I really like doing arts & crafts shows.  I enjoy the people, the questions, and of course making new customers.  One of my favorite shows is coming up this weekend, the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol, CA.  It is a pretty large show for our area, attendance is about 10,000 people for the weekend, but it feels like an old fashioned friendly community kinda place.  Sure there is live music and lots of things to do, but the food is old fashioned and yummy.  Apple and berry turnovers, that kinda stuff.  It is spread out over a nice park under the oak trees, so is enjoyable for all.  Mixed in with the latest in trends is old fashioned items like hay bales, story tellers, apple peeling contests and the like.  It is a family event, in fact we used to take our son to this event when he was young.
  So, my husband and I will be out there having fun this weekend, and hopefully making a few new friends.  If you happen to also attend this show, please come by and say hi... you can always reach me by email since I have my phone with me (isn't technology grand!).  Or you can check out more about this fun event on their website www.gravensteinapplefair.com.

Ann@AnimalCoin.com

Don't get me wrong. I have been loving making the pendants.  I will keep making them with great joy.  But, an artist can't live on pendants alone! (groan...sorry!).  Anyway, I am back in the "mad scientist lab" trying to come up with new items to offer.  Last week I got some cool bookmarker gizmos, and glued a small animal coin on each one.  They turned out so cute!  So I will be taking these to the Gravenstein Apple Festival next week to see if people like them.  Well, I like them, so I hope someone likes them enough to buy them.
   I have also been experimenting with bracelets.  Different styles and ideas.  Finally found one I like and am starting to put them together.  Another fun project that I am falling in love with, and hope others like as well.  So soon, I will get some photos takes and post them here to share.  Would love to hear from anyone who has any great ideas of other things that coins might look good on... animal coins, that is.

Thanks!
Ann of Animalcoin.com

Years ago I was told I couldn’t have cats, that I was highly allergic to them. As you can imagine, that broke my heart. I became obsessed with cats, and started a collection of cat things. Not normal cats, but colorful artistic cats like those drawn by artist Laurel Burch.
Eventually a friend told me about an alternative medicine treatment that had worked to eliminate her horse hair allergy. So, I gave it a try and it worked! I have no idea how it worked, and didn’t care…
So for almost 14 years now, I have owned very furry cats (and dogs) and been delighted. However, I did keep the love of collecting cat things, and that includes coins.
Early on in my coin collecting hobby, I discovered “cat crowns” from the Isle of Man. Each year they issue a new coin with a different breed of cat. When I started painting coins, those cat crowns were top on my list to be transformed into jewelry. I have painted at least 6 different years/breeds of cats, and are always on the lookout for more when I go shopping at coin shows.

Living in Northern California's wine region has its perks!  This last weekend we enjoyed an annual "barrel tasting" event with over 100 wineries opening their doors to come in and taste right out of the barrel with the option to purchase "futures."  I was the designated driver, which is a very honored position around this area, and was treated like royalty by each winery with special treats (like dark chocolate, coffee, tea, etc.)  The best part remains the wonderful views.  On Sunday we had a warm, sunny, wonderful day... so I had to share this photo.  As they say, if this doesn't inspire you, nothing will!

 Barrel Tasting in Sonoma County is the best!  But being what it is, it also brings out some interesting humor.  Besides the group of women wearing flower headbands and carrying Mrs Potato Heads (yes, you read me right!), I saw these fun wine related sayings:

"Wine a bit, you'll feel better."

"I spent most of my money on wine and women...
         ...the rest I've just wasted."

Well, it is that time of year again to come up with some super photos to submit to show juries... ok, I love doing the shows and meeting all the wonderful people who are interesting in my coin jewelry.  Taking photos is something I have to work at, however.  Fortunately, if I take 1,000 photos with my digital camera, I will get something that looks good.... anyway, that is my philosophy. 
For my website, as long the the photo is in clear focus and you can see my product,  we have a win.  For show applications, it is best to do something a little more "art-sy."  That can make me anxious.  Good news, however, I did play around with all kinds of crazy ideas, and then with a little software help cropping them, got some good results.  I guess you could call me stubborn, I really wanted to do this myself.  Love to hear what you think!
Ann

Some coins are NOT created equal.  That is how I felt when I decided to paint this coin.  I was at my local coin club last month, and we had a little coin "flea market."  Harold was telling a few items at his table, and one of them was this coin. Ok, so it doesn't have any animals on it, but I couldn't resist.  So, I took it home and just went with whatever I felt like... and this is the result.  Did I ever share that that is the secret to all "artistic" people, in my opinion anyway.  We throw caution to the wind and go with it.  No planning, just see what happens.  That is when I usually get my best results.  Maybe it is like taking tests in school... go with your instincts because if you think too much you will talk yourself out of the right answer.  Anyway this is a German coin, 1975 5 Mark.  It is made of silver and it is for the European Monument Protection Year.

I found this card at the store, and just had to share it with you.  I have 3 younger brothers, and I always thought I was pretty nice to them.  They, however, seem to think I treated them more like this:

"We've had a lot of great memories, brother....  Like the day your were born and Mom and Dad brought you home from the vet.  Stuff like that."

I have a young friend, age 13, that is crazy about collecting turtles. So when I hear constantly about turtles, pretty soon I end up watching for turtles too. So, in honor of her passion, I am featuring 4 different turtle coins that I have painted.  The coins come from interesting places from around the world!
The first coin on the left is a 1992 50 Tene coin from the Cook Islands.  The Cook Islands issues a lot of very interesting coins, I suspect in the hope that collectors will buy them and help their economy.  In my case, their plan is working!  The country is located about 2,000 miles north east of New Zealand.  It consists of 15 islands with only a population of about 17,000 people, and depends on New Zealand for money and military defense.

The coin at the top right is a 1984 50 Pence coin from Saint Helena & Ascension. They only made this coin one year, and it featured a Sea Turtle.  If Staint Helena sounds familar at all, it might be because this is the island that Napoleon was exiled to.  Also exiled here was several Zula chiefs, and an ex-sultan of Zanzibar.  The island is only 47 square miles is located about 1,150 miles from the west coast of Africa. Obviously it is out in the middle of nowhere, and a good place to exile people.

 The coin  at the bottom left is from Papua New Guinea.  It is a 1975 5 Toea coin and features a Plateless Turtle.  This coin is small, about the size of an American nickel.  Papua New Guinea is populated by about 7,000 Tribes, and has over 700 mutually exclusive languages... communicating has to be a problem there!  It is near the equator and north of Austraila.

The last coin at the bottom right features a Green Turtle and is a 10 Cent coin from the Cayman Islands.  This one, as you might guess, was an 8th grade graduation gift for my young friend who collects turtles.  I think the interesting design and small size of the coin made it a perfect pendant for her.   As you would imagine, I enjoyed painting these coins and turning them into jewelry that can be 'enjoyed.  I also loved researching each coin's story so I could share it with you.

I painted this and I gave it to Sandy, who is an active member of our local coin club.  She has been valiantly fighting cancer, and still managing to get her teenage son to the meetings.  I have remained a member of this coin club, I think, mostly because there are so many good people there.... and Sandy is one of them. Made me feel good to wish her luck this way, and I hope she enjoys it as much as I did making it for her. 

By the way, the coin club has a member auction at the end of each meeting, and Sandy's Dad has this medal for sale.  I thought it was significant that he put it up for sale about the same time I started painting coins.  And if you are wondering why I called this a "medal" rather than a "coin" that is because for coin collectors, a coin is issued by a government and is legal tender, while a medal is issued by anyone else.

Postscript:  Sandy died the first week of August 2009.  Many of us, including me, were quite stunned that she didn't make it... she was such a fighter and had survived for 4 years after she was given 6 months to live with stage sour colon cancer. My heart goes to her son, Jerry, who is going to now live with his aunt, and to Sandy's father Dan.  As he put it, parents don't expect to outlive their children.  Sandy was 47 years old, and touched many of our lives with her determination and love for life and the people around her.  I will miss her, and will give her son a hug everytime I see him...just for her.