HALLOWEEN! + She's BATTY + Custom Order Excitement

Ahhhh, Halloween! My favorite holiday!

Furry green monster costume = SUCCESS!

Haha, so I was totally working on my costume right up until the very last second. I don't know what happened, I was being pretty consistent about getting things done for a little bit there... School perhaps? Ugh, school. Also more frequent hang-out time with my friends. Oh! And I've been visiting my friend Mike (you know, the one who is in A City Serene? you read that entry right?) in the hospital! He's got a long way to go before things approach normal again, but he's talking and joking and being a jerk, so we're all pretty hopeful =)

Here's a slightly better picture of my costume:

I hand-sewed the hood, the gloves, the fur on the shirt, and legwarmers that you obviously can't see in this picture. The blazer was a $4 thrift store find and I found the scarf abandoned on the floor after a concert a few years back...haha. Besides that, I wore purple pants and pink shoes. I've got some picture from the party I went to here where you can see things a little better - don't mind my weird friends and I =)

Yay, Halloween party! And yes, I got my monstery-blood sucked by a vampire...haha

NOW TELL ME HOW YOUR HALLOWEEN WAS! I seriously want to know, I'm still kind of hyped up about it even though it's over...haha. And in that spirit, I'd like to feature someone who seems to be even more into Halloween than me - She's Batty Designs =)

She makes some really awesome cards, as you can see - I really really like the owl one on the right. Go check out her shop - in her own words, Jamie "specializes in greeting cards, invitations and other paper products such as gift tags" and she, like me, is up for custom orders!

Speaking of custom orders...I worked on one for the lovely Poison Ivy you can see in the collage up there =) She requested two bracelets and these:

BOB-OMB EARRINGS!

I am pretty proud of them and she seemed excited, so woo! As usual, please do take these kinds of things as encouragement to request custom work from me - I'm definitely up for it =)

Alright, this took me a lot longer to put together than I meant for it to...so many pictures! Haha...I'll be writing again soon.

Winning a Giveaway Pt. 2, New Polymer Clay Things, and Fabric!

Okay! Back to posting! Seriously!

As a brief update on my friends in A City Serene, all but two of the members are out of the hospital - my friend Marc is out, but Mike is still in there. Haven't gotten any specific updates on him lately so I can't say much besides that, really. Donations are still needed to help their families out, and I am still sending 40% from all Etsy purchases in my shop to them.

Now, for one of the things I meant to post before all that happened: I won a giveaway! 5erg had a giveaway on her blog a few weeks ago and I left a comment and WON! Haha...I got to spend $20 in her shop and I got an opalite bracelet, opalite earrings, and an ACEO. Look at how happy I am!

The opalite bracelet! I wear this almost everyday now...

 

Opalite earrings! So pretty!

In case you didn't notice, I really really like opalite...haha. The plugs I've got in my ears with the earrings are also opalite. It's just so damn pretty! Thank you again, 5erg!


Hmm, what else...well, I finally made some more polymer clay stuff on Monday. I decided to try making some slightly different kinds of horns and I also made some plugs for myself that I can fit through my silicone earskins (since polymer clay is porous, it's really not ideal for putting straight into your ears) after looking around at the kinds of things other people are making. Lately I've been getting all kinds of cool ideas from other Etsian's shops and various websites and so on - there's so much I want to make and try that it's kind of ridiculous...but that's the usual state of things with me. Anyways, here's a look at what I did:

Wooo, new polymer clay stuff! Just uh, hanging out on my messy desk...

I meant to start getting proper pictures taken of the horns yesterday, but ended up going to the thrift and fabric stores with my friend Hayden, so I didn't accomplish much on that front...hopefully tomorrow! What I did accomplish was getting black corduroy pants for $1.75 and some fabric, woo. Got fabric because 1) I love fabric, 2) I'm trying to build up a good collection of different kinds of fabric for the random projects I think up, and 3) I AM GOING TO TRY MAKING MY OWN HALLOWEEN COSTUME THIS YEAR!

Haha...I've definitely worn handmade costumes before as a kid - I had a glorious velvety vampire cape that used to choke me but I still loved it, I was once the pink Power Ranger (all felt outfit, if I recall), etc - but I've never made one on my own, so I'm pretty excited and really hoping I get it right. My plan is to be a monster! I'm thinking I'll use some awesome green fur I bought a while back to make a hood/hat/type thing with horns, armwarmers, and legwarmers. Not positive what I'll be wearing with them just yet though...might make something or might just look through my clothes/thrift stores to find something that will match it. I will keep you updated on my progress =) Here's the fabric I have so far:

Here's the green I bought a while back...

And this is what I got yesterday! I'm thinking the green and white spot cotton will be the lining for the hood and the pink fleece will be the underside of the armwarmers and maybe the horns. And uh, then there's some awesome pink fur =)

Alright, well I think that's it for today...I'll be posting again soon =)

New pictures coming soon for my listings!

This morning when I threw out the box for the Frosted Flakes, I hesistated - "I could do something with this cardboard, seriously...paint on it, make something out of it...something...nooo, just throw the damn thing away, it'll sit in your room forever and nothing will happen." So into the trash it went.

Then, later in my room, I came across these neat little tutorials for taking better pictures and editing them on KMC designs blog: How to take great photos and How to create knockout photos for Etsy using Photoshop. And suddenly, I felt inspired - I dug the cereal box out of the trash, pulled it apart, taped two pieces of white paper to the inside, and placed near the window - voila! Natural light box!

Not pretty by any means, but it does the job =) Put that together with the second tutorial (though I played around with the instructions a little) and next thing you know I have the most professional looking pictures I have ever taken in my life. Here's the original first picture for my Glittery Green Frosted Polymer Clay Cupcake Earrings :

And here's the new one:

HUGE improvement if you ask me! Unfortunately, this means I have a lottttttttt of new pictures to take and edit...which has the potential to take over my life...sigh.

Speaking of my life - my fiancé started the drive back to Wisconsin yesterday morning and he'll most likely be back there sometime tomorrow. I miss him more than I could tell you...and not to say that California winter nights are much to complain about, but my bed was freezing last night without him! I thought I was joking about losing my own personal human heater, but it was serious business - I'm going to have to get another blanket on my bed (haha, yes, I am a wuss, I get cold super easy). In all seriousness though, it sucks very much to not have him here anymore and to not be sure when he'll be able to come back. I've got to take my month off of school as an opportunity to get myself together and start doing all of the adult things I've been putting off - job, license, etc - and to get rid of all of the excess stuff I have to do my part in getting him back here as soon as possible.

My fiancé Joshua eating at a Chinese buffet on Christmas...haha

In other crafty news: I am going to try to take up crocheting! Woot. I bought some yarn and a hook about a week or so ago and didn't do so well on my first attempt, but I have a friend who crochets and he promised to help get me started the next time we hang out, so that is exciting. I really can't wait to be able to make hats and scarves and all kinds of crazy stuff. If any of you out there crochet and have some tips or good websites to check out, let me know!

Alright, that's it for now...<3

Exciting things and a cute kid!

I really need to be better about updating this!

Okay, exciting thing #1 - I had TWO sales in one day last Sunday! I was really really happy because I hadn't sold anything in about a month, plus I sold some stuff I was pretty proud of - a pair of horns and some Pokeball earrings (my first polymer clay sales, yay). I also had a last minute awesome idea for the earrings...

They are stuck into a piece of canvas paper that has my logo printed onto it =) Haha...it was actually a failed experiment at making a patch of my logo to put on my jacket (turns out printer ink washes off of canvas in the washing machine, sigh) but I think it worked out alright in the end. The earrings were a gift for someone else, so I wasn't sure how to go about my usual thank-you-note/reciept-thing...this turned out to be a pretty good compromise because I still got my name out there without feeling too weird about it, and I was able to write on the back that I hoped she liked them and to be sure to thank the person who got them for her =) Plus it's sturdy enough to be a good backing! All around goodness.

What is exciting thing #2, you ask? I got a convo earlier from someone asking about another pair of horns that they are thinking of buying to be a part of their dog's Halloween costume =) Tell me that doesn't sound completely adorable! A tiny little dog with horns on! MY horns! Haha...hoping to hear back from them on whether or not they'll work out after all - seems promising so far!

Besides all that business...I took the day off from school today! Which felt extremely nice! At least the sleeping in part was good, I spent most of the rest of the day going through boxes and trying to get rid of things - I have a terrible problem with holding on to farrrr too much paper, not to mention lots of strange random things...sigh. Made some progress but I've got a lot more to do, both for my peace of mind AND to make room for my fiancé - in about two weeks, he will be driving down from Wisconsin to stay for good! =D! My dad is going to let him stay with us for a little bit to give him a chance to find a job and get an apartment, which is very very awesome. I'm going to have to try to get a good job myself as well so that I have a shot at being able to move out with him very soon...

And now, because he is cute and I saw him on Sunday, check out my nephew Jacob!

He always makes me take him out by the pool when he comes over...he really likes the water (and the duck). And I don't think you can tell in this picture, but he has Wall-E shoes! Awesome =) Haha, and by the way, his mom liked the jewelry I made for her after all, so yay for that.

Okay...I think I am all caught up now...good night!

<3>

Lots of horns and something for my sister...

This is a picture of all of the horns I've made so far (minus the ones I sent to my friend recently...)

(you can click the picture to make it bigger)

The first two are the original pairs I made this summer, and the rest have been made over the past week or so...haha, I think I've gotten better already, and each pair is getting harder to part with. Still have to list the last two, but I've heard that around 7pm on weekdays is the best time to list, so I might wait until tomorrow for that...you know, unless I get impatient =)

I also started on something last night that I've been meaning to make for my sister for a while now...it's got a bit of a story behind it. My nephew Eythan died this past January after fighting cancer for six years...he was ten. He was a big fan of The Legend of Zelda and he used to draw triforces on everything. When he died, his parents really got into the whole triforce thing and it's just kind of synonymous with Eythan for them (and for me) now. Anyways, my sister requested that I make her some triforce-related jewelry for her and this is what I ended up coming up with last night and earlier today:

I had been hesistant to start working on this because I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it at all, but I finally just sat down and started and acted like I knew what I was doing...haha, it worked for the most part. I know I could have done a better job, but overall I'm okay with how it turned out, and my sister is excited about getting them.

Alright...hopefully I'll be posting again tomorrow!

<3

FINALLY! Horns on Etsy =)

It has taken me farrrrrr too long to do this, but at last, I have a pair of horns up for sale on Etsy! Yay!

Orange and Black Swirl Horns

I'm pretty excited and I've really got to make another pair or two - I'm offering to do custom orders, but you know, Halloween is probably the best time to get this sort of thing started and I want to have a few pairs on hand in the shop.

I also uploaded two more rings:



Orange and Pink Stacked Ring / Blue and Purple Twist Ring

Other than that...just stressing out like mad. I'm worried about school, I didn't get this little online job I was hoping to have, and I'm worried about my fiancé moving down here (money is tight, etc.). This whole growing-up business is terribly overrated and I'm just hoping to be able to do it without killing myself in the process...

Until later...<3!

Rings and a lollipop...

Got two of my rings and the lollipop pendant posted on Etsy =)


---------------Pink Swirl Ring--------------Rainbow Mushroom Ring-----------------Lollipop Pendant-------------

And as we speak, I am baking a pair of slightly shimmery orange and black horns and a ring with pink and purple stars. Sweeeeet. I'll try to get pictures of them up tomorrow.

Oh, and tonight, perhaps in an effort to make myself feel better, I bought something new off of Etsy...haha, sigh. Expect a full report when they arrive...

<3

Polymer rings =)

So I've been doing a LOT this week...last Friday, I got the supplies I ordered from shareliving - some adjustable ring bases, cell phone straps for charms, and some earring backs. I started making rings on Sunday and have been making a couple each day, as well as a few other things...here's everything I've done so far:


Haha, I've made ten rings ( 4 on adjustable rings and 6 made purely of polymer clay), a mushroom for a friend of mine (still needs a bit of work), a lollipop charm, a blue and white pendant, and a flying eyeball for my dad because yesterday was his birthday =) Here's a better picture of it...

Man, the wings took forever to do - I mixed up some yellow, orange, and some of that new pearly white clay I got recently and made each little feather individually - but I'm satisfied with how they came out in the end and my dad likes it, which is what really matters =)

Anyways, as far as the rings go...mixed nearly all of them with my pearly white clay as well so they each have a bit of shimmer. Haha, I'm still trying to decide which ones I'm going to keep and which ones I'm going to list because I like them so much! I suppose I could always remake them, but I tend to dislike repeating myself, so who knows what I'll do.

School has been keeping me pretty busy otherwise - I actually have to go to a play tonight for one of my literature classes - but I'm hoping to keep making new things and start getting them listed this weekend. Sigh, can't wait to sleep in! Waking up at 5am has never been for me...

Alright, well, I'm off...gotta get ready for my next class!

Horns, new clay, and my second Etsy purchase

So a lot happened yesterday! ...sort of...haha.

First of all, I finally sent out a gift I made for a friend of mine who just transferred from here to Portland for college. I actually made them earlier in the summer, but we never ended up getting to see each other before she left...here they are:


Haha, yeah, I made her some polymer clay horns! I had made myself two pairs back in July (that you can see HERE) and she saw pictures and wanted some too (not a surprise - she has a reputation for being "the girl with the horns" because she has a couple pairs she wears on a regular basis; I believe one pair is fabric and the other is plastic). I figured they'd make a good going-away/just-because present. Oh, and in case you were wondering, they are sitting on the letter I wrote to go along with them...anyways, I've been thinking for a while that I ought to start trying to make horns like this for Etsy - maybe start off with a set or two and offer to do custom orders - and since Halloween is coming up, I think I might finally get on it...suggestions for what colors to start with are welcome!

On the subject of polymer clay, I also recieved four new blocks of clay that I ordered yesterday!


Now I have blue, black, more white, and a shimmery white, as you can (hopefully) see in the second picture...this adds to the red, purple, orange, yellow, green, and older white that I actually originally got from a really wonderful lady who had it all sitting around and thought I could make some use of it...it actually took quite a while for me to do so, but once I got on Etsy and realized all the amazing things that can be done with polymer clay, I dug it out and got to work =)

And FINALLY - I recieved my second Etsy purchase ever in the mail as well! Haha, it was an excellent day for mail. I bought a hat from anatomyofatooth (who blogs HERE) that made me smile before I even opened the package...


Best packaging ever =) (btw...ignore my Little Mermaid bed sheet...haha, I have problems with that whole growing up thing). On top of that? She included a second hat and a pair of gummy bear earrings as extras! Totally unexpected! I had read in her feedback that she gave out extras with purchases, but I expected really small things...alright, vain-happy-customer-picture time!



The first picture is the hat I originally bought...it makes me feel like I have little zebra ears =) And, it fits perfectly! Sweet. The second hat is a bit snugger but still neat, and the earrings are sooooo coooooooool...as proven by all the extra o's. Extra bonus points - that holder you see them poked into? It's a paint sample from a store. Seriously, what an awesome idea - it's the perfect size and everything. Haha, I am clearly happy with my purchase...can't wait for it to stop being so damn HOT out so I can start wearing the hat!

Alright...that's it for today!

<3