maureenthomasdesigns.com Blog

October 2008

Fall (my favorite season) is finally here…HURRAY! As always, there are plenty of fun things to do this time of year. Please stop by my booth and say hello if you are able to attend the following events:

~The First Annual Kobra Crush Wine and Art Festival in Roseville, CA on October 18 (5-10pm). This event offers food, wine tasting, music, and the works of fifty Placer County artists and supports Placer County Tourism. Tickets are $30 prepaid or $35 at the door.

~The Mountain Mandarin Festival in Auburn, CA on November 21-22-23. The Mandarin Festival is held at the Auburn Fairgrounds and is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re mad for mandarins as I am you should have a great time discovering all the ways to use them, plus enjoying the entertainment and getting some gift shopping done at the same time!

~The Crocker Holiday Art and Craft Festival on Thanksgiving weekend at the Scottish Rite Temple. Please check out the Clayville booth. I won’t be there this year, but about 10 of the guild’s artists are participating and there are sure to be lots of fun and fabulous items.

My pasta machine, convection oven, camera, and computer have been keeping me very busy. I’ve been working hard to keep my web and Etsy sites updated with new items: bookends, wine stoppers, perfume applicators, rings, new bracelet designs, mosaic frames, ornaments, pens, and notebooks. I’m also hoping to make it into another gallery or two in the near future (I’ve been selling through Made in Tahoe at Crystal Bay on Tahoe’s north shore). Clyde is pitching in by drilling beads and making jewelry displays for the upcoming shows. Learning about paper mache at a recent Robert Dancik class reminded me that I bought a torso on eBay a while back to mold some lightweight and (hopefully) unique necklace displays.

I’ve decided that my time right now is better spent getting inventory ready for the shows rather than posting every item online as I make it (my usual policy). If you’re looking for something in particular or have any questions, please ask!

Hope to see you soon,
Maureen
http://maureenthomasdesigns.com
http://maureenthomasdesigns.etsy.com

A few years back I watched a video by Gwen Gibson on making polymer clay bracelets. I was intrigued, but I got sidetracked. I finally got around to making a few of the tools she “invented” to streamline the process a bit and got to work. I am hooked! I am adding my own touches by using lots of texture and adding a vintage button clasp to each bracelet. I have the first set listed on my website and also on Flickr.

I finally got around to trying out the perfume pen kits that I bought a while back. Posted a few on my website and I’ll also add some to my Etsy store on Friday. They are quite fun and great to tuck in your purse if you’re a perfume wearer.

I’m also working out a few technical glitches on another project. Actually, I’m waiting for a light bulb to click on as I know there’s a simple solution out there that I just haven’t figure out yet!

Have a wildfire-and-smoke-free weekend…