Another Lazy Daze Gone By!

Hi everyone! I'm finally back at blogging after a very successful Lazy Daze festival! Here are the events that led up to the show:

Of course there were lots of new jewelry designs! I'll be posting photos of all that shortly. There are so many I can't possibly get them all in this post...you'd be sitting here a very long time waiting for them to load! ;-)

Sign making: Even my sign was handcrafted. Below my "printer" is hard at work. She was very glad that I had Overnight Prints do my business cards! ;-)

Here's the practice setup. We set up everything but the jewelry to make sure it would all go together quickly Saturday morning, then snapped a few photos so our exhausted minds wouldn't have to try to remember it all!

Wrought iron stenciling on the the tablecloths:

I love this kind of work. But getting my hands clean afterward was quite a job!

Here it is! The morning of Lazy Daze! The night before we had set up the tent, the lights, and arranged the tables. This year my booth location was across from the 4 Seasons Stage. My helpers, customers, and I had the pleasure of listening to great music all day. Here I'm putting tacks in the jewelry boards while listening to music by John Williams - what a great way to start the day! No, John Williams wasn't at Lazy Daze! They just played his music while setting up and testing equipment.

And now for the grand tour! It's after 9:00, the lights and fans are on, and the festival is just beginning! Check out Sarah's super sign! As much jewelry as could be squeezed in has been set out. Come on in and see!

At 5:00pm it was all over. Lots of jewelry had gone to new homes, business cards had disappeared as fast as we put them out...and all day there wasn't a single rain cloud in sight!

A very special thanks to everyone (especially my fabulous Aunt Lindsey!) who helped out all the days that led up to and the day of Lazy Daze! You all made this the most perfect Lazy Daze yet!

One Week From Today...

Come visit me at the Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival next Saturday, August 28th! Look for booth number B207 under the big Tree Wings Studio banner.

And here's another peek at what you'll find when you stop by:

And there will be lots more to see on Saturday! See you then!!

Read more about the festival on the Town of Cary site here.

More Jewelry For Lazy Daze!

Little Buzzing Bees!

Hello again everyone! Tree Wings Studio is buzzing with excitement! Lazy Daze is just weeks away and so many new designs have taken shape. After a couple blogless months photos are finally here!!

Enjoy!

Little brass bees with honey colored crystals and wrapped beads - like tiny beehives dripping with honey.

More photos on the way - stay tuned! :-)

Tree Wings Studio at Lazy Daze 2010!

I've been accepted into the Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival again! This year the jury placed me in jewelry. I'm so excited to be showing my work this August...and doing jewelry is going to be so much fun! Here are just a few of my newest designs in progress:

Mod Poppy Pendants

I formed the bases of these pendants in my pewter mix and then added the funny little poppies for a contemporary yet rustic look.

Winged Heart Pendants

The result of a day of doodling winged hearts...before long I had a whole paper covered in them in lots of different poses. I really like how the new double and flying (side view) hearts turned out.

Winged Heart Birds

When creating so many new winged heart pendants, making them into birds just kind of happened!

Fire Agate Dragons

Of course my jewelry display at Lazy Daze just wouldn't be complete without these little dragons! I'll be making lots of them!

...And this is just the beginning! I have so many other ideas lying unfinished or waiting to be created!

More Poppies - Making the Red Poppies Vase

After making the poppy pendant necklace for my sister Bethanne, I decided to do a few more poppy designs for Lazy Daze - home decor of course. This post shows photos of my first poppy design in home decor - a fluted vase or pencil holder.

The Red Poppies Vase.

I begin with a fluted glass vase and my inspiration - Bethanne's necklace.


First I cover the vase.


Next I place the poppy stems. I work this design upside down so I can add texture to the base easily.


Feathering the leaves.

Sculpting the poppies. I start with three balls and flatten them. Then I score both sides and curl the top down just a bit.

Then I add ruffles by pressing the top edge down with the upholstery needle, lining them up with the grooves - it ruffles better if I do it this way. Next I pull the base to a point and give it a bit of contour by bending the point down while gently folding the upper part back. I form two more petals, repeating these steps for each one and it's time to put the poppy together.

Here I've put the three petals together and enlarged the opening with my "flower former".


Now I place the poppies on their stems.


Next I roll each stamen from a tiny ball of clay.


A poppy with stamens.

Time to add some texture. Bethanne calls the little balls with dents jam thumbprints - they do look a lot like them - only much, much smaller and without the jam. ;-)

So many little balls.

Jam thumbprints and pokey holes (the name my Auntie Linda gave these little dents I often put in the surface of my clay designs).

Just a few more.


And here it is baked and ready for paint.

Here I'm painting the poppies. I paint this vase only lightly, leaving bits of the brown clay showing - it adds to the style giving somewhat of a worn look.

After the paint on the poppies has dried, I add a wash of burnt umber to the entire surface. It runs into all the little crevices and highlights the shadows. Then I paint the jam thumbprints gold and paint them a second time with the wash - I know, there are no photos of this part - there were only 9 days until Lazy Daze, so unfortunately photos had to be cut for the sake of finished decor photos. ...But I think you get the idea - just paint those tiny things carefully - just enough to give them color, and be careful not to fill in that thumbprint! ;-)

And voila - the Red Poppies Vase! Bethanne sure got some great photos.

This vase is now featured in my Etsy shop. Be sure to check it out!