First Day Back at the PSM

It didn't rain! Perhaps a little chilly, but honestly it was a good day and it was great to be back (and exhausting!)

Here are a bunch of pictures from the day:

Here are the earring displays in action:

DIY Displays for the Portland Saturday Market

What do you think of my hand-made earring tree? After some serious detective work (thanks Judi and Danielle for the help!), I could not find one of those photo-umbrella-tree things that I was envisioning using to display my cute new earring line... honestly Ikea, Target and Pier1 all no longer carry those wire things... so I made my own. Its a work in progress, but hey, its a display.

I also made a few hanging displays for my little Oreccini Collection, I'll take some pictures tomorrow in my booth. I used round canvases that I've had for years, and T pins, and a mirror from the craft store... pictures would explain better than words.

The Pellegrini house has been all a whirl this week, preping for the beginning of the 36th PSM season, it will be my 8th season! Cleaning all my display stuff, everything that I had in storage and all the tubs of stuff here at the house. I have officially re-packed everything and I have a few tubs and bags of inventory ready to load in the car in the morning. Whew.

3000 Hearts on Etsy

I have received over 3000 hearts on Etsy! Thank you to all the lovely people out there in the cyber world who have marked my shop as a favorite of theirs on Etsy (for anyone reading this who is wondering "what is a heart on Etsy mean?" - its when someone marks your shop as a "favorite" in their Etsy profile)

Common back and shop! In fact, if you happen to be reading this, and happen to have marked me with a heart over the years (or do it today and reap the benefits!) I will give you 25% off any purchase from my shop (purchase must be made before March 1, 2009) Just leave a note to seller in the invoice and I will discount your purchase.

My way of saying thank you to internet shoppers!

My First Newspaper Coverage

The Plain Dealer, 1983 (Cleveland, Ohio)
thats me sittin' on the sweet bike

My Aunt Joan sent me this article in the mail (thank you!)... she has been cleaning out the home my late Great Aunt June (who was the bestest great aunt ever - I miss her). Evidently Aunt June was the keeper of family pictures, its been fun to see all of what she kept from over the years. This article was a surprise, I had to share.

This article is about a book that my mother and her friend had just published: "1983 Cleveland Guide to Daycare and Nursery Schools".

I remember the book, mostly because for a period of my childhood there were boxes and boxes of them in the house. Also I remember the book because my mother went to the same publisher as the founder of American Girls (then called Pleasant Company) and they became friends and I received the catalogs for these dolls right from the very beginning of that company. I saved all my money (I was 8 when the first catalog was released and I remember the dolls costing about $100) and bought a Samantha doll. I would pretend to play with her school books (for some reason I was affraid to ruin their perfectness), so the pencils still have their original tips and the books aren't scribbled in at all (my mother kept that doll and all her chachkees). But that is a random side story (of me being a very strange little kid)... how easily the story diverges :)

To get back to the article... This book that my mother and her friend published continued to be the only resource available to parents in the greater Cleveland area for more than a decade. I couldn't be prouder of my mother for putting out this book. It was 1982 and she and Mrs. Crawl did all the research themselves, hired a printer and found a publisher. Not too shabby for a couple of stay at home moms. Seriously.

Love you Mom!

New Glass Creations

After a couple months of experimenting, Jan and I are excited to be launching two new lines.

This weekend at the Portland Saturday Market these collaborative glass pieces will be available in our booths. There's nothing like seeing artwork in person to make you really love it!

In Jan's booth where you can find her beautiful prints and amazing hand-bound books, now you will be able to purchase printed glass plates. The image above shows a set of plates printed with leaves, food safe, dishwasher safe.

In my booth I will be showing our mobile creations, printed glass pieces in kinetic constructions. Its a wonderful evolution of my work. So far I have listed one of these mobiles online, but there are many more to see.
Jan has been so gracious about me blogging about our experimentation process, and she is going the extra mile now. As a paper artist at the Portland Saturday Market, creating and selling a new line of glass artwork requires her to submit this new product line to the Product Review Committee (of which I am a volunteer). She is going to let me publish pictures of this process in my blog for anyone who may be curious - so stay tuned and feel free to ask questions.

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Give-Away: FREE Mystery Package

I've always loved a good mystery - whats not to love about a free package that has hidden surprise inside!!

The story here is over a year ago while doing my shipping I mistakenly sealed this box and completely forgot what was inside. See how its an older version of the USPS Priority shipping boxes :) I really don't remember the circumstances at the moment, but for some reason at the time I decided to put the box aside and not ship it (the recipient received what they ordered, and whatever is inside this box remains a mystery...) I know its a miniature mobile, I think its one that can stick onto a computer monitor (but I could be wrong there) and I have my guess what is inside, but who knows?! (my best guess is that its one of these guys)

So leave a comment on this blog and enter a chance to win the package! This give-away will run thru March 10th 2009. I will draw a winner and email them for shipping info. This give-away will even be sent to you USPS Priority Mail (its already in the box, so hey, you get 2day shipping!)

And the Winner Is...

The winner of the Cupcake Jewelry give-away is Gaffer Girls! Congratulations girls!

Stay tuned, the next give-away is kinda funny... I'll be posting details later today