The Kiln

This is the very first batch of pendants that I am about to fuse in this brand new Evenheat Hot Shot Kiln. Hopefully they will come out beautifully. I'm intimidated by the size of this kiln and all of the settings, so we shall see.

Fused Glass

I started making fused glass pendants. It's like putting together a little puzzle with glass, of course you have to create that puzzle first, cut all the pieces, fit them together so there are no gaps, glue them down, then fire them in the kiln. There are a few from my 1st batch of 5. Two of them were quickly scooped up at my show yesterday. I am now firing three new ones in my own kiln at home, I've never fused glass in it so this is a new experience. 

Brrrrrrrr!

So cold! The I did atwo day festival in Milford PA. Saturday was wonderful except for the 34 degree temperatures. It did warm up later on in the day but never hit 60. The mornings were brutal. Luckily people still came out. Driving up there a black bear came darting out of the woods and ran across the highway and again I saw one on Sunday running across the road. Boy, they're big! I guess they are on the hunt for food before hibernation. I started doing chain maille. Only earrings, in the beginning I realized I had two left hands but after about an hour I got the hang of it. Lots of fun and people loved them.

Alba Winery

This past weekend I was at a two day festival at Alba Winery. What a beautiful place. The vines were ripe with grapes and the bee's were out in full force. There were two great bands that played both days and I met lots of new wonderful people who loved and purchased my jewelry. The wine festivals are only 5 hours a day. It's twenty dollars to get in and you get a wine glass, a list and a pencil and can taste all of the different wines from the 20 or so wineries that are there. Then go back and buy your favorite bottles. The smart people come in large groups and rent a bus to take them to and from. It's like a party with a thousand or so people. And a good time was had by all!

Prince Edward Island Sea Glass

Prince Edward Island has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and from these beaches come these translucent gems, lovingly referred to as Mermaid Tears. They are tumbled smooth by the constant friction of water and sand. The first Mermaid Tears Sea Glass Festival was held at the Woods Island Lighthouse on July 18, 2009 and the 2010 festival is in the works. This could be a great way to start your next PEI vacation.

PMC3

I have started working with a product called Precious Metal Clay. It is sterling silver particles mixed with a binder which is clay. Once you roll the clay out, make an impression, cut it out carefully with a scalpel, let it dry then you sand it. I then gets fired in the kiln which burns off all of the clay. It comes out of the kiln all white. Then you use a steel brush to get all of the white off and what you're left with is a beautiful sterling piece. It is a fascinating process and I love it! These are the first 2 pieces I made. One is a leaf from my Tuberous Begonia plant and the other is a Ginko leaf.

Sellersville

It was a very busy show weekend for me, but Sunday's show was the best. It was the Pennridge Gallery of the Arts in Sellersville, PA. It's a small, quaint town in Buck's County that has a population of less tha 5,000. The main street was lined with wonderful artist's and crafters and it was so busy. It was a beautiful day and everyone was in a good mood.

Victorian Days

Victorian Days in Belvidere is held on the second weekend of September every year. It is a wonderful affair. Everyone, crafters and customers dress in Victorian garb. There are house tours, teas, re-enactments, wonderful food and lots of shoppers. The town cryer gives us the news every hour on the hour. I had a great weekend despite the rain. I didn't set up until noon on Saturday when the rain finally stopped. The rest of the day was sunny and warm as was Sunday. I have been holed up in my studio ever since to rebuild my stock. Hopefully my two shows this weekend will be as exciting.

Florida

Our trip to Florida was great, we were busy. We went to Typhoon Lagoon on Sunday, the wave pool was my favorite after I got over a little bit of motion sickness. Monday we did Universal Studios, went on so many virtual rides, they were so much fun, the Margarita's at Jimmy Buffet's were really delicious. Tuesday we did Discovery Cove, Joey loved swimming with the dolphins. What a beautiful place, so lush with plants and all enclusive, meals, drinks, etc. We stayed at our resort on Wednesday since we were all exhausted. Thursday Steve and Joey went to Gatorland. I stayed home and made jewelry. I had gone to my favorite distributer there and got wonderful stones. And on Friday we did Sea World. Then we packed up and drove back to Winston-Salem to stay with Steve's mom. They had a birthday celebration for Joey who just turned twelve. It was really nice vacation!

Road Trip

So we left on Friday at 6am to drive to Winston-Salem, NC to stay with Marnie, my sister-in-law, overnight. It was great to see her, Kevin and their two boys, Jake and Josh, who by the way are grown up now at 13 and 15. Wow!!! Marnie hosted a jewelry party Friday night which turned out to be quite nice. All of her friends are lovely and went home with some of my favorite pieces. Jan, my mother-in-law came and spent the evening. Unfortunately our visit was too short, we were hoping to have Jan come to Florida with us but it couldn't be arranged. We got up at 5am and continued our drive to Orlando. It took about 9 hours. We were all glad to be out of that car!!!

We are in Lake Buena Vista at Blue Tree Resorts. It is really beautiful here. Joey is thrilled because wherever you walk there are anoles hanging out in the hedges. You know her weill try to catch one and want to bring it home. I have already set the ground rules on that one!

Rain, Rain Go Away

The Wharton Canal Day that was scheduled for today was canceled and is being held tomorrow, problem is I have a different show tomorrow. Oh well, this is what happens in this business. So I've been busy creating as much as I can because it will be a very busy season. I've been molding polymer clay pendants with crystals in them and wire wrapping my own beads(love them) so my fingers are sore but they've been selling so I will forge on.

We leave on Friday for Florida, Joey will be 12 and we are taking him to Discovery Cove to swim with the dolphins. We are driving and stopping to see my mother-in-law and sister-in-law on the way so it should be fun.

Well, back to the studio I go.

Cancelling a Show

Well the rain didn't stop and we had to cancel the show, the good news is that the rain date is this coming Saturday and the forecast looks good. Of course the forecast usually changes every day. We'll see! The problem with cancelling a show is that the is a wealth of phone calls to make to the band, food vendors and other special entertainment. As far as the crafters and artists go they know to call the special phone number and the message will tell them if the show is on or not. Now we have artisans that can't make it because they have other shows booked on our rain date so I now need to fill those spots. Wish me luck! How cute are Joey and his two cousins!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rain, Rain Go Away

The bad news is that my vegetable garden is drowning. I've lost one tomato plant and 3 of the pea plants. Everything else still looks ok, although the eggplants are in a few inches of water. All I can do is hope. The good news is that the herbs I have in pots on my deck are very happy-so am I, I just had some whole wheat pasta with fresh parsley, thyme and garlic chives--YUM!!!

I'm working with the Phillipsburg Downtown Association to put on the Crafts In The Park this Saturday, now a decision has to be made about cancelling the show due to the weather, there is a rain date for next Saturday. If it is decided to cancel we have to get in touch with all of the crafter's, the food vendors and the band. What a mess! So I'll be praying to the rain gods all night to move to another part of the country. We'll see!

Happy New Year

Wow, another year is gone, hard to believe. I've been enjoying these last few weeks. The kids are off from school and its been nice to sleep in. Sleeping in means about 7:15, thats when Bud, my dog comes in the bedroom and starts licking my face because he wants to go out. I've read 5 books and have been gutting closets and cabinets. Trying to get all of my materials and jewelry findings in order to begin work. My show schedule starts again in three weeks so there is much to do.

The sad part of my holiday was coming home from a show the Saturday before Christmas and finding my beautiful cat Ginger (her picture is in one of my older posts) had fallen asleep under the Christmas tree and died. She was 17 and she had a wonderfully long life. We certainly miss her. All of our animals are such a big part of our family.

Happy New Year to all of you!

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