time2cre8 ... in 2014

Well, here it is.  The new year.  Not so new any more, as it's already almost the end of January.

Did you make any resolutions?  I think I resolved not to resolve...  Last year I did pseudo-resolutions.  Things I wanted to do, jotted down in a notebook.  I got a few of them done, but not nearly as many as I wanted.  Oh well.  I had a fun year anyway.  :-)

One thing I want to do this year (and mind you, it's not a resolution) is to get more things listed in my Etsy shops.  Did you know I have THREE Etsy shops?  Sheesh.


My primary shop is time2cre8, where I have all my beady creations and beading patterns.  I can't even estimate the number of beadwoven pieces I've made over the past several months that need to be photographed and listed.  I also want to UNlist some things, pieces I made on a whim that have just sat there in my shop taking up space.  It's time for them to go.








Then I have a shop called time2split, where I began selling off some of my art supplies and some vintage stuff I've collected over the years.  I only opened that shop as a way to destash, but it's turned into quite an enterprise now.  It's stocked with different types of cardstock and art paper, as well as piles and piles of handmade envelopes (my way of working through a scrapbooking paper addiction).  Since there's still lots of destashing I need to do, I want to get more listed in that shop too.  Not a resolution, though.  :-)




Last but not least is the third shop, time2cre8too, where I have stationery items.  I started a line of stationery a few years ago that I call Captioned Critters, and I've been slowly stocking the shelves in the time2cre8too shop with mini notecards and stickers.  I also have a bunch of Alice in Wonderland things, all made from the gorgeous illustrations by Sir John Tenniel.  The plan this year is to add more critters to the mix and a bigger variety of items that feature all the quirky animals I've found.





Note that all of my shops have "time" in the name.  That's one thing that seems to be in short supply, but I'm having a blast making things.

What about you?  What do you like to do with your time?  Do you make things?  Cook?  Read?  Exercise?  Travel?

Whatever you do, I hope you're having fun!

Heck Tick!

I wonder what the search engines will do with that... I'm sure you've figured out that I really mean "hectic." That's the current state of affairs here.

I just had to take some time out of the schedule to show you the newest listings - three different pieces, all very different from each other:

First is my Giraffe bracelet. I actually created this design more than a year ago (!), but the giraffe was visiting my friends at Interweave Press, waiting to see if he was going to join his buddies in one of the magazines. He didn't make it, but his pal the Limelight Leopard appeared in the June/July 2009 issue of Beadwork. Giraffe is back at home with me now, but he's looking for someone else to take him in and love him. :-)

You'll see more animal prints appearing in my Etsy shop soon... more versions of the Leopard, a couple of Zebra, and a Tiger! And there will be some interesting color combinations also... since some of these animals will be "living" in the cities, I had to change their coats.

Another of my new pieces is called Lothiriel. One of my Etsy buddies, Deb DiSalvo (aka ArtisticFlair) suggested a red, white, and black caterpillar. The one I created just prior to this one, called Galadriel, is done in those colors, but since the base is the only part of it that's black, it's kind of hidden. Not so with this one! Doesn't this one really look like a caterpillar?! You know, one of those you're not supposed to touch because you'll get stung...

I made a comment when I uploaded the pictures to my flickr photostream that someone had suggested these colors, but then my cosmic sister Carol Dean Sharpe (aka SandFibers) pointed out to me that no one really needed to suggest to ME that I use red, white, and black. She's right - they're my favorite colors!

The newest listing I have is for a design I came up with a couple of weeks ago. The design was inspired by a piece of fabric (now carefully packed away and ready to be moved), but I had to come up with a different name for it. As I looked at the design, it occurred to me that it looks a bit like a topo map. So here's the first version of Topography, created in some ultra-cool retro colors.

Although I've spent most of my beading time since I returned from the Bead and Button Show working on custom orders, I just had to make something with one of the beads I bought from Lisa Peters at the show. These little tube beads of hers are so cool. The colors are wonderful, and I really like the tall, skinny shape! I gave this one a very simple treatment -- just an ndebele rope done in colors to match the bead, with a loop and toggle closure. Named for the colors in the bead, this one is called Curry and Sage.


If you've visited my shop recently, you may have noticed a sharp reduction in the number of items listed... Work continues on taking inventory of all my stationery so I can turn that part of the business over to someone else! The only cards and tags I have listed now are ones I actually have on hand. I'm still taking custom orders from some of my repeat customers at this point, but I won't be listing any new stationery items. And I'm offering a 25% discount on all stationery purchases over $10, good only for the inventory I have on hand, so if you've been wanting some this is a great time to pick them up!

I'm kind of sad to see the stationery go, but I really want to be able to focus on my beadweaving (not to mention how much I need to focus on preparing to move!!!). I know the person who's going to take them over (her name is Allison, but I can't give you her shop name yet because she's going to open a new one) is going to have great fun making the Captioned Critters, all the Alice in Wonderland things, and all the other pieces!

Time to get going... after one more latte!
:-)

Hello, Alice!

Spend just a couple of minutes in my Etsy shop, and it'll quickly become obvious to you that I LOVE Alice in Wonderland. Actually, I just love the Sir John Tenniel illustrations; and I have a great time thinking of ways to use them for cards and tags. My favorite of all the characters is the Mad Hatter. How could you not love a character who runs around in checked pants, a bowtie, and a top hat???

With all the different cards and tags I've made featuring the Alice illustrations - in their original black and white, in the original colors, and then my altered versions which have red highlights and pink highlights - I can't believe it didn't occur to me earlier to do a version in sepia! As soon as that thought flitted through my head, I edited a bunch of my favorites of the images to make them sepia toned; and I just finished making them into greeting cards, printed on some beautiful offwhite parchment.

I guess I was thinking about the Alice illustrations more than usual because I was working on this HUGE pile of Alice cards and envelopes for a custom order. These are on their way to the customer - I hope she loves them! It took me awhile to cut, fold, and glue all those envelopes (250 of them). And since I just kept seeing Alice and the words from Jabberwocky (which is what I printed onto the envelope), it's only natural that I'd be thinking of other Alice things to make.


Lest you think I've ONLY been working on Alice things, that's not the case at all. I'm still playing with my beads pretty much every day. I do almost all of my beadweaving at night while I'm watching TV (have I ever mentioned that I can rarely do just one thing at a time???).

One of my newest creations is this Oglala bracelet, called Cherry Lime Fizz. Doesn't it look fizzy to you? When I bought the beads that run down the center I had no idea what color I'd use with them. I first picked up a tube of red beads, but then I saw the tube of lime green ones lying there; and it just seemed like they wanted to be used for this.


Now that I know that Barbara (the customer who requested the freeform bracelet and Oglala necklace I wrote about in earlier posts) has received her package, I can show off the little pendant I made as a gift for her.

Obviously, this was made to be the perfect complement to the freeform bracelet.

I don't think I've ever done a freeform pendant before, but it was just as much fun as the bracelets are to do! In fact, it might have been a little MORE fun because it took less time.

I may just have to do more of these...

in my spare time.
Ha.

I love Alice in Wonderland (especially the Mad Hatter)!

Sir John Tenniel's Alice in Wonderland illustrations are so insanely popular, and it's easy to see why. They have such great detail, and they bring the story to life. I was really excited recently when I tracked down some of the full color ones, and I could hardly wait to make something from them. After doing some cleanup to them (removing speckles, cleaning up the backgrounds a bit, etc.), I decided to make some vintage looking tags and some notecards from them. Aren't these beautiful?


There are lots of Alice lovers out there in Etsy land. One of them is my buddy Beth (aka bethtastic). She recently asked me about getting copies of the black and white Alice images I've used in my other tags, so we worked out a deal... I'd send her the images, and she'd make me a pendant with my favorite character - The Mad Hatter. Shortly after I sent her the images, I was looking at Pounce (one of the cool Etsy features) and saw one of her Alice pendants go by. It's no wonder it sold so quickly!!! Just look how great these are.

No beadweaving to show off today... I finished a couple of new pieces, but I didn't get a chance for photos yet.

I did have one adventure this morning. And I have to tell you. In a battle between a utility knife and a thumb, chances are very good that the utility knife is going to win. My husband always tells me to be careful, and I really do try. But it doesn't always work. So this morning, as I was slicing matboard into ACEO-sized blanks, my thumb slipped. Right into the path of the utility knife. Ouch. The bleeding stopped about 20 minutes after the cut. I actually debated whether to go get stitches in it, but I opted to tough it out with just a big bandage (you probably won't be surprised to learn that we have lots of those around - my favorite brand is the 3M Nexcare because it stays on forever, even when saturated with water, and it's made of a kind of foam material that lets me grip things).

And the next time I use the utility knife, I will be more careful. Wonder if I could work in chainmaille gloves?

I have decided that I LOVE to make ndebele ropes!!! After creating the necklace that featured Lisa Peters' gorgeous raku button (Turquoise with a Twist), and seeing the twist that developed when I used two different size beads, I decided to make a twisted rope. I have so many Czech glass beads to choose from (the result of attending several of the Bead and Button shows and melting my credit card), but when I put these dark matte copper beads next to the larger bluish-green lined bads, I realized it was a match made in heaven.

It's a whopping 45" long, a continuous loop that can be worn as a necklace or as a bracelet. I named this one Verdigris, because the lighter colored beads look just like the patina that develops on aged copper.

Even though these take several hours to complete, and several needle stabs as well, they're a lot of fun. Oh, to have enough hours in the day to make more of them...

My other creation that was listed yesterday isn't beadweaving, but it's also fun. In addition to beadwoven jewelry, I like making all kinds of stationery -- mini notecards, large size cards, tags, and things of that nature. Someone had contacted me about a special order. She wanted the Alice in Wonderland tags I have listed in my shop, Alice and Her Friends All Dressed in Red...


but she wanted them in pink! I had digitally added the red to the Sir John Tenniel illustrations, so off I went to edit them and make them pink. After I made the new tags, I loved them so much I decided to add them to my shop. So yesterday I listed Alice and Her Friends are Pretty in Pink.


Now I'm off to do some more creating! :-)

I've always been kind of a numbers fanatic. You know, one of those people who has a tiny celebration when the number on the odometer changes to something "special", like 12,345 miles. Or when it's 11:11 on November 11th?

Well, today I have a number to celebrate. I just received my 2000th heart for my Etsy shop!

My other Etsy numbers (sales and feedback) are both getting up there, too. I just need four more feedback to hit 2400, and 21 more sales to hit 3000!!! I can hardly believe how high these numbers are. I'm STILL having a blast creating things, and I'm so happy I found Etsy a couple of years ago so I can feed my creating habit. :-)


I also found some of my Alice in Wonderland tags in a fun treasury today, put together by Yoola. Yoola makes some really fun and unique jewelry, so check out her shop! I've had her marked as a favorite since I first saw one of her creations.



It's a good Etsy day. Time for me to go get some orders ready for the mail!

I spend a lot of my blogging time talking about my beadweaving, and while that's obviously a subject that's near and dear to my heart, the truth of the matter is that I do all sorts of other things too!

When I first "discovered" the Sir John Tenniel illustrations of Alice in Wonderland, I fell in love with them. I then proceeded to make all sorts of creations using the illustrations... cards, tags, stickers, labels, and whatever else I could think of. Last year I altered the illustrations to make them festive by adding bits of red to the illustrations. I know that's not how they were originally drawn, but I really like the way they turned out; and apparently lots of other people like them also because they're a pretty consistent seller in my Etsy shop.

Yesterday I took a stroll through the Etsy treasuries to see what interesting things I could find, and I discovered that lolos1963 had used some of my Alice tags in her "Alice, oh Alice!" treasury!!! Yay!!!

Wanna see what else I've made with the Alice illustrations? Click here. :-)

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I almost forgot that today is Friday! I've fully recovered from my turkey coma, even though I just had some leftover cold turkey with mayo a little while ago. Yesterday's dinner was just a simple affair at home, but we had all the requisite foods -- turkey with stuffing and gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, cranberry sauce, and apple pie ala mode for dessert. We sat around like blobs after that!

So anyway, today's Etsy Friday post is once again to thank the Etsy peeps who have purchased from me in the past week. My Alice in Wonderland holiday tags, cards, and stickers were popular this week for some reason; and I have to say I think they're pretty cute. The Quoth the Raven, Ho Ho Ho cards are also going to be flying all over the place this holiday season. I have such a great time creating all these things, and I'm really happy that other people like them so much.

And now for the thanks to the Etsy shop owners who purchased from me this week!

First was Ramona (aka ramonawest), who has a shop that's filled to the brim with vintage clothing and shoes. Sadly, some of the pieces she lists are things that were popular when I was young, but they're making a new appearance in today's fashions. This black velvet swing coat is a gorgeous piece that's ageless!

Sarah (aka alosha) has a whole new stash of ACEO blanks, and she'll obviously put them to good use! She has beautiful artwork in her shop, along with lots of lovely hair adornments. While I like the hair barrettes (even though I have short hair and can't wear any of it), I was drawn to this striking piece of artwork entitled Iron Beauty.

Jan (aka janhilderbrandt) is another talented artist. She paints all kinds of subjects, and she has this beautiful set of 12 sunflower cards so you can share her art with your friends and relatives.

Amy (aka societysedso) creates whimsical and sometimes frightening little creatures from polymer clay. These aren't your everyday clay creations, as she incorporates metal eye hooks into them so they can move. I've always liked red and black together, so this SWAKtopus is my favorite.
Jessica (aka Beadymonkey) has a wonderful assortment of handmade jewelry in her shop. There are so many beautiful pieces in there it was difficult for me to choose a favorite, but once again color helped make the decision. I love amethyst, so this vineyard necklace jumped off the page when I saw it. If you're looking for a gift for someone special this holiday season, you're sure to find something here!

CM (aka sinthesis) has only had her Etsy shop for a few weeks now, but she's sure to become a popular jewelry seller with her metal pieces. They're abstract, unique, and such fun! Just check out this Cosmic Lightning pendant. The color's striking in itself, and the design is so cool.


Kim (aka calamitykim) has sold lots of her whimsical creations, but there's this cute Barnabas Bartholomew Bear pincushion just waiting to be grabbed for a special gift. He's a mixed media piece that would make a neat decoration even if you don't want to stick pins in him.

Jennifer (aka PineBlossoms) creates all sorts of fun things using vintage fabrics. It's so nice to see these beautiful fabrics being upcycled into pillows, bags, and other items that will let them live for decades more. And while all those pillows and bags are such fun, I think this silly chair pincushion is my favorite. What a hoot.

Misty (aka GemmaBeads) shares my drafting/design background, but now she's ventured off into the world of handmade lampwork beads and jewelry items. Yet again I'm drawn to the piece in her shop that features purple. I guess I have a one-color mind, but I just love this Ripe Rainbow Fluorite Bracelet which features a lampwork bead with dazzling colors. The lampwork was made by Debbie, of Glass Houses, but Misty's given it the royal treatment in this bracelet.

Jennifer (aka jenncolestudios) is VERY new to Etsy, having opened shop a mere ten days ago. She only has a few pieces listed in her shop so far, but they are all wonderful! The rings Jenn has listed are different than others I've seen, and they're beautifully photographed. This blue glass ring is soooooo pretty!

I do so like Alice in Wonderland! I've been busy making all those captioned critters cards and hunting down new and interesting critters every day. Did you see the skunk ones? With the rose-printed paper envelopes? How cool are these?!?!

Anyway, back to Alice... I decided to take some of the vintage Alice illustrations (those ones by Sir John Tenniel) and alter them (removing some background stuff and cropping out just the parts I wanted) and then add caption bubbles to them. What a hoot! Aren't these cute!?!? Hey, I rhymed.

Scalloped Seahorses. Reading that, it sounds like an exotic seafood dish, but it's not. I found this image of a seahorse with lots of detail and shading, and I decided to turn him into scalloped tags. They're so cute!!!

And then I decided to make some tags using vintage Alice in Wonderland illustrations. After messing with them for awhile, I found that I just couldn't get them all to look right if I made them all round or all oval or all square, so I created an assortment of shapes and sizes.