Hello there.  Welcome to my first featured guest blog post here at Hello Bluebird!  Before we get started I thought I would introduce myself: my name is Amanda and I run a blog  rhymes with oranges.  I love to create things (especially crafty things) with my hands so as you can imagine I was thrilled when Alex asked me to come along with her for an adventure this past weekend to a Pennsylvania mecca for handmade goods!  This past weekend was the annual Art Star Craft Bazaarat Philadelphia’s lovely Penn Landing by the Delaware River featuring high-end handmade goods.  This show is the brainchild of Erin Waxman and Megan Brewster who own the Art Star Gallery and Boutique in the Northern Liberties district of Philadelphia.

The weather was gorgeous with a side of uncooperative wind – but  overall, it was a great way to spend a Saturday.  As I mentioned earlier, I was fortunate enough to be both a vendor side-kick and a regular fair-going attendee.  The side-kick duties included the usual loading/unloading, fitting (cramming) as much stuff into the bed of a truck as possible, drinking coffee every 2 hours in all forms (hot, iced, lukewarm if desperate), yelling at the wind (yep), modeling jewelry and helping customers (my favorite part!).  For the other part of my day at Art Star, that is the regular fair-going attendee part, I walked around for a couple hours ogling at all of the booths and goods.

As I walked from booth to booth admiring all of the marvelous things, I kept having that “if only I had $1,000 to spend” feeling, but alas I was armed with a budget and determination to spend it on a few modest items I couldn’t live without.  My purchases included a woodblock print from the kind people at Tugboat Printshop, a vintage screen-printed tee from Red Prarie Press, and a unique lotus necklace from Gretchen Diehl at Bird Queen Designs.  I should also mention as a treat for my side-kick hustling, I scored a mini cactus garden made by My Santo (thanks Alex!).

The sunny conditions made for fantastic photograhs all day long, but as I write this post I realize I was so swept away with all of the merchandise and booths that I forgot to ask vendors if I could photograph their stuff!  So here are a couple of other places you can find great pictures/reviews of the event:

• Indie Fixx – Art Star Craft Bazaar Post 1
• Indie Fixx – Art Star Craft Bazaar Post 2
• Amelia Irene

Thanks to Alex for  bringing me along for the adventure!