If you’re in the San Francisco area this weekend, please come out and support Bazaar Bizarre SF!

(Hey, you might even find some great last-minute gifts at the show … and who doesn’t love something unique, crafty and/or handmade!)

BazBiz SF Holiday is Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. Admission is $2, with half the proceeds going to support arts & crafts programs in the SF area.

There will be 120+ vendors at BazBiz, including myself (Rosebud Designs) and the lovely Amy of Peptogirl Industries. There will also be craft demos/classes and all kinds of other goodness.

More details here.

… or does it really matter that much? Either way, Fomato is where you’ll find some pretty darned hilarious greeting cards!

Take a look at these (which literally did make me laugh out loud):

(Sadly, I wasn’t able to give these cards out for people’s birthdays, but I am keeping them in my stash for next year.)

While the front covers are pretty funny, what I love best about these cards is that they carry an entire story throughout. Shame I didn’t photograph the inside of the Low Expectations and Facebook cards because the rest of the story is great.

And how can you not love someone who can make a card about tyrants?

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, keep your eyes peeled for the Fomato cards. Or buy one online. Or browse to get a good laugh. You won’t regret it.

If you’re in the Sacramento area, there’s an event called Design Downtown happening every third Saturday of the month. Lots of local artists, crafters, music and even a beer garden! It’s happening this Saturday, August 15th.

Here’s the 411 for August:

On the Third Saturday of every month the Sacramento News & Review transforms Downtown Sacramento into a bustling creative district with fashion, music and art at the forefront.

Discover some of Sacramento’s greatest DIY artists while supporting downtown businesses. With over 50 local art & crafts vendors, community art projects, and live entertainment this FREE event promises something for everyone.

What:
SN&R presents Third Saturday, Design Downtown, A Creative Block Party

When:
This Saturday, August 15th from 4-9pm.

Where:
Downtown Sacramento (on K street between 10th and 11th)

Other:

- Free, all-ages event, open to the public

- Over 50 local art & crafts vendors create an exciting and unique shopping experience.

- Live music performances by Live Manikins, Cowboy Killers, Lite Brite, Scientific Remedies.

- Other performers include Autumn Sky, Jazz Ghitan, Core Dance Collective and more!

- Live art projects by Crocker Museum

- Beer Garden at Cosmo

- Twin Soup after party at Social by Shaun Slaughter, Jon Droll and Crookone.

- Fashion shows by Miko Bella Designs, Dee Aguilar Designs and Atelier

It’s always neat when you actually meet in person someone you’ve read about online or in a magazine or something like that. I was totally thrilled to not only meet illustrators and graphic designers Frank Chimero and A. Micah Smith at Renegade San Francisco, but of course I had to buy posters from them.

(For the record, yes, I fawned like a schoolgirl. OK, kind of.)

Anyway, here’s what I picked up from this talented duo (they were sharing a booth):

Screenprinted poster from Frank. I’d seen it on one of the graphic design blogs I frequent. And yes, it’s going on a prominent place in my home office because it’s hilariously true.

Terrific concert poster by Micah. (Ugh, sorry for the crappy photo.) Such a great design. (I’d also seen this online somewhere.) And I do like The Get Up Kids. It was a win-win situation.

Frank and Micah were really nice guys. And they’re pretty big in the graphic design world. But they seemed thrilled that someone who appreciated their art form bought their stuff. As Micah put it, “It looks like this stuff is going to a good home.” Indeedy. Both are already framed and ready for hanging!

While you’re at it, visit Micah’s shop for more awesome gig posters and wearables, and check out the awesome States series by Frank.

Indie*galore kicks off a week of posts about a few awesome artists from Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco with 3 Fish Studios!

San Francisco-based 3 Fish Studios is the husband-and-wife team of Eric Rewitzer and Annie Galvin. Both artists, Eric does linocut prints of everything from modern furniture to robots to San Francisco landmarks. Annie paints — including the 49-Mile Scenic Drive sign paintings that were a hot ticket at Renegade SF — and does original collages.

Here’s what I picked up from them:

A bear collage by Annie. Bears were collaged onto the paper and the background hand-painted.

Linocut print by Eric. Probably one of my favorite things I got at Renegade. I laughed when I first saw it.

Eric and Annie often have events and classes at their studio, and always encourage folks in the San Francisco area — whether you live there or are just visiting — to stop by.

In addition to being fabulous artists, I have to say that Eric and Annie are also fabulous booth neighbors and people! They even gave us a beer during Day 1 of Renegade. Now that’s a good neighbor!

Yoohoo! If you’re in San Francisco or its environs and you love cool handmade stuff, then go and check out Renegade Craft Fair SF on July 18th and 19th at Fort Mason!

Renegade is always a great time, and there are more than 200 artists there. Holy cow! That’s a whole lotta good stuff!

Many artists who have been previously written about here at indie*galore will be there, including Sweet Meats, Peptogirl Industries, Roxycraft, and Goody-Goody. The full vendor list is here.

(Shameless plug alert: I’ll be there as well with the lovely Amy of Peptogirl Industries. So come by and say hi!)

It promises to be a pretty sweet weekend, so do come by and check out the goodies! And did I mention that it’s FREE?

Sometimes you dream up these great ideas or have all these thoughts swimming around in your head, but lo and behold, you have nowhere to write them down! Where is that cocktail napkin when you need it?

Don’t despair. You can do what some of the cool kids do: Carry a journal around. Lots of people I know do it. (I actually carry two different-sized Moleskine journals around myself.)

But if you want your journal to stand out from the rest, maybe you should check these out:

(I especially like the bingo journal. I have fond memories of playing bingo with similar-looking cards as a kid. Plus, the journal is great for those bingo! moments. [And now I'll stop with the awful puns.])

If you’re loving these journals, you can pick them up at Create a Thought. There are journals of all shapes, sizes and kinds there! The Robot Love journal (the bottom one) is just about as big as a business card, so it’s perfect for your pocket or purse. And each journal is made in small batches, so you can be assured that a million people won’t be walking around with the same kind of journal (and if you lose it, well, you’ll recognize it more easily).

But Create a Thought is more than just journals! It’s a store built around the concept of creating thoughts and manifesting those thoughts into cool stuff. For instance, you can get this art journal kit to feed your artistic side. Or you can get a finger art ring like this one:

There’s plenty of stuff to look at, so do check it out.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, pet rocks were a fad. Kind of inexplicable because pet rocks would just sit there. But if you’re into low-maintenance company, they’re perfect because they require little care and whatnot.

So, if you’re going to get a pet rock, at least get one that’s cool:

You’ll find these lovely rocks — real Montana river rocks, no less! — at Samaria Project.

These rocks come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and are handpainted. In addition to the birds and monsters, there are also some jellyfish.

If you’re still looking for a low-maintenance pet but want something more animal-like, do check out the amazing selection of plush animals in the shop. This one is very delightful:

There’s something about collage art that’s so personal and unique and alluring. No two collage artists look at things the same way and no two collage artists will put a collage together the same way. Some collages are borne from a love of vintage, some from a love of a place, some from a wonderful personal experience.

If you like collage, you might want to check out Giesla Hoelscher of Inkblots Art:

These are all digital art collages turned into functional pieces, though there are also good old-fashioned digital collages for display if you fancy something for your walls.

Giesla also runs a non-Etsy site, inkblotsart.com, where you can see — and purchase — her fine art collages, location-inspired collages, photo cards and photo prints. Do check it out.

Okay, so I was one of those kids that got a lot of hand-me-downs when I was a kid. Lots of sharing amongst cousins and such. And my brother got tons of hand-me-downs when he was a kid too.

Makes me wish we some cool clothes like these to wear when we were growing up:

You’ll find these cute t-shirts and onesies at Two Zany Zebras. You’ve gotta love the cute monsters!

Two Zany Zebras is also the home of the Zarkle, which I discern to be a really cute monster-like being. They’re not scary. Some have one eye. And they’re all unique. And cuddly. This one happens to have a blanket included:

If you have some little ones, or know someone who has some little ones, do check the shop out. Lots of colorful fun things — and your kids won’t grow up feeling bad about having had just hand-me-downs to wear.

These baked goodies are really made out of felt and the descriptions suggest they be used as pin cushions. But they might be too yummy-looking and too good-looking to stick a bunch of pins in!

You’ll find these wonderful little creations at Tutto Bello. All the creations in the shop are unique and made from original patterns. Start a veritable bakery on your shelf and make your friends drool!

When you were a kid, did you have some really crazy-colored socks that you used as hand puppets? I mean, that was such a fun activity, making different voices (I personally did a super high-pitched squeal really well … but I couldn’t do male voices really well), thinking of outlandish conversations and trying to remember not to use dirty socks as your puppets. Maybe if you were really lucky, you had other friends who shared in your puppeteering and you could even make a stage out of a box and have more than two actors involved in your story.

Well, now there are finger puppets. Now you could put on a show with 10 fingers! And with these finger puppets, the storylines are endless:

Toilet paper puppets? Brilliant! Especially the pirate toilet paper. Or maybe the ninja is my favorite. Again, the story ideas are limitless!

If you’re into these puppets, you can find them at Stacey Rebecca’s Etsy shop.

Now, toilet paper isn’t the only thing you’ll find in the shop. Oh no. There is an entire selection of food — including this angry pizza — if you wish to have a culinary-themed play. Or you can check out the various creatures from bees to ghost kitties to frogs to unicorns. (Maybe you could have an entire fairy tale puppet show).

Or you could just collect them all and wear them on your fingers to trip your friends out. Whatever you please.

If you like wool and you like jewelry, you might like these:

You can find all of the above woolly, bobbly jewelry at Ollies Woollies.

Even though some people might think that wool is itchy and scratchy, fulled products are usually pretty soft. (I know from experience!) According to crafter/shop owner Catherine Svensson, this is no exception! There is no wire in any of her work, either — just pure wool, so nothing will poke you.

I really like the branch-like look of many of the necklaces — it makes for a showstopper piece of jewelry and a conversation starter. There are also lots of flower motifs. And lots of big, bright colorful things. So if you’re a fan of any of the above, do check it out.

This brings new meaning to the word bookmobile:

What a lovely piece and a great idea for old books! You can find this book mobile at Shophouse, along with other vintage books turned into art:

While the book sculptures are easily the most stunning and eye-catching decor pieces in the shop, you’ll also find collage jewelry (mostly necklaces), original drawings, and even these really nice sewn paintings. There’s definitely some great art if you’re looking for something a little different to decorate your house with!

There’s something wonderful about nature being interpreted in artistic form. Almost anything — flowers, plants, trees — can serve as inspiration, and some people execute it very well:

All of the above can be found at UnaOdd. Really, the shop is just one big explosion of color — like a huge bouquet of flowers, enticing you to look ever closer.

There’s so much good stuff in the shop that’s it’s really hard to decide where to start. Maybe the polymer clay pendants, all made from original patterns, hand-detailed with acrylic paint? Or the acrylic wristbands, all hand-painted with different motifs? Or the acrylic paintings of flowers? Or these really amazing bookmarks that were made from the pages of an old accounting textbook and then embellished and laminated?

Everything is pretty affordable as well — yet another bonus!