July 4th Up North

Northern Michigan loves a good reason to celebrate.  July 4th is one of the best reasons of all.  Yes, we have a wonderful parade - yes, I have 2 bands that march in it - yes, I actually go through the parade twice!!  (and it's not a short parade!)

We have carnival rides, fireworks, caramel corn wagons, and craft shows.  This year, my work colleague and I decided to have a craft show of our own, in living room and dining room of my "craft house."  (That's the house that has my studio in the basement - yes, I'm a lucky gal!)  We held it on July 2 & 3, and we had a lot of visitors, even though we did little to advertise it. 

My colleague does stained glass work and tatting.  I showed mixed media work and jewelry.  We both declared it a success when we finished on the third!  Then.... off to band practice we both went.  It was funny, as we packed up my colleague's car, we said, "Hey, fun show - see you in a couple of hours!"  It's so fun to work with someone who has common interests outside of work - sometimes we find ourselves chattering on and on about our "other" world, while we're at work!

Here's some pics from our crafty open house - hope your July 4th celebrations were wonderfully fun.