Recovery Time and New Snap Accessories

Just last week I had surgery on my knee to repair a meniscus tear.  I had been suffering with swelling and pain for over a year so was nice to see things moving forward and I will be hopefully walking normally again soon.

Even though it wasn't serious, something like this can slow you down.  I was still been trying to stay active with the clay as much as it would allow but had to focus more on activities that involved sitting rather than standing.

We have found shows are getting harder to do with all the work in preparing, packing, setting up plus the long hours.  We managed to get through the Salmon Arm quilt show and actually found it enjoyable.  The ladies who took part in the Quilted Clay Make & Take had a lot of fun and it was a great way to share with them what polymer clay was all about and hopefully spark some interest in future workshops.

Each lady went away with a quilted clay piece in the pattern and colors of their choice that was mounted on a snap.  We had available a selection of snap base items for them to wear their quilted design and could add other snaps to interchange such as a necklace or our popular magnetic brooches.

Some of the items are new ideas we came up with special for the show and now have them available in our online store.  One is a metal shawl or hair stick with a snap base.

Here is a kilt style brooch pin for a sweater or shawlette.   The snap base has one of our clip clasps so it can be detached and worn on a chain as a necklace.

Everybody Loves Quilts - 2016 Quilt Show

We are excited to be in the quilt show put on by the Shuswap Quilters' Guild coming up already on June 3 and 4 in Salmon Arm.  This large show only happens every 3 years and we had a really great time during the last one. 

Instead of doing a live demo, we will be involving the attendees with a "Make & Take" project.  The ladies will have the opportunity to make their own 4 patch quilt block design from clay!

There is a lot of prep work involved such as making the sample templates for them to follow and mixing up all the clay colors so they are ready to cut into triangle and square shapes.

We also made clay bases to mount the quilt block designs on creating a natural frame background.  Each base has a large snap on the back so they can be added to a variety of snap base findings and used as an interchangeable button or worn as a necklace, bracelet or ring.      

They are also a perfect match for our "2 or 3 Way Magnetic Brooches" so they can be interchanged and worn several ways:

A - As a magnetic brooch (with charm),  B - As an eyeglass or badge holder (by changing the charm for the fancy metal ring) or C - As a necklace (by flipping it around and attaching to a neck chain).

We have a limited space and time for this "Make & Take" project so will set up a schedule at the show and encourage those who would like to take part to sign up for their preferred time slot and select the pattern and colors of their choice.

For more information on the show, you can follow their facebook page here.

Buttons for Sewing in Art Deco and Nouveau Designs

It is that time of year again when Heather's Fabric Shelf holds their (7th) annual quilt show at their new store location in the Brock Shopping Centre on the north shore in Kamloops.  The quilt show itself will be set up in the Brock Activity Centre right across from Heather's.  Donna's Yarn & Craft Center relocated their store to the same shopping center as well and so this year we will be set up in their store this coming Sunday to demo our clay and show off our new spring button and snap jewelry collection.

Here is a peek at some of our new Art Deco and Art Nouveau button designs.  These buttons have a metal shank for sewing and a silky smooth finish which are perfect for those hand knit sweaters.

Metal shank for sewing

After the Quilt Show

We had a fun time at our first show of the year yesterday.  It was another successful quilt show put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf and there were lots and lots of fabulous, beautiful quilts to see.

This quilt, titled "Gone with the Flow" was created by Sheila Crowe, and was our absolute favorite.   It was in direct view of where we were located so had a chance to admire it all day.  It is a hand quilted piece from a postcard design.  You can see the postcard picture above to compare how similar it looks but when you get up close it has so many more features which makes it so unique.  It is more of a multi-media quilt as it has other textures added such as real feathers used for the hair.

This is the main part of our display.  It was our first showing of our new interchangeable jewelry and we are still working out the best way to show it off and were interested to see how it was going to be received.  The response from our customers was very good and we received a lot of positive feedback.

Dave taking a moment out during set-up.

Donna and her mom Elsie of Donna's Yarn & Craft were also there and set up right next to us.  They had lots of knitting and crochet type samples there to provide plenty of inspiration for some fun projects.

The photo below is one idea that Donna has been working on together with Mary Anne, who is  another local polymer artist.  Mary Anne hand sculpts all these adorable little kids buttons.  She is a a retired veterinarian so you can see why she does the animals so well.  These are decorations combining crochet or knit flowers and using Mary Anne's buttons for the centres.  I forget what they all represent but perhaps you can figure out some of them -- There is a Black-eyed Susan, a Ger"bear"a Daisy, Dogwood, and I think those little babies are cabbage patch kids.  These are a fun idea to add to a child's sweater or add to their slippers.

Polymer buttons created by Mary Anne, Kamloops, BC

The spring season was off to a good start for us and we have several more shows coming up over the next few weeks so will keep us busy for a while.

Quilt Show at Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops

We have been busy working on our new interchangeable jewelry line for this year.  We should have a nice selection ready for our first show in Kamloops coming up this Sunday on April 12.  The quilt show is put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf and is at the Holiday Inn just across the parking lot from their store.  We will be set up in the main lobby again together with Donna and Elsie from Donna's Yarn & Crafts.

Here is another sneak peek at more of our interchangeable jewelry pieces.

The art beads interchange on the pendant shown below and the pendant clips onto different types of cords for a different look.

The art bead cabachons can be switched out in the necklace base shown below.  Same necklace base but different cabachons give it a completely different look.

Are you curious about how these are created?  Well we are really excited about it and love this new concept.  So much so that we are already writing our tutorial and will be available soon.

Quilt Show Over for Another Year

Another great quilt show put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops is now over.  We were set up in the Holiday Inn Hotel lobby again which gave a really nice and relaxed atmosphere.  We were able to show off some of our latest button designs along with our jewelry line.

Our scarf jewelry was the main attraction again and this year we featured a pattern that Donna from Donna's Yarn & Craft put together to knit your own scarf.

We had a clay demonstration table as well which drew a lot of interest as you can see Dave here explaining to the ladies how a millefiori cane is made.

We had a great time but were totally exhausted after packing up and arriving home.  We spent today resting up in between unpacking and reorganizing.

Unveiling of our Kamloops Button and a Great Quilt Show

We had a great time yesterday as we participated in one of the most unique and best shows ever, -- the 4th annual quilt show put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf in Kamloops, B.C.  The show extended from Heather's store to the Holiday Inn hotel next door which is where we were set up with our display featuring our  handcrafted buttons, accessories and scarf jewelry.  We had the opportunity to show off some of our new designs as well as have a wide selection of our buttons on hand.  I spent part of the time demoing with my clay to show how we make our buttons and other pieces using various techniques.

We had a fun time with Elsie and Donna of Donna's Yarn & Craft who were set-up next to us.  They also  have a large collection of our handcrafted shawl pins, beads, buttons and other wearable accessories in their store.

There were, of course, a lot of fabulous quilts at the show, some of which were real masterpieces.

  

This was a special quilt challenge using a specific fabric to create something unique.  The pieces were incredible with everything from wall hangings and bags to even a bird house!

And of course Heather's Fabric Shelf was filled with customers waiting for an exciting moment to happen in their store -- the unveiling of a new fabric line by a Canadian company, Cantik Batiks.

This is Heather of Heather's Fabric Shelf, along with Kevin (manager) and Shania (the designer) of Cantik Batiks ready to unveil the new fabric line designed especially for Heather's store and this show which is based on some photos taken of Kamloops scenery.

And now the exciting news:  Heather commissioned us to create a special button for this fabric and event.  She also created a handbag pattern incorporating our "Kamloops" button.

And here are a few of the buttons:

And the buttons shown on several bags:

And finally, this is Heather and Bill and their adorable little store mascot/boss.  They were too busy that day to get a picture of the two of them together and since I love this photo, I stole it off their facebook page.  They are an awesome couple and they did a wonderful job on the quilt show and is a real pleasure to  be a part of this event and a real honor to have our handcrafted items in their store.

More Medallion Buttons and Quilt Show

Here are more of our medallion buttons in shades of blues and greens and another grouping in reds.  I love making these and even though the inks can be rather messy to work with I find doodling on each piece relaxing.  The pattern on each of these buttons is different making each one unique and one of a kind.

We have been busy making more of these buttons to fill orders as well as in preparation for several upcoming quilt shows.  The first quilt show is this Sunday, April 14 in Kamloops.  It is at the Holiday Inn and Suites Hotel across from and put on by Heather's Fabric Shelf.

Star Quilt Block Rings

These are some rings I made with the same star pattern in assorted color combinations.  The ring bases are adjustable to any size.  They all have Swarovski crystals embedded for some added bling.

We are getting ready for Heather's Fabric Shelf's "Quilt Show & Tell" in Kamloops a week from this Sunday where we will be set up to sell our jewelry and accessories.  We will be featuring our new line of "quilt block inspired" jewelry along with our new summer items.