Continuing to try and make some new things for the small, outdoor, masks required pop-up craft fair I signed up to do at 3 Matadors for December 5th.
First I needed some more snowballs for snowmen, as I used up all the ones I had on hand. Back to the old grinder so to speak. 🙂
Making snowballs – rough cut then grind down to roundGetting the “big” snowman ready for resinLaying out all of my small projects to work on today
Before I start mixing my resin, I lay out all of my projects and needed supplies. Today was the second layer of resin on the holly suncatcher and all five coasters, though one will be a new coaster design and the other four will be sandollars in the sand. I like to elevate the larger projects like the snowman panel so I can reach any drips that happen. I sometimes tape the underside edge, but forgot this today.
After resin and decorating – ready to cure!
I’m trying out some new colors of mica for the rainbow projects. I think they will be really pretty!
Close up of the rainbows / snowman suncatchers and coasterSnowman panel curing
Now everything just needs to sit overnight to cure.
I signed up to have a booth at this small, outdoor, socially distancing and mask wearing event on Dec. 5th. Come on out and see me! All vendors will be offering locally made handcrafted gifts (no mass produced / franchise type vendors). Be safe – wear a mask!
Sadly, as is the trend in our current pandemic situation, another event has been cancelled. Last year was my first at the November Holiday Market at the N. Charleston Convention Center. Honestly for many reasons I’m relieved that it has been cancelled for this year. Hopefully we’ll all be in a place where we can resume large group events like this by 2021!
I do have several pieces on hand that I would have made available at the Holiday Market had it not been cancelled (though nowhere near as many as I would have had it been held). I will work on posting some images of what I have on hand closer to the holidays for anyone looking for gifts.
I signed up for a booth at the N. Charleston Farmers Market in Park Circle again this year. I plan on being there only two weeks, however. I will be there May 7th and October 22nd, 2020. Hopefully the weather won’t be too hot those days. I may try to add a couple of additional dates, but for now this is the 2020 plan!
I signed up to have a booth at the Charleston Holiday Market again this year. It will be at the Charleston Area Convention Center in N. Charleston on November 20, 21 and 22. It was a tiring weekend last year, but I think it’s a great event! This year the parking garage is supposed to be finished, too.
Today is the last day of the Charleston Holiday Market, and it was a busy day. My Mermaid mosaic, Starfish Trio, and Here Comes the Sun mosaic windows all found loving new homes, along with numerous smaller pieces. I’ve made a *little* bit of room to make some new things, so hopefully I will have time to revisit the sunset mosaic I started a few weeks ago with dichroic glass.
Palmetto & Crescent
Available (in person) at the SC Artisans Center in Walterboro, SC. http://scartisanscenter.com/
Stained glass with resin, 7.75" x 6.25" - $50
Palmetto & Crescent (o/w)
Available in Charleston. Stained glass, resin, glass chips, approx. 6.25" w x 7" h - $40
Rainbow River
Available (in person) at the SC Artisans Center in Walterboro, SC. http://scartisanscenter.com/
Colored mica set in resin 13.5″ x 30″. $250.
Corner Sun
Available (in person) at the SC Artisans Center in Walterboro, SC. http://scartisanscenter.com/
~13.5" x 30". Stained glass with blue shell accents set in resin in a recycled window. $500
Hummingbird with Flowers
Available (in person) at the SC Artisans Center in Walterboro, SC. http://scartisanscenter.com/
~13.5" x 30". Stained glass with sapphire mica accents set in resin in a recycled window. $500.
I had a busy first day at the Charleston Holiday Market today (you can get a coupon for a dollar off admission if you visit their website). I will be there from 10am to 6pm tomorrow (Saturday) and 11am to 5pm on Sunday. I don’t think I will have a single coaster left by this time Sunday. My Beach Window went to a loving home, and several ornaments did, as well. Since this is my first time participating in such a large show, it is a great learning experience!
My booth at the Charleston Holiday Market.
The best part is that I will have a whole year to prepare for next time; I will know what items resonate with people most and be able to work on similar projects. The date for this creeped up on my quickly because I signed up late in the game, but I will have plenty of time to prepare for next year. Since all of my projects (coasters, ornaments) take at a minimum 2 days to make (windows much longer), I can’t quickly make more. That is part of what makes them special, though! I still have some coasters, plenty of ornaments (both glass and resin) and several window mosaics for the rest of the weekend, though. Come on out to the Convention Center and visit – it’s a great time! Another bonus is that my booth is right next to Mountain Mist – I love their products (especially anything in Orange Blossom scent). My family thinks I will spend all of my earnings in their booth, though.
If I sell out of anything you really like, I can make more – just send me a message. My items are all one of a kind, but I can make something pretty close to what I made before (especially in glass – the coasters are more difficult to reproduce).
In preparation for this week’s Charleston Holiday Market, I’m really pushing the limits on how many individual items I can pour and decorate at the same time. If it goes well, at least I will have all year to prepare for the next one! I finished shaping the stained glass items for this batch of ornaments and was able to pour / decorate the resin this evening.
Glued and ready for resin.
Many thanks to my husband for taking care of dinner while I tended these – I really need a solid two hours after pouring the resin to work with them, which can be hard to find between my regular work and carting my teenagers around to their various obligations. I had a few issues during the pouring (pouring too much resin, a couple of the ornament hooks came loose, etc). I think they will turn out OK, though. I’m pretty sure I will be spending a chunk of time tomorrow cleaning up cured resin drips from the back sides of these ornaments, though.
Poured, decorated and ready to cure.Neat Holly designs.
I used some different glass for the holly ornaments I made today (on the left). The glass on the right is the sparkly green I love for so many different projects. I’ve made several tree / wreath ornaments with it. It’s really great for hummingbirds, too!
I decided to try some beach themed ornaments.
I went out of my usual habit and made some new designs for beach themed ornaments – the heart is made of resin and sand that I molded a few months ago. They both have recycled clear glass bases (the squares), sand, and blue shell chips for the water effect. Great for anyone who loves the beach!
I’ve had a lot going on the past couple of weeks and I haven’t been able to make as many new small items as I expected for the Charleston Holiday Market that is starting on Friday. It’s a pretty big event, much larger than any I’ve ever done before, so it should be a learning experience! If you click on the link, you can get advance tickets for $2 off, or a coupon for $1 off admission. I was able to finally pour the resin on several new ornaments as well as the second layer of resin on a few resin ornaments and a coaster today, though.
I was able to cut, grind and glue these yesterday.
I use stained glass for the leaves, berries and snowman and clear glass that is recycled from old windows to make these festive ornaments. I cut the glass for these ornaments and glued it down yesterday, so today it was time for the resin layer. After mixing, I pour a blob of resin on each ornament. A little goes a long way, and too much makes for more difficulty with drips, so it’s better to use too little and then add more later. I went a bit overboard with a few of these and had to wipe away a lot of drips. That also causes some of the resin to form on the underside in such a way that I have to scrape it off with a razor blade later, which is tedious and a little dangerous if you’re clumsy like I am.
After mixing, I pour some resin blobs on each ornament.
I used a sponge on a stick to spread the resin around so it covers all of the top surface of the ornaments. The resin will settle itself down and look smooth once it cures, so I don’t worry about the streaks left by the sponge. I do have to use a heat gun a few times during this stage to remove bubbles. They are worse in the deep molds for the beach themed resin ornaments and coasters than the thin layer on the stained / recycled glass ornaments, though.
Resin spread all over the tops of the ornaments.Done decorating and now just waiting for them to cure.
After the resin is spread, I place the glass blobs, chunks and chips I like to use for decoration in the resin. I also poured a little leftover resin into three new coaster molds that I decorated for the first layer of some more coasters.
I needed to finish the second snowman ornament I started yesterday and use up some leftover glass, so today I made some smaller ornaments with Cardinals and some greenery, plus a few resin ornaments.
Laying out the glass piecesNext I glued the hangers onto the base of the ornament.
Next I poured the resin, then added the glass chips and chunks for the snowy effect in the background. I always elevate the pieces on a silicone mold so I can wipe off drops while the resin cures. I have tried using painters tape around the edges of the back side, but it’s more trouble to me than doing this and I get better results.
Ornaments raised a bit off the work surface.Close up view of the snowman ornament to show that it is raised off of the work surface.
I also poured the first layer and decorated a few more resin ornaments. I am using greenery from my yard and some store bought berries, as the ones from my yard don’t look as nice in the resin. Also some shells and beachy items.
First layer poured and decorated.First layer poured for two beach-y ornaments.
