Ravenwood Faire is in the Air!

Greetings Everyone,
     
       I'm back after a wonderful and windy Sunday at a small start up Renn Fest called Ravenwood Faire. It's held in Clearview Virginia about an hour and a half outside of Carroll County. They had a bunch of enthusiastic folk there. From one of the Tavern Tents you could hear shouts of Huzahhh! every time someone tipped them only to have it echo from other vendors across the grounds. They had a local Glassblower  Adam's Glass
from Reston, Virginia doing demonstrations and his work is very beautiful and durable. You can find him on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/adams_glass/

     He seems very passionate and enthusiastic about his work, his partner is also very knowledgeable and is able to answer questions and concerns thoroughly in regards to their product while he is busy demonstrating.

      We also stopped in over at Angels & Griffins Armour and spoke with Mr. Chad Patterson and his Wife. They are lovely folk, their wares consisted of Swords, Kilts and various Armor types. Chad does beautiful leatherwork. (I regret not taking more pictures, alas my phone was dead) you can reach out to Chad and his wife concerning their work through Facebook.
https://m.facebook.com/Angels-and-griffins-armour

     Then their lovely friend Mrs. Izzy who makes the most beautiful and fantastical Dragon quilts. (Sometimes I swear I need to be made of money or something) You can find her by her totally awesome wild colored hair. She as an equally wild and fey like disposition that is perfectly at home in this little Faire. A treat to talk to and a sunny smile for all who say hello she is an amazing artist with an amazing personality to match. You can find examples of her work on her website.

www.izzyisms.com

     Of course no Faire would be complete without commenting on the Many craft Brews that they had flowing through the Tavern tents and while I personally did not indulge their I did go to the Meadery and have a taste of their wares. (I did not come home with a bottle .......nope sure didn't...) Misty Mountain Meadworks, Inc. based out of Winchester VA has some very interesting and very tasty Mead on tap, They have a very nice staple Wildflower Mead and then some more interesting flavors like Lemon Mead and Hazelnut. The staff were very knowledgeable and friendly to speak with and they can ship out of state if you don't live in or around where they are in Virginia. I can't begin to say how happy I am to have found a supplier of a Mead I actually like. So if your ever in the Winchester area stop in and try them out.

www.mistymountainmead.com

     A little closer to home one of the Vendors I met on my way into Faire is right here in Ellicot City MD. Dirtflower Crystals and Strange Things run by Sir Randolph Peters was there blowing bubbles at incoming guests and pulling everyone in with the gems beget by our Mother Earth. Fantastic Quartz and Labrodorite, Flourite and Onyx. Beautiful crystals everywhere and his walking staff would make any rock lover salivate. An amazing work of art worthy of Van Gogh himself.
   
      I can't begin to say enough about the Henna and Facepaint artist and her two lovely Daughters, One of her daughters is a self published Author at the wonderful Age of 12. Her book Sprinkles of Kindness is based on her own life story deals with the effects of living with a unique medical condition and the bullying she has endured and still does to some degree. While the book is not on shelves just yet she does however craft her own fairy bottles and fills them with resin and yes actual food sprinkles to spread her sprinkles of kindness message. It truly is amazing what just a kind word or two can do for someone.

 All in all I have to say my experiences here at Ravenwood had an amazing impact on me just from talking and listening to people alone. I would be here all day waxing lyrical about it. This is definitely an up and coming Faire to visit and next year I certainly hope to be a larger part of something so joyous and fun. The people were amazing and I can't wait to go back both as a Patron and potentially a vendor at this amazingly Unique event.

     There's something to be said for the magic that happens at these tiny Faires and to the joy and genuineness of the vendors and patrons. As fun as the bigger faires are we need to realize that back in those days markets were tiny and local and the people true and faire. We need more of that now more than ever in this day and age....


Blessings to all my viewers here with The Daily Maker.
Look for me this Weekend At The Chaos Creationz Booth In Mt. Airy at the Mt. Airy Senior Center Fall Festival.
Ciao

Goblins, Ghouls and Ghosts Oh My! Costumes and and the History of Guising

Hello All and Welcome back to The Daily Maker.
So it's that time of year again when ghosts and goblins abound. I'm talking of course of Halloween our lovely tradition of dressing up in the spookiest and scariest things and going door to door for candy. So this year I wanted to redo a costume from last year now that I have another years worth of Crafty education under my belt. I am attempting round two of being a Plague Doctor. My daughter thank heavens is content with her owl costume from last year as a purple rainbow owl and my Husband has plenty to choose from himself.

  
    This was last year and I wasn't too thrilled with how my costume came out. The coat turned out awesome for being a mash up of two old coat patterns I had lying around. My mask however left something to be desired. So after some research and a pop up from Etsy regarding a shop with leather patterns when I was looking into how to make boots... I found the shop DieselPunk. The guy has awesome leather patterns and he sells them for really reasonable prices too. I've included his link below.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DieselpunkRo

    Anyway, his patterns are suited to a standard printer and require some assembly with scissors and tape but the results I believe at least speak for themselves.

 

After getting everything cut out and all the holes punched assembly was extremely easy

just a bit time consuming. The whole process was very straight forward. The only thing I had to imagine was the stiffener for the brim. I used thin wire mesh, after stitching it together I made the hatband with a bunch of mini bottles I picked up at Michaels.

Yeah I'm being weird, but hey I honestly can say I love my hat. Seriously, I wear it constantly, look for me around town in Westminster with it. My mask turned out awesome too.

 

I didn't exactly follow the pattern provided because I wanted to put my own twist on things

but I like how it turned out much better than my first attempt. I also made some potion bottles and a pouch to complete the look, with the use of my old coat I figured I could pull off the look pretty well.

 Yes the pouch is rainbow.

Anyway I love everything about Halloween, it really is the most creative Holiday of the year when people go out of their way to be something different for a day or two or four....
However Halloween used to be something very different and the traditions that we follow for it come from quite the colorful background.

Let me take you back to a simpler time when beliefs were very different then those of today.

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sah-wen). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Scotland, Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France,though there were many Germanic Celts as well.

   During this time of year Samhain was celebrated as the death of the old year, when the God who governed the sun and light died and left his Widow to mourn for him until his rebirth in the spring. It was also one of the two times of year when the veil between worlds was thinnest allowing for Sidh (pronounced shee) what we know as Fairies and spirits of the dead to visit the living. Many Celts thought that to appease the Sidh and Spirits they should offer food and hospitality. 

 They threw feasts and parties in honor of those past.

Children and teens to honor the dead would dress in the clothes of their dead ancestors (ie great grand parents and other dead relatives) and go door to door reciting verses and asking for food scraps to burn in offering. Setting were placed at family meals in household to welcome those who had passed.

Turnips not pumpkins were carved and placed outside the doors to ward off the mischievous Sidh who liked to play pranks or were sometimes down right mean. The cattle were pulled in from the fields and ritually blessed and cleansed to survive the winter. 

So all in all a very different time and belief system than what we know today. Anyway I hope everyone has something spooky to wear.

Happy Halloween Ya'll.

Regards

Andi from Chaos Creationz

Welcome To The Daily Maker!

Hello Viewers!
      Welcome to the Daily Maker, this has been something of a vision of mine for quite a number of years now. Since I am new to you let me introduce myself. My name is Andi maker extraordinare! Well not really but it's what I wish to become. My goal here with The Daily Maker is to help showcase different projects from inception to completion, inspire my viewers into trying something new and even if you don't wish to try it yourself but wish to meet the maker for a commission or two showcase local area venues that your makers are going to be at.

     I have three core values that I both live by and wish to share with you my viewer through this blog. The first is my absolute favorite of course.
I am talking about INSPIRATION!

    Inspiration can be achieved through the smallest of actions whether its contemplating some problem that needs a solution. Looking at the scenery around you and wishing to share the moment, even a small act of kindness for a stranger all of these can inspire in different ways. You never know how your perception of the world around you can change things if you just share them.

The second value is RESPECT!
   
    Respect is my second value here because as an Artist critique is common and to many people openly criticize and judge hastily. Yes everyone has an opinion and is entitled to said opinion but openly degrading opinions need to be kept on a short leash. They do nothing for the Artists and only show the ugly side of the viewer. No one says you have to agree all the time but civility is much preferred over discourtesy.

The third and final value is GROWTH!

     Everyday represents an opportunity to grow mentally, physically and spiritually. You never know what might encourage you to grow as a person. Myself well I have found a variety of things over the years. My daughter leading the charge on that one. Raising her is what got me out of the dead end rut I was in emotionally. Now I wouldn't say I am personally successful by any means. That's my end goal. However between her and my husband they have given me the drive to reach for the stars and I will get there and so will you my viewer.

The idea and inception of Chaos Creationz, my business.

    So a while ago I decided that as a mom the 9-5 Corporate world was not for me. I wanted to see my daughter grow up and working 9 to 14 hour days just did not sit well with me. I know that a lot of people do it and I commend those that do. It's just not for me, that said I sat down and started brain storming a solution. So I took a look at my skills, I've always been crafty and artistic and I was pretty decent at sales from years of Girl Scout cookie selling so I set about making basic costume jewelry and vending shows.

    The idea had been kicking about in my mind ever since talking to two vendors one Growing up, a lady bless her I can not remember her name. I met her at the Festival of trees in Timonium Md. She had the most exotic booth and her hair was always in dreadlocks. I thought she was the coolest so I befriended her. Her booth was the only one with dragons. Over the years of going I always looked forward to catching up with her she always reminded me of a modern day Gypsy. Jovial and kind she eventually let me help her when I attended. I always thought that I really want to do this on my own one day. She was my inspiration sharing with me the idea of a community of crafters from which she hailed. A communal living situation for people who balked at the traditional way of life and wished for a simpler path.

    My second inspiration was a gentleman who I met at Gettysburg Bike Week. He makes and sells Magnetic Jewelry. I was up there visiting my mother who works with one of the other vendors and was looking for something to do til she was done. This gentleman took notice of the necklace I had made and was wearing and complimented me on it. After I thanked him he set aside what he was doing and we started talking. He described how he had started what he was doing and how he grew to become one of the larger Jewelry vendors for bikers here in Maryland. But the biggest tip of his that I took with me was that no matter what I should never give up on my goals.

   It's funny how two people who both showed me a small kindness one humoring a child and the other striking up a conversation with a bored young adult, could have such a profound effect on my life. This year around June I launched my business officially and since I have vended at five different events locally in Maryland by the years end I will have done nine. The best part is that I actually truly enjoy what I am doing and have been invited to other events since. I never imagined the fanciful dreams of my younger self would ever hold water but maybe if you slowly plug up all the holes in a pipe dream one day it just might.

This is Andi With Chaos Creationz
Signing off for the day
Days Blessings Everyone