N o .  3 D E C E M B E R    2 0 1 0 This season's colors-- red and green(washed) I'm seeing more and more examples of products sporting their RE creds. RE-cycled, RE-used, RE-purposed--all the current buzz words. The problem? Very few of them actually live up to the claim. I happened upon this particular example the other day at the Container Store. . . Read more. . . Blue Genie Art Bazaar, Dec 1 - 24th This show has always been fabulous, but they have stepped it up yet again in honor of their 10th Anniversary. Three best things about Blue Genie: 1. Work from over 100 Austin artists. 2. Central cashier for easy purchasing. 3. Open every day from 10am to 10pm and Fridays & Saturdays til midnight. Make time to head over to The Marchesa for some of the best holiday gift shopping on the planet. close-up At this point, the data is pretty clear--buying locally produced goods provides a significant boost to your economy. Every dollar spent at a local business generates roughly three times the economic benefit of a dollar spent at an absentee-owned chain. Of course, there is no such thing as a locally made Wii (unless you live in China), but buying the Wii from a locally owned electronics shop is often a possibility. As we're all adjusting to this slack economy, it's good to keep in mind that where we spend our money really does make a difference to our communities. A great resource for finding locally owned businesses in Austin can be found at the Austin Independent Business Alliance site. show up December is always a busy month, but I think I may have overdone it a bit with the show schedule. In case you're doing a sanity check, please know that I did turn down three others! Saturday, December 4th, 2 to 7pm Jewelry By Artists @ The Gallery Black Lagoon If you made it out for the first iteration of this show at the end of this past summer, you know what a great mix of Austin jewelers were featured. The show is back, slightly larger and sure to be a great place to find something wonderful for someone special in your life. Saturday, December 11, 10am to 6pm Sunday, December 12, Noon to 6pm Cherrywood Art Fair @ Maplewood Elementary This is the show that started it all for me. I love it for that and all sorts of other reasons. If you haven't yet made it to CAF, you need to make time this year. If you have come before, you know you're making time for it. It's relaxed, family friendly, has great live music, and even proceeds help support the art program at the school and other neighborhood art-y projects. December 20-21 Adelante Trunk Show I'm excited to be part of the Adelante series of holiday trunk shows. To see the full schedule check their events page. Ongoing Hand Delivered Why fight traffic? Have handcrafted goods delivered to your office during lunch. Be a hero at work and contact us today to schedule your show. What's up in December Greenwashing Go Local this Season Make Upcycled Gift Bags MMMMMM Sugar Plums Art in Spaaaaace act up This is a great little tutorial from How About Orange. Some old newspaper and a glue stick are all that's required to make these little gift bags. It's even easy enough for young kids. It's perfect for all you little gift wrapping needs this season. eat up I found this years ago in Saveur magazine. If your vision of a sugar plum has always been a bit fuzzy, this recipe will provide clarity. They are a delicious taste of holidays past. Sugar Plums 2 c. whole almonds 1/4 c. honey 2 tsp grated orange zest 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground allspice 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 1 c. finely chopped dried apricots 1 c. finely chopped pitted dates 1 c. confectioner's sugar 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange almonds on baking sheet in single layer and toast in oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool, then finely chop. 2. Meanwhile, combine honey, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl. Add almonds, apricots and dates and mix well. 3. Pinch off rounded teaspoon sized pieces of the mixture and roll into balls. Rinse your hands often, as mixture is very sticky. Roll balls in sugar, then refrigerate in single layers between sheets of waxed paper in airtight containers for up to 1 month. Their flavor improves after ripening for several days. send it up This amazing piece was hand embroidered by Austin artist and space enthusiast Rachel Hobson. Help her get her art launched into orbit. word up I came across the word "scenius" the other day and have been a bit evangelical about it. From The Technium: "Scenius is like genius, only embedded in a scene rather than in genes. Brian Eno suggested the word to convey the extreme creativity that groups, places or "scenes"  can occasionally generate. His actual definition is:  "Scenius stands for the intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. It is the communal form of the concept of the genius." I'm lucky to live in a place with scenius. Free Shipping on Every Item in My Etsy Shop