AMANDA BENT DESIGN

I've been busy with Christmas, (and cleaning... which should go hand in hand - "Christmas and Cleaning"!) and creating logos... but hope that everyone is having a safe and Happy Holiday Season!!!

There is so much to say about this show that I'm not sure where to start.  This was my first big show... I was nervous.  I was nervous that I wouldn't make my table AND that I wouldn't have enough stock.  I know.  Total condradictions.  Well, fortunatly, neither one of my fears happened.  

Negatives: The table was quite expensive... even though it IS one of the cheaper shows you can do in the Halifax area, and there were a lot of jewelers there so it was difficult to stand out.  I manged to make my table, but I know a lot of the other jewlers did not.  The days were long.  We worked a total of 33 hours this weekend and drove an additional 8 back and forth.  Thank God for my mom and sister to help me out or I would have gone bonkers! 

Positives: We were sandwiched between mittens and ceramics and the vendors were so sweet!  I always like meeting new people and I couldn't have asked for better women to be sitting beside.  The shoppers were fantastic... very complimentary and some of them were quite the characters.  I got to trade jewlery for the first time with another vendor which was a fun experience.  Cindy Rhymes from Timerlea gave me a beautiful necklace and earing set and I gave her a sand dollar necklace and a papo bobble necklace. 

All in all it was a good experience and I'm glad I did it... but I think that will be my last show in Halifax.  I'm looking forward to the Christmas show in Truro the first weekend in December... hope to see some familiar faces!!!

Side note:  I'll be posting some new work soon - I have to get re-organized after the craziness that was this weekend... but Robyn and I have a bunch of new stock so keep coming back and checking us out!

So I entered a blog entry a few weeks ago, and it was a long entry about doing custom work for people.  Just as I hit the "Publish" button, the internet crapped out on me and my entry was lost.  Grrrrrr.  So I had to walk away from the whole blogging thing for a while and cool down!  So this one is going to be shorter... and I will copy my entry before I click "Publish"!  Always learning!

My sister, Robyn and I experimented with sand dollar necklaces this past weekend.  We have been asked so many times if we do any wire wrapping with sand dollars and the answer is always: No, they are too fragile.  So we put our thinking caps on (and yes, we actually have "caps" for this caliber of thinking!) and we thought if we dipped them in resin first then they may be hard enough to wire wrap. 

Well, it turned out to be a little tricky following all the very specific directions that the world of resin invloves... You try to find a container with smooth sides and a smooth bottom that you can throw out afterwards!!!  But - we figured it out... and our sand dollars can now be thrown on hardwood floors without being smashed to bits... I can't really say the same for the floor though...

Here's a picture of one of the finsihed products... there are a few more in my necklace design album, so have a look!  And because it was a big success, Robyn and I will be busy over the next few weeks turning the 88 sand dollars that our parents found on Rissers Beach last week into beautiful necklaces!!!

This past Sunday I did the Waterfront Market in Lunenburg, NS.  I'm really excited about this market... it's a brand new market and it's in a very cool, very old warehouse type building with huge wooden beams right on the waterfront.  I think this has the potential to be another Pier 21 type environment... which would be so amazing to be apart of from the begining! 

The problem we are having right now is that we are new... and not many people know about us and all the neat vendors that are at this market.  There's a hammock guy with a huge display, a young guy that does really awesome bug photography, A fantastic knitting display and rug display, Two ladies that make natural soaps, creams and washes, an oil painter and two jewlers (including myself).  Next weekend there will be more vendors coming and one of them is a man that makes huge outdoor colourful wooden furniture.

So here are some pictures of my display at the market:  These are not great due to the lighting, but you can get the idea.  I'll be there on July 12 and 19th and then again on August 9th and 23rd... hope to see you out!

My First Table:

My Second Table:

And some other vendors:

I heard from Trudy in Texas this morning, she received her earrings from my MayDay Giveaway and sent me a pic of her wearing them!  I think they look so lovely on her and thought that I should post her pic here on my blog!  Trudy has a fantastic blog also that you should visit: http://www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com   Have a good weekend everyone!

Well I had my first Farmers Market day in Truro, Nova Scotia and I have to say, it was a huge success!  The weather was beautiful, the people were amazing and we even got a little dance show at 10am!  ( Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBJb_vKQ8IE )

On Friday night before the Market, Robyn and I were scrambling to get everything wind proof and rain ready.  The forcast was not favorable, and we heard some terrible stories about vendors losing their tables due to the strong gusts of wind that sneek up on you at the market.  When we were satisfied that we had prepared for every disaster, we went to bed and hoped for the best. 

Well, we certainly were surprised: The only situation we hadn't prepared for was a beautiful sunny day!  However, other then being a little warm in our long sleve shirts (we ditched the rain jakets) we weren't complaining!   We figured out the wind issue pretty fast too... The tables across from us were our gauge... when their tablecloths started blowing up, Robyn grabed the umbrella and the 3 vases, and I grabed the easle, mirror and shell display!   We managed to make it through the whole day and not lose anything... but I think there will be some duck tape invloved in the next display!!!

The people in Truro are lovely.  Everyone was very kind and complimentary, and many people asked if we would be coming back.  Sales were better then expected and we really enjoyed out first Farmers Market experience and can't wait to go again!!!

I haven't written since the Giveaway Day in May so I figured I better get another entry in here asap!!!  So here it is:

I'm trying out a new papo necklace style... so far, I really love the way they are looking.  Instead of using chain to finish the papo necklaces, I'm beading all the way to the clasp.  I'm finding this style works best as a choker.  The artistic wire is pretty sturdy and lays very nicely around the base of your neck.  If the necklace were any longer, it would just look bouncy and odd.  Here's a pic of one I did this weekend... and have a look under my Papo Bead Jewelry for these new additions and let me know what you think!

And the winner of the Papo earrings are.... drum roll please... TRUDY CALLAN!!!

There were so many good names... you are all a very creative bunch!  Trudy came up with 14 names and there was one that really stuck out: "Wumbie!"  It's short, cute and I thought suited the little guy perfectly!

Thank you to everyone who entered (and took a look around my site!)   All your comments were hilarious and I have to say, there were a few "snort outloud" laughing moments when I was reading the names.  Big thank you to Sew Mama Sew for an awesome giveaway day!!!

Congratulations Trudy... enjoy the earrings!!!

WOW!!! 

As part of Sew, Mama, Sew's May Day Giveaway, I have desided to giveaway my most unique "Papo" earrings to date!  These are funky, dangly and are certain to make you smile! 

HERE'S HOW TO WIN:

In order to win these beautiful earrings, put your thinking cap on... you have to comment on this post and think of the most creative name for this little bunny that I drew:

The best name will win!!!  And yes, I will ship internationally, so everyone is welcome to play!!!  (Please leave your e-mail address in your blog so I can contact you if you are the winner!) 

The winner will be announced, here, on my blog, on June 1rst and the earrings will be shipped out before June 3rd!

Feel free to visit the MayDay Giveaway link (in my previous entry) to enter to win more create handmade prizes and supplies!!!  Good Luck everyone!

Oh - and if you want to learn more about my papo jewlery, take a look at the "Papo Bead Jewelry" link on the right hand side.

Enter the contest on May 27th!!!  I'm giving away one set of my Papo earrings!!!

Here is how you can win:

I'm entering the "Sew, Mama, Sew May Giveaway" from May 27th to May 31st... that's next week!  They will be posting a list of participating blogs on their website (link is above).

My Giveaway will be posted here from May 27th until May 31st, and the winning item will be shipped before June 3rd.

The winner will be selected either randomly (for example: the person who is the 50th commenter on my blog) or by creativity (for example, the best answer to a certain question)... I haven't desided yet how to pick the winner... so make sure to bookmark my site and come back on May 27th!

You can also check out the Sew, Mama, Sew site to enter other bloggers contests and try to win something really cool!