The Country Living Fair - near Nashville, TN (Review)

I had a lovely time at The Country Living Fair last weekend with my mom and sister. It's rare for us to all get together, so this was really a treat. As usual, we packed events into every millisecond of the two days we had in Tennessee. Below, you can browse about 300 photos I took throughout the event. This was the first year the fair was held in Tennessee, and it was a welcomed site! There were thousands of (mostly) ladies that were all eager to shop! This was one of the best-attended craft-related events I have attended in the midwest, and I was so happy to be amongst so many creative people. Use the left and right arrows below to page through the images.

I thought the event was mostly going to be a flea market style event with possibly a bit of reclaimed furniture and such. But, I was ecstatic to find that the majority of the vendors were showcasing mostly handmade items, or reclaimed items that were thought up in completely new and unusual ways! It was like Pinterest had come to life, but not the ideas you see everywhere, completely NEW ideas! It was amazingly inspiring. 

This booth, by Tadpole Creations, was one of our faves! This booth was beyond adorable, very cleverly designed, and contained items that I used to try to create years ago when I vended at shows, but never quite accomplished. Their appliqué onesies, stuffed rattle elephants, baby quilts, and other baby-oriented items were incredible! Such talent! 

We fell in love with these hand cut barn wood USA cutouts, and they had every letter of the alphabet cut out of colorful wood as well! 

I was surprised to see a large amount of "booths" that looked like someone had picked up a whole boutique and moved it into the venue as well. I mean, people literally taking 99% of their store fixtures, and rebuilding them onto the grounds, register and all. This was rather incredible. I was surprised to see how much wholesale clothing and home goods there were, though, that were clearly bought at design markets, not handmade, but extremely cute and in the same spirit of the fair near Nashville. I personally liked the mix of both handmade and pre bought items for sale, but I am sure for crafty vendors, they were a bit upset to see how much work they had done to fill their booths, whereas some vendors just went to market and bought things to sell. But, it was fun to see the latest trends, and I now realize how much of a "hotbed of fashion" and home decor trends that Nashville is! And, I live only 3 hours from the place!

This booth, by Spellbound Collections (from Palmer, tX) was HUGE! I loved the teepee entrance, and the Americana vibe they provided. Inside the tent was a vast array of t-shirts, frilly clothing, home goods, cowgirl boots, and jewelry. Check them out here. 

This booth's register/counter was created from old doors! The Century Farmhouse Artisan Soap Company featured lavender from farms in Washington, which I had actually visited last year! 

This booth was also one of my faves, Stash, although I did't see where they were from. The booth looked like an Urban Outfitters! They also utilized an amazing teepee design

It seemed like the trends I saw most were reclaimed wood, "vintage" but new metal signage (which I originally thought was all handmade, then a trip to the Nashville Flea Market proved otherwise), repurposing of old doors, as well as shabby chic pastels, sun washed mint furniture from the 50s (maybe) made from REAL wood, denim adorned with white lace and crochet and stretchy jersey clothes, like pantaloons, that were loose fitting and ultra comfy. Some of the vendors were dressed like urban cowgirls, and more than once I saw women who I wondered if they had their own shows on HGTV!  

One of the cutest booths ever!!! I loved their vignettes so much :)

I do wish the food had been a bit more accessible. Even on Friday at 2pm, we would have had to wait at least an hour in line, a precious hour we wanted to be shopping instead. There were about ten food vendors/booths/trucks, but wow, the lines made it impossible to eat anything but some unhealthy fried apples and an overly sweetened lemon shakeup. I recommend that they provide about double the amount of food vendors next time. Definitely bring a small cooler with food and drinks if you can for next year! Other than that, not complaints, it was amazing and I would definitely visit again with my mom and sis! 

We had a great time! 

DIY Daily Planner Tutorial - For Under $10.00

I am the type of person who needs a daily to-do list. I looked at daily planners recently, and they ranged between $50-$100. That's absurd! When I saw that price, I knew I had to make my own. Before I made this official planner, I was using a lined, spiral journal. It was fine, and very portable, but I usually have this on my desk, so that wasn't a huge deal when making this new one. This would also make a cute Mother's Day or graduation gift! 

These mini binders were only $3.99 (only available in Target stores), but you can find them at any office store. The mini binder filler paper (also only available in Target stores), was only $1.99 per pack, and I grabbed 2. You could also use the divider sheets, if you need to organize things a bit more. 

Easy day, I just write the date at the top of each page in a thick permanent marker. I do this while looking at a calendar, so I get the dates correct :) It's that simple! Use your favorite color pens to write your daily to-do list and you're set! A fun way to spruce up your desk for under $10.00!

How To Make A Festival Ready Flower Crown!

I started making these beautiful flower crowns last year and they are so fun and easy! You can make one in about 20 minutes, and they are so customizable - just add whatever type of flower inspires you, and you have a unique, one of a kind accessory, just in time for festival season! 

GATHER YOUR MATERIALS // WHAT YOU NEED 

1 Bouquet of Silk Flowers - Make sure the flower heads are easy to remove from the stems, and that a wire can go through the enter of the flower head. 

Cloth Stem Wires - Pliers, Florist Tape, Wire Cutters, Wrapped Grapevine Wire for crown

Next, cut a length of grapevine wire that will wrap around your head plus an extra 4 inches to twist together to form a circle. Now, lay the circle on a table, and set 8 or more flower heads around the crown to see how you want them to look in the end. You can add a few smaller flowers if you want a more full look to your crown. 

PREPARE THE FLOWERS

Cut the Cloth Stem Wires into 4 equal parts with your wire cutters. And, as shown below, the steps are: 1.) fold over the top of the wire about 1/4". 2.) Start to twist the folded part around the rest of the wire. 3.) create a twisted loop in the top of the wire so the flower won't fall off. Thread these looped wires into each flower head you will use. 

Put wires through ever flower head, and get ready to attach them to your crown. 

ATTACH YOUR FLOWERS

Attach the first flower to your crown by twisting the wired stem to the crown. Twist the flower head wire onto the crown, and use a pair of pliers to secure any sharp wire ends, then use florists tape to make sure no wire ends poke you! 

ALMOST DONE!

Now, twist each flower onto the crown, and don't twist each wire all the way until you are happy with the flower placement. Cut the rest of your florists tape pieces, and get ready to wrap each flower stem with tape at the end. 

Here is the back view of the crown, before taping up wire ends. Use pliers to secure any sharp wire ends to the crown, then tape each end to the crown. Also, tape the rough ends of the crown so they don't come undone or poke you. 

And, here are a few more examples of other flower crowns I created. They're also perfect for a bride, or a little girl who loves flowers! Are you heading to any festivals this year? If so, feel free to comment below. 

Super Easy 2-Ingredient Ice Box Cake

Yum! This no-bake cake turned out so well! My grandma used to make this for me every time I visited. She didn't cook or bake very often, but I remember when she made this, and her famous meatballs, and they were both some of my favorites EVER! 

I always loved it and finally made some myself. This cake is great to make on a warmer day, because you don't even have to turn on the oven. It only requires 2 ingredients, Chocolate Wafers, and Cool Whip, so that's an added bonus as well! Check out my food blog, Bisque This! for this recipe and lots more! 

It's super simple! Grab a loaf tin and your 2 simple ingredients. First, spread 2-3 Tbsp of Cool Whip on the bottom of the tin evenly. Then, add a layer of chocolate wafers. They fit perfectly with 2 across. At the short side of the tin, a whole cookie wouldn't fit, so I added some cookies that were already broken in half.

Keep layering the Cool Whip and Chocolate Wafers until you are out of ingredients. I liked when the layers of Cool Whip were thicker, but whatever you wind up doing will be great! I also crushed up some of the broken cookies (in my fingers) and lightly sprinkled them on top of the cake for a bit of added cuteness! 

Pop the "cake" into the fridge or freezer, and let it combine over night. Voila! You have an incredibly easy, no-bake Cookies and Cream Ice Box Cake! I initially let this sit in the fridge overnight, but froze it to take photos of it. I tried it both ways, and liked it frozen a lot better. 

Spring Is Here!

I am so happy Spring is finally showing its face around here in southern Illinois. April showers have been going full force, and now that the rain has subsided for a little bit, and the wind is blowing, things are finally starting to dry out and get to where I want to be outside :) I got to plant a few hostas and a beautiful yellow day lily today, and the ground was nice and moist, making ti super easy to dig right into the soft, rich dirt, find lots of worms, and plant my new babies. This year has been really great so far! We got to visit my parents for about a week in Arizona, which is longer than I have been with them in a very long time, too long actually! We also hung out in Utah for a little while, which was amazing. We had only been there for a day or two last year, and were so happy we got to visit all of the National Parks and a State Park in Utah. I also got to go to California in February and see some wonderful friends from work, and attend a conference. I have been busier than ever creating wonderful graphics, and finding the newest items to share on Pinterest, too. I learned today that I in the Top 100 Most Followed Pinners on the site!!! I am also working on some awesome photos of hair and makeup for a large makeup company, which I will reveal later this month!!! It's been wonderful, and I have lots and lots of projects that 

Also, my Facebook Page, HappySolez on Pinterest, has over 3200 Likes! I am sharing some of my favorite fashion trends of the seasons, and people are responding so well to all of my finds! Stop by (here) to check out my (almost) daily, fashionable finds!

My newest blogging adventure is called, She's So Chic, and I have had over 10,000 views since March, which is such a short amount of time, it's awesome! 

Well, thanks for stopping by and Happy Spring!!!