Things I did over the holiday weekend

Friday was a migraine day, so mostly I slept.
Saturday, my sister and I went to go see Cowboys and Aliens at the theater. I highly recommend this film as it has Cowboys and it has Aliens! (note: I am notorious for my enjoyment of really bad films, just sayin')
Sunday and Monday I got to sit around the house and bead. I made a ring that I am not sure I like. I was going for a heart with a keyhole look, but everytime I look at it I think vagina. Logically, this makes since as the whole key and lock concept is very sexual in nature, but do I really want to put out a ring that looks like it has a vagina on it? Really? And, no, I won't post pictures. It looks like a vagina.

I also got to spend some time on my Bead Soup Blog Party piece. I am really liking where it is going and so I thought I would offer a sneak peak:



I apologize for the crappy picture. I was too lazy to go to the basement and get my camera, so it is a phone pic. I am not usually one to do brick stitch, but then, this challenge is all about getting out of the comfort zone....

I will also be participating in Michelle Mach's Very Vintage Fall Challenge. I ordered my kit and can't wait for it to arrive! Some lovely pieces are in the kit and this should be fun.

I am still trying to organize the Talk Like a Pirate Day blog hop. I have a few particepents from the Bead Soup list, but if you want to join as well, please leave me a comment. I hope to have a finalized list by this Friday and get an email out to all on Saturday. Talk Like a Pirate Day is Sept. 19th.

Quote: If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex?
Art Hoppe

Sunshine and Rainbows

I have decided to remove this post. Not because I changed my mind about anything I said, I didn't, I just decided it did not convey the tone I want my public blog to have. Thank you to those who commented supporting me.

Instead, I offer you this picture of a current work in progress. I recently learned Russian spiral stitch.





I am really liking the structural nature of this stitch. It's also fun to expirament with different beads and sizes and see what happens!

New Pattern: Fall Leaves

With August winding down and September about to start, it is time to start thinking of fall. With that in mind, I offer you this pattern done in some lovely autumn colors. I actually designed this ring last fall, but for some reason never got it made (I think it was because I didn't have the right green in my stash). This year, I will be making this ring for myself and possibly for others. In other news, I am still working on my project for the Bead Soup Blog Hop. I am liking the ideas so far, we will see how execution plays out. I have also had 5 separate bracelet orders in the last 2 weeks (WOO!) all through people that I work with. And finally, I have great hopes of selling the Fairy Branch Necklace soon. Someone I work with has expressed an interest in buying it for a daughter who likes to work RenFest. I am also hoping to do some studio cleaning of the long weekend, so next week I may post some before and after pics. Maybe.

Quote: Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus (1913 - 1960)

8 Bit Rings

So, after much debate, both internal and external, I have finally decided to open a separate Etsy shop just for my rings. I give you 8 bit rings. Only a few items listed right now, but over the course of the next week or so, I will be adding more. Some you have seen, some you haven't.

So, why the new shop? A lot of reasons.
1) Branding. I really feel like my rings are a product that I bring the most of myself to. As such, I feel that I can really develope a specifc brand around them.
2) Pricing. I have been badly underpricing my work. While my prices covered materials, they did not adequately cover the time spent creating a piece. This move allows me to alter my prices to more appropriately reflect my labor, without too much sticker shock.
3) To generate interest on Etsy. My original Etsy shop never really seems to get much traffic. I am hopping that the rebranding, the specialization, new pictures and descriptions will help generate more interest and traffic for my shop.

So, feel free to go take a look at the new sho and leave some comments with any feedback you might have. All opinions are greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Quote: In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman.
David M. Ogilvy

Bead Soup Blog Party!

So, I already mentioned that I have joined the Bead Soup Blog Party this year, and today I recieved my bead soup! YAY!And since my partner, Sarah Elder of My So Called Junky Life, has already recieved her package from me, I can show you both! Since I forgot to take a picture before I sent, I am using the picture she posted. Here are the mystery items I sent her:



And here is the package I got from her!




Love the pretty bag it arrived in. Love the things in the bag more. So not my normal style, but that is the point! I am really looking forward to playing with these! I have a couple of custom orders I have to finish first though.

Also on the horizon, I am trying to pull together a Talk Like a Pirate Day blog hop. This would naturally take place on Talk Like a Pirate Day, September 19th. The idea is that participants will make some lovely pirate booty and then share in a blog post done pirate style! Should be fun! (I hope...)

Quote: 1492. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them.
Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - 2007), Breakfast of Champions

Black velvet and that little boy smile...

I like the music of Elvis Presley. I am not fanatical about it. But say what you will about his life or his death, that boy could sing.



In addition to making a really bad ring pattern of Mr. Presley, I made a Dead Elvis treasury on Etsy. It is truely amazing how much Dead Elvis stuff is out there. Amazing.



Quote:
Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell
Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high
Mama's dancin' with baby on her shoulder
The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky
The boy could sing, knew how to move, everything
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for

Black velvet and that little boy's smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees
Black velvet if you please

Up in Memphis the music's like a heatwave
White lightening, bound to drive you wild
Mama's baby's in the heart of every school girl
"Love me tender" leaves 'em cryin' in the aisle
The way he moved, it was a sin, so sweet and true
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for

Black velvet and that little boy's smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees
Black velvet if you please

Every word of every song that he sang was for you
In a flash he was gone, it happened so soon, what could you do?

(Guitar Solo)

Black velvet and that little boy's smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees
Black velvet if you please

Black velvet and that little boy's smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees
Black velvet if you please

If you please, if you please, if you please

Black Velvet by Alanna Myles - 1989

Craft show follow up and Bead Soup Blog Party and a fishy!

First, the Kansas Etsy Team blog today features pictures from our trunk show. Check it out to see a really bad photo of me and some great photos of some fellow crafters!

And B, I will be participating in the Bead Soup Blog Party for the first time this month! I am very excited. My partner is Sarah Elder of My So Called Junky Life. She does some beautiful jewelry made from vintage odds and ends, as well as restoring/altering larger pieces like frames, tables, and such. I really enjoyed browsing her blog and can't wait to see what she makes with the mystery items I sent her!



And finally, in a bit of non-beady craftiness last week, I loom knit a fishy tawashi. Thank you to Brenda Myers of Loom Lore for the pattern. It is not up on her blog yet, but it should be soon.



Quote: Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.
Ovid (43 BC - 17 AD)