Spring Fling Craft Fair and Bookfest News

Hello once again, Readers!! Oh how I’ve missed this blog. I swear I’m slacking and not because I have been abducted by aliens or even left to join the circus. Well…maybe you could call my house a circus at times…

This past weekend Sonya and I embarked on yet another craft fair, hoping to sell the last bit of our art to put into savings. It was a two-day event so we were pretty pumped about the possibilities. That is, until the weather decided to throw us for a loop. And when I say loop, what I really mean to say is tried to kill us.

Death by wind storm. Or by sunburn. Or both at the same time with a side of ex-convict stalking.

But I digress.

Day one was crazy windy and pretty much slow on the business side of things. We sold a few small items and left feeling a little blue, but still with a smidgen of hope for day two. The craziest part of the day was when a lady bought one of our wish necklaces (a vial filled with dandelion seeds) and asked if she could remove the seeds to put her dead boyfriends ashes inside of it to wear. I think Sonya almost fainted. I thought it was neat in a creepy-lovesick kind of way. But that’s just me…lol.

Day two we sold enough to earn back our tent fee and met a convict who said I have a dark side. He could tell this by looking at my art. 0_O

So apparently, I am somehow related to Darth Vader with a side of Voldemort and the Wicked Witch of the West. I’ll get you my pretty!

Any who, here are the photos from the fair:

Our lovely whimsical setup.

 

Our fairy-tasmic shadow boxes and liquor lamps. Can I getta oh snap!

Necklaces, doorknob hangers, and other pretty things.

One of the painting stands.

More paintings.

Yeah, so moral of the story…there is no moral. We had a ton of fun despite the moody weather and plan on going to another in Orlando. Hopefully. In the meantime, I am near halfway through my edits on From the Embers and waiting for word on when Embracing the Flames will be ready to go.

When I know, you will know. *wink*

Also, we have been given the okay by the lovely woman directing the Bookfest to share some exciting news about certain authors who will be signing alongside of the rest of us. So without further adieu, here is the announcement:

Oh snap! Can’t wait to meet everyone going!

That being said, Echelon out ♥

Fall Festival Success

Hello once again, Readers!!! My week of cool weather is gone, but the good news is I had a Butterbeer this weekend. Yay me!

So a couple of weekends ago we carved pumpkins before watching Dexter (sadly, I’m just now posting this). My son wanted a cat pumpkin so my husband and I worked together to make the one on the left look like a cat. What do you think…lol?

The other two pumpkins belong to my friends who come over every Sunday to watch Dexter with us (they are expecting, hence the stork). The best part of that night though, was Scarlett. She couldn’t care less about the pumpkins which I had hoped would be a fun, family activity. I tried to get her to help pull the insides out, but she said, “EWW!” She decided to play in the sand instead. By play I mean, throw dirt into the air and let it rain upon her golden locks. Silly girl.

But I digress.

So the Fall Festival was a success! I passed out a ton of bookmarks! We also sold the most merchandise ever! Five of my paintings, a few bracelets, a spoon ring, some hair clips, and we even a piece of our set-up. It was a pretty decent night with a lot of smiles passed our way.

Here are some pictures of stuff left over that we will be taking to our next shin-dig next weekend:

One of the Born in Flames necklaces.

A bottle full of wishes.

An oil painting I did.

But there is so much more. We have created tons of unique necklaces. We have spoon rings, button bracelets, charm bracelets, cork charm pieces to hang from your rearview mirror or christmas trees, ornaments, snow globes, paintings, shadow boxes, you name we made it. We’ve also decided to start doing house party’s and have planned our first for December 1st! Just in time for Christmas.

So that’s one portion of my life.

The other part: NaNo and the Flames trilogy. I am over 8K as of today and currently working on From the Embers which is 18k in (once I post this). I devote the morning to NaNo and the evening to From the Embers. So far so good…but it is only day 5. We shall see if I can continue. I have hope and faith so cross your fingers.

To all of my fellow NaNo’s…hang in there and keep your chin up! Keep writing! Try to stray from over thinking. Same old same old.

Okay…back to work.

Echelon out!!!! ♥

 

 

 

Tongue-tied…

  

Hey Everyone! 

To say it’s been awhile would be an understatement. My bestie and I just had our first Craft Fair which showcased our art from Fae Tis Moor last weekend, so we were busy preparing for that. In case you’re wondering, it went extremely well. We received a lot of positive feedback and are applying for another one in a couple of weeks. It feels good to finally be doing something I want to do as opposed to something I have to do. And it is only just the beginning. *Mischievous grin*

I digress.

So while I was at the Craft Fair, I came across another topic I wanted to blog about while baking in the sweltering Florida heat. My wonderful bestie thought it would be smart to put out printed copies of my cover with my publisher’s website on the back just to get the name out there. It sounded like a great idea, but what I failed to prepare for was the inevitable question that comes with asking a complete stranger to keep your novel in mind.

What is it about?

*Crickets*

I was instantly tongue-tied as I tried to come up with a quick and interesting way to explain my story and my face burned with embarrassment. Instead of the pretty blurb I wrote while sitting behind my computer in the safety of my home, it came out as a bunch of mumbling, incomprehensible stutters. Not my shining moment. I realized that if I want to be successful, I’d need to get over my fears. *Sigh*

Point is…as you tackle one problem in life, another will always present itself. But rather than fumbling around and giving up because it’s not something you’re good at, take it as an opportunity to grow. Being shy is a problem I deal with day-to-day which can be mistaken for many other characteristics. It’s probably why I chose a profession that allows me to hide behind my imagination. So I refuse to let it hinder my career.

As the weekend wore on my confidence grew as strong as the smiles the customers wore while appreciating our art. I greeted them rather than evading them. I forced myself to try, and came out with a stronger outlook on how to best explain my work. I proved that with a little discomfort and effort, a lesson can be learned and hurdled. *Happy dance*

So with that being said, I leave you with a question. What problem have you had to tackle and how did you do it?

Echelon out ♥