Holiday Craftacular

And...here we are a month later. {sigh} Anyway, over Thanksgiving weekend I headed north to Madison, WI for the Holiday Craftacular, hosted by The Glitter Workshop. This is a really great juried handmade market, and I am always honored to be a part of it. 

I experimented a little with my booth this time around, as I had brought my varsity letter pillows along.

After the crowd lightened up a bit, I was able to walk around a little and take a look at some of the other booths:

Super cute fabric trees and holiday terrariums, unfortunately I misplaced their card, so I can't link to their shop. I'll update this post when I find it.

Big River Woodworks had these really cool cutting boards and ornaments.

Naomi of The Glitter Workshop always has the cutest crocheted toadstool ornaments and amigurumi.

Another booth that I misplaced the card for. But how cute are these stuffed owls?

Yummy cupcakes from Sweet Hartley's.


Craftacular happens a couple of times a year, their next one is in February and is free to attend. If you're in the Madison area, I highly recommend stopping in!

Upcoming Spring & Summer Markets

I am thrilled to have been accepted to several upcoming vintage and craft markets this spring and summer!


First up is the Vintage Flea and Finds Pop-Up Market in Madison, WI, run by the fabulous Glitter Workshop!

Next is the Urban Folk Circuit's Craft Market in Chicago, IL on May 19th! I'll have my handcrafted jewelry and accessories there.

I'll also be at The Vintage Bazaar market on Sunday, June 10th from 12-5pm at the Aragon Ballroom on Lawrence Avenue in Chicago, IL!

Jewelry Shop News

I've added hair accessories to the Liesl Designs shop, made from repurposed vintage earrings.

Siri earrings

Marla earrings in amethyst

Gemma earrings in peach coral

Riley earrings

What I'm working on...

I'm currently working on an order for some bridal party jewelry (9 bridesmaids!), this is one of the sample bracelets I've created for her. I really love this particular design, so it will probably be making an appearance in my shop soon.

New in the Shop...

Some new earrings will be making an appearance in my shop this evening:

Sabine earrings

Verity earrings

A brief Indie Wed recap...

This past weekend I participated in Indie Wed, a bridal show and market at the Ravenswood Event Center in Chicago. It was an unbelievably fantastic show, and I had a great time selling and meeting other independent designers and crafters.

So, I was going post all of my awesome Indie Wed photos of people, booths, and the fashion show.....

Unfortunately, my camera died. And did I bring extra batteries? Of course not, because the ones in my camera were new. I came to the decision that I really need a new camera.

Anyway, here are a couple of the meager pics I managed to take with my iPhone (not fantastic, but at least I have a couple):

My table at Indie Wed

A fabulous dress made from invitations at the Paper Stories booth

Runway show featuring designs from Dame Couture, Audey, and others.

New in the shop...

I've been pretty busy getting ready for Indie Wed lately (I can hardly believe it's this Saturday... time has really flown by!), and because of that I have been working on some new pieces:

Paisley necklace - I know I posted this one before, but I was ultimately not happy with it, and it has undergone a major transformation. I am soooo much happier with it now, it is much lighter and more fun.

Laura earrings

Luella earrings

Vivian necklace - This one is not in the shop, as it is a custom order. I really enjoyed making this one, and love the graduated vintage chandelier crystals. It may show up in the shop at a later date.

New in the shop...

Moira earrings

Gabrielle earrings

I'm back...

Well, after a couple of weeks of being completely obsessed with preparing for my craft fair on the 21st, I am now able to focus on preparing for the holidays. (whoo hoo!)

This weekend I will be participating in the holiday sales on Etsy, as well as offering free shipping to the US and Cananda for all items in the Liesldesigns shop until December 31st.

In the Gypsy Mouse shop, there are sale items and free shipping to the US and Canada on books and supplies until December 31st.

New in the Shop

Gigi earrings

New Pieces

Some new pieces that will be showing up in my Etsy shop this weekend:

Diedre bracelet

Rosalie necklace

Paisley necklace (Remember the bird pendants? I finally decided what to do with them!)

Controlled Chaos

My current studio workspace... aka the coffee table.

New Necklace in Shop

Tamsin Necklace -- A longer necklace that is wonderfully asymmetrical and just in time for the fall weather! I will be wearing mine with my t-shirt and sweater combos!

Two New Necklaces

I've been working on some wedding-inspired jewelry in preparation for Indie Wed in January, and have been playing around with incorporating vintage chandelier crystals into my jewelry. Two new necklaces will be debuting in the shop on Monday...

Cassandra necklace

Collette necklace

I'm Going to Indie Wed!

I've been accepted as a vendor for Indie Wed in Chicago on January 30, 2010! For more about the event, click here to go to their website.

I'm so excited! This is the first juried show I've applied to, and I can't wait!

Little Birdies...

A week or two ago I was at the thrift store looking for some fun vintage items for my gypsymouse shop, and cruised by the "jewelry" rack to see if there was anything there that I could take apart and use in my own jewelry designs. (I've been trying to use more vintage components, as well as components that don't require new energy consumption to produce)

And yes, the quotes around jewelry were intentional... let's just say the thrift store's idea of jewelry is a little tacky and kind of gross. :(

But I was able to find a necklace of cute little dyed mother of pearl birds, which I have turned into whimsical earrings:

Both of these are now listed in my shop here.

My New Favorite Earrings...

New in the shop this evening, Genevieve earrings.

I absolutely love the resemblance to the fleur-de-lis in these brass stampings, and think they go beautifully with the deep blue of the iolite beads.

One hundred hearts...

My Etsy shop is very close to 100 hearts, sooo.....

I'm offering a giveaway to my 100th shop heart. The winner will receive a pair of Jennifer earrings in their choice of color.

(The above pic is me this year at Breyerfest, standing in the special items line for the Breyer store.)

New Necklaces...

Here are a couple of new necklaces I've been working on:

This is Morgan... as you can see, she is a little horse-crazy...

I created this necklace along with matching earrings as a donation for Breakables, a model horse show that I will be attending in July in conjunction with Breyerfest.  Their raffle will benefit The International Blessed Broodmare Project. You can read more about Breakables and TIBBP here.

And since she turned out so well, Morgan will also be available for purchase in the Etsy shop.

Also in the works is a variation of the Sabrina necklace, this one is Audrey:

She should be ready to be listed in the Etsy shop this weekend.

New Earrings in the Shop!

Claudia earrings... I really love these...

Cecilia earrings in green chalcedony

Marla earrings in prehnite

Kathy earrings