DC CRAFT MAFIA HOLIDAY HEIST

My DC Craft Mafia peeps and I spent a hardworking afternoon a few weeks ago going through applications for our annual holiday show, HOLIDAY HEIST. We have a smaller show this year due to our choice in venue and we could only take in about 30 artists. We would accepted more is we could but maybe next year.

Here's a peek at the array of talent we have for the show:

• A.W.E. Design
• Artmonger
• Bead Jewelry by Shopgirl (me!)
  
• Bee's Knees Studio
• beth pohlman jewelry
• Bette's Bags
• Block Party Press
• Creativ*Bee Designs
• Curls Studio
• DesignsbyErdenesuren
• EHL Creations
• Elisa Shere Jewelry
• Erica Burns Designs
  
• Fisticuffs
• Great Sock
• Herban Lifestyle
• Holland Cox
• Jaime Zollars
• Jerseymaids
• Jill Popwich Designs
• Lalas Pequenos
• Lana Kole
• Lollibomb Beauty
• Moonlight Bindery
• My UglyKitty
• Ninnycat Crochet
• Novelty Kitten
• Palace of Varied Industries
• Pear & Peacock
• Phil Barbato
• Polly Scoots
• River Rats Designs
• See Katie Sew
• SHN Handmade
• Space Moderne
• This Little Piggy
• Wild Hare Fiber Studio LLC
• Yinibini
• Yummy & Company

It promises to be an exciting show! So save the date: November 21, The Soundry.

My Babies Have Found New Homes!

I spent yesterday with my DC Craft Mafia peeps, Erica Burns (Erica Burns Designs) and Mary Kearns (Herban LifeStyle) at the Handmade Mart in Downtown Silver Spring. The day started out with rain but the sun didn't let us down and it shone the rest of the day (I have the sun burn to prove it!). Everyone was out and about and buying tons of stuff! There was live music and lots of things to eat and a whole street of handmade goodies. The whole event was a success in my opinion. Silver Spring is such a diverse and lively community.
My collegemate, Clarisse, who I haven't seen in ages, even dropped by! Thanks, Cla, for your support! A couple of her officemates are planning to launch their own jewelry business specializing in pearls and I was glad to give them some advise.

I also got to stock up on my favorite sugar scrub supplied by Herban Lifestyle. Mary worked on a new formula which I tried this morning and it's just luxurious! And the scent is so energizing - my favorite is Lemon Souffle. I highly recommend it!

Lastly, it's always greatly satisfying to see people pick up my jewelry and wear them. Below are some of the pieces that I said goodbye to yesterday. It was interesting that a lot of my blue and green pieces sold. Looks like those were the colors of the day. Also most of everyone were buying earrings. So blue, green and earrings were the favorites of the day. Enjoy them ladies!

BeadJewelryShopgirl in Handmade Mart!

This is a short post to remind everyone about my show this weekend. I will be with my DC Craft Mafia peeps in Handmade Mart this Sunday, May 31st in Downtown Silver Spring. Find us in Tent #58 (close to CakeLove's store. Yummy!)

The Handmade Mart in Downtown Silver Spring will bring together more than 50 independent artisans and crafters for a one-day show and sale of handmade goods. With hands-on workshops and demos, as well as live entertainment all day long on the music stage, the Handmade Mart promises fun for folks of all ages!

See you there!

From the drawing board to reality

Beading is great therapy. It certainly helps me to de-stress from work. But life took a turn and the stress became personal as my husband was diagnosed with cancer. The energies got shifted to him and beads became trivial. But beading still helped to keep my sanity. What do you do when you don't have access to a computer, can't really bring your beading stuff with you and had hours of dead time in the hospital where you really couldn't concentrate but needed to occupy your mind? I turned to coloring triangles. Pages and pages of triangles, I had a box of my son's coloring pencils in my bag, a template of a triangle and I would ease my mind into a mindless mental state and just color those little blocks. Some people looked at me like I was crazy (I still am!). Half the time, the results would be nice, the other half just gibberish. Funny how the mind can go into hypermode and idle at the same time. Mind and No Mind, kind of a thing?Now we are in remission (yay!) and life getting back to somewhat normal - depending on your definition of normal. I took the drawings and started to render these triangle pendants. It's been satisfying to bring these colorings to life. You know what they say about finding some light in life's dark moments. I think about my state of mind then when my purpose was just to color each tiny block. And now the satisfaction I have in finally taking these drawings and creating something tangible, real. And, hopefully, give enjoyment to the person who decides they like the pendants enough to wear them.

Silver Triangle and Onyx Earrings

I tend to take the earrings I make for granted. Probably because I make earrings when I need a mental break. Well, I've done a lot of earrings in the past year (yeah! needed that many mental breaks!). They've all been in hiding in my box of earrings begging to be photoed and shown off to the world after staying in the dark for too long. So I'm going to start introducing them here and in my etsy store one by one. It's their coming out party!

Welcome back!

As some of you may know, I've taken a hiatus from my beading to attend to "stuff." But I think I can finally start getting back in the groove of things, little by little and I'm getting some help with inspiration. Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon with my DC Craft Mafia peeps - Novelty Kitten, Erica Burns, Polly Scoots and NinnyCat and a new peep called Tweet. Well, Tweet spent Sunday with me and gave me some pointers on photography, of course, after a cup of java.After product shots, she proceeded to inspect the house and was immediately mesmerized with my son's origami - tried to get in to the dog's house and went eye to eye with an eagle!

She got too cozy with Kwan Yin but the old fisherman just wouldn't have it! I had to rescue her from that one but no harm done.Oh well, I'll try to keep her out of trouble so drop in next time to see what she'll be up to. Ciao!

CALL FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTERS!

The DC Craft Mafia is pleased to announce a call to Artists and Crafters for its annual craft fair, The UnUsual Suspects Holiday Arts & Crafts Festival, to be held November 1, 2008. Deadline for applications is September 28, 2008. The event will be held at The Anastasi Room at the Bethesda Fire House, Battery Lane, Bethesda, MD. Applications can be downloaded from the DC Craft Mafia website: http://www.dccraftmafia.com/application.php.

Over 50 vendors will be chosen to feature a wide selection of handcrafted gifts in all price ranges, from bath and body care items, glass art and home decor, fine art and photography, clothing and handbags, toys, paper goods, accessories and artisan jewelry.

The DC Craft Mafia (DCCM) is a group of diverse independent artists in the DC, MD and VA area who endeavor to bring craftiness to the nation's capital. For more information on the event and DCCM, visit www.dccraftmafia.com.

DC Craft Mafia in Ballston Arts + Crafts Market

It's been a fun summer. Every second Sunday of the month, I've been able to hang out with my new DC Craft Mafia friends. As Arty4Ever always says, "We're crafty and we're connected!" This October 8th will be the last Ballston A+C Market so if you haven't visited Ballston lately, be sure to come!