Alice in Wonderland @ Art-is-You

i'm leaving on Tuesday for Portland to teach at Artnsoul, but i am also trying to get much done for the art retreat, Art-is-You, which is where i will be teaching next week. Their theme this year, is Alice in Wonderland, so i painted a little watercolor using a Suzi Blu type of girl (taught at her San Diego workshop). I also used page from a vintage book for the scene. i added the little birdie on my own, just because! i am making little ornaments and a few collages on little frames and i also made myself a little t-shirt to wear at "Alice's coronation".

prototype for spoon class @ Artnsoul art retreat oct. 2009

I leave on Tuesday for Portland, Oregon where i am teaching at Artnsoul for 2 days. One of the classes that i am teaching is using old spoons and how to transform them into jewelry. since i am very visual and my other prototype is in California at Gilding the Lily (where i am teaching in February), i made another necklace to have on hand during the demos and discussions. and yes, this will be for sale after i return home.

home again, home again

How awesome is this? they had 2 girls at the fair, taking photos, giving out wienie whistles. so i asked if they got to drive it here and she said yes. so i was wondering how does one get a job driving a wienie car? (you never know, i might apply....)
update: i went on their website to answer my own question and this is what i found out:
While I was just pretend the real driving is done by a team of talented and personable "Hotdoggers" who have attended Hot Dog High in Madison, Wisconsin, where they learn about the company's products and history as well as receiving specialized driver training. I'm sure they're careful drivers, but Oscar Mayer undoubtedly has a hefty car insurance policy on a vehicle this unique. After taking the Hotdogger Oath and graduating, new Hotdoggers travel the country for one year. The Hotdoggers on this visit were Desiree Villarreal (left), better known as "Dill Relish Des", from Palacios, Texas, and Regan Schubel (a.k.a. "Regan Relish") from Marshall, Michigan.


(click on photo for enlarged view)

well, we made it back home - we left yesterday morning with Joanna and Miss A in the U-haul and Kathe and I in my car. well, Kathe and i promptly got lost as we were chit chatting away. it didn't take us long to figure it out though. then where we decided to get off was under constructed, so we ended up on a detour that took us on a very extended route to get back to where we needed to go. the whole time we were trying to sort out our directions, there was a very strange, but cute, cricket/grasshopper on the dash of my car and he kept walking towards me. i didn't mind him in the car, but he kept coming straight at me and i thought, he's gonna jump in my face! so i swatted him about. so we are driving on this detour and all of a sudden, Kathe, gives out a startled noise and Mr. Buggy had made his way around to her window and was staring her in the face. so out the window he went! we made several stops on the way home at antique stores, potty breaks, coffee breaks. the ride was long and tedious. my back was spasming really bad, so i was happy every time we stopped to stretch our legs. we ended up stopping at this hole in the wall antique store that was a total "diggers delight". their whole back room was vintage Christmas (described by Joanna as "a room where Christmas threw up" or something like that) it was awesome. the owner was giving us the best prices and we think he was either bored to death or happy to see 4 women walk into his store! what a lovely time we had. and i want to thank the girls for all their help, advice, buying me my birthday dinner, the great collage book and for buying some of my jewelry - i appreciate the support. we've heard a rumor of changes in location to the Country Living Fair and i hope they are just that, "rumors". the location was perfect. i'm anxious for them to make a decision about it.

it was a good show and as usual, everyone wanted to buy my display stuff (my NFS - not for sale stuff), so i told my husband, maybe i'll just stop making stuff and sell flea market finds since that's what everyone wants to buy! (don't worry, i won't stop making stuff....)



(click on photo for enlarged view)

(click on photo for enlarged view)

(click on photo for enlarged view)

I got all my stuff unpacked and put away (for the most part) some of it needs to stay out and be ready to go to Connecticut. i started packing for Portland, so it's already back to the grindstone - no breaks for this gal.

day three

well today was an ok day. sales were quite slow (i'd say today equalled (sp?) what a typical NJ show would be like for me; lots of lookers, but not many takers). the weather held out til about 1:00 ish and then it started to drizzle. it wasn't bad and it's not like it drove the crowd out; but by 4:00, the place was dead. we got packed up really quick, thankfully as it started sprinkling again. between the 4 of us, we bought goodies to go home with, so the truck is a might fuller than we started!

i met many wonderful vendors and made new friends. loved my neighbors, William and Jan, and of course, "The Summerhouse Girls + Miss A" who were so good about booth sitting while i ran to the potty, grabbed food, etc. It was really a great experience. can't wait to show off all my pictures.

and i wanted to thank everyone that i met who raved about my art and especially to those who bought their special purchases from me. i know that $ is tight these days, so for you to spend your hard earned money on my art is a real compliment. very much appreciated. headed home tomorrow!

for those of you keeping up on my blog, you know that i am entering my "whirlwind tour of chaos" (t-shirts are on order....) in the next week. i'm feeling a bit stressed about all i have to do, but i will manage. next week i fly out to teach in Portland. Then i'll be home a week and leave to teach in Connecticut. After that i am off to Seattle to attend Journalfest!

i look forward to early November when i can relax and begin more jewelry projects since i am almost out of product.

day two

we are back at the hotel freshing up after another awesome day at the Country Living Fair. big crowds again today, but the buying was different. i think the big buyers were in yesterday. today was a lot of what i call "lookie lous" out for some fresh air and kettle corn! i still had a good day, so i 'm not complaining. a pretty lady stopped by my booth and ended up spending a nice sum on some of my higher end pieces. she bought "Silver Bella", the piece that was in the current issue of Belle Amoire Jewelery. she also bought my best piece, "the lost purse". i'm worried i won't have anything to sell at "Art -is-you" for vendor night when i teach there in a few weeks! (and there won't be any time to make much more after i get home).

got to see my online friend, Vivian, who came with her 2 friends, so that was fun. Vivian was kind enough to booth sit for me a few times so that i could run to the potty and also get some food - thanks!

We are heading out in a few for dinner in a few minutes to celebrate my birthday. tomorrow i've heard mention of the "weather word we shall not name", so please think good weather thoughts for our final day tomorrow! and i promised, plenty of photos to share with you when i get home.

Day one

Wow, today was crazy! i would love to know the total # of people who were at the show today. at one point, it was overwhelming. there was no room in my booth or the aisle in front, yet i needed to be real close to keep an eye on things, keep things tidy, etc. i sold quite a lot of jewelry today. surprisingly i only sold 2 mixed media things. i hope more go tomorrow as i don't want to go home with them! so that's the news. we are exhausted and ready for bed (at 8:45pm!)

Hi, fromOhio

Sorry, no photos tonight as i don't have my card reader and i am borrowing this laptop to blog quickly. It was a long drive yesterday, but fun. we made a pit stop at an antique store in Somerset,Pa. to stretch our legs and have our lunch (my yummy homemade tuna).

we've been at the fairgrounds all day setting up our booths, shopping, drinking the most fabulous lemonade. back to the shopping - SO COOL! i took lots of pictures and really didn't get to see everything as many people were still setting up. i bartered with Dorothy from "Pretty in pink" for a doll shadow box and she'll pick out a necklace. i bought a few things that Iused as last minute displays and a DARLING children's desk all grungey, with fabulous green, chipped paint - AND did i say it was from China? it is so great. it has all sorts of graffiti where kids craved stuff into the desk.

so we are heading out to eat right now.busy days begins tomorrow!

I'm outta here!

well, we leave around 8:00am for Ohio. we will begin setting up on Thursday and then the show begins on Friday.

special necklace to celebrate 45 years

I found this medal piece that reads 1964, 45th anniversary year at a flea market. so i 've been holding onto knowing i wanted to create something with it being i was born in '64 and i am turning 45. so this is what i came up with. it's a large piece and it definitely will showcase me on my birthday as i wear my party hat and have dinner with friends while in Ohio. (pam, i'm going to miss you!)

as promised

So remember these dolls heads i unpacked and told you i was making really cool things with them?

here is a few of the dolls i made using the heads. the bases ranged from rusty bed springs to vintage tea cups, bottles and more! and you thought all i did was go to flea markets......

(click on image for enlarged view)

Lemoncholy's policy sign for shows

Taking tea with Alice

We were given a kewpie doll to alter for "Taking tea with Alice" (in Wonderland) for the "Art is You" art retreat that will take place in a few weeks in Connecticut. so this is what i came up with. I still want to do something around the base under her skirt (i see a poofy ribbon). I am teaching 4 classes there (snippets, soldering, a jewelry class and a collage class). I am really looking forward to it.

In the meantime, i have finally taken booth photos and shots of most of my jewerly and mixed media pieces - so i'll probably post those tomorrow. tonight i begin pricing everything. (yuck, i hate this part).

45 is just around the corner

i wanted to take a picture of my bangs as i am growing them out so that i can wear them "rockabilly style". then of course i took several shots as it is kind of hard to take your own picture and i usually can't tell how the pictures are looking as i am taking them. surprisingly, i actually liked these, so i'm gonna post them and say, i don't look half bad for 45!

my sign is here!

i asked my friend, Claire to make this sign for me after seeing some names she had done for one of the etsy shows at Om Baby. isnt it great? and yes, that's a little sneak peek at a section of my booth. hopefully more pictures tomorrow. i'm about to pull out all my jewelry and start finding spots for them through out the booth.

it's crunch time

Well, i leave next Wednesday for Ohio. it's about a 7-8 hour drive. we will set up on Thursday and then the show is Fri, Sat and Sun. I am in tent #4. i think i am done with projects and now need to finish booth decisions, start pricing and then pack up. i want to take photos of my jewelry, but we've been having a few rainy days, so i'll try to wait until the sun is out. also, my booth preparation got stalled when i discovered a foul odor coming out of the chimney. i suspected a nest in the chimney, so a chimney sweeper was called, but of course it was the weekend and holiday weekend at that, so we had to wait until yesterday for him to get here. so he cleaned the chimney, removed squirrel's nest with deceased squirrel, disinfected it and viola! so now i can get back in there and get to work!

Columbus flea market - again.....

Well, it's Thursday, so what did you expect? anywho, made the trek out there this morning on what turned out to be the most beautiful, sunny, yet crisp/but not cold, early Sept. day. it was so lovely i was in absolutely no hurry to leave the market. the air was so fresh and yet, it really wasn't very crowded, which was nice. usually crowds make me claustrophobic, so it was nice just to chill and take my time. In one booth, i started looking around in these garbage bags (which can either be really scary or a lovely surprise!) i ended up getting quite excited as i unearthed these EXQUISTE vintage nightgowns and slips - a passion of mine. i've been collecting them for many years with thoughts of doing things with them and started tie dying a few things early this summer if you remember. the workmanship that goes into vintage items never ceases to amaze me. you just do not find such detail these days - end of story! along with the to-die-for-lingerie and slips i found lovely lace & tatting. i also found 2 gorgeous/shabby chic/gypsy coverlets; so lightweight, yet soft and comfortable. At another table i found a beautiful, old birdcage that i decided would be the perfect home for the newest birds nest that i found yesterday in some wild, thorny rosebush across the street. we should take a cue from the birds as i found lots of plastic strips woven in and around the sticks - these guys know how to recycle! usually i do not have the energy to search through all the jewelry that is to be found at flea markets, but since it wasn't so crowded and i didn't have people all over me, i took the time to really look at what was out today. i found many religious medals, linked pearls (my favorite!), some shoe clips, medals, another doll (for the mystery project that requires lighting i've been working on). i think the most unique treasure i found today were these tiny little drawers (see 3rd collage) - they were from coffee grinders (now i wish i had ask him more about that....) - but picture grinding up your coffee and then retrieving it from those drawers. he had a bunch of them, but i think i got the best of the lot as some were damaged, etc. i picture maybe putting some of my necklaces in them? we'll see! I also ran into Kathe, from Summerhouse and her posse (her friend and a friend's daughter, if i got that correct.....) kathe and i, along with her daughter, joanna and one more gal i am to meet, are all going to Country Living Fair together. i saw kathe from behind looking at jewelry, but couldn't be certain it was her, so when she turned around and saw me, we both chuckled.




(hint, click on photo for juicy close up!)

(hint, click on photo for juicy close up!)

(hint, click on photo for juicy close up!)

Columbus flea market

(photo hijacked from Jill Harris)

last thurs. i hit Columbus early and without jeff. tuck is home from school, so jeff watched tuck while i ran over to the market before taking the car in to fix the AC (3 years old and the AC has broken twice now). my goal was to find a vintage doll for a project i am working on. and you can see from the photo, that i did indeed find the perfect doll. while i was there, i ran into beth and jill, which was really fun. they both were pushing around their cute little carts while i chose to hand carry my stuff in bags and backpacks ( i find those carts are so hard to get around the booths) finally i ran into beth again and i opened my palm up to show her that i had .21 cents left and it was time to go! tomorrow is thurs - see you there!