Today I'm heading into the city with my best girls Shawni, Ashley, Iris & Katie to check out Holiday Renegade SF & support my sweet friend Chelsea who attended Renegade with me this past summer and is now selling her own handmade goodies there today. Rumor has it we also get to see the ever-lovely Vivianna, gal pals Shereen & Amanda & Mr. Chemistry of Cool himself. It's going to be such a fun day!

What are you up to this weekend? And if you're going to be at Renegade let me know; perhaps I can say hello :)

Upon visiting Renegade I was floored by all of the amazing pieces that I saw. I was even MORE floored by some of the prices. I understand if something is totally unique and you spent a lot of time creating it then fine, charge what you must. But for things that are easily replicated and you're selling them in person without any shipping factored in, I think they should have been prices substantially less. For example, headbands. My best friend Shawni spotted a certain one that she fell in love with. It was whimsical, sparkley and feminine. It was her. The price tag said $50. Fifty bucks for a bunch of glittery stars glued to a piece of ribbon{!} She didn't end up buying it but I was glad because right then & there I decided to make her one instead as a gift for her upcoming birthday. I've included a simple tutorial in case you want to make your own.

Materials;

• White or gray felt {I was able to find white felt with some initial sparkle already on it}
• Silver glitter glue
• Ribbon
• Pen or pencil
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun

Step one. Use your pen/pencil to trace star shapes to your liking on the felt. It's okay if they're not perfect I think they're better that way. Cut out the stars and trim off any visible pen or pencil marks.

Step two. Squeeze glitter glue evenly across entire surface of your stars. Allow them to FULLY dry {I left mine overnight just to be safe}.

Step three. Cut ribbon to desired length. Make sure it's long enough to wrap around your head and tie in a bow at the base. For added flare, cut out small triangles on each end of your ribbon to create a dainty tapered effect.

Step four. Place a small dab of hot glue to the back of one of your star points and attach to the second star. Repeat for third star until they are all linked together. Next, run a line of glue across the back middle of your star chain and affix to your ribbon.

Step five. Tie around your head & prance around pretending you're a princess. Do a little a dance because you made a starlet crown for $5 instead of $50.

Happy birthday Shawni!! I hope you like your gift ^_^

Chelsea got into town Friday evening; the next morning we all piled into the car & headed towards the city bright & early. 2 hours, 3 energy drinks, 1 road rage death threat and many snacks later, we finally arrived. There were so many amazing artists! My senses were being bombarded and I kept bumping into other people because I was just so focused on all the pretty things laid out in front of me that I wasn't paying attention to much else.

I couldn't resist picking up a few things, including a super neat naval telescope necklace {I'm wearing it in a bunch of the photos} from Mama's Little Babies & an ultra cute stationary set I'd been lusting after from Paper Pastries. The girls got adorable things as well; if you want in on the cute check out all of the artists who were there.

I had a hard time walking away from this adorable handmade blazer, but my wallet said a firm "no" :(

Etsy had a little photo op area set up complete with props. We are never ones to turn down a photo opportunity!

Renegade's mascot was an owl{!} and had one set up as a face-in-hole cutout--to take more pictures, what else?

After we ooh'd and ahh'd for a few hours we decided it was time to go check into our hotel and relax a bit before dinner with inspirational ladies & new friends Vivianna, Elsie & Emma. Or hotel was BEAUTIFUL by the way. We stayed at the White Swan Inn & it had vintage touches everywhere & even an antique elevator that was so fun to operate. Definitely will be staying there any time I have to visit the city overnight.

After dinner we went out with Viv's for a drink at a fun bar called the Tipsy Pig, hailed a cab {which turned out to be the most hilarious cab ride ever} & headed back to our hotel to continue our craziness. Or so we thought. Shortly after purchasing a bottle of Cupcake chardonnay champange we promptly filled up our glasses and...went to sleep. We were so tired ha! But Chelsea did manage to capture a couple hilarious photos of the end of our fun night.

I cannot even explain to you what is going on in this photo because I have no idea!

*posing* with our beloved beverage.

The next morning we were RUDELY awoken by Shawni's alarm blasting Ke$ha -_- We gathered up our things and packed up to go home, but not before a mini-photoshoot on our fire escape.

Breakfast?

"Well, I don't want to waste it." Don't judge me.

Exhausted, Chelsea & I headed home to take a nap before meeting up with Ash to take a dip in the river & have some girl time just the 3 of us.

The next day was Monday morning where sadly I had to say goodbye to miss Chelsea who I miss terribly. Boo to Oregon being so far away. We totally connected on such a great friendship level; I'm sure we will grow to be life long friends {and all thanks to The Blogosphere!}. All in all it was an amazing, fun-fiilled weekend. I'm glad I got to experience Renegade; it was such an inspiring event and hope to have my own booth there next year selling Little Gray Suitcase items. It was definitely good times and by Monday morning I was definitely tired! Oh, and I sure did miss my mister while we were gone.

:)

Did you make it to Renegade? What was your experience?

ps; Hi to all of the amazing blog friends I had the pleasure of meeting over the weekend! Looking forward to seeing your pretty faces again soon.

Sorry for the lack-luster post today but I've been a busy girl planning for Stitch Swap in September, catching up on emails, client work & adding my sponsors {say hello to them there on the left!}. I promise to be back soon with a complete post-Renegade update & a vlog with answers to your formspring questions. xo

Our lunch on Saturday, which consisted of pizza leftovers, tall can chelada and Guinness float. Yes, that's beer & vanilla ice cream. I tasted it & didn't really like it but G did.

Got my hands on a pair of black saltwater sandals I've been lusting over. I still want them in white & pink too, though.

Friday night my sisters came over with Wii Sports Resort. Everybody beat my scores :(

Mister & I got a little tipsy and had a silly photoshoot in the bathroom.

We are dorks ♥

He also likes to take photos of himself with my phone. Ha.

Sunday morning I was craving fruit so bad; so mister ran out to Trader Joe's and came back with apples, strawberries, mango + vanilla yogurt. Yum yum! {my vintage canisters I ordered from Etsy finally came in and make an appearance in the background there}.

The rest of the weekend was spent napping in our glorious cloud aka bed, making budgets/to-do lists; cleaning & organizing in preparation for Chelsea's visit this weekend for Renegade & adventures. Fun week ahead! How was your weekend?

Kara, one of the lovely shop owners from my favorite vintage|handmade boutique Crimson & Clover asked me & some pals to model for their upcoming fashion show which will take place during Sacramento's News & Review's 3rd Saturday event.

Ashlee, Shawni & I went in to the boutique yesterday to get fitted and we are ultra excited to strut our stuff down the runway this coming Saturday & represent one of our favorite local businesses. If you're in the area definitely come hang out with us. We'll be located at the Downtown Plaza right in front of the Forever 21 on the first floor. Best of all, it's free! Rumor has it Ashlee's hubs will be playing photographer so expect photos from the show in a later post. See you there, friends.

I am over the moon about this next one. I missed last years but this time I am finally attending Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco! Me, Ashlee, Shawni & my closest online friend Chelsea are crossing the bridge over to The City and having a magical girls day at the end of the month. Chels is hailing all the way from Oregon, nbd :) There are plans in the works to meet up with sweet friends like Elsie and other blogger pals. Can.not.wait! If you plan on going be sure to leave me a comment letting me know so I can be sure to say hi. I love putting pixels to faces.