June has been an incredibly busy month!
For once I actually started in advance, so most of my Pride Month crafting happened in May. Still, I started the month making little clay gremlins holding rainbow hearts - which was probably my second attempt at anything like a polymer clay cane since I was 15 years old. It turned out pretty well, and the small collection of them is quite cute.
I made some of the hearts even smaller and made little creatures to hold them - they looked like mini rock friends. I made these on a whim to add to some orders during the Kaz sale the first weekend in June, which helped so much after the unexpected vet bills.
After that point, it was all about getting ready for fairs! I had the Mystic Market on June 21st and Pride Party Palooza on June 22nd. And we all know how much I love a theme. I got back to work making more Pride Flag Book Stack Pendants since some were out of stock, went all in on making more Rock Friends, and then I had a new idea for the Mystic Market: Fairy Wands.
The fairy wands were meant to be quick and simple projects. Except the clay got away from me and they became far more intricate than I had planned. But I love how they turned out. And of course then I had to find a way to display the wands…which led me to a wooden sign blank that had been sitting around the craft room for a couple of years. A little varnish, cardboard, batting, glitter velvet, and 3D printed embellishments later I had the perfect wand display tray.
Mystic Market came with an unexpected complication: Kaz’s meds. He needs to eat on a schedule for his insulin, and his new med for cushings needs to be taken with food. This all happens between 8 and 9 in the morning, and Mystic Market setup started at 7am–and was a half hour away from home. The solution? Kaz had his first fair!
That day was SO much fun–a huge thank you to Shankweiler's Drive-In and Handmade Mystic for hosting. It was so great to get dressed up and add extra embellishments to the display to up the magic of the tent, and it gave me so many ideas for future events.
Then the next day was Pride Party Palooza–which was truly an excellent party. I do have to say that I love any fair with good music all day. I spent the day dancing, even though I was tired from the day before. It was generally a day filled with joy - Christmas City Spirits truly outdid themselves!
Compendium: Small Works II Juried Exhibition
Probably the most surprising part of the month was Compendium: Small Works II. On May 29th I got an email saying that my Living Ink Dragon was accepted into the juried exhibition hosted by ArtsQuest and Lafayette College. It was my first time applying for any exhibition ever, and I wasn’t expecting to be accepted at all.
Since my brain is made of anxiety weasels, I was certain there would be some problem and it would be removed even after I dropped it off on June 14th. Of course the anxiety weasels were wrong, and on June 27th I went to the opening reception and saw a piece of my work in a gallery show for the first time ever.
It was an absolutely bizarre and delightful experience–and then to add to it, my Living Ink Dragon was awarded second place!
Here be Dragons
While trying to figure out what I should wear to the opening reception of the gallery, I decided that I should make myself a dragon necklace to wear for the occasion to go along with the dragon I had in the show, so I sat down on Thursday evening with a plan: make a dragon to go with one of my favorite shirts.
I had spent a week or so thinking about what it might look like, so it went faster than expected and turned out adorable. And it gave me an idea of what to do with my stash of Prestige Rivoli crystals.
Now the craft room has been turned to dragon making full time while I work through the crystals.
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