Winter Artropy 2009

The ShowMe Etsy Street Team had a fun show this last Saturday at Off Broadway in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a fun trunk show that featured some wonderful artists and their handmade items for holiday purchases. This was my booth for the show. Thank you to all our fans and friends that came!

2010 is just around the corner, so to keep up with dates and places to find ShowMe Etsy members at, go to Facebook and be a fan of the Fan Page! http://www.facebook.com/ShowMeEtsy?ref=nf

Here is a link that shows every one's booth:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecraftywino/sets/72157622826945149/

Save The Date!

Show Me Etsy Street Team will be having their biannual Artropy Show, this time held at Off Broadway. For more information visit http://www.showmeetsy.org/. There will be different artist and crafty people offering unique handmade items for purchase. Definitely a great time to holiday shop for the one that is hard to buy for because they have everything.

For more info about Off Boadway and where to find it: http://www.offbroadwaystl.com/

Hope to see you there!

Update on the Cava Corkboard...

Decided to put the Upcycled Cava Corkboard in Show Me Handmade shop today...and already had 2 people oogle over it! May keep it there for a few weeks to see if it sells. Asking $65 for it to start. Feel that is a good price for a functional work of art! If it's still around by Artropy, I will display for sale there, then afterwards it will make an appearance on Etsy.

Upcycled Cava Cork Board

I am really pleased with this one of a kind upcycled cork board! I found an old framed pressed cork board, removed the old pressed cork from the backing and replaced it with new thinner pressed cork. I then stripped the frame of the ugly brown and repainted with left over Behr wall paint called Wisdom (white with hint of green). I then took a bunch of Cava champagne corks I had, cutting the ends and gluing the bottom up to show the stamped bottom. To learn more about Cava, visit http://spainforvisitors.com/archive/features/cava.htm . The corks sit slightly above the frame, and are a bit uneven as it was fun shaving off a bit here and there to try to get them even. Think it adds character~ :) that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Will sell this with 7 corky tacks. I took the top of the same corks and glued star tacks to create a fun way to tack up those bills, notes, or appointment cards. Will be on Etsy soon...thinking about asking $70.00 for it.

Tower Grove Farmer's Market

It was a cold start, but the weather ended up being nice. Not the best sales but shared a booth with a few crafty friends that made it fun. Here is our booth, and Emily trying to keep warm.

Tower Grove Farmer's Market October 24th, 2009

Fine me, Stick To Your Knittin' Kitten, and Candy Calamity at the last Tower Grove Farmer's Market of the year. Saturday, October 24th starting at 8:30am and going until 2:30pm. Crafts, grown items, fun vendors...a good time! For more information and directions: http://www.tgmarket.org/

Painted Wine Glasses

Playing with some enamel paints to create a set of unique wine glasses. Dishwasher safe (top rack only) or hand wash with a non-abrasive cloth. I will have this set and another set with the same design at the last Tower Grove Farmers Market this Saturday from 8am-12pm. If they don't sell, you'll find them at ShowMe Handmade shop located in ArtSpace at Crestwood Court for sale. $24 for the pair~

Wine Charms 101

I was asked to conduct a class on how to make wine charms recently, so came up with this tutorial for the class. Thought I would post here too for anyone to use.


Supplies:
o Charms of your choice
o Jump Rings
o Wire Hoops
o Glass Beads (E size or larger)
o Metal Spacer Beads
o Flat Nose Pliers

Preparation

A flat surface with either a paper/plastic plate or a towel for you to lay your supplies on is best. This will keep beads from rolling away and ending up on the floor.

Inspect each charm to see if they will need a jump ring so it will lie correctly as a wine charm. Keep in mind that most charms will require a jump ring as charms are meant to dangle and not lay flat.


Time to create!

Notice that most wire hoops have one end with a loop and one straight end. The straight end is where you will “string” the beads on the hoop.

Begin stringing your beads on the hoop, adding the metal spacer where needed. Keep in mind you only want to string half of your beads on the hoop.



Add the charm by stringing it on the hoop.

Finish stringing the rest of your beads on the hoop.

With your flat nose pliers, take the straight end of the hoop and bend slowly to a 90 degree angle.

Secure to the base of a wine glass by hooking the angled end into the loop end of the hoop.

Not all wine charms need to be wine themed. I've used all styles, as you can see at http://www.thecraftywino.etsy.com/. Keep in mind that you want your charms to lay on the bottom of the glass, so don't use mini Christmas ornaments that are bulky or round. The flatter the better.

Another suggestion, have a glass of wine while making them. ;)

That is one big peach!

From the Peast Festival yesterday. Last year they were no where near this big!

Peach Festival at Pere Marquette Lodge, Grafton IL

Wow what a great day! This was the second Peach Festival that I displayed my handmade wares for sale at Pere Marquette Lodge. Twice if not many more people were in attendance, and even though the vendors were told this event started at 10am people were walking around a 1/2 hour early. My cork boards and cork chalk boards were a hit, as well as the pin cushions with bags (thread catchers). A few wine charms, scrabble tile pendants, and 2 out of 3 wine bottle trays with a bonus cork handle canape knife sold as well. And I was able to snag 6 huge peaches from the local farmer before he ran out. So here's to a good day *raising my full glass of peachy wine* and a good night's sleep.

For those that have looked at my Etsy shop, it is on Vacation mode as I organize things on the home front. Hopefully I will have the shop back open, as well as my Artfire shop, by the beginning of Autumn. ;)

Featured on STL Handmade

http://stlhandmade.com/2009/03/18/featured-artist-connie-seedig/

Featured on a great site set up to highlight all handmade items and their artists "under the arch!". Today I was featured on the site so check it out, and the other profiles that have been done. St. Louis definitely has a crafty crew of creative peeps!

Here soon I will be at Green With Indie, but shortly after will be the ShowMe Etsy show...Artropy. We played with the word a bit, then played even more with a definition and we came up with a fun idea. Atrtopy is at it's described, a unique show experience. It's beyond the typical art & craft show, with everything from different types of jewelry, stationary, stuffed animals, upcycled items and more. Come see us April 25th, 9am-3:30pm at the SqWires Annex!

Show Me Handmade's first weekend

The shop opened last Thursday, and after closing tonight we had a great opening weekend! Sales were happening and people were excited to see us there. I worked all day Saturday, and it was fun talking to my co-owners as we worked as well as the people that came into the shop.

Sunday was a good day for me even though I wasn't working. A couple of my items sold, and I have a potential sale next Saturday! We still are adjusting our items and moving around things, but in the end we will be ready for our Grand Opening March 7th & 8th.

Where's Wino?!?

LOL, well, Wino has been very busy as of late and didn't blog for a bit. Now I'm determined to blog at least once a week!


Lately what's been taking up my time is working with other ShowMe Etsy artists on opening a shop in Crestwood Court, in the Art Space the Regional Arts Commission has established with the Mall owners. It will be call Show Me Handmade! We will be opening February 5th. Check it out: http://www.showmehandmade.com/


More pictures to come as we are moving in some of our displays tonight then Saturday is the main move, at least for me. Each artist will have an area to display their items for sale, with some room for consignment artists. If you are a local artist and interested in consignment, please check the site for info on how to apply. We will be making final decisions very soon!