Come check out a great local market here in the Denver area; Sweet William Market at Stapleton; you’ll find it at the end of the roundabout in the “29th Ave.” business district of Stapleton, just off Quebec at 29th Ave.  It’s only open from 9-2, so come early before the cupcake truck runs out, the live music stops playing, and all the ‘good stuff’ is gone!  I’ll be there with all kinds of new mosaic finery; jewelry, pet tags, garden stakes, frames, trays, tables, wall art, etc., etc.!  Come on out and meet me if you haven’t already and let’s ‘talk some mosaics’! Class registrations and information also available at the market; come ask me your questions and see which class is right for you!

FYI, everyone; I’ve posted the April and May Open Studio & Supply Shop hours on the “Supply Shop” page. Remember that Open Studio Time is available for you to come start a new mosaic or work on an existing piece. You don’t have to have taken a Beginner’s class at all or through me, but you should be operating at a minimum of a beginner’s level, because Open Studio Time does not include teaching. It does, however, include almost everything you need to work on mosaics: ceramic & glass tiles (others available in the Supply Shop at an extra cost), adhesives, tools, supplies, grout, sealer, etc. for only $10 an Hour! Either bring your own base/substrate or buy one there at a nice low cost. I have frames, mirrors, boxes, plaques, decorative birdhouses, etc. available.

If you’re looking for some instructional mosaic time, we can put together a class or a group event or party with as few as 4 people (adults or kids). Contact me and we can discuss your needs and what dates and times will work. This is great for “Girls Nite Out” type events, birthday parties, clubs, etc.  Or, if you and 3 or more friends or family members want your own, private class in one of my ongoing areas or another, we can customize it to your desires.

New Fair Display Walls!!

OMG! I am SO excited! I found some great stuff today on my latest trip to the Habitat for Humanity Resale Store in Denver.  (They have stores located across the U.S. and Canada, all of which benefit Habitat for Humanity’s excellent program.)  I often find great grout, caulk, and tiles at the Resale Store, much of it donated from home improvement stores when the manufacturer decides the new season calls for a new shade of ‘white’.  This time, I was looking for something to use as a fixture in my upcoming summer fair booth that I could hang my mosaics on; like a vertical wall that’s freestanding.

Well, hallelujah, I’m here to tell ya, I found the PERFECT thing for it and I am SO excited! It’s a brand new set of bi-fold doors; 2 sets of 2 doors adjoined by hinges, that can stand upright very well, but I’ll hit Depot for some kind of L-brackets to mount on the bottoms so they have some support on the floor for the weight of the mosaics.  These ones are perfect because they’re brand new, unfinished, completely flat surfaced, and 6 feet, 8 inches tall!!!  And, for a zippy lil price of $45 for all 4 doors, they more than fit into my fair ‘budget’.  I thought I would share this ‘find’ of both the display option and the Habitat stores, if you weren’t already aware.

Closer-up of new display walls

I also scored an awesome wooden display cube that I can use as a riser or a double shelf for displaying tabletop items.  This one’s great because the depth on it is at least 12″, which is much larger than most riser-type fixtures.  And, at $5.00, ya can’t beat that!One more thing I found myself not being able to leave at the store was the most awesome, super-duper, cool, yummy-rific, bright baby blue, ceramic, completely in great shape, TOILET!  Yes; you heard it here; I AM going to mosaic a toilet and put it in my backyard!  The tank’s going to become a planter and the bowl will either be a birdbath or have a fountain in it!  It was only $35!  I canNOT wait to be able to start gluin’ on that baby after the fair and get it in the yard for summer!!!

'Fish Bowl' by Jean Wells

Barbie Pink Toilet

Garden-y Mosaic Toilet

Fun Sunny Mosaic Toilet!

Wanted to share; went to a super cool wholesale bead show in Denver last week; Rings ‘n Things bead Spring “Road Show”; found some terrific Mexican Day of the Dead things to use in my mosaics & mosaic jewelry; SO glad I went! I’ve already used a bunch of their stuff on two mosaic pieces; a candleabra and a frame, and am working on a mirror! Also got some great ball chain and other chain and cord for my pendants.  Find their show sched. at http://www.rings-things.com/Show/show.php  Great prices, free catalogs, and coupons!  And, they are wonderful people out of Spokane, WA, one of my favorite corners of the country!

BTW:  Have you heard of “The Day of the Dead” (“El Dia de los Muertos” in Spanish)? Wondered what it was all about? Wondered why there are so many skulls and skeletons in the artwork associated with the holiday? There is a pretty good, comprehensive description of the holiday on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

I think we can learn a lot from this wonderful holiday and tradition; honoring our loved ones who have passed; remembering the good things about them, seeing death as a more natural part of life and something to not be so feared, etc.  I have been to Mexico many times and visited the wonderful cemetaries, which I feel have a completely different feel than in the U.S. (more positive) and I have seen several of the wonderful altars to the dead, which are incredibly touching monuments to their loved ones.  Check it out and let me know what you think!

Day of the Dead display in Ocotepec, a town outside of Cuernavaca (from Wikipedia)

Hey, Everyone!  I just wanted to give a special “heads up” that I was in Hobby Lobby yesterday and they had marked down a huge selection of “home decor” items to 80% OFF their original price!!! LOVE those sales!  I found SO many great things to use as mosaic bases; wall hooks that had a flat base, keepsake boxes, frames, vases, a stool, some huge rooster wall hangings, etc., etc.  Everything ranged in price from $1.40 to $8.00!  They also now have their remaining Valentine’s stuff marked down 66% off original price; some great pieces to use in broken ceramic mosaics or for show booth decor and/or containers.  Also some good bases in the Valentine’s stuff like wall plaques, large, recessed metal ‘bottle caps’, etc.

Found out some good info. this week I wanted to pass on…

1) This year, Hobby Lobby will only run their 40% off coupons in local papers or via their email lists every OTHER week. So; if you don’t want to pay full price for something not on sale, get it on the week with the coupon. This week (Jan. 25-30) is a NO coupon week, so next week there should be a coupon again.

2) I’ve found that many people don’t know that you can sign up for emails from Hobby Lobby and they email you the ad and the coupon every week (coupon every other week currently). Then, you can print out as many of the coupons as you want and use once each day of the week if you want (or, if you’re in major metro area like me, with several Hobby Lobby’s, you can use one coupon per visit per store).

3) I found out this week that there is a 40% off one regular price item for Hobby Lobby that prints out on the backs of TCF bank receipts. If you can use any ATM with your bank or are a TCF customer, you can get the coupon!

4) You can also sign up to receive emails from Michaels and supposedly they send you coupons even on the week that they don’t have a coupon in their Sunday paper ad. However; I’ve had real problems getting regular emails from them and I have no idea why. They show that I’m signed up and everything, yet, no coupons. When I have time or care to deal with it, I guess I will. In the meantime, if anyone knows the “trick” to getting them, please let me know!

5) ALSO found out this week (thanks, Kayla!) that Michaels is now accepting Hobby Lobby coupons. So; see #2 above, and go crazy at Michaels too! Sweet!

6) Sometimes I forget how much cool craft, art, and jewelry stuff that Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts has, but I do receive their weekly emails, which inclue awesome coupons; always at least 40-50% off! They pretty much always have a coupon going if you’re getting the emails, and, again, print as many as you want, and just use ‘em on different visits!

7) One more thing re; Michaels coupons; I’ve discovered that they will accept both the coupon from the weekly ad AND one of the coupons that they give you from the register receipt in one transaction, so that’s cool!

You can use coupons on books and magazines at Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann’s, but not at Michaels.

Any other deals or suggestions you might have for arts, crafts, and jewelry deals, please post ‘em here or email me!