Goodbye 2010 Craft Shows

Saturday was our last craft show for 2010. Time to hit the futon, kick up the legs, snuggle in my Snuggie (yes I do have one) and drink some holiday tea. These last four shows were great, even though a little more hectic than usual. We met a lot of fantastic people, both customers and artists, and we were glad to share our work with everyone. We also send a thank you to Crafty Bunny again for helping us run one of our tables and showcase her work on November 13th. We hope to join forces with her again in the new year

While our candle tea cups and jewelry were the top items this year, we would like to know what your favorites were. Was there something you would like to see that we didn’t have? Or a new and fresh idea you would like us to showcase? Let us know as we love hearing your feedback.

As for now, you can continue to buy any of our items in which you see on our Facebook Page. Just shoot us an email, and let us know what you are interested in. If you live outside the Greater Vancouver area, not to worry! We can send it your way for a small shipping fee (shipping fees are dependent on location of where the item must travel to). Don’t forget to drop us a line if you are curious about any custom work. We are always excited to take part in paintings, drawings, sewn items, jewelry, graphics and more!

Coffee Art

Let it Snow! I love winter. Sure it gets a little chilly, but nothing that can’t be battled out with the use of gloves, hats, boots and the excessive layering system of clothing! Honestly, since moving from Edmonton these Vancouver winters merely remind me of Edmonton summers. Okay, I am exaggerating a little, but you get my point:)

The first half decent snow we got was on Thursday, and of course it was like watching Dawn of the Dead, the zombies were a bit more aggressive though and trying to get on Skytrains and ended up turning on each other…. while the helpless few who remained uninfected were out on the roads driving. I got to be a zombie, it was pretty sweet.

My better half was unable to get to work. Waiting for buses which never showed, and then getting on one which took him on a joy ride, the poor man had a hour walk from his final destination to the core of downtown in hopes to find transit. He made it, but sadly got lost downtown. A call for help was made, and after giving directions I took the last few minutes of lunch to meet up with him. Seeing him soaked, and freezing, we made our way into a coffee shop to warm up for a bit. For the first time ever I was severed art in a cup! You have no idea how excited I was because of it.

I wish I could say, the snow continues, but sadly it has turned back into rain. *Sigh*

Circle Craft 2010

Circle Craft = Inspiring and Tempting. Circle Craft is a very large annual craft fair which takes place in Vancouver during the winter season. Today I ventured out to the event with Crafty Bunny and our partner’s in crime. While Crafty Bunny’s companion was overly thrilled to be going to the event, but I am pretty sure we supplied him with a good amount of entertainment while we were there.

One of the most exciting and unique artists we saw created helmet covers (www.tail-wags.com). Crafty Bunny was ecstatic about the…well…the bunny one, and I latched on to the lobster version. I also was pretty excited about the goldfish. While I do not have a bicycle helmet at this time, I do have a snowboarding one…

We were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of a free glassblowing demonstration. I am pretty sure that whenever I break a glass now it will feel guilty. The time and various techniques they used alone to incorporate the colour and pattern of the piece was MIND BLASTING. While I was truly mesmerized by their work, I don’t think I would have the patience to ever take part in it myself. A few years ago I had traveled down to Tacoma with my family and watched a similar demonstration at the Museum of Glass and since then have grown a new appreciation for glass blowing. Here are some of the artists we saw today:
www.mellonglass.com
www.psdesignsglass.com
www.illuminatiglassworks.ca

One of the pieces by PS Designs was their two and four sushi sets, sadly I don’t eat nearly enough sushi at home to justify the purchase.

Another vendor which made are day was Diabolo Puppets. These cute and quirky characters were a blast! Without hesitation we started picking up different characters and animating them with the strangest voices. Piranha, Bunny and this other odd fluffy creature which kinda resembled someone’s beard but in a brighter colour…what do you think?

Tumies were rumbling and so we decided we best head out, but we did make one last stop…at the Calgary Fudge Factory. Worst idea ever. We spent $40 in fudge! Rather, Crafty Bunny…I have some money I need to pass on to her. Sadly their website does not show nearly as many flavors as they had at the show such as Green Tea, Garlic, Pistachio, and Jelly Belly Jelly Beans! The men we eager to try the Eggnog version (and dunk it in some Rum of course) but they were sold out :(

I truly recommend going to Circle Craft next year if you have never been. Do try to go early to beat the crowds, and perhaps give yourself a budget J The artists are all very talented, and there is no shortage of variety, thus easily getting the best of a person...and their wallet hehe. Darn it! I totally didn’t do any Christmas Shopping…oh well :(

Craft Shows of November 2010

Well it has been a while hasn’t it? Shame on me, but is has been an insane last few weeks!! Insane is a very nice understatement actually. Art shows, long hours at work, a second job and Avon Calling!

The month started off with Craft Show preparation panic attacks. GRAB THE COFFEE!! With my mom being out, we did not get as much work done as we had planned to. Our first two weeks of November consisted of three shows, two of which were on the same day but different locations. This year our top sellers were jewelry and our new tea cup candles, which oddly enough, we were predicting these to be one of the lowest selling items…well we were sure wrong. Same luck I have with picking the winning lotto numbers…huh…

We have one more show for 2010, which is scheduled on the last Saturday of this month and we would love for you to swing by J The details are as follows:

Name of Event: Christmas Artisan Market 2010
Where: 1287 - 56 Street, Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall in Tsawwassen, BC
Date: November 27, 2010
Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm

We were also happy to have Crafty Bunny participating with us at our last show. She was an extremely big help (Thank you so much!), and we were glad to have her showcase her handmade earrings. Unfortunately she will not be at our last craft show, but if you are interested in any of her items, give her a holler on her blog, Craft Bunny.<--Click it…you know you want to ;)

If you are interested in any of the jewelry or candles by The Living Room Studio please shoot us a message on our blog, email (info@tlrstudio.com), Facebook page or Twitter as we are willing to hold them for you if you can not make it to the show. Be sure to get them before they sell out, as we will not be producing may more until the new year.

After we rocked our socks at the three craft shows, we were gladly looking forward to a week of down time, and so was our immune system. Awesome. My second in command got hit and hit hard, and my for some unusual reason my body thought it would be a good to follow his lead. Both of us have been living off massive amounts of veggies, hot beverages, and cold medication for a week and a half. We have also grown a new fondness for our futon and the system of food delivery. Mixed Veggies on Rice for the win! Luckily we are both close to recovery, and should be in tip top shape early this week thank goodness.

Tomorrow we will be attending Circle Craft with Crafty Bunny and perhaps her partner in crime. I will be sure to follow up with another blog, and of course some fantastic pictures! :D  

Happy Halloween 2010!

I’m alive! ALIVE!!! Mwhahaha! I was being held hostage at work, and work outside of work, with its side of work, accompanied by work. Oh yes! And my mom who is out visiting at the moment THE BOSS!

I have been trying to keep in the theme for Halloween for the month of October, as I usually don’t attend many Halloween events. This year, we changed that!

My first embrace of Halloween celebrations for me is always to decorate my house! This year though I kept it ‘low key’ cause I must admit that I have troubles with motivating myself to taking the decorations down when the time is ready. One year I had a Halloween/Christmas house…it was….different…and lasted until Valentine’s Day. *cough* Door hangers, window stickers, moving and light up figurines, candles with their fancy festive candle holders, center pieces, garlands…like I said, I kept it low key this year;) I know this, cause I jipped out on spider webs!

The second task was decorating my desk at work. Can you tell I like decorating? On my whiteboard I have attacked it with gel bats, cats and the text ‘Boo’. I will soon be making an addition of a gel pumpkin. To compliment this all, I have caution tape in front of me, in a ‘bloody’ font. Font…man, design has corrupted me….who says font?

THIRD! This is where I was really starting to get in the grove of zombies! Dragging my feet out of bed, making groggy noises, and blindly making my breakfast in the morning….*drool* As my mom is out visiting, it has been a lot of late night and early mornings.

Fourth. HALLOWEEN THEMED AQUARIUM! BOO-YA! That’s right! The Aquarium was bringing in the celebration as well with their theme ‘Spooky Seas’. There were employees everywhere dressed up as pirates interacting with the guests, and they did not fall short. Having their pirate names, stories, and even accents! They even got the beluga whale mascot dressed up as a pirate. The place was decorated accordingly and there was a special exhibit ‘Skulls, Teeth and Creeps of the Deep’ showcasing skulls of various marine creature. Killer Whale skull = HUGE! We also watched their 4D movie ‘The Curse of Skull Rock’. Unlike my mom and I, R-chard had never been to a 4D movie, so I am pretty sure he was shocked when water was splashed in our face for the first time.

Fifth! I like odd numbers…odd like myself! We took my mom to see the musical Sweeny Todd. I was really cozy, as there were only approximately 6 rows of seats that surrounded a stage on ground level. At first I was a bit worried on how the production would be as I had often been to big Broadway productions in large theatres. Well, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and that was proven with this performance! The acting was exquisite, and their singing made me pretty freaking jealous….haha. I would highly suggest you go….but sadly all the remaining shows are sold out!

Sixth! On Friday my work appeared to be just as festive as myself, and well I am giving them the two thumbs up for that call! Costumes, candy, movies, candy, food, candy…..and a pumpkin carving contest! Not having any idea on what to carve, I posted a request for ideas on our Facebook page. I was given a suggestion for a 3D pumpkin, and well I went with it. This pumpkin….has been a battle as I found it really difficult to carve deep enough through to light up the pumpkin. I ended up doing some research, and discovered a lot of people who make 3D pumpkins either light them up with a bunch of decorative lights inside or use foam pumpkins! I wish I knew how to cheat earlier.

Last night for Halloween, Richard and I took my mom to the airport as she was flying home again. We spend the evening on the floor painting our suggested Halloween Themed painting. With paint, canvases, and candy surrounding us, with horror movies playing in the background, we much enjoyed our relaxed spooky evening together. We have a few final touches but we should have the piece up soon! :)

How was your Halloween? What events did you get up to? I liked my super Halloween October, and I am hoping to continue it from now on, let us know if there are any MUST DO events we next to check out in 2011!