And the winner is...

The winning name for my necklace is "Tuscany" given to me by Sew Bettie at Craft Yourself Rich. I think it's perfect since the stones in the necklace have that rustic, countryside look. I loved all of the names - some of them made me want to go for walks at night or in the woods and I really enjoyed reading all of them.

I think it was fun to do a call out for names and hope to do another one soon, so check back for your next chance to win an Idyll Hands creation.

Stuff

One should never have this many shoes...Or this many clothes (these are the ones in "storage" - not the ones I wear on a usual basis).
I spent the bulk of this afternoon cleaning out my clothes and shoes in my closet and in my dresser. Just the hope of moving in a month has me ready to purge what I do not need. I certainly had a lot of stuff and hope that now I just have a medium amount of stuff. The house the Sweet Boy and I are crossing our fingers will be our next one has less closet space. That's not a problem as long as I can clean out my life. I just have stuff here, stuff there, stuff tucked in there. We came from the worlds smallest apartment, so we've acquired this junk since moving here 2.5 years ago. The only problem with a house that has a lot of storage is you will fill it up, whether you need to or not.

I did reward myself with some barely used Gap jeans ($15) and some brand new, but still at the used shop, purple shoes ($6). Seeing as how I got rid of about 8 pairs of jeans and just as many shoes, it's ok to get one of each to put back in the mess.Today was not entire spent on cleaning. I did get lots done for my shop exposure for July. My sister had these great shutters that make the perfect display stand for my necklaces and earrings. I think I'll just display my bracelets on a table, they don't get to hang.

A Call for Help

Help! I cannot come up with a name for the necklaces you see above. They are a deep red and a light, mojito green on an antiqued brass chain and I just can't come up with something appropriate. Here's where I need your help. I'll be giving away one of these necklaces to whoever can help me name them. I need to name them by Monday night, June 30 - so you have 2 days. Things to keep in mind when getting creative:

I like to stick to names inspired by nature when it comes to my stone necklaces
Leave me a way to contact you

If you can stick to those two rules and you recommend the name that strikes me as perfect for these little gems, I'll send one over to you (your choice which one).

Get busy, put on your thinking caps and leave suggestions in the comments.

Below is the result of a marathon jewelry making/organizing session. I've got 2 days until setting up in my first brick and mortar shop and one of those days is a 12 hour day at work. Guess who's going to be busy tomorrow? (I do love how flashy those bracelets look piled in a box)

SALE

This weekend I'm having a big sale on many of my bracelets at Idyll Hands. Don't miss out on the chance to get a bracelet for a discounted price! I'm cleaning out my inventory to get ready for some late summer/fall items so come take advantage of my lower prices.

One Upon a Time...

Once upon a time there was a hidden street. Upon that hidden street were a few of the cutest, best kept bungalows in Fayetteville. One of those houses just happened to be up for rent when a young, beautiful crafter laid her eyes upon it in a Craigslist ad. This is a story of her journey to get that house - which will surely provide her with the perfect space for crafting and the perfect backdrop for all of her inspiration.

To bring this tale to modern day, I'm trying trying trying to wait patiently to hear from the owner. The Sweet Boy and I have turned in our applications and there's nothing left to do but wait. So yeah - the beautiful, young crafter (yes, beautiful) is me and I found a house on Craigslist and it really was on a hidden street. A little block of a street smack, dab in the middle of town, hiding away from traffic, bad landlords, and cars that can't seem to turn the corner onto my street and instead end up upside down in the ditch (yes, that happened in front of my house tonight). The Sweet Boy and are ready to move somewhere else and I'll even dig up my garden and move it if I have to, but I want this house.

So, everyone take a moment's break from crafting and cross your fingers for me, I need all of the fingers crossed that I can get.

To Do List

parsley found in my garden last week - it blooms!

I sat down tonight to package up some bracelets to ship out and started to work on some earrings. That's when it happened, I sat there for about 3 minutes just starting at my crafting table. I didn't want to make anything tonight - not a single thing. I decided to walk away and come browse the internet for the next great thing. I'm sure I'll regret that decision this weekend when I find myself face to face with the following "to do" list (you'd think that's all I do on the weekends, finish lists):

1. Print necklace cards
2. Print earring cards (perhaps design and then print, but I have high hopes of designing them tomorrow)
3. Make a few more bracelets in silver tones - I have a plethora of copper ones ready to go
4. Make a few more necklaces
5. Put hinges on the shutters for my jewelry display at the shop
6. Cook in my mom's newly remodeled kitchen
7. Sleep in
8. Go look at knobs for my mom's newly remodeled kitchen
9. Read the rest of Craft Inc.
10. Oh, make some earrings.

It might sound like a lot but I think I can do a lot of that on Friday night and have the rest of the weekend for some free time (like the cooking and sleeping bit).

Tomorrow I'm heading to an American Red Cross luncheon because I seem to think I have a lot of free time that needs to be filled with volunteering. Huh, I wonder where I got that idea?

Tiny Jumping Goats

Recently, Argyle Whale, one of my favorite bloggers and Etsy artists, posted a call out for things on the internet to make someone happy. The request reminded me of the video you see above. I cannot get through it without smiling so big that I start to laugh.

Watch it and brighten your day.

Pardon Me

Is tooting my own horn allowed in this blog? I sincerely hope you don't mind some shameless patting myself on my back, but I just have to. If you do mind, I don't care because I'm so excited about this bracelet. This is the finished product for the Marigold bracelet that I made through Etsy's Alchemy feature.

I really am happy with the outcome and hope the buyer is as well. Some things just come together better than expected.

Happy Monday.

Featured and Tagged

Interestingly enough, the artist/crafter I had planned on featuring in my blog this evening has tagged me. So after you are impressed by her work, you can read 6 unimportant facts about yours truly.

A fellow member of the Arkansas Etsy Street Team (AREtsy) is a wonderful lady by the name of Anne... however, you may know her by her Etsy name of Casserole. I was pretty new to AREtsy when I won on of her felt brooches (seen at right). I was hooked then. All of her brooches are beautiful and their colors so tempting. She really has an eye for colors and design.

She carries that talent into her paper work. She makes some of the most beautiful greeting cards I have seen in quite some time. She has a wide variety of blank cards which is perfect for me as I like to write my own note (it just seems more personal that way). My favorite are her cards using vintage playing cards as the center of her designs. I've never been one for cutsie paper work and these cards bring in the not-so-cutsie vintage flair that I love.

Not only is she an amazing artist, but she updates her blog regularly so it provides plenty of entertaining reading. So go check out her shop and her blog and see what amazing work she produces.

And now, because I've been tagged, 6 unimportant things about me:

1. I have way too many shoes and half of them are flipflops.

2. I have FAR too much yarn... far too much.

3. I can't wait to move into a new place at the end of November. My house is not longer appealing to me.

4. I go to bed early because I'm afraid of getting fewer than 8 hours of sleep.

5. It takes me forever to spend gift cards. I have a hard time spending "free" money. Don't want to waste it.

6. I like to write in cursive only if I'm using a pencil (it glides better than a pen).

Alchemy

Etsy has an area they call Alchemy. It's a great place to go and post something you are wanting but can't find on Etsy. I browse it once in a while for someone wanting a bracelet that I think I can do. The problem is my bracelets abstractly represent what people are asking for. I can't make a bracelet with a zebra on it but I can do black and white stripes. I almost had given up on alchemy until the other day.

Someone was looking for a bracelet with marigolds. I gave it a shot and my idea was accepted. The person wanting the bracelet even had some beads in mind. I'm really excited about the outcome and am waiting for final approval on the beads. The bracelet will end up representing marigolds, brown eyed susans, and blue grass flowers. I've posted the pictures here of the options I came up with (one obviously without the blue). I love all three and might make a similar bracelet for my brick and mortar shop feature in July.

I love doing custom orders as it forces me out of my safety box. I get in the habit of making bracelets I would wear and custom orders push me to do colors and designs I wouldn't have done without the request. They are educational and lucrative at the same time. I like that.

I have made some other jewelry this weekend. All necklaces for the shop in July. I don't want to take any of my items I have listed on Etsy for obvious reasons. I need to get some bracelets and earrings made, but I'm well on my way to getting enough inventory to make me happy.

Stay tuned for later today when I feature and Etsy shop that continues to impress me and bring a smile to my face.

I need to be busy

I have many things I need to be doing. I need to be stocking up on supplies for my first venture into a brick and mortar shop starting July 1, I need to be knitting scarves for the fall fairs, and I need to be tending to my garden. What would you have found me doing this evening instead? Yes, watching Ghost Hunters. It's Wednesday, did you expect anything else?

I did package up a custom item tonight and worked on another (by working I mean communicated with the buyer about a few things), but that's about it. Before you judge me, the other custom item I didn't really work on tonight can't be worked on until some beads come in that were ordered especially for that, so there. It's just too hot in my studio to work and it's much cooler downstairs so it's hard to get up off of that couch.

This weekend will be different. I'll turn the upstairs AC on and get to work. I've got to get some stuff for the shop done and I've got to do it now. So send your good "hurry up and make stuff" vibes my way so I can get many, many things done and off of my plate by Sunday night.

Lightening Doesn't Scare Me... from a distance

I spent close to an hour sitting on my bed and watching a lightening storm off to the south. I have the perfect window for viewing storms as it's on the 2nd floor and no building obstruct my view of the mountains that lie to the south of my little part of the world. The lightening was incredible. The sky never went dark (even though this was after 10PM) and strike after strike reached to the ground and through the sky with long, spindly fingers - as if reaching out for me. Thankfully I was safe inside. It was truly the best hour I have spent alone in a long time. I just sat there, watching, not thinking about work or about the complications life can bring, just enjoying nature.

I'm paying for staying up late now as I've been exhausted all day. I needed to come home tonight to work on some paper work for a shop I'll be featured in come next month, but I couldn't bring myself to doing that. I promise, I will work on it tomorrow. I also have a custom item to make for the person featuring me (she's paying me, it's all legit). I said I could have it done this weekend, so that is something else I need to work on... tomorrow.

I did manage to list the necklace you see above tonight. I'm calling it Orbital and it can be made in the sky blue you see at the top of this post or the striking red you see below. I can also make it in brown and green. Hopefully all of you will like it as much as I do.

Goodnight.

Those Ladies Are Naked

There is one thing that interests me more than crafting, gardening and cooking. I might even go as far as to say this one things interests me more than the three of those combined.

Music.

I love all kinds and even majored in it for 5 very expensive years at the University of Texas as a student of bassoon and music history. Music touches me, moves me, peaks my interest, turns me on, turns me off for that matter, angers me, inspires me, excites me, and so on. I just can't imagine my life or the lives of others without music.

I found myself going through my iPod tonight, creating play lists, adding music, and just listening to what is on it. I discovered a lot of music that I forgot existed. My favorite band is Barenaked Ladies. Aside from their geeky, goofiness - their music is great. They have been made famous with quirky songs like "If I Had a Million Dollars" (the first and only song I will ever sing karaoke to), "One Week", "Be My Yoko Ono" and so on - but they have a different side. Many of their songs are beautiful and really make my heart happy. I shall leave you all with a few of these and hope to add a bit of a smile to your day.

"Adrift" - Barenaked Ladies are Me
"Home" - Barenaked Ladies are Me
"Maybe You're Right" - Barenaked Ladies are Me
"Serendipity" - Barenaked Ladies are Men (yes, not me, men - different album)
"Half a Heart" - Barenaked Ladies are Men
"War On Drugs" - Everything to Everyone
"You Will Be Waiting" - Maybe You Should Drive
"Light Up My Room" - Stunt
"Call and Answer" - Stunt

and my favorite song they've done "Break Your Heart" - LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

Actually, I'm not sure if it's the music or their groovy dancing (as seen in the following video) that I love so much. You be the judge.



What bands do you love that have some songs not known to the masses that are just as great as their hit singles?

YART SALE

Many Etsy shops are participating in an Etsy wide YART Sale ending on June 20. Not to be one left out in the cold, I've decided to jump on the band wagon. I've reduced the price of many of my items - some by several dollars. It's a great opportunity to do some shopping in my shop and save a bit of money in the process.

Go HERE to check out my sale.

I'm scared.

I'm a liar. I won't be posting anything of substance again tonight. Ghost Hunters freaked me out and I'm going to bed (the episodes filmed close to where I live always freak me out).

Goodnight.

Bliss

My 4 day weekend has officially begun. I started it off with some Jazzercise (fun times) and will move on a healthy and delicious meal from Taco Bell (don't you judge me, it's fast, easy, and cheap). I have plans to make some items for my shop tonight so I can get some pictures taken tomorrow and get them up in my shop before heading out to the woods for a couple of days.

I know I've mentioned this, but I am so stoked about getting to sleep in a tent this weekend. I love sleeping in a tent. If I had my way, we'd set it up in the backyard on occasion and pretend to camp. However, Sweet Boy won't stand for the fake camping. I just have to wait until we both have time to hit up our favorite camp site.

Perhaps I'll post later on with some information about new items to show up in my shop or my possible participation in the Y(art) sale taking place on Etsy this week. So, come on back and read a bit more before heading to bed.

The Return

Red, Red Wine Earrings - found in my Etsy shop

It feels like it's been ages since I've had time to write a blog post. I've been knee deep in the largest event I plan at Walton Arts Center. We have a yearly fund raiser that we call "Art of Wine". It's a HUGE event, tons of wine, tons of restaurants, and an equal amount of set up and prep. It's fun, it raises lots of money, but it wears me out and keeps me from being a part of the human race for a few days.

But I'm back, and I'm going to be putting a bit of time into my shop over the next few weeks. It might not mean new items, but it will be cleaning up some things, making sure my pricing makes sense, maybe a sale item or two, you'll just have to check in to see what I'm up to. I'm hoping a bit of attention is what my shop needs right now.

Things are a bit slow in Etsy land which I might have originally thought was the economy, but I think it's also the arrival of summer. I've found myself sitting here less and less and wanting to be outside more and more. I even bought myself a cute summer tank top today. I can't wear that just sitting here, can I? I must get out, enjoy the warmer evenings, and enjoy life. Sometimes, that means not spending time shopping on Etsy. Perhaps the same goes for everyone else out there.

As I look out the window, I realize this evening will not be one to enjoy the summer, it's raining and the lightening bugs won't be out doing a show. Ah well, I'll find something else to do.

Hitting the Road

I have been 100% stir crazy for about 8 months. I've desperately wanted to get out of here for a trip but been completely out of trip money. My sister's family has been planning a couple of trips that the sweet boy and I have been invited on, but they are just not affordable for our budget. We needed dirt cheap and in a bad way.

I think the dirt cheap part has finally arrived. In a week and half we'll be heading down the Pig Trail to the Ozark National Forrest for a little R&R under the canopy of very tall trees and next to the Mulberry River (pictured above). I'm sure there will be reading, swimming, grilling, beer/wine, talking badly about our site neighbors, rejoicing when they leave, and so on. It is a MUCH needed camping trip and I honestly cannot wait.

We're also heading down to New Orleans in July for an Edwin McCain concert (I think) with the sweet boys best friend and a couple of other people. The deal is that the 2 of us only have to pay $20/night for a hotel in the French Quarter. Remember the dirt cheap part of the scenario? You can't pass that up. Plus, it will be 5 people in one car and gas will be easier because of that. I'm looking at $500 for the whole trip between the two of us. I think we can manage that. It's not Canada or North Carolina (like my sister's plans) but it will have to do until I can afford to go across more than one state.

Ah, finally a summer vacation.