I did manage to squeeze a vacation in and it was soooo nice. Kurt has to fly out to San Diego every month, so this time he took his girls (and a couple extras) along with him. It felt wierd not having an agenda or anything that had to be done....just relaxing. The girls managed to occupy themselves with searching for "surfer boys"......but truly only finding other boys on vacation...too cute!
3 French Hens, (Monica, Traci & I), managed to pull off our towns first ever French Country Market. It was so much work, but so worth it!! We had great weather and an even better turnout. All the vendors were so excited and can't wait until the next show (which is this weekend, July 11th)
The "Hens" had 1000 goodie bags to hand out to customers....and there wasn't 1 left at the end of the day.
Kurt and I also purchased a new "toy" for our growing business. It's a "Direct to Garment" machine. It will print full color onto fabric.
So here are some of the new items you will find in my Etsy shop. I'm working on designs for all of our French Markets here in town. Each month has a different theme
This month is Cirque D'Summer.
The model works for room & board!! Ha ha!
Oh, can you imagine the possibilities with this machine?!! My mind won't shut off....I'm constantly thinking of things that could be turned into t-shirt designs.....and that's just one avenue!! I've even heard of people printing on Converse tennies....so cool!!!
So, that's what has been going on around here lately. Now I'm off to say, "Hi" and check on all my friends out here in blogland.....that is, if you still remember me!!Toodles!!
XOXO
Jillian
The table was set with some of my most favorite dishes that have been collected from flea markets, garage sales and antique shops.
A few paper cones hanging with hidden treats for our guests.
Oooh...and a yummy chocolate egg from Dan's Candies in Joliet. It's filled with even more chocolate treats inside!!!
We walked over to Lincoln Park Zoo. I just fell in love with this carousel...isn't it gorgeous?!!
So much work went into each of these animals.
Here's a shot of the Water Tower on Michigan Ave. Isn't it a pretty building!! By the way, the girls have no problem posing in front of anything...ha ha....teenagers!!
A little something yummy to finish up the day at Giardellis.....trust me, not a drop was left!!!
Well, I would have liked to have gotten a lot more pictures, but the darn camera was giving me problems. I guess it's time for a new one. Hope you are enjoying spring where ever you are.
I'm so excited to finally share this news with everyone. For the past few months, my dear friends Monica, from 
So, once a month you can stroll down to the Canal Port and purchase some fresh flowers, baked goods, an antique or two, some beautiful artwork by local artisans and fresh produce when it's in season.
The months to follow are:
Here are the eggs I made...the extra one was for Vivian. I have to admit that this swap was quite challenging for me....I was just stumped on what to make. I finally found these clear front, acrylic eggs that I lined the inside with vintage chenille. I had these antique photos of a couple sweet little babies that I thought would make cute chickies....so I added some feathers, glitter and a little pink paper shredded nest. They all read "Tweetie Pie". 
My other egg came all the way from 
I've always admired all the papier mache creations that I come across and I just had to try one of my own. First, I found this at 
Then, I found this really beautiful quote....."Just like the butterfly, I too will awaken in my own time".
I painted a few butterflies........
and created a papier mache head and some wire wings.......
and there you have it....a butterfly faerie.
It was so much fun that I created a couple more dolls that I'm thinking I may mount onto wooden plaques much like the doll in first picture of this post.
Since it's "spring break" around here, the Haupt family is heading off to Chicago today for some shopping, a little lunch and, well, just a day off! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you all....have a great day!!
