Crafter Highlight - Three Crazy Ladies

Wow, we're down to almost no time until our boutique starts. We're both showing signs of "boutique-induced sleep deprivation." It would really be nice if we had time to do more posts about all the great crafters we work with. But, at least there's time to tell you a bit about a couple of our favorites! Becky Davis and Krissy Meier are part of Three Crazy Ladies. They do the vast majority of the vinyl art that you'll find at our show. We asked them where on earth they got the "crazy lady" name. Turns out that Becky's husband was waiting for them late one evening so that they could finish "just one more" thing and just made up a little song which he picked out on a ukelele and the chorus consisted of the words "you're crazy ladies." The name stuck! We're lucky to have them. They have a great variety of signs and lettering that you can put just about anywhere. Good luck choosing just one or two! We love working with them. They fill custom orders so quickly, are so dependable and fun, and their prices are so great that we hope they'll continue to join with us for many years to come. Oh yeah, they also bring squeaker shoes that kids and moms both love!

Pictures to come!

Boutique Memories

Lauri's 23-year-old daughter, Michelle, wrote about growing up with the boutique. To see what she had to say, click here.

Crafter Highlight - Lauri!

Lauri is one of those people who does a little bit of everything. She has taught numerous art and music classes in the local elementary school, was a room mother for 21 straight years, and has taught kid's cooking classes in her home since 1988. She enjoys doing calligraphy and any other artsy/crafty thing that might tickle her fancy. You could also call her a collector--of great quotes, fun ideas, and tasty recipes--and she loves to share them all! We never know from year-to-year what she will come up with for the boutique, but we'll mention a few of this year's creations. Her bestseller is something called "The Twelve Gifts of Thanksgiving." It's a unique and meaningful collection of thoughts about Thanksgiving that can be enjoyed one per day in the 12 days leading up to your celebration or you can take turns reading them around your feast. She also makes sure that we have a great selection of our very favorite Hobblecreek candles at great prices. Since the boutique won't be at her home this year, filling up her kitchen, you can also look for some of her family's favorite baked goods - sweet rolls, gingerbears and gingertrolls, and her most decadent cream-filled chocolate cupcakes! Her family also has a tradition of filling their huge front windows with beautiful hand-cut snowflakes. She has literally cut thousands of them. When you visit the boutique, you just might find a few of these framed hand-cut snowflakes for you to add to your collection of Christmas decor.

Crafter Highlight - Charla!

We do pull this boutique together, but we also love to put our own creations into the show! Charla is an amazing artist who not only does plenty of her own artwork, but has been teaching art classes in her home and in local elementary schools for for many, many years. She does the funnest custom watercolor family portraits you'll ever see. Her home includes a great studio in the works complete with easels, paints, clay, glazes, pottery wheels, kilns, etc. with a cat or two or three keeping watch at all times. For our boutique she does hand-painted Christmas plates that literally fly out of the show in the first few minutes every year. People come specifically to add them to their collections. This year's aren't ready for picture-taking just yet. She also does beautiful watercolor note cards
that any one would be proud to send. She also creates wonderfully whimsical Christmas ornaments, traditional nativities and more. Aside from being so incredibly talented, she's also one of the nicest people you'll ever meet!

Becoming Technologically Savvy

So, Lauri's beautiful, talented daughter Michelle has created this blog for us and now it's time for us to put aside our blogging illiteracy and figure out how to do this thing ourselves! Starting later tonight, hopefully, we'll start adding more posts about our crafters and pictures of the amazing things they create. We can't wait for you to see some of the fun things that you'll be able to find at our show. Check back frequently to see what's new!

This Year's Boutique Flier

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Welcome!

Most likely, if you are looking at this post, you already know about the traditional "Charla and Lauri Present . . ." boutique. We are glad to now be a part of the arts and crafts blogging community. Imagine all the wonderful changes we've made over the years. It just keeps getting better and better.

If you want to suggest a craft site, or just want to make a comment, or you are one of our crafters and have a blog/website, or any other reason, leave a comment below and we'll see what we can do.