Thursday, May 9, 2013

New Listings After A Very Long Time!

One of my "goals" for 2013 was to add at least two new listings a week to my etsy shop.
Which meant making at least two new things every week. Doable, right?
Right! I made more than two items a week, but did I list them? No :-(
Why? Because a lot were made as custom orders, others sold right off of my FaceBook page, and what was left behind...I felt too lazy to list. Fixed that! I am amazed, and thankful, that I only had only a handful of things unsold (one sold on FB just as I was measuring it to put it down in the listing! Gotta love my friends! And their friends!)
I know, I need to expand my clientele, and spread the word about Project Why that benefits from these sales. So to that effect, a short little promotional post:

Here's what I just put up:


Featuring an artisan made polymer clay focal (by Lisa Caryl), renaissance glass beads and sweet czech glass leaves, this wrap bracelet will brighten up any outfit!
I love this style. Wrap bracelets are really popular but most of them are made with cord and are pretty much the same ole same ole style. This is definitely going to stand out in the crowd!

These earrings feature hand etched brass components by Sharyl McMillian-Nelson with a sweet leaf/fern design. They are accented by turquoise pillow beads and antique brass wire hoop. The wire hoop has the daintiest little yellow beads that sparkle in the sunlight!



This is my happy necklace :-) I can actually smell fresh flowers when I see this (yeah, I am a little odd like that)

And a few others....

I also want to highlight a few listings already in the store, which surprisingly, are still in the store!

 My all time favorite bracelet! How can you not love this one...with those cute little clasps? ;-)


The blog post for this necklace, written in May 2012, is the third highest traffic generator for my blog. Why? Because the inspiration for this was the cocktail..Manhattan! The necklace is utterly gorgeous, but has still not found a new home :(

And lastly, this bubbly, frothy, perfect for the beach, necklace. Why is it still here!? It needs a new home too!


And thus ends my marketing pitch. I hope to sell some of these pretty pretty pieces, they all help the kids of Project Why!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Focus On Life ~ Week 18: Abstract

PLEASE GO HERE FOR THE HATS OFF CHALLENGE REVEAL:
HATS OFF WITH BEADSONG JEWELRY

====================================================================================

I bet most of the participants are struggling with this one.
Abstract. What does that even mean?
Something open to interpretation, is it?

I am an software developer, and to be, abstract only means classes. No, am not going that route. This has been a favorite interview question of mine. And not many have been able to answer it.

Anyway...moving on to abstract photography. This is what Sally said:

Abstract: the use of a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.

I take great pride in my command over the English language. But this line is still making me scratch my head. So I googled for abstract photographs, and reached this absolutely stunning collection!


I got a few ideas from here, and while I did not have time to consciously click abstract photos for today (you see, I did not know what I was looking for), I looked through my iPhone photos, and selected this one I took tonight at the "etsy meet and make" event



 And then I looked through some older photos and found a few better candidates




 

Still not sure if this is any good (mainly because I still don't get it), all these are just some sort of repeating pattern. Abstract or not?

I think I will go look at other participant's photos and see if I can understand this at all...
Lets start at Sally's blog:

Friday, May 3, 2013

Hats Off with Beadsong Jewelry!

I had "almost" forgotten about this challenge. Almost because I knew I had to make something, in May. But did not remember when and did not realize that May was actually already here!

Then I read a reminder on Bobbie's blog, and panicked and made a few things :-)

So here are the details about the blog hop...
Bobbie Rafferty of Beadsong Jewelry is quite taken by the Kentucky Derby, and has kicked off an annual challenge where participants are to design jewelry inspired by the outrageous, top of over the top hats that ladies wear to the Derby. The reveal, of course, is today, on the day of the Kentucky Derby. She provided the inspiration photos in a few different categories. You can see them here. Click on the green hat. She wore it to the Oaks today!


Click on that hat, go see the pictures, and you will know why I signed up for this :-)

I made two pieces...actually, just one specially for the challenge, the other one just fits one of the themes, so am going to cheat and put it in ;-) Up to you guys to figure out which one it might be :P

One of the themes was Color, Texture and Shapes.
I picked this one:

  

and made this


The color and shape of the hat = color and shape of the shells. The shells have shell-like texture ;-)
And the hat has a nice wide, green silk bow. Well, mine is a nice, thin green silk bow. See below...for the bow, that is




The second theme I chose is"Inspired By Nature". This photo:


I took the green color, and the yellow flowers from that picture and put them in this


 Here's a closer look at some of the finishing touches.


So these were my entries. There's quite a few "jockeys" in this Derby! So lets say a BIG THANKS to Bobbie, and go see how they're doing....



Bobbie Rafferty www.beadsong.blogspot.com - Da Hostess



Kashmira www.sadafulee.blogspot.com <-- YOU ARE HERE
Susan Nelson Bowie www.susanbowie.wordpress.com

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Fresh Shop: WhatKnotShop

So glad to be actually following up on doing this Fresh Shop series (I usually make all kinds of grand plans and never follow through :((

Today's featured shop is

 
I am not quite sure how and when I stumbled across the blog that "owner, designer, maker, curator, design, make, market, sell, ship, lather, rinse, repeat" artist George Hutchinson writes. I know I started following it because he had shared an absolutely wonderful tutorial for making, what he calls "Fiber Art Bracelet". That's what the blog is all about: Turks Head Knot Bracelets and Contemporary Fiber Bracelets

This is what the tutorial taught:


 I have to say, I had never anything quite like this. Rustic and beautiful. I explored the blog, and followed it to the shop. And I pretty much dropped dead. Ok, I didn't really die, but you know what I mean ;-)

I think George is simply in love with cord. I am too, but I don't really know what to do beyond loving it ;-) Whereas George has converted all kind of cording into works of art. He dyes the cord in his kitchen and his laundry room is full of dye solutions. He even makes his own dye from natural materials like black walnuts that he harvests from a neighborhood tree. There is mathematics, chemistry, art, all going on at once in his studio!

His fascination started with Turks Head Knots, and my absolute favorites in his shop are these ombre ones. Yummilicious!



He started off with these, and started collecting the cut-off ends..which led to the most gorgeous bracelets. Ever!
This is what he says about his Design Series of bracelets:
"The design series of bracelets is inspired by traditional cultural ornamentation from remote tribal villages brought to the screen by National Geographic and many other photographers. The apparently unselfconscious expressions of these people speaks to our inner child in playful ways. The designs are fascinating"

I agree. Absolutely fascinating! So much that I ended up buying this while researching his shop for this post


I loved a lot of things in the shop, but what helped me narrow down my search was the size. He does them in 3 sizes, small, medium and large, and the dimensions are very clearly explained in the listing, leaving no confusion in the customer's mind.

The main reason I decided to feature this shop over a few others I had shortlisted is that George shares so much of his knowledge on his blog. It is easy (ok, not toooo easy) to be talented and good at what you do, but what makes the difference is being humble about the talent and the willingness to share!

Since George does not really know I am kind of, sort of, stalking his shop, I will stop. I will go let him know about this post and hope he visits.

Here's another one that I really like (but I do believe I snagged the best piece, muahahaha, no buyer's remorse here!)


EDITED TO ADD:

George just sent me to his other shop on Zibbet, and there is a LOT more fun stuff there...like this


and this


Such gorgeous colors....swoooon!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Focus On Life ~ Week 17: Color, Week 15: Aged Beauty


Am back again on track with the photo challenge. Had been busy the last 3 weekends. Will try to make up for it this time :-)

Week 17 first...Color.
How does color affect my mood? Profoundly! It brings an instant smile, a real happy one, and brightens up my day.
What made my birthday bright and sunshiny was this drawing my youngest niece sent to me


The drawing has everything I like...colors, lots of them, and a huge naughty smile :-)

The crocheted ball is something I picked up at the San Jose Amtrak station on my way to Santa Barbara. I have no clue what I will do with it...but I had to get it...see how vibrant the colors are...how energetic it makes you feel


This has been the easiest challenge for me. I cannot imagine a world without color, thankfully I don't live in a cold, snowy place. I would not like that much.

To see more colors...head on to Sally blog.
http://thestudiosublime.com/2013/04/26/focus-on-life-week-17

I have one more set of pictures to share...for week 15.
Aged Beauty.
I had to think quite a bit for this, trying to think of the oldest thing I have. I tried to remember what I had brought with me when I moved here in 1997, and I had my subject.

This is my Dad's briefcase. I brought my "important papers", diplomas, certificates, etc in it. And used it to store more paperwork as it accumulated...until I bought a filing box.


This briefcase brought back so many memories. My dad is enjoying retirement now, but in his younger days, he was a force to reckon with.


Scuffed as it is, it still reminds me of those days...when I was daddy's little girl, totally in awe of her superman daddy (and two things these are still true :-) I even bought a mini version of this bag when I started working at my first job. Sweet days, those were! I miss my daddy, can't wait to see him again!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Button for the anklet blog hop

Trying to figure out how to make a button out of this picture for the participants to grab and use on their blogs.

UPDATE:
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions and steps, and for putting up my image yourself on your blogs! 

Roxanne of Roxi Designs jumped in to help and made the button for me. Its on the sidebar now, with code and all :-)

Thank you, Roxanne :-)






Monday, April 22, 2013

Anklet blog hop participant list!

Alright peeps! The sign-ups for the anklet blog hop is officially closed, and here is the impressive list of participants :-)

The reveal is on June 1st!
Happy creating, ladies!



Name  Blog
Kashmira Patel http://sadafulee.blogspot.com
Kaushambi Shah Will post on Kashmira's blog
Jean Wells http://jeanawells.blogspot.com/
Mischelle Fanucchi http://micheladasmusings.blogspot.com/
Shellie Grindie http://www.creativeeclectica.com/
Ginger Bishop http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/
Monique U http://ahalfbakednotion.blogspot.com
Cynthia Machata http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com
Libellula http://libellulajewelry.blogspot.com/
Kay Thomerson http://www.kayzkreationz.blogspot.com/
Mimi Gardner http://othercuriosities.blogspot.com/
Anindita Basu http://alankarshilpa.blogspot.com/
Rita (Toltec Jewels) http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com/
Gina Hockett http://freestyleelements.blogspot.com/
Tammie Everly http://ttedesigns.blogspot.com
Jessica Murray http://whimsicalweavings.blogspot.com/
Dyanne Cantrell http://deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com/
Ema Kilroy http://emakaye.blogspot.com/
Emma Todd http://www.apolymerpenchant.blogspot.com/
K Morgan www.TexasPepperJams.blogspot.com
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson http://sharylsjewelry.blogspot.com/
Cheri Reed http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Rochelle Brisson http://acreativechelle.blogspot.com/
Michelle Buettner http://www.misheldesigns.blogspot.com/
Sandra McGriff http://www.skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Weiss http://uniquelymebwd.blogspot.com/
Shelley Graham Turner http://shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com/
Vickie Foley http://ohabbyday.blogspot.com/
Lynda Carson
Roxanne Mendoza
Dagi
http://freshbakeddesigns.wordpress.com/
http://roxidesigns.blogspot.com/
http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/