Moving On In A Cold Snap

Brisbane is going through a cold snap and I've been very active in my creativeness over that time... and before it too.

However I'm also not well; having come down with the cold/flu that's doing the rounds at this time of year.  Yep, I burnt myself out after 6 months of being on the go without a good rest and caught the first cold that I came up against... oh yay, how fun.

Oh well, it happens to the best of us, and it's just our bodies telling us to slow down.

But I've worked on and finished that large piece of work for my bedroom and it's looking great.  My neighbours who leave their light on unintentionally have yet to do just that to see if it does work out... but I do believe I have this little problem kicked and I'll be able to sleep a full night with a lovely painting on my wall. 

Anyway, I've been taking care of myself with this cold and the worst of it is over... except the cough, which is making me sound like a foghorn, but it'll go away soon too.

Over the last few days, I've been sanding down more photo frames to paint up for the next few markets, looking at working on more pegs, coat hangers and wrapping up more stock for the Lucky Dip for the next market so more stock gets moved on... yep, I'm hoping to get in and work on more things sooner.  Anything not sold in the market in September, is going to be in the Lucky Dip for October.

It seems as though I'm going to be busy, but I'm not really, it's just working out what will sell, what won't and how much wrapping paper to buy at the $2.00 store. So, how has your creativeness be going? Better than mine I hope!  Until my next post, keep creating!

An Arty Week!

This week, I'm tired; very tired.

But there's a good reason for it.  I've been busy and today has been my first day off to sit down and pretty much do nothing much but paint.

Sunday's Creative Market was small but I made $21.50.  I don't really count the rent on my stall as I've paid it 3 weeks previous, and it's been paid out of another account.  However, not for long.  My sub-account for that will be my main account to be using for the rent and my float and rent will be coming out of that.
Anyway, the Creative Markets were down by 12 stalls this time around unfortunately.  However I was told by other retailer that this isn't anything out of the ordinary when it comes to the beginning of the year, it will pick up when the Markets get going again next month.

I had my lovely little stall working well and quite a few of my friends showed up to see what I had on sale.  Mum showed, but Dad didn't.  Geoff Treagus - a friend of mine - showed but he didn't have any money on him.  And three ladies from the Queen Bees Craft Group showed too.  They were really impressed with my little stall, but they wondered why the markets themselves were so small.  I said that next month will be better.

Yesterday, I went to Garden City and bought some more paint for a commission I had been asked to do by a neighbouring retailer.  She asked me to paint up 24 Crafty Pegs for her in Zig-Zag partial pattern for her in burgendy and silver on mauve.  Very pretty.  I'm halfway through the commission and needed more paint.  I also had to buy some more string for the Cool Pencils so I thought to go for gold and silver so that they looked good when on display - eventually.  

So, what have you been doing lately?  Do let know as we'd love to know about your progressing arts here as you know about mine.  Until my next post, keep creating.

Work Progress

I've decided to work hard on getting as many pegs done as possible... and it's working out well.

Yesterday, I got:

Sprung Pegs:  2
Dolly Pegs:  4
Magna Pegs:  3

I have enough 'Cool Pencils' for the market so I'm only concentrating on pegs right now to get the numbers up.

Today, I got:

Sprung Pegs:  3
Dolly Pegs:  3
Magna Pegs:  1

So, I'm getting a fair bit done in 3 hours each time.  This afternoon, in about an hour's time I'll be back at it until later tonight... then tomorrow I'll record how much I got done all day (as I won't be going to my Craft Day with the ladies at the community centre).  I'll spend the whole day at home working on my pegs.  Then, on Tuesday, I'll varnish and wrap up the pegs I painted up and finished.  Let's just hope the parcel arrives from the UK of Dolly Pegs so I have more to paint tomorrow... if not, I'll report to e-bay what has happened and get them to talk to the retailer I bought them off.
Well, I hope you're being as creative as I am right now.  Until my next post, keep creating!

Only A Week and a Half To Go!

I don't have long to go until the Creative Markets at Springwood State School are going to be on!  And I'm working nearly every day and night to get my stock up and ready for that big day of selling.  I'm looking forward to it all as it's going to be fun and exciting - as well as a little scary - for me as I've never done a markets before.

So far, I've got plenty of stock, but I'm looking at working on more.  Here's what I have so far:

Sprung Pegs: 7 dozen (yeah, I need more)
Cool Pencils:  33
Dolly Pegs:  7 sets
Magna-Pegs:  21

My lots are coming up and I'm looking at working harder at making more Sprung Peg lots and Dolly Peg lots as well as more Magna-Pegs... seeing I have more than enough Cool Pencils right now.

Today, I set up the market stall in my car port and timed myself and found it only took me around 10 minutes to get the initial table and main stuff set up.  Otherwise, it'll take me another 10 minutes or so to get the rest of it finished with the decorating, pricing and other bits attached to it, hiding the boxes under the table and then sit down to have a drink... yeah, I'll be set up within around half an hour.  But then, I'll have to move the car.  So, it looks like I'll have to have somebody mind my stall while I'm gone for those few minutes... maybe a relative.  I'll have to organise that.  
You know, I don't have that much to organise now... it's mainly just details that are to be done up... you know, pricing and working out how much of a discount I can give if things aren't selling (which I don't think will be a problem, really).  

So, what are you getting into at the moment?  What's been your creative element you've been getting into?  Until my next post, keep creating.

Work Update...

Since my last update only last week, I've been burning the midnight oil.  I've been working around 6 hours a day - off and on - and making sure I have more than enough stock to work the markets.

It's been hard, and yet a lot of fun to get these things done.  But I've been almost burning myself out - which isn't good.

So, I took a few days off this week and have been happy about doing that.  One of those days was to watch over the Melbourne Cup... where I won in a sweepstakes and at the TAB; both places I won $48!  Sweet!

However, since the last time you were updated, I have gotten a lot more done:

Sprung Pegs:  7 dozen
Dolly Pegs:  3 lots
Cool Pencils:  13
Magna-Pegs:  13

Over the last 24 - 48 hours, I've managed to get in do more work:

Sprung Pegs:  4
Dolly Pegs:  7
Cool Pencils:  7
Manga-Pegs:  5

So, I'm getting a good lot of stock up in just over a week since I last wrote here.  With only 2 1/2 weeks to go, I wonder how much more I'll get done before I go off to the Creative Markets on 24th, November?  With the amount of work I'm doing, plenty I'm guessing.

What work are you doing at the moment?  Are you progressing with it well?  Or is it going slow?  Until my next post, keep creating.

Working, working, working!

As you all know, I'm at The Creative Markets on the southside of Brisbane - in Logan City actually - and I'm looking forward to it!

So far, I've done a lot of work - more than I normally would have; and I'm proud of myself:

2 dozen Sprung pegs
10 Cool Pencils
12 Dolly Pegs
13 Magna-Pegs

And this is all in the last week or so... it's taken me a long time to get it all done, but I am thankful that I've had my Crafty Pegs work station all set up.  And I've also bought a Load&Go card from the post office (this is where I can load money onto it and use it online safely without accumulating debt - even though it's through VISA).  

Well, I'm going to hopefully keep myself busy throughout tomorrow and have this weekend off (as there's a party to go to of my brother's) then keep myself working on everything more!

And to make it more real, I've just paid the rent on my stall at the Creative Markets at Springwood... it's my first markets and I'm kind of excited and scared at the same time!  Woot!  I'm enjoying the fun and games of learning all of this as it comes along.  So, have you done anything like this?  If you have, let me know anything I should know... until my next post, keep creating!

I've Done Something Impulsive!

Yes!  Me!  Well... okay, I'm Little Miss Impulsive at the worst of times, but this time, I really don't know if I've stuck my foot in it or not.  

Okay, okay... I'll explain.

I'm a big daggy fan of 'Neighbours'.  Yep, Australia's longest running soap opera.  I've been watching it since it began - and given I missed a few years of it while I worked and was away living it up, but I caught up again within a few weeks.  I know the storyline and remember a lot of the cast right back to the beginning.  I even have the cards from the time of the original cast members when 'Neighbours' put out their cards with the cast on them.  I found them amongst a memory box Mum had put together of mine in high school; along with all my World Expo '88 stuff.
So, last week, as I watched my usual half-hour dose of it, I wondered if it would be really awful of me to send them a couple of dozen of my Crafty Pegs.  Would it be so bad to have my pegs used on their set?  No, I don't think so... actually it would be a lot of fun to see my art on their clothes line or used in one of the houses in the background.  Lots of fun actually.

This week, I looked up the address to post off something to the 'Neighbours' set and posted off two dozen of my pegs with instructions on how to care for them and a short letter on why I thought they'd like them.  
You see, the 'Neighbours' set has undergone a facelift and this is the perfect time for somebody like me to add a little something new to it, don't you think?  Now, I've posted them off, I can't wait to see how it all goes down at the set.  Well, I hope it goes well... 

The worse they can do is not use them and have somebody else take them home instead, right?  Until my next post, keep creating!     

My First Sale of Crafty Pegs

Two big things happened to me this week!  I found a cute name for my painted pegs - besides what I've been calling them - and I made my first big sale!  Yay!  

I posted my first photo of my Crafty Pegs on 365 Project and found the response fantastic.  People loved them; and one lady asked about price and postage.  So, through e-mail, we organised a sale.  And today, I posted 3 dozen off to her.  I do hope they arrive safely as they are for a house-warming party this weekend.  Until my next post, keep creating!

Busy Art Week

This week has been one for the books.  I've been so busy art-wise that I've found myself wanting to just turn out the light without reading at night.

On Monday - as you know - I began attending a craft group.  And what a group!  The ladies at this group are lovely and very informative and friendly.  They do all kinds of art and enjoy each others' company very much and do the most wonderful art and craft.  And they have agreed to help me with learning to crochet too.  Fortunately, I took photos of how the hook has to rest on my fingers and the position of my hands so I don't forget for the next time I wish to crochet.

Otherwise, I've really gotten into my painting again; in more ways than one, and I got the best idea for finishing off a painting I got stuck on last year in of all places, but my shower (isn't that always the way?). Anyway, after I had the idea in my head, it wouldn't leave and so I pulled the painting out and tried out the idea and found it's worked!  How cool is that?

And over the last day or so, I've been sitting and painting more clothes pegs than I actually own personally.  These are to hopefull sell at the Logan Art Gallery.  If I can't sell them there, I'll try selling them at the Queen Beez Craft Group as the ladies there are anxious to see what other crafts I'm into.

So, that's what I've been up to this week.  I've been very busy and so I'm very tired from working hard at my art and craft.  What have you been getting your nose and hands into lately?  Until my next post, keep creating!    

Working Again

I'm working again, however not on what most of you think.  I've been painting clothes pegs as an inbetween, fun thing however I have found I can probably make a bit of money out of them.  So, I'm hoping to make up some samples and show them to the gallery I work at to see if they'd put them in their store for me.

If they don't, well, I'll try them out at the Butter Factory.  I have been trying to sell my artwork at the art gallery store for years now, and they don't let me.  So, it looks as though I'll have to take my works somewhere else.

This does frustrate me when one place doesn't give an artist a try out, and yet they let others in.  I hope I get a chance with the gallery... it'll be my foot in the door for an exhibition next. 

Christmas Is All Wrapped Up

I must say that this year hasn't been without it's problems; especially now.  As some of you know - from following my other blogs and knowing me in Real Life - I've recently suffered a loss of a dear feathered friend over the weekend.  
But I find that if I delve myself into my work, I get through grief and loss better.  So, I found myself working through the rest of Gabe and Kat's Christmas present faster than ever before.  I got around 8 pegs painted each night over the last 3 nights and before I knew it, they were finished!  This morning, I varnished them; and here is the next set I did this morning.

Painted Pegs for Gabe & Kat1 

Painted Pegs for Gabe & Kat2