crafty bastards

If you're in the DC area tomorrow, be sure to stop by Crafty Bastards! With work by artists like imogene, the broken plate, margaux lange (oh, and me!), its sure to be a lot of fun. (And its never too early to start your holiday shopping - I mean, if Target can sell Christmas cards already, you can pick up some great handmade gifts at CB.)

chunky leaf necklace

Available now in my Etsy shop. Or pick one up in person at Crafty Bastards on Sunday!

makes me happy...

After last night's dream, I'm trying to stay positive today. Fortunately, there are lots of things to make me happy...


At least a few of my mums returned from last year.

The return of my daily drawings (even if they haven't made it into my computer).

My new toy.

Piles of chain - and Feist and Elvis playing in the studio.

panicked

Last night I had a dream that I was setting up for the wholesale section of ACC Baltimore, but was late because I was talking to a friend in her booth. When I got to my booth, I had to clear out someone else's work and displays. Then, because I didn't have displays of my own, I was forced to speak with an on-site shelf dealer, who informed me I would need to take out a home equity loan to pay for them.

Perhaps this job is getting to me a little bit...

studio shots

Less than one week 'til Crafty Bastards - so I spent this lovely fall Sunday in my studio making bracelets. Here are a few shots from my studio - both inside and out.

front page

Its always a nice surprise to be on the Etsy home page (thanks for the heads up Annie)- especially when you're in such nice company. Below - some photos from Mandy Lamb's Etsy shop that I'm now coveting.

lyndhurst

The best part about Fall Crafts at Lyndhurst this weekend was the location. Lyndhurst is this amazing Gothic Revival mansion on the banks of the Hudson River. I went a little photo crazy (I blame the new camera) - you can view all the pictures here.

second storie} the pictures

Sadly, pretty much all of my pictures from second storie} came out blurry. (This was one of the best ones.) Fortunately, Nicole of freshlyblended has some nice images on her Flickr site. You can take a look at them here.

black & white

I'm feeling a little slow this morning, so I'm catching up on my blog reading and came across this pattern by Suling Wang. Birds aren't necessarily my thing, but I'm a sucker for a good black & white floral pattern. I love the viny-ness of the pattern (yep, just made that word up) and all the different flowers. Hopefully this motivates me for a new round of pattern designs. (via Print & Pattern)

handmade

Two exciting announcements...

I've been accepted to Handmade Arcade in Pittsburgh - November 10 - 11!

and

I've been accepted to participate in the first ever Poppytalk Handmade - an online craft show - for the month of October!

Be sure to check me out at both of those.

swamped

Its been a whirlwind couple of weeks. If you've emailed, convoed, or called me in the last week or two, I apologize for not getting back to you yet. I'll be wading through emails and voicemails this week, so you should here back from me by the end of the week. Thanks for your patience.

jealous

Lately Joe and I have been struggling with our lack of space and my lack of organization. That's why I'm really coveting Something's Hiding in Here's new space for storing inventory and packing orders. I'm filing this one away for when we do eventually start work on my office.

just a quick hello...

I'm really feeling the pressure as I prep for my second craft show in as many weekends, so this is a much abbreviated post. Second Storie was lovely - I met so many wonderful people, and came home with such great stuff that I'm saving the recap for its own post when I have time to do everyone justice. Suffice to say, it was an honor to participate in the first Second Storie, and I hope to participate in many more. (There will be pictures as well, I promise.)

Two of my metals friends have started blogs! Check out Corey Ackelmire and Beth Pohlman.

And congratulations to Juliet, of the Broken Plate, on the birth of her little boy, Nolan Taylor!

tired, but satisfied

Its the second week of the semester, and I'm already exhausted. (Teaching 3 classes, helping coach cross country, trying to make work, and 3 craft shows in September alone!)

Today was one of those days where all the hard work starts to feel like its paying off - I got a nice check from one of my galleries - and - I was on the Etsy front page TWICE today. First with my fine silver on steel bracelets, and then with my large leaf hoop earrings (pictured above). (Both are available in my shop.)

Tomorrow I'm off to Rochester for Second Storie - if you're in the area, stop by and say hello. It should be a beautiful show.

want to win this necklace?

Head on over to Indie Fixx to find out how!

indie fixx

Thanks to Jen of Indie Fixx for including me in her Fall Jewelry Guide. Be sure to check out all the picks!