RegsReborn's last three shows of 2016...

Guys, I only have three more shows this year!! Can you believe it??... My first full year of craft shows is coming to an end. If you haven't made it out to a show yet, this will be your last chance until next spring.

Please come out to support local artists, vendors and small businesses this holiday season. You'll find something for everyone on your gifts list, I promise. I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping and that's only because I've bought things here and there from shows that I've attended. We, the dreamers of the crafting community, all work so hard to put on a successful craft show. Please, please, please come out and say hello!

November was a great start to my holiday craft show season. I had five shows; two were spectacular (Holiday Handmade Show at The Crown Center and Christmas Bazaar at Central Presbyterian Church), one was so-so (Earlywine Park YMCA Craft & Vendor Fair) and only one was awful (Sip & Shop at Quirk and Beans Coffee Bar). Now I have three more in December, which are;

The Christmas at the Lodge craft show will have a silent auction. Here is my donation item- two holiday pillows in a festive gift box.

CHRISTMAS AT THE LODGE at The Mustang Masonic Lodge
406 E State Highway 152, Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Saturday December 3rd, 9am - 3pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/1009144722468437/

WILDCAT WONDERLAND COMMUNITY DAY at Northwood Elementary
14100 Northwood Drive, Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
Saturday December 10th, 10am - 3pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/1197578246989165/

LAST MINUTE FRIENDS & FAMILY SHOPPING OPEN HOUSE at St. Luke's Asbury
1320 SW 38th, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73119
Saturday December 17th, 10am - 4pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/1836238559991388/

I am also taking custom orders throughout this holiday season (and all year round, actually). Custom order pillows are a unique and personalized Christmas gift idea, by the way.

Matching father & son pillows for my friend, Paul, and his little one, Luke. Made from three of Paul's old shirts.

Also, if you see something you like but can't make it to one of my craft shows, please let me know and I will schedule a time for pick up. I prefer that everyone come out to a show but I understand that we are all busy during this time of year. To reach me, please feel free to message me through Facebook (www.facebook.com/RagsReborngifts), Instagram (@ragsreborngifts), Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/RagsRebornGifts) or email (ragsreborngifts@gmail.com). Much thanks and love to all who've visited me at a show, bought a pillow and supported my endeavors!!

Erica & Lacey go to the Harry Potter Festival

About a month ago, a couple blocks of Western Avenue were transformed into the wizarding world of Harry Potter. The Harry Potter Festival was a free outdoor event for all ages. Thank goodness it was for all ages because I didn't want to be the oldest person in attendance who wasn't a parent or grandparent! LOL

My absolute favorite part was all of the costumes. Look how cute doggie Dobby is!!!

The event was advertised pretty heavily on social media and the turnout was far greater than anyone could have expected (or planned for). Being a local vendor, I think that the magnitude of people who showed up was great! It's always so rewarding and awesome to see your event fill up with shoppers. Every vendor wants to sell out of their merchandise and that is exactly what happened at the Harry Potter Festival. I felt so happy and proud of the vendors there. But many of the other patrons did not feel as I did. As soon as the event started, rants and complaints were posted all over the event's Facebook page. Everyone was so extremely upset with how crowded it was. I agree that the event quickly outgrew its venue, the lines were long and the streets were so crowded that you felt claustrophobic. But, none of that made me angry (and I usually HATE crowds and lines). I anticipated a large turnout so I wasn't upset when I saw over 5,000 people meandering around the streets and, as a pleasant surprise, the lines that Lacey & I waited in moved fairly quickly.

Also, it was a free festival...festivals are always crowded to begin with and throw the word 'free' on top of that and yeah, of course there's going to be a huge turnout!! And honestly, I didn't think it was that crowded once you compared it to other festivals. The Chinese New Year Festival that Wes & I went to in Dallas earlier this year was just as crowded and everyone loved it. El Rastro (open air flea market) in Spain is three times more crowded but it's still one of the most popular Sunday afternoon shopping excursions. If you've ever tried to get on the subway in rush hour, you probably know what crowded truly means... and the Harry Potter Festival wasn't even half as bad. So the haters need to shut their pie holes!

One complaint I do have is the damn hot weather. It was 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of October. Yuck! We walked from my apartment (about a 1.2 mile trek) and were instantly exhausted as soon as we got there. Gawd, Lacey, we are old! Haha. Anyway, the festival was in full swing when we arrived. At first the crowds were a little overwhelming but we were able to maneuver along the sidewalks. If you wanted to get in a photo opp (they had staged scenes and props everywhere) or to participate in an event or purchase something from a vendor or off a food truck, you had to stand in line. If you were just a spectator, you could move freely along the street. I, of course, wanted to do & experience everything but Lacey was the smart one who suggested that we just walk along the sidewalk and view all the action from a distance. We saw so many fun costumes (I was a little shocked at how many Slytherins there were... I expected most of the people would dress as Gryffindors) with all our walking around. I think we had a better experience just walking around and taking in the sights than we would have had if we stood in line to actually do the activities.   

The festival was sectioned into four parts to represent the four houses of Hogwarts. Each section had its own array of events to participate in. Gryffindor had a Quidditch tournament, sorting hat and other kid's activities. Syltherin had a photo opp in the Azkaban Prison with actors dressed as Death Eaters and Dementors. Hufflepuff is where all of the food trucks were. Ravenclaw was where all of the vendors' tents were. We poked our heads in into each vendor tent and was even able to get into the air conditioned indoor shop with no trouble. Even though we didn't stand in line to use any of the photo props and/or scenes, I was still able to take plenty of pictures from a distance (as you can see from this blog). 

One thing we actually did (instead of just watching) was participate in the arts & crafts booth. There were two tables. At one, we made quills, which were feathers attached to straws. We dipped the feather in glue and decorated it with glitter. The other make & take we did was the golden snitch. This seriously was the most efficient arts & crafts booth I have ever seen.  It was an assembly line of volunteers; one would cut the yarn, another would string a Christmas ornament onto the cut yarn and then the last would drill holes into each side of the ornament and drop the finished product into a large pot. By the time we got up to the table, there was a large pot filled with ornaments we could choose from. After picking one, we scooted down to the next station where a volunteer filled the drilled holes with hot glue. Then she moved us down to the next station where another volunteer was ready to hand us two feathers to stick into the hot glue. We were done in less than a minute. And that is how you keep a line moving!

The last thing we did was visit Honeydukes (the candy shop). The 42nd Street Candy Company did a knock out job transforming their store into Honeydukes. The window displays were so adorable and they had wizarding themed candies and decorations throughout the store. The line for Honeydukes winded all the way down the street but it, too, moved very quickly. The shop was arranged like a little maze where everyone had to walk single file and move through the entire store to get to the check out line. That way you were able to see everything and not have to worry about people cutting in line. I bought two candy sticks (or 'wands' if you want to be festive) and a stick of caramel. 

I think the organizers and vendors did an amazing job. I appreciate all the effort that went into creating an event like this. I was able to see all of its attractions despite the crowds. Lacey & I were able to participate in all of the activities that interested us and all in all, we both really enjoyed the festival.  

Wes & Erica's trip to Kansas City, KS. (pt.2)

When I was initially planning this trip, I wanted us to have lunch in Wichita on the way to Kansas City and then have dinner later that night at Joe's Kansas City BBQ. Then we were going to have lunch again at Joe's Kansas City BBQ on our way home the next day (that way we could try multiple items on their menu). The night before our trip, Wes found out online that the burnt ends were only served as a lunch special...and that they were closed on Sundays. So instead of stopping half way for lunch, we drove all the way to Kansas City Saturday morning to make it to lunch at the bar-b-que restaurant. That left us nothing to do on Sunday besides drive home.

Okay... there was one touristy thing to do but it would only take five minutes. When I was researching sightseeing in Kansas City, KS, the Sauer Castle came up. It is an allegedly haunted castle in an old neighborhood. It is abandoned and not open for visitors. But, I still wanted to go. Originally, we were going to go Saturday night (I wanted to see ghosts!) but completely forgot about it until the next morning.

I wish it was open for visitors because I bet it would be interesting to tour on the inside (and I could have witnessed some of those ghosts). I at least wanted to be able to walk on the castle grounds but it was completely fenced off. We parked on the sidewalk and I got out and attempted to look around. No luck, I guess ghosts like to sleep in on Sundays. Anyway, off to lunch!

Top right- the diner randomly had samples of ice cream from Rita's. The flavor of the day was pumpkin spice. It had more of a sherbet consistency than ice cream but still pretty good.

I didn't want to not do anything on day two of El-versary, so we decided to spend a day in Wichita. We drove to where I initially wanted to have lunch on Saturday - the Doo-Dah Diner. They only served their brunch buffet on Sundays. We didn't know that Sunday was brunch day so on the drive there, we browsed--Wes read it to me--their menu online. I couldn't decide if I wanted the corned beef hash (featured breakfast item) or the meatloaf (featured lunch item). Well, I was in for a treat. The brunch buffet had literally EVERYTHING on their menu. There was so.much.food. So Much Food!!!! So, I got the corned beef hash AND the meatloaf and a ton of other stuff.

The more expensive items weren't in the buffet line, but were made to order. Wes got steak & eggs and I got the crab cakes Benedict.

We got to the diner at 1pm and it closed at 2pm. We ate for that entire hour! It was soooo good. I know our main reason for going out of town was to eat BBQ but I honestly enjoyed the food at Doo-Dah Diner more than Joe's Kansas City BBQ. Shhh...don't tell Joe. Hahaha! We sat at the bar so we could see the kitchen staff work their magic. We could also see when they were bringing our order out. The crab cakes Benedict were delicious. I think I've only had eggs Benedict once before and wasn't a fan. This completely changed my mind. Meatloaf is one of my favorite foods and theirs was heavenly. They also had a hatch green chili gravy for biscuits. It tasted more like a unique warm salsa. I ate that entire overflowing plate of food below and wanted desperately to go back for seconds but my stomach wouldn't let me. I did manage to get some fruit for dessert. Needless to say, we were full the rest of the day.

. 

After Doo-Dah Diner, we went to Old Town Wichita. It is a little shopping district just outside of Downtown. It could have been because we went on a Sunday but Old Town was not impressive at all. : ( It was a bust and probably shouldn't have been labeled as a tourist attraction. It wasn't even old. There wasn't any historical architecture and most of the buildings looked newly built. It looked like a sorrier version of Bricktown in Oklahoma City (it was basically buildings built with brick, a movie theater and some restaurants). There were a handful of local boutiques but only one was open for us to go into. There was another neat little shop named The Space Station that we both wanted to go browse in but we were confused. There were items on display in the window but there was also a For Lease sign outside. I walked up to the door and it was locked. The For Lease sale sign won. After spending 10 minutes in Old Town, we left for home.

The most interesting thing Old Town had to offer was this trashcan (top right) that advised me to "work like a farmer and party like a rock star."

We had another easy drive on the way back to Oklahoma City. Sadie & Athena loved their ribs flavored biscuits. Another fun and successful road trip in the books!

Erica's recipe for delicious peanut butter cookies.

Happy Halloween, everyone!! I hope you all had a fun weekend of Halloween parties and your kids got more than enough candy. Please show me pictures of your costumes... I LOVE Halloween costumes (especially pet ones)!! Speaking of pet costumes, Wes & I took Athena to the Spooky Pooch Parade at the Myriad Gardens over the weekend. Athena didn't dress up but we saw a bunch of other cute dogs who did.

Geppetto & Pinocchio on the bottom right was one of my favorites. My other favorite is a family dressed in rain ponchos. They were carrying umbrellas with stuffed cats & dogs dangling off of them. It was raining cats & dogs!! LOL I really wanted a picture but they never walked our way.

We met up with my coworker, Jennifer, and her dog, Martin. We've been wanting to get Martin & Athena together for a play date all year. They liked each other & had a fun time sniffing butts <3 

For Halloween this year, I baked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for my coworkers. I baked these once for my ICP Presentation over the summer. (Everyone in my department had to do a presentation over some random topic my manager assigned us. Mine was beyond boring so I bribed everyone into paying attention by promising cookies after my presentation was over.) The cookies were a huge hit! I baked somewhere between three & four dozen and they were all gone by lunchtime. A few coworkers have asked for them again so I decided to bring that for Halloween (instead of candy).

I have the most basic recipe for peanut butter cookies in my recipe collection. I tweaked it some by adding crushed peanuts and chocolate chips (and removed some of the sugar content). Here is my version of peanut butter cookies.

Soft n' chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe:
       Ingredients needed- 1 cup butter, 1 cup all natural peanut butter, 3/4 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 2 1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 cup crushed peanuts*, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, plastic wrap
*To make crushed peanuts, put raw unsalted peanuts in a food processor.

1. Cream the butter, all natural peanut butter and both sugars in a bowl.

2. Add eggs and continue to cream together until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. I pour in 1/2 a cup of the flour mixture at a time while mixing. If you do too much, flour will fly everywhere!

5. Add in the crushed peanuts. Mix well.

6. Add in the chocolate chips. Mix well.

7. Pour the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a giant ball, wrap and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

9. Roll the chilled dough into small balls and place on a baking sheet. The cookies don't expand too much so you can place them close together.

10. Bake for 10 -12 minutes. Place on a cookie rack to cool.

Mmmmm.... cookies!!!

Accouncing RagsReborn Gifts' Holiday Craft Show Schedule!

Here it is... the last five craft shows of the year! \(^_^)/ And what a difficult year it has been! (;_;) Last year in 2015, I did two fairly large shows over the summer and then mainly concentrated on smaller holiday shows in November and December. I was spoiled and unprepared for how difficult the upcoming spring and summer craft show seasons would be. Then 2016 rolls around and I experienced my first show where I sold absolutely nothing. Finances are tight but I am still sewing & producing beautiful pillows because RagsReborn is my passion & greatest dream. I'm hoping to bounce back and see an increase in business as the holiday shopping season gets underway.

This is where I'll be Saturday... my last fall show before the holiday season begins!

Sadly, I am not the only artist who has had a difficult year. Due to the oil layoffs in the spring and the uncertainty of the future of our country brought on by the current election, Oklahomans have been a little more frugal than they usually are. I know several vendors, artists and crafters who have suffered from dismal sales this year. We are all beginning to know what it means to be a starving artist. As you prepare your Christmas lists and begin to buy gifts, I hope you take some time to visit local craft shows. There is so much local talent in Oklahoma! I know many artists who make jewelry, craft unique decorative household items, write books, create pens & wooden items, make soaps & candles, and sew, crochet & quilt. I am sure if you take the time to shop at local craft shows, you will be able to find something for every single person on your gift list. And, the parking is much better than at the mall and the lines are way shorter!

There are so so so many local craft shows to choose from. Of course, I'd like for you to come to the shows where I will be at, but if you can't make it out to any of my shows, there are plenty more going on every weekend. (Just to give you an idea of how prominent craft shows are, over these past two months, there were nine weekends in September and October... and I did seven shows!) The most important thing is that you support your local artists. Shop local, shop handmade, shop Oklahoman!!

See my pillows all stacked up in the top center photo?

There are two shows I would like to mention before I share all of the shows that I, RagsReborn Gifts, will be at. 

       On November 5th, there will be a show at Triumph Family Worship Church. It won't be a large craft show but the vendors who will be selling there will have amazing items to purchase and every member of that church is friendly & supportive. This was my second favorite show that I participated in last year. Sadly, it is on the same day as my first favorite show so I had to pass on it this year. After you come out to The Handmade Show at The Crown Center and the Sip & Shop event at Quirk and Beans Coffee Bar, please also go check out the craft show at Triumph Family Worship. (https://www.facebook.com/events/298782447126369/)

       The other show that I wanted to participate in but couldn't due to a scheduling conflict is The Santa Market. The Santa Market is the holiday handmade shopping destination in Edmond, Oklahoma. Three of my favorite vendors, Sweet Sparrows, Skunk Juice and Pixie Creations will be there. I met local children's book author, Carly Cartmill, at a Quarter Mania event earlier this year. We've become fast friends and she asked if I would donate a pillow set to The Santa Market's raffle to benefit Alzheimer's research. I whipped up the pillows pictured below. So, after you shop at the Craft & Vendor Fair at the Earlywine Park YMCA, please swing by The Santa Market (https://www.facebook.com/thesantamarket/?fref=ts) to finish up your shopping and bid on my awesome pillows. 

Just in case the print on my Holiday Craft Show Schedule flyer is difficult to read, here are all of my craft shows:

       (P.S. I will not be defying space & time by being at two places at once on November 5th. I, personally, will not attend the Sip & Shop event. My best friend, Alan, and his wonderful girlfriend have volunteered to set up at booth on my behalf at that event. They are friends with both myself and the coffee shop's owner and wanted to do us both a favor.)

SIP & SHOP AT QUIRK AND BEANS COFFEE BAR

Saturday November 5, 2016 10am - 2pm

109 NW 142nd Street, Edmond, Oklahoma 73013

THE HOLIDAY HANDMADE SHOW AT THE CROWN CENTER

Saturday November 5, 2016 9am - 4pm

13300 S. Western Ave., Moore, Oklahoma 73170

https://www.facebook.com/events/954527544656282/

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR AT CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Saturday November 12, 2016 9am - 3pm

5101 N. May Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112

https://www.facebook.com/cpcbazaar/?fref=ts

CRAFT AND VENDOR FAIR AT EARLYWINE PARK YMCA

Saturday November 19, 2016 9am - 3pm

11801 S. May, Oklahoma City, OK 73130

CHRISTMAS AT THE LODGE AT MUSTANG MASONIC LODGE

Saturday December 3, 2016 9am - 3pm

406 E. State Highway 152, Mustang, Oklahoma 73064

https://www.facebook.com/events/1009144722468437/

Wes & Erica spend a weekend at the fair, part 2.

To get us in the mood for Halloween, here are my favorite pumpkins from the 4H competition: the hollowed out purple monster on the top left, the box of donuts on the top right, the ice cream cone on the bottom left and the root beer on the bottom right.

I'm back with more fair fun and pictures! As I mentioned last week, Wes & I spent a majority of the afternoon indoors instead of outside. One building that was particularly interesting was the creative arts building (aka the 4H building). I'm not sure what 4H is but I don't think it's necessarily very artistic. I suppose a lot of the children's offerings were creative, though. It was more like very advanced home economics. My public-school education didn't offer 4H but if it did, I would have probably both participated and excelled in it. It was a bunch of kids' cooking projects, home grown vegetables and random display boards with whatever projects they wanted to display. I saw a project on how to clean a gun, how to properly express emotions through facial expressions (Wes claimed that mad and angry looked identical) and the joys of raising a litter of pit bull puppies. 

My dream is to be a middle-aged lady who brings sewing projects to the fair and has people complement me on my talent all day long. 

After thoroughly exploring the 4H building and poking fun at the children's projects, we decided to head back outside. (We weren't rude and none of the children were present. Plus, who doesn't laugh when they see an entire project dedicated on the many uses of rabbit poo?)

Bees and rabbits! 

Some other things we saw throughout the day were: a martial arts demonstration (it was more of a self defense demonstration), a pair of elderly ladies walking around in those novelty t-shirts that have a sexy beach body printed on them to make it seem as if the person wearing the t-shirt is sporting the body, and I sampled peach pineapple jelly (not very tasty).

Derek Shaw's martial arts demonstration.

Next on our agenda was the Swifty Swine Pig Races. Another thing I did not know existed. There were three races and each pig in the heat had a silly name like Ba-rack-o-ribs Obama and Brad Pig. The pigs ran around a little track and the winner was awarded an Oreo. The star of the show was Swifty, who was a swimming pig. They brought him out to a cheering audience. He took a dump, jumped into a trough of water, swam across and then ate an Oreo. It doesn't sound that exciting but it was actually rather fun to watch. 

As evening came, the fair offered some live music. 

The first performance was by a trio of drummers who call themselves Junk Rock. Their drum kits are made from buckets, old drum pieces and PVC pipe. It was really neat. One of their songs was a cover of the nostalgic, Wipe Out. They asked the audience to dance along and a lot of the elderly did! I wish I'll end up happy and carefree in my old age. One of the other songs the drummers covered was Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off." All of their other songs were originals.

The next set was an Elvis impersonation contest. Behind the Zoppe circus and fair food, this was my favorite part of the day. The competition was regional so we saw Elvises from all over the United States and we also saw Cody Ray Slaughter. He is a famous Elvis impersonator who has toured & performed live as "Elvis" and appeared late night television. He sang one song and was really impressive but for some reason, he didn't dress in costume. He just wore jeans and t-shirt. Maybe he got funnel cake on his Elvis costume. We saw 6 or 7 Elvis impersonators. Most of them were the older Vegas-era Elvises. I prefer the younger Jail House Rock era Elvis but the impersonators were very entertaining. One posed down on his knees and then sang, "I hope this suit doesn't tear." The competitors who advance from our state fair move on to the finals at the Florida state fair. 

So there you have it... a very full day at the Oklahoma State Fair! The fair isn't just for children and hillbillies. Lots of good shows, food and a little bit of education.