at lauren’s good advice i went to the renegade craft fair in wicker park this morning. anthropomorphic plush creatures seemed to be de rigeur (felt doughnut with eyes, anyone? how about a plush pot sticker named li’l sticker?). my weakness is paper and book arts, and my friend becky’s thing was anything encased in a blob of glass or resin. fortunately for my pocketbook, i’m just crafty enough myself that when i go to craft fairs like this i’m prevented from buying things because i keep thinking, “i could make that!” of course, i probably won’t ever have the time, but it helps keep the cash in my wallet. so do the prices, actually. i don’t begrudge any of the artists their right to make a profit (or at the very least support their crafty habit), but $35 for a t-shirt is sadly out of my price range. for the sake all DYI designers out there today hopefully not all the shoppers were as poor (and potentially crafty) as i am.

i got home all full of project ideas and spent the afternoon hanging pictures on the walls (we’re about to sign our second year’s lease, so i figure it’s about time we look like we’ve moved in). then i made the wise-but-un-fun choice to add up our bills and figured out that we have no money for crafty projects this month. so sad. i’ve got about $100-worth of yarn awaiting fall projects, so i’ll have to stick to the knitting for now.

if i DID have money to invest in the craft fair today, however, by far and away my favorite items were the eerie, narrative paintings by jaime zollars. check them out at www.jamiezollars.com