Getting crafty in St. Paul — and Minneapolis

I traveled to St. Paul a few weekends back to take part in the St. Paul Craftstravaganza. Although the weather wasn’t the best (it was snowing and freezing, yuck!), I still managed to have a good time. Some of my favorite items included felt pins from Pink Sparrow, Wellie shirts from Charlie and Sarah and letterpress mix CD sleeves from Zeichen Press (of which I bought several). Also, I must say “Hello” to fuzFrenzy and Wild Oats  who (sitting on either side of me) helped make the cold, which my sister is smiling through in the photo below, better.

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The day after the fair, we set out for some of the DIY-centric businesses in Minneapolis.

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We stopped first to check out I Like You. Owners Sarah and Angela (pictured at left) have turned this handmade gift shop into a must-see, stocking favorites like ERKA and Too Many Suitors. I especially enjoyed the library card catalog turned card rack and the suitcase full of cute shrinky dink zipper pulls (of which we also bought several). 

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Next we checked out Design Collective, an indie fashion boutique focusing on local designers that definitely reminded me of the much-missed Pure Design Lab. I spent a little too long lingering over Marisa Grey’s Anouk line admiring the adorable tailored, girlie pieces.

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And finally, just before they closed for the day, we hit up Crafty Planet. I wasn’t suppose to spend any money there, but once I saw the new, bigger store (they just recently moved) who could resist? The fabric in particular is much easier to see and covet and I ended up with 4 different kinds, including this adorable Wizard of Oz print. Detroit definitely needs a shop like this — Trish, if you ever want to franchise, I would be happy to run a Detroit arm!

View some full size photos of my trip here.