Bohemian Mermaid Palace

Here we go!! Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Ha! I am right now blogging from my phone thanks to the genius of flickr.com. My first almost-tour post. Here is a pic from the waiting room of the car place yesterday... The AC is now ready for anything!

Yet another test!! Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Please save me, flickr...

Ok, here I am at T-48 hours and I'm still not in freakout mode. I think it must be some sort of defense mechanism... I'm way too calm. I suppose I do have a good handle on all my packing stuff, though there's still plenty to do.  I'm pretty bummed that I can't get my mobile photo blog thingy to work. Well I can post photos to Facebook, but not my fan page. So my mom can see my pics, but not my customers. Argh. What I might do is have someone else post in my stead, via emails from me. Or I might see if I can post to Flickr and link to it. We'll see. I might also have access to a couple friends' compies on the road.  Anyway, right now I'm taking my pile of half-crossed-off lists and forming a final list, or punch list as Stu would say. Today is mostly printing clothing and finishing up some flyers and brochures. Tomorrow will be gathering and van packing day. Somewhere along the line I have to get groceries too.   This first show in Eugene will b

Well, this stinks. Part of the whole reason for getting a shiny new phone was so I could blog a bit while traveling. I can send a photo, but here's how it looks. I had to edit it, cuz it shows my phone number and a big Sprint logo and all this other junk. So... if I'm unable to make it work, I can at least post text. Which is lame, but it's something. I CAN, however, post pics on facebook. At least to my own account, maybe not the Mermaid page. *Sigh* Crap. You have a Picture Mail from xxxxxx@pm.sprint.com Message: View Entire Message

How about now?

Trying again... Posting from my phone. Lookit me! How about a pic. Uh, nope.

Oh my. It's coming up so fast... one week from today, I'll be packing up the van and checking my lists for departure on the Mermaid Tour 2010. I'm working hard not to have a freakout (like I often do when on my way out for a show trip). Doing my walks and taking care of bidness. But, each day my excitement level ratchets up a notch. I fear I'll be unbearable by next week. Anyway, I have all these travel details cluttering my brain. I figured I could bore you with them here... that's what blogs are for. Ha. As I have been preparing for my 6+ week craft show/camping trip, I have formulated a basic living plan. During the shows, I will hide out in my van as I normally do... somewhere close to the show. This is easy, as the van is empty and I can park it anywhere and go unnoticed. I'm usually so worked and tired, all I do is eat and go to bed anyway. Between shows, I'll camp in the beautiful forest lands. Tons of fabulous camping all along my route. I'

Success! A good time was had by all, and sales couldn't have been much better. Woot! I can always count on my SoHum peoples to come through. Really fun to see everyone... thanks to everybody who visited my little booth over the weekend! The weather turned out great, even too hot for me. A tiny bit of drizzle, but mostly it was sticky humid. The sun did come out here and there, so we were able to achieve that good summer festival feeling. I was about as close to the stage as one could get. I love being by the stage, but being SO close it was pretty loud even for me. Especially at breakdown time when the metal band played. Kinda hurt my head. I had a few hiccups with my girl party/helper plan. Sigh. But hey, I gave it a shot. Anyway... I did have some friends hang out for a bit, had enough help to do some shopping on Sunday which was a luxury. I was on my own for setup and tear down and that was a little rough. But the crazy sales, cool neighbors and friendly customers kept m

I think I started doing this a couple years ago, listing tips for craft selling... then felt a little weird about it for some reason.  A bit know-it-all-ish, I guess. This past weekend though, I found myself surrounded by new sellers and pouring my wisdom all over the place. People were taking notes! haha. It occurred to me that this is my 10th year of selling at festivals, and maybe it's ok to know some stuff. Since I really do enjoy sharing what I've learned over the years, and possibly helping someone out on their path, I thought I'd post here.  So, here are my 5 essential tips for selling at craft fairs. There are plenty more where this came from...but these are the biggies in my book: 1. Stay Positive.   I think if I hear one more discussion about these 'tough economic times' I might lose it. As craft vendors, we know every show is different. It's always something... gas prices, the weather, the promoter, the advertising, the location, the local popu

Wooohoo! It's officially a GO!  Back in Feb I had a brainstorm to do an extended craft show trip this summer. I have talked about doing this for years. Although, my fantasy is more like a year long trip... but this is a good start! Somehow I managed to find 4 shows in a row, both by time and geography, that are juried and look quite good. AND happen to lead up to the big craft show in Bismarck, ND where I have family. Then I waited to see if I would be accepted to at least 3 out of the 5 to make the trip for sure. I mean, the gas alone will cost about $1000. If I'm going to do it, I need it to be worthwhile money-wise. ND is far away! As of yesterday, I have been confirmed in 4 of the 5 shows. I've yet to hear from the last one, but my fingers are crossed!  Now that I'm talking about it as a reality (rather than a possibility), I'm getting more and more excited. You can see the individual show details on my Facebook page over there>>>  I'll se

I was reading an article the other night about selling crafts wholesale. It assumed you would have plenty of orders, and asked basically 'Are you ready to do your craft constantly day in and day out to fill orders?' The production end of things can be tedious and possibly ware on a person over time... makes sense. For many crafts, the creative art part is a small percentage of time compared to the crafting of the item itself. You choose media and materials, sketch, design, maybe draw or paint elements of the final piece... the rest is molding, firing, sewing, beading, dyeing, (insert your craft here) and then finishing, packaging and the like. So I started thinking about the past week, up to my elbows in dye every day for hours. I'm doing 10 batches which is about 100 pieces. Oh it's repetitive alright... but not only don't I get bored, I actively enjoy it. I find the routine soothing, almost meditative. I listen to music, often dancing and singing. Or I listen

   I've been having fun playing with some new print designs. In the past, I've had some color issues with printing on the Moss colored fabric. These prints I think look perfect on this background. I'm also combining these with my other designs for different effects...  I'll take more pics after I do some printing next week.  Currently, I'm preparing to head up to Gold Beach, OR for the Art, Wine & Music Festival next weekend. This will be my third year and I am really looking forward to it. Beach camping, nice people, high quality crafts... and I'll get to see my friends at Moose Creek Bath & Body , who have been carrying my clothing for the past year.  Super nice ladies! My man is considering joining me on his new motorcycle. Huh. If I knew it'd make him want to travel with me more, I'd have been on board long ago. Ha. For now, back to the dye tubs.

I was inspired by my friend Mary, who held a flower making workshop, to play with this organza flower. I wanted to try painting the fabric first and it worked out nicely! It was really fun to do, I'll be posting the instructions shortly...

Oh I've been busy alright. You know it... First off, my studio is now clean and organized. Somehow it had devolved into a barely workable pile of junk. Then a completely unworkable pile. NOW a beauuuutiful and functional work space.Oh it makes me feel so good to be in there! During the cleanup, I came across these old test fabrics and teaching projects. My man put me on artistic orders one day, and it was weirdly just the push I needed. I so often forget to play and just enjoy art... it was great. I goofed around with some printing ideas. A granny square and a plastic doily.      Then I worked on making these little silk scarves I sell (or don't sell, very often) into pretty rose pins.  For my next trick, I'm going to play with this poor man's silk screening method... if you hit youtube, you'll find lots of tutorials. Woohoo! Ready to play!!

Ohhhh it's getting close... spring is right around the corner. And you know what that means. Craft show season begins. Can't wait! So, I have my first confirmed show of the season, which is the Sebastopol Apple Blossom Festival, April 24-25. This is my first time at this show... well except once when I was working in that kid's booth in college. As I recall, it's a beautiful park setting. There's a parade and wine/beer tasting. Plus I have a couple friends I can visit in town. Should be fun! I'm sending out applications for may and june as well... I'll be adding them to my cool little google calendar (>>>) as they are confirmed. Woot!

Just thought I'd check in here, between all the crochet pattern stuff... about how real life is going here in The Palace. Still slow and wintery, but whiffs of spring are here and there. The daffodils & beach visits are up. That's certainly a sign. I have sent out 2 show applications already, and I'm filling out my calendar for the season. Yay! Have I mentioned how much I love traveling to craft shows? Probably. Anyway, I do. Love it. This season I am seriously considering at least one extended festival trip, ending in ND where my mom lives. I'd be gone over a month... starting in Eugene the 4th of July, hitting a show each weekend as I work my way up to the Seattle area. Then, cruising across the north to Bismarck for their big show in Aug. How fun would that be?! We'll see how it pans out... View Mermaid Tour 1 in a larger map I've also been working hard to get my etsy store (look over there>>>) stocked up... while working to promote t

Well I did it. I set out to make myself a Rockstar Tiara for my birthday and I succeeded. I had plenty of fun figuring it out... but it was by no means a simple little project. I did take plenty of photos and notes and will do my best to pass on my tiara knowledge in some understandable way. I'll apologize right now for using black yarn again. Not the easiest to see, but it really was the best color for the project. Materials: 3 tall Rockstar cans (I used the one above for my sample) 3 oz worsted weight yarn H or I crochet hook  utility scissors paper hole punch 60 Large pony beads yarn needle Cut out each star as shown, leaving a bout 1/2" border and rounding the tips. You'll notice one corner of the star hits the edge of the can, so you can't add a border there. We'll address this later to make the stars look symmetrical, for now just round the corner as shown in the photo. Cut out the vertical Rockstar word from 2 of the cans as shown. Le

  Another free Bohemian Mermaid crochet pattern for you, the Erica hat. This one truly is very fast and easy to make. The 'tweed' doubled yarn makes it thick and soft. See my Crochet Basics for stitches and abbreviations. Woo!   Erica's Tweed Cloche Hat   Description : Loose-fitting hat with small angled brim worked in a tweed stitch. Looks great on men and women. Materials : Worsted weight yarn in 2 colors (2 oz each), K hook.   Pattern: Instructions are for average/large adult size. Work with both colors together throughout .   Start: (Both threads on hook) Make the Base as written in the Basic Hat Pattern BUT start rows with ch2 (not ch3)  AND use hdc in place of dc. Work until the underlined number is 4. Rnd 7: Ch 2. Hdc into next st and into each st around (60 sts total). Sl st into 2 nd ch of ch2. Rnd 8 - 13: Repeat Rnd 7 , 6 times . Rnd 14: Ch 2. Hdc into same st, hdc into each of next 5 sts. *Work 2 hdc into next st, hdc into each of next

Alrighty... now that my basic Beer Can Hat pattern is being circulated, I'm inspired. I just picked up some PBR and I'm ready to get started on the PBR Pimp Daddy Hat, which I made for my brother's 21st birthday lo those many years ago. Back then, as college students, we all drank it so the cans were easy to come by. These days I tend toward bottles... not sure I'll be able to stomach actually drinking the Pabst. But the cans still hold some party magic, rest assured. I'm also working on an idea for a Rock Star Can Tiara for my birthday next week. Oh, and a granny square hat. It's way too much fun...  Hoping to have a new pattern ready by the end of this weekend. Rock on.