Joyfulgrrl Jewelry Summer Art Fair Schedule

Joyfulgrrl Jewelry 2010 Summer Art Fair Schedule

Art on the Grand

June 5 & 6, 2010

Downtown Farmington, MI

Berkley Bash June 12, 2010 Downtown Berkley, MI

Art & Apples Festival September 10, 11 & 12, 2010 Rochester, MI

Spring Break in Texas

Earlier this month, I headed to Texas for a little spring break. What a fantastic time! I was able to relax, but I also came home with some unique beads and new techniques.

There are some really great bead stores all over this country and I visited a few while in Texas. One was called Bead It in Austin, TX. This place was located down the street from my friends house, and of course I noticed it right away as I drove into town. It is located in a small house with room after room of different beads. It was very cute and so Austin! Whenever I buy beads away from home, I look for unique things that I cannot always find here in Michigan. My eyes were pulled towards all the chunky beads! I bought several strands of chunky stones that I will have to figure out how to use. It seems this year, chunky is in. A few years ago, delicate was the way to design.

So, from now until summer art fair season, I will be experimenting and designing using new wire-wrap techniques incorporating all the new beads I picked up in Texas. I hope to restock my Etsy shop soon!

Crazy February/Mild March

Let's just say February did not turn out the way I had anticipated. Luckily, my new circumstances have left me some time to travel in March and April. A good friend of mine is getting married in Tacoma, Washington in April and asked me to make her headpiece for her wedding. Well, of course, I was honored. I asked her what she would like she said, "Oh, just make it like yours.", meaning the one I made for my own wedding. Well, I was married nearly two and a half years ago and of course I remembered how I made it; so off to shop for materials I go...

Well, I came up against my first hurdle when I could not find the right size pearls. Therefore, I had to improvise with a different size...no problem, I am good at that! So, I get the materials home and start beading when I realized, I forgot how I made my headpiece, two and a half years ago! I sat there for hours studying my headpiece and trying to replicate the stitches (I even showed it to my husband thinking he could help), but it was just not coming out the way I had remembered. The smaller pearls were not matching up with the bigger crystals and it was looking like a hot mess. I started to panic a little because I gave myself a self imposed deadline. I wanted to hand deliver it to my friend this weekend when I visit her in Texas. So, after a few more trips to the bead store and a little bit of design improvisation, I was able to come up with something GORGEOUS! I am so proud! It took a few days, but I was able to create a headpiece she will be proud to wear on her big day.

The past few weeks, I have been struggling with creativity. I do not know what is going on, but I am hoping a trip down south for a few days will help inspire me. I have only been to Texas once before, but never sight seeing. I will visit both Austin and Dallas and truly look forward to the break. I know Austin is full of creativity and I cannot wait to experience it! It will be so nice to hang out with good friends and see new things. Maybe I will even come home with new beading items to inspire me for the Summer Art Fair season. It is right around the corner!!!

Joyful 2010

Hello, yes I am still here! :-) My holiday season was great! Thanks to everyone out there for supporting Joyfulgrrl Jewelry and giving your loved ones a Joyful holiday. I received a lot of nice feedback from my customers and I am so glad your gifts were well received.

I have been doing a lot of reflecting for 2010 and what it is I want to accomplish. I felt 2009 was a good year. I accomplished all my goals and then some. I am really very proud! However, I need to evolve in 2010. I am still trying to decide where I want to go with my craft. Beaded jewelry and wire wrapping is great, but artists must evolve to stay competitive. I am still searching for inspiration and have a few ideas. I hope to share them with you soon.

In the meantime, I will be returning to work full time next week. As much as I love making beautiful jewelry and sharing it with you, I do miss my career. I feel that I am at my best when I can do both. I am hoping that returning to the work force and communicating with more people will give me the inspiration I need for an even better 2010!

Holiday Gift Giving Season

I did a little Christmas shopping this weekend and was mostly disappointed with the items I came across. The same old cheap junk we see every year, but more of it! I guess the recession has caused retailers to cut back on offering good quality, beautiful things. That is where Etsy can fill the void. I think this year, we should declare a Handmade Holiday! There are a ton of talented Etsy Artisans offering beautiful handmade things. If you have a shop you would like to promote, post it here. I will do my best to promote your items through Twitter and Facebook. Hopefully, we can work together to encourage more handmade gift giving that offers so much more thought and meaning.

I will start:

http://joyfulgrrljewelry.etsy.com

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and fans of Joyfulgrrl Jewelry. I am so thankful to all the creative people I have met over the last year or so and have recently been reflective. There is no better time than now to express my gratitude to those who have supported my jewelry endeavors and inspired me to try new things. I just hope to continue to learn and grow and have more opportunities to be inspired by you. Thank You!

Holiday Extravaganza - Dec. 5th!

Check out all the details on Facebook!