit to carve out the top of the stump into a shallow nest where I could keep a ring. I then used it to carve the heart shape out of the clay stump. I followed with a damp sponge to smooth the edges.

For texture, I then used the wooden potters rib to give the stump texture by running lines along the outside of the stump all the way around.

Finally I used the needle tool to carve around the inside of the heart and to etch the initials inside the heart shape. Now that my tree was made, all that was left was to let it dry. For faster dry time I recommend carving out some of the clay from the inside of the piece from the bottom. Otherwise, your stump may take longer than 24 hours to dry. I left mine a solid, hefty piece and it took a week to dry completely. For even drying to avoid cracking, you can also cover loosely with a piece of plastic during the drying period.

My son and I both worked on this project together. These are our tree stump ring holders after they had finished drying. Mine is on the left while his is on the right.

Once dry you either paint your finished piece or simply cover with a clear acrylic sealer. Based on feedback from my followers on my facebook page, I painted my ring holder. I used three colors – black, brown and white. I painted inside the heart and initial grooves with black as well as some of the grooves around the stump. Then I painted over most of the stump with brown. I followed by painting the rest with a mixture of brown and white as well as a wash of color in some areas. Rings fit neatly inside the top of the tree stump as well as on the branch. It makes a tidy and decorative place to keep up with rings when they are removed. After all, no one wants to lose their wedding ring!

For more diy wedding project ideas, be sure sure to follow my DIY Weddings on Pinterest! And to keep up with all of my handmade diy craft projects, be sure to follow Soap Deli News via bloglovin’.

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, Homemade Gift Ideas, Weddings Tagged With: carved initials, clay, craft project, crafts, diy, gift idea, handmade, heart, how to, pottery, ring holder, tree stump, tutorial, wedding, wedding gift

Handmade Arts and Crafts from the Historic Roanoke City Market

April 8, 2012 By Rebecca D. Dillon

I love going down to visit our local city market on Saturdays. We have such a wonderful array of artists, crafters and farmers! And, this year we already started off with a handful of new vendors. Here are some of my favorites pieces from the Roanoke City Market today.

A regular long time vendor on the Roanoke City Market is Brian Seckinger of Roanoke Pottery Works. I always love discovering new pots he’s created whether from slabs or a pottery wheel. And I love that he’s able to throw some of the largest bowls I’ve ever come across. In fact I own two great pieces from him that are around 1 1/2 feet in diameter.

These are new hand built slab pottery pots with handles for spring. They come in an array of bright colors including blue, green, yellow and red. They’re perfect for indoor and outdoor planting – I’m using my green one to grow garlic! – for small plants and herbs or indoors for storage or decoration. These can be tied onto a trellis or hung from a porch in multiples to save on space!

Brian also recently made some raku horse hair pottery for spring. To see more of Brian’s work, be sure to take a peek at his photo albums on his fan page – Roanoke Pottery Works – on facebook.

A new potter to the market is Mary Hadden of Floyd, VA. She hand builds all of her clay works and finishes them with a unique matte, glaze finish that she worked hard to perfect.

I love all of Mary’s pieces, but I think my favorite pieces of hers are her wind chime fairies.

She also makes lovely handmade flower pots, soap dishes, bird houses, lidded boxes, and even business card holders! You can see more of Mary’s pottery in my Market Days Album on Facebook.

Both Brian and Mary sell their pottery on the Historic Roanoke City Market on Saturdays, weather permitting.

A few other highlights include the following:

Unique, handmade jewelry crafted from bracket fungi. These one of a kind necklaces, earrings, and brooches are made by Penny Lane, also of Floyd, VA. Penny shares a booth on the Roanoke City Market with Mary Hadden on Saturdays.

Lunar Scapes – owned and operated by regular vendors Kyle and David – hand crafts and sells recycled wine and beer bottles. These melted bottles come in various shapes, sizes, and colors and are perfect for cheese and crackers, butter, and other party appetizers. Each cheese tray is embellished with beads and wire work and comes with a small knife.

One of my favorite market photographs is one I took in June of 2009 of David kissing a local goat that liked to visit the market on weekends.

A new vendor, Joe Stanley of Upcycled Cards, also creates his wares from upcycling. He recycles wine corks and used gift cards to make something new.

Joe uses spent corks to craft handmade coasters and serving trays.

And retired gift cards are used to make one of kind jewelry including fun bracelets and earrings.

To see more wonderful arts and crafts from local artists on the Historic Roanoke City Market from past to present, be sure to check out my Market Days Album. There are so many beautiful works of art, it’s just impossible to include them all in one post. And don’t forget to stop by the Roanoke City Market to shop for Mother’s Day!

What are some of your favorite things to buy from your local farmer’s market?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cheese platter, crafts, farmer's market, flower pots, gift ideas, gifts, handmade, historic roanoke city market, jewelry, local crafts, pottery, recycle, roanoke, vases, wind chimes, wine bottles