So, I finally heard back from the instrumental music boosters organization at Henry Ford II High School in Sterling Heights, MI, and I’ve been accepted into their Crafter’s Clearance coming up in February.  I’m actually very excited because I’m still sitting on a lot of product from last year’s shows, which were pretty abysmal except for the festival at Grand Valley State.  This show looks like it might have a lot of promise, so I’m guardedly optimistic about my prospects.

As a result of getting into this show, however, I needed to take some work-in-progress and me-at-work photos so I can have them on me (basically to prove that I made what I’ve got with me in case someone challenges me about it).  I, of course, have never bothered taking any pictures like that, and any pictures taken of me while sewing back during my college days are completely lost somewhere in the maelstrom that is my bedroom or in the deepest, darkest depths of the internet.

So, my brother having disappeared from my workspace so I couldn’t corral him into taking the pictures, I found a way to set up my camera to take some shots while I was working.  Let me tell you, it’s wasn’t that easy!  I did get some passable shots, though.

My tools for my sewing are actually really simple.  I’ve got my dressmaker’s shears, my pinking shears, my dress form (rarely used, to be honest), my Kenmore sewing machine, the iron and the ironing board, pins, the actual materials for the garments and not a whole lot else!  A lot of the work is in the actual seaming of the garment: I try to enclose any raw edges that I can with French seams.

These shots are of another skirt in progress (I started the sewing for it this morning, though I’ve had the pieces cut since at least this past September).  I’m in the ironing process here, preparing first seams to be encased.

And then there’s my workspace–not really much to look at, is it?  It mostly does the job, though.  I do a lot of my cutting upstairs becasue there’s ample floor/table space to do it and the lighting is better.  I have some task lighting available in my actual workspace, but for some things, natural light is just better.

Finally got new photos and posted my residual cloaks and capes on Etsy — took me long enough, right?

We got a fresh layer of snow on the ground this morning and I had the perfect storm of opportunity: cloudy day, my sister and her boyfriend at the house, and easy access to both my camera and the garb!  So I asked both of them if they’d be willing to model the cloaks outside for me on the patio against the snow and the evergreens along the back fence.  They were good sports overall and helped me out.

The pictures turned out fairly well, but it was pretty cold so I didn’t ask them for much (if I’d been really ambitious, I’d have had Kendall throw on her noble garb and model for me!).

I love this shot so much. It's very Assassin's Creed.	Danny's got broader shoulders than Kendall, so I had to get at least one shot of him in the gray.	Detail shot on the clasp.
This one's our favorite shot between my mom and I.	I don't know why I'm such a big fan of these Assassin's Creed style shots...	Clasp detail shot for the evergreen cloak - flash was on.

Kendall was worried about how the photos turned out. My mother and I agreed they turned out very well.

Both cloaks are up for sale at Etsy.

Today, I hit another milestone with Etsy: I created my first treasury, Wired whimsy.  I took some of the shops from my favorites and found others as I simply browsed through Etsy, searching for items that fit into the treasury’s theme, which was wire work.

I made the treasury because I’m feeling too lazy to do real work right about now, which is to say cleaning up and starting on the new jewelry line I’ve been musing over for a few weeks.  I made the first couple pieces at the bust of a craft show I did on December 11.

The collection is inspired by the colors and patterns of Imperial Russia.  All are primarily freshwater pearl works.  It’ll be a very neat collection.  I’ll post pictures of the first few pieces soon.

So…it seems my sister-in-law is going to be the only one I have to think really hard about with regards to Christmas gifts this year.  I’ve given back to the Etsy community and bought gifts for my brothers and my father all on Etsy, and my mother, sister, and sister-in-law are going to be getting handmade gifts, too–but handmade by me.

My sister, of course, basically picked her own gift without even knowing it.  She said she liked something that I’d just posted on Etsy (and when I say “liked” she said I WANT THIS) but the piece would be too long for her little wrist.

So I made her something else.

My mother…well, I’ve known what I was going to give her for months, so long as the piece didn’t sell at a show.  It hasn’t so I’m going to make her a matching pair of earrings and call it a day.

Sister-in-law…she’ll be an issue.  I have a very vague idea of what to make for her, but I have to talk to my brother first about some things before I make final decisions.  I’ve still got a week and a half.

Finally, that brings me to a vaguely related subject, which involves peridot giftables.  I’d posted Augustine Brilliance on Etsy, which is a peridot piece, and Trish was shocked to see how it looked.  I promised her I’d post pictures of another peridot piece, this one one-of-a-kind (the nuggets I used are no longer available and I don’t have enough to make a second necklace).

And so, with no further adieu, the pictures of the peridot nugget version of “Imperial Arms,” inspired by the arms of the Holy Roman Empire.

I’ve posted a bunch of earrings and braclets today, plus a pair of necklaces to my Etsy Store.  All versions of A Lady’s Ransom are now available individually for purchase.  Also newly listed are some pairs of Azshara pearl and Swarovski crystal earrings.  The biggest bangs, however, are two necklaces that are newly listed: Quartering the Arms (sodalite and garnet) and Roman Elegance (garnet ovals).  I’ve carried these pieces to two shows now, and a different version of Quartering the Arms sold at the Grand Valley Renaissance Faire back in October.  Both necklaces go for $50.

The other bit of big news is that I’m offering a 10% off coupon code at my shop until December 26!  Punch in YULE2010 at checkout and receive 10% off your order.

Oh, and about the Holiday Bazaar on December 11?  Don’t ask.

The Holiday Bazaar at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church is tomorrow.  I’m mostly ready; I may make a few more pieces since I’ve got the day off to make them (though nothing new in polymer clay–it snowed last night and I do my baking on the back porch!).  I still have to make the donation piece.  This show’s donation value is lower than most–some shows don’t set one, others set it at about $20, but this one’s suggested value is $15.  So I’m probably going to do a bracelet and we’ll see what happens.  I’ll post pictures of it once it’s made.

This is the first show I’ll be bringing my own table to.  Hopefully it’ll fit into the car all right.

The Athens Festival Craft Show did not go as well as I’d hoped–I barely doubled what I paid for my table.  Turnout was very, very low and it was poorly advertised.  I’m not sure that I’d do it again next year–certainly not with the poor  level of advertising.  I need to do my survey for the show and send it in to them.  I’ve got a lot to say about it.  The student helpers were great, but all things considered…not a good show, which is sad because once upon a time, it had been an amazing show.

Hopefully, this one will be better.  If it’s not, then it’s not–it’s a short show, and I’ll be working at the store in the evening if I can’t get someone to pick up my shift.  I’m hoping I can.  Hoping very, very hard.

So the Athens Festival Craft Show is this coming Saturday and I’m still preparing for it!  I’m making some extra bits and pieces for the show (including a few brand spanking new designs that only my mother’s been privledged to see!).  I’ve got it in my head to make a few pairs of earrings today before I turn attention to doing other things.  I’ve already completed three necklaces (two copies of other ones and then a brand new peridot piece I’ve named “Augustine Brilliance”) this morning, tagged them, and priced them.

I’ve got some housekeeping stuff to do, including getting my bins of displays together and a bin of packaging together.  I have to stamp most of my bags still (though I’m half thinking to not to stamp them–I have ribbons to tie on the handles in red and green).

All of the ornaments I’m going to make are done.  I made sixteen of the suckers.  I’m going to see if they sell, and if they do, I’ll make more and offer them on Etsy.  I already know I have an order coming in from my mother for a custom-made set of them.

Mom’s going to be my booth helper this time around (Miss Jen has to work!), and I’m very grateful for the extra set of hands for the show.  That means I can work on more pieces during the show and answer questions and such–or that two of us can be working with two different people at the same time!

I have all of my stone cards made up and ready, which is wonderful, and I have my larger boxes stamped (fifteen of them, anyway–I’d love to need more than that, but we’ll se what happens).  I also have a bunch of business cards ready–I may or may not make more before the day is out (stamping them can be beastly, and running up and down the stairs to load the cardstock and then get the printouts while praying no one else is printing anything is a pain, too).

Sold a few pieces through Etsy the other day — two Marks of the Dawn sold, and then one of my stone pendants sold as well.  They went out in Tuesday’s mail.  Tuesday was kind of a lost day–I spent the whole morning and into the afternoon running errands.  Then Bill and Nat came over for dinner, so while I got thoughts and opinions on displays and new pieces, I didn’t actually make any new pieces.  And then yesterday was a total loss for everything because I got stuck working at the store until 3:30 (I was supposed to be off at 2) and was completely wiped out by the time I got home at 4.  Today should be a better day all the way around.

So, I’ve made a few more Elwynn Ivy pendants and pins…but I’ve also made some new Elwynn Ivy ornaments!  I’ll be debuting these at the Athens Craft show on November 20.  Here’s to hoping they do well for me.

They can be a bit of a pain to make because…well…polymer clay can be a pain!  The ornaments are also quite thin, which makes mounting the bails a bit difficult (I use a twist of wire to make the bails — they stay in the clay better than a straight pin does).

I made a few more than what’s in the picture this evening, since I realized I only had a few of the ornaments done!  I’ll seal them tomorrow, most likely.

The acrylic seal on them really brings them to life!  I’m really looking forward to seeing what tonight’s turn out looking like after I spray seal them (tonight’s were made with a green base polymer clay).

I’ve gotten a few more marks made and listed.  The new ones are made of both white clay and granite polymer clay.  The Marks of Crusade are listed as single items, the two new Marks of the Dawn are listed as a set.

We’ll see how they do!  They’re part of my Warcraft Trinket collection.

The other day, I finally got around to making my “Something Blue” wedding necklaces.  I got inspired by a couple of Swarovski crystal teardrops I had floating around that were too small to just be pendants on a chain.  The original piece was a variant on my “Icy Brilliance” piece, a strand of snow quartz and Swarovski crystals.  At the suggestion of my lovely mother, Karen, obsessed with all things sparkly, I put together a version that was all Swarovski crystals spaced out with very pale blue delica seed beads.

These pieces have already been posted in my Etsy Store.