Save the Date...it's that time again!!

I'm so thrilled and excited to be participating in Patchwork Show Long Beach again!! 

Be sure to mark your calendars and save the date!

June 7, 2015

11a - 5p

Mother's Beach - Appain Way at E. Sorrento Dr.

Long Beach, Calif.

This will be my third time vending at Patchwork, and my second time at the Long Beach show. These events have grown and grown and grown into a really amazing, unique experience, and I'm so happy to be a part of it! From very humble beginnings in a parking lot in Santa Ana, Patchwork now hosts over 150 local artists, crafters, designers and food artisans. We all have to be juried in to the show, and the organizers do a fantastic job of curating a widely varied event. This is the place for all things handmade, from jewelry (like mine!) to succulent container gardens to handmade soaps to fashions for all ages, and so so SO much more!

So come out and support us local artists and artisans for any of the show dates listed above - if you want to stop by and say hello, come to Long Beach on June 7th! I'll be at the booth for Sweetpea Studios - see you there!

Patchwork Sneak Peek

Do you know what this weekend is?? 

That's right, it's...PATCHWORK SANTA ANA!!! 

(And also Thanksgiving.)

Come and visit! I'm Booth Y and will be in the Artist's District of Santa Ana Sunday, Nov 30 from 11a - 5p!

Our apartment has been a hive of activity the last several weeks. Currently, there are plastic tubs of equipment, plastic bags of candy canes and holiday cards, books, magazines, jewelry supplies, finished jewelry and even a box containing a piece of furniture waiting to be built  ALL OVER THE PLACE. I don't think we've eaten at the kitchen table since early October. But, that's all about to change, my friends!

I've got a little sneak peek of my newest pieces for you...wanna see?

Lace Collar Statement Necklaces in navy and plum - $150

Sweetheart Necklaces, inspired by sweater clips and perfect for holidays & special occasions - $35

Dangle Earrings, pair with Sweetheart Necklaces or wear alone - $28

Men's Cufflinks!! - $25

Holiday Ornaments made from vintage photos, decorative papers and old cigar labels - $18 - $20

Of course, there will also be necklaces, earrings, pins and rings made from vintage photographs and LACE galore!

Stop by my table (Sweetpea Studios, Booth Y) and say hello! Just look for this person:

Sweetpea Studios

Patchwork Show

Downtown Santa Ana, 2nd at Sycamore Street

Sunday, November 30

11a - 5p

FREE to attend!!

Forget the Holidays are Coming, the Holidays are HERE!!

Why, hello there! I've been away on a little break (more about that later...) and now I'm back and -BOOM- the holidays are here. So this is your friendly public service announcement regarding custom order and shipping deadlines from sweetpeastudios.etsy.com.

United States
Please place all CUSTOM orders by  
DEC 8th
Final shipping date is DEC 15th

International
Please message me privately for CUSTOM orders (hello.sweetpea.jenn@gmail.com)
Final shipping date is NOV 15th

(This small child in the picture is not me, just in case you were wondering. I wasn't even a twinkle on the tree when this was taken!)




Don't forget, all you southern California peeps, I'll be showing at Patchwork Show Santa Ana on Sunday, November 30th from 11a - 5p! Mark your calendars now, and stop by and say hello!

Save the Date!

Mark November 30th on your calendars right now because I'll be showing my handmade photo and lace jewelry at #PatchworkShow Santa Ana!! I'm so excited to be a part of this handmade festival again and I can't wait to see YOU there!!

#PatchworkShow Santa Ana, Nov. 30, 2014, 11am - 5pm

So seriously, did you mark it?  

November 30th? 11am - 5pm? 

Good.

Be there or be square. (Smiley Face)

Catching the Craft Show Bug

If you think all's been quite on the Western Front recently, you'd be correct. That's because last Sunday I participated in a great local show called Patchwork! It was my first experience vending at a craft show (but so much more than a craft show!) and I had a great time!

In the morning, fueled by adrenaline and coffee

My little table, filled with 100 - yes, 100! - pieces of handmade jewelry

NEW collage necklaces - these were so much fun to make! Coming soon to Sweetpea Studios

Just look at all those umbrellas!

Long Beach, seen through my super dirty car windshield as we were driving away at the end of a looooong day

James and Carly were fantastic helpers! Even though James was sick, he still spent the day in Long Beach with me, helping to set up and take down my booth and being a great moral support. Carly did an awesome job as a cheerleader - together, she and James had a system of bagging items that went so smoothly I barely even saw it happen! Friends came out to support the show, and I was so happy to see some friendly, familiar faces among the crowd. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

With nearly 200 vendors there, I really wasn't sure what to expect, but I'm really pleased I got up the courage to even apply in the first place. Everyone was so friendly, and it was a day to just let go and enjoy the process. I'd definitely apply again - could I have caught the craft show bug?

If you missed the Long Beach Patchwork, there's still one more left! #PatchworkShow Santa Ana will take place Sunday, June 15th at 2nd and Sycamore. I won't be vending there, but I plan on attending! It's a great community of crafters and creative individuals that should definitely be sought out. See you on the 15th!

Hey guys, remember when...?

Hey, remember when I told you that I'd applied for Patchwork and I was really nervous about it? I got the notification - I GOT IN!!! Hooray!!!

I'm as excited as this little girl is about her book!

So now I'm making things like crazy, because the show is one month away. Oh Emm Gee.

Long Beach - May 25 - Marine Stadium - Appian Way @ Bayshore - 11a-5p

For those not in the know, #PatchworkShow is a twice-a-year juried craft show / festival that showcases local artists, artisans, food gurus, and all sorts of other wonderful things. You name it, it's probably there: jewelry (LOTS of jewelry), clothing, guitar straps, handmade soaps, food trucks, music, tiny terrariums, ephemera, art, bicycle vallets...the list goes on and on. Right now they have 3 locations every spring and winter, and I'll be showing this year at Long Beach. So excited and nervous!

Tiny Lace Earrings

So, what's involved? Well, I need to come up with enough jewelry to fill a booth space, and then I need to design a booth, which means my brain is working overtime and many an evening has been spent on Pinterest searching for booth ideas. (Which are plentiful and all make my head spin with how awesome they are.) I'm also spending a fair amount of time worrying that I'm not cool enough to do this, and all these BuzzFeed surveys that keep popping up in my news feed on Facebook are not helping - apparently I am so far from being a hipster that I don't even know what the word means, and also my true age is supposedly 41.

A very depressing movie, even more so now that BuzzFeed tells me that I skipped my 30's completely.

But in all seriousness, I'm really excited and I really hope that this ends up being a good thing. If nothing else, it will force my shy little self to get out of her shell a bit and grab some confidence!

So don't forget! May 25th (it's a Sunday!) from 11a - 5p at the Long Beach Marine Stadium, Appian Way at Bayshore (don't ask me anything more specific, when an acquaintance asked me where it was the other day all I could come up with was "Long Beach...near some water..."). Stop by and say hi!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Let's catch up and talk about Sweetpea Studios ...

There have been some changes in how I'm working, as well as a whole bunch of new ideas that are being brought forth - I'm so excited I can barely think straight! (What I'm really meant to be doing is getting our apartment ready for a visit from a good friend and her newly walking baby. Bear in mind that we are two people who don't have children and really don't have any friends that live in the same country with children and therefore very little experience with this sort of thing. But we love Eleanor, and we love Eden, and we're thrilled she's coming to stay!)

Necklace Packaging

Earring Packaging

Ready to give as a gift!

I've re-done some of my packaging and also the packaging photos. The old photos had to go. Blech. Now comes the task of updating all of my nearly 100 Etsy listings. What a process!

Heart Shaped Flower Vines adjustable ring - acrylic on origami paper

Petite Amour collage necklace

There are new products, too! New necklaces and rings that feature miniature acrylic paintings and paper collages. What I love about doing the paintings is that I don't feel like I have to be a stellar painter - the images always look like what they're supposed to be, which amazes me every time I do one.

Included in the new products is a line of customizable heirloom jewelry - they're only just starting to appear in Sweetpea Studios, so we'll talk more about that later. They're already at Chemers Gallery, with pictures and information to follow. So stay tuned!

And, just like wearing the same hairstyle year after year, sometimes a girl just has to change things up with a re-vamp.

Remember this Etsy banner?

Now it looks like this:

It looks a little more consistent with this blog and the direction I'm going in. I was sad to take down my old banner, though, because the sweet pea drawing was one that James did at my request. (Plus it took me ages on Photoshop to get it the way I wanted...) But...change is good.

Another project I've been working on is a jewelry collaboration with ceramic artist, Lisa Mertins. She creates whimsical pendants made out of porcelain, and I create some of those acrylic paintings I mentioned. Together we make up Lisa & Jenn - you can find our jewelry at Chemers Gallery in Tustin. Here's a small sampling:

Available at Chemers Gallery

Also available at Chemers Gallery

Lisa is a lovely person who is just so creative. She's always coming up with funky ceramic vessels and birdhouses, and oh yeah, she does printmaking and also illustrates children's books - so stinkin' talented!

hello.sweetpea.jenn@gmail.com

And the mailing list! I'm offering a mailing list!! (If you'd like to sign up, please email me at hello.sweetpea.jenn@gmail.com with the subject / message "I'm in!") I'd like to send out a monthly email with shop updates, new products, and a suggestion or two of an art exhibition or museum to visit. Unless it's something super-douper important/exciting, I won't deviate from the once-a-month email In fact, it will probably end up being less than monthly, because, you know, life. So come on, let's keep in touch! 

So, what do you think? Don't be shy - come find me on Etsy, Facebook, or email and share let's be friends!

Plenty of Glitter...and then some...

Since returning from England a few weeks ago, life has sort of been go-go-go. We're getting ready for our biggest show of the year at work (children's book illustrations - yay!) and I've been working on a few jewelry projects in the mornings. James and I have been cleaning the house like mad (not fun). Plus the weekends have been taken up with a bridal shower, a bar mitzvah, and a bachelorette party. I've really barely seen James since our trip.

Last of the summer artist demonstrations at work - this is a watercolor in progress by Julie Hill

James and I have decided to try to cut down on the amount of TV we watch and do other things instead, which means we have "Wine & Cheese Hour" several times a week. YUM!

Work in progress on a family tree inspired piece of jewelry

Rumor has it...

I spent yesterday morning at Hamburger Mary's in Long Beach at a Sunday brunch drag show with the latest bride-to-be's bachelorette party. Bottomless mimosas, all-you-can-eat buffet, LOUD music, and outrageous drag acts. This one above was the most tame - the spitting image of Adele. But rest assured, there was plenty of glitter, sequins, huge hair, major makeup, and super high heels, and then some...

THEN I found a package of a double season of Gilmore Girls at Target for cheap, and guess what I spent the rest of Sunday doing? This will probably ruin the cutting down on the TV time for a little bit.

New Jewelry Designs, Oh My!

There's an antique place I love to visit for one vendor only, and this vendor has not one, not two, but THREE boxes filled to the brim with old photographs. This vendor is smart, because there is even a folding chair provided so people can sit and sift through the images. I always come out with about 6 - 10 photos, and I always vow to do something with them, but I just don't have the heart to cut them up. So I've started scanning and printing them, and then I started to make jewelry with them.

In process

Explore photo collage necklace

Tell Him photo collage necklace

Adore photo collage necklace

I'm using decorative papers, digital reproductions of vintage photographs, tea-stained text, glitter, beads - you name it. After a few failed attempts, I'm really happy with the results. (You can see all of the jewelry I've been making HERE on my Etsy shop.)

I've also made a Facebook page for my Etsy shop, so don't be shy - Like Me On Facebook! Let's be friends!

New Jewelry, Plus Some Mostly Senseless Ramblings

Okay, I know that as a southern Californian, I really can't complain about the weather. I'm pretty spoiled for nice weather. But. Oh. My. God. It's so hot. The heat and I are not good friends. There's a period of about an hour to an hour and a half, between about 5:45 and 7:00 am when our bedroom is actually comfortable to sleep in, and that's it. The rest of the time I spend sitting/melting on the sofa with a glass of ice water wishing it were mid-winter. I can't concentrate on much of anything when it's this hot. I tried to get some jewelry work done yesterday, but the pool at my parent's house kept calling to me. So this is how I spent the afternoon:


Ahh, relief

 I did manage to make some new necklaces last week, thanks to the benefit of air conditioning.



Tiny Houses, side one



Tiny Houses, side two



San Francisco Scenes, side one



San Francisco Scenes, side two



Butterflies, side one



Butterflies, side two

 Tiny Houses: fabric, ink, French text, papers
San Francisco Scenes: photograph by Jennifer Geisert, illustration by James Keniston (we collaborated!)
Butterflies: French text, papers, glitter, paint

All are now available at Chemers Gallery. I would show you the other two I made, but they sold already (yay!).

Another thing that's driving me to distraction is that my "studio" is out of control messy and on my big table I only have a tiny space in which to work. This needs to be fixed soon.



Out of control studio

I don't even want to tell you what the rest of the house looks like, and it's totally my mess. James has been amazing with the cleaning he's been doing. Our kitchen has never been so spotless. I think it's because he's having a love affair with Lime-Away. Just kidding. (He does love that product, though...)

What Do the London Olympics and Sweetpea Studios Have in Common?

The 2012 London Olympics start tomorrow - are you excited? I remember when London won the Olympic bid in 2005. There had been such a build-up - the city was filled with banners hanging from the lamposts and "London 2012" was everywhere. (2012 seemed SOOO far away.) When they made the announcement, it felt like the whole city was celebrating. The Red Arrows flew over the flat I was living in toward Buckingham Palace and I watched them from 15 floors up. (Yes, I lived on the 15th floor of a very tall building in east London. It was AWESOME.)



Arrival
28 November 2011
Copyright: MOD Crown Copyright



So anyway, back to the Olympics. I'm excited to glimpse bits of the place I used to call home. I should make an Olympic hat to wear as I'm watching the Olympics...
Since I probably won't make a hat, I WILL offer 15% off of everything in Sweetpea Studios for the duration of the London Olympics. Just remember to use the coupon code "OLYMPICS" when you check out. Here's a peek at what's new:



Eye See London

 

London Parliament

 

King's Cross London Sunset



 I'll be adding more items over the next little while, so keep your eyes peeled, and don't forget to use the "OLYMPICS" coupon code at checkout!

sweetpeastudios.etsy.com

Shocking news...

...I've updated my Etsy shop! That's right, Sweetpea Studios flows a little better and has several new necklaces and earrings just for you! Check it out...

Zen-Like $18



Diamond Filigree $18



Fly Away - Punk Rock $20

 

Flutter - Lavender $18

All this and lots more available now at Sweetpea Studios! Stop on by and say hello. :)