Succulents & Pottery

I love how the plants bring out my pots!  Will definitely be making more of these.  The 6 in the bottom photo will be available at Stock Home Design this Friday.

New!

Bamboo imprinted platters and a 100% wool felted handbag.  Both available at Stock Home Design (on March 9).

Succulents & Pottery

I keep neglecting my blog!  All the action happens on my Facebook Page so please "like" it if you want to see what I am working on!

I love succulents and I love pottery so I have been making some succulent pots.  At this moment they are still about 1500 degrees F and cooling in the kiln.  In another 14 or so hours I should be able to open up the kiln to see how they turned out!

I also have some succulents on the go and more on the way!  The grow light has been installed today!  Once some of my mother plants start having "babies" I will be transplanting them into my succulent pots for sale both directly from my studio or at Stock Home Design on Cleveland Street in Squamish, BC.  Stay tuned!

Owl Hat

I forgot to post this because it was a present for wee Melia!!

Yarn Bomb #1

Is it art or it is graffiti?  I've always loved the idea of yarn bombing.  I think it should be tasteful, fun, colourful but mostly makes people smile or laugh.  It can be creative or whimsical or carry a message.  It is a conversation starter amongst strangers.  It can brighten up a dull space.  There are many websites dedicated to yarn bombing as well as even larger art installations like the one in Melbourne, Australia later this month .  Yarn bombing can be knit or crochet or even hand knit items.

Here is my first yarn bomb called "Winter Blues"

CONTEST - The first 3 people who identify where the yarn bomb is wins their choice of one of my ceramic fern impressed wall hangings.  BUT there is a catch.  You must take a photo of yourself standing beside the yarn bomb and post it on my Facebook Page.

New for 2012 - Ribbed Twist Cowls

New 100% wool ribbed twist cowls available in 16 different colours.  $25 via my Etsy store.

Happy New Year!!!!

2011 was a great year.  I have learned so much this past year and it really has helped me continue to put things into perspective and continue to help obtain the balance between my life, my career (as a Executive Recruiter) and as a crafter.

We had quite a few deaths and illnesses in our circle of family and friends in 2011 which has helped me re-evaluate what is really important in life and what is not.  Going through this process has taught me a lot and even though it was a tough year at times, I feel that what I have gained so much on a personal level, something I can carry through my personal life, work life and in my pottery and crochet creations.

My focus for my creations has also changed for 2012.  My focus will be to spend 2012 experimenting and creating new things, things I have been wanting to try or struggling with.  I am not going to “pump out” a lot of “stuff” to sell, just focus on making unique, quality items.  Instead of craft fairs and art shows, which are exhausting especially when working full-time, I am going to focus on creating quality products which will be carried by two retail stores, Stock Home Design here in Squamish and One Earth Collection in Pemberton.  I will also have one or two studio sales a year to clear out stock like I did this past Christmas.  It proved to be a very warm and inviting way to sell my creations locally.

I’ve had a lot of support for my creations since day one and I am grateful to my friends, family and buyers.  Your feedback is always important to me because many times I am just too “close” to what I have made to be objective to be able to see if it is great or if it just sucks!  LOL!  I need your feedback, the good, the bad and the ugly.  All of it!!!

I am extremely excited about 2012 and I feel fortunate that I have learned a lot this past year on all levels and I am looking forward to learning a lot more with my renewed focus!  Happy New Year everyone and thank you again for all of your support!!!!

Don't forget about my HUGE Christmas SALE this Sunday December 18th, 2011 at my studio - 38069 Guilford Drive (Valleycliffe) in Squamish.  11am - 3pm.  As I have been getting ready and realized I really do have a lot of stock that MUST go!  I have run out of storage space.  Since I have so much stuff and need to get rid of it my prices are super low.  Lots of sticking stuffers too!!!!  Hope to see you there!

I just finished off a doggie coat for my Little Lucy last night.  Isn't she cute?

2011 Christmas Craft Fairs

It's been a busy fall preparing for the craft fair season!  This year you will find my pottery and crochet creations at the following fairs:

Bizarre Bazaar  - Telus Conference Centre, Whistler, BC - Friday November 25 (3pm - 9pm) and Saturday November 26 (10am - 7pm)

A Handcrafted Christmas - Howe Sound Inn & Brew Pub, Squamish, BC - Sunday November 27 (10am - 4pm)

Studio Sale - Clearing out the rest of my stock to make room for 2012 so everything must go and will be priced ridiculously low - My Studio, 38069 Guilford Drive (Valleyclife) Squamish, BC - Sunday December 18 (11am - 3pm)

 

First ferns, now wood!

The ferns have all wilted and died.  Soon they will turn back into the earth in which they came from.  But while I wait for the birth and renewal of spring the creating must continue!  My newest creation are my "wooden" mugs!  I love how these turned out!  Must get back into the studio and make more "wood"!

New Handbag Design

Another new design.  I made this bag a little longer but more narrow than my original design.  More bags to come!

Christmas Crunch!

7 weeks until the 3 back-to-back days of craft fairs and I am feeling the crunch!  I will be selling my fern platters and wall hangings as well as my new mugs and pitchers which are turning out really great.  I will also be selling my headbandz in many new colours and yarn selections as well as some new felted handbags.  Below are some of my new bags.

I'm on TV!

A few weeks ago I received an email from Nicole Fitzgerald from "The Express" on Shaw TV which is a local news show that airs 4 times a day sharing news about people and events in the community.  They came to my studio/home a couple of weeks ago and filmed me doing pottery and crochet.

Christmas Craft Fairs are Around the Corner!

I have two months to prepare for the 3 days of craft fairs!  I will have my fern platters and wall hangings available as well as mugs and pitchers which will be my focus for the next two months.  I will also have an assortment of tree, fish and snowflake ornaments.  I will have lots of new headbandz and my felted handbags!

The craft fairs I will be attending this year:

Bizarre Bazaar  - Telus Conference Centre, Whistler, BC - Friday November 25 (3pm - 9pm) and Saturday November 26 (10am - 7pm)

A Handcrafted Christmas - Howe Sound Inn & Brew Pub, Squamish, BC - Sunday November 27 (10am - 4pm)

and then after that I am going to fall down!  LOL!

Brackendale Fall Fair

The Brackendale Fall Fair is one of my absolute favourite annual local events.  This year I will be participating as a vendor.  I will have numerous leaf platters and wall hangings as well as 60+ headbandz, buttons and necklaces with ceramic pendants.  All new items with some special surprises!  Come visit me on September 10th from 10am - 5pm.

Buttons, buttons and more buttons

New buttons fresh out of the kiln.  I will be selling buttons at the Brackendale Fall Fair on September 10 but you can purchase my buttons at Stock Home Design on Cleveland Avenue in Squamish.

Headbandz!

I've been busy.  Here is what I have in stock as of today as they have been selling like hot cakes!  Let me know if you want one!  I will be selling these at the Brackendale Fall Fair on September 10.

 

 

Fern Wall Hangings!

Perfect for gift giving!

New Studio

Our vacation consisted of painting the studio since we had to wait for the weather to cooperate.  Looks a little like a gingerbread house!  We still have a couple of things to finish plus hang my sign but it looks great!

Deer Ferns

I absolutely love ferns and living in a rain forest we have tons of ferns. Mainly Bracken Fern and Sword Fern. A couple of other ferns which are also popular in this area but not as easy to find are Maidenhair Fern which leaves look like ginkgo and Deer Fern which looks very similar to the Sword Fern but much smaller.  I have been using all of these ferns lately in my platters.

Deer Fern (Blechnum spicant) is an interesting fern because it has two types of leaves. The sterile leaves have flat, wavy-margined leaflets 5 to 8 millimeters wide, while the fertile leaves have much narrower leaflets, each with two thick rows of sori (spores) on the underside.

In the two photos below (click on the photos for a closer view), the fertile leaves at the upright leaves in the photo on the left.  You can see the difference on the square platter on the left.  The sterile leaves are the flatter leaves at the bottom of the plant as seen in the platter on the right.  There aren't too many deer fern where I have found them so I was careful to only pick a few of the fertile leaves otherwise they will not have a chance to reproduce.