Black thumbs? No problem!

The kitchen still isn't done, but it is close enough now that we got a lot of our living space back, and with the space came the room (and mental energy) to actually make stuff!  YAY just in time for the Holiday Craft Fair I put on every year at my office.

This group of work came about because I wanted to make my co-worker and good friend something special for her birthday and I knew how much she loved my succulents.  I have a house full of them, and three years ago for the Spring craft fair I brought in a bunch of cute terrariums with air plants, succulents, and the like.  They were a hit and since then folk keep asking me if I am going to do it again.

Well, no, on account of half the people killed their plants within a month (how in the world do you kill a succulent??) and also it was hard for me to let go of plants that I had been nurturing for 6+ months to get them ready for the sale.  But then it dawned on me that I could just make faux succulents;  sort of how Athena made the mechanical owl for Perseus in Clash of the Titans ('Not my beloved Bubo!').

So I made a few desk top terrariums (the air plants are real):

And a few adorable mini- terrariums.  The base is about the size of a quarter:

Pendants:

This is my favorite!  And the one I am keeping.

And, Christmas ornaments in two sizes!  But really, I think you could hang these in a window all year long:

In a strange twist of coincidence, the day I started on these, I saw that the new PolymerCafe magazine came out with the cover being succulents.  So weird!  I ordered it but it hasn't come in yet. They probably have a much better technique for making these than I managed - but we shall see!

Odd Pod Specimens

Tried something new!  I have an obsession with old-timey cabinets of curiosity, and even though I don't actually have one, I have enough stuff on my "shelf o' cool" that I should probably invest in one already...

In any case, I picked up loads of these little bottles last month, and decided to make something that I would like to see in a cabinet.  Behold!

I had a LOT of fun coming up with the "description" for these for Etsy too.  I knew I wanted something that was a Victorian sounding story, but ended up writing a letter:

My dearest friend: 
I write to you today with the most interesting of propositions. The famous Professors Chester O. Kensington and Sir Thaddeus R. Vandeviere have found, in one of their many daring journeys into the unknown countryside far to the west, the most peculiar of botanical specimens. I am sure that you are already familiar with their triumphs and wonders in the worlds of cryptobiology and botany. And yet, as with all serious forms of inquiry, even the most studied intellectuals must turn to their peers in the hopes of broadening their compendium of knowledge. And this, my dearest, is where you come in. I have in my possession several such mysterious exhibits, and the express permissions of sirs K. and V. to send them to those intelligentsia who may be able to shed light on their morphology. It is most curious that we have been given the privilege to peek into their secret investigations, and indeed, they have all but admitted defeat in the cataloging of these ‘odd pods’ as they ever so diplomatically refer to them. I implore you to look upon these specimens and deliver your thoughts directly to K. and V. as I have instructed them to expect your post.
Yours always sincerely,
B.B.

I'm a Terrible Blogger

I never really set out for this site to be a blog, really.  It was just the easiest way to get a quick website up that linked to my galleries and Etsy shop.

I just finished up day two of the Spring Craft Sale that I have been running for the last 5 years out of my office building here.  I made lots of beautiful jewelry (yeah... just ignore my protestations in my last blog entry about not making jewelry anymore.  I'm such a silly pants).

It is time for me to bid a fond farewell to my bi-annual office craft fair, sadly.  It is a LOT of work (I run the show as well as vend at it) but the foot traffic is quite poor, and the clientele I don't think really match up to my funky and whimsical jewelry tastes.

Here is a little preview of the jewelry I made for the show:

I am hoping to get these up on Etsy in the next few weeks since I didn't sell anything at the sale. 

All of the beads are made from molds I created.  I went to the beach by my house and picked random leaves and flowers one afternoon and made beads out of my favorites.  I will likely be making more.  I think they are so beautiful!

I am also seriously considering doing "real" craft shows now.  Since I am not going to be doing the ones here at my office and I still need an outlet, it might be high time I move forward with this!  We will see if I can motivate :)