Spring Craft Fairs

With the onset of Spring and the many beautiful changes in nature comes my outdoor Craft shows, once again.

Selling in person is always a wonderful experience for me because I get to meet and chat with my customers. This is always exciting for me because I get to talk about my jewelry pieces and more recently my cards. I can tell customers what an item is made of and how I made it.

I especially enjoy talking with my younger customers because they are so curious and I absolutely love to talk about my creations.

Here are some pictures of my table set up:

Here are some pictures of some of the jewelry and cards that I sold this craft fair season:

On May 2nd I had my last Spring Craft Show and with this comes a sad feeling because I will not be able to sell in the "flesh" until the fall. Because of the heat I no longer sell at outdoor Summer Craft Fairs. So, the internet will have to do until the fall comes around once again.

That's all for now...

Next Up: Adventures in Steampunk Jewelry and PaperCrafts

Steampunk has become a very popular genre in designing jewelry and pieces of art. The Steampunk genre is a combination of Victorian femininity and strong, bold, mechanical technology. The art materials and supplies in this popular genre may consist of vintage clock gears, cogs, pocket watch parts, keys, locks, wings, brass findings and other hardware. The steampunk style is a blend of 19th century Victorian history and science fiction. "Steam" referring to steam powered mechanics of the Victorian era and "punk" referring to the cyberpunk genre.

Here is a Steampunk necklace that I made for BsueBoutiques.com as a project:

Here are a number of other steampunk creations I have made:

This is a steampunk collage choker necklace. I used an antiqued brass necklace crescent as a base and used E6000 glue to attach a number of vintage watch parts, gears, funky charms, a little propeller, brass filigree butterfly and Swarovski crystal rhinestones.

You can find this cool steampunk necklace here: http://www.etsy
.com/listing/67949605/fabulous-steampunk-collage-necklace

This is a steampunk collage picture that I made and hung in my guest bathroom in my home.

Supplies used: vintage watch parts, gears, brass corner stamping, lock and key charm, a game spinner, brass leaves and flower, silk flower, letter charms, steampunk inspired stampings and images.

This is a pair of antiqued silver steampunk earrings. I used lock and key charms and wing pendants to make it.

You can find this pair of earrings here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/64599959/gossamer-wing-steampunk-earrings

This is a steampunk any occasion greeting card.

Supplies used--paper, metal pointer, game spinner, gears, vintage images, crystal rhinestones and steampunk inspired stampings.

You can find this card here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/64902737/vintage-inspired-steampunk-any-occasion

This is a steampunk ring.

Supplies used: antiqued silver adjustable ring shank, vintage watch movement, dragonfly charm, and Swarovski AB crystal rhinestones.

You can find this ring here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/65828816/steampunk-dragonfly-and-crystal

This is a steampunk bookmark.

Supplies used: paper, brass flower, craft thread, vintage clock gear image, and stamped steampunk gears.

This is a steampunk brooch/pin.

Supplies used: Antiqued filigree butterfly, a vintage watch movement, and lock and key charms.

Here is another pair of steampunk earrings.

Supplies used: antiqued brass steampunk gears, bird charms, and red Swarovski crystal rhinestones.

You can find these earrings here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/63091869/steampunk-red-crystal-and-gear-earrings

This is another steampunk necklace.

Supplies used: clockface, steampunk gears, gossamer wing, button, and brown suede cord.

You can find this necklace here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/64503328/time-flies-steampunk-antiqued-brass

For more examples of my steampunk jewelry and cards creations visit:

http://beadlady5.etsy.com/

Okay, I said enough for now--

And Now It's Altered Art

What is altered art you ask? Basically it is simply a form of creative expression which has been around for centuries.
Altered art is created by "altering" or combining existing works of art to produce new pieces of artwork. It involves the transformation or "alteration" of ordinary, everyday objects into artistic pieces using such things as rubber stamps, fabric, paper, paint and fibres.However, what most people think of as altered art seems to be a certain look, a certain style. This often is an old and faded look , like it is vintage, antique, worn or distressed.

If a piece of artwork is described as "altered" it probably means that it has that old, worn and distressed look and not necessarily "altered" from an existing work of art.
Many things are used in altered art projects:

Bottle Caps

Bamboo Tiles

Books

Boxes

CDs and DVDs

Bottles






CD cases , Cigar boxes, Dominoes, Blank Pendants or settings, Jigsaw pieces, Luggage label(shipping tags), Matchboxes, Microscope slides, Photographs and postcards, Photo frames, Playing cards, Slide mailers, Slide mounts, Tags, and Tins

There are many different techniques used in altered art--here are some of them:

Collaging, Die Cutting, Embossing, Adding Embellishments, Gluing, Using Fabrics and other materials, Using Paints, Inks, and Glazes, and Rubber Stamping.

So, now you know what "altered art" commonly means and the techniques used to create an altered art project.

And now here are some of my altered art creations:

Altered Art Necklace--I started with a blank raw brass disc--

Techniques used--inking, glazing, drilling, riveting, and gluing.

Altered Art Tag--I started with a blank manila tag.

Techniques used--distressing, inking, gluing, adding embellishments--charms, flowers, vintage watch parts, ribbon, pearl cabochons, pictures, a spinner, brads, a pin, and filigree

butterfly--and stamped images.Altered Art Pendant--I started with an antiqued silver blank disc.
Techniques used--embossing, drilling, inking, glazing, gluing, rhinestone embellishments were added, and a lady in the moon charm.




Altered Art "Artist Trading Card"--I started with a blank manila card.

Techniques used--distressing, inking, adding embellishments--brass charms and cabochon, pearl cabochons, image of a vintage lady, brass gear, spinner,brads, paper flowers, and lace ribbon--and stamped images.

Altered Art Earrings--I started with 2 blank brass drops.

Techniques used--inking, glazing,drilling, riveting, gluing, wire wrapped loops.

Altered Art has opened up an entirely new avenue of artistic expression for me. I love learning so many new techniques and am experimenting in so many different types of materials. It is really exciting for me to let my imagination go wild with this form of artistic expression.

Well, that's all for now...