Charming!

Here are some better pictures of the little charms I have been making.




This is a chocolate bon bon.

Dime shows the size. I have some smaller too.

Yum! Bagels and Cream Cheese!





Do you need some ketchup with your hot dog?




How about a donut for dessert?

These still need the charm ring added on, (which I plan on doing this week.) I made about 65 charms in the last week. These are just a few of the charms.

There are a lot of steps to the process. Form the clay, put an eye pin in it, bake it, shine it, add paint and details, glue the eye pin for extra strength, then add the charm ring.

But, I had a lot of fun doing these. I have a lot more ideas!

Published!

Periodically, my work gets published. I've been in 4 magazines and the Sculpey Website. Here are my latest two designs. This is a Christmas Monkey Picture holder. I believe they want these designs for children to make. It's fairly easy and the colors can be changed making it a spring monkey, Halloween monkey, etc. The second design is a cupcake bracelet. Once again, it's an easier project geared for children. I'm going to make these for my upcoming craft shows. I thought they would be great as Halloween and Christmas. I like making these because they are just beads that get strung on elastic. The ends are tied, and it's ready to wear. If I could get something published two times a month, the fee would pay my rent. I really need to be more pro-active and send out designs to magazines and websites. One magazine is already working on next year's Halloween ideas, so I'm getting ready to send off a couple of designs to them.

Craft shows...

So far, I'm going to be doing 4 craft shows for sure, another one I'm waiting to hear if I got into it or not, and one more that I'm debating on.

My shows are.........

South Lyon Pumpkin Fest, South Lyon
St. Paul's Fall Fest, Trenton
Franklin High School, Livonia
St. Thomas Becket, Canton

The show I really want to get into is Eisenhower school in Shelby Township. I've sent my check and pictures, just waiting to hear.

Another show I'm debating on is a small $20 show in Macomb. It's at a farm/flower nursery. Might be worth the trip as they sent out 9000 flyers and are advertising in the Free Press and Detroit News. There was an article written about it on line. I might give it a try.

Today I'm going to be working on lots of Halloween Clay Babies. Here's are some examples of what I'll be making today!



Ghost/tombstone Fatty Pumpkin Fairy

Fatty Fairies

I started making a line of fairies called "Fatty Fairies". My friend Mary Ann and I were trying to design things a few years ago and actually thought up this poem at that time..."Fatty Fairies...We're too fat to fly, so we don't even try!"

They are just roly poly round fairies with shimmering wings. Cute and whimsical, they are very affordable. At this point in time, I'm charging $8.00 for each one. I made a few for my granddaughter's room.
I've attached a hook and some strong fishing line so they can be hung from the ceiling. Very cute.

This is a Fatty Fairy holding a
cupcake and a heart.
I can personalize the heart.

Patriotic Fatty Fairy holds stars
and comes with a flag.

Fatty Pumpkin Fairy holds a big pumpkin and is in multi-colored autumn colors of clay that are swirled. I love the material that I'm using to make the wings.

I've started selling these on my website and ebay. I'm also going to be doing a few craft shows this fall and will try them out there.


Craft shows

Speaking of craft shows, it's been a few years since I've really been involved in the craft show circuit. I used to do them every weekend, but over the years, they seemed to be less of a money maker, and more of an expense. I decided after a really tough craft show year about 4 years ago, to just give it up. I gave away all of my displays and made my friend Mary Ann promise that she wouldn't let me do another one.

Well, I've been missing the interaction I've experienced when I've done shows. I miss greeting the customers, watching them laugh and make "oh, how cute" comments. I miss the friendly chit chat while wrapping their purchases. I miss that cash! :)

So, I'm going to do a few shows and see how it feels. I lucked out and found brand new fireplace screens at K-Mart. They were marked down to $2.50, originally priced at $29.00. I can hang my clay babies from the screens. It's not the greatest idea, but it will serve my purpose. Most of my holiday items hang anyway, so the screens should work nicely, and the items can be seen easily.

I doubt if I'll ever step back into shows like I used to do. I'm older now and my knees hurt all of the time. It takes a lot of stamina to do shows, and I've lost some of that. But, if I do a few a year, it will satisfy my "craving".

I would love to hear comments from other crafters out there. Are you still doing shows? How are you doing out there? Thanks in advance!