Hello!  I was finally able to attend this wonderful craft fair that I have been online stalking for over three years!  The Renegade Craft Fair is held in summer/winter in half a dozen cities around the country and world.  Obviously, living here in Chicago I was able to be a part of this giant event by simply taking the Blue Line from my house to Division Street! (So EASY!)

First off, let’s just take a moment to reveal in the fact we live in a world where we can use our credit/debit cards everywhere and don’t need to carry cash.  But, let’s also curse this technology marvel because swipe my debit card I did today.  (Please don’t remind me about my budget blog at the beginning of the summer!)

Here is the general map of the fair:

 

It took about an hour to walk all the vendors without stopping to buy/chat.  On round two I had a general idea of the places and things I wanted so it only took thirty minutes to do $75 worth of damage. 

Here is my loot. (Stole that from you Tannith! 🙂 )

 

This tea is amazing I sampled a few and the names alone were enough to get me to want them.  Check out their other hilarious names and wonderful tea recipes at T-WE TEA.

 

 

 

Won’t these hairpins go great with my new red do?  Acute Designs has beautiful jewelry and bridal accessories at their website. 

 

 

The hilarious cards and Dolly Parton nail decals are from Atomic Spinster – What a great name.  I wouldn’t mind being an atomic spinster! 

 

 

I thought these ‘bon-bons’ were gorgeous and then I found out they are plant seeds and pods!  What a wonderful gift and idea! Check out their website for details and ideas! 

 

 

 

There were A LOT of screen printers at this fair (kind of overkill for me) BUT this one had the most unique and stand-out designs.  Primarily (cover your eyes if you’re not an adult) the “Eat Shit” design. HA!  Look at all their Milwaukee based designs here. 

 

 

 

First, the name? Horrible Adorables? It’s like the story of my life! These felt 3-D designs were gorgeous.  I could buy them all and have an entire wall in my home dedicated to them.  Look at all these beautiful creatures here. 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the hard parts of being a crafter an sew-ist is that I saw a lot of things I could create at home and am going to try.  BUT these dolls are so adorable.  I just love the creativity and designs on the ‘tattooed-folk.’  Look at more dolls and ideas here. 

 

 

The girls at Atomic Spinster had this fun portrait cut-out.  I couldn’t resist.  I am the unofficial fifth member of the Golden Girls. My grandma would have definitely gotten a kick out of this one!

 

So in conclusion:  RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR IS AMAZING.