Goodbye Spring!

 

       You know summer is coming when the snowbirds start leaving and events begin to end.  We haven't had triple digit heat yet, but we all know it's coming.  So this Saturday will be a day to get out and have some final days of fun.

        This Saturday, May 7, will be the last Grand Arts & Crafts Market of the Season.  Since the weather is heating up, the hours are lowering.  It will be from 8 A.M. to 11 A.M.  Find Desert Dabbler and the other Grand Stitchers on the club side of the Sonoran Plaza.   Look for my turquoise tablecloth and wildlife inspired jewelry.  New wolves will be there!

      We're suppose to have a tent and 6 tables.   We never know exactly where our Community Association Management people will put us.  The good news, however, is that the area is beautiful and not all that large.  If you're in the Surprise area, come on out.  We'll be easy to find.

      We'll be at the Sonoran Plaza, at the end of Remington Drive, inside Sun City Grand, Surprise, AZ.

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If you aren't in the Phoenix area, come and visit me on Etsy.  Click the button in the top right.  But before you go, write down the coupon code below.  You can use it on anything in Desert Dabbler Handcrafted Jewelry.  

COUPON CODE FOR MAY

  As a Thank You for visiting and reading my blog, here's a coupon code for 20% off:  SPRING2022 

Use the coupon when you check out at my shop on Etsy.  Good on items from Desert Dabbler Handcrafted Jewelry until May 30, 2022.  

The Boutiques are Coming

       The Boutiques will be located in the Stitchers Room in the Palm Center, Remington Drive, Sun City Grand, Surprise, Arizona.   There will be over 14  participants, including me, selling embroidery and stitched items, handcrafted jewelry, and gift items of all types.
        The dates are:  

 October 31

November 7

December 5

The hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 

If you're in the area, come in!

It's a Wrap!

      Last Friday I took my first wire wrapping class.   Leslie Ready, who's a very talented artist and member of Grand Stitchers, taught the class.    Here's my first project:

 

 

    It was harder to do than I thought it would be.   We used 20 gauge square wire, cut into 3 pieces and "bundled" together.    The bundle was tied and wrapped around the cabochon.    The top ends were then wire wrapped and two of the pieces formed the bail.   The remaining 4 wires made the decorative swirls.    All of this sounds a lot easier than it was.  

 

       Before I got to make the fun swirls, the cabochon had to be secured.   Here's the back view:

 

 

       We started on the back side first so we could get the hang of it.   The top left should have been pulled out more.   It was secured really tight (which is a good thing), and that caused me some problems.   I scratched up the copper wire while trying to pull it out and over the back.  The coating on my tool began to come off.   Now I know to stop, re-do the coating, and wait for it to dry overnight.   A little patience would have made a big difference.   But I was so anxious to finish the project.   Like a kid who can't wait for the cookie to cool, I got burned.    Luckily this was just a practice piece, with copper rather than sterling wire.

 

    

  

The side view shows the middle wire wrapped around the cabochon.

 

   I really like the way the copper looks on the Red Creek jasper pendant.   I have a lot of jasper, although all of them have pre-drilled holes, like this one.    I'm going to ask Leslie if there's a way to deal with the pre-drilled issue.   Otherwise I might be "forced" to buy more jasper.   LOL         

    In the meantime, I've re-coated my tools.   They dried over night, so I'm ready to do another wrap.  As they say, practice makes perfect!

 

 

 

Grand Stitchers

 

   

 

 

       The Grand Stitchers (which includes the beading division) is located inside the original sales office for Sun City Grand.    When we were here originally,  picking out tile and cabinets and all of the other hundreds of things that go into a new house, this place produced major anxiety.    So many decisions to make in such little time!    We had never built a house before.   We had no idea how much we had to decide.   We only come for a 3 day weekend-- we had to be back to work on Monday.   Somehow it all got done, but this building was not my favorite place back in 2003.

        Funny how things can change.

        The first group I joined when I retired, and the only one I attend regularly, is Grand Stitchers.    What a great group!   There's something going on there every day through the week.  Plus, for the past few months we've held a boutique on the second Saturday.    

       I didn't take part at first because I didn't have enough skill to make good jewelry.   But I've taken classes and practiced a lot.   Some of the other women have shops on Etsy or their websites.    (I even have a small Etsy shop now.)  A few others place their jewelry in gift shops in their home towns.  

        Since I joined in with the boutique group, I've learned a lot--but there's still so much more to learn.    Currently I'm trying to learn artistic wire wrapping.    I've signed up for a class at the end of this month.  It's an intermediate level class.  Somehow I missed the beginner's class.   Maybe they gave it before I joined.   Or maybe I was gone that week.  

        Anyway, for the past two weeks I've been practicing the basics in order to be able to keep up with the class.   Good thing copper wire isn't too expensive.  I've been turning a lot of it into scrap metal lately.      

        This coming Saturday will also be the last Boutique of the season.    The snowbirds are leaving.   Already there's a noticeable decline in the number of people around.    This is the first summer that I won't be working, and it will seem quiet and empty when the snowbirds are gone. 

       So I'm hoping for a big day on Saturday to end the season in style.

       

 

Adventure in Aventurine

      Since I've retired and joined the Grand Stitchers, I've been making a lot of jewelry.   The one pictured above is made from a bead I bought in Cave Creek at Cosmopolitan Beads and oval tubes made of Aventurine that I bought at Fire Mountain Gems.       Aventurine is a type of quartz that comes in shades of both red and green.
       According to the legend, Aventurine is said to bring good things to you.   Love, jobs, adventure.  Whatever you are longing for.   I don't know if this is true, but Aventurine has been a good stone for me.   
        Earlier this month the Stitchers held another boutique, and I participated with my own table this time.   At the last boutique I had worked the "community table".   Although I sold many items, none of them were my creations.    But this time I had more jewelry to offer and a table of my own. 
       One of the items was a necklace made with ovals of red Aventurine that were a lovely shade of orange/yellow.   They reminded me of orange sherbet.   I added a little of the green Aventurine for accents, too.     I finished it a few days before the boutique, but in the rush of completing everything I forgot to photograph it.   
        I can't photograph it now-- because it became my first necklace sale!    The legend of Aventurine held true.    I went on that day to make two more sales of a different necklace and a decorated bookmark.    Great fun!
         I've used up all the green ovals, but I still have some ovals and small square tubes of the red Aventurine.    Here they are on the beading tray, waiting to be made into something:

      The next boutique will be February 16.  I'm planning to participate again.   So we'll see if the good luck continues...
       We also had a great adventure of a different kind at Olive and Ivy, a restaurant in Scottsdale.  We went there last week to celebrate Kent's birthday.    The day was beautiful, and we sat outside on their patio.    The food was excellent.   Kent had one of his favorites, salmon.   I had sweet potato cannelloni--different and very yummy!   Of course I had to support my goat friends so we started our feast with some delicious spinach and goat cheese bruschetta.    They have a nice wine list, too.  I was able to support more wildlife (at least in name) by having a glass of Elk Cove Pinot Gris.  
        We will definitely come back here again.