You've Got Maille

Boulder Opals

2011-10-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

"And lo! the beautiful opal - That rare and wondrous gem - Where the Moon and Sun blend into one is the child that was born to them." - Ella Wheeler Cox

I was at Ketner's Mill Country Craft Fair a couple of weeks ago and a lady came by with a stone (it always amazes me when people have these things with them) that blew my mind. It looked like a solid tiger's eye or jasper, but it had a window with shimmering opalescence. She asked if I could wrap it in copper, and I did, and she was so happy with the wrap that she hugged me (she'd apparently been told a price once that was ridiculous, and had put off having anything done with it for a very long time). I'm still kicking myself for not having my camera with me to take a better picture of the finished pendant; it really was amazing. There are some crappy pics I took with my phone on Facebook.

I decided I needed to figure out what that stone was ("opal" was all I had) and get my hands on some for myself, so I found a supplier and spent more than I probably needed to, but I am so excited to get them and wire wrap them in time for Christmas. The pictures above are two of the seven I bought, but still pictures really don't do them justice. The fine veins shimmer and dance with color and iridescence when you move them.

Boulder opal was discovered in Australia in the 1870s. The opalescent veins can be many different colors, and run through ironstone matrix, which means that every one of these is very different. It's hard to cut them into traditional cabochons so they're usually cut kind of free form.

I also got some other beautiful stones from my usual supplier that will be getting some attention shortly. There is a new option on the website to choose a stone and have me wrap it custom for you. I don't know if any of these will make it there, but there are lots of pretty stones available. And, as always, if you've been carrying around a stone (it has to be bigger than about 10 mm for wire wrapping) that means something to you, and you'd like it custom wrapped, contact me.

Ear Cuffs

2011-08-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ear cuffs have become one of my best-selling items; theyr'e definitely unique. What are they? Basically I take a piece of wire, add embellishments, and bend it so that it can cling to your ear at the narrow part up the side. Most of them require no piercing (except a few like this one that have an earring attached as well). I can make them in a variety of colors out of enameled copper including: burgundy, red, amber, orange, yellow, lime green, bright green, seafoam green, teal, dark green, dark teal, ice blue, peacock blue, royal blue, navy blue, purple, lavender, violet, lilac, eggplant, pink, fuschia, gunmetal, black, silver, gold, copper and antique brass. All of them are coated with an enamel finish so should not bother anyone with nickel allergies.

Check out my gallery of earrings on the web site here: http://youvegotmaille.net/gallery/earrings The cuffs are part way down the page. Let me know what color wire you'd like and any other directives on color scheme, whether you'd like chain embellishments or charms, and I'll whip one up for you for less than $10 (depending on how complicated you want it). Or, if you like to shop in person, you can stop by Fragrant Mushroom Gallery in Sparta and see the ones that are available there for sale. Try something different!

Partnership

2011-06-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

We met our friends Yvonne and Randy last year at MidSouth Con and I knew right away we'd get along. They do chainmaille and wire wrapping that's a style similar to mine (but still recognizably different, we think). They like a lot of the same things. A year and a bit later, we're buds. We've done several shows together in the interim and I discovered something: Von is a way better salesperson than I am in person.

So we struck up a partnership of sorts: they are taking some of my jewelry to shows with them, and in charge of customer contact at shows we are both at. I, on the other hand, am taking over their online sales and promotion PR.

So, without further adieu, I present to you Back to Earth Creations. On their website you'll find a variety of jewelry (it also is in the process of being updated). I tend to wire wrap pendants, whereas Von creates these intricate full necklace pieces like the one above . She also has amazing bellydance outfits, and wood burned boxes. I am in charge of their Etsy shop, where I'm in the process of getting lots of goodies listed. Do check them out, and expect to hear more about them on this woefully neglected blog (I have the best of intentions, I really do...), which will shortly reflect the partnership since I'm going to promote both businesses from here. Welcome!

Treasury Crazy

2010-12-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

I don't know when Etsy changed their Treasury system so there isn't a mad dash to make one, but I'm having a great time making a few. Here I give you my favorite selection (or one of them, when I can't pick!) from the treasuries I've made over the last few weeks. And a link so you can enjoy the rest of them. Click the title for the treasury, the shop name or picture for the item

"Ornaments to Die For" Treasury:
I love Christmas ornaments, so I've chosen a few of my favorite handmade ones, including this hand painted ornament from Gwydion's Garden.

From my "Geek Out Your Christmas" Treasury comes this fun personalized photograph. It's not my favorite at My Magic Me's shop, so you should definitely check out the other options for a really unique gift there.

In my "Compost and Garden Daydreams" treasury I give you a few items to keep you gardeners over the winter... and growing your compost pile in the meantime! I adore this compost crock from KB Originals, etc.

Steel being one of my favorite materials, I created this "Man (or woman) of Steel" treasury, featuring this adorable yoga pose skeleton by Zed's Zombie Ranch (and there are several other amusing steel skeltons to be found in his shop)
And finally, I celebrate the spirit of Yule in my treasury "The Holly King and the Oak King", featuring this magnificent oak carved out of oak by Treewiz. Do check out the treasury, it was really hard to pick a favorite from this one.

There you have it, five items from five treasuries that I thoroughly enjoyed making. Happy holidays!

A Message of Faith, No Matter What Yours Is

2010-12-09T05:49:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by a POEST chat last night to do a little feature on various holy days in December, so for each of the ones I can think of you get an Etsy item. Voila. From each of these days I hope to give you a message of the holiday that you can take with you for whatever celebration you choose.

First, Kwanzaa. For this holiday I give you a listing from which I learned something new. The Sankofa symbol in the Akan language of Ghana symbolizes a word that means "return and take it," meaning that we should take from the past the wisdom of our elders and predecessors. Here's the listing, a cup with this symbol by Dovecote Design:

For Hanukkah I chose a breathtaking papercut by Jewish Papercuts that bears the words in Yiddish (I assume, please excuse my ignorance) Yehi Shalom: May there be peace in your dwelling. May there, indeed, be peace in yours.

There are a lot of people clamoring to "Put Christ back in Christmas" and I hope I will not risk offending anyone when I say this: Put "Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men" back in Christmas. Anyway I adored this Christmas card from Sugar Tree Studio because of the peaceful image of the cardinal in the snowy tree, and the fact that you can add beautiful photos of your family to it, to send to everyone on your card list.

On December 22 the Hopi celebrate Soyaluna, which is a festival celebrating the return of the sun. It is also a time of saying prayers for the new year and wishing each other prosperity and Health. From Desert Rose Art Glass I present to you this lovely Kachina that seemed appropriate:

Solstice celebrations are almost as old as mankind, today celebrated by pagans, wiccans, Asatru, and countless others. From ancient solstice celebrations, and often from Yule in particular, nearly every holiday celebrated this month celebrates light in some manner. The tradition of the Yule log survived into Christmas celebrations and the meaning of burning this log all night long was hope: even in the darkest darkness there is light. Even if you don't have a fireplace you can adapt with this yule log candle holder by Cedar Candle Lights:

The fasting of Ramadan is (in part) to teach Muslims to remember the plight of those less fortunate, and in some places it is not unusual on Eid (the celebration at the end of the fast) to greet total strangers or give gifts to children you don't know. Arabic calligraphy is breathtaking and seems to lend itself to pictures... these earrings by Norouzi represent the word for peace, and resemble a dove:

Whatever your faith, I wish you peace, joy and love this holiday season, and upon all those you love.

The Subtle Forms of Geekery

2010-06-14T05:29:00.001-07:00

The past two weekends I took the helm of the USS Grand Caravan and headed into the unknown on an adventure to seek out strange new life and new civilizations. I discovered it. At a Renaissance Faire, and a Sci Fi convention.
I confess it: I am a nerd. The pic above is me at a Renfaire about three years ago, and yes, those are elf ears. What you, the uninitiated, may not know, is that there are subtleties in forms of geekery and, well, levels. As someone who plays roleplaying games two days a week, loves costuming and renfaires, makes chainmaille jewelry, has read the Silmarillion, and has more than a working trivia knowledge of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, I figure I am approximately a level seven geek. (I could make jokes here about my regular bathing and teeth brushing preventing further advancement, but I won't... well I guess I just did...).
Geeks have this funny way of measuring themselves against other nerds. Like, "Dude, I roleplay, but I won't LARP" (live action roleplaying, for those of you not in the know... basically, acting out the spellcasting and such). I dunno, does it make us feel like we still have one foot in the mainstream? I think that's the way most of us like it. We live in another world sometimes (literally), but we like to think we can seamlessly blend with the real one when we want to. And, we go to these events, cons and renfaires, and measure ourselves against the yardstick of the Epic Level Geek.
All of this occurred to me as I listened to a conversation (not the first one I've heard) about the relative merits of one superhero versus another, and about their supposed personal lives. I'm not a comic geek. Russ won't even send me web comics if they have panels, I don't get them. Some sort of mental block. But I guess I need to be standing on the outside of one of these subtleties of geekness to see what all of it looks like to the rest of you.
On the other hand, I suspect there are a whole lot of closet geeks (just past character creation, a n00b, a geekling) out there. Based on the number of people playing World of Warcraft. And the fact that Big Bang Theory seems to be such a huge hit -- could it be you're measuring your level of geekness as you're watching this show, too, the same way those of us who are out of the closet do at cons and faires?
If that's the case, I recommend you give in a little and enjoy it. Oh, I know if you show up at the next Renfaire and I'm standing there in costume, you'll probably do that little mental calculation and figure you're still mostly normal compared to me, and that's cool, cause we all do it (come on nerds, you KNOW you do...). But if we chat about the circlet I'm selling that you're thinking of buying to accessorize your new Renaissance dress, or we discuss the feasibility of time travel, or warp versus hyperdrives, or CG Yoda versus puppet Yoda (we are getting into higher levels here).... well, there's a moment of solidarity there, and it's good. There have been way too many fanboy movies over the past few years for you to deny the little geek in you. We know our own.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a new steampunk costume to plan.

Upcoming Exciting Events

2010-06-02T19:30:00.001-07:00

We'll be at the following events:

June 5-6
Shakespeare and Friends Renaissance Festival, Rogersville TN

June 11-13
Sci Fi Summer Con, Atlanta GA

Also, besides Fragrant Mushroom Gallery, starting June 19 we'll have items for sale at Solstice Winds, a new metaphysical shop in Cookeville, TN, and A Rare Find, a gift shop also in Cookeville.

Hoping to revamp our website soon, as well. Hope you can make one of the above events or shops, we're excited about the future!

Use Your Heart

2010-02-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

Zyklon

Arthie

Every once in a while someone drops by and hearts my shop on Etsy. I try to visit all of these shops and sometimes find a treasure. This is one of them. Click the pictures to go look at these lil guys and then go to Triquimooches's shop and browse the other cute stuff.

Now, I should mention that I'm definitely not a plushie person. I have seen so many plushies on Etsy that I could gag, because so many of them are so ugly to me... I confess I wasn't much of a doll person as a kid, either (if you've been reading for a LONG time you'll have seen my rants about Barbie). I had a dollhouse when I was younger but I wanted no dolls because they usually sit in the chairs with their arms and legs sticking out at unnatural angles and ruin the tiny realistic effect. I had a gazillion stuffed animals but I really hated the ones that weren't at least relatively realistic looking (like the paisley frog someone gave me...). I know, it's kind of lame.

But I'm not completley immune to plushy cuteness. These guys are just adorable, and right up my alley (meaning, they're just geeky enough for me). Arthie would come to my house if I could afford him and I thought my dog wouldn't abscond with him if he ever had the chance... since I don't have fuzzy things that belong to me he naturally thinks they all belong to him -- I mean, steampunk squishy, how awesome is that!

Even if you don't adopt one of these awesome little dudes (she has really cute monsters, too), you should at least go look at Triquimooches' shop. And then go heart some stuff. You never know who will turn up.

Great Backyard Bird Count

2010-02-12T06:42:00.001-08:00

Once again this year I'm participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Over the course of four days you count birds in your area so Audubon can get an idea of how many birds are in what habitates in what areas of the country. It's a lot of fun, visit the link to check it out.

Buy Handmade, Buy Repurposed

2010-02-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

Stop by Etsy and search "Upcycled" and "Repurposed" and you'll find some ingenious ways people have contributed to reducing landfill, reclaiming bits of Americana, and some brilliant creativity. Here are a few examples.

Bottle Stopper made with a Vintage Trophy Top by ikcdesign

Wine Rack made from Recycled Records by Retired Records

Milk Chocolate Recycled Bike Clock by 1byliz

New Directions

2010-01-28T02:54:00.000-08:00

I've found a new love: deviantArt. The place is as addicting as Elfwood and Etsy were when I first found them. I've actually been there for 9 months now but haven't played with it much or posted much, till now. Check out my spot and friend me over there if you're a deviant.

As of February, I've hired two people, my son Brandon and Aaron from the local school's work program. Here's the plan: increase online presence, build stock for shows, revamp website, and refocus. My "mainstream" stuff (wire wrapping and simple chainmaille) is selling really well at Fragrant Mushroom Gallery and I'm thrilled - and it's also kept me busy enough that I've neglected my Etsy shop somewhat, and even sold a bunch of stuff I never got the chance to photograph (not a bad problem to have!).

But what I'd like to do this year is create more "geek chic" - Renaissance Faire items like the circlet above, hackey sacks, dice bags, keychains made from gaming dice, ear cuffs, etc. And I'd like to try to reach more niche markets like gaming cons, faerie cons, comic cons, anime cons, Renaissance faires, and the like. My stuff doesn't sell all that great at local craft fairs, partly because they're positively saturated with jewelry, but I want to try some new things this year, new designs. A new feel. And three heads are better than one. Second Renaissance will be more mainstream (and stuff will be listed, I've seriously neglected it because all the stock in it sold at the gallery!) but You've Got Maille is going hip. Oh and there should be a ton of new stuff in the Artfire shop very soon.

And, as always, I can't help myself experimenting with new media. I'm going to try some henna art/mehndi, some macrame, some wire sculpture, and when I can afford to, precious metal clay. Aaron does some leatherworking so there may be some maille/leather collaborations in my shop in the near future. So the short of it is, stay tuned to this spot for updates and news!

Here's a formal request for six more hours in a day, please, or at least a way to eliminate the need for sleep!

What Artfire is Doing Right

2010-01-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

I wasn't getting much out of my $7 a month at Artfire, back when I had an account for $7 a month. It's up to $12 now, and I'm seriously thinking of going back and putting more effort into my Artfire account as a Verified Seller. Here's why.

1) I love that I can customize my shop. But that's really kind of an aesthetic thing. I'm cruising around, though, and there's a blog available here, a detailed bio section... heck this could almost be my website. If I type a link in at Etsy, it's dead and the linkee has to paste it into a browser. That's lame, Etsy. Artfire even lets me link to my Etsy shop, if I want to.

2) Google Analytics isn't that difficult at Etsy, but it's a BREEZE at Artfire. You can click on your item in "My Studio Stats" and see exactly what search was typed in at Google, and exactly where your traffic is coming from, with no visit to Google Analytics' somewhat confusing site. I LOVE this. Why is this awesome? If you know what tags are bringing people to your shop, you can hone them to bring more traffic. If you know you have a lot of people coming from Twitter or your blog, you can put more effort into Twitter or your blog.

3) Oh my god, the help guides section! Okay, I don't have to be a paid user to use these, but I'm in love with the fact that there is SO much helpful information on marketing right there in that left column. You really need to go check them out if you sell online. I particularly recommend the Social Bookmarking guide and the Social Networking guide. It breaks down terms like SEO and really helps you figure out your strategy.

4) I'm starting to hear that some of my co-crafters are selling better there than they are on Etsy. That means that the traffic I wasn't getting over there, the reason I abandoned my paid account, is starting to show up. To be fair, I wasn't putting much into my Artfire shop then, so that had to have had a lot to do with it.

5) If I can get my production up, and I list 60 items a month, this account has already paid for itself in 20 cent Etsy listing fees, with no sales. No listing fees, no percentages of your sales going to anyone. Just you. Are you giving Etsy or eBay $12 a month?

6) Rapid cart makes it really easy and handy to sell on your own website or blog with hardly any fuss on the part of the buyer.

7) If I refer 10 people for paid accounts, my $12 monthly fee vanishes, and I am selling for absolutely free.

Which, of course, brings me to the plug: if you're NOT selling on Artfire, try it out with me by clicking the little picture at the top of this post, then get your friends to sign up so you can get it for free too.

Internet Marketing Tips Survey

2010-01-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

I'm doing an Internet Marketing for Crafters class at the local gallery, and I'm putting the call out to you, internet marketing crafters: I need ideas and tips on what's been the most effective marketing strategies. Fill out the survey HERE. If your survey is chosen as the most helpful you'll win a $25 gift card of your choice (just think... Olive Garden... Amazon.com... Fire Mountain Gems... whatever you want).

As a secondary drawing I'm giving away a $20 gift certificate for my own shop, or custom work commissioned from me, for either blogging, tweeting, a mention in facebook or anywhere else, about the survey. For each of the above that you do, come back here and leave a SEPARATE comment for each (once if you tweet, once if you blog, etc.). I'll then do a random drawing from the comments here, so multiples will increase your chances. Check my shop for the goods, or Flickr for an idea of some of the custom work I can do. Please link to this blog post in your notifications, not to the survey itself.

Your deadline: January 23rd. Go to it! Thanks guys!

Classes this month

2010-01-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

This month we'll be making a choker similar to this one in my "Chainmaille for Beginners" class at Fragrant Mushroom Gallery, 12 W Bockman Way, Sparta TN. Besides this, we'll be doing a variety of projects in a variety of weaves that cover the basics of chainmaille. I don't have an exact starting date but it will likely be Saturday mornings beginning toward the end of January (23rd or 30th). The class will be appropriate for ages 12 and up (adults will enjoy it too). The projects will be specific but there will be lots of options for customizing them the way you want them and suggestions for taking the weave a step further to make other things with it. Materials included in the fee, and you can sign up for one class or for all six weeks at a discount. If you're interested call Cherri at the Fragrant Mushroom at 866-836-8190 to sign up.

I'm also doing Internet Marketing for Crafters on Saturdays, after the maille class. This isn't an HTML class (since I know only pretty rudimentary web coding, and technology moves way faster than I can keep up with). Rather, we'll be discussing techniques for getting your work (whatever it is) seen on the web, basic photography on a budget, and selling through marketing sites like Etsy, or your own website. This is also a six-week class.

Stay tuned for pictures of all the projects and more info.

A New Year's Kiss

2010-01-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

Autumn Kiss Papercut by TinaTarnoff on Etsy
(which, by the way, is available as a pendant or greeting card, check out her awesome shop)

There are different types of New Year's Kisses. There are those "Hell I Just Need Someone to Kiss on New Year's" kisses, those "It's So Good To Finally Have Someone To Kiss" kisses. There are those passionate kisses of new relationships. And my favorite... this one has more to it than any other, "Thanks for hanging in there with me for another year and making it better than it would've been without you. Looking forward to this one and many more."

Which is what I got at the stroke of midnight (ok I think we were a little late) last night. Russ and I have had a really wonderful year, amidst most of my friends and family saying it was really a horrible one. But it's nice to know, good years and bad, he'll be there.

Happy New Year to my honey, and to everyone else: may this year be as good for you as the last one was for us. Or at the very least, a little better than last year.

Artisanship

2009-12-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

Tribal Tundra Sapphire Hoops by Pippi Jewelry

Some things, it's obvious that it took insane amounts of time and care to create, like these earrings by my fellow Wire Artisans Guild member (you need to click the link and look at the listing to appreciate the detail on these, this picture makes them look huge but they're not). Still, unless you've bent a wire or two, I bet you have no idea how time intensive something like this is, or how long it takes to build up the calluses that make this not a painful venture. And how hard it is to get the wire to do your bidding, not kink, all that.

But some things, the craftsmanship isn't quite so obvious if you don't know what you're looking at. I'm getting an education in pottery by visiting my friend Patrick at Misty Mountain Pottery. Russ is going to be taking a class from him (and maybe me too). But when we visit Patrick will pull out something and explain to us what it took to get the glaze to look like that, where I hadn't really seen anything but a pot, before, however pretty it was.

And it always occurs to me - the public needs to reconnect with artisanship. You don't have to do every craft to appreciate it. I doubt I'll ever be as passionate about bowls as Patrick is, even if I do throw a few some day. But meeting the people who make things, learning about the process, is eye opening. I was wandering through Wal-Mart (I HAVE to go there sometimes, for a lot of things it's the only place I can get it in town... which i find sad) a few days before Christmas, and I saw a platter that I thought would be perfect for the cheese Russ is enjoying so much these days, but then I thought: I'd rather have a handmade one.

YAY! It's awesome to think that. I'm sure the handmade one will cost me two or three times what that one at Wal-Mart cost (I didn't even look). But something that someone created with their hands, their expertise, their imagination, that has a story, a history. A story that doesn't exploit anyone in a third world country, too. It's awesome if you know the story but even if you don't, the energy that was put into a thing matters.

So my new MO is education. People need to know what it takes to create hand crafted things. Chances are good, if you read my blog, that you make something yourself. Take some time on your own blog, or in another way, to explain your craft to people, especially kids.

It's my hope that I can be part of this artisan education process in days to come, starting with some classes taught at the Fragrant Mushroom Gallery next month. More commentary on a handmade life versus a disposable goods society in days to come, so stay tuned :)

The Mug Collection!

2009-12-27T08:04:00.001-08:00

Ceramics with decals
Originally uploaded by guerrero.ceramics

I decided last year to start replacing my assortment of mugs with handmade ones. So far I have 3 of Thor's at Fragrant Mushroom and one of Patrick's from Misty Mountain Pottery. Both of those guys are friends (and I'm sure I'll buy more of their mugs). But I was perusing Etsy for the fifth mug in my collection today and came across this amazing potter from Pittsburgh who is firing decals onto his pottery with some awesome results. I was attracted to his shop first because of the mugs with the bamboo carved on them (and I may well end up with one!), but when I saw this decal fired dragon I bought it. Check out his shop for other awesome stuff, especially if you enjoy a bit of Oriental flavor to your pottery!

Even better, a portion of his profits support youth art education in Pittsburgh, which I definitely appreciate supporting anywhere!

http://guerreroceramics.etsy.com

Wassailing!

2009-12-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Wassail Mug by TLW Pottery

I think I might've shared my wassail recipe last year but I'm sharing again, because this a HUGE hit at holiday parties. Someone asks me for the recipe every year. Perfect after caroling (does anyone else still go caroling?) Do get yourself some handmade mugs for your warm winter drinks... there's nothing cozier than a warm fire and a warm drink out of a handmade mug.

Holiday Wassail

Corn syrup (this year I used maple syrup and I liked it better - use the real stuff if you do, not Aunt Jemima)

3 Tb. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 Tb. butter

3 small applies (I like green ones)

1 gallon apple cider (I have a second gallon on hand to top it off usually, it goes fast)

1 lemon (and I added an orange this year)

3-4 cinnamon sticks

whole cloves

Slice applies into 1/4" slices. If you cut them horizontally it shows the pretty star pattern. Remove seeds. Dip slices in syrup, then in cinnamon mixed with sugar. Fry in the butter.

Fill a 4 or 5 quart crock pot with the cider and then put the apples in when they're done. There will be gooey buttery cinnamony goodness in the frying pan, throw that in too. Stir. Toss in the whole cinnamon sticks. Slice the lemons and oranges, if you're using them, and stud each section with a whole clove, and put those in the pot too.

Some years I'll add a little bit of another kind of juice, such as cranberry or pineapple, for a little different flavor. Just a cup or two.

Once everything's in the crock put, put it on high for about an hour to two hours, then turn it to its lowest setting to keep it warm during your get-together.

And of course, a little brandy or rum or even white wine added as its served never hurts... if you put it in the crock pot when it's hot the alcohol cooks off, though. Serve with a cinnamon stick and a curl of lemon peel, if you want it to look pretty.

If you make it once for a party, prepare to make it every year for the same party!

Not enough hours...

2009-11-20T10:08:00.000-08:00

Red River Jasper Pendant available at Fragrant Mushroom Gallery
(or if you really want it, message me, I can get it to you!)

It seems like there just aren't enough hours in a day. I have so many plans for things to make, but between working on my yard and playing with my horse, I seem to have time to make enough stuff to send to Fragrant Mushroom Gallery here locally and not much more than that. So if you're local, go see my new stuff!

I just received a shipment of gold filled, argentium and niobium rings from C&T Designs (I haven't said it lately, but they're the best...) so I'm working on an assortment of chainmaille pendants in those materials, and playing with oxidizing some copper and silver. I also just got some wire from Monsterslayer and Parawire so MAYBE I'll find a few hours to wrap some of that stash of gorgeous stones I've got (I have this blue topaz, and a green amethyst... I can't wait to see what becomes of them). I'll take pictures!

This weekend two Gallery teams will be setting up holiday windows at the Gallery, so be sure to stop by and vote for your favorite, and see the new items everyone's bringing out for Christmas. If you haven't been over there (and you're local), GO! The talent is astonishing.

If you haven't found me on Facebook yet, I'd love it if you'd be a fan of my page there. Friend me while you're at it!

Win some fairy magic!

2009-10-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

Adjustable Victorian Twilight Choker by Thyme 2 Dream

I've been in love with the work of my fellow Wire Artisans' Guild member Karla (Thyme2Dream) since I first saw it not long after I found Etsy. She creates pure magic in wire and glass. I've even tried to imitate her work... not very successfully.

Kansas City Street Team is sponsoring a contest this month giving away the beautiful choker above so be sure to head over to their blog for your chance to win a little bit of Karla's magic!

Happy October!

2009-10-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I'm still here, spending my mornings horsing around, my afternoons working (and sometimes evenings if I horsed around too much), evenings with the fam and trying to squeeze in some jewelry making for the upcoming holiday rush in there somewhere. Most of my jewelry is heading to the Fragrant Mushroom Gallery here in town but I'm hoping to get some cool new stuff posted in my Etsy shop soon, too. I'm thinking Christmas already so I'm planning some cool ornaments and things.

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The above bracelet has been sold but it's inspired me to start a new line of awareness bracelets (and possibly other jewelry). I have plans for breast cancer awareness and other forms of cancer (did you know there's a ribbon for many of them? I had a recent custom order from the lady who ordered this one and wanted a lung cancer awareness bracelet as well), support our troops, and autism awareness. Got a cause? I'd be happy to help you design something to commemorate it. If you'd like one similar to the one above (the ring, ribbon or clasp may be slightly different), just drop me a line.

I'm currently working on a black enameled copper viking knit chain for Thor, who owns the gallery, as well as a bead-woven choker, some new chainmaille in sterling and, my favorite, niobium. I'm making more wire-braided bracelets, and of course I have all these pretty rocks to do stuff with....

and the best thing is I'm inspired again after an entire summer of being distracted and uninspired.

From the Gallery

2009-08-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

My first two weeks at the Fragrant Mushroom Gallery were a smashing success, and I think this month is going to be as good... it's at the point where I'm going to have to really push to make enough stuff to keep up with the Christmas season, and that's barring Etsy or any craft shows I do! I'm psyched. It's going to be weird the first time I see someone wandering around town wearing something I created :)

Success is good, but it means I've been neglecting my Etsy shops and even neglecting taking pictures. I sent a load of stuff over to the gallery without even managing to get pics taken, but this latest one I did. See my Flickr page for the latest batch. Even with the neglect, sales on Etsy haven't been bad.

Between my new horse Abbey (she's just a doll!) and keeping up with regular work and demand at the gallery, I'm finding it hard to keep up with a lot of my other online stuff, including my teams and groups, photography, and the Chainmaillers' Guild and Wire Artisans' Guild stuff, so to my friends who are there, I apologize. I haven't forgotten you all, and I'm still mailling and twisting and coiling away :) And riding into the sunset (closer to sunrise) whenever I have the opportunity.

The piece above is for sale at the gallery but if you adore it send me a line and I'll be glad to make one very similar. I'm about as proud of it as any piece I've done recently. The stone is a mystic topaz and is VERY difficult to get a good photograph of! The choker is helm chain done in Argentium and anodized Niobium. More pictures of it on Flickr.

Smithville Jamboree

2009-07-29T05:10:00.001-07:00

I shared a booth at Smithville Jamboree (July 4 weekend) with Maggie (in the picture). Not a bad show - about the best I've done at a craft fair, actually, but I still wasn't happy with what I made, considering I sat in this tent for 25 hours that weekend. And packed up in a storm, with the car a block away.

The economy is really killing craft fairs. Anyone else notice this? Seems like people go to browse, with no intention of buying anything. They walk by with this glazed look in their eyes, not really seeing anything. It's kind of sad. I did another fair two weeks after this one and made $13 over my booth fee.

And I gotta ask myself, is this worth the hassle of lugging my stuff and setting up and losing a day of "real" work? I'll post more on the gallery opening in a few days, but my stuff is selling a lot better there and I don't have to do anything... I think my plan is to lay off the craft fairs until the holiday season.

How are craft fairs going for you?

I Think I'm In Love <3

2009-07-24T08:53:00.001-07:00

I've never really grown out of the obsession with horses that started when I was ... I dunno, three? I can't drive by a pasture of horses without gawking and I browse horses for sale ads just to look at the pretty ones I'll never EVER be able to afford. I rode hunter/jumpers as a teenager but had to quit when I became a single mom just because it was unaffordable to ride even once a week.

Well, it's a buyers market right now for horses and our financial situation has changed such that I can think about actually -- after 30+ years -- owning a horse.

This is Abbey. We went to visit her last night and I think we'd be an awesome match. Best of all, I can afford her. She's an eight-year-old BLM Mustang mare. She was caught wild in California as a two-year-old and has made her way here to Tennessee. She's been ridden English and on trails and those are the two things I'm most interested in. Mustangs like to bond with one person and that's really what I'm looking for... an equine BFF :) We seemed to hit it off really well for a first encounter and what training issues she has (it seems like she wasn't started under saddle very gently) I think I can handle. And my saddle fits :)

Now to find a good place for her to live and seal the deal. Stay tuned!

Eat it, Pizza Hut

2009-07-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

First, the news: Smithville Jamboree was a moderate success, not sweltering hot, and although we got rained out on the 4th, I did better than other shows I've done. The Fragrant Mushroom Gallery opens the 18th so I need to start tagging my stuff for someone else to sell (this is more complicated than you probably realize). I'm looking forward to the artists' atmosphere, though. I also have a little fair at Cookeville Hospital on the 17th.

Now for some fun stuff. The last few weeks my family and I have had make your own pizza night. I make the dough in the bread machine, and they decide on their own toppings, we bake and we eat. I stumbled onto a dough recipe that is AWESOME. Pizza Hut has nothing on this. So here's the awesome recipe. You could probably do this by hand too, but a bread machine is a wonderful thing.

Bread Machine Pizza

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees or so, I just put my tap on hot and go)
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
corn meal

My bread machine calls for wet ingredients, then dry, so this is the order I put the stuff in. Dough cycle it up. When it's done, pull it out and divide the dough into enough dough balls for the number of people you've got. This pretty comfortably serves the 3 of us. For four I made 1 1/2 times this recipe (my 2-lb. capacity bread machine handled it fine) and we had some leftovers. No one complains about pizza leftovers.

Once your dough is done and divided, I drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in one bowl per dough ball, oil up the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 30-40 minutes. Preheat your oven to 500 F. You want it HOT. While it's rising prepare your toppings. Get creative. A list of ours from last night:

marinara sauce, pesto sauce, pepperoni, chicken, mushrooms, olives, onions, artichoke hearts, tomatoes

Bran and I had pesto/chicken/tomato/artichoke pizzas. YUM.

Try using cheese marked "pizza cheese" that is a blend - I think it works out better than mozzarella alone.

When your dough is done rising, if your pans are not nonstick give them a hit with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with corn meal and let everyone spread their dough (little kids love this and I'm not sure my big "kids" love it less!) and apply their toppings. When I was a kid the dough we used was really springy and hard to get to reach the edges of a pan, but this recipe spreads really nicely. This dough doesn't rise a whole lot so spread it thin if you want thin crust and leave it thicker for a "pan" style pizza. Bake 8-10 minutes (longer if you left it really thick), break out the pizza cutter and dig in.

Let me know if you use and like the recipe!

Smithville Fiddlers' Jamboree

2009-07-03T02:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'll be sharing a booth with a friend at Smithville Fiddlers' Jamboree - it's a competition for people who play bluegrass music, as well as a HUGE craft fair that fills all of downtown Smithville TN. If you're local, stop out and see us.

Sure would love to bring my violin but I doubt my Rachmaninov would fit in :) I need to learn that good bluegrass improv!

In other news, the gallery opens next week - details to follow.

Paperback Swap

2009-06-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Read much? I confess, I'm an addict. Everyone hates it when I move because 40% of the boxes I pack are books (about 20% kitchen gadgets and then.. stuff). I sorely miss Half Price Books in my native Ohio.

But then again, I have a lot of books. I don't just read them, I kind of collect them. I have three tall bookshelves full, currently. And I have more than a few that I don't need or use anymore. What to do?

Last year my hubby (who is a mail carrier) discovered the coolest thing since Gutenberg: Paperback Swap. Despite the name, you can trade any kind of book, including audiobooks. In the past year PBS estimates I've saved $274 on the cost of the books I've ordered. Here's how it works.

1. You list books you have that you don't want or need anymore. If you list 10, you get 2 free credits!
2. The books go into the system and other members can request them. When someone requests your book, you ship it media mail at your expense, and you get a credit.
3. You then spend credits on new books that you want! There's no charge.
4. If a book you want isn't currently in the system, you can add it to your wish list, and then when someone lists it, you get notified by email and you can get it. Free!

You also get free credits for referring other people, so if you're interested in doing some book trading, do click the banner at the top here and sign up, and I'll get a credit for your joining (yay!). Then you can refer other people and get free books too, and it'll be like a pyramid scheme except it's legal and everyone wins :)

Don't toss books or throw them in a heap at your next garage sale... trade 'em!

Horse Slaughter Bill

2009-05-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

Dark Beauty Original Oil Painting by Gypsy Mare Studios

Tennessee: Say NO to Horse Slaughter

The three horse slaughter plants in the United States were shut down in Illinois and Texas in 2007, and the federal government is likely to pass legislation that would halt the transport of horses for slaughter. Funding for federal inspectors has been halted, so horsemeat cannot legally be shipped across state lines. Congress has voted time and time again to ban horse slaughter and it is only a matter of time before a federal ban is enacted.

Despite all of these steps towards banning horse slaughter, the Tennessee legislature is considering a dangerous bill, H.B. 1428/S.B. 1898, to authorize the creation of horse slaughter plants—and would put in place provisions to protect such a slaughter plant from judicial challenge. This bill has just passed a committee—it is critical that we stop it!

TAKE ACTION
Please call your state legislators to urge them to oppose H.B. 1428/S.B. 1898. Click here to look up your state legislators and the phone numbers. After making your call, please fill in and submit the form on the right to automatically send an email to your state legislators opposing horse slaughter in Tennessee. Your legislators receive a lot of email, so it is important to personalize the subject line and the text below so that your message will stand out and have a greater impact.

Please go to this link: https://community.hsus.org/campaign/TN_2009_horse_slaughter
if you live in the state of Tennessee, and contact your representative and senator to protest this bill.

I Like Rocks. And Rings.

2009-05-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

I gotta confess. I have a major addiction to rocks. I suspect some of you know of what I speak... pretty beads draw us like magpies. I have a respectable bead collection, but the really crazy addiction....

.... is cabochons. There are a few drilled things here and some miscellany but for the most part this is my cab stash. The sad thing is, I can't stop. I have 11 won auctions and bids on another 8 or so from my favorite eBay cab supplier (WalyBeads) right now. The above includes several varieties of jasper and agate, chrysocolla, cat's eye class, carved quartz, goldstone, kyanite, snowflake obsidian, seraphinite, sodalite, bloodstone, turquoise, hematite, geodes, unakite, mookaite, opalite, some acrylic cameos, and a few other things. I store these in individual cello bags labeled with the stone, size, mohs hardness, country of origin if I know it, and what I paid for it. God forbid my hubby should pull them out some time and add up all those numbers =D

I "only" have about 5 Craft Mates boxes of beads, which include Swarovski, Czech glass, pearls, semiprecious stones, small metal ones, and some random stuff. Oh, and a few dozen tubes of seed beads and Miyukis.

The other MAJOR addiction is rings, which I have in sizes from micro to 14 gauge 3/8" in every metal you can imagine, and most colors you can imagine. I'll have to take a picture of those some time. Those I store in a soft-sided tackle box that goes with me nearly everywhere. I make maille in the car, at friends' and family's houses, watching TV on the couch... pretty much everywhere.

Last night my son came to sit on the couch beside me while I was working on a maille keychain. I had my little tackle box organizer open. He sat on the very corner of it and flipped the whole thing, scattering and mixing the entire box of rings. I'll be finding them for weeks, I imagine. I really should've taken pictures of the chaos, or of him sitting with his head in his hand sorting them with a bamboo skewer (I helped, though when it happened I could've beaten him). Several hours later, they were all neatly re-sorted. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm thinking Craft Mates individually locking compartments for rings, now.

I know beaders and maillers aren't the only packrats. I've seen seamstresses' fabric stash and kitters' yarn stash. I have a polymer clay stash, myself, even though I've never done anything serious with it but have always wanted to. I have a stash of acrylic paints for the miniatures I used to paint (maybe I should pull those out...). My three drawers of kitchen gadgets might count as a stash.

Sometimes the cool thing about a stash of goodies is that it can be inspiration in itself. Sometimes I just pull everything out and browse, and something jumps out at me and says "make this!"

What's your stash?

Obligatory "I'm Still Here" Post

2009-05-20T18:12:00.001-07:00

I suppose from time to time everybody neglects their blog and then writes that "I haven't dropped off the face of the earth!" post. Well, this is mine.

May's always crazy. There's Mother's Day (hope all you moms had a great one), my husband's birthday, about three other birthdays, end of school...

I had our Middle School Renaissance faire a few weeks ago. I'm waiting for pictures from that, which I'll share when I can. It was a busy day, since in the morning I taught Renaissance dancing, in the afternoon I called the moves for our Human Chess Match and through the whole thing I (actually my wonderful hubby and friend Rachelle, mostly) ran a craft booth...

my friends Nate and Rachelle got married last week (happiness always! ... oh and check out Rachelle's Etsy Store HERE) (the picture above, they are about to get PELTED with bird seed)....

not to mention just gorgeous weather and wanting to get out more, except that the Blooming of Everything is making my allergies act up, which makes me REALLY tired, so there must be a daily nap.

So, weighed against all that, the blog got neglected. I'm sure you understand.

If you really miss hearing from me you should drop by my slightly less neglected Adventures of the Lack/Scott Family blog.

I will now return to finishing this custom bracelet that is annoying the heck out of me with its unevenness, and let you get back to your more interesting web surfing.

Happy spring!

Still Working?

2009-05-09T12:01:00.001-07:00

The economy is the news topic of choice these days. News sources seem to be having a party with their DOOOOOOOOOM DOOM doom! stories (swine flu... really now, was it all that bad? Sorry pig farmers, I mean H1N1).

I don't know how you're doing in your neck of the woods, but in spite of the fact that people keep saying to me, "At least you have a job," it seems like everything is more expensive and the faster we run the behinder we get, and the ends stretch but don't quite meet. The savings we had, we've eaten through. I think it's rough on just about everybody.

But for those who have lost jobs... well, I can't even imagine what would happen if I or my husband did at this point. I ran across this very sobering animation of job loss/gain in the US since 2004. My son described it: "it's like watching a bunch of nuclear bombs go off at once." Do click the link and hit play... it's quite sobering. And I don't think it's much better anywhere else in world.

The Geography of Jobs

So I'm taking a moment to acknowledge the jobless and those who, like us, are stretching it paycheck to paycheck WITH jobs. Hang in there. We will live to see better times, though it may get worse first.

Artists' Co-Op

2009-05-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

This storefront (the brick one) has been purchased by The Fragrant Mushroom here in Sparta and I'm very excited to be a part of the Artists' Co-op Gallery that will be going in here, right on main street in "downtown" Sparta, across from the courthouse.

An artist's co-op is a visual arts association jointly owned and democratically controlled by its members. A monthly membership fee buys space in the gallery, and there will also be available classroom space and studio space. Thor and Cheri, who own The Fragrant Mushroom (Thor makes wheel thrown pottery), have a vision for Sparta: to make it an artist-friendly town that draws tourism. They plan to hold classes to show other people how to do what they have done, so that all these other little buildings (many of which are vacant and getting somewhat run-down, but are quite old and charming) will eventually be galleries, making this a haven for Appalachian artists.

I hope it happens. My and Russ's daydream is to run a little bed and breakfast in this area ; I'd love to have it be one that focuses on creativity in some way, be it a gallery or workshops or both. That's a long way down the road, but one has to start somewhere.

So! At some point in June (date to be determined) my work will be exhibited here and I will do my part to bring art to my little town.

Dragon Days Renaissance Festival

2009-05-04T07:26:00.001-07:00

Well, Russ borrowed a nice camera and was going to take pictures of my booth. This is the only one he took :) At least it shows my nifty earring display, which I made myself out of a picture frame with strips of balsa wood to hold the earring cards (and I got really beauitful new parchment cards). There's Brandon in the background working on hacky sacks.

The festival wasn't bad. Considering the lack of advertising and attendees, I made back double my booth fee, and Brandon made only slightly less than I did, besides that.

Story there. I've been bugging him to make hacky sacks for a month and he's just been too busy. He got 2 made. EVERY person that walked by the booth picked those things up and played with them (they're great fun!). He got orders for 3 custom ones the first day and another 3 the second day, plus sold one of the ones he made, so he was busy cranking them out while we were there, and made almost as much as I did with a booth full of jewelry.

Wisely, he spent most of the money he made that weekend on supplies to make more hackys for the faires coming up. This Friday: White County Middle School Renaissance Festival. Hopefully we'll get some better pics of the booth!

Digital Sentiments

2009-04-30T09:04:00.001-07:00

Vintage Inspired Premade Album by Lacie1228

This past week my son had to do a family tree project for Spanish class with pictures of his various family members, and it occurred to me...

I don't have hard copies of pictures anymore. Everything's on this computer. If I don't back up my pictures on CD, I am one virus away from losing all those memories.

Not only that, but there's something real and sentimental about an album of pictures, whether they're attractively scrapbooked or just stuffed in an album. My printer sucks for printing photos, but I can upload them to Wal-Mart's site (I assume other retail developers have something similar, which I will look into because I'd rather not give Wal-Mart business if I don't have to) and get prints made for not that much money.

All my music lives on this computer, too. Well, not all. I am old enough to still have that stockpile of CDs, though I've ripped all my favorite ones. (Hell, I still have cassettes. No vinyl or 8-tracks tho.) But if I buy music these days, I'm usually buying it online and downloading it. Again... one virus away from losing that investment, unless I've burned them to CD.

For the most part, I think this is all great. For one thing, it cuts down on trash. Sending me email instead of a letter means I'm not tossing a paper letter. I'm not throwing away unwanted CDs (AOL doesn't send them anymore!). The photos that didn't come out don't end up as landfille, just another file in the recycle bin on my computer. So there are benefits.

On the other hand, I'm not likely to save that email in a scrapbook. Clicking through pictures doesn't mean as much as flipping through a scrapbook, somehow. And I definitely have to rethink my backup plan for the data that is on my computer right now.

I still prefer to journal with a pen in a pretty blank book. And an e-card will NEVER replace a Hallmark with a handwritten sentiment. What about you? Do you like hard data or is half your life on a hard drive?

What is Niobium?

2009-04-29T04:29:00.000-07:00

Electric Rainbow Earrings at You've Got Maille

This weekend I sold a pair of these earrings online and a pair at the Renaissance faire. Last night, as I worked on an argentium and niobium choker, I decided I needed to talk about niobium.

It's my favorite metal. It's cooperative to work with (it won't break your hands like steel or titanium and it closes seamlessly without an argument). It anodizes in glimmering colors no photo I seem to be able to take does justice. Unanodized, it's a grey-silver color with just a touch of a glimmer that gives no hint of the iridescent rainbow it can become.

This is a relatively "new" metal, having been discovered in 1801. It's used in alloy with titanium and steel for lots of technology applications, including the space program.

The glory of niobium is the color. When it takes color, it takes it in a subtle range. I get a packet of multicolor rings and for some projects sort them into colors, and often there's no clear division - for example the bronze has purple highlights and the violet has gorgeous blue. As a result, you can get a beautiful gradient effect when weaving it into chainmaille.

The other tremendous benefit is that the stuff is as hypoallergenic as you can get. While a few people react to niobium, it's extremely rare. As a result it's used extensively in body piercings. So if you've got sensitive ears and you haven't tried niobium hooks, try them. A search on Etsy should turn up several. Niobum and titanium alloys, unlike surgical steel, should be free of nickel (which causes most metal reactions).

As I said, a search on Etsy should turn up quite a bit of niobium, but if you're a jewelry maker you're probably wondering where to get this great stuff. The suppliers I know of include The Ring Lord, Blue Buddha Boutique, and Spiderchain, although I cannot attest to their niobium because I haven't bought it from anyone. I bought first from someone on eBay but since the rings were "snipped" niobium wire, they had rough edges that weren't colored.

Every bit of niobium I buy now comes from C&T Designs, and I'll tell you why. One, customer service is the best. Secondly, Curt takes great care in winding, cutting and anodizing his wire, so you end up with very few "trash" rings (unlike TRL; I haven't bought the niobum but sometimes I'm disgusted with how many aluminum rings I have to throw away). The ends are carefully anodized and the color is gorgeous. Third, as far as I know, C&T is the only place you can get "rainbow" niobium rings, where each ring has 2-3 colors on it, and this makes for some beautiful stuff, and even prettier ear hooks. And finally, he does custom rings and custom anodizing so pretty much, if you can imagine it and he can manage it, he's up for it. Prices are really reasonable, too.

Niobium Ear Wire Selection from C&T Designs (rainbow bottom center)

I really love the mostly circular shape, they hang very nicely.

People seem to like "cheap" earrings so I'm still using surgical steel wires. If I had my choice, though, I'd go to all niobium and to eliminate reactions, although sometimes they don't look right on silver earrings. Also, if anyone knows of a good supplier of niobium or titanium posts with loops, I'd love to hear about it. I've found a few here and there but no reliable supplier.

Some Poetry For You

2009-04-28T05:57:00.001-07:00

Coffee Haus Photograph print available at Karmabox

Inspiration by neon

and the dusk beyond
fueled by a double decaf
nonfat latte
and an urge that's been
driving me sane
all day.
This temple,
the place where amidst noise I grow
quiet
and seek out the
divine silence
in me.
The hush
that vibrates in gentle waves
that lap,
caress,
eroding the shore
of everything I thought I knew.
And all I can do is stare
at the far
horizon
and long for what gifts
tomorrow's waves
deposit at my feet.

SO busy...

2009-04-23T21:02:00.001-07:00

Inventory, rehearsals, PR stuff, display... my head is spinning.

This weekend is Dragon Days Renaissance Festival in Cookeville, TN. Not only do I have a booth full of chainmaille and wire goodies for fairegoers to peruse, I'll be calling the moves for the Human Chess Match, themed Robin Hood this year - Nottingham side (yeah, the bad guys). My son's the sherriff. That's him being vaulted over last year as one of the Vikings in a 13th Warrior themed chess match. Besides that, my troupe of Renaissance Dancers aged 6th grade to adult, named Two Left Feet (appropriately sometimes, I'm afraid) will be performing. So if you're local, come out and see us Friday or Saturday. You'll get to see Johnny Phoenix, too, which is a treat.

Weekend in Knoxville

2009-04-20T02:26:00.000-07:00

Been away for the weekend. I took Brandon to his interview for Tennessee Governor's Academy in Knoxville. I've decided I like the town - big city convenience without a big city feel. I think Bran did pretty well and he's really excited about the opportunity - he'll get to choose a research area and work with a researcher as a mentor at Oak Ridge National Labs, if accepted, live on campus with 23 peers in an environment designed to encourage inquiry and learning. I think it was made for him, really. Fingers crossed - we'll find out May 1 if he was chosen to attend.

While he was interviewing and testing I paid a visit to University of Tennessee Gardens and traipsed their greenways, discovered the amazing Young-Williams Animal Center (oh my goodness, what an amazing adoption facility!! Check out the link. If Bran goes to TGA he needs to volunteer there, and I'll be jealous) and a really cool store called Aimee's Bohemian Jewelry and Gifts. Something really cool about having a few hours of completely free time in a new place and just discovering it - not something you often get to do close to home, or even on vacation.

Team Picks of the Week

2009-04-15T05:21:00.000-07:00

More team awesomeness for you!

Etsy Chainmaillers' Guild: Lovely Maidens Necklace by Unkamen Gifts

There's so much stuff you can do with a little mobius unit, but I don't think I've seen this done before. Besides, I adore that color.

Wire Artisans' Guild: Little Green Tree Frog Brooch by Sonseeahray

I don't even know what to say about this except it's full of awesome. Not that many cool brooches on Etsy, either. He needs to live on your lapel. Before you go buy him though, you should check out Sonny's equally adorable fishie brooch.

Fantasy Artists of Etsy: No Ring On This Finger Lillith Print by Carapace

There's so much here... the story behind it (see the listing), and an obvious dark goddess drinking coffee out of a mug that says #1 Mom... put this print in your living room, it's guaranteed to generate conversation. Got to love art based on mythology.

Etsy Bloggers Team: Camouflage Handmade Vessel by Rosebud 101

Put a tiny amount of essential oil in this (neroli is soooo good) and you don't need to put perfume on yourself!

Etsy Twitter Team: Calm Me Lavender Soap by Soap Rehab

I know, I know, I can't resist putting soap in here. This looks like fancy marbled paper to me and is one of the prettiest soaps I've seen. I always hated lavender scent in manufactured soaps, but lavender scent that actually comes from lavender is dreamy. Literally.

Artfire Chainmaillers' Guild: Chainmaille Purse by Chains n Maille

Someone runs up to you and tries to steal THIS purse, you THWAP 'em! Besides, it's completely cool.

Tennessee Artisans on Artfire: Ring of Fire by Firepit Art

This falls into the "Oooooh, I want I want I want" category. Who needs a dinky little chimnea when you can have open fire!

Blogfire: Pico Seeks You Print by Nature Manipulated

Not sure this little guy was prepared to have his picture taken, but he sure is cute!

Puppy Intrigue

2009-04-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

Really, now. People are accusing the president of "planting" this dog in a home, which would subsequently say the dog didn't work out so it could look like they adopted a rescued dog, and that the dog was intended for the Obamas all along. Don't people have anything better to do than speculate on what the Obamas have for lunch and their supposed PR plots? What's next? Will they be accused of "sneaking" pesticides into their "organic" garden?

Barack was quite clear in saying they'd prefer to rescue a shelter dog, but had to take Malia's allergies into consideration. As a result, they've adopted a Portie (Portugese Water Dog) courtesy Ted Kennedy that is a "sort of" rescue dog since he was taken out of a home where he was no longer wanted, and they have donated generously to the Humane Society, to boot. Seems like a quite responsible way to go, to me. Have any of the other First Dogs (or cats) been rescue animals? I'm not really sure. What I am sure of, is that all the coverage of the ins and outs of the White House these days are starting to look like our weird obsession with England's royalty, only tenfold.

All this silliness DOES highlight the need to consider a shelter dog when adopting, which can't be a bad thing. Oh, and, I know I've said it before, but don't add to the problem. Get your pets spayed and neutered.

Happy... Tax Day?

2009-04-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

La Musee at Second Renaissance

Rolling Stone Pendant at You've Got Maille

Not sure if it's because I've been listing daily, or because spring is in the air, or the economy is picking back up, or people are getting tax refunds back already, but sales have been pretty good for me lately. So there ARE some people out there with some money!

On an entirely unrelated note, my son Brandon's made it to the final round of consideration for Tennessee Governor's Academy (see THIS POST if you don't know what I'm talking about, and you care).

So in honor of all this good news, I propose...

A SALE!!

If you've been contemplating buying from me, head over to either store to browse. With any purchase, a second item of equal or lesser value will be 40% OFF!! That's from either store, and if you want one thing from YGM and one thing from SR, go for it, I'll adjust your shipping and your totals, just send me a convo before you pay. Also let me know you saw this in my blog, since I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to make this a blog-exclusive sale.

This will last through April 20. I'll be out of town Friday and Saturday while Bran interviews for TGA, so anything ordered this weekend will be shipped Monday.

Morning Coffee

2009-04-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

Deep Blue/Chocolate Coffee Mug by GardKoizumiArt

K, I'm not going to talk about my morning coffee (since I'm writing this with insomnia for the last hour and a half at 5:00 a.m. and hoping for a little more sleep and thinking about morning coffee would just be torture... creamy goodness... steaming hot.... anyway). If I WAS going to talk about my morning coffee.... well I think it'd be really awesome in this gorgeous mug from Gard Koizumi Art. I've decided when I have a few extra dollars I'd like to start a handmade coffee mug collection so my morning hazelnut bliss is even better. Something awesome about drinking out of a mug you really like.

But that's NOT what this post is mainly about. I discovered a Firefox add-on called Morning Coffee. Basically, you tell it what websites you want to visit on a regular basis, then click the icon in your browser toolbar and poof! there are your websites for the day. You can put in daily websites, or certain ones certain days of the week.

How does this help you the crafter? Here are a few ways.

1) Have it open your blog once a week or a couple of times a week or once a day so you remember to post.

2) Have it open your social networking spots so you remember to do all that awesome promoting on Facebook, myspace, Indiepublic, whatever. Twitter is a different story.

3) This is the one I'm most excited about. Are you juggling several selling sites? Want to update them and/or relist on a regular basis but never seem to get around to it? I've got it opening Etsy and Artfire for daily listing and relisting, and a few others (Winkelf, 1000 Markets) that I have a more casual presence on once or twice a week. Since I have a heck of a time keeping track of what's what, this is really a huge boon to me.

4) Have it crack open Google Analytics, Craftopolis and Heartomatic so you can see how your stuff is faring in the wild world of teh Interwebs, and who's noticing.

5) Get an RSS feed to the blogs you want to monitor on a regular basis and put Bloglines in your daily routine. Throw in your Teams sites, and any forums you want to keep up with, maybe a news site or two so your friends don't think you're completely obsessed with your craft (yeah right!).

Now click, and you're off! Daily online business promotion in one handy click!

I also think the name is just the best, since morning Interwebs routine and coffee seem like a perfect match to me. Of course, you can do this with your evening nightcap too, if you prefer.

Go Teams!

2009-04-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Way Awesome Cool Stuff From You've Got Maille's Way Awesome Cool Teams

(decided to include Artfire teams this week)

Etsy Chainmaillers' Guild:
Long JPL Earrings by Mailled

I have a thing for JPL, and in sterling, with labradorite... magic.

Etsy Wire Artisans' Guild:
Victorian Miss by Follow The Red Brick Road

When you're done ogling this gorgeous pendant, go look at Marcy's other amazing creations. Sooo much detail there. Only problem is causing people to stare at your chest so much. ;)

Fantasy Artists of Etsy:
Floating Fairy House by Centaur 1201

This is positively dreamy. I imagine having an enclosed patio to put this on... maybe some day. It looks like a glowy fairy lives inside.

Etsy Bloggers:
Mel Marry Jack Puppets by Mia Rae

Are these not adorable!? You could do Sesame Street at home!

Etsy Twitter Team:

Teacher's Apple Beaded Paperweight by Red Bess Bonney

If I was a teacher, I'd totally want one of these.

Artfire Chainmaillers' Guild:
Flowers and Byzantine by Nightmaiden

She shows just how un-geeky chainmaille can be. A garden for your neck!

Blogfire:
The Tree 2 Sided Stained Glass Pendant by Almond Tree

I see a lot of tree pendants but nothing quite like this!

Artfire Tennessee Artisans:
Cucumber Cantaloupe Soap by A Woman With Scents

Yum! This sounds so delightful. A reason to get out of bed in the morning.

Faire Season

2009-04-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Deutsch (will be available at Second Renaissance this week)

A lot of exciting things coming up in the next few months for us here in little Sparta, Tennessee. Here's the Renaissance Faire and Craft Fair schedule:

April 25-26 Dragon Days Renaissance Faire at Hidden Hollow, Cookeville, TN
May 2 Bobby Ray Elementary Spring Fling Arts & Craft Show, McMinnville, TN
May 8 White County Middle School Renaissance Festival Sparta, TN
May 23 Liberty Square Festival, Sparta, TN

As a result, I've been busily creating Renfaire-appropriate goodies mostly in maille. If you're local stop by one of the above shows and see us.

In other news, Fragrant Mushroom here in Sparta is opening a local art gallery and You've Got Maille will be participating with gallery display, classes, and more. More info on that as I receive it, but it's an opportunity to promote local artisanship that I'm really excited about. Besides, networking with other artists in a richly creative atmosphere is one of the most wonderful things in life.

Chainmaillers' Guild Contest

2009-04-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hey, go to the Etsy Chainmaillers' Guild Blog and vote for your favorite entry in the spring Romance Blossoms contest, and you can win some really amazing chainmaille presents (pictured in the post below the entries -- some of those goodies are worth $40 or more!). You can win more entries by publicizing the contest. Of course, I'm not telling which is mine. :D

Good luck!

My Entrecard Buddies

2009-04-02T04:12:00.000-07:00

So far, I believe Entrecard has done a heck of a lot to promote traffic to my blog. I've definitely gained some new readers. Has it been great for business? I don't think so, not really, although I've gotten at least one sale from my new readers. Still, I like it when people read and comment on my blog and I have made some great new friends this way.

Entrecard is apparently not terribly well-run. Recently they've started allowing people to sell things for credits, and now they're going to allow third-party advertising to take up space on my blog (originally they weren't going to let me say no to specific advertisers! but they've changed this policy). In general, I don't like where they're going, and as one friend said, "I don't want to pimp out my blog." I'm staying for now, but I'm not sure for how long. Apparently today.com has banned them entirely. Yikes.

To my today.com friends, and other friends leaving Entrecard for the reasons above, if you enjoy my blog and I've spent some time around yours (I have SO many favorites that I visit on a nearly daily basis and thoroughly enjoy reading), I'd really like to keep in touch. Drop me a line here and I will definitely follow and/or subscribe if I'm not already. Maybe at some point we can set up a blog ring so we can keep making the rounds. I think I'm following most of your blogs already, so that's one way to keep tabs. I'll pull my "follow me" box closer to the top of the page here, or you can subscribe via RSS and I'll do the same. I check my Bloglines blogs daily and I recommend them. There are definitely other ways to keep an eye out for blogs you enjoy.

If you're not following me already, I'm also on Twitter and usually post updates to my blog there. Well, I forget a lot, but I'll try to be better.

I'll miss you most of all, scarecrow! (geez, I'm getting all sentimental!)

Have a great April everyone. April Fool's Day is over so I can say that totally seriously now :)

Wii Fit Review

2009-03-31T09:02:00.001-07:00

I'm going on day 35 of using my Wii Fit and I've at least weighed in all but 5 days. I'm also eating a lot better and I'm tracking diet and activity with a great Internet program called Fit Day. Results: I'm down almost 8 lbs. since I started the diet (a week before I got the Wii fit).

Thinking of getting one? I do recommend it, more for the balance board than the program itself, which leaves some to be desired. First, it's quite obnoxious about telling you how fat you are (every day you start out as a twig and then your Mii ballooons up to your weight, which looks fat even if you're normal, and if you're in the "obese" range it makes this roly-poly circus elephant tune and the board proclaims "That's obese!" as if it's surprised), and isn't terribly encouraging. The trainers are repetitive and uninspiring - the best trainer in the game is the punching bag on Rhythm Boxing. Every day it wants you to do balance and agility tests, but it doesn't track actual results, only the esoteric "Wii Fit Age" (a concept I never understood - I surely don't feel the 30ish it tells me I am). I would also prefer on a lot of the games to be able to look at MY best scores, not the best my 16-year-old tennis playing son can do. The other thing that annoys me is the fact that I can't just set up a workout and do it. I have to stand around clicking the A button while I listen to the trainer say the same things he/she has said the last 35 days, or I move in and out of aerobic games while my heart rate drops.

Still, every day I warm up with my favorite yoga and strength exercises, and then go to aerobics to do a little hula hoop (very little, my knees don't like it at all), regular and advanced step, and then Rhythm Boxing (my favorite) workouts, all of them in order, and then cool down with a balance game or two. It gives me about 40 to 60 minutes of exercise, 20 to 30 of it aerobic.

Great things about Wii Fit -

The balance board has tremendous potential. More on this later.
It's nice to have a way to track your weight, and your activity, although the FitDay program linked above has much better options for this, including a line that tracks what your progress should be to reach your goal.
It's fun. Even if you only do balance games, you're up and moving. Fun while exercising is not something I've had a lot of, excepting things like hiking, dancing and horseback riding, which I can't do on a daily basis really.
It gets you thinking about exercise. Even if you don't want to play games for exercise every day, you want to get your exercise in, so you go for a walk, take the stairs, get your family moving with you.

All that said, I am VERY much looking forward to a new exercise system coming out for Wii that uses the balance board (although the preview vid doesn't show much of that) and also seems more comprehensive in targeting body areas and cardio. You strap a nunchuk to your leg so it tracks what your lower body is doing and isn't as focused on balance as Wii Fit is. It's called EA Sports Active. Check out the preview on Amazon. A "new 20-minute workout every day" sounds great to me. I've also heard that My Fitness Coach is a good program, and I hope to pick that up at some point too, to give me some variety when the Tennessee summers get too hot and humid to think about exercising outside much.

FAE Calendar

2009-03-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

You really need to check out the Fantasy Artists of Etsy 2009 Calendar available from Cafe Press. Each month has a beautiful background picture done by one of our artists, along with feature work from several others, from chainmaille to art dolls to fairy doors to potions to really just about anything fantasy-related. In short, you're getting a whole bunch of beautiful works of art for only $15.99.

Search "faeteam" on Etsy for a glimpse of the amazing talent the team has to offer.

Teams Rule!

2009-03-26T17:30:00.001-07:00

I really am going to do this one weekly. No really. See, I belong to some of the awesomest teams on Etsy and I thought I'd feature one item from each of them weekly. Since I'm on an odd number of teams I'm throwing one in at the end that I wish I was cool enough to be on.

Wire Artisans Guild - Twelve Rays Ring by Pippi Jewelry (go LOOK at the band! It's amazing!)
Chainmaillers' Guild - Rainbow Necklace Spiral Weave by Fun Toys For Kids (this is a new guild member... I am SO impressed with his work and photography. He's 11.)
Fantasy Artists of Etsy - Empress Wrist Cuff by Craisfrod Leather (I want half the stuff in this shop!)
Twitter Team - Ferns and Daisies Card by RoseBushDesigns (cute!)
Etsy Bloggers - Sally the Seal Bead by NanjoDogz (not only the most adorable critters, but one of the nicest people on Etsy)

[Cool team of the week that I'm not on] WHOA team - Draft Horse in Harness Print by Cindy Price Art (WHOA team sneaks in because I won the giveaway on their blog! Look at the pretty Saddlebred ACEO I won from Gail Ragsdale, and definitely check out her shop :) ]

Check out these teams' treasuries this week!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18390237
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=48143

I Want... Wednesday

2009-03-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

I want for the week: What do you want to change about the medical industry?

Oh lordy. Where to begin on that one. Well, for starters, I've worked in the medical industry as a transcriptionist for the past 12 years. In those years, I've seen control of patient care go from doctors to insurance companies. Your doctor doesn't decide what medications you take anymore, the almighty dollar does. And your doctor has to fight them if you need something else.

I haven't got insurance. I have a dozen things I'd have gone to a doctor for months or years ago if I had insurance. My #1 issue in the last presidential primary and election was definitely health care. So...

1) I want insurance!

I want to find out why I'm tired all the time. I want to get the sore in my mouth I keep biting taken off, I want my broken Achilles' tendon fixed so I can be active again without pain. I want to not live in fear that if something awful happens to me or any of us my family will never recover financially.

2) I want insurance for everyone.

No one should be denied health care. I just finished this book, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (fantastic read by the way). It's a childhood horror story of poverty and a father who couldn't keep a job for a drinking problem. But by golly, when they got sick they went to the doctor, both in America and Ireland. Health care is a basic human right. Yes, I'm talking socialist health care for those who can't afford their own policies. Yes, I said the S word. Yes, I'm willing to contribute to the pot so people who are less well off than I am can get taken care of.

3) Drug companies are out of control. I wish they would be reined in, and drug advertising was seriously regulated and possibly banned.

Not everybody who's sad needs an antidepressant. Not everyone who has high blood pressure needs high blood pressure medication (diet and exercise do wonders!). Not every child who misbehaves needs ADD medication (discipline is a great thing!). But you can hardly watch a TV show without some drug company telling you that you need their medication to make your life better. Sci fi has had a field day with this mentality many times over. If we could drug away all our problems, would it be a good thing? Don't get me wrong, I believe pharmaceuticals are a great thing in their place. I just think it should be my doctor's idea for me to have it, not some industry's.

Now we get into stuff that's more "I wish" than reality.

4) I wish research didn't have to be driven completely by money.

Alternative medicines and therapies are bashed because their efficacy isn't scientifically proven. But no one's going to get rich off scientifically proving the efficacy of most of them, and as a result no one will fund the research to prove it. So they'll remain off the radar, sometimes somewhat shady. But a lot of people could probably benefit from some of them. I wish (want) research to be done sometimes for the good of mankind, not for profit. I know, it's a silly dream.

I wasn't sure what to write about today so I went over to I Want... Wednesday (click the icon to go to the site). The topics are usually the kind of stuff I can write dreamy, poetic posts. Not today. But it's been a while since I assaulted you with public service announcements, so there you are.

Fairy Garden

2009-03-24T09:27:00.001-07:00

I said I'd do a weekly installment for a few weeks on gardening. This week, I'm going to suggest a few things that might be perfect for a garden to attract the wee folk.

Moss Mousse Mix from Fluffnflowers

Gardening moss? Never heard of such a thing. But when I read the listing... cool! You can use it to fill in unsightly cracks in your driveway, between stepping stones on a walkway to your door, or make a pretty little rock garden with fairy houses in a bed by your front door that will require very little maintenance. I LOVE this idea.

Beautiful Celosia Flamingo Feather Seeds from Smokymist Gardens

The seller's daughter says these look like fairy wands. I must agree. Wonder if they'd grow in my moss garden? Best thing: they're annual. (I really hate things I have to buy every year).

Fancy French Faerie Door by TaraLinnea

Tough call, here... there are lots of really cool fairy doors on Etsy (try a search some time... they're fascinating to me). In choosing I wanted: 1) Something that can go outside, 2) Something that didn't look like a dollhouse door, something sort of organic and fae, and 3) Love to feature one of my fellow FAE team members. This pretty door by TaraLinnea fills the bill perfectly (although I had a hard time choosing from the several in her shop!)

Tree Man Stoneware Pot by Jillhoutz

I went on a hunt for a green man. You can't have a fairy garden without a green man. I was actually surprised at the lack of green man plaques (what I initially intended to feature here) on Etsy. But this... this is PERFECT. Want to grow some mint in your fairy garden without it taking over the garden? Put it in here. He'll take good care of it. I absolutely adore the earthy, natural look of this pot.

There are lots of other treasures on Etsy in this theme. Take a look for yourself!

Student Work

2009-03-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I taught my first wire wrapping workshop with a lady I know from craft fairs (she does face painting) and two of her friends. They had some experience tinkering with wire but, in her words "we always end up gluing it." I'm proud to say none of these were glued :) They are all stones that they had and wanted to do something with. Turns out most of their problem was that they were using half-hard wire. Maggie was so excited "I finally made something pretty!" and that's a great feeling, for me and for her.

I think I have contributed three more addicts to the wiring world.

I'll probably be getting together with these ladies on a regular basis to teach various techniques. I also have an opportunity to join a gallery that is opening here in White County and to use the facilities they intend to have for teaching crafting classes - and participate in learning other crafts (the company that is opening it is a pottery company and I think I'd love to play with clay on a wheel - everyone knows there's no end to my creating ambition). Frankly, I feel like somewhat of a newbie myself so I'm not sure I'm qualified, but I am eager to share what I know and partake in that incomparable feeling of a creativity-charged atmosphere. Anyone who's taken an art or craft class with other willing participants (meaning, not in high school) will know what I'm talking about.

The Muse's Return

2009-03-19T08:33:00.001-07:00

Tangaroa by Second Renaissance

Well, I finally got an idea for my Emerald Isle contribution this month. It's still in progress and I'm not telling what it is :) I also got the urge to maille a whole lot and have been cranking out bracelets (why is it, whenever I try a new weave, it turns into a bracelet?). I can't find my sketch book but the doodle sheet at my desk is working overtime. And I signed up for CWJ's Year of Jewelry inspirations and have ideas for the first several. Ideas, yay! I also finally settled down and photographed a bunch of my stuff yesterday so expect to see lots of new listings in both shops over the next few days (including the bangle above, named after a Maori god of the sea, and the cuff below).

Aurelia by Second Renaissance

My shops are undergoing something of a re-organization. I've decided to move most of the wire work to Second Renaissance (except for ear cuffs, circlets, and anything else that has more of a Renaissance feel... I know, it's kind of ironic). There they'll be joined by Obsession Number Three -- bead weaving. I've done four of these peyote cuffs in other people's patterns, and the next one I do will be my own design. Like chainmaille, these have to be touched to be fully appreciated. I'm also doing some net-weave chokers that will have a very Victorian feel.

Projects on the bench and in the doodle pad:
1) Secret Emerald Isle item - See The Wire Artisans Guild blog and be blown away by the ones already there, or the guild Flickr page
2) Secret Romance Blossoms entry for The Chainmaillers' Guild spring contest
3) More braided wire bangles and viking knit in colors, copper and silver
4) My first Year of Jewelry contribution, based on this painting by Katushika Hokusai
5) In the process of graphing my first original design peyote cuff
6) Finishing a net-woven necklace with Swarovski crystals in amber and wine - ordered the wrong color crystals though.
7) Whatever chainmaille strikes my fancy :) I'm doing a beaded choker in electric blue enameled copper at the moment.

For sneak previews of all the new items that will be headed to my shops in the near future, check out my Flickr page.

Slainte!

2009-03-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

DragonFire copyright Cari Buziak of Aon Celtic Art

You might not be wearing green, and you might not be having corned beef and Irish whiskey (or green beer) for dinner, but if you're at all artistic I'm willing to bet you've admired Celtic knotwork. I've bought a lot of books on illumination and knotwork, but so far none of them are as good as Cari Buziak's site, Aon Celtic Art.

If you've ever wanted to learn to do knotwork (I DO!!), there are fantastic free tutorials at Aon, and if you're serious about it you can do a distance-learning apprenticeship to learn how to do amazing stuff like she does. Or, if you think you just haven't got the patience and talent to do it yourself, you can order her clip art CD. If you'd like to incorporate some knotwork into your craft but don't want to spend the time to draw it yourself, she also has cross stitch and bead weaving patterns (the spiral bracelet is freeware!).

Or, just buy yourself something pretty for St. Patrick's Day. Check out her Celtic jewelry, t-shirts and posters (and more!)

By the way, the Gaelic toast "Slainte" is pronounced roughly "slancha" and means "good health." In closing I give you a few good Irish blessings:

May you get all your wishes but one,
So you always have something to strive for.

May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been,
The insight to know where you are,
and the foresight to know when you've gone too far.

March's Etsy Blogger: Designs by Nora

2009-03-16T05:23:00.000-07:00

Mabel's Purse by Designs by Nora

There's a purse worthy of bashing some uppity youngster over the head a la Vicki Lawrence! :)

Designs by Nora has handcrafted leather purses (the one above is not representative of all of them), and really cute stud earrings made of polymer clay. Check out her shop, and also her blog, which is full of interesting musings, and a recipe for Napoleons. I am thankful the Napoleons aren't in the room right now, because the diet would go out the window.

Congrats Nora :)

Mary Mary, Quite Contrary

2009-03-13T09:22:00.001-07:00

The first in a weekly series.

Eating better and exercising, along with the first breath of spring that has swept over Tennessee this week, has caused the gardening bug to bite. (Update: after less than a month I'm down 6 pounds and 1 pants size, yay!) I got my Burpee seed catalog last week, and I confess I love Richter's herbs, but it occurred to me to take a peek at what Etsy has to offer potential gardeners. As it turns out, quite a bit. This week I'm going to highlight heirloom vegetables and herbs, but in future weeks look for posts on flowers, the fruits of garden labors, and gardening gadgets.

What the heck's an heirloom vegetable? It can be any cultivar (variety) of a plant that was grown during earlier periods in human history. I first heard this term when my (step) grandfather found his family's heirloom tomato in a seed catalog. For me, the Soldacki tomato was just what homegrown tomatoes looked like, but grandpa has been cultivating the seeds of the same tomatoes his family brought from Poland around 1910. About ten years ago he gave some seeds to someone, and now they're available from many seed distributors and even on Amazon.com. Go figure :) For the record, they're a meaty "beefsteak" variety that slices really well and is great on sandwiches and burgers.

Heirloom Cimmaron Red Romaine Lettuce Seeds from My Victory Garden

I'm dreaming of salads made colorful and tasty with this romaine variety. Is it not gorgeous? I'll quote from the listing for this: "The nice thing about growing an heirloom variety of seed is that you can save some of these seeds, and they will grow "true to type" for future use."

Mamaw's Sweetest Cantaloupe Heirloom Seeds from Smokymist Gardens

I'm a little afraid to try to grow cantaloupe, mostly because I can pretty easily eat a whole one in a sitting. This picture has me craving it badly! The seller tells a story about trading seeds with her mom and finding this gem. Wow, that's so cool! Cantaloupe is the nectar of the gods, I think. I might have to pick up a few of these seeds if I can carve out the space for a melon patch.

Black Russian Tomato from Tula Organic Heirloom Seeds from The Bearfoot Shaman

These aren't your perfectly round, perfectly red-orange, mostly flavorless grocery store tomatoes. These are massive, lumpy, tasty, home grown tomatoes. And think how cool they'd look in a salad, or on a burger, or best yet -- salsa! Like my grandfather's tomatoes, these are hefty (though not quite as hefty - the description says 8 to 12 oz. whereas Soldackis are generally a meaty one pound). Best of all, they're higher in antioxidants than orange tomatoes. And if you grow them right, free of pesticides. Check out The Bearfoot Shaman's other heirloom varieties, too.

Herb Garden Mix 7 Types from tHeENDpeace

Not strictly heirloom, I had to add some herbs because I don't grow a garden without them. If you do, reconsider. There is NOTHING like fresh basil and oregano and parsley to jazz up the flavor of a salad. Mint tea is amazing iced. You can't do your own salsa (which I highly recommend over the jar variety) without fresh cilantro. Sage is made for chicken, and rosemary for potatoes. This mix has all but the rosemary and mint. The great thing about growing herbs is that you don't need a garden. A sunny window or a few pots on the patio will do just fine. Just make sure they get their water every day.

Happy gardening, and happy spring (almost).

Happy Birthday, I Hate You

2009-03-10T11:56:00.001-07:00

Love her or hate her, no one can deny that Barbie dolls are a successful business. Today is Barbie's 50th birthday. She doesn't look like she's aged a day. She's not sagging ANYWHERE. No grays, either. (50th anniversary Barbie pictured above).

That chick's been everywhere and done everything, too. Check out barbiecollector.com where you can see a gallery of collectible Barbies (I confess, the world culture Barbies are kind of cool).

I personally have had a love-hate relationship with her for most of my life. I've never been much of a doll person, really. Dolls' function for me was to ride my model horses, and that was NOT Barbie's strong suit; her legs would invariably fall off and her skin-tight pants are a PAIN to get on and off to perform emergency hip surgery. I had a few other dolls with rotating hip sockets that rode sometimes, but more often than not my Breyers had imaginary riders (although very real tack and feed, for which cream of wheat and dried grass were great).

Anyway, back to Barbie. Some fun Barbie facts for you:

Barbie's had more careers than you have fingers and toes, reportedly more than 80. They include rock star (of course), astronaut and more surprisingly, presidential candidate.
Army Barbie was meant to be a sergeant in Desert Storm and came out in 1992.
She's sold in 150 nations.
If you put Barbie and her buxom and genderless-male pals head to toe (all the ones sold in the last 50 years), they'd circle the earth 7 times.
Two of these blondies are sold every SECOND somewhere in the world. Yikes.
Barbie didn't make African-American or Hispanic friends till 1980.
She has 43 pets including 21 dogs, 12 horses, 3 ponies, 6 cats, a parrot, a chimpanzee, a panda, a lion cub, a giraffe and a zebra. Don't try transporting that chimp over state lines, Barbie. Not legal anymore. And why the heck you have 15 equines, when you cant ride them, and I have none?
Her full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. Millicent? No wonder you don't tell.
Doll collecting is second only to stamp collecting on the collecting scene.
She's had close to one billion fashions made for her, which makes Mattel one of the largest apparel manufacturers in the world (which means this dosen't count off brand clothes, yikes!). Unfortunately, when her clothes get to her new house, nine times out of ten one shoe is lost.
Barbie pink is really a color.
The first Barbie sold for $3. An original collectible in mint condition has gone for $10,000. Did you save those Barbies you had when you were a kid? Mint condition? All the shoes?
She got a belly button in 2000, making her the only person to be born without one, I imagine.
If you enlarged Barbie to the size of a normal human, she'd be 7 feet tall, weigh 125 lbs., and have a shape of 32-2o-42. As a result she's been criticized for creating an unrealistic body image as ideal in the minds of millions (billions?) of girls. This didn't happen to me. I'd rather be able to ride a horse (and not be 7 feet tall!).

In closing I'll just say I don't REALLY hate Barbie. I don't particularly care for the unrealistic body image thing, although I don't give it a lot of responsibility for creating the body image problem that exists for women. On the plus side, she has been a lot better than Disney has for portraying women as capable humans who can do just about anything. She gets two thumbs down for the race thing, though (really, Mattel, what took you so long?).

Transitions

2009-03-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

My son Brandon turned 16 today. I took him to the driver's testing station. He passed with pretty much flying colors. The top picture was taken about 2 years ago, the second recently. Wow. My baby (I don't really think of him as my baby, but remembering when he was is so easy) is driving, talking about college and careers... where did the years go?

Big transitions make you think about that time in your life. I can almost remember what it felt like the first time I got in the car and took off by myself. It was freedom in its purest essence. Alone, and with all the world within my reach. As long as I stopped at the store and picked up the flour mom needed on the way back.

Soon enough that road will take him to his future and out of the nest. If you have little ones, don't waste any time that you could spend with them. Even without missed opportunities, the years are gone in a blink.

As he stood in line waiting for his license to print, he grinned at me and said, "I'm free." "Not yet you're not," I said, but in reality, those years with a car of your own, before you take on a bunch of bills of your own (and kids of your own) are about as free as a human being ever gets.

Flickers

2009-03-03T09:16:00.001-08:00

Twas a beautiful day in Delft
Originally uploaded by Ettubrute

We're all just flickers against the backdrop of the world turning slowly in space. What will you do with your flicker of time, this day, this lifetime?

(Check out more of this amazing Dutch photographer's work by clicking on the link at the bottom of the video)

Inspiration

2009-02-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

Anna-Karin's Muse wears a hula skirt (Smabla)

I think my muse is on vacation in the tropics somewhere, or maybe she prefers Alaska. I have so many themes to work with, and lots of them Celtic which is a favorite of mine, but my creative drive has sort of fizzled. Inversely, my drive to exercise, eat well and get in shape so I feel better has ... well, showed up after a three-year hiatus. Is there a connection? Like, testosterone up and whatever the "creative" hormone is down?

Don't know. So I'm going to brainstorm ideas at you to get me jump started.

1) Play. Get out beads, wire, rings, pretty rocks, and see what happens. Sometimes just staring at the sparklies gets me moving.
2) Go to the bead store. I usually see something I like and it gives me ideas. Except I have piles of stuff from past strokes of inspiration that isn't inspiring me anymore. *sigh*
3) Journal. If you're an artist who gets blocked sometimes, or you wish you were an artist, I highly recommend The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Or if you're not sure where you are in the stream of your life. It was/is a life-changing book for me. She recommends journaling every day as a way to clear the every day crap that's blocking your creative urges. I haven't been.
4) Sketch. This one's actually almost laughable because my drawing skills are almost nil (one of those things I comfort myself with believing I could be better if I'd spend time on it). Maybe that's not the way to go. Maybe I should paint with watercolors or even finger paints.
5) Walk alone, preferably in the woods. Nature speaks if you're quiet enough to listen.
6) Look at pretty pictures. I look at pictures of others' work that is similar to mine every day, and it often inspires me. But sometimes looking at amazing photography or paintings I like has the same effect, and it inspires me in a different way. Since I have a "Springtime in the Glen" theme to work with for Fantasy Artists of Etsy Exhibition, and Emerald Isle for Wire Artisans guild, I may peruse some knotwork and Celtic art.
7) Follow a tutorial. Whatever it is usually doesn't come out the same as the original in the instructions. I guess that qualifies as inspiration? Maybe I'll play with a new chainmaille weave.

What do you do when the muse goes south?

The Doors of Opportunity

2009-02-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

"That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal: by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.[...]

These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children’s education must begin at home."

President Obama in an address to a joint session of Congress tonight.

While there was a lot he said that meant a lot to me, on this one all I can say is, amen.

On a related note, my 16-year-old son Brandon is in the process of filling out paperwork to apply for Tennessee Governor's Academy for Mathematics and Science. It means he'd live in Knoxville (1.5 hours away) for the better part of the year (rough on me!), but it also means he'd have some amazing educational opportunities in the field he's interested in, engineering, and an educational environment that encourages experimentation and exploration... which is more than can be said for pretty much any public school system I've known. It'll be amazingly competitive - 24 students for the entire state. My feelings are mixed but he is extremely excited about this opportunity and I can only hope he makes the cut. But the first thing I thought when I discovered that this amazing school even exists was, kudos Governor Bredesen! I only wish the opportunity was available to more students. Whether Bran makes it or not I consider it a huge honor that he was offered the chance to apply.

Some Thoughts for Today

2009-02-23T13:29:00.001-08:00

Outside my window... it's cold but the sun is shining. I love the way cats bask in the sunlight.

I am thinking... that the animals need to be fed, but I just spent 2 hours grocery shopping and my feet are saying 'enough.'

I am thankful for... being able to afford to buy healthy food for my family this shopping trip. Why is junk food cheaper than eating well?

From the kitchen... I'll be making pasta primavera with shrimp tonight.

I am wearing... a comfy peach-colored shirt and jeans.

I am creating... likely some wire-wrapped cabochons if I get some time tonight, and finishing a few other projects I have undone.

I am going... to see Riverdance Sunday. Excited!

I am reading... The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. First time.

I am hoping... that the choice I've made today, to start eating better and exercise, sticks with me this time. I think I am finally motivated.

I am hearing... the pitter patter of feet belonging to critters anxious to be fed. Otherwise it's quiet. I love quiet.

Around the house... I still haven't finished taking the Christmas tree down =/ It must fall before March!

One of my favorite things... is a cup of coffee and my journal in the morning.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Take pictures. Go for a lot of walks. Reconnect with my spiritual side. Plan Brandon's birthday. Make things that my spirit wants to make.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Apparently taken from The Simple Woman, although I can't seem to find the link that has this specific meme on it. I found this on someone else's blog.

Craft Envy [EBT Carnival]

2009-02-21T07:05:00.001-08:00

The Carnival theme for Etsy Bloggers is: What item from another seller's shop do you secretly wish you had thought of first?

Well... it's not that I secretly wish I'd thought of this stuff. It's more like, I wish I had time to dabble in similar crafts. Mostly. So here's a feature of some of my favorite insanely talented people on Etsy whose crafts I wish I could play with. Except the first. The first qualifies absolutely and completely for the actual question here, since I do some similar stuff.

When I saw Karla's shop at Thyme2Dream,
I confess I swooned. I'm a Renaissance and fantasy fangirl and if I was wandering around a Renaissance Faire and found a booth with her stuff in it I'd spend half the day there. It was really tough for me to choose a picture of ONE thing I love in her shop. Then I discovered her brilliant circlet-making husband at PernCirclets. They are definitely on my top 5 list of Etsy heroes. What I envy the most here is that when you see one of her listings, you know instantly who made it. I think I will never have that trademark style.

The rest of these are simply masters of crafts I wish I could do. I waded through most of my 99 pages of favorites (!!!! at least I got to weed out the dead ones) to find them for you.

I am so horrible at sewing that my son insists on sewing on his own buttons. Still, I'm pretty sure it's something I could learn, given time. And a sewing machine. Which I asked for for Christmas several years ago and did not get. So I am still thread-challenged.

If I COULD sew, I would sew costumes. Mostly Renaissance costumes. It would be a long, long time before I could sew anything as gorgeous as the stuff in Spooky Kitten Couture's shop, though. If you've got a touch of Rengeek go look. Another favorite costumier is Damsel In This Dress, partly because the name is just brilliant. :)

I'd never heard of needle tatting until I discovered TotusMel's shop (and blog!) and she's the undisputed queen of tatting in my mind, although I have found a few other shops recently that do more with beads and I LOVE it. This is definitely on my to-learn list, and I definitely want to make Victorian-looking stuff with lots of beads.

There are some leather mask-makers on the 'net. I don't think I'd get very gung-ho into leatherworking, although the stuff IKOW Designs is doing with leather and maille is stunning, so I'd probably play with something like that (I want to try some leather bracers with scalemaile overlay). I wouldn't mind being able to make amazing things like these Knights Templar bracers, at Mojo Leather, either.

One thing I have wanted for a very long time is a good camera(long enough that the camera I once wanted was 35 mm. but is now a digital SLR) , the knowledge to use it well, and opportunities to walk into nature and capture its mysteries. So naturally, Nature's Art is my hero. Their nature photos are breathtaking.

I'm sort of a hippie at heart, so I've always loved macrame (except those ugly plant hanger thingies, which seems to be what most people think of when you say macrame). I still have a gallon ziploc full of hemp, and I can do a basic sinnet (plan to try it in wire one of these days!). Macrame has come a long way since the 70s, though, as evidenced by Glass Dancer's absolutely gorgeous "micro" macrame. Anything tiny and intricate catches my fancy. I'd love to learn to do this one of these days.

There's a lot done with seed beads that's too busy for me, but I love peyote cuffs. I had long admired Sand Fibers' work, and then I featured Time2Cre8's Obama cuff on my blog. She offered a trade, and I am now its proud owner, and made a friend in the process (Mary Lou is a gem!). I'm venturing into this arena a little, with 3 cuffs under my belt so far (they take a LONG time), which I'm sure I will blog about soon. Mary Ann has been helpful getting me off the ground here. She's great! The cuff at left is hers. Go look at the wondrous creations in her shop, or check out her blog or the amazing Etsy BeadWeavers' blog.

My hubby offered me another crafting class this year as my Christmas present, and if I'd done it, I'd have chosen lampworking. But I thought, I know how to do some metalsmithing from last year's class, and don't have the tools to do it - I don't need another class and no tools. So I asked for tools. I still would dearly love to work with glass though, I've thought it was a magical process since I saw glassblowers working at a living museum in Ohio. But I still spend lots of time perusing the lampworking on Etsy, and there are a lot of brilliant people (I'm partial to these lined large-hole beads) but partly because of the luminous, intricate quality of her work and partly because the photography done here is AMAZING, Elysium beads is still my favorite. I'm planning on purchasing one of these mini works of art in the near future to put on a viking chain.

When I first opened my Etsy shop, I intended to do some calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts, as well. I hadn't counted on getting COMPLETELY obsessed with chainmaille and wire, so I haven't spent much time on this, but it's still on my to do list. I can do some calligraphy fairly competently, but what I really want to learn is the gorgeous illumination. Basically, what Bygone Arts is doing. You can get any text you want illuminated for an incredibly reasonable price.

I know, it's a lot of stuff. I doubt that I'll ever be the master of any of these crafts that the people I've featured are. And that's cool.. I want to dabble, use some of these things to complement the crafts I'm already doing. I'm a compulsive learner and creator. I could probably find a lot more crafts I'd like to learn some day but these are at the top of the list :)

Another Public Service Message

2009-02-19T16:14:00.001-08:00

On an average of once every eight seconds, a dog or cat is put down in a shelter each year. Four million of them, slaughtered because there are no homes for them, every year.

So I want to ask you, is every one of your animals spayed or neutered? If not, when that female is in heat down the road, he will go there, and he will add to the unwanted animals problem. When she is in heat she will find a way to act on it (she's made that way). Even if homes are found for the puppies or kittens produced, it will be a home that another homeless dog or cat could have occupied.

Yes, it's time for another public service message. This is one I'm passionate about, having been a vet tech for 12 years. I have a friend who took in a pregnant stray cat (which is wonderful). They failed to have either mom or the kittens neutered. The mother cat just had another litter, almost certainly inbred, and I'm certain it's not because they can't afford to have it done. I have another friend who thinks it's unfair to let his dog live its life without sex, so they want to breed him for no other reason than that. I love my friends, but this frustrates me.

I know my friends love their animals and a lot of the problem is emotional. He's been a great dog and I want to make more of him so I have something left of him, because dogs and cats live such short lives. Well, that might be a good argument if we were talking about cloning, or if the mating you're planning didn't produce three, five, eight, thirteen puppies that need homes and not just the one you want.

If you're still undecided, if you still insist that your dog or cat should have babies, or keep those reproductive organs because YOU have issues with your own private parts or sex life (this burns me up!) I want to ask something of you. Volunteer at your local shelter for a week or a month. That way you're giving something to the homeless pet community that you're adding to, and you'll see the problem up close and personal. You owe that wonderful creature you live with at least that much. And you just might change your mind.

Tuesday, February 24 is Spay Day. Go to the Humane Society's Website for more good reasons you should spay and neuter your dog or cat (it might prevent cancer, especially in some breeds), and to find out about low cost options for having the procedure done.

And if you're thinking about getting an animal, please consider a shelter pet, or if you're looking for a purebred, do an internet search for breed rescue organizations.

Wire Artisans on the Radio!

2009-02-17T17:51:00.000-08:00

Come listen! Click the graphic to go to the Blockhead website. Drop by early and register to chat. Should be a lot of fun!

Wire Artisans Guild

2009-02-17T04:37:00.001-08:00

Gothic Queen Two-Tone Silver Lace Cuff by xinxinemin
Available at Wire Artisans Guild's Etsy Shop

I can't even begin to say how excited I am to have been accepted into the Wire Artisans Guild on Etsy. Jumping up and down excited. The breathtaking cuff (crocheted wire... ever tried that? It's hellishly difficult to work with) above is just one tiny example of the amazing talent encompassed in this team. Seriously... go look at the Flickr group. Almost everything is just jaw-dropping.

I've been chewing nails all month because I ogle that Flickr stream on a regular basis, and I want to be like them when I grow up. They were only taking 10 of 40 applicants (although it ended up being 13). I dunno how I managed to squeak in when I look at the others' work (list is on the team Etsy shop, also worth a look) but I am humbled, honored, and SO excited. Thanks guys!

Oh! Also on a wire note, I'm thinking I'm going to sign up for Creative Wire Jewelry's Year of Jewelry whenever their next quarterly signup date is. They have a theme every week to inspire your creations and I just love browsing the blog. Check it out. There will be more here when I get around to my first theme creation, for both the Guild and YOJ.

Time to build up the finger calluses some more.

Congrats OWOH Winners

2009-02-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

These are the two custom bracelets I made for the winners of the One World, One Heart giveaway.

The black one is headed to Dee Dee Quigley in Hazelton, PA, and the pink and purple one is on its way to Lynda Taylor in Australia. Congrats to both of you!! :)

I won stuff too!
From Greenish Lady in Ireland I won one of these pretty decoupage bowls/vases:

and from the Dark Artists' Guild (The Studio at Crow Haven Farm) I won this nifty little dude:

Thanks so much, both to those who gave away so many awesome things (I actually managed to visit all 911 blogs!! and found some really cool people in the process), as well as those who came and entered my giveaway. I had a great time finding new people, and the International aspect of it was really awesome -- I'm thrilled to be sending one of my prizes to an international winner, and to have won something from overseas, too.

If you really wanted one of those bracelets, you can still have one, of course, just drop by You've Got Maille and let me know what colors you want, I'd be thrilled to make one for you.

Birvalenversary

2009-02-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

Sooooo, yep, I turned 38 today. Every time I sit on the couch, within 5 minutes there are at least 2 cats on me. So guess who I'm feeling like?

Am I middle aged yet?

I got a GIGANTIC ice cream cake that said "Happy Birvalenversary Dee" (we got engaged on Valentine's Day so it's an anniversary of sorts) from my sweet hubby. "Why didn't you get a smaller cake," I asked as I cut it into pieces and put the leftovers in approximately a half dozen containers to go in the freezer. "I didn't think they could fit 'Happy Birvalenversary' on a smaller one." He was right about that. It ran over the icing border of even the monstrous sheet cake. Apparently you do not hyphenate icing. I will never eat my way through all of it so if you're in my neck of the woods drop by for cake. Call first.

Anyway, just wanted to drop in and let y'all know I'll be back to blogging full speed tomorrow after a busy weekend, barring unforseen circumstances. Like turning 38 and 1 day. Or being smothered by a pile of cats.

Since it's mostly down the "hill" from here, if you've been pondering buying something from me I'm offering 20% off anything in You've Got Maille or Second Renaissance for anyone that says Happy Birvalenversary in the comments to seller at purchase time, for the rest of the week. Blog exclusive. Don't you feel special?

February's EtsyBlogger: DonnaPool

2009-02-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

Political Button by DonnaPool

Darnit, I'm late again. Sorry bout that. Geez is it the 13th already.. wait... Friday.. ack.

Anyway, two thumbs up for February's EtsyBlogger, DonnaPool. The goodies in her shop include some really funny buttons (I love the one above!) and some important buttons (including one no CPSIA button), some gorgeous photography including photos of vintage cameras, a lot of nifty vintage photography and buttons, keychains, ACEOs, some baby snugglies, and more. It's terribly eclectic and you really must go browse.

And her blog is just terribly cool for anyone who crafts, or has kids. Check it out!

[In case you're looking for Friday Inspiration, I'm putting it off a day because I'm way late on the featured EtsyBlogger. Come back tomorrow! Too many things to write about, too little time...]

~oOo~

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #11
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Stepping Stones Chainmaille Bracelet & Earrings by Maille Mystique

It's crunch time, Buster. You're thinking OH CRAP I FORGOT! And you run to Wal-Mart and shop the "fancy" stuff they keep in the jewelry case, not hanging on the wall.

STOP!!!! Put that down. That stuff is crap, I'm telling you. It'll break, or the gold finish will wear off. Far better for you to buy her something drop-dead GORGEOUS that she'll wear with everything from jeans to little black dress. Something totally unique. Something all the girls will oooh and ahhh over. I'm thinking sterling. I'm thinking Maille Mystique.

There are only a couple of queens of chainmaille in my mind and Deb is one of them (the other one invented the weave). I mean, look at that stuff. It's perfect in every way. It absolutely glows, but it's not so gaudy as to overwhelm the lady wearing it. What woman would that not look gorgeous on? You want gold? Go look at Deb's shop, she's got it. And I swear, when your pretty lady wears that to the party, NO ONE else is going to be wearing anything like it, which you can't say about that Wal-Mart crap!

So here's what you're going to do. You're going to tell your lady you ordered her something amazing but it's not here yet, and you're going to go buy something that IS amazing. And Valentine's Day is tomorrow, so you have time to make that true! And... make sure you take her out to dinner.

How to Add Your Etsy Mini to your Facebook Page [EBT & BF Carnival]

2009-02-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

Etsy

Buy Handmade

youvegotmaille

Hey imagine that, both Etsy Bloggers Team and Blogfire Guild are asking me to do a How-To for my carnival. Two birds, one stone, but no one dies!

I'm stealing the info from Handmadeology. If you haven't looked over there, you should, there's tons of great info. You can go watch the video but I'm gonna tell you how to do this, and you don't have to keep up with a video.

1) Go to this link for the application

2) Tell it you want to add the application to your Facebook page (obviously, you must have one). No really, you want to add it. It's okay, allow it to access Facebook. Really. Go.

3) Type in your shop name, and "6" for the items to display. Go for the max. Got no shop? Add your Etsy faves.

4) At the top, go to Settings/Application Settings. Choose your Etsy app and click Edit Settings.

5) Click "Profile", then next to Box "add."

6) Go back to your home page. Click on your "Boxes" tab. Click on the little pencil in the Etsy box top right corner. Tell it to add Etsy app to your Wall.

That's it! If you have more than one shop, you can only add one of them.

If you're on FB give me a shout :)

Enjoyin' the Sunshine

2009-02-12T10:45:00.001-08:00

This is Dink. He's a yorkie-sheltie mix, slightly neurotic, but he sure does love his yard on a nice sunny day (a third only to dinner time and getting to lie on the bed). The pictures came out somewhat disappointing. but he's still cute. His radar picked up my attempts to photograph him, apparently.

~oOo~

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #10
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Love Wooky by Tsuki

Nothing says I'm crazy about you like a Love Wookiee (sorry I'm a geek, had to correct the spelling, but then again maybe Lucas would come after the artist for copyright infringement... ANYWAY...). So ya. Get your honey a hand felted Love Wookiee. Even better if you do a good Chewbacca impression!!

Last Day for One World One Heart!

2009-02-11T10:58:00.001-08:00

Red Zone Stretchy Chainmaille Bracelet - You could design yours like this!

Unless you spend the whole day I doubt you'll get through all of the 911 bloggers giving away goodies, but you can make a nice dent! At least go to THIS POST on my blog and enter mine, if you haven't, to win colorful stretchy chainmaille bracelets like the one above, your choice of colors! I'm already over 200 entrants so I will probably give away 2 bracelets! :)

Then go to the One World, One Heart website and check out some of the other fabulous giveaways. You have 911 chances to win and the most entrants I've seen on one item was 360 or so, so you have an excellent chance to win something!

~oOo~

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #9
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Medieval Studded Heart Ring by 3 Rexes Jewelry

We're getting down to crunch time here. If you haven't ordered something for your valentine, it'd better be good. So now we're getting to the good stuff. The crap honey I forgot but look how awesome this is stuff.

There's not much in 3 Rexes' shop that my hubby could buy for me that I wouldn't absolutely adore. Tons of it is Valentine-perfect, too, go look. I think I'll probably be asking for tools for the next gazillion holidays, though, and making my own stuff. So I might have to buy my own 3 Rexes ;)

My Etsy Valentine

2009-02-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #8
A daily feature until Valentine's Day

Beautiful Glass Rose by RDG Designs

I haven't got time to blog much today, I've had what is going on a vicious 2-day migraine that is making sitting at my desk to work a real chore. I will relate that my valentine brought home a huge box of truffles for an early Valentine present and rubbed my neck to ease the headache, because he's awesome. Although he's obviously not reading my blog ;) So I feel safe telling YOU I bought him handmade dark chocolate raspberry amour cordials from Carnival at Etsy. Boy it was tough choosing, though. Browsing "chocolate" under the Plants & Edibles section with PMS and no chocolate in the house is akin to torture, and I think I deserve kudos! I have chocolate now, though, so all is good. Except for the head feeling like it's going to explode part.

I didn't want to go to bed without leaving you your Valentine suggestion for the day, though. I haven't done anything in the way of flowers yet. The beauty of roses fades, but not this one. This one, like your love, will last forever (or at least until you have toddlers). I give you permission to use that line, too. This isn't the only rose in RDG's garden, either, they have pendants and vases you could put some real ones in. You'd better hurry up, though.

Typealyzer

2009-02-09T15:03:00.001-08:00

Did you ever take that Kiersey temperament sorter? I found this nifty Typealyzer via a new blog I think is really cool, In the Meantime.

The Typealyzer takes your blog's URL and gives it a personality according to Kiersey's test. If you haven't done the test, or haven't in a while, go take it. Then see if your blog's personality matches yours.

As for me, I am a Healer (Idealist), or INFP. According to Kiersey, "Healers
present a calm and serene face to the world, and can seem shy, even
distant around others. But inside they're anything but serene, having a
capacity for personal caring rarely found in the other types. Healers
care deeply about the inner life of a few special persons, or about a
favorite cause in the world at large. And their great passion is to
heal the conflicts that trouble individuals, or that divide groups, and
thus to bring wholeness, or health, to themselves, their loved ones,
and their community."

My blog, on the other hand, according to Typealyzer, is ESFP, a Performer (Artisan), which means it's much more outgoing than I am personally. "The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to
pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft
fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present
moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of
exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a
concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely
initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in
management positions."

I suppose that makes sense. I try to make it visually appealing, and if blogging every day is "risk of exhausting itself," well, I'm almost there lately :) And my blog and I share the latter half of the four sorting factors.

What's yours?

~oOo~

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #7
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Zombie Valentine's Day Card by Buster McGee

We've done chocolates, jewelry, I guess we're missing flowers. But we definitely needed a Valentine's Day card. And this is the BEST Valentine's Day card I've EVER EVER seen. It's certainly not the only cool card in this shop, though! Go check it out. Pick up a "Zombie Children Need Love Too" Valentine for all the loves in your life. Hates too... one says "I hate your guts but your brains ain't bad."

Hey Valentine's Day doesn't have to be mushy, and you can tell Hallmark's sappy poetry to kiss your butt!

It's Jell-o Week But I Want Chocolate

2009-02-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

So I didn't post yesterday. So you missed out on the Valentine Item of the day. So you get two today. And a poem because it's Sunday. Maybe even a love poem. But that's it, because I'm grouchy. Oh, and your Valentine's items will contain chocolate because it's that kind of day. If my husband is reading this, take that as a hint.

By the way, Etsy searches that look delectably yummy but turn out to be inedible are really annoying. My soap, and random knicknacks, should not taunt me that way. Just sayin'.

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #5
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Chocolate Rum Balls by Cake Ball Factory

I'll just quote from the description. "Rum balls are a truffle-like confections, being sweet, dense balls flavored with chocolate and rum and are roughly the size of a golf ball."
I haven't even tasted them and I give them two thumbs up.

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #6
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Chocolate Hearts Box by Moi Chocolates

K. Your love gives you chocolates, you eat them, and are faced with a heart-shaped box of crinkle paper cups. Sadness. Not in this case. You eat the chocolates, then the box! This is win.

Okay, poetry. Please bear in mind that I am an all-over-the-page poet, but Blogger eats my format. Curse you, Blogger, I will eat a truffle for you.

I left my sanity at your doorstep
swaddled in the love I used to have for it
with a note
asking you to take good care of my baby.
There's that element of surprise
a wash of wonder that twists my gut
when I marvel at trust reborn.
and yes
this is a love poem in all its naked graphic glory
laid bare
because not all of the feelings are sweet and tender --
they crash through me like a modern symphony
seeking to do something new
because sweetness and tenderness
were overdone by the
Classical fools who came before
singing the same songs
over and over.
No, this song is different.
I've been listening, telling myself "madness,"
and it is, but
I suddenly found myself swept up in the
mad cacophony, given over to it without
regret...
I give you my body
to play
to coax out if it this passion
that lifts the feet of heart, soul and mind
from the ground with it,
swaddles it
in a once-dear rational thought
and drops it at a peaceful-looking residence
so achingly far away.

Friday Inspiration: Playing With Color

2009-02-06T11:17:00.001-08:00

Whatever your visual art, color matters, and sometimes even in other forms of art (dance for example). Today I propose an experiment to play with your color palette and create something different.

You need: a favorite painting or photograph, a photo editing program, and a palette of colors in whatever medium you create in.

First, go hunting. Search the Internet for great paintings, or a photograph that inspires you. It should have vibrant colors, or if you prefer, a more subdued palette, and it should be something that inspires you. For me, I adore Monet, and Impressionists are generally perfect for this exercise.. but I think I want to go with a Chinese watercolor this time.

Once you have your painting (you'll need a computer image of it), open it in your graphics program (Paint works fine). Then open a new image and draw yourself a square or rectangle. Go to your painting and use your eye dropper tool to select a color. Then go to your new image and flood fill your square. Do this several times until you have a palette of five or so colors (it will depend on how many you can use in your chosen medium) that you like.

Now, to the drawing board (or bead board, or jewelry bench, or polymer clay, or whatever). Take your palette of colors and just play. See what is born.

I'd love to see what you create. My results for last week's inspiration will be posted this weekend.

~oOo~

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #4
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Be My Squidheart by Serene Onion

Seriously, now, what girl wouldn't say "awwwww!!" I mean, it's Valentine cthulhu! Fear him and love him! Her. Whatever. Not sure how squid gender works. Anyway, as his creator says, "There's no better medium for expressing your LURVE than a delectable non-slimy squidlet. It's true."

It's true. I suppose he's not for everyone, but I know I would cherish him. He could live on my computer monitor. Want to be my valentine?

Audiobooks for You

2009-02-05T07:18:00.001-08:00

Free Audiobooks Online at oculture.com

I Stumble. Have you discovered this yet? It's a plugin for your browser. You tell it what you like and it finds you related websites that other stumblers have recommended. You can then thumbs-up it (or down), which allows StumbleUpon to further refine your stumbling tastes. So, I thought I'd share my interesting, useful, cool stumbles from time to time. One caveat: you'll lose hours and hours clicking that stumble button. So you get two links today in case you dont' have this one: StumbleUpon (If you DO have StumbleUpon, and you like my blog, I'd appreciate a thumbs up... you should do the same for all your favorite blogs).

The link this time around is oculture.com, where you can get all kinds of free educational stuff including university courses, foreign language lessons. I like to listen to something while I'm working on jewelry, though, and while I haven't tried audiobooks I thought it might be a cool way to go. You can find all sorts of good stuff (mostly classics) in both MP3 and iTunes format on the free audiobooks site here. Requires a download. I think I may listen to some Edgar Allen Poe I haven't read in a while.

~oOo~

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #3
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Jamaican Rosewood Handmade Artisan Soap from A Good Witch Too

Witchy was tempting me on Twitter all day yesterday with this dreamy-sounding soap and a few others, so I went to her shop and darn near all of them sounded irresistible. Resistance was futile and I ended up buying a Choose Your Own 3-pack, but I will be back for the Jamaican Rosewood! (If you've been reading a while you know I'm a handmade soap addict). I think you and your Valentine should share a bar.

Color Me

2009-02-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Celtic Coloring Pages from The Celtic Touch

I spent several hours with my friend's kids yesterday, ages mature 11, precocious almost 4 and shy 1 1/2. Sometimes I do long for nieces, nephews and (someday) grandkids. We colored. Mostly Hello Kitty.

Weirdly, when I came home I was inspired to color by myself. It's something I still find incredibly relaxing and meditative, especially when you color something really complex. I have a Celtic Mandala coloring book, but you can go to the website above and print yourself some coloring pages that will work just as well. Dover Books has some fantastic coloring books, some of them on "stained glass" paper. Hang it on the refrigerator when you're done :)

~oOo~

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #2
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Knotty But Nice Choker by Far Frum Plain Jane

If you like chokers, go visit this shop. There's micro-macrame, beadwork, and a mix of both, and it seemed like I liked each thing I saw a little more than the last, but I could probably favorite almost everything!

Causes

2009-02-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

"Patriot" and "Aware" available at You've Got Maille

Chris (check out her blog! Pointless Ponderings From a Cluttered Mind) won my chainmaille stretchy bracelet from my Bella Casa giveaway a few days ago. She wanted something patriotic since her husband is in the armed services, so I am making her a "Patriot" bracelet and sending it along.

Her son also has autism, and she was thinking about buying another one in the ribbon colors for autism awareness. That got me thinking... wonder if I can make it look like a puzzle? I'll be playing with this idea in the next few days :)

Got a cause you'd like to wear? I'll be happy to work with you to make something perfect, either stretchy or any other design. We can add charms (trust me, there is a charm for EVERY cause), or represent it another way. I'm also branching out into a bit of bead weaving, and it occurs to me that this would look amazing as a bead-woven bracelet. If you've got an idea, definitely inquire and I'll tell you what I can do and what I can't.

Thanks for the inspiration, Chris, and congrats on winning! (See the next post for your chance to win!)

~~oOo~~

My Etsy Valentine: Hearts, Chocolates and Flowers #1
A daily feature till Valentine's Day

Candy Fluff Goat's Milk Soap From Bella Grace Designs

It looks good enough to eat but it's "a delicious concoction of sweet strawberry sunday on a lazy afternooon with hints of creme and fluffy marshmallows." Okay it SOUNDS good enough to eat, but it's soap :)

One World One Heart Giveaway

2009-02-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

Just completed a giveaway via Bella Casa (Congrats to the winner, Chris) and YGM is now announcing participation in the One World, One Heart Giveaway. This thing is HUGE! It's currently over 800 people giving something away on their blog! Click on the logo above to go check it out! (after you enter mine!)

As for me, I am giving away a custom stretchy beaded chainmaille bracelet like one of these:

... except that you get to pick your colors. Here are the colors available for the rings:

And the glass beads are available in red, orange, amber, AB clear, AB black, blue-green, blue, purple, matte blue, and pink with swirls.

You choose your 1-2 ring colors (aluminum, top half of the picture, and rubber, bottom half), and your bead color, and I make your bracelet however you like it. There are more examples of these bracelets if you want to see more colors "in action" (I love making them!) on my Etsy site: http://youvegotmaille.etsy.com Please note that there is a possibility that some colors may not be in stock and you'll have to wait a bit for me to get them back in, but I do try to carry all of those colors all the time.

This contest is available internationally. Drawing will be February 12, 2009. If there are enough entries I may give away two bracelets.

Also be sure to visit the OWOH site and enter more giveaways. I mean, 800 plus! You're sure to win something. Oh and do tweet the OWOH site if you're a Twitterer!

To enter, please leave a comment here with your email address. Thanks for your visit, and come back some time!

Sunday is Poetry Day

2009-02-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

On Sundays I subject you to my poetry. Well, maybe not every Sunday. And maybe not always my poetry, because I love poetry and I often find ones that other people wrote that I adore. If you hate poetry, I apologize. BUT I'll also feature an Etsy item that matches, so it's all good, no?

This amazing photograph, "Touching History," is available from WillBPhotography on Etsy, along with several others that give me a little patriotic stir when I look at them. And I thought it complemented the poem incredibly poignantly.

Both works are property of the photographer/poet.

Runes of Childhood

These are the runes of
childhood
an open hand
an open mind
an unscarred heart.
There is more truth
in this simple vision
than in all my being.
The world is a place
in which to play, to
pretend
and such wisdom is
unavailable to the wise.

Items Posted in FAE Exhibition

2009-01-31T11:10:00.001-08:00

"Melusine" by Tanocat Gems
Featured at Fantasy Artists of Etsy "Love at First Flight" Exhibition

Thought I'd show you a teaser of the beautiful items that await your perusal at FAE's latest Exhibition. There's an adorable sculpture of an intrepid steampunk aviator, a "Serenity" necklace, beautiful softly glowing vials of magic, fairy wings, images of winged seductresses, and more. You really ought to go look. I'm not telling what I posted, you'll have to find it! (hint: both youvegotmaille and SecondRenaissance items are there!)

My Thanks to the Following!

2009-01-31T07:23:00.001-08:00

Sending out a big thank you to my top Entrecard visitors this month. Click on any of the images above to check out their cool blogs... it's no accident that some of them are favorites that I have to visit every day because they're so cool and I don't want to miss anything they've said. :)

A thanks to EVERYONE who comments... your comments mean a lot to me (seriously, I check it more than my Heartomatic now!)

In other news, in case you hadn't heard, The Consumer Product Safety Commission granted a one-year stay of testing and certification requirements for certain products to be regulated under CPSIA. Thanks for all you did to protest this law as it stood! Maybe in the next year we can get it amended so that it's friendlier to small business and handcrafters.

Friday's Creativity Inspiration #1

2009-01-30T14:14:00.001-08:00

tomorrow looks lovely print by Tummy Mountain (for sale on Etsy)

Whatever your creative outlet, I thought it'd be cool to have a prompt, or a little bit of inspiration. I used to love writer's prompts. And, indeed, if you happen to be a writer, there's no reason you should not be able to use these. They should work with whatever your creativity encourages.

But... try to think outside the box. If you don't have a creativity journal, think about getting one, and don't be afraid to scribble in it. Collage in it. Put pictures of your work and others' in it. Don't write in it as if it had lines (even if it does), write big and bold, or sideways, or all different ways, or fill the page with random words. Use different colored markers. Let your inner artist play. I'll probably address this from time to time in these Friday prompts, and some of them will deal specifically with your journal or sketchbook. If you work better on random scraps of paper, start a scrapbook or at least keep them in a folder. These things are great to look at later.

So you can start (or continue) in your journal with this one, or if you make jewelry, use it for that. If you crochet, use it for that. Use it to inspire your usual creative outlet or try a new one. Got polymer clay? Crayons? Run wild.

If you do use it, please comment and leave me a link so I can see where the inspiration led you.

I'm hoping to make this a weekly feature so subscribe (right column at the bottom is the RSS feed) and stop back on Fridays to check it out. If you'd rather get them via email, request it in a comment here and I'll send it out that way.

This week's inspiration:

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it's getting toward the end of winter when we start longing for Spring. Some of us are snowed in. Some are tired of dreary skies and gray/brown earth. You have the power of Spring in your hands, to make one small thing blossom. What will you do with it?

I'll post my results next week, I'd love to see yours!

Will You Marry Me? [EBT Carnival]

2009-01-29T17:56:00.001-08:00

Caged Heart at Second Renaissance

Ah yes, the long-awaited Valentine's Day tale and Etsy Bloggers Carnival Entry!

Russell and I had known each other for four months and we were pretty crazy about each other. He would come to Ohio from Tennessee about once a month to visit, and I already had plans to move there. So, naturally, I wanted this Valentine's Day to be special. I arranged for dinner at a very nice, very expensive fondue restaurant.

Over the wonderful cheese fondue he carefully took my hand (skirting the hot fondue pot) and asked me to marry him. Naturally, I said yes. He gave me a beautiful ring that had belonged to his mother. Engagement on Valentine's Day is, yes, incredibly sappy (but easy to remember! which in fact he does, seemingly better than our wedding anniversary).

Fondue is a curious thing. He'd make comments for months about "paying so much for food you have to cook yourself." I grew up in the 80s with a mom who follows the latest gourmet trends, so we'd had fondue parties all the time. I was around 10 at the time, and trust me, kids and fondue don't mix too well. We had our share of mishaps, about which I warned Russ, since this was the first time he'd ever had fondue. Things like: getting the food on your fork while holding it in your hand can potentially result in twin holes in your hand not unlike mini vampire bites. Eating off a fondue fork that just came out of hot oil is guaranteed to result in a nasty lip blister. It's great when you can prevent an accident with someone else's foreknowledge.

Well, I had a potato in the oil (which I think was a little on the hot side), and it gave this terrific fried potato POP! that (according to Mr. Melodrama, with much gesticulating), "sent a Glob of Hot Oil flying INCHES from my EYE!!"

He still makes the sign of warding against evil at the word "fondue," since naturally he would NEVER miss an opportunity to tell the story about how I tried to kill him on our engagement night.

EtsyBloggers Trunk Show Tomorrow!

2009-01-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

EtsyBloggers is having a live trunk show tomorrow at 9 EST. If you've never been to a Trunk Show, they're a lot of fun! The Virtual Labs on Etsy is a really cool interactive chat room. Not only that, but the Bloggers have a huge variety of items so there's sure to be something for everyone!

Click on the banner at left to see our Team page, which features the Trunk Show shops, all of which are having a sale. Especially if You can't make it tomorrow!

Click on your "Community" link, then virtual labs, then the Gallery to find us.

We can't afford CPSIA

2009-01-28T08:04:00.001-08:00

I had thought, since I don't generally make children's products, that this law wouldn't affect me much. Here's a wonderful, eye-opening post that proves otherwise. It affects all of us. Just the cost of things that your children MIGHT use is going to go through the roof. This is not what the economy needs right now.

Do read Altered Events' post on the subject and consider giving your Congress folk a call or send a note. Since I can't say much better than this, I give you a link rather than an essay. And if you're a blogger, please give this a mention on your blog.

Bloggers Unite! Wednesday January 28 CPSIA Blog In

Hey Look, an Award!

2009-01-28T07:44:00.001-08:00

I got nominated for the Lemonade Award by Vanessa at Designs by Vanessa. It's meant for positive-attitude blogs (you know, when life gives you lemons type of thing). Wow, thanks Vanessa :)

Now I get to pick 10 blogs that I think deserve one of these! If you're on the list below,
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Nominate 10 blogs that show great attitude.
3. Link your nominees with your post & let them know via comment that they're lemonaded.
4. Link the post to the person who gave you the award.

Here are my Lemonade-ees. :)
1. NFall2RT Design Studio
2. Athena's Armoury
3. Get Silvered (her post today is ironic :)
4. Liv'n Good Jewelry
5. Youiquely Chic
6. My Strength and My Song
7. Doodle Week (darnit i haven't doodled yet!)
8. Morning Sky Jewelry
9. IKOW Designs
10. Theresa's Treasures

There, a bunch of positive chainmaillers and a few others! =)

I want Wednesdays are really cool, click on the link to check it out. This week:
What do you want to know today?

Most of my want to knows are want to know hows. I want to know how to speak foreign languages. I want to know how to make beautiful soldered filigree jewelry. I want to know how to take professional looking photos. I want to know how to blow glass and throw pottery and create things in a superheated forge. I want to know how to make music again, piano and violin. I want to know the secret of having more time to create. I want to know what I'm making for dinner. I suppose the "today" more or less limits it all to the last one or maybe two, since I won't be unlocking all the secrets of the universe in a day. Ah well, I can dream.

So Very Helpful

2009-01-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

I was taking some pictures of some chain bracelets to sell on Etsy. What you see at the bottom is my kitten Otto (8 months old) "helping" me display them :) Silly kitten loves chains more than string... the mere sound of chainmaille brings him running. It makes more noise, it's shiny (he loves shiny), and mom plays with them more. Last night he gagged himself on a piece of wire so he is hereafter banned from the bench while I am working wire.

Here he is "talking" to the birds. Handsome, isn't he?

I have a houseful of other animals; 4 other cats who despise this interloper, 2 Sheltie mixes and a Senegal parrot. I'm sure they'll find their way into one post or another at some point, but none of them are as "helpful" as Otto is (although Clio the parrot certainly would be if I let her).

Being helpful is very tiring.

Love at First Flight

2009-01-26T12:41:00.001-08:00

Well I haven't had a chance (okay, confession, I've been really lazy with the camera) to take a picture of my entries for this exhibition yet, but there's still a lot of other cool stuff for you to check out at Fantasy Artists of Etsy team's Love at First Flight Exhibition. And you should!

On another note, keep an eye here for the FAE calendar, coming soon!

Happy Niu Year

2009-01-26T09:45:00.001-08:00

Here in the United States we wear green for St. Patrick's Day. I propose we wear red for Chinese New Year! Red was once thought to frighten away the beast Nian ("year"), which is why red lanterns and decorations are still used. There are so many cool traditions associated with this holiday. To celebrate the Year of the Ox (Niu), I give you some beautiful items from the many brilliantly talented artisans on Etsy.

The Ox symbolizes calm, hard work, resolve and tenacity. How are you doing on those Western New Year resolutions? Maybe now is the time to renew your resolve.

Bronze Silk Tarot Pouch Embroidered with Chinese Zodiac Ox by Rainfeather13

This would be very fortuitous to keep your tarot deck in, of course, but if you're a gamer it occurs to me that it'd give your dice some great chi, as well. (I told you I was a geek!) Find other beautiful embroidery, including other Chinese zodiac symbol bags, in Rainfeather's shop.

Chinese New Year Inspired Red Origami Earrings by Bashful Bunnie

When I went hunting for Chinese New Year goodies on Etsy, what I really wanted was a pretty lantern. But look at these cool lantern-like origami earrings! I love them! Go buy them before I decide to, they're a steal!! Or, pick up a pair in black, patterned paper, pink or gold. <3

50 Origami Lights - Rainbow Shades by Whimsidoodle

It wouldn't be Chinese New Year without paper lanterns, and while Origami is a Japanese art, these would make a fine addition to any New Year celebration... or anywhere you want really pretty lights! Imagine decorating a ficus tree with them, or hanging them in an atrium or enclosed porch. Perfect mood, instantly.

Dragon Vinyl Wall Decal by Singlestone Studios

No New Year would be complete without a dragon for luck. Now you can adopt one to watch over an area of your home and keep the luck with you year-round. And how COOL is it!? I've wanted to do an Oriental-themed room for ages (preferably my bedroom), and this would be so perfect.

There were tons of nifty dragon items on Etsy, but I settled on this one. If you're a dragon person like I am you owe it to yourself to do the search over there.

To my friends in places where your New Year is just beginning, Xin Nian Kuai Le，新年快乐 (happy new year).

Bella Casa Etsy Party!

2009-01-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

Bella Casa is hosting an Etsy Party January 26-30. Several amazing and talented Etsy artists have donated items to be given away. Given away!!! All you have to do is go look at this amazing stuff, visit the artists' shops, and then starting Monday go tell Bella which of the sellers' items are your favorites. Then win!

For this event You've Got Maille has donated a custom stretchy chainmaille bracelet, so be sure to visit. Definitely check out the other neat stuff, too.

Thanks for hosting Bella!

Great Expectations

2009-01-22T03:58:00.001-08:00

It's the craziest thing... I buy cabochons, or gemstones, or beads... and sometimes I get a really good deal on ones that I like pretty well, but they're nothing special. Other times, I find ones I LOVE that I MUST have because they're gorgeous.

And the gorgeous ones sit in my box of rocks. You should see my pretty rock collection. I sit on my lunch hour and look at them. I can picture them finished, but there's an intimidation factor in trying to do them justice.

Then, when I go to create something with those perfect cabochons, I HATE it. (the one above falls into this category... the wire was too thick too stiff, and one of the bail wires snapped... it's not symmetrical... I plan on redoing it) Especially if I knew just what I wanted to do with it. It never looks like I meant it to. I might as well throw away my sketchbook. But I take one of my "ugly" rocks and some cheap copper or colored wire, and just play with it...

Those are the ones that come out spectacular.

And my favorite creations end up being the ones that don't photograph well, and the stuff I was lukewarm about at the bench blows me away when I look at the photos.

Yesterday I decided I have GOT to get some finished products out of that box of rocks, so I grabbed the one my husband said was "ugly" (it's a gray stone with red, chohua jasper) and some copper, and... well, I'll be doing some pictures today so when I get them done I'll put a pic here and you can judge for yourself. I'm really happy with the wrap, though.

Is nothing ever the way I expect it to be? Does anyone else have this problem?

Nutshell [BF Carnival]

2009-01-21T06:35:00.001-08:00

I recently joined Artfire's BlogFire guild, and for the guild's first carnival we're expected to do an introduction.

Well, everybody likes talking about themselves, and I am no exception.
The basics:
30something (the something indicates the back half of the 30s, doesn't it)
happily married
one son, scarily near 16
live in rural Tennessee

I have a restlessly creative spirit. I love poetry and reading, but I like nonfiction, fantasy and science fiction (but it must be well written, I can't stand "formula.") I have written poetry. I have journaled for years, but this blog seems to stand in for the most part, these days. I think I should get back to journaling, most likely. Lately the poet-muses have mostly left me in the care of the metal muse.

I love animals. I share my home with Rascal (a shih tzu-sheltie mix), Dink (a yorkie-sheltie mix, Rascal's half brother), my 5 cats, and a Senegal parrot whose only word is "up" although she does some great sound effects. I rode horses as a teenager and have dreamed of having a horse for as long as I can remember, a dream I hope to realize in the near future now that I've moved somewhere it doesn't cost the same as a mortgage to keep one.

I consider myself nerdily cool. I adore the Renaissance era, reenacting it, costuming it (although sewing is something I have not conquered yet), and especially learning Renaissance dances, which I teach to middle school kids. I love Renfaires. I have been addicted to MMORPGs (but have broken free... they eat your life). I play D&D or Star Wars RPG on the weekends.

I am Liberal. I have high hopes for Mr. Barack. Nuff said.

My religious journey has been circuitous and I am still a wanderer. The confusion of my past has left me reluctant to discuss my beliefs. One thing that I have firmly decided, though, is that I shall judge no one's creed. It is not my place.

I moved from Cleveland, Ohio to rural Tennessee to marry my husband Russ almost four years ago. I love Tennessee. The character, the landscape, the relaxed way of life. The picture above is from our Renaissance wedding celebration, complete with handfasting ceremony we designed ourselves. It was a blast. In a few days I shall tell the tale of our engagement, since the EtsyBloggers carnival asked for Valentine stories.

A year ago I took a metalsmithing class and shortly thereafter learned to make chainmaille, which then extended to wire wrapping, and lately I've been doing some bead weaving. Creating things is my passion and I think, after trying so very many creative things (under my bed are supplies that would fit in nearly every aisle of my local craft store), I have found my outlet.

Chainmaille: How We Got Here

2009-01-20T06:57:00.001-08:00

Judith at Second Renaissance

Since I have a lot of people breezing through who might not be familiar with maille, I thought I'd say a word or two on the state of chainmaille in the world today.

Of course, in ancient times it was made of bronze, brass, or steel and worn as armor. It's much lighter than plate armor and much easier to fix if damaged.

Some time in the last couple of decades the Renaissance faire-going and SCA-attending crowd started making their own armor out of coiled rings. Usually steel. But steel's heavy, and if you're fighting with PVC swords, or not fighting at all, you don't really need all that much protection. Aluminum is one third the weight of steel, so it was a natural choice. From there it was a short step for the ladies of said geeky persuasions to start wearing bits of their own chainmaille... necklaces, headdresses, that sort of thing. The guys made themselves rings and bracelets. They experimented with the weaves and started inventing amazing new ones.

Along came the hobby jeweler (probably just behind scrapbooking in the hobbyist craze, to judge from the amount of inventory at my local Hobby Lobby). They were using a lot of wire anyway... I don't know who started it, but really, chainmaille is a natural fit here. It requires a minimum of tools, and done in silver is mesmerizing. Plus... if you've never had a piece of well made chainmaille in your hands you're missing out. The feel is extremely sensual and incredibly fun to fidget with if you've got restless hands. Chainmaille went from the bits of "geek" jewelry to sleek creations in glimmering precious metals. And the jewelers carried the experimentation even further, and added other jewelry making techniques and materials into the mix.

I guess I wouldn't call chainmaille "mainstream" yet, although it's made its appearance on the fashion runways in the past few years (wait... that's not mainstream, never mind). But that might be a good thing, because "unique" is the word I hear most often to describe my work, which I like. And you want to wear something unique, too, right?

So whether you're looking for something to wear with your Renfaire costume, a stretchy bracelet to wear to high school, a slinky choker to wear with that little black dress, a sturdy stainless steel bracelet to wear to your blue collar job, or armor against the mundane, you'll find it in chainmaille.

So here's my suggestion: head on over to Etsy and search "chainmaillers team" or go to our Etsy Chainmaillers' Guild blog, where you'll find an amazing array of styles and materials to fit your mood and your personal style. And of course, I'd love to work with you personally to make a custom item exactly the way you want it.

MLK Day of Service

2009-01-19T06:45:00.001-08:00

Check out Daily Coloring Pages (and discover that it's really relaxing to color and be a kid again for a little while!)

We Americans have so many holidays that are more or less meaningless to us. Labor day and Memorial Day come to mind as days that are basically just a break from work or school and not much more than that. There are others. Has Martin Luther King, Jr. day become that?

This website: http://www.mlkday.gov says no. His life was dedicated to service and in that spirit, everyone is encouraged to find a way to serve others on this day, and make it "a day on, not a day off." I think that's a great idea, especially if you have children, since a lot of children are severely lacking in the area of being taught to serve others. But I suspect nearly all of us could use a little more of it in our lives.

Check out that website, click on "How to Serve" and "Click here to find a MLK Day opportunity", then find your state for places to offer your service. Then, make this a yearly tradition.

I think Dr. King would have been proud of us as a nation this year. Happy Martin Luther King day, everyone.

(Yes, I know, the social commentary is taking over... I make no apologies though)

Inauguration Sale and Blog Feature (yay!)

2009-01-18T10:01:00.001-08:00

Patriot

I've decided to offer 20% off anything in my shop now through Wednesday in celebration of this historic inauguration, including gift certificates and custom orders. Happy Bushisgone week!

An addendum so I don't end up doing 3 posts in one day!

I just discovered (accidentally) that NanjoDogz has Second Renaissance featured on her blog! Thanks so much! It's an awesome feeling to find someone appreciating my work, when it's someone whose work I've appreciated for ages. Go check out her Etsy shop too. You cannot resist the cuteness!

Tagnabbit!

2009-01-18T07:47:00.001-08:00

Kat over at Candles, Crafts and Whatnot tagged me. So cool to be meeting new bloggers via Entrecard.

So you're stuck with eight random facts about me.

1) I'm a horrible sleeper. I'm restless, turn constantly (when I had long hair I had to put it up because it kept trying to strangle me), flip my pillow to get to the cold side (does anyone else do this?) and have stretches where I can't sleep much at all.

2) I'm also an incorrigible morning person. Usually cheerful in the morning. But past 11:00 at night I'm not terribly pleasant.

3) I really don't do movies. You know how some people are restless and can't read for very long stretches? I can't seem to sit through a movie without occupying myself otherwise somehow.

4) I'm kind of the same with TV, although I make an exception for Heroes (I still chainmaille during the show though)

5) I'm a nerd. I need to do a whole post on this, but in addition to my Renaissance geekiness, on weekends I play D&D or Star Wars RPG. I used to be addicted to Guild Wars but I substituted an addcition to making jewelry. I think it's more productive. I don't LARP, though.

6) I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy at least once a year and have read the Silmarillion, or parts of it, several times. I also keep coming back to other beloved series: Dune (Frank Herbert), A Song of Ice and Fire (George R.R. Martin), the Assassin/Live ship books (Robin Hobb), and the Outlander series (Diana Gabaldon). I want to re-read the Foundation series some time soon. In between all of these I read books I've never read before. I don't have an attention deficit problem with reading :)

7) Whenever I lie on the couch I usually have an average of 2 cats lying on me.

8) I'm anal retentive about cleaning out my keyboard. It never looks like I am, though.

There, that's me. Here's the rules:

1. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog.
5. For the recipients, leave a comment for the person who tagged you, so they can go and read your answers.

Here are my peeps!
1) The Costumer
2) Theresa's Treasures
3) Delavande (I tagged her before but I don't think she did it)
4) A Rose By Name
5) Five O'Clock Somewhere
6) Spotted Cow Soaps
7) The Copper Cauldron
8) Rose Works Jewelry

My apologies if this has been thrown at you several times. This is my second but since I have a lot of new bloggy friends, I figured I'd do Take 2. :)

Blog Circle Giveaway

2009-01-17T08:05:00.001-08:00

I have an idea kicking around in my head... I thought if we crafty bloggers could pool resources for a contest/giveaway, it might increase traffic for all of us by people who maybe don't normally frequent blogs. Here's how it works:

I'll make a list of participating blogs. Each of us will do a post on the same day advertising the giveaway. Each blog will have an item they're giving away, which will be posted on the main page. We'll let it run for a week or two, and for each blog they leave a comment on, the participants will have their name thrown into the hat once (so, the more blogs they visit, the more chances to win). Also for each purchase from one of the bloggers they can have their name in the hat another time.

If you're interested in participating leave a comment here with your blog URL and your email. If there's enough interest I'll start setting it up.

Make a Difference

2009-01-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

"I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your own democracy again." -- Barack Obama

I mostly avoid social commentary on this blog, although I make no secret that I am a happy Liberal who adores the new President (so far). I have compared him to FDR and he is making great use of the Internet in his own style of fireside chats. At change.org any citizen could go and propose or vote on issues that matter to them. I saw somewhere that voting ended yesterday (sorry, I guess I'm slow on the draw), but the idea is that the administration will now work with nonprofit sponsors for each idea to make some changes.

It is a mark of the power of the blogging community that the request to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was SIXTH on this list of issues and will be landing in a report on the new President's desk. If you're reading a blog I'm guessing you know about this already but in case not, it is a proposed law mandating that those who make products for children pay for third-party testing for their products to ensure safety. It's a good idea, but the way it is written now, it would make it impossible for crafters and small businesses to make anything at all for kids and turn a profit.

Think about that -- sixth! -- out of the volumes of social issues facing our troubled society. For those of you who supported this, kudos. For everyone else, you have an invitation. Go to change.org and get involved. Click on the sticker above and put it on your blog to support this movement. Support other causes that matter to you. The last eight years have created an environment of "whats the point" in the minds of the citizenry, but that is about to change. You don't have to be an activist. You have every opportunity to stay connected via the Internet, and your President has invited you to do so. Even more so, if you're a blogger -- even if you're not a social issues blogger -- you can make a difference.

A note: this site should not be confused with change.gov, which is the President-elect's official site, and where you can find his weekly address (and which I also encourage you to check out and subscribe to), although they haven't made them easy to find in one place. You can also search "obama weekly address" on YouTube for the latest address.

Welcome to a new era.