WEEKEND OF FAMILY & ZAFIRO JEWELRY

Well, I am happy to say that I am back on wheels.  I felt a bit stranded the last 2 weeks in Atlanta with no car.  Last Thursday my mom flew here to help me prepare for my jewelry for Candler Park Fallfest,  and my dad drove my car from Ohio, where it had been sitting fro the last year and a half.  Don't feel bad, my dad loves to drive, and he volunteered!  Thanks Daddy!!

My parents and Smita were our first guests in our new apartment, it is only about t 600 square feet and as you can see from the pictures below, it is painted BRIGHT ORANGE!  I was in shock at first, but I really like it now.Maybe it is because we just came from Mexico and it is all about bright colors there.  (Ernesto wants to paint over it-a green, which would be fine with me too)  Thursday night my dad arrived at 830pm.  Smita and I were drinking a bottle of wine, and Ernesto had bought some tequila for his new Mexican shot glasses.  

As you can see, my mom really liked it. 

I had a long list of things to do before my jewelry show.  Much of it was getting crafty, so my mom and I had fun with it.  First on the list was to transform this wood frame that I bought at TJMAXX for $20.  I wanted to cover  the existing cork board with a cream burlap fabric so I could pin my earrings on it. 

{before}

  

{after}  

I love how the fame turned out!  

Does it remind you of a patina?

Remember these letters that I bought at Joanne Fabrics? 

Well, we painted them the same way.  They are hollow cardboard, so they are very lightweight.  We glued them onto a burlap banner with wood scrolls at both ends. 

 I had 2 unfinished pine boxes that Ernesto had built me a couple years ago.  We stained them a rich chocolate brown.  (our apartment is up the staircase, over the garage)

No trip to Atlanta is complete for my Dad unless we go to Taqueria del Sol for fish tacos, or Ernesto cooks his famous fish tacos at the house.  Friday night we went to the Taqueria.  Here we are standing in line to order.

  Funny enough I think this is the only restaurant that my dad doesn't mind waiting.  There is ALWAYS a line, but the food comes out within 10 minutes of you sitting down...and its always so good! (Plus you can order drinks while you wait)  On this trip, not only did my dad get the taqueria tacos, but as a special thank you for driving my car down,  Ernesto made his delicious fish tacos  (recipe is posted on Viva la Cocina)

The show was Saturday and Sunday, and the weather forecast was looking dismal.  My assigned time to load my tent into my space was Friday afternoon.  I was really happy about that because it was my first time setting up my new booth design, so I didn't want to be rushed arranging things the morning of the show. 

A few weeks ago when I went to Ohio my mom and I worked on my new tables.  We [more she] made fitted slipcovers out of an indoor/outdoor fabric.  The have slits in the back easy for storing things underneath.  The tables are raised 12 inches [with PVC pipe] and without the grass the material is flush to the ground. 

The bust/mannequin that my mom picked up at a garage sale was a great find!  It is a heavy plastic or fiberglass and we used a spray adhesive to cover it in fabric.  I am happy with it. Its a great showcase outside the tent to draw customers in.  The tent looked very monochromatic, so we added turquoise fabric panels on the walls. Sticking with my turquoise theme (I know I need to stop with the turquoise, but I can't!) I featured two turquoise necklaces on the bust. 

After our mock set up on Friday we had some ideas and Saturday morning did some last minute changes to the booth.  

I was so excited to be set up for another show, they are really fun to do, and my new design made it even more exciting.  I am ready to break out my new jewelry designs now.  Most of my pieces are from before my Costa Rica stint, and I know my style has evolved with my Latin America experience.  More to come on that...and photos of ZAFIRO at the show! 

One last "thank you" to my wonderful parents, who are always there for me.