HOLIDAY INDIE GARAGE SALE

What are you doing this weekend? 

I'll be here - 

(image)

Check out this list of awesome vendors who will be there with me!

MAYDAY MAYDAY

I've been quiet on the blog these days - but I have news to break the silence - HOLIDAY SHOWS

Coming up fast is the MAYDAY! Underground show

I started vending at the Mayday shows just this year but it is becoming a fast favorite of mine - the crowd is super friendly, the event coordinators are so helpful, and the show itself is an all around good time.

The travel time is a bit of a downside, but I dont have as many opportunities to hit the road these days as I used to and the trip is always worth it.

There are going to be Swag Bags for the first 50 people and this year I am going to be contributing! So if you are one of the lucky early birds who gets a bag you might be able to receive a little something that for now is an exclusive bit of sparkle. Not going to give away what it is here, but stay tuned if I decide to spill the beans. I will be selling a few new things as well, plus lots of holiday items! I've been looking forward to getting my little black christmas tree out again.

I have more show news coming up too, so I hope you'll stick around.

Blue Is A Good Color

Especially when it shows all the places my jewelry goes. I updated the map of all the items I've sent orders out too -

Make yours @  BigHugeLabs.com

My master plan is getting closer - once I cover the US I'll move on to the rest of the world

What A Funky Time

Yesterday I got up bright and early and packed my car to head to the Everson Museum for the 3rd Funky Flea. By 8:30 we were finally parked (after circling the block twice) and unloading. I managed to get my tent fixed, so I was able to finally use for a show! I put the bent side at the back so hopefully it wasn't noticeable.

I was a little worried about the weather, but other than a few blustery gusts of wind, it was fantastic all day. There was a great crowd of people, both customers and other vendors I got to chat with.

It was a little different being able to set up TWO tables, since I've been so used to the limited space at the Indie Garage Sale. I almost didn't know where to put things - and I realized I really need to do some work on my display. There are two other shows I applied to for this year and they are also bigger sized booths, so  coming up with new ideas will keep me busy.

I loved that the event was at the Everson. Such a great location - 

There was a good mix of vendors selling vintage items, artwork, and other handmade crafts - I'm always tempted to buy so much, but this time I managed to keep my spending pretty low - I got a dress for little M from Sleevescape, and 2 silver trays from a booth 2 spots down from me.

The food vendors were fantastic - Darwin had the BEST turkey clubs, and Roji Tea Lounge  had some delicious libations to enjoy.

 In closing, here are some more photos of my booth -

Did you go to the Funky Flea? What did you think? What did you buy? I'd love to hear. Also, any suggestions for my booth layout are more than welcome.

Stay Funky

2012 Shop Goals

Recently I posted on my facebook page that I had completed one of my shop goals for the year by submitting one of my pieces to a contest. I figured I'd share some of the others with you too:

1. Make an awesome chainmaille belt (for me, first, then possibly production pieces)
2. Create a website - I've been thinking lately of doing a stand alone site instead of using Etsy
3. Start and finish a "picture a day" project - maybe a weave a day? or whatever it is I make?
4. Blog at least once a week (ok - this one leaves much to be desired, but I'm working on it)
5. Take a class
6. Teach a class
7. Do 4-5 shows/year
8. Attend a workshop
9. Work on creating "my brand"
10. Enter at least 1 competition/contest
11. Create a brochure/catalog for my jewelry

(Italics are items in progress)

I've got a few new items in the works, and a giveaway idea or two, so stay tuned! I'm on facebook regularly, and you can also find me on Twitter if you ever have any questions. I'd love to hear from you.

Small Victories

Remember the state of my workbench that I shared with you last time?

Well, here's what it looks like now - 

(Forgive the poor quality cell phone pic)

Granted, at the moment it's only because I have shows the next two weekends, so I had to clean the table to take it with me. I'll take my wins where I can get them.

This also means I'll have a clean slate when I get back to business! I'm planning to reorganize this room anyways, so it's helpful that the big stuff will be moved out of my way. I love a good spring cleaning, and I've had a very bad case of cabin fever for a while now.

I'm plugging away on last minute details for the Indie Garage Sale, but I hope to be all finished by friday when I pack my car and head out to happy valley. If you're in the area I hope to see you there!

Photo from Indie Garage Sale

Tuesday How To : Simple Bound Notebooks

This is a trick I learned when I was in college and we had to hand in a multi-page collection of floor plans and drawings. I did it here to make a covered notepad to give to my nephew.

SUPPLIES:

• Cardstock / Paper for cover
• Inner pages / stuff you want to cover
• Stapler

Gather your pages you want to cover. You'll need to cut the card stock to the same size or just slightly larger. Then take another piece of card stock, 1 - 1 1/2" wide, and cut the length to match whichever edge of the paper you are binding.


Fold this strip in half, then fold one half of that under. Insert your pages in between your cover, then add the folded edge, and staple.

Folded edge = front, flat edge = back

You can also do this just using the edge/binding piece if you don't need a cover for your project and just want to keep a stack of papers together. A great idea for repurposing/ recycling paper scraps around the office as a scratch pad.

Whats Going On Here

Forget about March Madness, it's going to be April Insanity in my neck of the woods - I thought I'd share some of the craziness as it's about to begin this weekend with a trek over to the state capital to celebrate her Champagne Birthday tomorrow.


After that of course is Easter - I am trying hard to come up with easter basket ideas that do not involve candy, and hopefully involve items I can re-purpose from around the house. The twins are 3 so I think as long as we have fun stuff hidden in eggs to find they wont mind if it's their own toys. I found a post with a lot of great ideas here. 


A short list of ideas I'll be including - 

• Stickers
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Puzzles
• Glow sticks
• Coloring books
• New shoes - I got each of them a pair of flip flops for summer
• Chainmaille bracelets (they've been asking for one every time I work on something, it's only fair! :D)
• and yes, some snacks - probably fruit snacks and jelly beans. They actually don't like much candy.

Now the BIG events in April - which are making me a little crazy already just thinking about it, but I am so over the moon excited for - 

The Spring 2012 Indie Garage Sale!

Photo by  Rob @ Indie Garage Sale

IGS is one of my favorite shows - I've sold there several times now, and the crowd of artists and customers just can't be beat. I'm looking forward to seeing my crafty pals again and making lots of new ones. I've got a lot of new items in the works so hopefully they will be well received.

The weekend after that on April 28 is Mayday Underground in Rochester.
I've never attended or sold at that show, but I've heard great things about it. I'm nervous about doing the 2 shows back to back, but hopefully within the next month I'll have enough inventory that I should be covered with enough items to sell. All I can do now is really hope that things sell!

I've been pretty busy lately - making things, finishing my taxes (ugh) and finding other summer shows to apply to. I'll be posting some of the new items I'll have on my Facebook page, so be sure to come and visit!

Useful and Beautiful

So the other day I finished something that was initially inspired by a comment someone left on my page. Here is what I made -

Can you guess what it is?

Give up?

It's a Chainmaille POT SCRUBBER. Why did I not think of this myself? Oh wait, even if I had come up with it, pot scrubbers like this have actually been around for a while - they're like the original steel wool. This is made in a 4 x 4 inch mesh of bright aluminum rings, which dont rust or tarnish so it will take the wear and tear of regular use. I attached it to a key ring for something easy to grab onto. If I plan on marketing these pot scrubbers, I'll be sure to source the bigger rings that will not rust or tarnish as well. It wouldn't suit to have the one part of it I dont make to not stand up to the rest of it, now would it?

This scrubber would be perfect for all your cast iron cookware. Don't tell me you're not using cast iron, or I'll tell you you're cooking it wrong. Since this is the first scrubber I made I decided to test it out on my own pan.

Before:

Scrub, scrub, scrub

After scrubbing:

I'd say it works - and it would look so pretty hanging by your sink when you're done, don't you think? It *almost* makes me want to wash the dishes. Almost.

Mr. Clean Please Don't Hurt Me

I wish I could say the reason I've been quiet on the blog is that I'm super busy working on orders an making things, and while I have been a little bit, thats not the entire reason. The truth of the matter is that I've let myself get pretty disorganized and the state of my work table leaves much to be desired. I know a lot of artists thrive amidst chaos but I crave order and, well, just look what I'm putting myself through:

Yea. Someone come slap me with a swiffer, because this is nuts.

To be fair, I have made some progress on this mountain, but if anyone wants to come help with a spring cleaning, I'd happily compensate with yummy food and sparkly jewelry.

Anybody? 

Ssssssssparkly

I was going through the few photos I took during my NYC excursion in December, and this fellow jumped out at me - An Emerald Tree Boa at Central Park Zoo. The slithery scales were so vibrant and bright, I wish the glass on the enclosure wasn't so dirty so you could see just how gorgeous the colors are. I know snakes don't float a lot of peoples boats, but I love the visual texture of snake skin. 

That might be why some of my favorite chainmaille patterns are "scale" styles - like Dragonscale

Rainbow patterns in Dragonscale are awesome - 

This piece was one I finished for a custom request - 

I love the fringed pattern and how the colors go through the spectrum.

Another one of my favorite snaky styles is called "Shenanigans"

This piece just called out for a matching clasp. I called this bracelet "Garden of Eden", because of the serpent influences, and the use of apple red rings.

There are even more patterns I have yet to learn, but hopefully sometime soon I will have them in my arsenal. Until then, I hope you enjoy examining the details of the intricate ring linking as much as I do.

Missing Links

Nothing more frustrating than when I'm working along happily on an order and then this happens -

"D'oh" about sums it up.

Be My Valentine

I thought I'd have a hearty (har har) feature today and showcase some of my many red and pink items in the shop. Besides Valentines Day, did you know February is American Heart Month?

Valentines is only a short week away, but there's still time to ship pieces that are in stock!
Check out my shop for more red inspired items here.

Bronze Beauty

I recently completed another custom piece and sent it off to its new home. It seems as though this year is starting out as the year of the handflower since I've already received a few more requests for one -

and the backside -

A handflower was the first piece of chainmaille I ever got. My boyfriend at the time bought it for me on a visit to the Renaissance Festival one summer almost ten years ago, and I still wear it to this day. They're very elegant pieces of jewelry. This last one I made was a custom order since I usually offer it in a silver metal, but this customer requested bronze. I'm not sure why I didn't think of making a piece like this in Bronze before, but I'm so happy I got to make this one. I see more Bronze and Copper pieces on the horizon. Stay tuned.

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Project Byproducts

On occasion when I'm making a custom order and end up with a surplus of rings, I'll save them in hopes of using them (and sometimes never do..) or just scrap them out and put them in my big "Miscellaneous Jar Of Rings" (hey it looks pretty when the light shines through it). Once in a while I get just enough, or am inspired enough, to create something lovely with them.

I recently completed an order for a set of 8 Knot Wine Charms. They turned out fantastic, I think - I love the color choices my customer picked:

While I was making them, I had enough extra rings to probably make another 2 or 3 sets..but this pattern happens to be my favorite (It's called Persephone, created by Corvus Chainmaille), and I love linking the tiny knots into chains, so I thought I'd see what a pseudo-rainbow colored necklace would look like. Here's how it looks so far -

Quite the delicate little dish, don't you think? I still need to finish up the back side of the chain and clasp, but it will just be something simple. To be clear, the colored rings are the ones I had to cut myself. The silver colored rings I get from one of my awesome suppliers, and theyre made of whats called Bright Aluminum. It's my favorite material to work with, because it has all the shine and sparkle of silver, but without the high price -and- the BA doesn't tarnish. All plusses in my book.

It's a snowy day here in Central New York, but I have to brave the cold to ship orders and then come home and work on some more shiny new things. I can't wait to share more with you soon!

Fresh Stuff

Welcome to a new year! I hope everyone celebrated in their own satisfactory way. I ushered in 2012 with a quiet night at home with loved ones and I would not have it any other way. I've been trying to get back into the swing of things, and been lucky enough to start off the month with some custom orders.

One of my favorite recently completed commissions is this rainbow cuff that a friend ordered at the house party she held -

The colors vary through the whole spectrum - red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, purple and black. The ends are all bright aluminum.

This piece was a nice challenge for me - I used whats called a "Dragonscale" pattern (it's sometimes also called Mermaid Mesh) which is a little tricky to begin with, but I also altered the it into a sort of fringed, zig-zag wave too. This is my favorite weave and though to be honest I had to put it down a few times because it was making my eyes buggy, I just loved working on it.

I've got plenty of new ideas for SCC this year. I'm hoping to get a few bigger shows in, including one or two outside of NY state. Also in the works are some new designs and one of a kind items, plus some larger scale  projects I've been meaning to get to for a while (chainmaille belts, anyone?).

Keep your eyes pealed, as I'll be updating the Shop and the blog here with lots of shiny. I can also be contacted by email for any custom requests.

Happy New Year!