Miscellany

For the past 3 weeks, a rogue onion has been sprouting shoots. It became like a pet of sorts. I was so amazed by the growth that occurred with no soil/nourishment whatsoever.

I had full intentions of chopping up that onion and putting it in something delicious, but I just couldn't do it after the sprouts started growing; it was just too interesting!

Sadly, the onion is no longer with us, but its spirit will live on through this photo. Seriously, look at how tall those green sprouts are. I am still amazed!

In other news, the Agora III art show was a great time. I had Randall's camera with me, so I haven't had the chance to upload those photos quite yet.
It was so amazing seeing all of the artwork up on the walls (over 200 artists!). I was continually impressed by the awesome extras that the Couchfire Collective folks put together, like the full-color program books, t-shirts, buttons, etc.

It was also thrilling to see my work up in a gallery setting. My pieces read so differently when they're not in my house. Check them out:



More photos to come. In the meantime, check out this piece from the Columbus Dispatch: "Different Strokes"

Chipotle Love

I have met many, many people who are completely obesessed with Chipotle burritos. Well, finally there is a jewelry for Chipotle lovers! Check out these little burrito earrings I made last night, from polymer clay.


They are even wrapped in little bits of foil. And check out the Swarovski crystal details!

You can buy a pair HERE!

Agora III This Weekend

The Agora III art show is this Saturday Night, October 13th. I am very excited to be showing two pieces at this event.

At first glance, it may look like my artworks are delicious and edible. However, not only are they completely fake and created with art supplies (except for the sprinkles; those are real, but sprayed with a gloss varnish), they are a little bit disgusting as well.

I like the idea of playing with the viewer. My artwork looks delectable; however, taking a closer look enables the viewer to decipher that the work is not delicious. Each piece contains something disgusting. On the cupcake, a long black hair. Underneath one donut, a scabby Band-Aid.

Decisions & Questions

Well, I've been away from my computer for 3 whole days and I feel like I have been disconnected from a limb. Ok, not really. I did make another sale on Etsy the other day (hooray!), so it looks like things have been picking up. I'd like to think that it's due to my contributing to The Sampler, but it's hard to say for sure.

I am going to start working on my Masters' thesis project this week. No joke! It will be a collection of autobiographical short stories and comics. With any luck, I will have my Masters in Art Education by the end of Spring 2008!

I had to say goodbye to some old friends tonight: my Converse Chuck Taylors from college. I am pretty sure these were my original Chucks from college (we are currently in "round 3" of Converse replacement). They are so gross and dead. It was time. *sniff*

On the Adorn Magazine Blog!

So...I just stopped by Barnes & Noble to pick up Bust and Adorn magazines (and I got to see AmyD's lovely ad in the back of Bust, yipee!)
And then I was looking online at the Adorn magazine blog, because I saw that The Sampler (which I've been contributing to), has now started posting their Samplergram there once a week.

And I saw THIS.

Ahhhh, it's my stuff!!
On Adorn's blog!!!
I was just looking at their magazine!

I just did the most embarrassing dance around my apartment, scared the crap out of the cat, and made my boyfriend think I'm insane. Teehee.

Trunk Show Goodness!

Thanks to everyone who came out for my very first trunk show @ Wholly Craft! Special thanks to Olivia for being such a lovely hostess and making sure there were plenty of sweet treats for all to enjoy.

The candy dish says it all!

This is what I've been doing for the past month.

Mmm...cupcakes.

More of my jewelry.

The gummies at the refreshment table were a bit hit!

Enjoying some conversation.

Me @ the snack table. What else is new?

The Bird Has Landed

This week, I received my acceptance email to Tiny Canary Indie Design Market! It's over the weekend of November 17-18 at Junctionview Studios in Grandview, OH. I will be there on Sunday the 18th and my booth-sharing partner, Adrienne of Crafty Beavers, we have the space on Saturday the 17th.

I am very excited to be a part of this (especially after being rejected from Crafty Bastards in DC) and I can't wait until the full vendor list comes out! *squeal!!*

p.s. My Trunk Show at Wholly Craft is THIS SUNDAY! Please stop by to say hi, check out my new work, and hopefully make a purchase that will have you dancing with excitement for the rest of the evening.

Holy Business Cards, Batman!

Hooray! Today I got all 2000 of my brand-new business cards, just in time for my Trunk Show.
I am very pleased with the way they turned out. I wound up getting them printed at HotCards, which was a great deal and much less wait-time than VistaPrint. Ooh, I can't wait to spread these babies all over town!

Time To Make The Donuts!

Mmmm...look at these yummy donuts! Too bad they're FAKE. Sadly, they are not edible; rather, they're part of an art piece I am working on for the Agora art show in October.

They start out as donut-shaped lumps of lightweight air-dry clay which are painted in a variety of cake-related shades.

Then, I "frost" them with a seemingly endless combination of acrylic paints, glosses and glazes. And then comes the fun part: sprinkles and drizzles!

The artwork below is about 85% complete. There will be a lovely surprise at the end. But I'm not giving it away now. You'll just have to come to the art show and see for yourself!

I should have been doing work for school...

...but instead I was making jewelry!! Heehee. Well, I have to get ready for my trunk show, don't I?

Here it is, the Trunk Show mini-preview, Part I:

Circus Necklace
(vintage lucite, vintage & contemp. Czech glass)

Owl Pendant
(repurposed Scrabble tile, vintage stamp, resin)

AppleMint Bracelet
(hand-fused glass cabochons [by WillowGlass], little buttons, vintage enameled apple flatbacks)

CherryLime Earrings
(Czech glass & acrylic beads)

Tree Fruit Earrings
(Swarovski crystal, czech glass, brass branches)

Candied Green Apple Earrings
(foil glass beads)

Mid-September Musings

Today, I finished a pendant for a fellow teacher who wanted a gift for her daughter-in-law. Inside the silver frame is an image of an Israeli stamp with an illustration of Rachel (from the Bible/Torah). The pendant is filled with a glassy resin.


Stella has decided that the weather is getting cool enough to resume napping on the bed. It might be annoying (especially when she chooses to park herself right where I'd like my feet to go), but she's so darn cute.

"Meowsers! Get that camera out of my face, woman!"

I have sent off my October contribution to The Sampler. This month, I made 25 little chocolate chip cookie magnets out of polymer clay. Don't they look good enough to eat?

September Shout-Outs!

Hooray! My September Sampler contributions were mentioned in two indie design blogs this weekend. Check it out:
Indie Fixx
Enamor

Window Fun: A Photo Essay

Today, I got to design a window display for Wholly Craft! Since I will be having my trunk show there in a few weeks, Olivia and our friend Emily decided that it would be great to have the crafter create a window for the store. Lucky me!

Here is the window before I started:

And here it is after I was all finished! My theme (of course) was food and tasty treats. I made swirly candies out of cardboard and cellophane and hung then from the ceiling. Then, I chose items from the store that were food-related.

I scored big on some glass cake trays at the thrift store just an hour earlier!

That candy looks good enough to eat!! (And difficult to photograph. Darn reflection!!)



I think I missed my calling as a visual merchandising specialist. Haha.
So drive by Wholly Craft (corner of High St. and Pacemont in Clintonville) and check the fabulous window out for yourself!

Website Launch and Trunk Show!!

Save the date and please come out to this event. It should be a really fun evening and a great way to end the weekend!

Also, check out my brand new website designed by the fabulous folks from I Love Treefort!

www.sweetstelladesigns.com

Labor Day Sales

Today I went craft supply shopping. I probably should have been doing a variety of other things instead. Yesterday, I cleaned my craft room and today, it already looks like a tornado blew through it.
I am also starting to work on some artwork for the Agora III show. I already registered as an artist, but need to upload photos of the pieces I would like to be shown. Too bad they're not ready yet!! Oh, but I work so well with "crunch time" deadlines.

I typically dislike doing this, but here's a preview of one of my drawings:

There will be color and various other surprises. It will be quite confectionery and decadent.
I'm also working on a watercolor painting and a series of 4 small canvases.

I Love Treefort.

It's not just a clever name. I really do love Treefort.

Ok, so what is I Love Treefort anyway?
They are an up-and-coming graphic design group and they just so happen to be designing my brand-new website, Etsy banner, and business card logo!
Adam, Anne, and Jen (the I Love Treefort crew) are all visual artists as well as designers. I admire their individual artwork and their involvement in the Columbus arts community as well as their design portfolio: which is why I chose these folks to help me out with Sweet Stella Designs' website and branding.

Get excited: www.sweetstelladesigns.com will launch soon! Stay tuned for details.

Cupcakes!

Tomorrow night is our monthly Crafty Cotillion meeting (formerly the Columbus Craft Collective) and I decided to make cupcakes. I think that cupcakes are good visual representations of crafty folks. They're colorful, creative, and...aw, who am I kidding? They're tasty!! Feast your eyes (and if you come to the meeting tomorrow night, your tummies and taste buds!). I think these came out pretty well. My favorite part was definitely shaking all of the glorious toppings on top of that gooey chocolate frosting. Mmmmmmmm!

New Creations

I've been busy this week, trying to cram in some jewelry-making before I have to start teaching again. Here are some of my creations using vintage stamps and found images with a pour-on resin as a protective coating:

Petite Pendant Necklaces

Vintage Stamp Chokers

Floral Earrings

Also, I am very happy to announce that some of my jewelry will be available at Tigertree in the Short North (Columbus, OH)! So head on over to 17 E. Brickel St. for locket-shaped resin pendants, oval Lucite dangle earrings, and little teacup rings.

Package Design

Oh how I love putting adorable objects in cellophane bags!

Here is my 25-item contribution for The Sampler (September). I am excited & curious to see if contributing brings me any sales or press.

The Lynn & Pearl Alley Markets (where I have been selling my creations all summer) are contributing a basket of items for the American Cancer Society's auction. Here is my item to represent Sweet Stella Designs!
*Don't worry, my shop name and url are on the back!*

Featured on the Front Page of Etsy!

Today, my Lime Slice Pendant is featured on the front page of Etsy.com! I was looking at my listings and wondered why in the world the "views" on that pendant seemed to have skyrocketed today. Well, I checked the front page and there it was! (And there it is below, on the right-hand side.)

I am so excited because of the exposure this has brought my Sweet Stella Designs shop on Etsy. 14 people have added my shop as a "favorite" today and I am so close to having 200 people "heart" me! Several have added the pendant as one of their favorite items as well, and all of the views on the items in my shop have gone up! Woohoo!

I hope this leads to a sale or two. That would be super.

Riveting!

I have been working on a fabulous retro-inspired pendant in my jewelry class for the last two weeks. This week, it all came together as I learned how to rivet. It was surprisingly easy! I always thought it required some complicated additional tool (like setting grommets or something!), but essentially, it's just hammering a piece of wire in a hole.

So here it is, my riveted "Metro/Retro" pendant: