Put on your traveling shoes

I am so excited to share some exciting news! I will be participating in the Traveling Trunk Show Sisterhood this summer! The show, which is scheduled for July 25, will be in Michigan. Vintage goodies, antiques, homemade goodness, art supplies and findings, shabby treasures... this will be an amazing event!

The founding sisters, the Queen of Re and Vintage Bella, are in charge of this event. Check out their blogs for some fabulous inspiration and more information about this event.

Hope to see you there!

The Many faces of ...

Fairies, queens, and cats! I have been getting sidetracked lately with making clay faces for art dolls and other altered art. They are such fun, and so much fun to photograph!

I have some projects in mind... be sure to come by and see what I came up with!

Welcome to the mercantile...

I have been hard at work getting ready for the opening of my shop at the Early Work Mercantile. This site is a marketplace where you will find talented artisans who create Early Style Folk Art reminiscent of the 18th & 19th century...
http://earlywork-thepoetsdaughter.blogspot.com/

Be sure to check it out!

Well, I feel fancy!

I have been interviewed by QueenBe, a fellow etsy artist! An absolute doll, Carol has an interview with me posted on her blog, http://queenbesalteredneeds.blogspot.com/. I am so flattered! Thanks, Carol :)

Market Fun, fabric flowers, and a Tickle-Me-Pink Treasury

Well, the Farmer's Market in Flint was awesome! My sister and I had big fun on a beautiful, if somewhat windy, day. My antique shutters that were supposed to be my backdrop kept trying to make their way to Oz (thank you to the Cedar Box Men in the booth next door who kept saving them from killing me) and I finally had to pack away my vintage baby gowns because they wanted to join the shutters...

But otherwise, what a lovely venue, and what lovely people one meets :) We met Mr. Red Beard, the owner of one of my favorite antique shops in Frankenmuth (I felt like I was meeting a celebrity - I had shopped at Red Beards for years), and QueenBe, one of the nicest gals I have met on Etsy. My sister talked scrapbooks, and met the nicest lady who had a button collection that we can't wait to see! If I can figure out how to get the photos from my cell phone (I forgot the camera)I'll put some pictures up :)

I am now preparing the most puuuuurty flowers you have ever seen. Come to market this weekend and you'll have to stop over and smell the roses...

Another exciting element to my day - I created a darling treasury on Etsy, so be sure to go check it out! Lots of pink without being too cutesy, and tons of talented artists selected.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=56503

To Market, to Market...

This weekend I will be heading to the Flint Farmer's Market, an open-air venue that is rich in history. Dating back to the early 1900s, it is recognized as one of the finest public markets in Southeast Michigan. This year, in addition to fine breads, wine, and produce, the Market has expanded to include a Marketplace with arts and antiques. I will be there with my wares, and hope to see you! For more information, click the link below:

http://www.flintfarmersmarket.com/

Poet's Notions...

I am so excited to be starting my Poet's Notions line... whimsical and useful supplies for the crafter and artist. I realized that I enjoy collecting supplies and finding pretties just as much as I enjoy creating, so I figured I might as well share my pretties! Plus, it helps me justify buying more supplies if I tell myself I am going to stock my store with them. I like to enable myself.

Of course, the notions I am offering aren't just "off the shelf" kind of pretties. Muslin that has been tea stained and baked, hand cast clay flowers, vintage tags, mixed media kits.... I get excited about making something and make lots of it! Here are some bottlecap embellishments I made last week. I love them so!




I love these little embellishments. I used these awesome 1940s vintage bottlecaps, and after I seal them, they have such a nice feel to them. I use them in my Art Tag Mixed Media Kits...




Here is an example of a finished tag:

Getting Ready...

Time is flying way too fast! This weekend I will be in Waterford, MI, for a Keepsakes Collection Folk Art and Craft show. This is my first Keepsakes show, and I am pretty excited. New creations, new venue... AND I have some fabulous display pieces I found at an estate sale that I can't wait to use! My sister went for a quick shop in the morning, and had to return to get the van - and me. Between us we filled the van, and that night we were happily perusing vintage ads and magazines from the turn of the century. What is it about faded yellow pages and quaint illustrations that are so fascinating? Not nearly as "glitzy" as ads today, I love the whimsical humor of the verbage, the faded patina of each weathered page...

I am almost awed that these humble little pages, despite their lack of glossy photos and fancy fonts, have survived for over a hundred years. It is these pages that catch my eye, not the carefully marketed and researched and produced advertisements that fill my contemporary magazines...

... and now I have a nice big pile to look at!

Busy, busy, busy!

Well, I am back after a whirlwind couple of weeks. I was in Nashville, MI, doing the Pig in the Poke Spring Fling show, then was off to Ohio for Market. I had a booth with Beecharmer's Cottage in Nashville, and I have to say our booth looked amazing! Check it out!




I will be in Breckenrige this weekend, March 28, for the Promise of Spring Breckenridge Antique & Folk Art Shows. Be sure to stop by! This show is amazing.

Feeling nostalgic...

I recently acquired a collection of love letters from the 1950s, and have been completely absorbed following the romance of a young soldier and his soon-to-be bride. Enchanting and fascinating, I can't put them down. I keep telling myself, "just one more letter..." and read on into the night.

Inspired by the correspondence between Donna and Richard, I created this piece...

Welcome to my studio...

I love collecting pretty things. Vintage fabrics, delicate stips of lace, forgotten photographs... these are the things that inspire me. With the snow pressing in on the windows, there is nothing quite like settling in my warm, cozy studio and sorting through buttons and antique hardware, a hot cup of coffee within reach.

I will be posting dates of my upcoming shows and events. In the meantime, if you want to see more of my handcrafted items, check out my Etsy store.

Welcome to The Poet's Daughter

Even though the ground is blanketed with snow and the trees are bare, the promise of spring lingers in the crisp air... This profound optimism inspired me to do something I have been meaning to do for ages: create a blog.

I am excited to share some of my latest creations. I am currently at Heritage Markets Show in Valley Forge, so be sure to check back next week as I will have pictures to share.

See you soon!