Craft Show...Primrose Elementary School, Somers NY, Sat. Dec. 5th, 10-4

Handmade clay button

Monet, very proud in his handknit collar

Matisse looking dignified in his collar

Here are my handsome boys showing off the collars I knit for them. They absolutely love them. Sometimes Monet [top] will lose his. When I find it and ask him if he wants to wear his collar, he stretches forward to let me put it on him. One day the collar was on the coffee table and Monet kept looking at the collar then looking at me, so I held it in front of him and again he stretched forward so I could slip it around his neck. He just loves that thing, and loves the praise when we tell him how handsome he is. Matisse [bottom] witnessed all this so when he got his own collar, he was very proud. He has always been a nervous cat but he easily lets us put the collar on him. The collars are made of 100% wool. I think they like the slight sheepy scent.

Terrific holiday gifts, these Kitty Collars will be featured at the Primrose Craft Show on Saturday Dec. 5th, along with beautifully designed knit hats for children and adults; ultra thick and toasty wrist warmers; adorable coffee cozies that provide a layer of safety between your hot beverage container and your hand; fashionable wrist bangles; knit and crocheted Kitchen Cloths that are "green" and at the same time come in lots of colors and patterns; thick and comfy neck warmers with chunky handmade clay buttons; colorful handmade clay beads, jewelry and much more.

Fall Crafts at Croton Falls

This is my friend Genevieve Boehme, who participated in a Craft Show with me at the Croton Falls Community Church on October 3rd in Croton Falls, NY. Her booth made quite a hit with everyone. The name of her business is polkadoodles, polkadoodleshandmade.com. Take a look at her website to see all the wonderful fabric items she skillfully makes for women, babies and the home.


My husband Dave and I set up our booth, which turns out looking like a Greenhouse full of Fall Vegetables!

My friend and mascott, Froggy sits permanently atop a child's red knit hat and attracts a loyal following wherever he goes. He's a great conversation starter.

Late harvest root vegetables receive a shower of snowflakes.

My booth displays knit, crocheted and felted items side by side with original designs in jewelry, beads and buttons. This lightfilled greenhouse-like window in the church was a welcome surprise.

Beads in colorful polyclay.

Whimsical Buttons in polyclay, when you have a cherished handknit that needs closure, or a handbag or tote that wants some pizzaz.

Polyclay Pins, great for a jacket, coat, handbag, bulky sweater...

a strong fabric that requires a big statement.

A very lightweight pendant with handstamped original designs, colored inks, charms.... all held together with copper wire, and hung from a soft glass cord. Handmade copper clasp.


A local craft show is the perfect venue for making a start selling your crafts directly to the public. It's not as threatening to the novice as a larger show, doesn't require distant travel
or an expensive stayover, and is a great way to learn the basics of selling. With each show you will become more organized, better known to the local community, more confident, and you will have a better idea of what to make and how best to present your creations. You can find local shows by searching on the internet, by checking local newspapers and the Pennysaver, looking for signs along the roads in your area, checking with churches and synagogues, schools and PTA's. Check out the sales tax rates in the county in which you will be selling. You can add the tax to the cost of your items at the time of sale or include the sales tax in the ticketed price. Go online to learn how to apply for a sales tax certificate in your state, and if you sell in a state other than your own, learn that state's sales tax laws. You will need to send the sales tax money you collect to the appropriate state office on a specific schedule that will be explained to you.

You will likely need to purchase a 6x3 foot folding table and a couple of folding chairs. I keep my table under my couch. Some venues provide you with these items. A cloth placed over the table is useful, especially for hiding empty boxes and bins underneath. I'll talk about other items to bring on my next post.

Strength Courage Peace

This small collage/painting was created on a stretched canvas with acrylic paints, hand carved rubber stamps on polymer clay, shrink plastic sheets, and fabric; copper wire, paper, glass beads, linen chord and metallic paints complete the piece. I've always liked the practice of breaking out of the borders and off the surface of a work.

My Etsy Shop is somewhat delayed in its opening due to the setting up of PayPal which should be finished by next week.

The buttons are coming! The buttons are coming!

Yes, they are finally here after years in the making. Polymer clay buttons you can really sink your teeth into.......NOT! Seriously, these are one of a kind original designs made by moi, having worked on my polymer clay techniques for many years. You actually use a pasta machine as part of the process for creating these little works of art. Colored clays must be mixed and conditioned by kneading, rolling and generally abusing the clay until it is soft and pliable. That's where the pasta machine comes in. You must laboriously roll sheets of the mixed stuff through the machine about 20 times. You do this for each color you are creating. Then you are ready to start putting the colors together in various shapes and combinations to create logs of clay that you can slice into geometric patterns that dazzle the eye. You can also stamp, paint, carve and sand the clay to allow endless design variations. I also make jewelry out of this clay which I will show in another post. I will in the next couple of weeks be posting my paintings, prints, jewelry, buttons and note cards on ETSY, an internet website for artists to sell their handmade wares.

Cindy's Buttons Little Works of Art