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Sunday, December 21, 2008
I'm in a Treasury!
It was made by makemesmile and lies here
It will only last till tomorrow, so here is the screenshot, and a list of all the featured sellers and their products
YasminBochi, me :), byMarianneS
CatTingles, Brownbunnybyiris, Erdbeerfroeschchen
Blue Terracotta, Catherine Cooper, 5erg
Uloni, Newafresh, Subrosa123
P~
It will only last till tomorrow, so here is the screenshot, and a list of all the featured sellers and their products
YasminBochi, me :), byMarianneS
CatTingles, Brownbunnybyiris, Erdbeerfroeschchen
Blue Terracotta, Catherine Cooper, 5erg
Uloni, Newafresh, Subrosa123
P~
Saturday, December 20, 2008
A word for 2009
I've been reading several blogs saying that instead of making resolutions for the next year, you should pick a word to focus on and live by instead. Most recently I read it in Christine Kane's blog (thank you Vickie) and since she had a list of interesting words to choose from I actually found one that appealed to me. I have chosen 'Change'. Lots of little things in my life need a bit of adjustment, several bigger ones too, and I hope I may be able to do something about it in 2009.
As I am already thinking about changes, there is no reason I should not start right away to change little things whenever I can. When I were reading about peoples experiences with chosing a word, someone had suggested having a bracelet done with a little disc with your word on it, so that you may be reminded of it daily. This I like. I know there are several Etsy sellers making costum words on bangles and I considered treating myself to one of those.
Then I thought 'Hey! I am already wearing a skinny little bangle, so why not do it myself?'. This in itself is normally a bit of a challenge for me. I have been in several groups with people doing 'altered art', and I have always had a problem with this (not with other people doing it, just myself). I keep thinking that somebody worked hard at designing whatever object it may be (even match boxes), and who am I to undo that work, and so I freeze.
Anyway, back to the bangle. I don't have any stamping tools, so actual letters were out of the question. My solution was to write it in morse code, filing little notches all around the edge. I have just finished the filing and I am pretty pleased, and I didn't have a second of hesitation in me about altering it :) It has come out very nice. It has a little bit of scratchy edges, but those will wear down in a few days, or I may just sand it lightly if it is annoying.
So there you have it. I hope I can keep it up for a whole year. Who knows what might happen :)
P~
As I am already thinking about changes, there is no reason I should not start right away to change little things whenever I can. When I were reading about peoples experiences with chosing a word, someone had suggested having a bracelet done with a little disc with your word on it, so that you may be reminded of it daily. This I like. I know there are several Etsy sellers making costum words on bangles and I considered treating myself to one of those.
Then I thought 'Hey! I am already wearing a skinny little bangle, so why not do it myself?'. This in itself is normally a bit of a challenge for me. I have been in several groups with people doing 'altered art', and I have always had a problem with this (not with other people doing it, just myself). I keep thinking that somebody worked hard at designing whatever object it may be (even match boxes), and who am I to undo that work, and so I freeze.
Anyway, back to the bangle. I don't have any stamping tools, so actual letters were out of the question. My solution was to write it in morse code, filing little notches all around the edge. I have just finished the filing and I am pretty pleased, and I didn't have a second of hesitation in me about altering it :) It has come out very nice. It has a little bit of scratchy edges, but those will wear down in a few days, or I may just sand it lightly if it is annoying.
So there you have it. I hope I can keep it up for a whole year. Who knows what might happen :)
P~
Thursday, December 18, 2008
12
If you were to choose 12 techniques of beadmaking, one for each month, to practice through all of next year, what would it be?
I haven't quite come up with 12 things yet, but here is my list, in no particular order:
Stringer/heat control: dots (placement, size) and lines (keeping them straight, nice un-lumpy ends)
Fuming: Just got Andrea's tut, and am eager to go. Just need a bit af a boro stick to get started.
Sculpting: to evenly divide by 5 or other uneven numbers. 4 is easy, but 5 is much more appealing to me.
Sculpting: evolve on the organic shapes I love so much (and eventually fume them :)
Vessels: I do have a hollow mandrel to blow through. Only did it twice, though I loved the results
Off mandrel pieces: I made two little heartshaped clumps of glass this year. I have room for improvement. Might need some tools for that. My tweezers doesn't have a good grip.
Longer beads: barrels (they always break for me?) and bicones (never breaks, yay!)
Lentils: I have just bought my own christmas gift, a pair of lentil mashers, yay! I have wanted to try this shape for a long time, and soon I will. Simple ones first of course, then decorated and sculpted ones later.
I also want to study colours and how to combine them. I don't think I will ever be tired of the look of ivory, but a bit of colour would be nice too.
There is also the electroforming I really want to try at some point, and I know I will eventually.
What techniques would you most like to evolve in?
Doesn't have to be beadmaking :)
P~
I haven't quite come up with 12 things yet, but here is my list, in no particular order:
Stringer/heat control: dots (placement, size) and lines (keeping them straight, nice un-lumpy ends)
Fuming: Just got Andrea's tut, and am eager to go. Just need a bit af a boro stick to get started.
Sculpting: to evenly divide by 5 or other uneven numbers. 4 is easy, but 5 is much more appealing to me.
Sculpting: evolve on the organic shapes I love so much (and eventually fume them :)
Vessels: I do have a hollow mandrel to blow through. Only did it twice, though I loved the results
Off mandrel pieces: I made two little heartshaped clumps of glass this year. I have room for improvement. Might need some tools for that. My tweezers doesn't have a good grip.
Longer beads: barrels (they always break for me?) and bicones (never breaks, yay!)
Lentils: I have just bought my own christmas gift, a pair of lentil mashers, yay! I have wanted to try this shape for a long time, and soon I will. Simple ones first of course, then decorated and sculpted ones later.
I also want to study colours and how to combine them. I don't think I will ever be tired of the look of ivory, but a bit of colour would be nice too.
There is also the electroforming I really want to try at some point, and I know I will eventually.
What techniques would you most like to evolve in?
Doesn't have to be beadmaking :)
P~
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Phew!
Hooray, it's December!
And by December I mean a nice couple of days off, to lounge around at home, sleeping in and staying up late. Not all of them though, but from dec. 19'th I can be found in my bed until noon.
Or probably not, but I can dream, right??
November sure did pass me in a worn out daze. I have to say, even though I enjoyed my show quite a bit, it was also a very hard adventure.
Since it was my first, I am sure I have been overthinking everything at least a dozen times. I had nothing else on my mind for 15 weeks, and it might have been a bit much, for both me and my family (=boyfriend), and I have been taking a few weeks off to recuperate. I am sure I have learned a lot from it though, and I would like to try my hand at other venues, with a more crafty vibe to it. I did not make quite enough to cover the cost of the booth and the materials I have invested, not even with the sales that came after the show, at my workplace,
and I think I could do better if people were there to shop for crafts in the first place, rather than art.
In any case, our booth (is that even the rigth word?) looked beautiful. Many people said so, and we agreed :) My sister worked hard too, not only on her art, but also on sprucing up this old piece of furniture I had kept in the basement for way too long. It's a lovely thing (especially now), and it went well with the style and ambiance of her artwork.
Something I learned: I was/am very pleased with the little glass cabinet I got. It looks great, lifts things into view and can hold a lot, but ... people are vary of opening it to feel up the goods, and I know I would be so too. Generally when things are under glass you are not supposed to touch it unless the vendor is handing it to you. This is not what I wanted. I do want people to get at good feel of the glass as that is part of the attraction. I also secured my pendants with some rubbery goo stuff, to prevent them from rolling around and also to help them stand up. It looked great, but again, people did not like to pick them up. I wrote a little note saying 'please do touch', but nobody did without being told it was okay.
If you know of a nice way to display multiple pendants, hanging the way they would be worn, easy to remove and put back, do let me know. I looked far and wide before the show, but came up with nothing.
Also, next time I want neck displays. In my mind they are fairly crucial.
Now that a new year looms I look forward to making a new plan for the year, as the one for this year failed misserably. This time I shall include time for homelife into it, making it a 'life'-plan rather than a 'business'-plan. I may not be able to do everything I'd like to, but every little bit counts :)
P~
PS: Thank you Hanne Piasecki and Maria Sylow for the pictures :)
And by December I mean a nice couple of days off, to lounge around at home, sleeping in and staying up late. Not all of them though, but from dec. 19'th I can be found in my bed until noon.
Or probably not, but I can dream, right??
November sure did pass me in a worn out daze. I have to say, even though I enjoyed my show quite a bit, it was also a very hard adventure.
Since it was my first, I am sure I have been overthinking everything at least a dozen times. I had nothing else on my mind for 15 weeks, and it might have been a bit much, for both me and my family (=boyfriend), and I have been taking a few weeks off to recuperate. I am sure I have learned a lot from it though, and I would like to try my hand at other venues, with a more crafty vibe to it. I did not make quite enough to cover the cost of the booth and the materials I have invested, not even with the sales that came after the show, at my workplace,
and I think I could do better if people were there to shop for crafts in the first place, rather than art.
In any case, our booth (is that even the rigth word?) looked beautiful. Many people said so, and we agreed :) My sister worked hard too, not only on her art, but also on sprucing up this old piece of furniture I had kept in the basement for way too long. It's a lovely thing (especially now), and it went well with the style and ambiance of her artwork.
Something I learned: I was/am very pleased with the little glass cabinet I got. It looks great, lifts things into view and can hold a lot, but ... people are vary of opening it to feel up the goods, and I know I would be so too. Generally when things are under glass you are not supposed to touch it unless the vendor is handing it to you. This is not what I wanted. I do want people to get at good feel of the glass as that is part of the attraction. I also secured my pendants with some rubbery goo stuff, to prevent them from rolling around and also to help them stand up. It looked great, but again, people did not like to pick them up. I wrote a little note saying 'please do touch', but nobody did without being told it was okay.
If you know of a nice way to display multiple pendants, hanging the way they would be worn, easy to remove and put back, do let me know. I looked far and wide before the show, but came up with nothing.
Also, next time I want neck displays. In my mind they are fairly crucial.
Now that a new year looms I look forward to making a new plan for the year, as the one for this year failed misserably. This time I shall include time for homelife into it, making it a 'life'-plan rather than a 'business'-plan. I may not be able to do everything I'd like to, but every little bit counts :)
P~
PS: Thank you Hanne Piasecki and Maria Sylow for the pictures :)
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