Sarnia Lambton Potters Guild Spring Sale 2015

So last weekend was the 2015 Sarnia Lambton Potters' Guild Spring Sale...one of my favourite events of the year.  I only got pictures of a handful of the potters' works before my shift started, but I thought you may enjoy a little tour:

 Lydia Nicholson Pottery (above and below).

 Marg Hebbourn (above and below).

 Jane Danic (above and below).

 Mad Pursuit Pottery -a husband and wife team (above and below).

Yours truly - Remembrances and AtTheCrossroads (above and below)

 

 Ronni Blackmore (above and below)

Wherever you are, I hope you have a chance to get out and support your local makers 

this spring and summer.

Forest Garden Club Home and Garden Show

Next weekend, you can find me at the Home and Garden Show

Hosted by the Forest Garden Club

 Saturday April 25, 2015

10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

 Admission $3.00

Location: The Shores Arena Complex, Forest, Ontario

Food Booth, Door Prizes, Tooney Tables.

I'll be bringing every "gardeny" thing I have.

Hope to see some of my local friends there!

Sarnia Lambton Potters Guild Sale

The Sarnia Lambton Potters' Guild Annual Spring Sale

will be held once again at Degroots' Nurseries on London Line, Sarnia

on April 17th and 18th

Friday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.  Saturday 8:00 a.m to 5:00

Have a sneak peak at some of the vendors:

Remembrances:  on etsy over here (AtTheCrossroads) and on Facebook over here (that's me!)

Mad Pursuits Pottery: on etsy over here an on Facebook over here (Brendan and Emily are wickedly talented)

Lydia Nicholson Pottery: on etsy over here and on Facebook over here (I admire Lydia's style immensely)

Sweet Fusion Glass Jewellery & Gifts: on Facebook over here (Katherine Bisson)

Ronni Blackmore: on Facebook over here

Pauline's Pots 

Elizabeth Martiniuk

Jane Danic

Marg Hebbourn

Brid Lachapelle

Up-cycled pallet crates

Now that the weather has warmed up enough for my husband to get out to the garage, he has been looking for quick little projects he can do for fun, or with the boys to teach them how to use the tools.

 Yesterday, he surprised me with these fantastic crates for me to use for my craft shows.

 They are made from some pallets he tore apart a couple of weeks ago, and I think they will be just perfect for "framing out" some of my pottery.

 And they are super sturdy, so they can be flipped upside down to use as little tables.

there is a smaller one in the works that will fit inside these, and another medium size one so that I can put one on each end of the table with a shelf running across.

The biggest one will be quite handy for shows as I will be able to use it to move the pottery, but then once at the show, I can throw a cushion on top for a bench seat instead of having to bring a chair each time.

I'm so excited!  No more soggy cardboard boxes, or flimsy plastic totes, and versatile display units at the same time.  Yay!

Linking up with: Keep Calm Craft On over at Frontier Dreams
                        The Backyard Farming Connection

Felt sushi - more craft show props

There are only 15 1/2 weeks left to the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile (by next big sale) and there is still so much left to do.  While the studio is on a break, I'm taking the time to make some more faux food props to set the scene.

These would be so great for a kid's play kitchen that I had to share.

 I started by cutting strips of felt - some of which then got "julienned" and some were left plain.  I've got carrots, crab, egg, yellow pepper, orange pepper, red pepper, avocado, tempura in the following pictures.

 Basically I just rolled are wrapped the coloured "filling" bits and then wrapped it twice or so in white felt and then one layer of a dark green "seaweed" felt and stitched it shut.  Because these won't be handled that much I didn't worry about gluing or sewing any of the fillings, but if it was going to be for play food, I would probably dab some glue here and there on the fillings.

 I also made a bunch of different kinds rather than 6 of one piece.

 And then for my little "double dippers" I cut some pink felt for ginger and a circle of dark brown for soy sauce.

 And of course, because they are props for my pottery, I have to share that too.  This one (above) is my favourite.  I made a bowl for Empty Bowls in this style and it was very difficult to part with, so I made some sushi plates.

 This plate, I think is "cute" but it doesn't scream sushi like the bamboo one...

...and this one, not so much either.  I think some plain white ones are in order - although there are still a few awaiting their turn through the kiln.

Linking up with: Creative Friday at Natural Suburbia
                        Fiber Arts Friday at Wisdom Begins in Wonder

A publicity photo shoot for the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile

In which I definitely leave my comfort zone!

As one of the sponsors for the event, I was asked to come in costume (the options for the show are Pioneer, Victorian, Steampunk, or hill-billy) to meet with three of the others, and the photographer to do a publicity photo shoot.  Due to illness, a couple of people weren't able to make it...

...leaving us with just two people in the pictures, which makes it harder to camouflage the fact that I am quite uncomfortable getting my picture taken.  The photographer (Yvonne Parsons Photography) was great, AND she'll be doing sepia portraits at the show both days.

The event:  Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile
Dates: August 23-24, 2014 from 10:00 - 5:00 each day
Location: Mountsberg Hall and Fields in Flamborough County
              2133 Centre Road, Hamilton L0P 1K0 (for GPS directions)
Admission: $2.00 per person - kids 12 and under are FREE
What we'll have:  a great collection of artisans with old-fashioned skills - weaving, spinning, pottery,      felting, soapmaking, paper making, a blacksmith, tatting, wooden musical instruments, oh                goodness - so much more.
     Also buskers and live entertainment - magic, music, games in the Village Green, snacks and            drinks, live demos, portraits, and a petting zoo.

It's a great day trip, but if you live a little ways away - there are 3 cities within a 20 minute drive with plenty of hotels to make it a weekend trip.   There are buckets of waterfalls to visit and it's not far from the African Lion Safari.  There's also camping nearby.

PS: I'm the one standing up.  It will be in print sometime soon.

Some little desserts...for display.

I'm still working on the little felt food props to go with some of my dishes at the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile.

I had come across these little doughnut pincushions via Pinterest and decided I wanted to make something similar.

The size was determined by the scraps I had on hand...three strangely shaped oblong pieces.  I traced the inside of the packing tape roll to get the outside diameter, and a thread bobbin for the "hole".

 I decided to cut the "hole" a little smaller than I had traced it to allow for how much it would change while stuffing the doughnut.

 I stitched the "hole" first, and then stitched about 1 inch of the outside at a time, stuffing as I went along.  It takes a surprising amount of stuffing to fill one of these tiny little doughnuts.  A good solid hand full I would say.

 Nearing the end of the stitching, I stuffed as much of the stuffing in as I could fit, and  then stitched it shut and massaged the stuffing around to even it out.

 For the icing, I traced the same outside diameter, but then...

 ...I cut it all drippy and melty.

 And repeated the same on the inside.

 I stitched the icing into place with matching thread (In hindsight, it would probably be easier to stitch the icing and beads on first and then sew the doughnut sides together, but this way wasn't bad either).

 Added some "sprinkles"...

 ...and made a few different "flavours".

 I think they will be just the thing for the section of my table that is set up for dessert and tea.

 And I can switch them around as items (hopefully) sell.

In the meantime, we will use them on Wednesday at the Earth SmART Art Show at the school for the picnic bicycle display - photos of which I will share after the event.

Linking up with: Keep Calm Craft On over at Frontier Dreams
                        Fiber Arts Friday at Wisdom Begins in Wonder

Beaded Flowers - and why everything is so little lately

I've spent the last couple of evenings making these little beaded flowers.

They aren't complicated, but they are a little time consuming.

 I'm using tiny jewellers wire and glass seed beads...basically, just string them all on there one by one until you have about 12" worth.

I found the best way to do it is to spill a bunch out onto a sheet of felt and then just poke them with the wire and push it up the wire with your finger.  Note: you really do want to push the bead up after every single one, otherwise they will end up just shooting across the room when you slip.

 Then just make one loop at a time, wrapping the wire around the previous loop, or around the center (whatever it takes to keep it secure) until you have the number of loops you want.

 I did 5 loops for the bottom layer and 6 or 7 for the top, depending on how they looked.

 I made two separate flowers, on two separate wires, and strung a button onto a third piece of wire, and then assembled all three pieces together and twisted the wires together underneath. 

For scale: The outer flower is a little over 2" across.

 I played around with colour combinations, but my favourite is probably the all clear one.

 I still thought they were a little too tiny, so I added some feathers for fun, and hot glued them to a piece of dogwood branch, since these will be props for some vases...

 ...although now I want some for in my hair...

 I think it's just the thing to bring a pop of colour to my all white vases at the show without having to deal with fresh flowers.

And for those of you wondering why everything lately is so small - I am limiting myself to this rubbermaid bin for props at my August show.  Last year, it felt like I brought half a truck load and it was just too much to deal with.  I'm hoping to have more stock this year, plus - the minions (and all their gear) are coming with me so space will be limited.  Wish me luck?

Linking up with: Keep Calm Craft On over at Frontier Dreams