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It's here! The first day of the Virtual Craft Show. There will be Giveaways, Discount Codes and More!
Welcome to Day 1 of the First Annual Virtual Craft Show!
7 Days, 70 Artists, GIVING AWAY 70 things. Can you believe it????
I hope you'll take the time to visit these artisans' shops and blogs, too.
Here's how you win:
For each of the 7 days of the show, you get a point for each of the following (you don't have to do all four)....
Commenting on this page
Facebooking this page
Twittering this page
Blogging this page
Be sure to have either a blog with an email contact, or leave an email in your comment so I can notify you! Your comment has to be on Pretty Things blog post about that particular day of the Virtual Craft show. Click on the title or the box to the left to go right to the Virtual Craft show.
Drawing will be held a couple of days after the show. So check out Pretty Things Blog for all the first great artists. Stay tuned, because I'm participating in the Virtual Craft show and having a giveaway, too.
And if you're looking for that unique gift, check out my shop, KayzKreationz on Etsy. My Mosaic Birdfeeder was featured in the newest copy of the Birds and Blooms magazine! See the post below with all the details. You'll have the only Mosaic birdfeeder featured in a national magazine for yourself or as a gift for a gardening/birdfeeding friend or loved one! How great is that?
YAY! I got a copy of December/January issue of Birds and Blooms magazine today and my Birdhouse Mosaic Birdfeeder is featured on page 38 for DIY crafts for birdfeeding and gardens/yards. They contacted me back in April or May and asked about featuring it in the December/January issue. I sent it in and it is the first feeder featured in the article. There's also some tips on how to make your own. Plus, it links to my Etsy shop, KayzKreationz for those that prefer buying one instead of making one. So if you're looking for a unique birdfeeder for your yard or garden, check out my mosaic birdfeeders. The link in the title takes you to one that is like the one featured. It's the Birdhouse Birdfeeder. They also make wonderful gifts for your birdfeeding/gardening friends. Here's a peek at the cover and the article. It's so exciting to have one of my Mosaic Birdfeeders featured in a National magazine.
Erin from Treasures Found blog, issued a challenge recently. It was a Color Challenge. When we signed up to participate, we told her a color we'd like to use. She then picked a color palete from Design Seeds. Jessica at Design Seeds designs wonderful color palettes. I'm in awe of the colors she puts together and comes up with. Anyway, Erin picked a color palette for each of us from the color we picked and we're challenged to come up with a piece of jewelry using any or all of those colors. I picked purple and this is the color palette Erin picked for me. Isn't it gorgeous? Autumn Spectrum. I love it. I had some beads in my stash that perfectly matched the main colors of this palette and now am in the process of trying to put them together. There will be a blog hop of all 54 Color Palette Challenge participants on November 30th. So stay tuned to see what we all come up with from our color palette. I'm trying to use all 5 of the colors, so we'll see if I can pull that off or not.
This week's Featured HAF artist is Teresa from trusk4u at the HandmadeArtistsShop. Although her first crafting love was sewing, she now loves creating handmade jewelry using all kinds of materials, especially wire and recycled parts. In fact she says it's her obsession. She likes to learn new skills and try new techniques in her jewelry, also. She has opened a shop in Mebane, NC called Hollyhocks, LLC which sells handmade items from local artists. You should check out her online shop at trusk4u though for wonderful Jewelry designs like these:
Plus, her husband makes wonderful Key chains, Pens, and Shaving Kits in his workshop that she lists in her trusk4u shop on HandmadeArtistsShop. So check it out. And if you're looking for some unique Stained Glass, Mosaics, Fused Glass Kreationz for your Home or Garden or as gifts, plus Wire-wrapped, Beaded Jewelry, be sure to check out my shop on Etsy, KayzKreationz.
I've been thinking of delving into the world of Metal Clay. However, I don't really want to have to have a kiln to fire it. So I started looking at Art Metal Clay. Then I received the book The Absolute Beginners Guide: Making Metal Clay Jewlry by Cindy Pankopf and published by Kalmbach Books. It is a wonderful book. Cindy sets everything out very clearly, especially for someone who doesn't know anything about the Metal Clays. Right from the beginning she gives you places you might find instructors or classes to learn from in your area. Then she outlines what Silver clay is and what to expect from it as you work with it. She also sets out a little warning to not skip ahead so you won't get frustrated with your efforts and waste time and money. Then she delves right in to the different types of clay and varieties of clay. For instance, there's lump clay, paste clay, syringe clay and paper clay. There's also ACS clay, ACS Slow Dry, ACS 650, even Copper clay (which is why I got interested in the first place, since I love copper, but would like to be able to do more with it than just cut pieces of copper sheet.) She also mentions in the Basics that she designed all the projects in the book so as to be fired with a simple to use, inexpensive, handheld butane torch, which is great for beginners. That way you can get used to the firing process without putting out a lot of money/investment in the beginning, until you know if this is really for you. She also lists other materials you can use with your clay, like gemstones, wire and more. Then she delves right in outlining tools and supplies you'll need. Cindy tries to keep start-up costs minimal by suggesting tools and substitutes that are inexpensive and easy to come by. For instance, Freezer paper can be used for a nonstick work surface instead of Teflon-coated sheets. And playing cards can be used to measure your gauge/thickness instead of buying graduated slat sets. Olive oil can even be used as an oil to keep surfaces and your hands from sticking to the clay. She talks about the tools you'll need for working with dry clay, firing, finishing and adding patina's. There's even a section on specialty tools you might want/need. Next is the Techniques section where she talks about an easy way to figure out gram size for scrap clay you will have, storing your clay between sessions and recovering your scrap clay. There's tips about how to know if your firing too long and what to look for while you're firing. And then ways to get different finishes on your fired clay. And there's this handy shopping list you can print out for the projects in Part 2.
Are you ready to go? The projects start with the easiest and also grouped by the techniques you'll learn. I really liked that. At the top of the page it show you what technique you'll be learning with this project. For instance, with the first project: Stamped Charms, you'll learn Roll, Texture and Create a Satin Finish. Plus, a chart tells you how big the charm will be and what you'll need for this project. There's also extra tips with each project about how to do something easier or get rid of unwanted texture from your Teflex sheet. The projects graduate to harder and harder projects, learning new techniques with each one, right up to working with Paper (sheet) clay and how to assembly dry clay with an overlay. The final project is one with Copper clay, since it requires a few more tools and techniques. There is only one that can be Torch Fired, so be careful if you want to work with Copper and make sure you get the right clay. At the end is 'Beyond the Basics' with tips on Making connections, reconditioning/reclaiming clay, how to fix mistakes and how to repair broken pieces. All in all this is a great book for the beginner. It outlines everything you need to know and what you need to begin working with Metal Clay. I think even ones that have worked with it for a while would enjoy it and perhaps learn something from it, even if it's just something they'd forgotten or hadn't thought about. I highly recommend this book if you've been thinking about starting to work with Metal Clay. Even if there's a class or instructor in your area, this is a great book to have on your bookshelf to refer to afterwards for more tips or reminders of what you learned.
Keep a watch on my Etsy shop, KayzKreationz for new Glass Kreationz and Jewelry that will be featuring pieces made with Metal Clay.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Kalmbach Publishing to read and do my review.
Aren't these pretty pendants? They're made by Laurel Steven's from Polymer Clay. She's having a difficult time right now and could use some help. So Terri at Starseed Jewelry is hosting a giveaway of 2 of her own gorgeous (these 2) pendants from Laurel. Go to Starseed Jewelry blog to check it out. Here's just a peek: Starseed Jewelry: A Struggling Artist -- GIVEAWAY!!!: Last March I created a necklace which sold in a nanosecond. I think a lot of the credit goes to Laurel Steven's magnificant polymer clay...
And if you're looking for some great gifts, check out my shop, KayzKreationz for Stained Glass, Mosaics, Fused Glass and Beaded/Wire-wrapped Jewelry Kreationz.
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