Magical Adult Fairy Party

 My sister turned 50 in December.  She asked me if anyone was throwing her a party........and when I heard no one was, I stepped in and said I would throw a Fairy Party for her. (Something we talked about years ago)  As we all know the holidays are not the best time to throw a Birthday party............so it was pushed back to March.  However with my art show we pushed it back again and finally a date of April 2nd came to be.  

I planned to cook and serve a brunch type food with a champagne punch.  There would be crafting time and of course dessert. So let me share some photos, insights and a budget of $200 (which I did go over and eventually turned into $300) for nine people which included my sister and myself.

Invites were easy.  I created a cute publisher image and that was sent via text.  (cost /time)

Thank you gifts:  Cute fairy lanterns in gift bags.  Total cost ($30)  The dollar tree is a great place to pick up the mason jars, flowers, battery operated lights and glitter cricut sticker paper on a roll.  I have free access to a Cricut, so I made the fairy silhouettes for the lanterns and fairy stickers for bags. I purchased gift bags from Hobby Lobby when they were on sale.  I went to Michaels for the moss. I watched several "how to videos" for making fairy jars and it looked simple enough.  Well, maybe it is not that simple.  We forgot to water down the glue and we ended up with opaque gold glitter jars.  I then had to use a toothbrush and water and scrap the glitter off so you could see the fairies.  A hot mess. So this took days to do in between work.  Time spent: about a week in between working....but I do believe they came out gorgeous.

Wands for everyone:  I saw a beautiful wands for $36 (a piece) on the internet. This was not in the budget, but Sculpey was.  I purchased $30 worlth of sculpey...I figured I could make beautiful wands too. I already had wooden dowels and paint.  I really wanted something special to attach to the wands so I spent $10 on a jar of real rose quartz. Of course I viewed several "how to" videos on using sculpey and it really is easy to use.  Actually I love it. So time spent.......approx. 12 hours including (sealing the wands after they cooled) (FYI: I did bake the rose quartz to the sculpey...it was fine in the oven)Total spent $45  In addition, we needed the wands to make fairy potions. 

We had two different Crafts:   At 5 and Below they sold a Potion set for up to 6 people.  So I purchased that and then went to the Dollar Tree and purchased additional vials, bottles for mineral spirits and more glitter.  I did create a little booklet with magic spells that I handed out. Two of the potions you needed your wands to wave over the potion.  The second craft were wooden birdhouses that can be painted and decorated.  Cost $35. Really no time preparing except for making sure everything was accessible to guests.   My thoughts on two crafts..........two are too much.  We only focused on the fairy potions and there was not enough time to decorate birdhouses.  So save your money and only offer one craft........really that is all you need. Now I have birdhouses sitting in my studio. LOL

Wings and floral crowns:  Seriously I started making the crowns with real vines, but when I saw how much flowers cost and I would still have to weave them into the vine........I stopped what I was doing and ordered floral crowns from Amazon.  I received 10 for $20.  It was worth it to purchase and not make.  Wings......I purchased a few wings from the Dollar Tree for anyone who needed a set.  Total cost $35 

Decor:  Hanging Floral.  I had wooden dowels on hand and saved some paper flowers my Mom no longer wanted.  I used dry vines from our yard to wrap around the dowels and then weaved the paper flowers in.  I did purchase plastic beads that look like swarovski crystals in blush and clear and slid them on floral wire to create a glass bead garland.  This took approx. 8 hours to make. Cost $20

Hanging Paper Mache mushrooms:  I love paper clay.  I created mushrooms out of aluminum foil and then covered them in paper clay.  They took about 3 days to dry and then I painted them with acrylic paint.  Once they dried I sealed them with acrylic spray.  Cost $15.  Time:  These took about 16 hours total.

Fairy domes: Cost $10. I made these the same time as the lanterns.  I used the same materials.  The domes were from the Dollar Tree.  Super easy to make once I learned how to apply the glitter.

Food signs:  found branches, wood slices, moss and flowers.  Cost $7.  I only had to purchase the wood slices. I enjoyed searching for the perfect branches for the signs.  I made 7 of these.

Hanging photo backdrop:  From Amazon. Cost $20 ( I plan to use this for a possible art show in the future.)  The backdrop was a hit.  Everyone was taking selfies and loved it.  

Tablecloths: 2Fairy vinyl tablecloths from Oriental Trading.  $10 (I wanted something that could be tossed ) 

We did use fine china and silverware.  It costs less but you do have dishes to clean up...I am fine with dishes to wash. 

Flying fairy wishes:  We all loved the flying fairy wishes.  We tried to light them in the tent but it was too windy............so inside in the kitchen it worked.  We were all clapping and laughing when the wishes flew.  Absolutely purchase these.  Cost $15

 

My garage has a few saved pieces of wood from previous projects..........which was perfect for fairy doors and a sign post.  

My sister made us outdoor mushrooms out of plastic bowls, felt and paper towel tubes.  The cardboard tubes were spray painted white and she used E6000 to attach the bowls.  White felt was glittered and attached to the bowls.  Cost ($7) 

Ooh, the tent, side panels, tables and sheers are from my art studio. 

With any outdoor event, you have to be flexible.  Originally the weather was forecasted to be on the cooler side: however, the day of it was blazing hot. I planned to have the food outside with a beautiful table set..... but with the temperature being so dam hot.... I left the food, plates and glasses inside and served buffet style.  We had to carry our plates and drinks outside.  I did make sure to have the air conditioner running inside the house so guests could go in if they were too hot outside. 

I had some oops moments.....but I rolled with it. And despite the warm air it was a beautiful day and everything was naturally gorgeous. 

Enough play time (maybe not?) it is time for me to get back into my messy studio, clean it up and start painting.  Instagram viewers probably think I gave up on my art career....never LOL.

Happy Spring (or Summer if you are in New Orleans)

Christin

Thank you to everyone for making the Shadows Art & Craft Festival so much fun

 We had a great time in New Iberia.  The Shadows Plantation is a wonderful place to showcase your artwork, especially if this is your first out of town show. The commute for us was about 2 1/2 hours......so not bad.  I was able to fit everything in the back seat of our truck and the bed of the truck. Somehow we managed to fit our bikes too. 

This is a laid back type of show; which was perfect for being tired. We had to do a lot of unloading and loading.  I see why a lot of artists have little trailers so they can lock their stuff up.  Eventually I do need to get some type of camper top that locks for the truck or mini trailer. (Future endeavor). So Glenn did most of the lifting and hauling because of my shoulder injury.  I did suggest to him we should purchase a collapsible wagon before the show but he felt confident we didn't need it.  After the show he mentioned we really need one. LOL .Seriously I appreciate all his help..........I couldn't have done it without him:)

I did try out my new tent wall idea; which is using heavy mesh tent to hang artwork vertically. I didn't do a test before the show........for in my mind I knew I would make it work.  Surprisingly it did.....no issues. Also, I purchased lighted vines for the inside of my tent.  I love the effect, and ordered more so my entire tent will be covered. Also, I made custom table runners with my logo.....I love them. 

Things I still need to make smoother.  The checkout station.  For some reason this continues to be my downfall, specifically wrapping encaustics and bagging them.  I recognize that this is an issue and needs to be streamlined.  So by next show I will pull it together. 

Lastly, thanks to everyone who signed up for the raffle & receive my newsletter.  A winner was emailed and their print is on the way.

Check out my tent: 

Magical Series 

Encaustics

Encaustics

Front of tent 

Magical Series 

Swamp Series 

  Keep creating.

Christin 

Preparing for an outdoor Art Festival.............it is more than the artwork

 The countdown is on.  I have about a month to finish as much artwork as I can, and all the non-artwork "things to do" before the March 4th outdoor art festival.  Even though my list is long I will try to get as much done as I can.............and whatever can't get done,  I will be ok with it.  I still want to have some fun. 

The outdoor Art Festival is at The Shadows on the Teche. Check it out:

November's outdoor art show had some challenges due to the weather, and well just experiencing new things in general.  One of my goals in January was to sew up an art carrier in outdoor fabric.  Before sewing this lovely carrier I had to lug a large box with my framed original paintings; which was heavy and wet cardboard..........no bueno.  What I did was measure the box and sew up a carrier with handles that the box slips into.  I love it.  I used outdoor fabric from Hobby Lobby and heavy duty craft interfacing.  (Note:  you cannot iron interfacing to the outdoor fabric.........it pretty much disintegrates. Yep I did that) Basically I made a sleeve for each side of the box, slipped the interfacing in and sewed it up.  I left a finished 1/2 border around each piece and sewed the carrier along the seam.  My machine cannot sew through two interfacings.  Things I  should have done was sew the handles on before making the box.  Oh well. It  was a pain but I did it.  No more worrying about  a wet box and original framed paintings being destroyed:) Check it out:

Signs:  Yep I  started with a hand painted sign, but after looking at Art Festival requirements, many will not let you hang hand painted signs.  Signs are expensive and I really need to spend my budget wisely.  Fortunately, I have free access to a Cricut.  I created my design in publisher, saved as a jpg and uploaded it to Cricut.  I didn't know this until I did some research...........You can use Cricut iron on / on wood.  Yep.  So I  ironed my design to two different wood panels.  I spray painted one in apple green and the other sign I left in the white barn wood.  I like them both, and will probably use both in my tent.  Check it out: 

It is time to get back into the studio and keep creating. I am looking forward to sharing images and experiences after the Show.

My best,

Christin

Happy New Year 2023

 This year my goal is to participate in at least 3 out door Art Festivals.  Fortunately I already know I will attend Citrus Art Market twice this year. (Once in April and then in November)..............that leaves me with options for another or other venues.  If all goes well, I will try to attend a Festival in New Iberia on March 4th...............however, if I can't swing it, then I will try for one closer to my home in October.  Really I just want to get out and meet people and talk about art:)

Having enough original artwork to sell has been an ongoing process.  I continue to paint in watercolor and encaustic but sometimes not everything I paint looks good.............so I keep at it. Already I have completed 2 original watercolors with a third one in the works.  So far so good.

I am still selling on Etsy; which has had it own unique issues.  (Using Plaid to verify your bank info...(for anyone in the know,) it is hard to trust Plaid, but it is the only way to sell on Etsy.) Oh well.  As a back up plan I did create my own website............even if I don't sell from it yet, at least it is an opportunity to sell from in the future. 

Enough conversing, let's get to some images:

First up:  Work in progress (when photo was taken): "Dangerous Mushroom II" Magical Series, watercolor 

Second up: Video of work in progress: "The Start of Spring" Magical Series, watercolor

Third up: Work in progress: "Under the Swamp's Spell" Swamp Series, watercolor 

I am looking forward to sharing my upcoming shows with you all.

My very best,

Christin

Citrus Art Market- Check out my tent

 Our Art Sale took place this past weekend, and wow what an experience.   We battled rain, wind, and very cold temperatures ....but we managed to survive and make sales:) 

I learned many valuable lessons this go around....and I should be able to bring my A game for the next event; which should be in the spring. 

The biggest lesson was trying to create sales receipts but without a carbon copy. I did loose track of inventory numbers and had to physically count my left over inventory after the show........which was time consuming.  Another artist suggested not handing out sales receipts but keep a notebook with items that sold.  Maybe I will do that, but I did spend lots of time making fancy sales receipts and the carbon copy would solve the problem.  Something to think on. 

Anyway, check out the doors.  They are so beautiful and give my tent a unique look.  One mistake I made was not checking to see if they would fit under the canopy of my tent.  By the way the doors currently do not fit under the canopy. I  need to trim about 3 inches off the doors.  Anyway, on Saturday, we had misting rain that started to collect on the paintings on the doors, so I had to continue to wipe them with a towel to keep dry.  Lesson learnt.  

Over all I am happy with my display and do plan to add something else to give my display a little bit of pop. 

Check it out: 

Happy Creating

Christin 

 

Fall Art Market -November 12th & 13th

 Next weekend the weather looks to be beautiful.  I have been working for months preparing for this outdoor event.  I am very excited to be showing off my new paintings and sharing the weekend with my art friends. Check it out: 

I hope to see you there,

Christin

Half of my studio ceiling is complete

Slowly my studio is coming together.  I had a little bit of extra time on my hands and was able to paint the newly installed studio ceiling.  Since I painted the ceiling the same color as the walls, the studio has a very light airy feel to it.  Although, it is a little messy.............organization will be for another day. 😃

Check it out:

Here is another photo:

I feel very fortunate to have this wonderful space where I can create to my hearts content.

My best,

Christin..................keep creating.