etsy denton summer bazaar...

Well friends, life should be getting back to normal! Craft show season is now over for Rachel Elise! Woohoo!

The Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar was the past Saturday. Getting ready for any show is a lot of work, but as I am half of the planning team for Etsy Denton, this one gets especially challenging. But Saturday was amazing. Like... I-never-saw-it-coming-how-did-that-happen amazing.

Here's the line of folks waiting to get in!

How crazy is that! This was our third show in this building, so we're gaining a following, but I had no idea we would draw this kind of crowd.

People everywhere! It was insane! And awesome! And everyone had so much fun and made so much money!

I'll calm down. Sorry. Etsy Denton is my baby. I just want to see it grow and mature and be too big for the building it's in. Which I think it now is.

The success of the show meant unsuccess in the parking lot, so we'll have to work out a solution for that before our next show in November. Shelley and I are meeting up tomorrow for our show debrief, so maybe we'll brainstorm up some new ideas. We're also hoping to brainstorm up a few new leadership positions in Etsy Denton. Cause we're exhausted. But happy! But exhausted.

Oh, and as promised, here's proof of me selling my wares:

 Courtesy of my Pops. My parents came in town to experience the show that Shelley and I put on, and said they wanted to help out at said show. I found them jobs that would take about an hour so they could enjoy the rest of their day and look around the show a bit and what have you. But then the show was totally-out-of-control-awesome, so my mom helped at the door the entire day. She's a trooper:

We had a small team of other volunteers this time who were also helpful. And then the Boser was super helpful with taking the show down at the end of the day. And several vendors pitched in with set up. *Heart warmth* Teamwork, guys. Teamwork.

My life, shop, and blog should get back to normal since craft shows are over now, so head on over to the shop to see my current inventory, and stay tuned for a month-long deal that will be offered in June.

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

showsplosion...

Hi Friends!

I would apologize for my absence, but I feel like I've been doing that a lot lately. It is craft show season, after all!

Last weekend was my first Renegade Craft Fair down in Austin. My adorable crafty friend Amanda (check out her awesome work here) was kind enough to help out in my booth both days AND let me crash at her place for free. You don't really get better friends than that, folks.

The show went pretty awesomely-- I beat my "I'll be really stoked if I make this much" goal by $8.00, my booth partner was totally fun and brilliant, and I got to pal around with Amanda and her fam for a couple of days. Rock. And. Roll.

I was having too much fun being overwhelmed with sales and shopping for things myself that I neglected to take pictures to document the show. Luckily, a couple of pretty rad bloggers did and mentioned me in their posts (how kind!).

Chet of ChetArt and I have done several shows together, mostly Etsy Dallas shows, but I don't know that we had actually ever had a conversation until Renegade. SUPER nice guy. And he took this picture of me in my booth, which may be the only proof that I was in attendance. Thanks Chet!

You can read the rest of his recap here. (I told you he was nice-- look at all the awesome people he recognizes!)

In addition to chatting it up with Chet, I got to meet one of my long time craft crushes, Cassie of The Mossy Fox. She was also nice enough to highlight my work in her Renegade recap. It turned out that she also had a long time craft crush on me, so we traded merch with much giddiness.

I got these two necklaces:

in exchange for a satchel. *Craft swoon*

Renegade was a superblastie, but it's still new in the Austin area, so I might give a bit before I go back. I've heard plenty of great things about the Cherrywood holiday-time show in Austin, so now that I know Austinites are Rachel Elise fans, I may be applying to that. It's super competitive, so fingers crossed.

My last show of the season is this Saturday, and it's a doosy: The Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar! Since I'm a vendor as well as a coordinator, I've got quite a bit happening this week. But it's all coming together quite nicely... and I promise I'll take pictures to prove it.

Come play on Saturday!

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

they're heeeereee...

Well everyone, after a long wait and much patience on your part, they are finally here.

IT'S LUGGAGE TAG TIME, CHILDREN.

As promised, luggage tags are now available in the Etsy shop for $12.00 each and in a variety of designs. Get. Excited.

Live in the Austin area? You can see them in person this weekend at the Renegade Craft Fair.

It's my first time doing a Renegade show and I am PUMPED. Better get to that sewing machine so I have lots of new shiny things for this weekend :)

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

P.S. If you live in the Denton area, like me, hold your horsies. The Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar is coming up in a couple of weeks. It's going to be our biggest and best show ever! Plus, be on the lookout for a feature of the Bazaar on the Denton Record Chronicle's "Denton Times" front page on May 24th!

fast food for the gluten-free eater...

I'm not a huge fast food junkie, but being someone who works at home by myself, I like to get out of the house every now and then to grab an inexpensive meal to eat at home. Ergo, fast food.

Eating fast food on a gluten-free diet can be a little challenging, but not impossible. It just requires some knowledge and creativity.

1. Chipotle

Chipotle is by far my favorite fast food lunch. Everything on their menu is gluten-free except for the tortillas. Even before I learned about my gluten intolerance, I usually got a bowl: a taco salad of sorts with a rice base.

Plus, if you load up your bowl with the right things, it's not too terribly unhealthy of a meal. I like to get mine with chicken, no beans, and no dairy. Fairly healthy. I guess :D


2. Subway

The Boser is a huge sandwich fan-- he eats Subway for lunch nearly every weekday. About 800 Subways are currently test driving a gluten free bun, and all the DFW locations I've visited have it. The bun is small, but pretty tasty. Nothing phenomenal, but standard gluten-free bread fair and it gets Boser his beloved sandwich now and again.

3. Domino's

Several pizza places offer gluten free crusts (including Mellow Mushroom and Palio's, if you live in Denton), and Domino's added it to their menu yesterday. I haven't tried it yet, but the promise of awful-for-me style pizza after a stressful day is wonderfully alluring and trying one will happen sooner or later. I'll keep you posted.

The Boser is especially excited because they only offer the gluten free crust in a small, so we'll have to order two pizzas. So he can have a "real pizza" and I can have a "sickly pizza," as he so eloquently put it.


4. The Burger Hack

As you know, I am a huge burger fan. While it's hard to find a local burger joint with a gluten-free burger patty, let alone a bread option, the fast food industry is a little more understanding. Carl's Jr., Five Guys, and Mooyah all offer a "lettuce wrap" option to hold your burger patty, the patty of which is gluten free already. (Watch out for the shakes at Mooyah, though.) The Boser is a big Five Guys fan, so if we eat at the restaurant, I usually end up fork and knifing my lettuce wrapped burger because it's kind of a mess otherwise. But if I bring a burger home for lunchtime?

The Burger Hack:

Two slices of Udi's sandwich bread, lightly buttered and toasted. You almost forget it's not a bun. Almost.

You can buy Udi's burger buns, and buns from other gluten-free companies for that matter, but I haven't been that adventurous yet. Maybe someday.

Happy fast fooding!

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

show prep...

While it's pretty much always a stressful day, I generally enjoy the day for a big craft show. There's always so many little errands to run, merchandise to finished up, and loose ends to tie.

Pile of stuff to take to the Etsy Dallas Spring Bash.

 Lots of checking things off of to-do lists and completing projects, which makes me feel like I've accomplished oh-so much.

Here was today's to-do list as I finished preparing for tomorrow's Etsy Dallas Spring Bash.

 

Check, check, check, and check. Whew. Long but productive day. Yippee!

I hope if you're in the DFW area you'll stop by the Bash tomorrow. It's always a good one!

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

P.S. If you come by tomorrow, you'll get to see how this messy pile turned into some pretty adorable luggage tags. Get excited.