More acorns — clay and candles

Chris and I marked our 8th anniversary in October. I like the traditional gift list so up this year was pottery. I love pottery. I've collected a good bit — yard sales and thrift stores are great places to start a collection — but I'll admit, I'm not always sure how to decorate with it. But that doesn't keep me from admiring the craftsmanship of my friends Julie in North Carolina and Wade right down the street. Chris got together with Wade to create a one-of-a-kind piece for our anniversary. I know my No. 1 fan (Hi Mom!) wanted to see pictures ...

Wow! It's gorgeous! And what makes it even more special, Chris wrote a sweet message on the bottom. Once again I am very impressed with how much talent lives on my street (musicians, actors, sculptors and more). If you want your own pretty piece, Wade exhibits at various annual shows — Moss Rock, Magic City Art Connection, Gulf Shores Shrimp Festival to name a few. 

Now, what to do with it? Right now it is filled with finds from a nature walk — acorns, nuts, pinecones. I've been wanting to make floating acorn candles forever. At least since I saw the idea on Pinterest. But I told myself I had to wait until after the craft show. I decided yesterday I had waited long enough and my new bowl was a perfect vessel for the candles.

Didn't really follow any directions, very much winged it. I basically did it the same way as Tonia at The Gunny Sack if you want to make your own. I found it easier to light a taper and then let the wax drip into the acorn cap. My second batch I melted an old beeswax candle in a double boiler which took forever and was not easy to pour into the caps. 

Sure they don't burn for long but aren't they pretty?!

Do not leave these beauties unattended! We found that as the flame got closer to the acorn caps, they did have a tendency to catch fire. Made for an exciting dinner!

(Linked to the Creative Me party at The Southern Institute)

Under the tent

You can't really see in these wonderful pictures what I was actually selling at Art in Avondale Park so here are a few closeups ...

Painted wooden beads topped with a real
acorn cap.

I've made bird nest pendants before. These I
nestled in real acorn caps.

More "acorns" — beads topped with real acorn caps.
A store in my neighborhood will be carrying these soon.

Craft show success

Clark Scott

My lovely friend and neighbor Laura checking out the vintage suitcase 

full of necklaces.

Clark Scott

Colorful vases full of button flowers drew folks (and lots of photographers)
into the booth. That's my head way in the back.

I did it. I survived my first art/craft show, the 9th Annual Art in Avondale Park. The weather was beautiful. The crowd was steady and appreciative of my goods on the table. I did better than I ever expected to, but yes, I wasn't expecting a lot. I sold half of what I brought ... mostly due to the generosity of my friends who came by. I hope they are enjoying their purchases with the knowledge that I tried really hard to craft something special. (Being a Virgo worrywart, I am worried someone out there is unhappy ... that their necklace broke or buyer's remorse. I really hope not.)

I truly could have not done the show without my friends. About two months ago I sent out an
e-mail asking folks to check their closets and yards for supplies I could use. Their response and support was fast and much appreciated. Much appreciated!

Clark Scott

Joseph had a good time observing the lake and playing with lots of friends 

at the playground while momma tended the booth. Chances are if you

stopped by, Joseph shared a Frito with you.

I also appreciate Clark Scott for letting me share his wonderful professional photographs of the event. Much better than the ones I took!

Acorns everywhere!

Not that I didn't have enough to do — house is a mess with dishes and laundry piled high, my new part-time job working the nursery at Joseph's school, woefully behind on the 2012 St. Rose yearbook — I decided to have a booth at the Art in Avondale Park fall festival. It's a crazy idea. So crazy that I enlisted a partner in crime because I wasn't sure I would have enough stuff . 

The festival itself is great. The main goal is to get kids creating. Lots of hands-on activities and music — just a good community spirit. It will be a good place for my first booth. Very out-of-the-box for me and I'm feeling a tad nervous. I've debated backing out but no, I should do this. It'll be fun. And I'm having a lot of fun stretching my creative muscles the last two months. 

So why the picture of the acorns? They are my main crafting component! Along with wire, beads and pilers OH MY. I'm making several types of pendants with acorn caps and button bouquets and play dough (okay, the play dough is a weird choice but I wanted to have something small and affordable that kids could purchase.) Will wanted to contribute so he's making acorn jewels. 

One of the main problems I'm having is finding the right time to craft. When inspiration hits, I usually should be making dinner instead. My second problem is getting distracted by all the possibilities. I love crafting with acorns — the textures, the feel, the colors. First I was just making one type of pendant, now I'm up to four and I'm trying to resist another design. I saw a picture of mini-acorn cap candles and immediately wanted to make a few dozen. It's hard to keep myself on track and making just what I decided to make for the fest. My third problem is booth design. I need to keep it simple but boy, could I have fun with some burlap and shutters and I'm definitely making a twig tree to hang the necklaces. Again, got to keep on track.

Pictures of the booth and art fest to follow. It's exciting. Did I mention I was nervous?!

Moving upstairs

Geez, September is just about gone and I forgot to post this sweet picture of Joseph on his first day of 3K. He now goes upstairs to the "big kid" rooms and was very excited by that fact. It's all 1-2-3 A-B-C and potty training 101. Mommy has also gone back to school, sort of. I'm helping in the nursery. No more mommy's day out for me but they pay me to hold babies. Not a bad trade.

First day of first grade

Finally here — the first day of first grade! 

Will was excited and had a little trouble getting to sleep last night. (Mommy did too, lots of anxiety-filled dreams about missing pages and upset editors. And I lost the van filled with interns. Yes, journalism-diven dreams are so exciting.) But everyone got up on time, had a good breakfast and was out the door ready for a new adventure. It's only a half-day today so I'll see him soon. Until then, it's rather quiet with only one kid home. 

Falling leaves

I have a ton of burlap. No really, more burlap than is normal. Being that our wedding was a very DIY affair six years ago, we bought burlap to make tablecloths instead of renting them. Thanks again Mom for making them! And for making the curtains that now grace the living room and dining room windows. I was having a tough time convincing Chris that burlap curtains were very chic until I showed him several high-end store displays.

I keep seeing craft after craft on the Web featuring burlap so I got Mom to bring me what was left of the burlap the last time she visited. First time I reached in, I pulled out a length of burlap that was just the right length for a table runner. While that was not the project I planned to do that day, it quickly became the next project on the list.

After the storm of the century, we had a ton of leaves everywhere. So I gathered some, slapped a lot of paint on them and voila ...

(Note burlap curtains in back)

I had asked if Will wanted to help and he said no. So I spent a very enjoyable Thursday night watching TV and crafting by myself. Very enjoyable. I realized that not every craft has to involve the boys — mommy can have her own fun too. 

What I learned from this project: 1. Yellow paint doesn't show up well on burlap. I mixed up orange instead. 2. You have to really, really layer the paint on the leaves. They seem to suck it up quick. 3. You really have to press the leaves hard for a good imprint. 4. Cutting burlap is no fun. Here's the secret.

Here's another project from the wedding ... I was going to share it in a different post but it fits today's fall theme. 

For wedding favors, we (we being several friends, we made an afternoon of it) wrapped three different candies — orange M&Ms, orange jelly beans and orange mellowcreme pumpkins — in plastic wrap and orange tulle, wrapped the stem in floral tap and added a leaf.  I think they turned out very cute. These particular pumpkins still reside in the fridge. Didn't really mean to keep them so long ...

I also linked up to

  DIY Fall Festival

Get your CRAFT on! with Today's Creative Blog

Trick or treat 2010

A fearless Space Policeman and his little brother, a silly alien. 

What a haul! Geez, we never got this much when we were kids.

Joseph was very cute saying "Trick Treat" at each house. I wonder if he picked up on the fact that being so cute got him lots of candy.

You killed it!

Actually, the entire quote from Linus in "The Great Pumpkin" is "I didn't know you were going to kill it!" Spoken to his sister Lucy as she plunged the knife into a perfectly drawn pumpkin. It's tradition!

First, you have to find the perfect pumpkin. Every year we visit our local Farmer's Market because that's where all the stores go to get their pumpkins. Cut out the middleman and his price hike. And even though it was 80 degrees this year, I made the boys wear fall outfits. Picture time!

Now, time to carve it!

Will wanted a scary pumpkin this year. But he says this one isn't scary. 

Better luck next year.