Uptown art hop, a festive shopping experience

Just in case I missed seeing you this past Friday night, I thought I would share some pictures from the Uptown Art Hop.  The art hop is a collection of art related businesses in the 2400 block of northwest 43rd street in Gainesville, Florida, that open their doors once every three months or so for a night or arts and entertainment.  I demonstrated some of my resin jewelry making techniques at Gifts of Avalon (also the same place where I teach classes). 

I took an assortment of the sterling silver and resin jewelry pieces to show.

I also had an assortment of the scrabble tile resin pendants.

This was the first time I also had the acrylic earrings with handmade papers on display.  The price point made them appealing for gifts.

One of the shop owners, Rhonda Bergman, was at the store that night.  The other store owner, Trude Spillane, was in travels to a bead show.

There was a modest assortment of refreshments.

I took some of my molds and resin jewelry pieces in progress to talk about.  I didn't pour resin, but did talk to some people about the specifics of working with it.

Did I mention there was a reggae band?  They played live music just outside the front door during the event.  It made the evening quite festive.


I actually have to share with you that I kicked myself hard when I got to Gifts of Avalon that night because I meant to take my video camera to get a soundtrack for the evening.  Drat!

How to Make Wrap Bracelets

I'm a jewelry junkie. I love making it, studying it, looking at other people's jewelry...I'm addicted. I was trolling YouTube to find a use for some leather cord I have. I found this video and thought how cool these bracelets look! Ladies, not interested in Thanksgiving Day football? I think this might be a good alternative...

Forged metal earrings jewelry making class pictures

I taught another jewelry making class this week. It was a new class, but I had the fortune of having 5 of the 6 students as part of my regular, repeat student group. It was a really great class. Not so much because they made great jewelry (which they did), but because we laughed ourselves silly for most of the night. (Come to my next class and you'll meet which ones have concealed weapons licenses.)

Anyway, their creativity astounds me! This is just some random pictures of what went on in class.

Kathy's (there were two in the class) earrings hanging out on the class instruction page.

Judy is pounding out her earrings.














A lot of making these earrings was working them by hand.













Kathy is working her earrings by hand too.













Diana was the only newbie to my class (she's in the blue shirt).  I actually have known her for awhile.  It was good to have her in class.











Diana's getting a nice open "flower" on her copper pieces.












These were Chris' finished earrings.  They look so cool with the pearls hanging in the center.  (Why didn't I think of that??)











Earrings in waiting......  waiting for their pearls that is.












This is Claudia using a propane torch.  To make these earrings, you had to anneal the metal several times.  She was a bit worried about using "fire", but I explained a healthy fear of the torch is good.  Keeps you from doing something stupid.














The other Kathy made several pairs of copper earwires to share with her classmates.












More flowers waiting to be finished.














A little more hand work by Claudia.












It was a great evening and they already have me working on the next class.  I won't be teaching in December, but I will have something ready to go in January.

Brownie making day with my peeps

In case you're never heard me talk about them, I have 3 boys all aged 3 and younger.  I love them dearly, especially when things go well.  *smile*  One of things as a parent that I want to make sure to do is to empower them to make good decisions and take care of themselves.  I realize at three there shouldn't be much for them to worry about, but I do encourage them to learn about everything around them. 

Since a lot of my time with them involves the kitchen, they are quite interested in helping me.  While the mess is twice as big when were done, I actually want them to help me.  I want them to be able to learn some cooking skills.  I read the blog of Nancy Grossi, a dairy farmer in California.  She recently shared a brownie recipe that my boys and I cooked together.  (The recipe is at the end of this post.)  I'm including a few pictures from our baking experience.

Notice how there are two spoons in the bowl?  Don't expect anyone to share.  *wink*











Cooking with little people has its challenges.  Food safety means nothing to them.  Raw eggs?  Who cares!  It's chocolate, mom!

This makes a big batch of brownies.  I made these in a glass pan, but I prefer a silicone baking pan.  (The silicone pan I have isn't large enough.)

Yes, they were delish with a glass of cold milk.  And the trick to getting them to cut nicely?  Use a plastic knife.  Who knew?

Best Basic Brownie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 whole eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking powder


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray non-stick spray on a 9 x 13 pan.
Melt butter. Remove from heat and add ingredients in the order listed, stirring well by hand.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake.
Cut with a plastic knife {best brownie trick}.

In case you want to see Nancy's post about her brownie making experience with her kids, click here.

Thanksgiving Centerpieces

I was browsing You Tube this week looking for Thanksgiving crafts to do with my kids. In the process, I found this 4 minute video that not only gives you ideas for Thanksgiving centerpieces, but it also shows you how to fold the napkins. Hooray! (However I fully expect I'm going to need to fold the napkins while I'm in front of the computer screen with the video on slow motion.) What do you usually do for your Thanksgiving table?

Handmade silver and resin jewelry video

I finally took the plunge into making a "movie" about my resin jewelry. It's been something I've wanted to do, but quite frankly, I just didn't know how to do it. A blogging buddy of mine turned me on to Windows Movie Maker and I used it to create this two minute video about my silver and resin jewelry. While it's not going to win an Academy Award for best short documentary, I think it turned out pretty well. Enjoy!

Setting up an art show booth

I spent this past Friday afternoon getting ready to sell jewelry at the Gainesville Downtown Festival and Art show. I thought it would be fun to share with blog readers just how an art show booth comes to fruition.

This is the stack of my tent pieces and display boxes.  The tent poles are on the shelf on the top part of the picture.  The wooden boxes in the bottom  part of the picture will serve as display pieces. 

This is our '98 Ford Explorer loaded down with the art show tent and associated materials.  The front passenger seat is also full.  There is only room for the driver (barely).

This is my booth space.  When you set up at an art show, all you get is a space.  The show management doesn't provide you with anything to show your work.  (and yes, it was dark when we got started).

This is the top part of the tent.  In the next step, a canopy was placed over the top and hooked to the frame.

The top has been lifted with polls and hubby is busy putting up the sides of the tent.

The sides are up and the brown boxes have been set up.  We're now in the process of setting up the glass boxes on top of the wooden cases.

This is what the finished booth looks like.  Notice there are also red drapes on the front and a banner hanging from the back.  The jewelry is also in the cases.









It takes about 2 hours to set up the entire booth, with the jewelry, and about an hour and a half to break everything down.

How To Choose the Right Frame For a Picture

Since I'm busy getting ready for the Downtown Festival and Art show today, I didn't have time to write a good blog post. However, this is a really good video I found when I was searching YouTube trying to get some ideas for framing some pictures.

Enjoy! (P.S. I'll have show pictures up next week.)

My cat Karma

I've gotten a few emails recently inquiring about my cat Karma.  For those who aren't regular followers of my blog, Karma is "my personal assistant".  She tends to supervise the jewelry making and usually selects the winner for contest drawings.  She is doing well, but I try to keep her away from the resin jewelry making process.  Cat hair in the resin ruins the whole batch.  Yuck.  (and it has happened)

One of Karma's favorite places to sit in my studio is in the window in front of my soldering bench.  The window is almost always up (to allow good ventilation) and she likes to take advantage of it.  While she was sitting there, I went to grab the camera.









By the time I got back, she was doing a "kitty yoga" routine on the floor.  She gets dirty hanging out in the studio, but I like having her there for the company.  She's also a good sport about my kids tormenting her.  She would love to come to the Downtown Festival and Art show this weekend, but, alas, pets aren't allowed.

Tips for art show attendees

If you're thinking of attending the Downtown Festival and Art show, Gainesville, Florida (or any art show for that matter) this coming weekend, these are a few suggestions I have for anyone that might be attending.

The KMS Designs jewelry art show jewelry booth

1.  If you see something you like and want it, don't wait, buy it.  Artists enjoy making a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces.  I always have a few shoppers that come back by my booth to purchase a piece of jewelry they saw earlier only to be disappointed that it's gone.

2.  Get there early.  Intent on buying a piece of art?  Saturday morning will have the largest selection of art.  I have found the serious shoppers come out early.

3.  Don't get there too early.  Ever planned a dinner party only to have people show up early?  EEK!  This is an artist's version of a dinner party.  Verify when the show officially opens and maybe get there 10 to 15 minutes before it starts, but not earlier.  Many artists are still setting up their booths and their art and need the time to get fully prepared for the day.

4.  Leave the pets at home.  There are way too many smells and people!  I have seen first hand dogs getting upset about all the excitement.  Plus, there is the need for dogs to relieve themselves at some point during the day.  Trust me, they will do it in a art booth.  Yuck!

5.  Be careful about bargaining.  Artists have an emotional attachment to their work.  Many consider asking for a bargain or discount a personal insult.  Instead, go into it with a "win-win" attitude.  Ask if there is a discount for cash.  Will they offer free installation and delivery?

6.  Love a piece but can't afford it as a big lump sum payment?  Ask about layaway.  It has been my experience that many artists will be happy to work with you on a layaway plan.

7.  Unsure how to transport?  Ask about installation.  Get specific!  Are there particular hooks, wall supports, etc needed? 

8.  Ask for care instructions.  This is essential for any piece of art you purchase, from pottery to watercolor paintings. 


9.  Ask about joining the artist's mailing list.  Artists will share their best deals and unveil new art to their customer list first.  Ask if there is the possibility to get on a postal and/or electronic mail list.

10.  Inquire about the return/exchange policy.  Not sure you're going to like that painting hanging over the sofa once you get it up?  Ask the artist if there is return/exchange policy.  Since many people buy from me for Hannukah and Christmas gifts, I would also suggest asking if there is an extended policy for art being purchased for a holiday gift.

Most of all, enjoy the day!  Art shows are a museum all to themselves.  Learn, ask questions, and hopefully, take home something to enrich your life.

Resin jewelry making experiment

I've done a moderate amount of experimenting with making resin jewelry.  Quite frankly, the stuff can be quite fussy sometimes.  It hates water, needs a moderate temperature, and can be a little weird about curing depending on what has been added to it.  One of the other key items is that a minimum amount must be mixed in order for it to harden properly.  (Read my earlier post on frequently asked questions about resin.)  As I've been working on new sterling silver and resin jewelry pieces for the Downtown Festival and Art show next weekend, I've been mixing a lot of resin.  I hate throwing away almost anything, including unused resin.  I've been experimenting with a few different ideas, and set another experiment into motion a few days ago.


I have a silicone mold made with wells of the same size as the scrabble tile pendants.  As I got done pouring yellow resin a few days ago, I covered the bottom of several of the wells with the resin I had left.  It's an epoxy resin, where the two parts mix in a 2:1 ratio.  The next day, I finished some scrabble tile pendants with a different, clear epoxy resin.  It mixes in a 1:1 ratio.  I decided to see if it would adhere and cure if I placed it on top of the other brand of resin, which had already completely cured.




I added some cute flowers with fake gems and a bit of glitter to the resin pieces.  I gave it the full time to cure and wow!  It worked!!  I haven't decided what to do with these yet.  Maybe pendants, maybe a group of them for bracelet links.  Not sure yet, but I'll post a picture when I figure it out.

Jewelry making mistakes

I don't think it's completely fair to put up all the pictures of my jewelry without showing you that I'm not perfect.  Two lessons that reared their ugly head this week:

You can't be too stingy with the glue when you're sealing your artwork.  This pendant was from a batch of scrabble tile pendants for Christmas.  I was running low on glue sealant and didn't go over the back of the papers as thick as I normally do.  I figured since I was gluing them to the scrabble tiles, it would be okay.  As you can see, the results were a disaster!  About half of that batch of pendants have "water marks" and can't be used.

I also found out that I can't look for bubbles too often.  Once I pour resin over the tiles, I go back over them and look for bubbles to remove.  (I use a combination of a heat gun and toothpick to get them out.)  Aargh!  I missed one on this pendant.  It's also headed to the scrap pile.




Overall, I feel good when everything goes well, but hate when I get to the end and don't have a salable piece of jewelry.

Resin jewelry making pictures

My sterling silver and resin jewelry has been a bit neglected for the past couple of months. The scrabble tile pendants have taken off with orders, and I have been mostly focusing on them as of late. That is changing a bit as we move closer to the holiday shopping season. These are just some random pictures from this weekend of resin and silver pendants in progress.

The resin gets poured in stages.  I only pour one color at a time.













The silver portion of the pendants get "staged" first.  Then I pour the colors.











Can you tell that red and green were my last two pours?  The resin needs at least 24 hours to cure before I pour the next color.

I "overfill" the resin in the silver well.  This will get sanded down later.

When I'm done pouring the resin, I let the jewelry set in a glass pyrex dish covered with plastic wrap.  I will check on it from time to time and make sure nothing is going wrong.  For example, a couple of hours after I poured the green resin, one of the pendants was leaking from underneath.  I was able to get it out and clean up the resin before it made a huge mess on a several pendants.

I hope to have many of these pieces ready for the Downtown Festival and Art Show in November.

New resin jewelry storage containers

Whether it's because I'm frugal or resourceful, I'm a big believer in "use it up or wear it out".  I don't just buy the latest "it product" because I want it and I try to repurpose as many things as possible.  As I've found out though, sometimes I have to "start over."

I've been using recycled storage containers (baby wipes, large yogurt tubs, etc.) to store the new scrabble tile jewelry pieces.  As I found with my last art show, it made it difficult to look for a specific piece to accommodate a customer request and/or set out a similar replacement piece for display.  I decided to "splurge" and get some "user friendly" storage pieces.

I bought several wooden trays (shown on right of the picture) and plastic inserts (left side of the picture) with individual  storage bays.

The plastic pieces fit snugly inside the wooden trays.  I can put up to four resin scrabble tile pieces in each bay.  I group them according to theme.

I can then stack the trays on top of each other.

I also purchased a canvas tote bag to store the stacked containers.  The side zips down and I can just slide them in.

Here we go!  All zipped up and ready to head to the Downtown Festival and Art Show in a couple of weeks.  I'm pretty excited that this will make things easier for me to store and organize my resin jewelry pieces.

Jewelry making class - forged copper metal earrings

 My next class at Gifts of Avalon, Gainesville, Florida, is Monday, November 15 at 6 PM.  This is another brand new class, and I will be teaching students how to make copper earrings using metal forging techniques.








No experience is required, but of course is always helpful.  Students will learn to make earrings, like the ones shown here, in about two hours.  Anyone interested should contact Gifts of Avalon to register.

Noche de Gala silent auction donation

I get many requests during the year for me to donate my jewelry for the benefit of charity.  While these charities are very worthwhile, I have to say no to  many requests simply because I cannot afford to give away that much jewelry.  I do, however, have several charities I feel strongly about, and I make a point to support them with their endeavors.

One such charity is the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation.  This foundation was founded by Sebastian's parents after he died of a medication overdose at the young age of three.  His parents have turned their tragedy into a quest to have a children's hospital in Gainesville, Florida.  I am completely amazed by their resolve into making their son's death a chance to improve medical options for children in the north Florida area.  As a parent of a son who has required intensive pediatric care, including three surgeries, I feel very strongly about supporting their endeavor.

Color enhanced coral, sterling silver, bronze, green aventurine

This coming Saturday evening is their annual event and fundraiser, Noche de Gala.  I have donated one of my coral bracelets (shown left) to their silent auction.  The bracelet normally retails for $250.  Many other artists and businesses from this area have donated items as well.  Pre event bids are open for all the items.  Even if you're not local, you can still find many pieces of beautiful artwork to buy knowing that the proceeds will go to help many children.  My hope is that once again, they will have a successful evening that will bring them even closer to seeing their son's memory impact thousands of children.