Artisans' Guild of Cape Cod Show

The Artisans' Guild of Cape Cod November show is quickly approaching (aka less than a week away). I am excited, but yet a little nervous, because it is my first time doing this show, and its my first time doing a two day show. It is also the first time that my mom and I will be doing a show together (not counting the open houses we did years ago). We will both have jewelry available (her polymer clay jewelry and my mixture of jewelry), plus we will have some mother-daughter pieces as well!

I would love it if you came out to support both my mom and I!

Friday November 29th and Saturday November 30th

10-5pm

Hyannis Youth and Community Center 

141 Bassett Lane Hyannis MA

(There is plenty of free parking and the show is free to get into!)

Plus wouldn't you rather buy a handmade gift this holiday season, then try to fight someone at the mall for a present? But if you must go to the mall, you can always come after :) Saturday, by the way, is considered Small Business Saturday, so what better way then to support local Cape Cod Artisans?! We both hope to see you there! 

Last Minute

It always seems as if the shows I do sneak up on me, despite all of my planning and lists. Or maybe it's just that I want to do SO much, that my lists get kind of lost in the shuffle sometimes. Take for example, I was just home in my metals studio the past couple of days, had a somewhat decent sized list, but only really accomplished 2 things on it. Now you may think, what were you doing? Well, what happens is that while I am making things on the list, new ideas come up, so I start doing them. Hence the distraction from my original goal.
So the next time I am able to be home, I am going to try to be more on point, because I really don't have much more time in my metals studio before my two shows.

So this is what I did:

Sticky notes with what I need to get done  the next time I am home. Once I get these things done I can do some last minute designs. 

Let's hope this plan works! 

What I have been up to

I have been making jewelry, really I have, but I just haven't gotten the picture quality that I want yet. What I can share are some Instagram pictures of some works in progress!

This shot is a bunch of new jewelry that is finished, so think of this as a sneak peek of what's to come!

Bead Show this weekend

AKA, I'm going to be stocking up on some supplies before my upcoming shows! I am very excited for this show because some of my favorite lampworkers will be there (see this bead show post). My mom will also be joining me, so it will be some great mother daughter bonding time!

I will definitely be posting about the new beads I get!

Winter/Holiday Season

As it is now officially fall, I have to be getting ready for my least favorite weather season (winter), but an exciting season for me this year because I have added a show that I am doing.

This year I will be selling my jewelry at the Artisan's Guild of Cape Cod show in November (right after Thanksgiving) with my mom! It will be the first time that we are doing a show together (not counting back in the day when we did open houses), so it is going to be a lot of fun. For me it is my first time doing a two day show, so I have been busy making lots of new inventory. I also have been trying to figure out how I want to display my jewelry because normally my mom and I share displays (as well as tables) because we've only done separate shows, so I have to get some more of my own.

Then the following weekend (Saturday only), I will be doing the Last Best Craft Fair in Sandwich MA. This will be my fourth year doing the show. I am looking forward to doing it again. It is always fun going back to my old elementary school.

I have been trying to build up lots of inventory because of the added show, plus I want to keep the stores I am in well stocked for the season as well. One difficulty that I am running into though is the limited amount of time that I have to work with my torch. Since I moved out and didn't bring my torch with me, I have to make trips home to be able to use it. Now I am definitely not complaining because I love coming home to see my family, I just don't get to as much as I want to because of my work schedule. But yet I also love my full time nursing job as well. So basically I need to clone myself, or I need to get my torch closer to me.

More details in terms of the shows and the jewelry that I will have there coming soon!

Newport

I realized I never posted about my trip to Newport a couple of weeks ago..oops. 

It was weird going back to Newport (Salve really) for alumni weekend. As it was my first alumni weekend. But it was awesome. I spent lots of time outside (something I don't do much of now with my work schedule), and got to see some great friends.

I got a new picture of my name on the Athletics Awards plaque in Rogers :) 

The sunset looked absolutely gorgeous when I was out to dinner with friends. 

The BOSS was also on display, and I thought it was awesome. This top piece was one of my favorites. 

Salve's rose gardens never seem to disappoint. 

A smoothie full of hope. (Really mango, pineapple and strawberry, but it was called Hope Island) 

So I pretty much didn't want to leave but I had to get back to work on Monday, but I am looking forward to the next time I can go to Newport again. 

23 Things About Me

I saw this on another blog, and thought it was a really cool idea. So here it is 23 Things About Me (that you may or may not know). The original blog was 25 Things, but since I just turned 23, I thought I would do that many instead!

1. I love to shop. 
2. My favorite sport is Lacrosse, specifically Men's (I mean I was a team manager for 6 1/2 years)
3. Criminal Minds is absolutely my favorite show. I watch repeats often. 
4. I have many knitting projects going at the same time. 
5. I like my beads and yarns organized by color, but yet I hate to clean. 
6. I prefer sour candy over chocolate. 
7. I've donated my hair twice for cancer patients. (once for Locks of Love and once for Pantene Beautiful Lengths), and I hope to do it again once its long enough.
8. I love giving presents, handmade ones if possible. 
9. Summer is my favorite season. 
10. I love to support local handmade artisans. 
11. I love to drink tea, and lots of it. 
12. I have and use a lot of post-it notes. 
13. I am a fan of gory movies (SAW series anyone?)
14. If I could be barefoot always I would love that. 
15. I've been known to make just frosting to eat.
16. I want to learn how to sew (again)
17. I would pick going somewhere warm over somewhere cold in terms of traveling.
18. Flea markets are so much fun to go to (see #1)
19. I am a psychiatric nurse and I love what I am able to do. 
20. I have a collection of handmade mugs (the larger the better, see #10 and #11)
21. I would love to have my own store someday (with my mom of course). 
22. I am not a morning person...unless you count staying up until its almost morning as a morning person.
23. Lastly and most importantly, I am thankful for everyone and everything that I have in my life, they are what made me who I am today. 

Crickets...

Maybe that't what you have been hearing as I have not posted here for over a month. Well since my last post, I have moved into my own apartment and have started working as a registered nurse. It has been a busy couple of weeks, but my schedule should be a little more set now that my normal hours start soon. Thankfully these hours allow me time to be able to make jewelry! So much that I have run out of wire, and am waiting for my order to come in.

I treated myself to a light box from Cowboy Studios, that way I have no more excuses about taking pictures of my new jewelry because of lighting issues. It has arrived, but I have to go and get lights for it. Now it is just a white tent. I am planning on getting those ASAP.

Also over the time that I have been silent, I helped my mom (Treasures & Trinkets) with two shows that she did, one at Drummer Boy Park in Brewster. I only was able to help one day because I was working the other two, but it was great to be able to have that one day to be her check out girl :) The other was over Labor Day weekend and it was a lot of fun. Her next show is in November (I will be posting about it when it gets a little closer). She makes some really great polymer clay jewelry!

Until next time, hopefully with new photos and more updates!

Ch-ch-changes

In less than one week I will be moving into my very own apartment, and not just for the school year like I have the past two years. It will definitely be an adjustment, but I am excited for what is to come. So in preparation for my move, I have been trying to figure out how I want it to be decorated. My main concern is really my living area/studio space. I have been really fortunate to have half of a basement as my studio for the past couple of years, so trying to fit everything I want to bring with me will be a bit of a challenge. I can't move out without my beads, yarns, and papers.

Thankfully, Pinterest was invented to help me figure out how I want my space to be! As an already avid pinner, I created a board specifically with apartment ideas.

In terms of color, I want a more beachy appearance, aka lots of teals, blues, tans/whites.
Much like this courtesy of design-seeds.com


I really like this set up, but in the colors shown above. I am bringing my inspiration boards with me, so this is a perfect set up for them, plus it gives me a lot of space for storage without taking up too much room. Image via Pinterest courtesy of http://www.brightboldbeautiful.com/

courtesy of http://www.completely-coastal.com/

Wicked cool displays of beach finds (perfect because my mom brought me back some awesome shells and coral from Florida!). More about those later! :)

And I definitely want to have at least one gallery wall (my apartment has really high ceilings so it will be awesome!)

courtesy of http://jenniferjohner.typepad.com/jennifer/2011/05/floor-to-ceiling-photo-wall-aka-how-to-hide-all-of-those-switches-and-things.html

I can't wait to be able to move in and start decorating (and creating) when I am not working!

Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ...

I found this video on website called U lala, see below for their about information courtesy of their website. Katherine was actually one of my fellow classmates in high school.

Watching this video inspired me so much. Sarah believes in the empowerment for people to be brave and go after what they want and to be able to share it with others. That is what I am doing with my jewelry making and really these blog posts. I am sharing what I believe in and what I put my heart and soul into.

You should definitely check out more of Sarah Kay's poems, as well as the U lala website. Originally just based in Purdue University, has now expanded out to more colleges and universities. http://www.u-la-la.com/school/

Miss You Can Do It

This post really doesn't have anything to do with jewelry really, but it has everything to do with what I believe in.

Watching TV the other night I stumbled upon a documentary called Miss You Can Do It.
It  is a pageant that is for girls and women with special needs. It was started by Abbey Curran, Miss Iowa USA 2008, who has cerebral palsy, in 2004. She was the first contestant in Miss USA to compete with a challenge.

I found the documentary incredibly inspiring. It proves that you can try anything that you want to no matter any disability you may have. The pageant is special in the sense that no one goes home empty handed, everyone gets an award. Yes, I know that people have said that society now that people are handed things way to easily and that everyone thinks that they are entitled to get what they want. But these young women deserve these awards and more just for being who they are. They are bright shining stars that face challenges every day.

 The documentary highlighted many different families. One in particular was memorable for me. This incredible family that had two sons and a daughter. The daughter was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome, and they decided that they wanted to adopt a little girl the same age as their daughter so that she would have someone her own age that was like her. Their house was vandalized, as well as one of their cars, with the degrading use of the R word. I don't understand why people are so cruel to one another. The R word is definitely one that I don't like. I speak up when I hear someone saying it. In high school I had volunteered with the Special Olympics for a couple of years and always looked forward to helping out. Once I know what my schedule is for work, I am definitely going to look to see what is around me in terms of volunteering.

I highly suggest that you check out this documentary (it is showing on HBO). Just an FYI, you might want to have some tissues handy.
This years pageant is Saturday July 27th.
http://www.missyoucandoit.com/index.htm Here is the link to the website for more information.


I loved being able to help out a friend in the Miss RI competition a couple of months ago. I know that she is incredibly appreciative of what she got from the pageant, so I can only imagine how these young women feel when they are able to compete.

Provincetown

As I mentioned in my previous post, my mom and I also went to Provincetown after the Brewster Flea Market.

Provincetown, or P-town, is definitely a fun place to go. My mom and I go at least once every summer. It is such an artistic environment, from the beautiful gardens in everyone's yards or the different paintings in the numerous galleries.

Besides looking at the galleries, there are two shops that we always go to no matter what. One is the shell shop, and the other is the taffy place connected to the shell shop. Talk about two for one shopping! I got some shells and taffy. The taffy is long gone, but I have a project in mind for the shells that I will share here when it is done.

Warning picture heavy!

Part pink part purple hydrangeas, gorgeous (and there were so many of them!)

One of the beautiful gardens that we saw while we were there. 

I can't remember the exact type of rose this was. Does anyone have any idea?

Pink zinnia. Love.

Love the layering and the spiral. Will definitely be using this for inspiration. 

If I were to ever have shrubs in front of my house, I want them to be a wave like this!

more of those roses. 

I love that the chairs are rusted, it gives them such character. 

A super delicious cupcake that I clearly couldn't wait to take a picture first before taking a bite. 

Run down dock. 

Yummy roasted vegetable and pesto panini with onion rings. 

It was a great day to spend with my mom! 

Two Days of Flea Market Finds

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I went to not only 1 flea market, but 2! Tuesday was the Brewster Flea Market, and Wednesday was the Sandwich Flea Market.

At the Brewster Flea Market I got:

A really pretty teal vase, a old tin tray, and what you can't really see that well an old tin small chest. I plan on using it to hold business cards at my shows. 

And at the Sandwich Flea Market I got:

An awesome old drawer, a teal ball jar, and an old anvil! 

This anvil is awesome. I had seen one the day before at the Brewter flea market that was above my budget, and then I actually saw another one at the Sandwich flea market but that one was even more above my budget. I had told my mom that I would just find the next one. She said, yes because there is one right there. It was right in my budget and I can't wait to share the designs that I make with it! 

Two full days of shopping (Tuesday my mom and I ended up going to P-Town, a post about that later) and browsing made me exhausted. I think I was able to catch up on all my sleep though thanks to a nice lazy Thursday.


And now you may be wondering why this post is so late, well I was busy studying for a very important test.

And since I have already taken the test and found out the results, I can finally share that I am officially a Registered Nurse! It's a very exciting time for me now, and I can't wait to share more about it.

Flea Market Finds

My mom just got out of school last week, so this was the first week that we were able to go to the flea market! I LOVE flea markets, you never know what you are going to find and I am always on the hunt for a good deal. The flea market in my town is held every Wednesday, so I actually like waking up very early in the morning to go.

Here are the goodies I found :)

Flower tins. I will be using the two reddish ones in my kitchen in my (hopefully) soon to be apartment. 

I got all of these knitting needles for such a good deal. I was super happy when I found them (I had been on the hunt for old ones, they are the best). This box has a mix of straight needles and circular needles. 

The above knitting needles came with this cool metal tin too! :) 

A super cool old key. I may make it into a piece of jewelry or I may just keep it in a dish as I collect more. 

A Johnnie Walker box (minus the alcohol), but in super great condition. 

And this was actually a trade from my mom, I gave her some of the double point knitting needles and she gave me this is exchange :) I will be using it to hold my earring cards! 

Wednesday is coming up quick again, I can't wait to go! 

Art on the Green 2013 in Review

Last Saturday I participated in the Art on the Green at the Pinehills for the fifth time. It's crazy to think it was my fifth time doing the show. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not very windy! I am very thankful for all of the support that was given to me that day. I also would like to thank my mom for helping me out all day! She was a great wrapper and supporter! :) I hope that I am able to do it again next year! 

Here are pictures of my display from the show. Warning! Picture heavy! 

These pictures can also be found on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/KMSJewelsandDesigns! Please go and like the page if you have not already!