A few days ago, Norbert and I went to the Rock and Gem show in Denver to do a little shopping...

...there were rocks and crystals and fossils, left and right.

Hmmmm...

Slabs of Ocean Jasper

Labradorite stones

Picture Jasper, I believe.

And then on to the fair:

I'm working with some of those new stones that I bought at the Show, today.

Love, love, love working in my new space :)

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Shop update complete

My new jewelry is up....finally! It took me the entire day. Of course that is because I multi-task. I got a lot of other business done in between listings, although posting new jewelry is always such a big endeavor.

So here is some of what went up in the shop today. I didn't want to inundate you with a list of all of them ;)

This one is named after my sister :)

Mission complete.....tomorrow more jewelry! I am participating in a Christmas fair this Saturday in Denver that I have to prepare for and there are a few other exciting developments that I will let you in on in a few days ;)

See you tomorrow....

Weekend wrap-up

Would you like to see what I just made for myself?

I love, love it!
For being a silversmith, I have too little shiny baubles for ME! At least that is what I told myself while I was making this ring ;) The tremendous stone encompassed in my ring is a labradorite. I am getting more of these stones soon and they will make an appearance in my shop soon after that.

Well, yesterday I was involved in another local town fair and again, not meaning to sound redundant, I had a really good time. The last hour, though, it kind of died on my end of the strip so I was busy sketching designs on my notepad to pass the time (and I was resting my feet because I was wearing my very cute and very new shoes that crippled my toes by the end of the day!) Other than that I met some more fabulous people and hopefully I am starting to get my name out in the community.

Some of the pieces I made for the fair will make their way into my shop this week. Here is one of them.....a pair of earrings with sterling silver and copper (these are mine by the way....I make a new pair for when the listing is purchased :)

I am totally cracking up here....I don't remember why, but I do know that my husband said something very naughty! ;)

And here is my 'ready for fall and turtlenecks' necklace! I've been wanting to make more lengthy necklaces and this one is my first for the shop. The flowers are oxidized to a charcoal hue so that they stand out from the rest of the chain.

Okay, well I'll be personally seeing you all tomorrow because I am going to post a video for my giveaway announcement.

See you then........:)

Last minute preparations

Well, tomorrow is the fair and I am putting the last minute touches on everything. I made a bunch of new earrings this week and I am putting them on the earring cards as well as placing prices on them. I also made a couple more necklaces and rings.

So I will be packing up my lovelies tomorrow morning....early, with coffee in hand to meet and greet the locals. I am also going to take a sampling of stones with me. I had several custom orders from the last fair, so this way I can provide an assortment of me rocks (yes I said me!) for those interested in ordering something other than what is on the table. And that goes for any of you interested in a custom order....if you like any of the stones that I show on this blog or you have a stone and/or color in mind, please drop a line email, blogpost, convo and we'll go from there ;)

So moving right along....I was perusing one of my favorite blogs, a cup of jo, and found this:

How adorable are these Harvey Faircloth clothes? I also love the photography....it has such a great 50's yet modern vibe. I wouldn't mind having all of those outfits in my closet. Especially the top one.

Okay, I'll see you later this weekend. I'll shoot for tomorrow, but who knows how I'll feel after a long day selling my wares ;)

bye!

Returning to routine...

So the fair is over and I had a lot of great experiences and I learned a lot of invaluable information. I also strongly believe in concentrating on the positives in a situation and moving forward with that. I met some wonderful people and other vendors who were kind enough to share their own experiences as well as the names of other fairs that they felt I would do well at. It was nice to get that feeling of comradery.

Here are the last of my pictures from the fair:

And one shot of some additional pieces that will go up over the next couple of days:

I'll see you tomorrow. ;)

Day One

One down....two more to go. :)

Before I tell you about it, I need to mention something very important. Awhile back I came across several websites discussing ethical metalsmithing. One of the main topics was on the use of recycled materials and where to find them. The site mentioned Hoover & Strong's Harmony Metals as one of the best choices for reclaimed and recycled silver. I did some research and found that although my previous suppliers recycled silver, Harmony exclusively sells reclaimed silver. So I switched.....and I now proudly carry their logo. If you are interested in finding out more about the company that I buy my sterling and fine silver from, please click on the link:

So the last few days have been chaotic and I definitely hit the panic button a few times. Luckily my husband swooped in and calmed me down in those situations!! I am very, very happy that this day is over with because it feels like a big weight has been released from my chest. I can enjoy the rest of the fair now because the unknown is over with.

The day was actually a LOT slower than we had anticipated. We were told there would be roughly 2 to 3,000 people in attendance and I'm sure it was probably an eighth of that number. Considering the really low numbers....we did well. The best part by far was talking with fellow booth vendors. So all in all it was a really good experience.

I did happen to only get 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night so the fact that I am writing in my blog right now and not sleeping is pretty much miraculous....;)

Here is one picture of my earring cards that I had made....

....and here is the other. I have charcoal and white. I love the way they came out.

One of my signs in action.

Quick snapshot....

Good night!

Upcoming sale

I am listing these new pieces in my shop this evening:

I have been on a flower kick....two more pieces have them. I also used a variety of stones in my jewelry today. No amber in this group, but I'll include them in my pieces at the end of the week.

Time to 'talk shop':
I am going to participate in the 'Weekend Deals' on Etsy this Friday thru Sunday EST. All of my jewelry will be 15% off. Also, we are still feverishly working on preparing for the Fair in September. Right now we are creating our banners for the booth. I am going to have two: one main one for inside the tent and another that will be up on an easel at the opening of our booth. We are almost done with that and then we'll send in the order. I have been sketching ideas for the layout and I still have a lot of things to get for the displays. I'll post pics of my booth after the fair.

I am also planning on attending a nearby rock and gem show this weekend. Hopefully I'll come back with some new stones to add to my shop!

So now it's back to work. I have to finish taking pictures of everything and then they'll go up in my shop. Take a look when you get a chance! :)

Fair time

Today was a full day. First of all we started our Saturday like many Saturdays...we made cups of coffee to go and set out to look for yard sales. I am VERY fond of going to yard sales and flea markets. It is a lot of fun finding hidden treasures...especially for such great prices. We have bought 99% of our boys' books from yard sales and they have roughly a thousand books...no joke. I am very picky with what I buy because I have worked hard at de-cluttering our own house!! :) But, there are definitely great things that can be found.

After the 'yard-sale-ing' we came home for lunch and put the kids to bed, did some work around the house and then went to the 'Taste of Louisville' fair.

There were lots o'people around and it was pretty hot, but other than that it was a lot of fun. One of the things I love about the summertime is the abundance of outdoor fairs to visit.

I was also scoping out the area because I think that I would like to try setting up a booth for Labor Day weekend to sell my wares. I've never sold at a craft show or fair...I think I need to start though.

Off now for some tea and then to bed. We're trying to go to sleep earlier each day before our trip so we can try and minimize the impact of jet lag on all of us. Everytime I've gone to Europe I have been a useless lump for the first couple of days. We'll see if it works. I'm crossing fingers and toes!

Goodnight :)