the soapbox: art affair

It's that time of year, and I love it.

Art (af)fairs mark my favorite time of year. There is nothing better than walking around with a ~~lemon shakeup~~ no-sugar-added mango iced tea admiring wonderful works of art, and the passionate people that spend their life creating beautiful things. I am envious of them.

One of these days I will find my perfect craft... (as soon as I commit to a medium beyond spray paint.)

A couple weekends ago, Ian and I walked down the block to the Defiance Lilac Festival. I must have been feeling a little artsy fartsy, when I saw this lovely mosaic on a building that I never noticed before.

The Lilac festival had fair food, live music, and local businesses updated their store fronts and expanded them to the sidewalks for the event. We finally had a chance to browse some the shops we hadn't been to in a while, including the new "affliction/gangster" clothing store. (I'm actually very curious to see how long it stays open. Best of luck to them! That store space has been a revolving door.)

We ran into a few of Ian's cousins (why am I still surprised by this phenomenon of a small town?) and perused the crafty booths of local artists. Most of the booths seemed to be children's accessories and sewing crafts. Although wonderful, Ian and I gravitated to what we love best. food.

We spent our allowance on dip mix and bread. What do these have in common?

spicy. yum.

This past weekend I went to the Broadripple Art Fair in Indianapolis with my mom, Sydney (sister), Uncle Bob and Brooke (my second cousin). In comparison to the Lilac Festival it was like Veuve Clicquot vs. Miller Lite (sorry Defi).

It was a bit toasty out, and a lot of walking (after running a 5k with no training... and for some reason we parked .6 miles away?), but the music was great and the artists were incredible.

Most of the art was a little pricey for my budget, but I was inspired by a few things that I might try to make one of these days... like a skirt made out of old t-shirts, modern birdhouses and good ol' fashion acrylic paint on canvas.

I ended up picking up this neat vase for $25. The stems stay up because of little metal spikes at the bottom of the vase.

The Indiana Historical Society had a booth with some great deals! In order to bring a little of home with me back to Ohio, I picked up this coffee table book for $8...

My last pick was also from the Indiana Historical Society. As HomeGoods properly labeled me here, I have a great appreciation for history and pretty much anything vintage or vintage-inspired. I found this $9 book of postcards collected (and reproduced) by the Indiana Historical Society.

In the book are postcards for each season. Here are just a few...

I'm in no hurry to acquire holiday decorations for my home. I am taking it slow (because based on my family's collections, I'm sure my Christmas decor will sneak up on me and ~~throw up on~~ fill my house some day). However, these are adorable and I have a decorative gold frame leftover from my wedding decor that would fit this postcard size perfectly. Each season, I can replace with the appropriate holiday postcard. I'm pretty excited because it will take up little storage space, and these are right up my vintage alley.

Also, there are a few birthday and greeting cards that I can send to friends and family. Bonus.

Here are some more photos from the Broadripple Art Fair below. My next art (af)fair is Art in the Park in Defiance at the end of June!

Get Inspired! XO