With The New Year...

Come new items in my shop. Yes, I've got new yarn listed over at Woolyhands and new designs listed over at Idyllhands. I'm very excited about the new earrings and hope all of you are too!

Holiday Trunk Show

I've been busy preparing for a Holiday Trunk Show that I'm participating in on Saturday. A fellow AREtsian, NightSkyProducts, told the street team about the event and I jumped on board. I will be joining a few local artists/crafters for this show. There will be soap, paper goods, jewelry, scarves, massages, food and of course, wine! We'll also have door prizes and I'm offering a free gift to anyone I invite who brings a friend with them.

This will be the perfect opportunity to shop locally for Christmas and support the local economy and some local artists/crafters. If you're around here and want to come, leave a comment here and I'll send you more information.

The items pictured here are some of the new things you'll see at this show. Other items I'll have there are my knit bracelets, necklaces, knit scarves and handspun yarn for those who are crafters.

By the way - THIS rocks my face off.

Goodies Waiting for Me

You know, there really is not anything better than opening up a mailbox and finding a package. I had a couple of packages of goodies in my box yesterday (but I can't reveal their contents just yet) and a package of goodies today.

I have fallen in love with antiqued brass. It really couldn't look bad on any skin tone. It's not silver, it's not copper, it's not gold, but it's a good mix of all three. The new infatuation has led to a few impulse buys. Antiqued brass opens up an entirely new realm of possibilities with my jewelry making. I can't do bracelets from it, yet, as I cannot find spools of the wire. However, earrings are quite possible and what lovely earrings I have come up with. I don't want to show them off until after the craft fair the first weekend of May, but they are lovely indeed.

The items pictured above were purchased from ProdigalProgeny on Etsy. I just ordered them the other day and here they are, in my hot little hand (literally). I can't wait to make them into earrings, beautiful, dangly, attention grabbing earrings. If they don't sell out at the craft show (which I really hope they do), I'll have some to list in my Etsy shop starting May 4 along with my new necklaces.

All I have to say is that it is going to be really hard not to spend my "economic stimulus" of $600 on antiqued brass findings.

Almost There

I've been telling everyone who cares that I don't blog and visit other's blogs because I'm addicted to the internet, but because it's a good way to get the word out about your shop (and get some good reading in as well). Today proved that. My coworker/friend/fellow AREtsian , Beaded Bombshell, recently let me know that Lee Ann Westover of The Lascivious Biddies blogged about a friend of her's who has an Etsy shop. I completely took advantage of that post to comment about my shop as well.

It looks like that bit of commenting paid off today:
The Tiny Guide

Hooray! She likes my new earrings (found above). I knew she was my favorite when I heard that she was a fellow alum of The University of Texas in Austin.

See - blogging and following blogs is important. Don't limit yourself to artist and crafting blogs, branch out. Musicians have a HUGE following and if you like their music, why wouldn't they also like your hand made goodies? Makes sense to me.

It's Not Fair

I recently stumbled upon these lovely and oh so simple earrings on Etsy. Both are by LisasLovelies and both I could not wear on a regular basis. True, I can't wear most earrings on a regular basis due to a metal allergy I have (silver included) but these are so perfect to wear everyday when you don't feel like picking something colorful and flashy out of your jewelry box.

It makes me want to fall on the ground kicking and screaming "It's not fair".



They warned me when I got my tattoo that I might develop an allergy to some metals. It's my fault.

My sister, Punkinhead, and I went out to the flea markets today. I looked and looked for that treasure that is awaiting my discovery out there in flea market land, but I didn't find it. My sister did find me a vase full of knitting needles. The only complete set was a set of 4 double pointed needles. I'm unsure of their size, but they look good for socks and they were only $.50. You can't beat that with a stick (but I refuse to call that a treasure). Perhaps I'll find my treasure another day on another trip.

I posted my latest earring creations in my Etsy shop tonight. I really like this design and cross my fingers that they fly out of my shop faster than I can post them. A girl can dream... right?

There Are Other Choices

The world does not revolve around silver earrings alone. My shop consists of many bracelets in both silver tones and coppers. However, due to lack of supplies in any other type of metal, my earrings, except one pair, have been all in silver tones. I first made some in copper a few weeks ago. I posted them in my shop as they had a matching bracelet that needed a companion in the shop. The views were good and someone even expressed interest in them, but they are still there. Seeing as how they didn't fly off of the shelf, I wasn't eager to make a bunch more in copper.

However, with the introduction of my new earring line last week, I thought some in copper might be in order. I went to work today on a few pair and I like the results. They are stunning and I have more options with them due to using wire instead of headpins for the body of the earring. I think I might try and find some good silver tone wire and try the same with that. I really like this style.

I will continue to post these in my Etsy shop, but all of these earrings have me looking forward to my next craft show. I have only had bracelets and scarves at the shows in the past. While those did well, I think if I had my earrings with me, I'd sell even more. People seem to be in the mood to buy earrings at those shows (as was evident at my first show this past September - my mom sold earring after earring after earring).

These three pairs are the only thing I crafted this weekend. It is a bit less than I had planned on doing, but better than nothing. My sweet will be off at a concert tomorrow night, so I'll have some time to myself to get more earrings and a couple of bracelets finished. I just need one more day in the week!

Lights... Camera...

One of my goals for Etsy and the new year was to streamline the photographs in my shop. Well, it's not quite the new year, but I'm hoping I got an early start. I listed a couple of new items with a new photo style in my shop today. I think I like it better that my previous attempts. I miss the look of the satin as a background, but perhaps I can figure out a way to incorporate that, but for now, I think I'll stick to what worked out this afternoon.

These were taken in my window as it was a bit too chilly (and I was a bit too lazy) to go outside to take them. Thoughts? Suggestions?

This evening I have allowed myself to take a break from the knitting and candy/cookie making marathon that today turned out to be. By marathon I mean that I spent all day doing those things and still didn't finish. Aren't marathons supposed to end with finished products? I know I'll finish the brother and nephew gifts before Christmas, but they still hang over me, mocking my every move, taunting me with their words "I'm sitting here... unfinished... you can't wrap me and put me under the tree unfinished...".

I'm still enjoying my break, even if the unfinished projects loom over me. One of my brothers made it into town from Minneapolis in time for dinner this evening, so my sweet boy and I went out to the catfish place to eat with my mom and brother. I had plans to come home and do some more Christmas prep in the kitchen, but I didn't. I curled up on the bed with my cat for a while, checked out the Etsy forums, took a LONG and very HOT bath, checked the Etsy forums again, and realized that I have a lot of Etsy work to do once the new year gets here.

My Etsy goals for the new year:
Streamline my pictures - make them look alike and get rid of the bad ones
Get new earrings in my shop (similar to the style at left)
Add a couple of wrist warmers and neck warmers to my shop
Post something new every three days (that won't be too hard to follow... will it?)

That is all I'm going to commit to at this point. No need to set goals that I'm not going to follow. The new year will also bring thoughts of my spring gardening, so I need to make sure and leave time for that.

I'll leave you all with something gorgeous. The UPS man came to my house today with a package from Kerrville, TX - home of James Avery Jewelry (started in 1954 by James Avery and while it's quite the operation now, I think it's still handmade stuff). These amazing earrings were a Christmas present from my best friend. I can't wait to wear them and I can't wait to make some ear wires similar to the ones on these.

Merry Christmas to me.

I've been a good girl this year. Most Everything I've bought or made since two days after Thanksgiving (the day after was a moment of weakness and I bought too much for myself) has been for Christmas gifts to give away. However, I received some wonderful goodies in the mail yesterday and sat down at my workspace this evening and made these...
I bought some felted beads from Burtonwood Studios and some sterling wire and a very hand device to make earring hooks from Glitter Critter. I bought both with the intention to make earrings. After a quick trip to buy a few more sterling supplies at the local craft shop, I sat down to get to work. I have to say, I overestimated how easy it would be to make these. It's not easy to thread soft metal through these felted beads but I do believe the end result was worth it. I can't wait to wear these around. Too bad it looks like I'll be stuck inside knitting and baking tomorrow due to the impending winter weather... WAIT, that's not bad. Bring on the snow.

And these go to...

These earrings, just made tonight, go to Dancing Mooney. I found the Pay if Forward idea on her blog and therefore she gets a handmade goody from Idyll Hands. I added the spiral on the end of the wire to these and I think I'll do that one some other earrings. I like it.

I still have one spot left... don't miss out one some hand made goodies.

Speaking of hand made goodies, I found a blog the other day from an Etsy seller and artist in Southern France. Lineanongrata has a very charming shop full of her illustrations and purses. I'm quite keen on the designs and her illustrations are completely charming. Aside from her shop, her blog makes me want to move to France (but I've always wanted to move there... perhaps just a bit more now). She is having an advent calendar giveaway this month and I was the recipient for day four. I cannot wait to receive my goody. The sneak peek from her website is this...

it's a bit of a surprise... isn't it?