Saturday, October 26, 2013

(End of) October listings, and other various updates

Well, it's been an interesting month, as I decided to teach myself how to stamp metal. My dad had a set of stamps that are, well, kind of small, but they're serving their purpose for now. The only anvil he's got is a piece of railroad track. I turn it on its side to use it. If I just carried it up and down the steps for a couple minutes, I could get in a serious workout for the day. At any rate, all I have is the alphabet in all caps, numbers, and an ampersand. Which means if I want to do a quote or anything like that, I have to be careful to not pick one with any sort of punctuation. I kind of faked it when I made an "Allons-y!" (sans exclamation point) ring by turning the capital I sideways, since the font isn't a serif font.

I experimented on a sheet I'd already tried a few months ago when I didn't have the railroad track. You can sort of see in the "Allons-y" square where the "S" got messed up. That's because I did exactly what you're NOT supposed to do and hit the stamp twice, which shifted the letter slightly and caused it to blur. It's probably a good thing I did it on the scrap. I don't have any liver of sulfur lying around and probably won't as long as I'm jobless, but right now the Sharpie-and-rubbing-alcohol method seems to be working out just fine. Here I was a little hesitant with the alcohol, so it's a little messy. I also accidentally turned the "O" sideways when doing "Doctor Who" but I think it actually kind of fits.

I saw this idea on Pinterest, and it caught my attention right away since I like to collect these stamped pennies whenever we visit somewhere new. It's a much more creative idea than just buying a book to shove them all away in. I had a metal hole punch that I bought when I bought the stamping supplies, but the pennies were probably a little bit thicker gauge than the punch it made for. It still works just fine, but it was a little difficult to use on the pennies. Apparently we visit our local aquarium too much, because I have three pennies from there. They have awesome designs, though. The Pepsi store is also in my hometown, and I discovered a little while ago that they expanded their store and added a penny machine, so this weekend when I was downtown with some friends, we made a little stop in there and I got another penny. I had to use a shiny 2013 penny, too :).

Then I decided to try doing a longer stamping project. I found a quote I'd pinned on Pinterest that didn't use any punctuation and sat on the floor, hammering it out. Yes, I've been doing all this stamping on the floor. The railroad track isn't exactly made for tabletop use. I was going to be all uber-serious about this and use tape to mark some straight lines and even spacing, but that would have taken too long, so I just eyeballed it. I like hand-stamped things to not be perfect, though. It shows that it was handcrafted, not machine stamped. Now, this is still a little too off for me towards the bottom, but I blame the fact that it was my first huge project, and I was watching a TV show at the same time and kept stopping and looking up. I was also a little impatient, but at least I didn't turn any of my letters sideways. I've started laying out the stamps in order now (as much as I can with repeating letters, anyway), which makes the process much faster and easier. I probably need to mark the letters on the stamps at some point...

 These focals were already cut and hole-punched for me, so I went right ahead and stamped a couple significant quotes. My "process," as you can see, for the lettering is to color in the words with a Sharpie. I was a little hesitant with the stamping when I was doing these, so the letters are a little shallow and therefore not as dark. I think the only one I wasn't afraid to stamp was the round copper one. I got a little nervous, I think, because I told myself that I was going to actually use these in jewelry, no more practicing, time to get this show on the road, that sort of thing. The silver diamond at the top says "I will always find you," Snow White and Prince Charming's sweet little catchphrase on Once Upon A Time. The copper circle says "Bad Wolf," the message Rose scatters through time and space for the Doctor on Doctor Who. And the gold diamond says "Not all who wander are lost," a line from Bilbo's poem about Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring. Of course, I realized later that it's missing a word, but I know I'm not the only one to write the quote like that, so I'm okay with it. Sort of.

Here is the necklace I made with the "Bad Wolf" piece. The blue bicone I added isn't the particular shade of blue I wanted, but I think it could still pass for something close to TARDIS blue. Maybe. Just go with it, okay?

Rose is one of my favorite companions, and there aren't really a lot of individual quotes for each companion (not that I've seen Classic Who, so I'm basically talking about companions with 9-11) that I can think of off the top of my head. Might be why I like the phrase "Bad Wolf" so much. It signals the Doctor about Rose, but it's also a sign that shows who other Whovians are. I have a "Bad Wolf" ring I got on Etsy, and it hasn't revealed any fellow Whovians, but I still wear it, hoping. Now I've added a necklace. This one, of course, is for sale in my shop for...ahem...others to partake of.

And this is the Once Upon A Time-inspired necklace I made out of the "I Will Always Find You" pendant. I would have thought I'd have a lot more green beads since it's one of my favorite colors, but I really had to dig to find this one. The green is to represent the peridot ring that Charming proposed to Snow with, which we know his mother gave to him to give to his true love. Or that love followed the ring, or something. They found each other (see what I did there?). Okay, I'll stop.

The only necklace I haven't put together yet is the "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" one. I want to do sort of the same theme as with these two: simple chain, a bead dangle that matches the fandom, and metal pendant. Lord of the Rings is tough, though. What color represents LotR? I could go off the extended edition movie cases, but that gives my green, a reddish brown, and blue. Pretty colors, but I don't really think they'd go well together as beads. I don't have any sword charms, or ring charms, or any other charm that fits the theme well, either. I thought about just stringing it on some leather cord and leaving it like that, but it seems a bit plain that way. I'll come up with something eventually, I suppose. Any thoughts? Ideas?

Monday, September 23, 2013

September listings so far...

Here are this month's Etsy listings so far...
Enjoy!
Once Upon A Time Aurora-inspired necklace

Ruby red dangly earrings

Winter is Coming dangly earrings--SOLD OUT

Friday, September 6, 2013

First Friday Artwalk!

Enjoy this treasury featuring members of the AWETeam on Etsy!


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Official!

It's official!

My Etsy shop is now officially Fairytales & Fandoms! I've got a cool new banner and logo, and I rearranged ALL THE THINGS last night into new categories, so now I'm ready to go!!

Screeeech.

First, though, whilst moving listings last night, I noticed that I *still* need new photos for some of the different things. SO. Before I add anything new (which, basically, is not much...), I've got some photos to retake. But after that, it's Add New Stuff time!

I particularly want to get some fandom-themed things in, since that IS part of the shop name. We'll have to see how it goes. I need to dive into Season 2 of Once Upon A Time to see what kind of awesome jewelry Regina has there. I love her costumes. She always looks awesome. But I digress.

Head on over to the shop and tell me what you think!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

It's about time...

For a shop overhaul, that is. I've decided to start making and selling the things that are geared towards my own interests (which is what I should have been doing in the first place). I sort of had that going on with all my Once Upon A Time-themed jewelry, and that's definitely going to continue. I like those things and gear them towards others who like those things, and that means those things sell. So I'm renaming my shop (the blog and twitter handle will stay the same, don't worry) and putting anything that doesn't fit into my new shop stuff parameters on super clearance. Don't ask me what that means, because I haven't gone through all the things yet. I've finally decided on a shop name, though...

Fairytales & Fandoms!

Fits perfectly with the OUAT jewelry I love, and the jewelry that it's inspired, and leaves room for me to sell other things inspired by other fandoms. This, I'm hoping, will be fun. I've already redesigned a simple logo and will be incorporating it into various things shortly.

So, what do you guys think? Like the name? Hate it? Anybody else seriously overhauled an Etsy shop before? Speak words of wisdom to me!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

BSBP Reveal!

Here, at long last, is what I made from the soup that Crystal sent me! I was a little stressed this week and I've got another project with the glass mix she sent me on deck, but I whipped this up using one of the toggles and the focal since that was the important part for the reveal!Be sure to check out my partner's blog as well (linked to her name), and happy blog hopping!

I used some coral ovals with peridot chips and green crackle glass rounds and strung it all up together..I was going to add a little extra sparkle with some of the clear glass faceted rounds Crystal sent me, but I just couldn't get it arranged right...
 And of course I didn't have nearly enough peridot chips to go with the coral, but luckily the crackle glass matched it well enough...
Only had four pieces of the coral, so I added the chain after I ran out to finish it off and put the clasp on the side--really liking that style right now...

I've got a bracelet in the works with the other pinkish purple mix Crystal sent me, but I just didn't have time to do both. Maybe I'll post picture in the next reveal date? Or sooner ;) Check out Bead Soup Blog Party for the complete list!

Monday, March 18, 2013

My soup from Crystal

At long last, I finally remember to update! I've got some pictures of the soup that Crystal sent me, and hopefully they've turned out because I honestly can't remember what they looked like when I took them. Oh well. Here goes:

First, the toggle. There's lots of little drilled holes at the bottom and I feel like I should branch out and do something with them, but my mind is drawing a complete blank. I suppose I'll think of something...
On the left here, I've got some fire-polished glass faceted rounds that are full of sparkle. I like sparkle XD. And on the right, THREE toggle options (!!) and a pretty bronze filigree pendant/charm.
 Some fire-polished red faceted glass rounds....
A totally awesome mix of glass beads that I am totally digging (I have a focal bead that goes with this color combination PERFECTLY)....
Some little man-in-the-moon beads (at least that's what I've been calling them)....
And an overview shot of everything minus the focal. Great soup, thanks, Crystal! Reveal date is March 30, so tune back then! (Point of interest: that's also the day Doctor Who returns all-new and I'm SO EXCITED)

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Bead Soup Photos!

Well, I somehow managed to misplace my memory car reader, but luckily my laptop has an SD card slot in it! Here's some long-overdue photos of the soup I sent to my bead soup partner, Crystal (be sure to check out her blog!). I took these pictures before realizing that I should probably add more, so they're not EXACTLY what I sent--didn't have time to rephotograph before I put them in the mail. Here's what I sent:

 

Here's an overall shot...I added a ton more of the jasper rounds, and I'm pretty sure they were all faceted...can't remember what else I added, though...

I made the focal awhile back out of polymer clay with a sand dollar stamp & some sparkly gold dust.









A copper toggle with a bunch of the other beads I sent: some wood beads, faceted glass, jasper







And finally, some faceted glass beads...













I've got some pictures I took of the soup Crystal sent me; I'll try to get those up within the next couple days. So excited to see everyone's creations--my reveal date is March 30. Check out Bead Soup Blog Party for more info!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

In a Rut...

Well, a bit. I keep meaning to upload pictures and then keep forgetting. I should also be uploading pictures for new listings as well, and I haven't exactly done that, either.

I've added another hobby in addition to beading: knitting. Not with needles, but on a round loom. I've made a few hats now, and I'm trying new stitches based on patterns for squares in a book I got. I really want to makes a scarf, but I'm trying to learn all these different stitches beforehand so I can familiarize myself with them and be less likely to royally screw up a project. The yarn I've been using in my latest project is acrylic and wool and I really want to make a hat out of it because it's so WARM. But I have to finish this square first.

I did make a little spiderweb-looking pendant out of a random hoop and some wire for my Shakespeare class staged reading Friday. I was doing a little part in one bit as a fairy named Cobweb, and had the sudden "Hey! Let's make a spiderweb pendant!" idea the day before. Not as easy as I thought it'd be. It turned out looking more like a dream catcher or something, but I whipped it up in like ten minutes and the wire I was working with was I think 26ga. Stiff enough for me to cut myself with once (didn't notice till yesterday), and stiff enough to hold the shape, but almost a little too stiff to look like a web. I think it got the point across, though.

Staying afloat (so far!) with all the reading I have for my classes, and with everything I'm learning with my internship. I feel like I need to break out my beads, but then again I'm almost done with this square on the loom... Compromise: do BOTH. There.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Year

Happy New Year, everyone!  Now that the Christmas rush is done and over with, I'm free to bead anything I want :D  I did make my mom two necklaces-- one from me, one from my brother--and my dad went and bought a bunch of jewelry off me LITERALLY on Christmas Eve. That's okay though, he paid in cash. *teehee*  Made an attempt of my own version of a Silpada bracelet with what I had in the stash, which didn't exactly turn out too well. I got all excited about it, too. *sigh* Fixed a bunch of jewelry for my aunt today, which reminds me, I need to fix a necklace for my grandmother before she visits... *scribbles on to-do list*  I got the first season of Once Upon A Time for Christmas, so I put that in and started working on a necklace.  My back is now killing me, but at least I kept the little slivers of wire from flying all the way across the room.  Mostly.  I also took my polymer clay focals I made forever ago and gave them a nice clear coat of...nail polish. Cuz that's all I had.  But it works as far as keeping all the gold powder on them from getting everywhere.  I even used one of the little birdy beads in the necklace I made.  I don't know where my memory card reader is so I'll have to wait on the pictures. I might even list the rest of the beads.  Oh, I did use another one to make an ocean-themed necklace.  It was a sand dollar pendant, and I strung it and some glass pearls onto some brown waxed linen cording.  Very beachy.