Featuring a Fellow Crafter

Wow. Two posts in one day. Yay. Just wanted to tell you about a fellow crafter. She is a customer of mine. We made some awesome earrings together the other day and she wound up telling me about how she is making greeting cards. Please stop by and visit her Etsy shop. She has cards for all occasions.

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Tiny Treasures

Ah, finally a moment to type. Been scouring the area for tiny finds for jewelry, the holidays, and some birthdays. Have always loved October because it starts the craft show season where I am. Unfortunately the church craft shows just haven't been what they used to be. It seems many of the crafters can't compete with the low cost of things made elsewhere and then sold for less at places like CVS or Walmart. That makes me sad because I used to love to see the originality and clever ideas people would bring to these shows. One year the hot item was a bird feeder for your front yard that was a cat with a feather hanging out of its mouth. You had to see it. It was adorable. It was selling like hot cakes. Ah well, I digress....I did go to an antique show with my mom and found little trinkets. Found some lovely skeleton keys and buttons that look like milk glass. Also found an interesting thing called a "Lenticular". People would advertise their business on it many years ago. Maybe I can do something funky with it. When you tilt it , it makes things look like they're moving. It is the little dancing guy in my picture here. Also bought these great buddha heads from a local shop. Oh my goodness, they are incredible. Each one is like a little tiny work of art. They are made by buddhist monks and signed on the back. Don't know what I will make with them but I got six. They are just so unique. Be on the lookout for something made with them and the big holed pearl you see here. Do you do that? Do you buy something because it speaks to you? It is just so unique that you have to have it even if you don't know what you will create with it. You figure you will figure that out later. Well enjoy your day and comment back. I love the chat.

After Hours

Well here I am up late blogging after hours. The reason I decided to call my blog After Hours is because I am a night owl who stays up crafting into the wee hours of the night. Husband hates this. I have discovered many of my customers do the same. There is a whole underworld of late night crafters. Are you one of them? Comment and tell me why. I enjoy it because it is usually nice and quiet and my creative juices can flow freely. Moreover, I need to chill out after running around with the kids all day. Why do you enjoy it?

I also call this blog After Hours because I bead and create on my day off. I go exploring with my best friend, Jane. Today we decided to check out a new knit shop. She wanted to get back into knitting and make holiday gifts. So off we went and found this lovely shop that seems like something you'd find up north. Not only did it have lovely yarn but it was decorated like a country inn and so welcoming and cozy that you just wanted to stay there all day chatting and sharing crafting tips. Although I don't really knit well at all it felt so relaxing there. It was decorated with little bird houses, and lovely flowers and pots. The funny thing is that outside it was 90 degrees and sticky but while my friend was looking around I did find three different people there that I know but don't see often to chat with. Some were knitters but beaders, too. We got to catching up on kids, jobs and family. It seems crafters crossover into many different hobbies. I live in a big city but in this little crafting part of the world it suddenly was just a little town. So it was a good afternoon.

P.S. Furthermore went to the local screen/door shop where I was told to talk to Ed. Talked to this big cuddly teddy bear type guy, Ed, who just gave me rubber tubing at no charge. What a sweetheart. So it was an even better afternoon. Can't wait to "create After Hours".