Birthday man, and Cupcakes!

Sorry I have been absent....the holiday this week has sucked up most of my time and I really needed the relaxation and hanging out time with the family. It's been a wonderful Thanksgiving with fun family time, plenty of leftovers and yummy good things to eat. I think today some of the turkey is becoming curried turkey salad, and I'll probably bake some bread later on. I don't do Black Friday shopping at all. I hate the way (some) people act and I don't really feel up to being in a crush of people. There's nothing I really want or need at the store THAT much.

Well, except for some 'Cars' plates and napkins, and maybe a bunch of balloons. Today is my son's third birthday! I can't believe this little guy is three already!

Here he is, all ready to go to a birthday party last Saturday for a little girl in his preschool class. We'll be having cupcakes and dinner out and a few presents later on today, and then my mom is coming tomorrow for even more cake and presents. It's a lot of cake, but I am a FIRM believer in marking one's birthday with cake ON the actual birthday. Every birthday should be a celebration.

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And now for the jewelry and glass content today...

I make glass cupcake pendants, and some of you may remember this summer, when I started selling them wholesale to a local cupcake bakery, designed to look like their cupcakes. I didn't know how well it would work, but people do love my cupcake necklaces. Imagine my surprise when the owner of the shop called me a few Fridays ago and placed a large order for necklaces and rings! I delivered them on Tuesday, and here is what I made them:

Ten of their 'Plain Jane' cupcakes on sterling silver ball chain necklaces:

And ten of their 'Red Velvet' cupcakes also on sterling silver ball chain necklaces:

Then eight silver wire-wrapped rings, four of the 'Plain Jane' and four of the 'Red Velvet':

If you are local to Richmond, Virginia, then get thee hence to Pearl's Cupcake Shoppe, on Grove Avenue, near Libbie. They have some of the most fantastic cupcakes ever, and also my necklaces, which make great stocking stuffers and gifts for little AND big girls!

Shopping Neverland

A friend of mine recently told me about a fantastic place in our city where I could indulge my love for thrift stores, junk shops, and decorative arts. It's Liquidation Warehouse (whose web address is actually shopneverland.com -- how cool is that!?) !

Right near Virginia Commonwealth University, downtown in a section of old, old buildings, is this gem. The buildings are incredible; HUGE with massively high ceilings, and are all brick. Walking into this place is like walking into a huge costume and prop department on some movie lot or theater campus. The woman who greets you as you come in even says, "have fun! Let me know if you need help with anything....and don't forget to look UP!" The ceilings are indescribably high and all kinds of interesting stuff is hanging in the space above your head.

It's amazing in there! There were some antiques and stuff like that, but mostly there were piles and piles of stuff that used to be display items and decoration in large big-name department stores.
This picture is at the entrance to the 'Christmas Room', where there are tons and tons of sparkly and beautiful decorations of all kinds. This photo does not even remotely do justice to the extreme sparkliness of this place. All the lights and shiny Christmas ornaments, glittery trees and garlands...it's wonderful! And, one of the owners tells me this section of the building used to be a public icehouse. So fascinating!

I know there's someone out there who needs a bust of Napoleon with a neon hat brim...

Recognize the old Bloomingdale's shopping bag logo behind me??

There were more kinds of manniquins than I knew existed....and they had huge boxes of just parts...hands, legs, arms, heads...

For you, Kerry! Lots and lots of cool-looking (but a little too expensive) old suitcases!

Oh, and if you were wondering where Cloud 9 really is...I think I found it...

There was TONS of great stuff, and so much of it could have found a home with me, but I was good, and restrained myself. My total haul consisted of four heavy crackled glass ornaments for my kitchen window, two really fun wooden poseable mannequins, and a "neck" plastic display -- I needed something to photograph necklaces on, and this will work great! I just need to paint it or cover it in some way.

I think I'm going back tomorrow, with Noah. I got an idea for a Christmas present for someone...

These earrings:

And these earrings:

went up in the Etsy shop the other day...if you want to wear them for Thanksgiving, order 'em quick! I'll even ship for free (for those earrings) if you order them now!

Just sayin'.

**Convo me when you make your purchase and I will refund the shipping fees!**

Whimsical Wares!

Today (Friday 11/12) and tomorrow (Saturday 11/13), my work will be in a great new art and craft show that is being held here in Richmond, Virginia. I'd like to introduce you to Whimsical Wares!

This great show is being held at the Smoketree Community Center, which is located at 11100 Smoketree Drive in Richmond, VA 23236. The show is open from 11am to 7pm today, and on Saturday from 10am to 3pm. Lunch will be offered in the cafe, and there will be a huge variety of beautiful work to fill all your holiday shopping needs. We have original paintings, printmaking, mixed-media sculpture, ironwork and blacksmithing, woodworking, jewelry, cards, unbelievable pottery, and some of the best polymer clay millefiori work I have EVER seen! Amazing stuff, all of it made by a group of local artisans (including me!).

I took a few quick cell phone pictures this morning just before the show opened...sorry for the less-than-stellar quality...everything is SO much more amazing in person!

My display

The amazing polymer clay millefiori work done by Carolyn Schallmo

The stunning pottery of Steven Summerfield

The show!

Yes, this is my little Noah, helping out!

So, come on out this weekend and get your holiday shopping list taken care of, have some lunch and enjoy a unique shopping experience. Your loved ones will get a terrific handmade gift that is one of a kind, and YOU will be helping to support local artists and artisans.

New series!

I've been working diligently on a new series of pieces for my collection. Here are the first pieces in "Industrial Revolution"....a collection created using copper and mixed metals, glass beads, and found objects, with a steampunk/clockwork/turn-of-the-last-century feel.

"Fortune's Amulet"


and the matching bracelet..."Springs Wash"


Both will be available on Etsy as soon as I get them posted later today. More pieces are forthcoming, too, I just have to get the photos taken!

Hey, don't forget I have a page for A Hot Piece of Glass on Facebook, so if you are an addicted Facebooker like me, check out the page and become a fan!

Gearing up for the holiday season

I updated some pictures on the Flickr page for A Hot Piece of Glass. Go here to see the new images. Right now, a lot of the new ones are shots of just the beads for projects that will become jewelry soon.

I have also started to work on my schedule for Christmastime shows. It's not a huge schedule at the moment, but hopefully that will change. Right now I am planning on being at the St. Stephen's market this upcoming Saturday for my last weekend at that market. After that, I will be at Providence Middle School's Craft Show on November 21. More details on that one as I get them. I had applied for the Richmond Craft Mafia's Christmas show, but was turned down. :(

I am really hoping I will get my Etsy shop open again soon so if there are things you would like to see in there, let me know. If you see anything on my Flickr page that looks good and you want it, let me know. Some things there have been sold, but some can be remade.

There ya go....a quick FYI for now. Back in a while with some pix of finished pieces.

A Poll for my clients and customers!

I'd like to direct your attention to the new poll at the right-hand side of this page....I'm in the process of making some changes to how I sell my work, and I'd like some input on the preferred method for my customers.

I currently have an Etsy shop (but it's currently empty). I'm thinking about opening a dedicated shop that you can get to from this page, but I want to know how you would prefer to buy. Keep in mind that with Etsy and other online 'malls' or shopping venues, you have to create an account for yourself in order to shop and buy. This isn't a big deal for most people, but it may not be the simplest thing if you don't do a lot of online buying, or if you'd prefer to not have accounts all over the web.

Just make your vote in the poll and comment on this entry if you have other things to say about the subject. Christmas is coming, along with Halloween, and I want to make sure you can shop easily and conveniently with me!

Thanks!