Holiday Arts Tour

Petite Minx booth, Holiday Arts Tour 2009

Last weekend I exhibited my jewelry during Ruston, La.'s, annual Holiday Arts Tour. More than 50 artists showed their work from their studios and downtown. I sold my jewelry at a cute clothing boutique. This was one of my favorite table set ups ever. I layered an off-white vintage table cloth atop a pale blue cloth, and it really complimented everything beautifully. And see the little hand in the photo above? That's my prize find of the month.

Lots of people passed through the shop that weekend. Thanks to everyone who purchased from me. It's always nice to meet the people who appreciate my aesthetic and to learn what they like most. This year's Art Tour really validated me as a jewelry artist in a way that I haven't been in some time. It really gave me the gusto to persevere during a time when many artists, including myself, have had fewer sales than in times past.

As I have been absent from blogging lately, I am late in telling you all about the sweetest, most beautiful blog post about Petite Minx. Go see Dionne, the talented lady behind City of Dionne, and drop her a line while you're there.

What I Learned at the Peach Festival

Here's a view from my booth at the Peach Festival.

Hi friends. The Peach Festival has come and gone and boy was it hot. So hot, in fact, that I've vowed to never do another outdoor show in the summer again. While I was baking like a sweet potato fry in an oven -- in this case my plastic tent -- I scrawled a list of things to note.

What I learned at the Peach Festival:

1. Tables should be front and center when under a tent.
2. The real EZ Pop tent is worth the money. My $40 scrap heap was smaller than the 10 x 10 it was billed to be. What gives, eBay seller?
3. Never do outdoor shows during a hot southern summer. (This one bears repeating and leads me to No. 4.)
4. Indoor fees are worth the cost ... no matter how much they are.
5. Peg board displays draw more attention when covered with fabric. (This one is purely speculative at this point.)
6. Minimal makeup when in 100 degree weather is best.
7. If dumb enough to ignore No. 3, always bring headache meds and a spray bottle, which you'll probably use 50 times in an hour, so bring lots of water, too.
8. Tacky crap sells -- a lot -- at southern craft shows
9. Good stuff sells too, just not nearly as much.
10. Every show I've done has been a learning experience -- especially this one.

This is me, during the show, playing coy with the free paper fan that saved my friggin' life. I swear it did.

Thanks to everyone out there who bought from me at the show and signed up for the Petite Minx newsletter. Y'all rock!

A Day in the Life of a Cottage Industry

These are all of the promo materials I designed this weekend.

Yeesh! I've taken the A-Z small business crash course this week, and it's only Tuesday night. Between merchant accounts, banking, inventory and brand imaging, it's all about tying the loose ends into pretty little bows now. The Louisiana Peach Festival craft show begins this Saturday, and while I'm nearly as prepared as I can be, at this point I wish I could crank out more jewelry ... just for added measure.

Remnants of a paper banner.

The shop banner, which I'm hand making, is almost complete. In retrospect, I wish I would have spent the 50 odd dollars to have a small one made, but -eh- craft and learn. In the process of making the banner, I've been stabbed rather violently by angry fabric pins, have had a grommet setting debacle that stretched into a three-day event and experienced a snafu at my local printer's shop. And now that I've painted the "Petite Minx" on the banner, with two handfuls of letters left to paint, my fingers are going on strike and are refusing to work.

Check back soon for the craft show banner tutorial.

Craft Room DIY

Image from Sunset.

Hello friends. Lately I've been an uninspired blogger, hence my brief absence, but I'm back with fresh muses on my shoulder and plenty of fun, helpful links to share.

Image found on Flickr.

As I'm still dreaming up ways to make my studio the creative center of my personal universe, the chevron striped table, above, caught my eye. I'm thinking of giving the DIY project from Sunset a go, though it looks like quite an undertaking.

Images from the Makool Loves You shop. In the words of Rachel Zoe, "I die."

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite links of the moment. Enjoy. xo

♥ Super handy! Make a rolling coat rack.
♥ How to Rock a Craft Fair
♥ Crochet a wire beaded bracelet.
♥ Frayed roses tutorial by Sis Boom
♥ I heart the Makool Loves You blog big time, and their shop makes me weak in the knees.

Counting Down to the Peach Festival

I found this photo online. This shed is so cute and tiny, and it makes me appreciate the size of my studio-to-be.

Hi friends! The countdown to the Peach Festival craft show has begun, and I'm busy tying up lots of loose ends including making hang tags and business cards, my banner, displays and table cloths. Here's the lowdown on how things are shaping up.

Table cloths: Yesterday I spent $111 on fabric for the booth. The table cloths are going to be a pretty robins egg blue color and I'm thinking of making runners in a lime yellow hue to add a little punchy contrast.

The banner (signage): When I've finished it, I'll post a tutorial on how I made my banner, which is nothing more than raw canvas at this point. I'll give you a hint. Gesso, paint, grommets and a sewing machine will be used.

Displays: Trey will be rigging several pegboards (I got them for free!) to sit upright on the tables. We still haven't decided on the hanging mechanisms. All we know now is that hooks are bulky, unsightly and will add up to be quite an expense.

New Jewelry and Business Updates

New jewelry! Everything I make from now on is just for the Peach Festival and won't be in the Etsy shop. However, I'll be more than happy to make duplicates for anyone who asks. Just shoot me an e-mail, or follow the link to the shop and post a querry.

I finished this chocolate and raspberry collection today. (Top left to right - Peas in a Pod earrings, Espresso Beans earrings; Bottom left to right - Chocolate Raspberry earrings, Peas in a Pod bracelet)

I'm in the process of adding photos and descriptions of new jewelry to my newly minted Flickr photo stream. It'll be updated regularly as I continually make more items in preparation for the show. Also, my Flickr widget will be on this blog's sidebar soon, so you can peek in every now and then to see what's new.

Woodland Nest necklace and Peas in a Pod Asymmetrical

I'd love to hear what you all think about the new jewelry. Which is your favorite piece? Mine is the bracelet below.

While antique hunting today, I met a really nice couple who gave me just the nudge I needed to get a merchant account for the festival. So if all goes according to plan, I'll be accepting credit cards at the Peach Festival and at future shows.

I named this one Chocolate Blueberry Surprise.

They also filled me in on a couple more upcoming festivals in Louisiana and are interested in viewing my jewelry for a possible wholesale order. That makes two querries in the matter of a week that have all but fallen into my lap. Holy moly! Everything is really begining to happen for this little business of mine, and I'm super excited about what's to come for Petite Minx.

How to Make a Stamp

Yesterday, in preparation for the Peach Festival, I spent some time carving a stamp to print onto paper bags. The effect of the image is rather handmade, which is precisely what I wanted.

I bought a rubber stamp making kit at Michael's that included:
(1) one rubber pad
(2) a carving kit that included two blades, shown in the photo.
(3) Separately, I bought a brayer (shown in photo), which is a tool that is used to spread paint evenly onto a surface.

You may also want to purchase:
(4) graphite paper for tracing an image onto the rubber pad
(5) various inks for stamps (useful if you're cutting a smaller stamp)

I started by freehand drawing onto the rubber pad with a color pencil, though a regular pencil will work too. The parts of the rubber pad that are not drawn on (referred to as negative space) should be cut away. What's left will be a relief of your image.

*Note: If you are including wording on your stamp, be sure to draw it backwards. If it reads correctly in the mirror, you've drawn it right.

After I carved away all of the negative space, I used the brayer to spread acrylic paint across newsprint. Then, I rolled the paint evenly onto the stamp and applied it with even pressure to my page.

As you can see in the top print, there were still parts of the stamp that needed to be cut down further. And in the bottom image, I had pressed the stamp onto the inked paper rather than applying the paint with the brayer, resulting in uneven coverage and not enough paint.

This is the result of the finished product. It's a pretty simple process. I suggest, if you have a choice between the white or pink rubber pads, to go for the white. They are more pliable and easier to work with.

Beads, Freelancing and My Playlist

New item in shop: Asymmetric Blossom and Beads

I'm so excited to have gotten three packages in the mail yesterday evening. Two bundles were full of beads that are so gorgeous I have to keep touching them. I am itching to get started making more jewelry for my booth at the La. Peach Festival.

Beads, beads, glorious wooden beads

The other package had a book in it that I've been hired to edit. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be asked to do this by the writer. It's a huge honor, and it's something that I truly enjoy doing. I'm a nerd. I know.

This is a small fraction of the bead shipment I received in preparation for my booth at the Louisiana Peach Festival.

Some of you may be wondering why anyone would ask me to edit a book. Jewelry is only one of my loves. I'm also a writer. My previous job was as a reporter for a daily newspaper. That's how I had the pleasure of meeting the writer of the book. One day I got a press release about it and the next I was sitting in a coffee shop interviewing this fascinating individual. All in all, I ended up writing three articles about her and her book.

I'll certainly be busy this week. Here's a list of the music I'll be listening to.
* Jeremy Larson
* Death Cab for Cutie
* Paramour
* Sufjan Stevens
* The Shins

Enter My Jewelry Giveaway Drawing

This is my hand drawn flier inspired by concert posters.

The Ruston Farmers Market craft show today went swimmingly. I met lots of nice people and sold gobs of jewelry. Thanks so much to all of you who purchased from Petite Minx.

This was the Petite Minx jewelry booth at the Ruston Farmers Market.

If you were there, then you were first to know about my jewelry giveaway. Read on for more details.

One lucky person will win this pair of earrings.

WIN A FREE PAIR OF EARRINGS!
That's right, folks. All you have to do is post a comment with your e-mail address. The drawing will be done on May 14. The winner will be announced here and contacted via e-mail. Your e-mail will not be used for any other purposes. Good luck everyone!

Branching Out for Craft Show

Prepping for the Ruston Farmers Market craft show has been so much fun. Today I started working on my booth display. I spent about $7 total for two terra cotta pots, moss and foam filler. The branches were free, courtesy of nature, and their soft white-washed effect is due to lying in the driveway for two days in the rain after they'd gotten a coat of spray paint-- a happy mistake.


Wanna know a secret? The round wooden lift that the pot is on is actually a chip and dip platter that I rarely use. Using around-the-house items in a display is a great way to keep exhibit-related costs in check.


Quite off the subject, here is my first ever finished crochet project. I'm self-taught, and it's pretty evident because the scarf is kind of wonky. It's also skinnier than Rachel Zoe is after lunch -- that is to say it's the twiggiest thing you've ever seen. But damn it's fashionable! In my mind anyway. Ah, well. Yarn over and learn I guess.

Let's Talk Craft Shows

Check out this curio box tutorial.

After the ups and downs of a roller coaster month I'm finally hitting my stride, making Petite Minx products and posting listings at the shop. With a craft show at the Ruston Farmers Market on May 9 on the horizon and a couple locations asking for displays, I need all the drive I can muster to crank gobs of jewelry out.

You can check out photos of the last showing I did at the market here. Back then I was using my name for my business.

Photo from Country Living.

I've been making jewelry for six hours a day lately -- sometimes more. Each passing day the pile of finished jewelry at my work desk grows and grows. That's my favorite part of doing jewelry full time -- tracking the identifiable progress. That's also probably why though a part of me dreads balancing the books, I enjoy it. The numbers don't lie, people.

CRAFT SHOW DISPLAY IDEAS

* Fabric covered bulletin board for earrings and necklaces with fun push pins.
* Tree branch necklace display. Branches can be sprayed black, white or silver and stuck in terra-cotta pots dressed up with paint, ribbons, buttons, etc.
* Small picture frame earring displays
* Hand painted canvas banner
* Small black and white photo displays for interest

I'll update with photos as these things are checked off my list.