Did you have a nice Christmas?

This is my mother's mug from when she was a little girl. I believe it was made in the 1950s. They put milk in it to go along with Santa's cookies and left it out for him on Christmas Eve.

I too used to leave a treat out for Mr. Claus as a child. One year, my father plucked a white hair from his chest and placed it next to the napkin full of crumbs. When I woke up Christmas morning, he told me that Santa had eaten the cookies and there was the evidence (he accidentally left a hair from his beard!) While some may find this disturbing, I thought it was magical. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. The holidays absolutely flew by me this year, but I still enjoyed the time with my family.

Merry Christmas!

Here are some shots of Nessie with her Santa double. Try as she may, she could not remove the hat. I love how in the last photo she's like, "Go away, it's mine!"

Since I will be spending tomorrow with both my family and my future in-laws, I want to wish you an early Merry Christmas! We can all get wrapped up in the commercial aspects of the holiday, but let's not forget what we are celebrating. I hope you are able to enjoy this time with your loved ones.

MERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Corey's Graduation!

My fiancé graduated this past weekend from North Carolina State University and I am incredibly proud of him! He started off in psychology and then made the brave switch to animal science, which tacked on an extra semester for him. He has worked so hard and survived grueling classes such as organic chemistry and microbiology. He has also handled an on-campus research job throughout his studies and ran his own experiments. This past year he won 1st place at an East Coast research competition!

I am not one to brag, but I am just so darn proud of him! :)
Congratulations, sweetie. The world is your oyster!

The Boylan Heights ArtWalk

Here is the charming house I was assigned to.

Making good use of the new sign :)

Welcome to my little shop!

Here are my tea boxes. There was a beautiful Japanese maple tree right next to us, so I used the leaves on the ground for extra table decoration.



Meet a few of the vendors:

Fran Carter was my absolutely wonderful porch neighbor at the show. Her enthusiasm, creativity, and great attitude was just infectious! She is the kind of person you just want to be around because she will instantly lift your spirits. I couldn't resist buying her elegant earrings shown in the upper left hand corner. The wire wrapping adds a funky element and reminds me of a bird's nest, which makes me like them all the more. Please check out her beautiful bags and jewelry here: Franbags

Kristen Townsend's whimsical jewelry will get you in touch with your playful side. Much of her work features sweet little forest creatures found in vintage children's books. The only problem is choosing just one piece. Out of a vast sea of jewelry makers out there, Kristen's work is truly unique and appealing. Head on over to her website: Mood Swing

Wyn Easton's paintings are breathtaking. I discovered his work a few years ago at Artsplosure and fell in love with it. He has an excellent eye for color and a talent for capturing serene scenes in his oil paintings. You can see more of his work on his website: Wyn Easton

Kiona van Rhee-Wilson of Lucky Accessories has been such an inspiration to me. I admired her jewelry before I even considered starting up Eclaire Art. She is genuinely lovely and approachable. Her peas in a pod jewelry line is my favorite! It has equal charm and elegance. Both she and Kristen Townsend (featured above) are part of an all-women group called the Handmaidens, who individually create jewelry and collectively show together. They are also the organizers of the Handmade Market, a successful craft show in the area. Please check out more of Kiona's wonderful work here: Lucky Accessories

Bob Batura's intricate woodwork is as beautiful as it is useful. There is something so gorgeous about natural wood as a medium. I wanted to take one of those lanterns home with me! Bob creates such a variety of items and you can find more of them here: Cutting Edge Woodworks

The Boylan Heights ArtWalk was the best craft show I have participated in to date. I loved that it was set in a historical Raleigh neighborhood. Each vendor was assigned to a house's front porch or lawn. I was fortunate to share my porch with Londoner Fran Carter and the lawn was occupied by talented photographer, Phil Bisesi. The home owners were extremely generous and even provided food and hot drinks for us. They had three beautiful little daughters and a son on the way. I could not have asked for a better group of people to spend the day with.

The weather cooperated with clear blue skies and a seasonal chill in the air. Excellent advertising done by the organizers provided a continuous crowd eager to find presents for the holidays. I definitely plan to do this show in the future (if I get in again!) and recommend it to all. This is the 17th year this event has been held and has become an annual tradition in the area.

I want to send out a big thank you to my family for all of their encouragement and help that day. My fiancé is the best salesman ever and I also truly appreciate his parents and aunt for coming out to say hi. I am blessed with such a great support group.

It was terrific to meet so many of you on Sunday!

The Boylan Heights ArtWalk Tomorrow!

Click image for larger view

I will be at the Boylan Heights ArtWalk tomorrow from 12pm-5pm. All of the artists are set up on house porches and lawns along the streets, so it should be a lot of fun. Just be sure to bring a warm coat and wear your walking shoes. I hope to see you there! :)

The Designer Downtown Market

What's new at Eclaire Art...

I wanted to improve my booth's display, so I added a few new touches. The little labels I used before were handwritten and always blew away in the wind. Now, they definitely won't be going anywhere with these stones sitting on them!

Even though these may look 3-D in the front, they are actually made of cardboard and paper! You can see how I did the back below. I also use a stone as a weight so they don't fly away.

Here is the new sign I ordered! It is a little bit washed out in the photo, but I am really happy with how it turned out. It looks small, but it is 3 feet long and weather-proof. This is my first time using my soon-to-be married name. It didn't make sense buying a whole new sign after I got married.

All of my new necklaces are now stamped on the back. It looks a lot better than the paper circle I used to use. The wood and indelible ink are sealed with many coats of decoupage, so there is no worry of it coming off.

These are my new 2010 calendars I whipped up for the show. They did well, so I guess I will be making more!

Meet some of the vendors:

These are by far the most unique jewelry pieces I have ever come across. What makes them so interesting is what they are made out of - orange rinds! I have never seen anything quite like it. I do not believe that Pilar Ramiiez has a website, but I will try to find out. If you are interesting in purchasing her jewelry, you can e-mail her: pily64@hotmail.com

Stephanie Amanti was my neighbor at the show. She is such a sweet person and I am happy I got to know her! Please visit her Etsy shop to purchase her jewelry: Stephanie's Jewelry Box

Wendy Padgett had an assortment of vintage inspired goodies. Those bottle stoppers have old pins/earrings from the fifties attached to them. As you can see, Audrey and Marilyn like craft shows too. I'm sure Wendy will soon be filling up her Etsy shop, so be sure to check it out in the future: Vintage Redesigns

Carrie Magill is such a friendly spirit and creates beautiful jewelry. We did a trade, so I was lucky enough to go home with one of her stunning necklaces and a matching pair of earrings! Please check back soon at her Etsy site: Carrie Magill Jewelry

I was immediately drawn to Tracy Antonik's work - I love anything with a little bird on it! Check out more of her work here: Photo Glassworks

This was my first time as a vendor at the Designer Downtown Market and I thoroughly enjoyed it! As always, there was a plethora of talent around me and I enjoyed seeing such a variety within the crafts. My tent was in the shade, so it was absolutely freeeeezing that morning. However, it was nothing a cup of coffee couldn't fix! :)

I have been incredibly busy with wedding planning this week, so that is why you didn't hear from me sooner! I am going to be at the Boylan Heights ArtWalk this Sunday and I will do a post right before with more information about it.

Take care and it was wonderful to meet everyone last Saturday!