Posts tagged ‘events’

As hard as it is for a former English Major to part with books, I’ve managed to gather some up for the Book Swap.It’s so much more managable to say good bye when I know I can bring home some new books, and eat some tasty goodies, and hang out with my friends and meet new ones.

It’s true. I love swapping.

Here’s the info! See you all tomorrow at the Fabulous Craft Akron!

For those of you in the NE Ohio area, you must make a trip to the Farmer’s Market at Stan Hywet. It’s Thursday’s from 4-7pm through September 23.   We bought fresh wheat bread, grass-fed cow cheese, and plumbs.  Everything tasted fresh & flavorful.  I was especially amazed at how creamy & rich the cheese was.

As a bonus after the market, you can walk the estate gardens for free.  I took lots of pics of my son running across bridges, next to fountains, & through the grape arbor tunnel.

I’m not talking about my “I found this in the car & won’t get sunburnt hat” in the left picture.  And I didn’t buy a hat either.  I did buy a headband though.  Isn’t it pretty?  I met Paula Singleton of What A Great Hat! at the Akron Arts Expo this weekend (she’s wearing pink in the left picture).  Her vintage style hats are each originals with the most delicate & perfectly classy embellishments.  Plus she’s getting ready to begin teaching classes.  I suggested a hat embellishments class where you bring a thrift store hat and learn how to add flowers, beads, feathers, etc.  But she also does the blocking herself for the straw hats, so I’m guessing she’ll teach that as well.  I wish I got a close-up of the brown hat above my right hand.  The base is hand blocked straw of the most wonderful pattern.  I’d take a class to make one of those!

*Update*

Paula send a photo of that hat for us!

hat by Paula Singleton

Twice this summer our family has attended Music in the Meadow, which is a free family concert at Howe Meadow in the Cuyahoga Valley. I can’t say enough praise for this event. It is on Wednesdays from 5:30, music starting at 6:30. Most people pack a picnic dinner and spread out a blanket and watch the show.

Music in the Meadow Photo Credited to CVNPA.org

If you come at 5:30 there are kid-appropriate activities including giant bubbles and frisbee golf. There are also music related crafts, which encourage kids to play along with the concert. We’ve taken home a easter-egg maraca and a wooden framed drum the past two times we came.

So far we’ve seen HeartBEAT Afrika, and another band which I can’t find the name of for the life of me even though I’ve been searching for 30 minutes! Next up is Copus Hill, a Bluegrass band on July 28th. If you’re looking for something free to do this summer, this is it.

Devona & I are hooked on swapping.  I don’t think we can imagine life without them.  They’re perfect motivation to pair down your belongings and give things away.  Plus there’s the hope of bringing home more useful items & meeting some great people in the process.

So, next up is a book swap at Craft Akron.  Any books are welcome… fiction, kids, crafts, magazines, and even old ripped books for altered art.  $5 admission covers snacks & room rental.  Unwanted books after the event will be donated to local charities.

Well, I’ve already been wearing my new-to-me clothing from the Swap on Saturday. We had a small group, but still everyone one found something to take home. Here are some pictures of the fun, keep in mind that the next swap is a book Swap and will be coming in August.

Hip Hip Hooray for trading stuff with friends and strangers!

Tomorrow’s Clothing and Accessories Swap is upon us. Today I spent the evening making the snacks for the event and whipped up this colorful fruit pizza. It is the usual fruit pizza with a sugar cookie crust, but I changed up the frosting a little bit to pretty it up.

Here’s the recipe:

Purple Fruit Pizza Toppings

One 8oz package cream cheese

1/2 c powdered sugar

3 Tbsp frozen grape juice concentrate

Colorful fruits such as berries or mandarin oranges

In a large bowl whip cream cheese until soft and add the powdered sugar little by little. Add frozen grape fruit concentrate and whip until smooth and even in color.

Spread onto a cooled “pizza” sugar cookie crust. Slice pizza before adding fruit, then decorate the pizza with fruit slices and berries. Keep chilled and covered until ready to serve.

So remember a while back I asked for some feedback regarding how you’d like a clothing swap to be executed. Well I took the responses and I have been planning it out. I hope you don’t mind that I am postponing this week’s tutorial until Friday so I can give you more information about the Swap instead. I want to make sure everyone has enough time to go through their closets.

The date is Saturday, June 26th, from 11am to 2pm. We’ll have the space at Craft Akron at our disposal. There will be snacks, dressing areas, and full length mirrors. And the more people who come, the more items there will be to choose from.

How does it work? Well, everyone comes at 11ish, and brings with them their items. Eligible items  include excellent condition clothing, shoes, hand bags, hats, and jewelry. The Swap is only open to women, so don’t bring in your ex-boyfriend’s sweater you found in the back of your closet, even if it was only worn once and cost $90. For each item you bring you will receive a swap ticket. For the sake of simplicity, all items will be considered equal value, one for one. Since this is the case, the Ticketers can choose to not accept some items for the swap, for example, tacky Walmart jewelry. Keep in mind we are trying to have a blast and bless our friends while getting awesome new-to-you stuff in the process. Read more »

items picked up at ZeroLandfill Akron in February

If you’re artistic & want to build your stash of recycled supplies, come to Zero Landfill!  It’s an event where architects, interior designers, and graphic designers donate their discontinued samples & materials so artists & teachers can collect & reuse them.  You’ll find paint samples, tiles, carpets, wallpaper books, fabric samples, and binders, and you can have them for free!  The event will be happening in Cleveland on 3631 Perkins Avenue, Fridays in July & August.

If you want to see how Devona & I used ZeroLandfill items from our previous visits, do a “ZeroLandfill” search on our sidebar.

This is the second year I’ve gone to the organic plant sale at Crown Point Ecology Center (in Bath, Ohio)  I love their unique varieties of plants, which some are heirloom and others hybrids.  Plus they have plant-related demonstrations, food, and a kids play area.  Sorry I didn’t mention it last week, but you can mark the calendar for May of next year.

I was really interested in their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, but there’s a minimum one-year waiting list.  I like the idea of being a part of the farm I get my food from.  Members help anywhere from 1-10 mornings per year with farm work, and they can pick up food weekly or bi-weekly.  They invest in the farm & experience the risk of a good or poor growing season.  Plus a portion of the produce is donated to the local food bank.

Since this CSA has a waiting list, does anyone recommend other ones in the area?  Or are there interesting aspects of your local CSA?  I want to join one mainly to experience the community aspect of it, but also to get more gardening experience.