Process

A lot of time was spent this month, getting my display ready for the market.  I decided to make a bunch of "enlarged pendants" to hang up behind my jewelry and as fun display pieces.

It ended up being a great eye catcher and drew lots of folks to my booth! I thought it might be fun to share a few process pics of me and my honey working in the shop, getting all the "super-sized" pendants ready!

Here I am, using a bunch of off-cuts from some of my hubby's projects. In this pic I am taking templates and tracing them onto the wood.

 

Here Paul is, cutting out the shapes using a band saw. Elliedog aka Smelly Ellie is supervising and waiting for lunch break.

He's so precise!

Scraps!

 

 Next Paul used a belt sander to finish shaping them. 

 

Next we drilled holes in the back for easy hanging and I finished sanding them till they were smooth and ready for their first coat of paint.

Here they are ready for paint!

But first, we decided to take a break and get some fresh air, so we went out back to chill and take in the scenery...

railroad tracks and warehouses.

 Train!!!

  Paul also showed me where he is planning to put some exterior signage for his business.

 

Back inside, we put a couple of coats of paint on the plaques and left them to dry. 

Once they dried, I took them back home and got to work!

I love the way the display turned out!  

*These plaques are all one of a kind and can be purchased online or at Art and Artisans Gallery in Ellicott City!

Winter Wonderland

So I stopped by my folks house on the way home from the Buyer's Market for a visit and, of course, a home cooked meal... (red snapper- it was succulent!)  It was so nice to just sit and relax, share the excitement of the show and see what was new at home.  I decided to stay the night, and head out in the morning, since forecasts called for 5 inches of snow.  Good decision!

I was treated to these lovely backyard views in the morning.  Doesn't everything look so fresh and crisp!  I'm sure some of these images will start to show up in new designs soon...

I'm Back With a Buyer's Market Recap!

Wow! What an amazing week I had up in Philly at the Buyer's Market of American Craft!  Basically it's 4+ days of selling my work to galleries, boutiques, museum shops all across the country!  The caliber of work there is beyond...  I tried to walk around and see as much of it as I could, but the event is so huge that it's impossible unless you spend 5 days there just roaming the aisles.  My next few posts will  give you a gist of what the event entails, what I did while I was there and where my work will be featured next!!!  Below is a partial view of my booth!  More to come...

What I Will Wear...

I know this is gonna sound a little weird, being that I design jewelry, but I don't consider myself a fashiony type of person.  Don't get me wrong,  like any girl, I love fashion-  it's just that I have a hard time figuring out what looks good on me.

I love this look!

(All Photos by Jessica Quirk)

So you can imagine, with a five day trade show coming up, I'm kind of stressing about what to wear!  I need to look sharp, but I'm going to be on my feet for hours and will need to be reasonable comfortable. I also need to create outfits that complement my jewelry, not over power it.  So I did what any smart person would do... I consulted a professional!  No, I didn't hire a stylist, I just went over to the amazing fashion blog "What I Wore"  created by Jessica Quirk.

Don't you just love these tights?!

I really enjoy her style... she puts looks together that are fun, but doable, mixing vintage pieces with classic staples and pulls it off with ease and aplomb!

This color combo is perfection!

Thanks, Jessica, for sharing all these great looks and allowing me to post them on my site!  They will definitely inspire my outfits next week!

Khaki Giveaway!!!

Another giveaway!

It's the easiest giveaway ever...just tell me what u want!!!  Head over to my facebook page and tell me if you want a necklace or a ring to enter!  You have till March 1 to decide...

What I'll Be Bringing to Market... Khaki and Honeysuckle!

Here are some of the new items I have ready for the Buyers Market next week...

I love it in black and am excited to be able to offer it now in khaki and honeysuckle!!!

Let me know what you think! 

I just finished up some of these new dogwood pieces, which my hubby has been urging me to do for a while now.

Late Night Sketchin!

Many artists I know keep sketch books and carry them with them wherever they go.  Personally, I've never felt comfortable drawing in a book.  I always feel constrained by the spine and the curve of the paper,  basically it just doesn't feel right.  So I sketch on loose leaf paper and keep them on file for reference.  One of the best parts of my job, is getting to see drawings that I might have done one night at 3 in the morning, turn into a rockin  pieces of jewelry!   The final designs don't always look like the sketches, but in this case, they came out pretty darn close!  These two designs above are probably going to end up being pendants for necklaces.

Whoa!

Thought I'd share this link to Google's new Art Project. It's " A unique collaboration with some of the world’s most acclaimed art museums to enable people to discover and view more than a thousand artworks online in extraordinary detail" Allowing you to see the collections at "incredible zoom levels".
It's crazy how much detail and how close up you can see these paintings!