Thanks for the beautiful day!

Well, the day was a little windy and cold and we had to regularly hold down the tents and our stuff, but what a fun day it was at the Whispering Hills Garden Center Holiday Market yesterday! Thank you, thank you, to all who came out and made the day a beautiful one.

holiday market 2a

The sun was strong all day, the traffic was constant, people were fun, friendly, and interactive, local musicians graced us with their music, and I had great neighboring vendors. Crescent City Cajun‘s yummy food, Pop’s Premier Kettlecorn, and Kiera Confections kept everyone full of tasty treats.

Silly me left my camera card at home and thus had to make do with some simple phone pics, but here’s a shot of the baby-blanket corner of the booth and part of the wall-of-photos.  As I mentioned in my last post, this was my first outdoor show and the whole tent thing was a bit intimidating. But the genuine offers of help from highly skilled friends and family set me free to just have fun. Thank you, everyone! Also fun: I wore the green sweater-coat I made for my own birthday a couple years back. It just makes me happy.

[Note the stuffed cat lying down on top of the basket. He kept falling over in the wind. One customer, after several unsuccessful attempts to get him upright, finally said, “I think it’s nap time” and just let him be :). ]

Holiday Market!

holiday market

holiday market

I’m spending today prepping blankets and props for a pop-up style holiday market tomorrow at our local Whispering Hills Garden and Landscape Center (8401 South IL Rte. 31, Cary — just south of Barn Nursery on the corner of Rakow and 31). I’m excited! It will be my first time setting up outdoors, with a pop-up canopy and all its accoutrements. My daughter Hope recently designed a great new banner for me (and two Vistaprint representatives happily modelled it).

TGS banner

The Green Sheep will be at Whispering Hills with 39 other vendors, including other Etsy sellers who live locally. Gah! That’s a lot of access to some wonderful and unique holiday shopping, all in one convenient place.

Please come out! There will be food trucks, music, door prizes and give-aways, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, November 14. Of course, the garden center has beautiful things of its own for decorating your home for the holidays. Here’s a quick little map: I’ve circled where I’ll be. Hope to see you there! And many thanks to Whispering Hills for the hard work of organizing this.

whispering hillsvendor map

Holiday Open House!

 

You are invited to a

 

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

EXTRAVAGANZA!!

Sunday, Nov. 4, from Noon to 4 p.m. in Arlington Heights, IL  (email greensheepjo [at] gmail [ dot] com for the address)

 

Participating Vendors include: 

Bob’s Wine Bottle Lights

Embelysh Inc.

Marcia’s Cards

M.E. Designs

Mini Massage by Back In Balance

Peace Beads

RL Photography

The Green Sheep

Usborne Books

Willow House  Jewelry by Sara Blaine

Willow House Style For Home 

Zee’s Tees

My friend Kathy, who I met over a Green Sheep blanket, is hosting this wonderful open house in her own home. I’m honored to be a part of it! If you live in the area, please come. Email me at greensheepjo [at] gmail [dot] com to get the street address. There’ll be refreshments and raffles in addition to a wide assortment of gifts. You’ll find great ideas for family, friends, teachers, hostesses, and even you. We’re all working hard to put on a great day for you!

A happy open house

Thank you to everyone who came on over to the open house last weekend!  Between you and the sunshine we had, it was a beautiful day.  Friends Jamie and Ismael brought their wares as well (tote bags and animals by Jamie and homemade fresh salsa by Ismael), daughter Grace baked the very delicious buckwheat cheese straws from Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks blog, friend Deborah provided the colorful flowers, and daughter Hope set up her iPod’s collection of Christmas music.  I felt blessed by the presence of all!

Getting ready…

I’m vacuuming up the house after my sew-a-thon of the past week, getting ready for The Green Sheep’s open house this weekend.  There are new baby lovies, new mittens, sachets, coasters (!), wraps, and of course, blankets.  I hope you are able to stop in, enjoy the company, and see what’s here.  If you need directions, contact me at jo@greensheepstore.com.