Audra Jennings

Last week I worked on canvases for Derrick Days here in Corsicana this past weekend. I added a new quote from Dr. Seuss into my collection.  This was going to be the only spring event we did since it was home (we're going to try one more this coming weekend). It's the only outdoor event we ever do, and this weekend was a good example as to why. When we unloaded, Dad wasn't going to get out the weights at first. "I don't know if we'll need them," he said. I said that I thought we need some kind of weights. So we got the flat weights. During set up, some of our stuff was blowing terribly bad. Whole displays were falling over. The tent was blowing up. Dad had to go for the cinder blocks.  The booths across the street had to give up on their tents.  Even with the cinder blocks, we were having to zip tie everything in place and hold down the tents in gusts of wind. Dad was about ready to pack it up and go home. We finally had to take the co...

What a difference a week makes! Last Saturday was rainy and cold. This Saturday was sunny and hot. In fact, by late afternoon, it was very hot. Thanks goodness! Derrick Days in Corsicana was good to us this year. Last year, the weather was so bad Mom and Dad couldn't set up the tent without it blowing down the street, so we completely lost out. This year, the wind didn't blow until later in the day. Dad didn't even tie the tent downs until 3:00. It's the only outdoor show we have done worth the risk of the weather. The only "dog and turkey leg" event we'll do going forward, possibly the only spring show we do from here on out. One thing I do have to say about my hometown... crowds come out for Derrick Days. Dad cut a few books as a demonstration. That really wasn't a big deal, or at least like we thought it would be. However, for anyone asking how we cut them, we could show them what a scroll saw is. I wanted to try my hand at cutting a book,...

In a few weeks, we will be doing Derrick Days here in Corsicana. The Crafty Dad and Daughter is, in fact, going to be a featured demonstration booth. That, in part, is because the town is not overflowing with blacksmiths and glass blowers. We're actually going to be a great demonstration booth. Every where we go, people ask how Dad cuts books. He's going to have one of his scroll saws out on Beaton Street and show how he cuts each one. We've never done that before, so it ought to be interesting. It will also be messy. Book dust is much worse than saw dust. Meanwhile, we'll also answer where we get our books. I just got 70 in from eBay this week. They are sitting in middle of the floor because that's as far as I got them. When the first box of 34 came in early in the week, I hurt my already sore shoulder pushing them in from the front porch.  Part of the demonstrator perks is that we're supposed to get some extra PR coverage in the local newspa...

You know what happens when I stay up late working on projects? I either sell the last thing I made at the next event that goes well, or I made tons of stuff for no reason at all. We've been looking forward to the coming weekend because one of our two events for the weekend was good for us last year. Derrick Days is a local outdoor event. The forecast is for thunderstorms all day Saturday. If it's like that, people aren't going to get out to go to the indoor event either. I really need to catch a break. Let's pray the rain holds off until Sunday.

Expect a lot of craft pictures over the next couple of weeks because I'm going to try to get a lot of stuff made for two events coming up in a couple of weeks. Even though our spring has been slow (and I spent a slow day manning the shop we have a booth in today - four slow weeks in a row), we have a local event, Derrick Days, that went well last year coming up on April 29 (go to www.derrickdays.com  for the full list of events). The same day, I'm going to be set up in Mansfield at a market with lots planned. Hopefully, it's well advertised because if it's not, all the activities in the world won't get people there. Because we are going to be at two locations, and because the booth at Derrick Days is going to be really big, we need lots of stock to split. There's lots of new things I've been wanting to do too. If I work hard to get it done over the next two weeks, it will either A) sell or B) put me that further ahead for fall which is NOT slow. ...

It's no secret (because I have said so here) that The Crafty Dad and Daughter has had less than stellar events the past couple of months. Events we thought would have tons of people were seemingly ghost towns.  Coupled with threats of thunderstorms, I kept my expectations for Derrick Days in Corsicana low and was pleasantly surprised! There were crowds all day long, and we had a really good day.  I haven't gone down to Derrick Days and years, and the last time I did go, the crowds weren't huge. I think there were arrests for drunken disorderly conduct, and maybe a stabbing last year.  I finally have to give the hometown some props since we had one of our best (if not the best) single day ever. At the end of the day, we had empty spaces we didn't have something to put back up in. It's been a while since we have had an event where you could see empty spaces.  Now, I have two weeks to make lots of stuff back for the Balloon Festival in Canton in two...