Thankful Again
The American Thanksgiving holiday happens about 6 weeks after the Canadian one and while I can live without the extra frenzy of eating I have to admit that I can definitely do with another opportunity to be publicly thankful. Sometimes the only difference between being happy and the opposite is picking to be thankful and positive about what you have rather than regretful or pessimistic about what is lacking.
So here are a few clay-related things I am profoundly thankful for:
- The amazing clay community that has nurtured me
- A medium that pretty much can do anything
- The chance to help evangelize a relatively new art using another favourite medium (the Internet!)
One clay thing I am profoundly UN-thankful for:
- Sanding to achieve the effect I like. I think this one has more to do with my own personality flaws though!
The Simple Things
Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the US - it was 6 weeks ago here, in Canada, and I didn’t even have to toss leftovers out unseen this time - and today marks the shopping frenzy called Black Friday. There’s even a bit of it here with lots of chains offering special discounts. It’s enough to make slightly shyer folks like me want to hide inside.
I put together simple ornaments yesterday and today. Some already went off to the US for the Fabulous FAM Ornament Swap. One of them is this guy:
I figure I’ll wear it on a ribbon as a pendant because I’m just kooky-artistic enough to do that. But they were made to look cute on your tree, too. I have some slightly pinker ones and these rich red ones.
Tomorrow is the show at the next to closest community to mine. It was probably the first craft sale I did with my grandmother about 15 or so years ago and I’ve done it most of the years since! My daughter even learned her first few Christmas carols to the skipped part in the tape they used to play. The show organizer has it so organized by this point that it is always a pleasure to do this show and, in keeping with recent trends, they’ve begun enforcing a handmade items only participant list.
If you’re in Calgary pop by the Marlborough Community Association show. It’s directly behind the Marlborough Mall and the weather is supposed to be lovely (for Calgary, in November) this weekend. There’s a concession, children’s activities and free babysitting, baked goods and all handmade items.
Tray of Goodies
I’m sure a lot of my Southern neighbours are enjoying less.. plastic… baking today with the American Thanksgiving festivities. Here, I will have to make do with this pan of goodies:
This was the stack of items that require sanding that I referred to in my post yesterday. I doubt they’ll all get sanded up for the weekend shows but I’ve made a good dent despite this silly cold that has crept up on me!
The Chance to Make Stuff
The benefit of selling at craft shows, for me, has been the chance to not have to focus on beads or canes as I usually do for online sales. Not that I don’t LOVE beads and canes and they ship so nicely but sometimes I like to use them..
Of course my first couple of pictures ARE beads:
Then a tealight holder that is similar to my mini bowls:
And a few new ornaments:
I have a stack of vessels (literally) waiting to be sanded and buffed including a new bowl with the Delft patterns I’ve been enjoying the last few weeks. I’ve promised myself that I get to go stroll the two huge shows the next few days if I make a dent in it today.
The Festival of Crafts(at the Roundup Centre) and Art Market Art & Craft Sale(at the Telus Convention Centre) are both running in Calgary from Thursday to Sunday. I have several vendors at each show that I’d love to go see and meet. Wanda Shum, in particular, is a polymer clay and millefiori artist who I’d like to meet and she has a booth at the Art Market show.
Some of the show strolling is also going to be research. I’d like to do one of the very big shows next year but need to do my research!
Colour Me Blue
I got a shipment of lovely clay in on Friday and between that and all my upcoming craft shows (yes! 5 in the next 6 weeks) I’ve been digging in.
First up is a refill of my Delft blue canes. A small change this time - I used the last of a block of Fimo’s porcelain white for the background which is essentially a translucent, milky white.
Next up is a new batch of poinsettia leaves to use on the row of naked ornaments waiting patiently on my desk!
Tile Trends
If you have a look on Etsy you’ll see that tile jewelry is hugely popular. Insanely so. Scrabble tile, domino tile, glass tile.. you name it. In clay, you have whole videos and classes on how to make tile bracelets. Granted, my tiles are all clay.
These were fun - just in time for my show on the weekend. I didn’t put them on stretch cord after fighting with it. Instead they use multi-strand fancy clasps. Little bits of findings I’ve accumulated over the years.
The Lipstick Effect
With all the economic chaos I’ve started hearing about the lipstick effect again. The theory with this is that as people watch the family budget more closely they are less likely to purchase big ticket goods. Instead, they indulge in small luxuries like lipstick.
Or, I’ve noticed, earrings.
I don’t sell lipstick but I make beads and at shows, I have both beads and earrings. I also carry much more elaborate pieces of jewelry and much larger, more expensive pieces of clay work. The last show, the overall sales were not down much (hurrah!) but I did notice that people bought more of the smaller pieces. Like earrings.
So I have to wonder if this is the lipstick factor coming into play in my little world?
Using Those Beads
A long time ago when I first started with clay, I made beads to use in my jewelrymaking. Once clay had me in it’s grip I made jewelry to showcase my clay beads.
I’ve been enjoying a spot of jewelrymaking this month though. Most of it will go to my fall shows and it’s been a fun trip preparing. One of my challenges was figuring out some uses for pillow shaped beads. These are a bead shape I had never really used in my own creations and that I had only begun to make at the request of customers. I’m having fun now though!
There’s other things than pillow bead creations of course - I used a few older beads of mine to make silly cake earrings, bookmarks and some new, sweet roses to make bouquets for your ears and wrist.
And a fellow blogger (and super talented beadmaker) had a very good idea for how to display earrings at shows. Take a peek.
Walk Down Memory Lane
Today I am taking a break from busily making stock for upcoming shows and decided to do much needed tidying of my desk. My desk has developed strata again. As I worked through the stacks I unearthed a baggie of necklaces I’m to repair or restring for my mom and in there is the very first clay necklace I made.
After counting back on my fingers I realized that was 10 years ago this fall! Wow! Time flies. The irony in this is that those first marbled beads are not much different than some of what I’ve made for this years shows - little red and green marbled beads. As I recall, that necklace was pretty much a straight take on a tutorial in a fun beading book: book book. I made a lot of variations that first fall!
I also made a ton of cute little pins with clay characters glued to them and learned one lesson: hot glue does not work with poly clay. Oops. So not all my first efforts are things I am still doing!
This Week in Beads
Half the pile of beads I made this week are completely finished and photo’d - an exhausting process I tell ya - and here’s a sampling mosaic of it:
1. Blue Green Swirl Lentils, 2. Swirly Lentils with Flowers, 3. Swirly Lentils with Flowers & Foil, 4. MORE Swirly Lentils, 5. Blue Green Rounds, 6. Jewel Tones Swirly Lentil, 7. Blue Green Lentils, 8. Cheery Happy Swirl Lentils, 9. Swirly Lentils with flowers
I have this many again left to go but the routine is smooth now. Eat, sleep and live beads. Gotcha.
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