Etsy Front Page

I'm on the Etsy front page! I love that application on facebook that lets you know when you have an item featured. Otherwise I would never know, well not entirely true since my fellow Etsy Metal members are really good about letting each other know when they are featured.

Lucy sings to the harmonica

Laura and Russ of Path Less Pedaled rolled into Fort Worth on their bikes on Sunday. We have been enjoying getting to know them and are excited to have them here. Russ plays harmonica and Lucy accompanies him in this video that our friend John took. Laura is a jewelry maker too and we have had a little studio time together. The two of them are giving a presentation about their travels this evening at the new Trinity Bicycles on Main Street. I'll get some pictures to post soon. Russ is a photographer, so I'm sort of nervous to take out my camera!

Bluebonnets and Paintbrushes

It's spring in Texas and that means wildflowers. With all the rain we had this winter and early spring it has been even more gorgeous than usual. We were so busy down in the Hill Country that I never got to stop and take pictures of the flowers. Mom and I found a spot in Argyle last week to snap some shots of these Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes. Texas kids grow up getting their picture taken in the bluebonnets each spring, but I haven't done that in years. I wanted to lay down in a bunch of them, but didn't find a lush enough stand to get my portrait made this year. I know it is silly, but they are so pretty that they would surely make me look good too!

Happy Birthday Frank!

Today is my honey's birthday! If you have ever met Frank, even for a second, you know that I am a lucky girl. When my best friends' mom met him for the first time she only spoke to him briefly. She told me afterwards, "Frank is so nice!". You can just tell he is a good guy, maybe it is that smile? I love him to death and I know how lucky I am. Frank came with me this past weekend and spent the whole time at my show, which was really awesome and generous of him. He has worked so hard this semester, going to college for the first time and working, and I am so proud of him. We have been busier than ever and stressed lately, but there is nothing that makes me happier than spending time with my honey. So Happy Birthday Frank and thanks for being such a wonderful guy! I hope you know how much I love you.

us last weekend in Wimberley

my parent's new place in Wimberley

Oh, and now I've got to go grocery shopping so I can make that carrot cake for Frank.

My mom featured on Etsy Metal's blog

My mom is featured over on the Etsy Metal Blog! Check it out.

Fiesta!

Me in my booth.

I'm back from Fiesta and in semi recovery mode. We got back on Monday and I helped Frank type up his first college research paper. Yesterday I headed to Argyle to unload my booth from my Dad's truck and help my mom with some stuff. I haven't gotten to rest yet, but that is okay. Fiesta was a great event despite a near wash out on Saturday. Some dedicated, hard core supporters came out in rain gear and made it a wonderful day despite the rain. Sunday was gorgeous, and there were tons of people out enjoying the show. I love San Antonio, and Fiesta is a really well run and lovely show. They treat the artists great and I hope to be there many more times in the future. I had a corner booth for the first time, which I thought was great. I was able to add two more cases to my display by pushing the tables out to the corner. I also put white watercolor paper on top of my black displays which brightened things up considerably. I took a bunch of shots of my booth and have to pick one for a new "booth shot".



My new print outs. Frank said he noticed lots of people reading them.

The new earring stand that my dad made me.

More finished pieces

Here is my first attempt at torch firing enamels. These will be earrings. Now I'm wishing that I had gotten so many more colors! I really like torch firing, it goes so quick and is fun to watch.Here are all my Spiney Oyster shell pieces on the work bench. There are 4 pendants, 3 rings and a pair of earrings. That is a Polymer bracelet (a first) in the background.

These are my saucer earrings on new round earring cards. This doesn't show the dangle ones that I have to make larger circles for.

I got 'proper' photos of the polymer bead bracelet.

The garden is calling my name

This is my favorite time of year in Texas and the weather has been absolutely perfect for days on end. The light outside has been gorgeous and my backyard garden has been calling my name. I have done a little bit of clean up, but hope to do more and some planting after my show. It has been really hard to resist the call of the garden lately!

Last minute designs

I started this bracelet last year and struggled to get it finished for Fiesta but couldn't make it work. It has been sitting dormant on my workbench for a year now and I cam back to it. This time around it came together in a breeze and I am really excited about it! I was unsure how it would wear being top heavy, but it stands up well and looks really good on. I am so bad about getting 'real' pictures before a show, but will try to get one since I love this so much.

I had also set aside these polymer pieces, but only for a month or so. Last night about 11pm I decided I needed to have a pair of earrings made with these for my show. We'll see if they get done by Thursday with all the other things on my to do list. I think they will be pretty cool though!

Something new for my booth

I decided that I wanted to print up some literature with images to hang in my booth for customers to read. These are what I came up with. I printed them on cardstock and am going to get them printed. They aren't very large, but definitely readable. They will be hung with magnets onto a metal sign that will be placed at one of the front corners of my booth just above a display case. I'm not sure if people will read them, but thought it was a good idea. They describe a few of the materials that people always ask about and some people are probably shy about asking questions too. What do you think? Do you think they will distract people from looking at my jewelry?

Camera Shy

My fourteen year old baby, Malta, hates the camera. I have a terrible time getting a clear shot of her, especially since I don't like using my flash. I got a kick out of the fact that the images above where she is moving are almost more readable than the still ones. My friend Carrie pointed out that her elderly dog was camera shy because of cataracts and having the flash hurt her eyes. I wonder if this is Malta's issue? She wasn't always like that.

Where I have been

I have been buy getting ready for Fiesta Art Fair in San Antonio next weekend!
I made new displays with dad on Thursday and have been working away on new jewelry. I don't have any finished pieces to share yet, but here is my work bench full of projects. I did my email newsletter about my show on Mail Chimp, which I love. They make it so easy to have a professional looking email. Check out my email here. I'm also working on some simple literature to hang in my booth. I thought that some people might like to read little blurbs with answers to frequently asked questions.

parts and pieces ready to get a patina

these will become enameled earrings

bag 'o parts for fiber jewelry

Thursday evening mom and I went down to Main Street Art Festival, here in Fort Worth, to check it out. My friend Kari of Fat Cat Studio was participating for the first time so we chatted with her for a while. We then set out to see the show and it is so big! We were there for three hours and didn't see everything. Some artists were starting to close down their booths by the time we were leaving. I have always been intimidated by this show because of the size and the length (four days). But after talking to some wonderful artists I have gotten over my fear and plan to start applying. It is a hard one to get in to, but if I can it would be wonderful. There are artists from far and wide, I think the farthest on that I noticed was from British Columbia. Some of my favorites were: Rone Prinz (who couldn't have been more friendly and was one of the people that encouraged me to apply), Janice P. Ho (whose gorgeous quirky jewelry I had seen online before), Mimi Damrauer (who we chatted up about Chicago and fabric dyeing), Lisa Crowder (who I finally got to meet after seeing her work for years), Carrie of Skosh Design (who's jewelry incorporates unusual materials and will also be at Fiesta), and Kevin Peterson (who's paintings were really inspiring). I always get inspired by going to this show. I love doing shows myself and like to look at how people display their work. Main street has a great energy and has always been on a level that I have aspired to. Now I plan to take that next step to see if I could actually get there. I met lots of artists who will also be at Fiesta next weekend. Fiesta holds a party for their artists Saturday night, so hopefully I will get to talk with some of them more! The show goes through this evening, so there is still time to check it out.

I might not be posting much for the next week or so. When I get back from San Antonio my friends Laura and Russ of Path Less Pedaled will be here. I feel like I know them already from following their blog of their travels, but will finally meet them next week.

Mmmmm!!!

We celebrated my dad's birthday last night and I made him a homemade carrot cake. Boy was it yummy! I used this recipe but left out 1 cup of powdered sugar from the icing and only did two layers. This was my first from scratch cake with homemade icing and layers.

Now I want to make more cakes!

I know I have mentioned how great my dad is before, but I have to brag again. Today he is helping me make new displays for my show next week. Thanks Dad, and Happy Birthday.

Is it time for a cofffee break (I mean carrot cake break) yet?

Nature in the city

A friend told me about this new portion of the Trinity Trail system along Hawks Creek. We parked nearby and walked the dogs down the trail to the lovely waterfalls on the creek. I can't believe this is right around the corner from my house! This is also a great spot to ride bikes to, which we hope to do soon.

It was a gorgeous spring day on Saturday, and I'm so glad we were able to get out and enjoy it.

Sewing Tank Tops

I seem to be making a lot of tank tops. I think it is good sewing practice, and something pretty simple to start with. For the most part they are just two pieces of fabric, sometimes with bias strips like the turquoise one. I think getting the fit down with these simple pieces will help me on future and possibly more complicated patterns too. The turquoise tank is Simplicity 2586 and I love it! The fabric is a cotton ikat that my mom let me have from her stash. I didn't know that I would like a longer top, but I do. I added elastic at the waist in the back for gathers and to give it more shape. I can't wait to make the dress version of this pattern and already have some gorgeous blue linen for it.

The red tank was a practice run for making this pattern out of my vintage Liberty of London Daisy print. This one is Simplicity 2599 and I changed the neckline to a V neck. I'm pretty happy with the fit and went ahead and cut out the Liberty, which will have ruffles along the neckline.

Pawpaw rocks

My Pawpaw was a big rock collector. Mom still has jars full of his rocks and I went through one the other day. Much to my delight I found these beautiful Lace Agate (I think) rocks. I wish I could cut them myself, but since I can't I think I will see if I can get them cut. I'm thinking flat backs but leaving the tops natural would be cool.

I wish I knew where these rocks were collected. Granny and Pawpaw traveled all around the Western United States after they retired. These were probably picked up in the 60's or 70's in their travels. Pawpaw had the concrete steps from his mothers' house in his back yard as a display for his rock collection. I'll have to find a picture of that. I wish I could have transported the whole collection and the steps to my house!

Unrelated: I was interviewed by Love to Know, check it out.

I'm getting ready for Fiesta Art Fair in San Antonio which is in two weeks. If you would like more info sign up for my email list on the right side of the blog and I will send out an email soon.

Eat your veggies

The best bagel was the last one and it became a veggie sandwich. I have talked before about how yummy this sandwich is. I got the idea from my friends Christi and Brandon and it is oh so delicious. The sandwich has a cream cheese spread, then the veggies are stacked up. This one had avocado, bell pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes and banana peppers. This bagel made me want to make another batch!