Tejas Trade Open House

When I first started selling jewelry I shared booths with Dell Kirkman and her daughter Leitha Herring.  They are my husband's aunt and cousin.

We both got too big for half a booth, but for several years still did many of the same shows.  Dell and Leitha named their business Tejas Trade. 


This past week I attended the grand opening of Tejas Trade.  The store is located in downtown Texarkana, Texas in a cute little red brick building.

They've stocked it with clothing, some of Leitha's original art, and their jewelry.





The store was so packed with people when I got there that I had to wait until things were almost over to take any pictures.





Leitha's son Patrick manned the bar. This table will be their work table during store hours.





Leitha makes these horn cuffs and bangles.  I tried on every one of them but I have a small wrist and they were all a little big. I love them.
  

This is my favorite one.  It has turquoise embedded in the fissures.  


This building was a wreck when they rented it.  They did all the restoration themselves.  They did a fantastic job!


And I did do a little Christmas shopping while I was there.  Shhhhh--don't tell.

And the Results Are...

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for Craft Activism.  The winner is #2 Martha!  

Congratulations, Martha!

Vintage Shopping Fun

I stopped by the Tipsy Tango in Quinlan, TX a few days ago. It's one of my favorite places for vintage finds.  Every time I go in there it looks like a completely different store.  


 


This time it was full of vintage mannequins, wedding gowns and other curiosities. 







Here's a cool vanity.  I'm kind of fond of shabby chic/cottage style decor.





And a dresser.





I did get this wire folding screen.  I think I'm going to use it as part of an earring display.  It folds completely flat.  I swear I can't get one more thing in my car when I'm traveling to shows unless it will fold up really small.  That's Pawlie Newman checking it out. Anyone want some rosemary?  I have a very overgrown hedge there in the background that I really need to dig up...someday.





 I also got these two lamp shade frames.  I like them just how they are--it's kind of an industrial look.  I think I'm going to get a metal lamp kit and stick an interesting looking bulb in them and use them just like that in my studio. I found the frames in the shop next door to Tipsy Tango and I have unfortunately forgotten their name. 








My studio mannequin--I'm still deciding on a name for her--needed a new hand because all her fingers were broken off when I got her.  So I got this one.






I would show a picture of her with her new part but she doesn't have any clothes yet, poor girl.  Yes, I know, I'm a bad mannequin mother.  You can see she's getting a bit testy about the clothing situation. 


Oh, don't forget I have a giveaway going for the new book Craft Activism. Post a comment on the post previous to this one for a chance to win. Good luck!

Bead Table Wednesday and a Giveaway

I had hoped to give my anvil a good workout today and do some foldforming.  Unfortunately I couldn't get to it.  Instead, I got this necklace ready to go to the buyer.  I had to shorten it slightly and I took this picture for my records.  








I call this one "Home is Where the Heart Is."  The focal is the creation of Martha Eason, of Menagerie Studio.  I love her charms and pendants.  I really like how she finishes the back of her pieces, too.





Yesterday I posted a review of the new book Craft Activism.  This is a book that needs to be read and I'm hosting a giveaway for it.  Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win.  Comments will close at noon central time on Wednesday, November 9th. Good luck! 

Craft Activism--Review

The first thought that popped into my head when I read the title Craft Activism was using a craft or art to draw attention to a cause or maybe using part of the proceeds of sales to fund charities or causes.

Craft Activism is so much more than that.  The book is divided into five sections organized around the type of activism.  

Part I is titled "Crafting a Statement."  In this section are five chapters about specific people or groups, such as  "Knit Bombing"  (The Jaffa Girls), "Quilts With a Message" (Carolyn Mazloomi), "A Knitted Spotlight on Endangered Species" (Ruth Marshall) and others.  Most chapters are  accompanied by a "DIY" section with tips or guidelines on how to do each activity, and a "Makers Jam" with  one paragraph highlights on projects and accomplishments by other crafters.  There are also one or more projects in each chapter, for a total of seventeen projects.  

Other main sections are:

• Part II:  "Recrafting the Past" with chapters "Not Your Grandmother's Embroidery," "A New Take On Old Domestic Arts," and "Return of the Granny Square."
• Part III:  "Crafting for a Cause" with a chapter on "Knitters United." 
• Part IV:  "Crafting to Recycle, Renew, and Reuse" with chapters on "Recycled Chic," "One Word: Plastic," and "Toys Out of Trash."
• Part V:  "Crafting a Community" with chapters "Get Organized" and "How to Get Crafting."

The book concludes with a resource list and index. 

Projects in the book lean heavily toward fiber arts. Nine of the seventeen projects include at least some knitting. The book assumes that you have some knowledge of knitting or whatever skill is being utilized. Other crafts include sewing, crochet and embroidery. There are two projects, one involving crafting an Artist Trading Card (ATC) and one with tin work which I believe could be done by someone with no experience in either. 

Craft Activism is not a project book, although there are projects.  It is more an overview of activism involving crafts and an inspiration to connect with the world, with like-minded people, and to create a better community. The subtitle of the book says it best:  "People, Ideas, and Projects from the New Community of Handmade and How You Can Join In." I found the book very inspiring and the articles about individual crafters  intriguing. 

Craft Activism is written by Joan Tapper and photography is by Gale Zucker.  Check out their blog here.  It is published by Potter Craft, New York.  I was provided with a copy of the book for review.

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Happy Halloween!

Our neighbors, Christina and Carlos, invited us to their Halloween party Saturday.  We hadn't been to a Halloween party in years and this was a really fun party.


Can you guess what I dressed as?  Here are some clues, starting from the top and working down:






Not yet?  Here's some more clues:





I wore a little vintage bling and a brass necklace with a sundial pendant.  Ralph gave me the sundial pendant years ago during my re-enactor stage.  It's a copy of a historical one. 





I also wore this awesome Halloween pin by Wendy Leaumont of My Brainchild.





And I had these lace gloves with the mysterious looking ring with Asian script. Naturally I can't remember what it says.


If you haven't guessed (or seen my new Facebook profile pic) this should clear things up:





Yes, that's right.  I dressed as a witch.  Ralph dressed as a mad scientist.  As I told my parents, we went as ourselves.




Christina took this picture of us at the party.  That's a slide rule Ralph is holding.  It's a vintage one that he actually used back in the day.


Christina and Carlos are so creative.  They made a haunted maze in the back yard utilizing the deck and yard. It was complete with scary stuff, a fog machine, laser lights and all sorts of fun. Christina led everyone through one at a time and there was a lot of screaming involved.  It was a blast.  Some of the children of their extended family and some friends were posted in various locations within the maze, ready to scare whoever happened by. It was impressive and so much fun!


None of the pictures I took of the costumes at the party came out.  Christina is supposed to send me some she took and I'll post them when I get them.  


I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Bead Table Wednesday--It's Here!

My new anvil arrived today. 





Here it is fresh out of the box.  It's a 35 pound anvil from Cliff Carroll's Horseshoers Supplies.  I think I'm going to be very pleased with it.  


I went to BeadFest in Arlington, TX recently and acquired some more hammers and other things, including this  very small Fretz hammer.  I'm going to use it to do things like the cuffs, only in minature.  I have earring sized fold forming projects in mind. 




That cuff in between the hammers is the reason why I got the anvil.  I had to anneal it about six times and it took forever because my little 4 inch bench block was bouncing around when I hit it. It was fun to make, though, and I'm going to do some more. 


I showed at Red River Revel in Shreveport earlier this month.  I've done it for several years and it's always a great show.  The weather was fantastic this year.





My son, Stefan,  came with me this year to help out. It was nice not being by myself. As soon as he saw the camera he started looking everywhere but at me.






Here's a better shot of the cuff from earlier in the post.  I believe this is called a Rutger fold.  The red is reflected color from the tent we were in.






Here's another cuff I had at the show.  I really liked how it turned out.  The red on this cuff is from fire scale.  It was so pretty I left it on.  It was one of the first cuffs to sell at the show. 





And here's a pendant in progress that is a mystery.  I did finish this pendant and it sold at the show.  I didn't put the liver of sulphur patina on it until I got to the hotel in Shreveport though.  (Nothing like working until the very last minute.)  This is where the mystery comes in.  The liver of sulphur made a very brilliant iridescent patina on the brass, and a more muted patina on the copper. 





The patina was a lot more colorful in person than this photo shows. I put more LOS on the copper portion to darken it, and removed the brilliant fuchsia and blues from the brass with steel wool.  The brilliant colors just didn't go with the stone.  I really want to recreate this on some more brass.  I have no idea how it happened.  If you've used LOS before you know it doesn't do much for brass.  I have a few ideas and I'm going to experiment. 


I have a book review on a great new book, Craft Activism, coming up shortly with a giveaway.  And I'm going to have another giveaway to celebrate reaching 100 followers on the blog.  Stay tuned. 


As always, check out the other bead tables on Flickr:

Bead Table Wednesday-Various Stages

I have a lot of pieces in progress on the bead table, some nearing completion and some not so near.



I haven't decided what to rivet onto the etched cuffs at the top yet. Most of the time when I etch the cuffs the background comes out rather matte, like the middle cuff.  I don't know how the other two cuffs got shiny.  It must be a different metal content since I etched them just like I always do. 


The twisty things are brass and copper bails.  The "queen" pendant lacks a couple of body parts but has the patina and the finish coat, as do the two spiral pendants beside her. I finished up the last batch of pearls and have some more in progress. 


Pawlie Newman is snuggled up in my lap impeding my typing. In a minute he'll tire of the typing and then he'll be on the bead table. 

Check out the other bead tables at: