calm before the storm

Prep for last week's show left Crymson Flower on etsy a little lacking.  The good news is that now that that show is over I have lots of new stock to share and list.  Wednesday was sorta sunny for an hour or two so I was able to take pictures of a bunch of new stuff.  Now it's just me editing and organizing. 

click here for Golden Dahlia purchase information

The month of June will be just as busy as the month of May was.  I'll have new inventory, but I also need to be making new inventory for the Botanic Garden show on June 29 and 30.  I have to make sure the canopy and canopy walls work and set up one if not two more tables to fill the space.  I started my to do list and I might even put dates next to items to that I don't start to fall behind.  Despite the fact that the wreaths didn't get much attention at the last show, I'm going to make some more wreaths.  I'm thinking themed wreaths.  Maybe a sunflower wreath, one or two fall inspired wreaths, and definitely a Christmas wreath. 

I've been inspired to turn some flower and petals into bracelets recently.  I'm very much still in prototype mode.  But I'll share what I have in the very near future.

 click here for Rose purchase information

Next week is R's birthday.  We've been busy with party prep and gift buying.  We also head to Chicago for an extended weekend.  I'll have to close up shop for the weekend, but it's sort of a working trip.  We'll take R to the Brookfield zoo on Thursday.  Friday Mom and I are going to head up to Milwaukee for the Bead and Button show.  I'm so super excited about this.  I'll be stocking up on lots of seed beads, checking out wire vendors, and just try not to get completely overloaded or overwhelmed by the shear about of inspiration and bead love.  I hope to come home with lots of goodies.  Then over the weekend is Mom's first art show of the season.  She'll be selling her paintings at the Hinsdale Fine Art Festival Saturday and Sunday June 8 and 9th from 10-5.  If you are in the area stop by.  Her paints are amazing.  And if it's on Saturday I'll be there helping her out. 

After next weekend I'll be back in art show prep mode.  It's a full month.  But lots will get done and I'll learn a ton for future shows and selling in general. 

 click here for Orange and Teal wreath purchase information

Today I'm listing this wonderfully summery wreath.  Bright oranges and teals truly pop against the natural brown grapevine wreath and green beaded leaves.  Orange and teal is one of my favorite summer color combos and this wreath is an example of how well they can play on each other. 

I hope you have a fabulous weekend.  Hopefully the sun will come out and we can do some outdoor adventures. 

a girl needs a plan

Have I given you the rundown on the show's I'll be exhibiting in this summer?  I'm made a page to display up at the top so if you forget check it out there.

Artists on the Boardwalk at Junction City: from 4-8 on May 24, June 28, July 26, Aug 23
Rhapsody in Bloom at the Luthy Botanic Garden in Peoria IL: June 29 and 30
Art and Wine Festival at the Mackinaw Valley Vineyard in Mackinaw IL: July 21

Be prepared to hear me talk a lot about booth design and inventory and attempts at organization.  But before I go into all those nitty gritty posts I'm going on a mini vacation.  A mini work vacation.  A few weeks ago on "one of those days" C and I decided we needed a break.  We wanted to get away from the house and away from some stress and let our creativity flow.  He's just finished his mini album and already has 17 songs in his head waiting to be written on paper.  I had just applied to shows and wanted to go somewhere and take my beads and work.  We envision a trip of creative fun for a few hours in the morning then off to go for a walk in the warm sun looking in art galleries and eating and drinking good food.

I'm so excited for this little trip.  We head up next Wednesday.  I will have Crymson Flower on vacation mode during this long weekend. I will have my computer with me but my focus is on beading and creating.  So no promises for any blog posts, but I hope to do some FaceBook updates and sneak peeks.  Make sure you like my facebook page for those updates.

I've been trying to figure out what to work on while up there.  Flowers, wreaths, wine accessories, and then which ones.  In reality I need more of all of them, but I need a little focus.  So I need help... What would you like to seem more of?  A certain color or combination of colors?  A flower? A bouquet? I love suggestions, that's how my brains starts to focus. 

The pictures above is a quick sneak peek of what's on my work table right now.  Are you excited about another wreath?  It's still in progress...it needs more leaves for sure.  Stay tuned to see how it turns out.

pile of petals

This week's sneak peeks are simple and to the point.  I have a pile of petals that I'll be putting together this weekend.  Hopefully I'll have some finished flowers to photograph by midweek and new flowers to show off by the end of next week.

Last Saturday I was on a roll.  Finished up a couple of projects then cranked out two flowers worth of petals.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll find the same flow and finish some of these up. 

Do you like the colors?  I've been in a bright color mode lately.