It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

It's the most wonderful time of the year and I don't just mean Christmas time! In Vancouver, holiday season comes hand-in-hand with Craft Fair season. For me, it just doesn't feel like the holidays without a little baking and crafting, so the last few weekends I have been busy visiting Vancouver's best Craft Fairs and finally getting around to various craft projects that I have been meaning to finish all year! I have been attending holiday craft fairs for years, but because I rarely buy anything, I consider them to one of my safe places during this 'No-Buying' project. I always find things I love, but they are usually overpriced and I walk away saying...."I bet I can make that", so instead of loads of bags, I leave a craft fair with loads of inspiration! 


A few years back at the largest craft fair of the year, Circle Craft Christmas Market, I found the cutest blankets that have become my signature present for all my friends' babies. They were listed as $65, but thanks to ikea and my favorite Vancouver fabric store Dressew (downtown on Hastings), I was able to replicate them for under $10 each!!!


The inspiration from Admiral Road.....

And my versions.....

This year I skipped the Circle Craft Market and instead, my craft fair buddy Jill and I went to smaller, more local fairs...but even though they were small they were definitely not short on inspiration! We went to the Urban Artisan's Craft Fair at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown.

 There were tons of fabulous vendors, but in my opinion, the best booth there was i heart mondays. Now because 'I Heart Mondays' is Jill's friend Corinne's booth, you may think I am being biased, but I think that the adorable rustic display, tons of cute knitwear, accessories and hand-painted canvas wall art will speak for themselves. Cute right?!?

 If you like it, check out her i heart mondays etsy store 

And since it was my birthday, she gave me a pair of cute crocheted flower hairpins. Thanks Corinne!

This craft fair also had lots of cute cards that inspired me to not only make all my 'Christmas' cards this year, but also try my hand at 'New Baby' cards too.

 I like to recycle old Christmas cards by using them in different combinations to create whole new cards. 

And for the baby cards, I layered various crafting paper to create a pretty canvas for the cute alphabet stickers that personalize the cards for each purpose. 'Congrats' on the new baby for a gender neutral option, or 'It's a boy' for if the gender is known. Cards are so expensive these days, but the homemade alternatives are cute, easy and fun to make, so I am glad to have revived my love of card-making!

Next up was Got Craft? Lots of great ideas here....in fact we were so inspired we went straight to Michael's on our way home! 

My fave booth at this craft fair was by far Kove West Coast Knitwear! I was drawn to the natural  colours she uses in her knitwear, as well as the chunky textures. Everything looks like something you want to wrap yourself up in and take a long walk along the beach or in the woods. Cozy, warm and West Coast stylin'.....love, love, love all her stuff! Now being a long time 'crocheter', I know that her prices are not based on cost of materials (yarn is ridiculously cheap) but reflect the time put into the pieces she makes. I would estimate that each piece takes about 4 or 5 hours so if you don't know how to crochet, then the prices are totally fair, but I just can't bring myself to pay for something that I can easily make myself. Plus there is the added bonus of bragging rights. "Oh, you like this scarf? Thanks, I made it!" So below is the inspiration for my next project...the infinity scarf from Kove. I picked up the yarn at Michael's for $6 and now all I need is a solid few hours to actually make it.

Stay tuned for the final product....

♥ Lindsay