Thank You!!

So, even though the show this past weekend was kind of slow...one of my mom's "stitchy friends" (as my dad likes to call them) purchased some items and was kind enough to post about them on her blog!!! I just wanted to say thank you to Marjorie for stopping by and for her kind words! She is quite the talented stitcher herself...be sure to check out her blog Moonsilk Stitches!

She took a great photo of the purchases she made...love it!!

Christmas Fantasy of Gifts!

Okay, it's been quite a while since I've blogged and today I want to change that! This weekend, I will be participating in the annual Christmas Bazaar at the grade school that I attended...I'm both excited and a little nervous just for the fact that I'm not sure who I'm going to run into ;). So, if you're in the south suburbs of Chicago, stop by and see us!! Here is a link to the school's website and here is a picture of the little school where I spent my formative years!!



Hope to see some of you there!!

Handmade Chicago

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be at the Handmade Chicago show this Saturday at The Empty Bottle on Western!! I've got some new pieces and a new setup that I'm trying out! I'm really excited and I hope to see some familiar faces there ;)

Jewelry Show!!

So this past weekend I was again a participant at the Handmade Chicago booth at the Randolph Street Antique Market. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! I couldn't have asked for better...sunny, not too much wind and definitely not too hot. My sister took some great photos of some of my pieces and I wanted to share them. I also tried a new set up for my table which I have to say worked out quite well. I've got a bunch of ideas rolling around in my head for new display ideas as well as new jewelry pieces for my next show in October. That show will again be with Handmade Chicago and will be held October 11Th at The Empty Bottle on Western. I'll post more info as soon as I get the details.

We had a better spot this time...toward the front of the tent!!

I made a new display for earrings which worked out fabulously! It was much easier to see all the earrings at a glance and I sold quite a few pairs!



Some close-ups of a few of my favorites!

The mussel shell bracelets (and earrings) were, again, a huge hit!

A few of my three-strand bracelets...

Everyone LOVED the colorful gift boxes...we sold quite a few!

Show Madness

So my very first handmade show was fabulous!! I didn't do too bad for my first time out and my new shell bracelets and earrings were a huge hit!! My wonderful sister helped me to prepare everything, set up and sell...thanks sis!! I shared a tent with a couple of fantastic Chicagoan's and met a lot of really cool people. Here are some pictures of my table as well as me and my sis, check out my Flickr for more!! Aside from the fact that my sis and I got massive sunburns, the show was awesome!!

Table set up before the show began.

Posing for the camera...I'm on the left, my sister's on the right.

A close up of the display, kind of hard to see here but the shell bracelets and earrings are on the top rows. I hope to get them listed in my Etsy shop before the end of the week!

Here's a pic of the earring cards featuring pressed Czech glass earrings.

Our tent...check out the fabulous table skirt my uber-talented Mom made for me...she's the best!!!!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out...you're all the best!! Also, thanks to all my blogger friends for the well wishes and support!

Next up on the agenda is a home jewelry party at my sister's house. Those of you in the area will be receiving (or have already received) an Evite invitation to the event so keep your eyes peeled and check your inboxes! Thanks again to my fabulous Sis...couldn't have done it without ya!!!

Workin It...

Sorry for the lack of posts lately...I took the last few days off of blogging to work on jewelry...it was actually pretty nice to be able to just forget about the computer for a while and concentrate on my craft (this is the first time I'm even turning my computer on since last Thursday!)! But I'm back!!! I got soooo much done this weekend with a lot of help from my sis and I thought I'd share a little "sneak peek" at the new items we've been creating.

First off...I'm super-excited about the custom gift boxes we've been making which will be for sale at the show this weekend!!! They're like the cutest things ever (not that I'm biased or anything) and feature Amy Butler paper with coordinating gros grain ribbon ties. We're going to be offering them in square earring and bracelet boxes as well as necklace boxes (I don't have a picture of those yet!). Here's a little taste of the many (many, many) boxes we worked on this weekend:


Aside from the boxes, I got about fifty different jewelry pieces made including earrings, necklaces and bracelets. I'm especially excited about the shell elements I've been using...they totally add a huge pop of color to my line and I've been wearing them non-stop! Here's a little peek (sorry about the picture quality-hee hee):



I also received the "map" of the Antique Market and a little bit more info on where our booths will be. It looks like we've got a great location-right next to the entrance to the indoor exhibits (we'll be set up in tents in the spaces highlighted in pink).



I've only got one more day of work to get through this week before I have three days off!!! I NEVER take vacation, and, of course when I do finally take some days off it's to WORK! Typical ;) I hope to catch up on all your blogs during the time I have off so look for me in blogland girls!!

Busy Little Bee...

I've been a busy little bee lately in my own shop, getting ready for my upcoming show at the end of this month!!

I've ordered a ton of supplies which I will be feverishly turning into jewelry and I've taken some time off at the end of the month to be able to concentrate on new pieces! I've got a number of new designs which I will be introducing at the show (and hopefully posting to my Etsy shop after the show-right now, all my inventory is going toward the show!).

I've also been working on setting up my display and have had my table set up in my living/dining room for the last month. It's almost there...I've just got a few more necklace and bracelet displays coming...

I just ordered my vinyl banner which will be going on the front (or behind) my table, I'm not quite sure what sort of set-up I'm going to be dealing with but I'm prepared to "Make It Work"!!! I should be receiving it next week and I'll be sure and post a picture of it when it comes! Here is the design...I'm super excited about it and can't wait to see it!! It's going to be 42" Wide x 24" High...

Last but not least, I received my Amy Butler fabric which my mom is making into a table skirt for me! Hopefully we can figure that out this weekend and get it done (right mom?).
Here is the fabric!

I'll definitely post pictures of the show after it's taken place so stay tuned for that! Wish me luck!!! I have a feeling I'm gonna need it!

JLC Studio News...

I've had a very busy weekend with lots of new things in the works and a few things I wanted to share just for fun!

I finally signed up for my very first craft show!! Yes, I'm going to be debuting my jewelry to the (physical) public at the Handmade Chicago/Randolph Street Market on May 24th with another show in August as well!! The folks over at Handmade Chicago have teamed up with the annual Chicago Antique Street Market for what's sure to be a great experience. This show is so popular that all the spots sold out within twenty four hours-luckily I scored two!! Hope to see you there!


The fabulous gals over at Desire to Inspire included my blog in their Easter Reading Guide (post two of four). I'm so honored-their blog is fantastic (I read it all the time) and I'm in some amazing company! I don't know how they did it but check out their four posts for an all-you-can-read smorgasbord of beautiful design blogs...Whew, now I'll never get anything done, I'll be too busy reading!!

I don't really know what the criteria is, but, somehow my blog was chosen as the Blog of the Day Easter Sunday on Fuel My Blog (I just joined on Saturday...not sure how that exactly happened, but I'll take it!).

The lovely Meg over at Bode 22 posted a sweet little mention about the earrings she won from my shop a few weeks ago. She added a great photo of herself wearing the earrings that I just had to share...I'm so happy she likes them! Check out her fabulous blog as well as her equally fabulous Etsy shop featuring the beautiful and unique clocks and great modern pieces this talented artist creates. Thanks Meg!


And finally, I've got a very cool feature I've been working on with some incredibly talented Esty artists. I'm super-excited to let you all know that I'll be debuting the first installment in a series of weekly features beginning this Wednesday. Be sure to check back to find out what we have in store! (hee hee, that's all I'm going to tell you on that subject, you'll have to wait for a couple of days!)...

Hope you all had a great and blessed Easter weekend and were able to spend some time with family and friends! Now let's bring on Spring already!!

Handmade Chicago Purchases

The Handmade Chicago event was incredible. I saw lots of great things there and was pleased to see many of the etsy community participating. I met some really cool people and spent a little money (not too much though!!). Here are a few of my favorites:

Button Envy has a great, unique product featuring jewelry made from scrabble pieces and wood puzzle pieces finished with a clear lacquer. I bought a really cute pair of earrings which I am wearing right now :)




I also bought some wonderful soy candles from Something Beautiful which smell amazing! I've been burning them all weekend and I can't get enough! I met Marcie and her husband and chatted with them about their product and the Chicago art community in general. They couldn't have been nicer! And how cute are these teacup candles?

Handmade Chicago

I'm really excited about the Handmade Chicago show this weekend and looking forward to checking out what people are going to have on display. Looking at some of the websites of the creative types that will be showing there, I'm thinking that I will have to be careful not to buy too much!

Hopefully I will be showing my things in the next show which I believe happens in February. I'm slowly but surely getting things together so I will be ready. My business cards are arriving next week...I'm soooo excited!!!