A rose by any other name

I started by hammering copper spirals and loopy Celtic waves, but I wanted to somehow bring a more sculptural quality to my work without the need for soldering. I wanted the piece to be one long piece of wire molded and hammered into a miniature sculpture. I started making roses almost by accident. I had a crinkly piece of wire that on a whim I hammered flat and wound into a spiral shape. The crinkles in the wire made such a neat, roselike shape to the spiral that I kept working with it and eventually added leaves or other decorations. What resulted was a unique, 3d rose that had an elegant shape. I have been making these roses for a while now and each one seems to be a little more elegant than the last. Here is my latest one, a rose ring from recycled sterling silver.

Display ideas for craft fairs

I thought I would show the results of my display search. Here it is. Lots of junk repurposed into jewelry displays along with some store bought ones I had already from previous years of selling. We were under some trees so some of the pictures had less than ideal lighting, but you get the idea. Happy hunting!

I used old crates and boxes to add height and
scarves for color

Me and Miss Priscilla ready to sell

We are ready for our closeup!

Close up of my stacked boxes

Shutters held earring cards, I hung a mirror from the canopy

an old printer drawer makes a great pendant box

an old stand up mirror and some scarves thrown on the canopy for color

I found the clear step display (right) at the Goodwill

My father in law helped me build the ring tray from an old board
the crates helped the necklace boards from blowing away in the wind,
a problem I had at the last show

What's right with hand-me-downs

My sister and I were born 18 months apart and my family has never been rich so I was always blessed with hand-me-downs. And when it wasn't handed down we got great clothes from consignment shops or yard sales. The clothes were usually really nice pieces too, things that lasted through us and got recycled back to the consignment store or thrown in our own yard sale stack. There were some pieces that were obviously made by someone's mother or grandmother, sweet little sailor suits and smocked dresses with little flowers and birds. Pieces that inspired gray headed women to get a dreamy look when they saw us wear them. Probably making them recall their own children or grandchildren.
I, too, am a dreamer. I always have been and maybe it's because of the clothes. When you buy a new garment, it's been sewn from a bolt of fabric and sent to the stores. When you get a hand-me-down, there is a story behind it and sometimes they even have super powers. I was a little shy when I was younger and my sister was not. When I wore her clothes they were almost like a cape for me. I could pretend that I had her confidence, that I wasn't the skinny kid with glasses who tripped over my own shoes, but the athletic, outgoing one that could catch a fast ball. And with things from the consignment and yard sales the story behind the outfit could be even more fantastic. Maybe the little girl who owned it before me was a lion tamer, or a princess.
Now as I am grown, my stories are a little more mundane, and I have collected a little more confidence in my self, although I am still a little clumsy. I still shop thrift stores, second hand shops, and consignment sales. My daughter has a cousin six months older so she has worn lots of hand-me-downs and our favorite place to shop is our local kids resale shop. And anything she outgrows goes to my large circle of girlfriends and their little girls. Its not just about saving money, although paying $1 for a dress that normally retails for $30 is awesome. We get excited seeing the clothes we loved on our little girls on someone else's. One outfit that we got from her cousin has been worn by at least 3 little girls in our circle and is still being passed around. And we share pictures with each other of each little girl in the outfit. It's a way to stay connected. To feel like, even though we live far away, we can still share things.
We still buy new clothes for our daughters and, lord knows, I can't stop my mother from buying 3 dresses for Easter for her only granddaughter, especially when they are cheap at the local superstore, but most of my daughter's wardrobe is preowned. And I hope that I can pass on my love of secondhand clothes to her. Its like a treasure hunt going to the secondhand store and finding a lovely dress that is in her size or a worn in t-shirt with her favorite character on it. And I have begun to sew a few things for her. Recently I made a Batman cape from a piece of secondhand black material with lady bugs on it and she wore it for 3 days straight only removing it to sleep. And when she outgrows it, that cape will be passed on to fly around someone else's hallway and save little toys from impending disasters.

Green is easy when you are cheap

Think about it. The best way to be green is to stop paying for expensive packaging, to reuse what you have, and to not introduce toxic chemicals into the environment. So, basically live like you would have before the industrial age. Here's some tips:


1. That thing in your house that shows you all the coolest new gadgets and gizmos, turn it off!
TV not only stagnates your brain and body but makes you feel like you "need" everything and if you have kids, you have heard them want everything from toys to vacuums and pipe cleaners. Who really needs all that stuff? And think of the money you'll save on electricity and cable bills!


2. Why buy it when you can make it or grow it? Everything from pantyliners to pantryshelving can be made using a little ingenuity and a pattern, and many patterns and how-tos are available online for free! And it will fill up all that spare time you have when the boob tube is turned off. You can find recipes for soap, laundry detergent, quick fix meals that don't come from a box, and patterns for cloth diapers and feminine products, stuffed animals, toys, shelves, even houses!


3. Stop throwing things into the dump! Why use throw-away stuff when you can buy good quality dishes that will last for literally hundreds of years or flatware that you can pass on to your grandchildren? That's why our grandmothers stuff seems so priceless today, they used it for everything so it's part of our parents every food memory. If you simply must have a new set of dishes every year, shop the second hand stores and donate your old dishes. Everything comes back again. And if you follow rule 2 it's easy to follow rule 3 because then you can cut out lots of paper and packaging as well as reusing what you make!


4. Slow down and enjoy what's here and now. Do you know what you can take with you when you are dead? . Memories. That's it. So why work yourself to death trying to buy a new car or house, when you can slow down and enjoy exactly what's in front of you, family, friends, good food. It doesn't take much to have a fun family night. I can remember having a great time sitting in front of our wood burning fire with my family listening to the fire crackle and pop and telling stories about our favorite things. That's the biggest secret, if you enjoy what you have, you won't want more.


5. Stop buying junk. Think quality and care. When people start buying things just because they are cheap or trendy, then they rack up somewhere, either the house or landfill or your pocketbook and they end up not so cheap. If you buy a new pair of sunglasses every other week because they break or because you lose them in your house or car, its not so cheap anymore. Try before you buy so you know that its something you can or will use and have a care regiment in place so that your good quality things stay good quality. Buy things as an investment and take care of them as if they are just that. Repair instead of replace. Buy things that grow with kids and they can use for a long time.


Using these 5 simple rules you too can be cheap and when you're cheap, it's easy being green!