Do You Teach?

Whenever I'm at a show, I always get asked if I teach.  Of course I do!  I was a high school English teacher before I became a high school administrator, it's in my blood. I can remember playing "school" with my brother when he was 2 and I was 5. My daughter has carried on the tradition. She too started out as a high school English teacher and is now an administrator. I guess it's how we Burgs women roll. 

I now teach at Paper Niche in Davie and I always announce my next class here on my blog first. 
My next class is December 14 and the link at Paper Niche's site to sign up for that class is here:

paperniche.com/proddetail.asp?prod=hldypprbgalbm&cat=87

That link will also take you to the home page where you can sign up for their newsletter. New classes are always announced in the newsletter and you can always see the actual project we'll be doing by visiting the shop. 

From the home page you can also access the "Shopping" drop down menu and go to Scrapbooking. There you'll find all the currently scheduled classes along with the Crops that the store hosts. The cool thing is that you can sign up for the classes and crops right there - on line! 

Hope to see you at my next class! Here's a peek at what you'll be creating.

7 Gypsies Goodness

I thought I'd show you a Vintage Inspired Photo Tray I'm submitting to the 7 Gypsies Challenge here. It was created using one of the 7 Gypsies Photo Trays (love them!), Tim Holtz Reindeer Flight and Tattered Pinecone dies, some stamping and Stickles goodness.  Enjoy!

Southern Handcraft Society Fall Show

Way back in October I showed you some Halloween Houses I was working on. I thought I'd show you where they ended up.
I was introduced to the Southern Handcraft Society by my good friend Dorothy, and I'm so glad she did.  This is the new direction I'm taking in unloading selling all the creations I make. In South Florida there are several chapters of the Society and I tested the waters by entering some of my work in one of their shows.  I had good sales and even better feedback from this group of like-minded crafters. Here's some Eye Candy to go with your morning coffee.

My Last Outdoor Craft Fair

I've been doing the outdoor "Fair Circuit" in Florida for about 6 years.  I've done shows in glorious Florida weather and miserable Florida weather.  Last weekend was mix of both.  Set up was on Friday and the weather cooperated, at least until we finished set up.  It rained on the way home. It never rains in November in Florida.
Saturday morning brought a cloudy sky. Checking the NOAA website revealed a 50% chance of rain for the day.  I was hoping I was in the part of the county where the 50% was "sunny."  No such luck.  During the night the wind had played havoc with the tent and the canopy frame had come apart. Thank goodness Ron was home and able to come over and fix it for me. Between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. I zipped the "elements" out of my tent 11 times. It was one of those days where we had bands or rain. Rain for 3-5 minutes, sun, clouds. Repeat the cycle. Finally around 1:30 the sun came out for good. I had an OK day, at least I made expenses.
Both Friday and Saturday nights I slept poorly. What if the wind took the tent. What if the tent leaks and I have ruined product. What if, What if, What if.....  So when Sunday came, I was less than my chipper self.
Thankfully, the day was glorious.  The 60% chance of showers (in the afternoon, just in time for tent break-down) never materialized and all the people who didn't come to the show on Saturday because of the rain showed up along with all the people who had planned to come on Sunday all along.
It was packed.  I had several feeding frenzies. That's what I call it when you have one person in your shop making a purchase who attracts others who want to see what they're buying and they get to talking, and buying, and they attract even more people . . . you get the picture. I couldn't swipe their credit cards fast enough. So it did turn out to be a good show.
But the whole weekend I kept thinking: Why am I gambling on the weather, making myself sick, and working non-stop for 12 hours?
 So I'm not any more.
 I've done my last outdoor craft show.
My ETSY site is doing quite well and I did an amazing indoor show in early October with a local chapter of the Southern Handcraft Society.  There are several in my area in the Fall and I'm going to take advantage of as many as I can.  How could I not? You deliver your handcrafts to them the morning before the show starts all labeled and priced.  They set up your work along with other artists in vignettes that scream "you need to buy this!"  Seriously, so cute! They sell for you, they figure out the tax for you, they pay the State the tax you owe. I get to visit, or not. You pick up all your unsold items after the show. Mine were all neatly arranged on a table just for my merchandise. What could be easier? They take a percentage of the sale and mail you a check with a copy of all your sales for the weekend.  My husband I figured that the percentage they take is far less than the price I pay for a spot on the Fair Circuit. So I can't loose.  And I'm excited about the prospect for next Fall. And I'm anxious for this season to be over.  I have one more show (thankfully indoor) to do the weekend before Thanksgiving, and then I'm done!

Prima Engraver Tray

I love papers done in shades of brown, black and cream so when Prima's Engraver Collection came out, I was in heaven.

Here's the project I created last spring when it debuted. It was so much fun putting this together and I had the perfect black and white and sepia toned pictures to incorporate into it.

It's now hanging in my foyer where everyone who comes to see us gets to gaze on it. Family is important, and this project brings back very fond family memories.

December Class @ Paper Niche

I has so much fun creating this Paper Bag Album that I decided to make it into a class.  That's right, the base of the album is 5 paper bags!  I used BoBunny's 6" Silver and Gold Paper Pad for the paper, added some glitter card stock, flowers from Petaloo's newest release, some Prima goodness and Tim Holtz dies.

This is one of those albums that, once you know how it goes together, is adaptable to any paper, any palate, any embellishments.  Imagine it as a Sweet Easter Album in yummy pastel colors, or with Red paper bags as the base for a Fourth Of July Album.  Wait, Wait, I'm just getting started . . . With black paper bags for a Halloween Album, or an Over The Hill Birthday celebration . . . With Red paper bags for a Valentines Day Surprise . . .With brown paper bags for a Thanksgiving or Fall Harvest album, and just one more . . . With Teal Paper bags as the base for a Summer Vacation at the Beach album. O.K., I'll stop now.

I think I'm done.

I like this album so much that I'll be teaching variations of it throughout 2014 at Paper Niche, probably about once a quarter. 

The class is Saturday, December 14, from 10:00 - 12:30 and the cost is $37.00.  You can even sign up for the class on line, here! I may even play some holiday music while we create, we'll see.