Thinking about Christmas? in July?

Usually I don't even think about Christmas until December. No, I'm not decorating for Christmas, but I am

working on Christmas orders (custom gifts) and items to sell at an art festival that are Christmas theme.  I have even purchased a couple of Christmas gifts...which is a first for me.  The last few years, I was really stressed out over Christmas shopping, or rather the lack of Christmas shopping.  But because the Fall/Christmas season is so busy (hopefully it will be again this year), I don't have much time to shop...and I do NOT like to shop!  Probably because it is hard for me to decide what to buy for other people.  But they (the marketing experts) say that many people start looking and shopping for Christmas in September! Who knew? I guess I've been missing out all these years.  It does make sense though. So this summer I will be working hard getting ready for Christmas.  My little clay houses and things can't be created at the last minute, so I have to start now to build up my inventory, along with working on other orders.

I'm also going to Norcross, Georgia in October!  I'm excited about that!  I've only been to a few Art Festivals, and I am still learning, but Norcross Art Fest is a very well organized and attended art festival. Hopefully, for me,  this one will be even better this year! I hope to be more prepared for this one.  ( See my  booth story here)  My Hubby, my assistant, and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about art festivals. We learned it is a lot of work and exhausting, but fun...if the weather cooperates! (We almost blew away at the John's Creek Festival when a hurricane Sandy was passing by on the coast!)  I've learned a lot about what sells and what does not, and how to display my items. I've also been getting a lot of cool ideas for improvements on my display. I'll be posting some pictures of my booth later, when it gets closer to Art Fest time.  .

Since I am currently working on items for my Etsy shop and for the Art Fest, I asked some of my Facebook friends, "what type of functional items (out of clay) would you buy at an art festival?"   (If you have any suggestions or ideas that would complement my little clay houses and clay tiles, I am open to suggestions! ) Most of the suggestions I got were for more bowls and cups.


I've added some photos of the bowl that I made a few weeks ago along with the cup that I made to match.  I guess you might say it is my prototype for a new functional design that I will be making more of and with more color variations. The cup has a tree design on one side with branches that hold the little birds on the other side.
I also included a photo of the inside of the cup because I added a little leaf design on the inside bottom of the cup. I had to use a flash on the camera to get it to show up and it looks like there is liquid in the bottom, but there is not.  Anyway, I liked the effect that it gives.  I enjoyed creating the bowl and cup, but they took some time to decorate. Hopefully the next ones will go more quickly...or I will be spending all my time on glazing cups and bowls!

But if I'm quiet this summer, you know where I am!




Beth  ♥