Could I Be Any More Charming? Probably.

I began to wonder if my pliers would break somewhere in the middle of 71 charms for Art & Soul http://www.artandsoulretreat.com. I made a batch of 32 and then 39 of these little Mermaid Moon Ballerinas. Hard to believe something less than two inches long has at least nine different parts. They ae strung on a two-inch eye pin with a silver spacer at bottom, then a wire-wrapped large bead for the skirt, a square bead for the body and a small round or oval bead for the collar. This is followed by the moon bead. The pin is then cut and wire-wrapped by hand-not my strongest suit. Some blood was shed during this project as well as a few verbal inhibitions. To the wire-wrapped loop I added a jump ring and then a split ring so these can be safely attached on the 32 different charm bracelets they will get swapped out for. I'll receive my finished bracelet of 32 all different charms on May 1 in Hampton, VA. Happy May Day to me!

The second batch- 39- will be taken in individual baggies with Moo cards for random swapping during A&S. I am also taking either artist trading cards (ATCs) or fiber packs. I am told fellow artists stop and swap everywhere~ in class, in the halls, in the bathroom, in taxis, at dinner, etc., and that "about 50-100" random swap packs are needed if one wants to be fully prepared. So I am about halfway there with about 16 days to go. Can't wait!

I can be more charming, though, as approximately 36 more charms are needed for June 8 at the Castle in the Meadow event in Detroit, MI at the Dodge mansion for ZNE, VariaZioNE http://www.zneart.com, a mixed media artists' group whose Midwest meeting and charm swap I will attend then and whose national convention I will attend in August http://www.zneconvenzione.com. Yay! Check it out.