Looking towards the fall

Henri Rousseau

Hi to all,

Boy the hotter and muggier it gets around here, the slower and muggier my brain gets.  It seems like we are in the middle of a rain forest  summer today! 

We found out the other day that our booth made the local news services.  There were a couple of photos taken at the  Peekskill Craft Fair, you can see them if you follow this link.  We are in photos #7 and #8. 

I've been working on some custom orders lately.  I love collaborating with a customer and incorporating their new ideas into a project.  Here is a bracelet I've been working on.  The original bracelet I posted several weeks ago is teal & turquoise buttons; my friend wanted her bracelet to be made of black & white vintage buttons.  This is what I have so far, what do you think?



                                     



So even though it is only the first of August, it seems the calendar for the fall and the holiday season
is rapidly filling up.  Tentatively, I already have the following scheduled:

                                    October 27: Croton Arts Fair
                                    November 3: Greenburgh Nature Center Workshop
                                                          & Holiday Sale
                                    December 1: Tarrytown Holiday Fair

I will certainly keep all of my local fans informed about when and where I will be this fall.

So as I learned the hard way last winter, now is the time to start stocking up on your best sellers and reworking the stuff that is stale.  I have gotten some good constructive criticism from friends and family on displays and jewelry pieces, I am working on putting those ideas in place.  Also customers have given me ideas on new pieces they would like to see. So it is work, work, create create now.

Check my Etsy shop for new postings!
Talk to you soon,

anne
                                  

Glorious Saturday

Hi to all,

Anne and Tori

What a glorious Saturday for the Jazz and Craft Fair. It was wonderful and would have been totally impossible without the help of my daughter Tori and my sister Kaye Lynn. There were over 2000 participants listening to live music, dancing, browsings the crafts and eating! By the way, our new canopy worked prety well, only one snafu we have to check out.

Anne and Tori setting up

Tori and Kaye Lynn

Later on, we are tired!!

 Now I'd like to give a shout out to one of my fellow Etsy artists--Emmy Williams.  She believes in recycling and reusing to create her art.  Emmy makes her pieces from recycled paper, plastic, glass,and metal  You can check it all out at her shop on the Etsy site Emmysgreenthings.

And finally my new item of the week.  I have reworked my memory wire bracelets to include paper beads and wrap around your wrist six times. The bracelet forms a cuff about 2".

Please check the bracelet out my Etsy site this week. 

Talk to everyone soon,

anne

Tubular Paper Bead Tutorial

Jane Eyre Bracelet

Nature Book Bracelet

Chinese Menu Bracelet

Hi to all,

Above are some examples of tubular paper beads I have made into bracelets.  One reason I like the tube bead is that it really shows off the materials it was made from.  You can actually see Chinese menu items or the text from Jane Eyre.  Today I would like to go through a step by step process in making a tubular paper bead.  It is really quite easy, once you practice two or three times.

1. To start off you need a skewer, tacky glue, a soft brush and strips of medium weight paper, cut 3/4" X 6".  Here I am using a page from my vintage atlas. To make a bracelet like the ones shown above, you should roll about 32 beads, so start with 35 strips, just in case.

2. To start rolling, place the strip under the skewer as shown.  Tuck ends around and start to roll.  Keep strip snug and both ends even.  If it unrolls, just start again, this has happened many times to me.

3.  Roll to about an inch from the end.

4. Using the soft brush, spread tacky glue on the inch long tail.









5. Finish rolling the bead, holding tail down until glue dries.  Then gently slide bead off skewer, keeping edges even.  See photo below.

                                






6. I place the finished bead on two toothpicks and stick it into an egg carton to dry.  That should take only a few minutes.

 

7.  The last step, coat the bead twice with an ultra-thick gloss.  Let it dry thoroughly between coats..  And now you have a bunch of tubular beads ready for crafting. Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and special thanks to my beautiful hand model, Tori!

Looking forward to meeting everyone this Saturday, July 21st at the

Peekskill Jazz and Craft Fair

For Festival details, visit www.downtownpeekskill.com

 



Happy crafting.  Please check out my etsy shop.



anne

Peekskill Craft Fair Coming Soon

Stretch Bracelet made from
 nature book pages

Chunky Bracelet made from Nature Book
beads, vintage buttons and glass beads

Both of these items will be brand new at the Peekskill Fair, come take a look. Nice fall colors!

Peekskill’s 6th Annual Jazz & Blues Festival

Saturday, July 21, 2012 1pm-10pm

 A free outdoor concert and fair that will be held in historic Downtown Peekskill, at the intersection of Central Avenue and North Division Street. 

 Craft Alley, (1pm – dusk) featuring a variety of finely crafted handmade goods by local artisans, for sale.

  Jazz & Blues Brunch  (1 – 4pm) the best local music at restaurants and cafes around town.

  Food Court: samplings of area foods, art & family events, Peekskill Farmers Market and  more!     

  Main stage starts at 4pm:

      Masters of Latin Jazz, Multi-Grammy® nominated Bobby Sanabria & Ascensión 

      Marc Cary Focus Trio

      Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad

      Nation Beat

 The Annual Peekskill Jazz & Blues Festival attracts thousands of people from across the tri-state area, and has become one of Westchester's premiere summer musical and creative events. Visitors are encouraged to come early and stay late!

 One Hour From NYC on Metro North + Free Peekskill Trolley Making Regular Loops Direct To  Festival!

For Festival details, visit www.downtownpeekskill.com

Here's my booth, it's bright yellow and you can't miss it.  My sister Kaye and my daughter Tori will be there with me!  So stop by, see my new stuff and see my new tent.

Remember if you see something you like but would like a color change or a metal change; let's talk.  Although my pieces are one of a kind, their are many items that can be custom made for you.

See you soon,

anne