Hello? Sorry It's Been A While!

I know, I haven't posted in a week, maybe more! I've been busy! I've picked up more hours at work because the show didn't go as well as hoped. So I'm working 40 hours this week. Maybe the whole month if I do a good job in the Dairy Frozen Department. It's D/Frozen month and they need the help!

So back to the show with pictures of the booth! Here's the space we work with before we put anything into it!
Don't we have a nice view of the other wing? Plus the stairs and porch areas leading to the spa!

So here's the display board and all the other stuff to make the magic happen. I get to guard while my husband brings it in! woohoo!
Here it is with all the merchandise. Kind of dark and we don't leave the iMac box there, my husband transports the computer to and from the show. We are very high tech and can print out receipts while the customer's pay! The clocks are not fully done by my husband, he just does the copper work on them.
The show had lots of people but they were uneducated about the Arts & Crafts movement. An antique dealer friend of ours said the stuff he's been toting around for years because it's junk sold out! The people who were buying it thought it was a steal. So it goes to show you that someone's trash is someone else's treasure.
My husband had way too many high end items and not enough middle to low end pieces. Plus I'm really bored with what he's doing. I told him I was uninspired by his work lately and he needed to move in a different direction. Something like this, which was a custom order!
Bronze bracelet with a silver overlay, chased details and set garnet! It's what Heintz used to do for his vases. Love the green rose vase! Beautiful and a wonderful patina! So my husband has added an etsy shop to his website and blog to drum up sales. Filled the local gallery and thankfully we have 150 switch plates to make!! Woohoo!
Plus we picked up some Ephraim pottery! Plus ornaments which are so freaking cute and cool! I think we picked up my MIL the one with the red berries on it, as a thank you for taking the kids. We choose one that is not on the site but I will take pictures of it and our vase!
Besides of that, I'm trying to finish my very late Christmas socks for my husband but I've ran into big knots in the hank. It's because I decide to make it more transportable by making it into a ball of yarn! Plus bunny ornaments for a local gallery for Easter but I lost my felting needles so I'm waiting for the new ones to arrive!
Have a great week!

Valentine's Gifts

Valentine's Gifts
Originally uploaded by catscluttercrafts

I know it's early but I work on the weekends and only see the girls in passing. Also I knew that my oldest would want to wear this shirt for the school party. The shirt is made out of one piece of fabric. I used this pattern which is for a doll and applied the math for a bigger shirt. The only thing is that I didn't know how much space she needed for the armholes and it's a little snug. I'll know next time.
The skirt was the youngest gift. I used another easy pattern but only had enough ribbon for the front so I used two panels instead of one piece. Also I didn't sew the ribbon on like the pattern. I hemmed the skirt and then sewed it on top.
Can you tell it's bed time when I took this picture? My youngest has her hand on her bing (aka blankie). Also my camera died after I took this shot so is the only shot.
I am leaving in a week for our big Arts and Crafts show down in North Carolina at the Grove Park Inn. So I am working up a storm here! I have to pack for 3. The girls are going to my MIL's while we are gone. Plus I've been working on clock faces, switch plates and napkin holders.
Numbers are down for the class my husband teaches while we are down there. I'm hoping more locals will be up going and willing to spend their money!
So if the blog seems quiet for a while you know where I am. We will have internet at the hotel but my husband is wary about using it for stuff like this.
So Happy Valentine's Day!!! Even though it's early.

My Trip

I was looking through my pictures and realize I didn't take shots of a lot of cool things. There's always next year, right? But what I do have, I just don't know what to post first. I guess I'll start with what I photographed first. This picture is taken at the entrance to the Spa at the Inn. I love the way it looks and the sound for the water rushing over is musical.
It is 10 stories, to walk to the Inn. We walked down in about 3 minutes rushing to lunch. You can't see the wings of the Inn in this picture but they jut out on both sides.
Here's the hallway to get to the elevators you walk down when you leave the cafe. It was taken at 10:30am, so the lights were very dim. These huge rocks have flecks of quartz on them. Also hidden are geodes of amethyst. Don't have any pictures of the geodes.
Here's what's painted on the elevators. A very simple ginko leaf design.
If you have never been to the Grove Park Inn, the lighting is just amazing. Here's 2 shots of the ceiling lamps that are in the lobby.This lamp is huge and notice the stenciling on the ceiling, just like the elevators but this time it's roses.
The glass panels aren't what was originally in the lamp. These are for up lighting and I don't know the reason why they added the panels later. Possibly so they cast light down too? They are made out of copper if you can't tell and are about 6 feet by 6 feet.
Another cool lamp that is huge, is this stained glass ceiling lamp in the Blue Ridge Restaurant. They serve excellent food but take reservations up to 3 months in advance so it's hard to get a table, unless you like to eat at 8pm. I highly recommend their sea food buffet. It's 2 rooms full of food and it's delicious.
Here's a picture from one of the wings and you are looking at Asheville. The GPI is built on sunset mountain so every evening you have the best views of the sky. Unfortunately there is construction going on , so ignore the floating ladder image. You can also see part of the golf course and the spa. This image is of the spa and is not well liked among a lot of purists of the Arts and Crafts movement. Many parts are underground and the light can only be brought in via skylights or inside lighting. I think they don't like the harshness of the pyramids and the sparse vegetation. When we were there, signs were posted that NC was going through a drought. So I can understand why they didn't go crazy with the landscaping.These paths go from the Inn to the Spa. The tents you see were for an Oscar party event for the locals. We were packing up on Sunday night and the people going to this event were all decked out like they were going to the Oscars. Men in tuxs and the women all decked out in fancy dresses. Seemed to be a very big event!