I apologize for this being kind of late in the game, but, wanted to make sure you knew about a terrific event this weekend in Littleton.  The 39th Annual Friends of the Museum and Library Craft Fair will be held at Ketring Park, Saturday only, from 9 am to 4 pm.  There will be 300 fine arts and crafts vendors for what is said to be a terrific annual show!  I will have all kinds of new mosaic items (awesome new jewerly styles, Day of the Dead/Mexican decor and furniture items, a few garden type items, several beautiful mosaic tables, etc.) on display (and for sale) at my booth, which is just to the North of the Museum parking lot, on the outer edge of the booths.

There is no entry fee for the fair and Ketring Park and the Littleton History Museum are in a great setting, complete with horses, chickens, and a lake.  Watch for the blue “Littleton History Museum” signs on Littleton Blvd. and turn South on Gallup St.
 
(Ketring Park is up the hill/East of Old Town Littleton, West of Broadway, S. of Littleton Blvd. )   See map here: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=15065483781473119321&q=Littleton+Historical+Museum,+Littleton,+CO&hl=en&cd=1&ei=Rw2lTO2hL5ncjAP5tuxQ&sig2=0xq3jNpAk3uXAHbIdl3sTA&dtab=0&sll=39.692464,-105.077106&sspn=0.205288,0.354318&ie=UTF8&ll=39.870223,-105.385666&spn=0,0&z=11&iwloc=A
 
I’d love for you  to come out and see me and all the other wonderful vendors…it’s only 2 1/2 months till the holidays; get some shopping out of the way now!

Here ye, Here ye!  There are still some openings in tomorrow night’s Tile Mosaics for Beginners class at Denver’s CO Free University Lowry campus!  Only (2) weeks; 7 hours total; 6-9:30 pm for the next 2 Wednesdays.  Come see what the excitement’s all about when you take this fun and informative class; register online now!  Recent students comments;

“This was a great class–I can hardly wait to try another piece at home!”; Jennifer, Littleton, CO.

“Krystie Rose obviously loves what she does as an artist and her enthusiasm was evident in her teaching”; Sheila, Littleton, CO

“Krystie Rose is GREAT! She shared Everything she knows, was exact, encouraging, thorough, and very easygoing”, Kate, Denver, CO.

The “Mosaic Jewelry: Tiny Tesserae Treasures” Class next Monday night is ALMOST FULL!  If you’re interested in this class, be sure and sign up now!  Mosaic Jewelry is fun to make, quick and easy, and you get some immediate gratification by completing a piece of art in a short amount of time.  Like the other mosaic classes, you don’t need to be some big “creative”, artsy-phartsy person; just bring your desire, open mind, and willingness to learn, and we’ll have a great time!  This class is only one night and you’ll leave with one or more fun jewelry pieces!

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!

New jewelry blanks at Hobby Lobby

New Bracelet blanks at Hobby Lobby

Yep; you read that right! Last week I found some awesome new jewelry blanks (or ‘bezels’) at Hobby Lobby and this week they’re on sale for 50% off (through Sat. 5/22 only!)!!!  YEY!  These ones are GREAT for mosaic jewelry cuz they have deeper bezels than just a flat plate.  I’ve included some pics here; they include pendant blanks, super cool bracelets, earring blanks (incl. clip ons), and, esp. some awesome new hair pins, barettes, and ponies w/ deep bezels!  The price range is only $ 1.47 – $2.99 and that’s BEFORE the 50% off sale this week!

This is GREAT news for those of you that can’t afford to make a big online order or don’t qualify for wholesale prices, or just need some jewelry blanks last minute.  So; head on down to your local Hobby Lobby; I looked it up and they have stores in 35 states (but, alas, no West Coast states; sorry my many wonderful friends there!)!  Grab some, get ur tube of E6000 (epoxy) glue if you don’t have it already, their ear wires & chains are also 50% off, and some millefiori, tile, glass, polymer clay, or paper designs & resin, and GO TO TOWN!

New Hair Jewelry Blanks at Hobby Lobby

I’m excited to share; the NEW Garden Mosaics class at Colorado Free U.  is coming up, starting this Sunday, May 16th! I know I’m totally hankerin’ to do some stuff for my garden; I’ve already got a couple of projects in the works! Would love to see you there, and, if you can pass this on to any Denver area friends you think might be interested too, please do!

Here are the details:

Come join me and several other fun folks to craft your own garden mosaic art piece! Choose from a birdhouse, stepping stone, flowerpot, or plaque, and learn how to embellish it with colorful bits of tile and glass. In the first class, students learn the basics of making mosaics for an outdoor environment and work to complete an original design on their piece. In the second class, students will grout their piece and bring it to life. Leave the second class with sealer to take home and apply later. A wide variety of materials are provided to complete one piece, but students may “upgrade” by purchasing more elaborate supplies. (NOTE: I will have vitreous glass tiles and stained glass tiles to use in this class!!) Information on garden mosaic basics, great sources for materials and supplies, and next-level mosaics will be included in this fun, hands-on course.

Absolutely no previous mosaic experience or ‘artistic ability’ required; come see how easy it is to tap into your creative spirit and learn this wonderful craft!  TERRIFIC stress reliever; you will get ‘lost’ in the work and have a great time!  Make something colorful and fun for your garden or patio so that we can welcome the SUN back to the Front Range this year!

Class consists of (2) 3.5 hour sessions; 7 hours total over two Sunday afternoons; 1-4:30 pm, May 16th & May 23rd, at Colorado Free U. in Lowry (between 6th Ave. & Alameda, off 1st).

Safety glasses are required; bring your own or purchase from instructor for additional $5.

$69 Member (nominal annual membership fee; see www.freeu.com)

          $81 Non-Member

$26 materials fee (without safety glasses); $31 (if need safety glasses); payable in class

         $7 optional materials fee payable in class for upgraded materials

Sign-up at https://www.colofreeu-registrar.com/sdc/regclass.html?class=255572

OR www.freeu.com OR call 303-399-0093.

Student Erica with her plaque

I’ve FINALLY got the photos posted from the February 2010 “Tile Mosaics for Beginners” class!  See this page:

Classes: Photos and Info. from Past Classes