It gets us every year.  The Fall Fair.  That final week of procrastinator hell that sucks us deep and drowns me in a rippling state of continuous nagging and pushing and 'pay attention!' and 'watch it - that glue gun is HOT!'

Our poor little town is surely the host of the lamest fair in recent history.  The parade took all of seven minutes.  There was no midway.  There was little to no competition in all the children's categories.

I don't know why I care so much.

Come to our little country fair where you are guaranteed sheep poo on your shoes, penny carnival games that cost a great deal more than a penny, and frog races (bring your own frog, of course)!

I took the week off work and spent it crafting with the kids - joy of joy...all those restful moments...

We came out with nineteen entries.  Which all placed.  Which means they'll get paid for each thing they made.  (Somehow, I still don't think that will cover the $60 in craft supplies I bought...)

But it really is so fun to watch them run across the arena floor to their creations, excited to see those little stickers claiming their victory.  That's when it's mostly worth it.

My absolute favorite thing was the pincushion.  We floated around pinterest until we found a version using a teacup and knew it was the one!

There's this awful little thrift shop in town - stuffed so full that you can't really turn around - perched along the main street like a messy mistake just itching to be dug through because surely treasure waits just beneath that top layer of musty clothing and Country Women magazines from the 90's.  We wandered in seeking a cup and saucer only to discover it was 'Bag Days' - fill a grocery bag for a twoonie, a garbage bag for $5...SCORE!!!

And so, armed with a simple teacup (among other treasures) we returned home and began our simple, no-sew project:

1    Cut a circular piece of scrap material approximately 2" wider than the lip of your cup.  (Ours was a terrible strappy bandana shirt, stuffed into our $2 bag for the sole use of it's material and because, if we bought it, we would never have to see someone walking downtown wearing such an offensive atrocity.)

2    Place cotton batting on material and gather together to form a circular 'pillow' then fasten with an elastic band.

3    Using a hot glue gun, attach along the inner rim so the 'pouf' rests above the rim.

4   Add desired embellishments.

5     Glue teacup to saucer.

6     Stick a pin in it! 

So cheap.  So easy.  And super cute resting by the sewing machine on my pretty desk!  It was a shame that it had no competition...but even if it had, I think it would still have taken first place!