four

Four days of prep left for the art show.

My big 30x20 canvas print of midnight safari arrived today!!  Nothing like squeezing it in at the last minute!! I am excited to have it on time.

I did more spray painting today.  There is one more print bin that needs a paint job.  The wood needs to be primed and I keep forgetting to grab the primer when I am out.  Today, I actually remembered to grab it so no time like the present.

I put Truman in the dirt and took advantage of Oakley's last day of preschool.

The primer coat was uneventful...the color coat was a little different than expected.

how is this citrus green?

All I see is sunshine yellow!  

(yes, one could argue that it perfectly matches the can...but I was banking on the word green)

I just can't add another color to the display.  I think there is a fine line between adding some interest to your display and being obnoxious.  This color is definitely obnoxious.  Perhaps the bigger risk is taking the focus off the artwork.  So I decided to stay neutral with a coat of black instead.

One more coat and I should be done preparing the display...now just to finish framing and packing up the artwork.

Now, to address a bigger concern....WHAT IS THIS!?

Perfect weather all week until show days........

I wonder if rain during an art fair is as lucky as rain on your wedding day?  Here is to hoping!!

I also worked on pricing of originals and prints and made descriptive tags to hang under the paintings.

The print pricing will remain the same as last year...

small (fits 8x10 frame) = $12 each or 3 for $30

medium (fits 11x14 frame) = $17 each or 3 for $45

large (fits 16x20 frame) = $24 each or 3 for $60

includes new prints...

and all the prints from the past...

Three days left!!

Tomorrow I will share maps of the show layout and the panic attack I am having over construction...

I bet you can't wait!

see ya!

td

for more tiny by design artwork please visit www.tinybydesign.com

seven and six

and I might as well throw in five as well since it is rapidly coming to a close...

So, to start this next level of show prep, I had to journey back to JoAnn's.  Hmmmmm, I don't think that is my favorite place to take the kids.  The first trip was funny and a little goofy...the second, well, it was not that good.  Here is picture them in one of the aisles (very early in the trip)...

Looks innocent enough, right?

Well, it wasn't.  About three seconds after this picture, Oakley had a wreath made out of little Styrofoam balls around her head and Tru his tiny little little hands full of something that could only have been pulled off of some kind of flower/styrofoam arrangement.  He wanted me to buy them for his tractors.  Since I was already the a-hole parent whose kids were terrorizing the aisle I didn't want to the be the even bigger a-hole parent who was taking pictures of it...so just imagine little styrofoam balls and two cute but guilty looking kids in the middle of it.

My purpose was to get orange gerber daisies for my display.  Problem is all the fake flowers looked so, well, fake....so I found some alternatives that I thought might look, I don't know, maybe cooler.

I also had to get more of the pole covering material.  Read about more about my pole covering issue here.

So I made it quick.  Very quick.  I grabbed the first cool looking flowers thingys I could find...









...and made a beeline for the fabric cutting counter.  It was Saturday and very busy...so I waited.  and waited. and waited.  Truman was strapped to the cart so I was safe there.  Oakley was alternating between "I'm bored" and "can we buy this"...a little annoying but better then wearing the wreath on her head.

That's when I realized my rookie mistake.

There was a pick a number for service machine.  Ughhhhhhh.

Finally, material in hand, we made our way to the checkout.  I returned the useless fabric squares, had my fabric and flowers rung up and went to pay.  Oakley grabbed the electronic pen and asked if she could help sign.  I grabbed her hand and together we made a rough version of my signature.  The girl checking us out said (no joke) "wow, your teaching her to forge signatures at a very young age.  She's going to get in trouble some day"  You have got to be kidding.  Alrighty then.  Apparently I am a horrible parent.

I don't think I will be taking my kids back to JoAnns for a while. Or ever.

The rest of the weekend was spent framing some prints for my walls and packing them for travel....

This used to be my kitchen table...

this used to be my garage...

Oakley is the perfectly smiley little co-worker of mine

Truman...well, just look at his face.

All the original artwork is boxed and ready to go.

Prints are getting framed, matted and organized....here is a snippet of the framing I did last night:

I am getting soooooo excited!

thanks again for joining me while I prep for the big day!

td

for more tiny by design artwork, please visit www.tinybydesign.com

eight

It's crazy to think that in just one week I will be setting up my tent!!  I have an 8pm load in time...so it's gonna be a late one.  I have to say, going through the dry runs  last week got me really excited.  I love the atmosphere of the shows and actually talking to REAL people (instead of the fake ones I usually talk to).

So, today I got a supply of new prints!!  YAY!  They turned out perfect and I can't wait to get them packaged for the show!

After a few light days of show prep, I am ready to get back after it tomorrow.

Lots of framing and matting to do.

I have a few last minute things to pick up...

and then there is the packing!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

td

for more tiny by design artwork, please visit www.tinybydesign.com

nine

Day nine in the countdown is simple...

a break.

family time.

Oakley had a field day with her preschool class.

My mother in law is back from Florida!!

We all went to Oakley's field day.

I am visiting my mom...she has been in the hospital.  She would be mad for even sharing that, so I will stop.  I just need to be with her.

On a fun note...my new tent walls arrived today and the new matting I ordered came today....awesome!!

Also, tomorrow I get to pick up the new prints!!  I will share more tomorrow.

By the way, how is this show only one week away (ish)????

I can do it, right?!

awesome,
td

ten

and then there was ten...and oh, what a day it has been!

First, I made the very brave decision to take the kids to JoAnn Fabrics.  They both are in a very grabby phase right now.  There is a lot of stuff in that store.  Less than five minutes in and their sticky little hands were already buried in fabrics.  (If anyone from JoAnn's is actually reading this, their hands were clean. I swear.)

But, I wanted some fabric to dress up all the black in my booth.  Just something simple, solid and with the colors of my logo/theme thing I have going.

Problem is, I know nothing about fabric.

Here is Truman's opinion of what I picked.

His face is saying "huh? like I care..."

His arm is about to grab a whole bunch of fabric and pull it off the shelf.

and Oakley begged me to buy this...

yeah, that's pretty much not gonna work.

So, I ended up with a bunch of pre-cut squares in the colors shown in Truman's picture above.  I was so excited.  Until I got home and realized they are useless to someone who doesn't know how to sew.  I thought I could just drape them over the black in a cool arrangement.  But no.  They are stiff, square an have no hems...just frayed edges.

Then, there was the material I found that I thought I could use to drape a dividing line over the wall to separate styles of paintings.  It was not quite tulle but kind of mesh in nature.  I thought I would get extra to perhaps make "skirts" for the bottom of my walls. The cutter lady mentioned that it was 4.99 per yard.  I swear it was next to the 1.99 sign...ugh.  So, I decided to get three yards of it...despite the fact that I know nothing.  I just thought I could cut it up without worry about a hem.

It didn't work.  (but there is a happy ending to the JoAnn's experience...I swear).

So we got home from running our errands and I realized that we were in the midst of the first wind free day in weeks.  I was planning on waiting a bit to do a full tent dry run of my set up...but hey, when the conditions are right, you gotta do it...right? (despite 80 degrees and 4 million mosquitos)

I bought the kids a $1 bird house to paint when we got home.  So they were occupied for the beginning...

but the second the tent went up...

They just wanted to be a part of it.  I love that.

So this is it...sort of.  No artwork on the wall makes it tough to see but I couldn't imagine dragging everything up.  Did I mention that there were 4 million mosquitoes out today?  and last year I did a full on dress rehearsal that damaged several framed prints and one original painting?  Just. Not. Worth. It.

But, nonetheless, this gives an idea of how it's going to look.

So, a few things to point out...

The black arrow is pointing at the pricey material I ended up buying at JoAnn's.  It didn't work at all for it's intended purpose, but I gotta say, I love it for covering the ugly pole!! score!  Now, I need to buy more for the other pole...

The green arrow is pointing at a new print bin...which is huge threefold.  First, I needed another bin.  Second, I like it.  Third, I have something new to spray paint...yay!

The orange arrow is pointing at my sweet black shelf I painted...and I love it!!  I do want to get a vase of orange gerber daisies to put at the top.  It will be the perfect pop of color along with the tie in to the logo!!

Overall, a good day!

The other thing I did today was to print and frame some signs to identify the various types of art that will be on display...

thanks again for joining me on this journey!!

td

eleven

So, I started today by remembering how not brilliant I can be at time.  I would call myself dumb, but that seems too negative.  So, not brilliant it is.

Let me explain.

Last year, I packed up my truck and drove to my first art show in the pouring rain.  Not ideal.  Good thing I came prepared with my can of tent waterproofing spray.

I'm not sure that waterproofing something in the rain is the way to do it.  I am also pretty sure that zipping yourself into an enclosed tent and spraying the walls down with no ventilation is not good either.  But that is precisely what I did.  I was higher than a kite as I watched my brand new tent walls turn yellow right before my eyes.  As it turns out, when you buy cans of stuff that say "spray in a well ventilated area" and "spray in an inconspicuous area to test the effect on the material"...well, they say that for a reason.

Anyway, that brings me to day 11 in my 12 day scramble to get ready for my art show.  I ordered new tent walls today.  They are made of a more water retardant material and are actually white.  They will be here on Wednesday.

 I will not spray on them.  

I will not be the tacky one with stained walls at the show.

I also put on a second coat of spray paint onto my new shelves (see day twelve).  I accidentally bought flat paint.  By the end the day yesterday I could see where hundreds of little hands and perhaps a few bike tires had touched it.  That just wasn't going to work.  So, gloss it is.  Should be easier to keep clean.

The other major thing I did today was the re-branding of all my "stuff"...what?

Well, I had the boring grey and yellow motif in the back for the past year or year and a halfish.  Nothing against the design...but I always wanted to use my own artwork for my logo and branding.  I painted the orange gerber daisy as part of a commission...read the story here.  It has a ton of meaning, plus it is bright and eye catching.  I recently designed a new scheme...I've been scheming!  Anyway, my new look includes Navy blue, sky blue and lime green accents.  So, all the "about me's" and the "about tiny by designs", business cards...you name it, they all should be updated.  So I am doing my best, right now, as I write this, to make that happen!

and that, in a nutshell, is my prep for today!

thanks for joining me on day eleven of the countdown!

td

for more tiny by design artwork, please visit www.tinybydesign.com

twelve

and then there were twelve...

twelve days to get my shit together for the first art show of the season.

I thought it might be fun to document my scramble to get it all done ~ two and four year old in tow. Over the  next twelve days I will post about the steps that go into creating this year's art show display.  Who knows, maybe there is someone, somewhere out there who might learn from my learnings...or perhaps (better yet) there is someone, somewhere who might chime in and offer some tidbits to cut my learning curve down a bit...who knows.  Either way, it's bound to be entertaining...everything is with when coupled with trying to save two toddlers from themselves.

I started this morning by knocking a few easy inventory related things off my list.

I ordered prints of my latest pieces:

  "bubble berry tree"

"friend or foal"

"ambassador frog"

"paisley butterflies"

I also decided to order a large 20x30 canvas reproduction of "midnight safari".  I always envisioned this piece as a centerpiece for this years shows.

Don't get me wrong, I was beyond thrilled when the original sold...but I still think it belongs at this show...so my big canvas reproduction should be here in the nick of time.

My ingenious husband and a close friend came up with this idea  to weight down the legs of my tent last year.  He had our friend cut notches into barbell weights.

Great idea on his part.  Bad execution on mine.  The first show I did was very rainy during set up...and mornings tend to be dewy.  Let's just say that they rusted.  Of course they did. So, in addition to looking trashy, they also left not so attractive rust stains on my tent walls when I zipped up for the night.

Time to learn from my mistakes.
Enter my latest addiction...spray paint!

SOOOOO much better!

When I look at pics of my booth last year, I can only think one thing...BORING.

On goal for this year is to dress it up a bit...add a little something to give it a more inviting feel.  I am trying my best to use stuff we have hanging around the house so I don't have to invest a lot of cash into the display (I managed to do that last year when I had to buy the tent, the walls and all the other goodies that go along with it).
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I found this empty shelf behind a door in our spare bedroom in the basement.

 

A coat of spray paint later, I think I found some great shelves to dress up a corner.

The funny thing is, I purchased this handmade shelf at an art show many years ago.  Long before I had any idea that I would one day be manning my very own booth!  Maybe this shelf and I were meant to be.

I was so happy to see that my walls "wintered" well.  I had this fear of them being stored in their boxes and warping over time.  No fear.  They are perfect.  That is until Truman started jumping on them...no time for pic of this not so cute moment.  Must. Save. The. Walls.

Oakley thought they made a good obstacle course...which also gave me a heart attack with how close she came to toppling them!  But she sure is cute, isn't she?

So here is a very rough idea of  how the "print side" of my booth is going to come together.  You can see I have some work to do.  Next dry run, I will add the artwork to the walls and some color to the blackness of the table clothes.

Well, that's it in a nutshell.  Day twelve in the countdown was very productive.
Ordered prints and became a spray paint addict (what else can I paint? what else can I paint?).  The miracle of it is that no little hands touched wet paint or sprayed one another...or me...or the dog.

More to come soon!

Have any ideas, thoughts, advice...please chime in!  I already received one fantastic idea from a post on instagram and am excited to hear more!!

enjoy this amazing spring!
td

for more tiny by design artwork, visit www.tinybydesign.com