Time to Show Off

I have been adding things to my store at Yolanda's Clay  just because I have lots of stuff to list.  And sometimes there is no time, or it takes forever to do the whole process of photographing, editing, listing.  But yesterday and today I have  been sick so I figure I make the time.

But I also wanted to share the look on how my earrings will come packaged now.  Jackie from Made By Jackie  created the above tags for my clay creations.  Aren't those cute? And they look super cute with my earrings!  I love the tags and the earrings together.  Jackie makes a lot of paper products ranging in a big variety from cards for any ocassion, party supplies for kids, banners, cake toppers etc.  Visit her store if you are looking for superly cute things! (I know superly is not a word... :))

And here is a girly little pendat in green and pink with butterfly and hearts.  Can it get any sweeter than that?  I don't think so.

I called these a la scrabble tile since they are 1"

Great Find at the Flea Market

In case you missed  Sunday's Post  I said I'd write  about something that I have been looking for a while,  Indian Wood Blocks for printing fabric. I found a vendor selling them for the first time here in Irvine!  Every time I go to flea markets, antique stores or swap meet I am in the look out for these since they are great to imprint on clay and make pendants and beads.  

Available on etsy shop

Available on etsy shop

The items on all three pictures above  I used the same block to stamp clay, this block I bought a couple years ago at a farmers market, it was rather expensive reason why I only bought one.  I've seen some on ebay but again the prices are too, high so I kept looking.  Well Sunday was my day, I found a new vendor who sells items from India yes!!  Elizabeth sells tablecloths, napkins and placemats.  And in the middle had a table full of wood blocks!  My wishes came true!  I took a few pics of her booth, and the coveted blocks.

Oh boy... was I in trouble at this booth.... Luckily she had some small ones that ranged from $5 to $8.  But those big ones were $20 plus.

We quickly made a connection with Elizabeth and will get some of her linens soon (blocks were more important).  She is a local gal and was wishing that the event coordinator would invite her back for next month's market.... We saw her coming and cheered  when  Elizabeth asked us  in front of coord. if she should be back next month? we smiled when she said... Okay Elizabeth, do you want to pay now or mail me a check for next month.. yay!  She'll be back!

I bought three blocks and they were under $20 for all three... whew!  So as soon as I can I will start making new designs for pendants and beads to list on etsy.  Stay tuned.

Can't get enough of them...!  See you guys next time

In love with Flea Markets

My friend Shelley and I have been frequent visitors to a couple of flea markets in our area for a year or so. Tustin is fourth Sunday and Irvine is first Sunday of the month.  Irvine is way bigger than Tustin, so while they have a bunch of the same vendors, they really can't compare.  Today was Irvine's turn.  Please click on pictures for bigger images.

I loved the bench behind the big pillows, but the whole set up is pretty

For some reason today we were taking longer at each booth, basically  there was so much to see.

So, with no kids,  no rushes, no worries to be back at a certain time we went exploring with sunscreen on, all coffeed up we got going..

This is the first time I see this ribbon seller.  I loved her selection and all those colors were bright and beautiful!

Love!

This white vanity and chair was my favorite piece I saw today.  It was beautiful!  The price was not bad, I would have bought it if I had the space for it.  Which made come to the conclusion that a bigger home is what I need.      

The man who owns this store works the wood beautifully, he is my favorite always. He works on those pieces so much by pounding them, sanding them to give them character.  He stains the wood and cleans it to be ready to use as if it was new.

These are more pictures of this booth, so much to see.  

These buckets were $10, good for plants or flowers or just by themselves.
What do you think of the bathtub?

I thought these were so cool!

Unusual for a flea market?  Shelley and I think we should get this so when
one gets tired the other one will push...

Tomorrow I will show a few more pictures of today's loot.  Some stuff I got to use in clay pieces that I am about to start making for an upcoming show.  We also think that next time we should go to Long Beach FM.

What to make....

With so many techniques in ceramics, sometimes is hard for me to choose one.  While I love them all I constantly feel like I am pulled from every direction....  And to give myself some sanity, I try them all, even if it's one item per technique at a time. Here are a few I have been working with lately.







Owls are big lately, at shows I always sell a few at least.

I was finally able to get down and make some decals and follow through the whole process, while most pieces came out looking good a few were not so pretty.










So as you can see, I don't have a line of products that is all uniform, I don't have many of the same.  But I have fun stuff that I like to make and I make with the outmost care and quality there is.  Hope you like them.

Happy Birthday Etsy!

Last night The Road Less Traveled  in Santa Ana hosted one of the many party celebrations for Etsy's 5th anniversary.  About 25 etsy sellers got together to craft, chat, meet and of course have food.  Everybody brought something to eat , we had delicious salsa and chips, someone brought a pretty cute three layer cake decorated to look like a patchwork quilt with stitches and cute buttons, vegan cupcakes (to die for),  preserved jellies to spread over bread or crackers with cheese.... yumm.  Delilah the owner of RLT made a delicious lavender lemonade  and had her new kumquat vodka (very strong) but I gotta say, very good!

We spent a few hours there enjoying  a warm california evening, enjoying friends, company and of course discussing our stores, strategies, sales and future shows.

Thank yous go to The Long Beach Craft Mafia for putting a fun night to celebrate handmade along with Delilah and Nicoe Stevenson for hosting the party.  Nicole and Delilah were busy making vendor bags for the next Patchwork show to be June 27 in Long Beach  http://www.patchworkshow.com/.  Many of the attendees last night will be at the show, so we hope to see you there!