Our state fair is the best state fair, and it starts today

 The Minnesota State Fair starts today, and it's a really big deal around here.  Since the fair is in St. Paul, where I live, I grew up going to the fair every year.  Sometimes more than once.  It's 12 days long, it covers a lot of ground, and there is so much to see and do.  Great entertainment, great food, great people watching and great exhibits, that's why they call it "The Great Minnesota Get-Together". 
Even though the fair is still not all about farming, that is always been an important part of any fair, and people all look forward to seeing the animals, the crop exhibits, the farm machinery, and the tasty treats that go along with it.  The dairy building makes the best malted milks and sundaes, and you can watch them carve the head of the Princess Kay of the Milky Way (the queen of the fair) out of butter.  All the princesses who represent counties all over the state get their heads carved in 25 pounds of butter.  They sit in a refrigerated glass room with the sculptor for hours.  They get to take it home, where some busts end up in the freezer to save, others use it for a big corn feed party.  The agriculture-horticulture building has exhibits of seed artwork, and the top prize winning produce, and the best honey candy. 
 Growing up my favorite fair treat was a carmel apple, or mini-donuts, whichever was closer at the time. 
The first thing I head to now is the Creative Activities Building to see all the beautiful quilts, and knitting, and sewing and lace, woodworking, and home baked or home canned food.  I have always dreamed of entering baked goods in the fair.  Maybe one of these days I will.  But for now, I will continue to hone my skill at paper crafts. 
These are scrapbook pages that I made to honor the state fair, but they could also represent your garden or your canning activities.  Could be a prize that is won at the fair for just about anything. 
The stamps are all from the Perfectly Preserved set with coordinating Framelits, that come also in a bundle.  It is so much fun to be able to cut out the shapes and play around with them.  Your imagination runs wild when you get your hands on these.  I was stamping fruit in the jars (where I used a masking method to get them stacked in).  I was lining fruits and veggies all over the place.  Kind of stamping gone wild, much like my vegetable garden.  I also had to include a few needlework pieces, with embroidery and a quilt  made from the Orchard Harvest DSP that was used on the page.  The Orchard Harvest Suite in the new SU holiday catalog is such a delight.  I have never had as much fun as I have had with this set.  I know you'll love it, too. 
Come back again for another visit to the fair with me.  I'll have more fair exhibits tomorrow.

Mary Alice