My Par-tay!

So a lot of people didn't show up. Aside from my sister, mom, niece, my friend who came with, and the Scentsy woman (who was also hawking her wares), there were 5 guests. So considering all that, I did pretty well. I was surprised I sold anything at all. Plus, I now have some Christmas present ideas in mind for my sister, niece, and friend :) The most valuable thing I think I gained is the knowledge that my display kicks major derriere, and that I can manage to set up on one 6-ft table. I really loved hanging things off the chandelier, and I know that won't happen again. But it worked today! I'm very happy with my necklace display, and now I am way more confident about doing craft shows in the future. Also, I totally bought a Scentsy thinger, and some wax blocks. Hope I like the fragrances when they burn! Here are the photos from today. As always, click to enlarge...

This is me (right) with my friend Ashley who was a massive help today. Thanks Ash!

500 Coats of Paint Later...

The knobs for my display arrived Thursday, and after many failed attempts at geometry, I just gave up and eyeballed their placement. I decided it would probably be a smart move to prime the thing first. The cheapo 2/$1 craft paint I got at Michael's (mainly because it was called Robin's Egg Blue) was never going to cover all that stained brown wood. I got some primer at Lowe's, and gave it 3-4 coats before most of the brown was covered. Then it got at least the same number of coats of the blue. It was flat and hideous but yee haw, I remembered I had almost a full thing of Mod Podge somewhere in my art supply closet. A few coats of that, and at last! I'm pleased enough. I still have to clean up the edges where the primer/blue/Mod Podge accidentally landed. Here's a photo of the nearly end result.

 

I also priced all the jewelry that wasn't priced yet, and put 20 or more pairs of earrings on their cards and labeled & bagged them. And in the meantime, I tried to make more necklaces. Only one bracelet (after my vow last blog to make more, but I discovered I had more than I realized). 

The white beads are vintage, everything else is new - I've only got one more of these flowers left. I bought 4 a few years ago. I'm glad I didn't use them all up at once. I originally made this necklace with a different pendant, but decided it was a bad match. The necklace has been hanging around for a month until I finally made the connection that this flower would work. A friend of mine pointed out that the other black beads on the necklace sort of looked like they may be closed buds of more flowers. Never would have seen that, but I like it!

Another beautiful Lynn Davis connector, various pearls, rhinestone, glass beads, wire & sari ribbon. I started it, got frustrated, slept on it. Kept going, got frustrated again, slept on it once more and finally finished it on the third try. Guess the 3rd time really is a charm!

Another gorgeous raku pendant by Jessi of Ecclectic Trinkets, some knotted sari, sparkly crystals which perfectly complement the pendant, and annealed steel wire. That wire is SO hard to bend, and my right thumb/hand joint is crying today.

I usually try not to make things like this: pearls all around and a silver pendant. It's so common around here, though the pendant is usually some New Orleans themed item, but I had the (Hill Tribe) pendant and I had the pearls, and I can guarantee that it will go over well with my sister and her friends next week. They may be weirded out by all my sari and copper, but they'll at least like this.

I've had these black rhinestone balls for awhile, but haven't been able to figure out what to do with them until last night. They're pretty heavy, so I have 3 strands of stretch cord through them. And it is for someone with a very thin wrist. I made this one a few times over before I found the right combo to make it wearable for someone!

Party Time!

As I requested a few blogs back, I'm going to have a jewelry party! One of my sisters, who has lots of female friends (due to being a teacher, a mom, and someone who lives in a neighborhood where neighbors actually know each other) has graciously agreed to host, so long as I don't mind her making it a twofer party where she'll also be promoting some sort of home fragrance line. That might turn out to be a great combo! In any case, it's in two weeks and I've got to get busy.  I intend to make as much jewelry as I can, but I also have to get my display together.

After fretting about it for months, but putting it off due to no real need, I finally have it! Clever BF pointed out to me that I already had what I was trying to describe to him. It just needs some revamping. When I was 14 or 15, my dad thoughtfully built me a drawing table, so I wouldn't have to draw on a pad on my lap sitting in my bed. He designed it so that the top would open up like a box, and I could keep my art supplies inside. Later in life, it became detached from its legs, and served as the surface on which I dyed satin shoes for weddings (which was my job for a year or so in college -- you can see dye stains in the picture on the edges). Ultimately, it became the giant heavy wood box I stored my art in and kept under my bed. Now 25 years later, it's going to have a new job!!! And again, it has to do with my creative efforts. It's been a good box.

Each interior panel measures 22.5 in (57 cm) x 41 in (104 cm), and because it is heavy and sturdy and hinged it stands up without any help!

So I immediately searched ebay for some knobs and found these!

They're 1.5 in (3.81 cm), and there were 40 of them for under $12 (and that includes shipping!) I'm planning to glue them on with some E6000, which, if you're unfamiliar, is glue strong enough to adhere a cow to an elephant. I'll have them in 3 rows, staggered 7-6-7, so necklace length won't be an issue.

Then, I'm going to get this super cheap paint sample from Lowe's (maybe I'll get 2 just in case).

And paint the whole thing turquoise!!!!! If I think it needs it, I might take some gesso and do a light wash over it. But I'll see when I get there. 

I don't have many bracelets, so I think I'll display them on a raised bowl I have, that's pretty shallow and totally decorative. It's made of a dark jaspery looking stone. Maybe I should put some of my river rocks in it. I have a bunch.

As for earrings, I'm going to leave them on their cards (which already have their ingredients and prices on the back), and just get a couple of cheap trays - maybe I should also paint them with the leftover turquoise paint? And organize the earrings in the trays. Sound good? My sister has a huge formal dining room table with a pretty white on white floral table cloth -- oh and of course I'll have my trusty dress form to model a necklace or two, and provide some more height on the opposite side of the table to balance the tall box. 

So all in all, I think I'm going to have a pretty cool display for very little cost! I can't wait!