Art update- cats, a mermaid, and wintery pretties

Oops, I haven't made an art update in a while, huh? I suppose I should do that now. ;) This week I've been trying to make and/or list wintery items, so I've got a lot of pictures to share.

First, the dolls I made for a trade with my POEST teammate talogwitch. You saw the cats in a sneak peek, but I wanted to show better pictures of them, too. :) (Click to view the images larger.)
Here are Bat-Cat and Luci-fur:




And here's the mermaid I made for her, too:

This mermaid is like Meremenin in my shops, but my trade partner wanted her blond, which was fine with me/ Mermaids are so much fun to make! I'm not entirely happy with her tail, but I used the same stitches I was doing before; I think the problem is that it's thick-and-thin handspun yarn, so it's not going to be the same shape each time. I still think this doll is adorable, though! :D

I have a few ideas for more dolls and right now I'm working on two Pokemon (a Jigglypuff and a Togepi) for another trade; I'll be blogging about them soon. :)

The other things I listed/made recently were wintery things:

(This hat and scarf set can be found in my artfire shop here and my Etsy shop here.)


(And this scarf is on artfire here and Etsy here.)

I made both of these things ages ago (like two years ago, I think), but never got around to photographing or listing them. I haven't made any more because the Etsy/Artfire market is saturated in scarves (most of which are a lot fancier and prettier than mine), but I'm thinking that when I start doing craft shows next year, I'll do some scarves because they are fun and pretty quick to make.

The other wintery items I've listed so far this week are earrings:

It's here on Artfire and here on Etsy. I really like how the beads look like Christmas decorations. :) Unfortunately, I don't have any more of that red bead, so I'll have to use something else on the next one I make.


Those are called "Winter Forest" because they remind me of frost-covered leaves. I really like the colors on this one (I may need to do something like this for my Herald costume). They're here on Artfire and here on Etsy.


This is my second double chain earring. :) This Christmasy one can be found here on Artfire and here on Etsy.

And the last one I listed so far this week:

I like to make things for lots of winter holidays, so I made the leaf ones and this one in Hanukkah colors. This one is here on Artfire and here on Etsy. I'm so happy- I already sold one of this one, and to make it even cooler, it was only an hour or so after I listed it. That was my fastest sale! :D

And see that cute hairclip on the mannequin? That came from my Plurk friend Smiss. ;)

I'm not too happy with the photos with this batch of earrings, but since it's been rainy since I've finished them, I haven't been able to get good lighting. Ah, well. When the sun finally comes out, I'll sneak a few more photos.

Whew, this is a long post! Sorry about that, guys! I need to start doing this more than once a week, I guess.

Psst! And don't forget about the free shipping in my shops to the US and Canada!

At my Etsy shop and Artfire shop.

Trove Thursday- Holidays with the Createability Team

This week my Trove post is promoting the Createability Team on Etsy because we're having a group sale this weekend (to get the list of participating shops, visit the team blog post here). The Createability team is made up of artists who create while coping with a disability, chronic illness, or caregiving, and it's a wonderful group of people. :)

*Edit 11/28* The site I was using to host the images has been down, but luckily I managed to snag a treasury. Here's a screencap of the treasury promoting this:

To see the items larger and clearer, click the image. Then you can get the username- just type that then ".etsy.com" (like I'd be merigreenleaf.etsy.com) into your address bar and you'll be taken to the team member's shop.
And if you're reading this before Tuesday Dec 1st at 1:30pm EST, just click here to be taken to the treasury page.

(Psst- I'm part of this sale, too; I'm doing free shipping to the US and Canada until the end of December.)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US; I hope you have a great holiday! I'm having two Thanksgivings- one tonight with my fiancé's family and one tomorrow with my family (my dad has to work tonight, so mom's doing it tomorrow).

Lots of sales and fun art things going on!

Want to get some holiday shopping done? Then this post can help! ;) (Psst- and my free shipping sale is listed below.)

First, I want to blog about my livejournal friend Mirien's blog post where she is selling some of her amazing silver jewelry. It's so lovely- if I had the extra money, I'd snap up some of it in a heartbeat! Here are two of my favorites:


Next, one of my street teams (the Createability team) is doing a group sale this week:
berrybluecreations.etsy.com – 10% off on all items over $5
BirdhouseBlessings.etsy.com – free ornament with every purchase
Carapace.etsy.com - free US shipping, ½ off int’l shipping
cindylouwho2.etsy.com - 15% off all items
clevergirl.etsy.com – 10% off plus free gift
crochetbymsa.etsy.com – free shipping plus free gift
flamingolady.etsy.com – free card with any purchase
Gwendolynsdesign.etsy.com – BOGO on pins, free shipping over $30
handmadebyannabelle.etsy.com - free shipping
HellsSewingCircle.etsy.com – free shipping on framed items; 3 for 2 on prints
hippiescreations.etsy.com – free shipping plus gift
Ionbeads.etsy.com – free shipping
jewelles.etsy.com – free pearl earrings with every purchase
julianascreations.etsy.com – free shipping plus free earrings with each purchase
kimforbeads.etsy.com – free bug with purchase, free shipping on orders above $25
LovejoyCreations.etsy.com - free notecards with every purchase
MadebyMari.etsy.com – free ornament with purchase
Maplecreeksoap.etsy.com – 15% off orders over $10
mgcuozzo.etsy.com – free shipping
merigreenleaf.etsy.com - free shipping to US & Canada
MyHeartFashion.etsy.com – free shipping
Mylittle.etsy.com – free shipping
MyMimsies.etsy.com – 25% off all items
naturellechic.etsy.com – free shipping, plus buy 3 pendants, get 1 free holiday pendant
NeoMetroNeckties.etsy.com - 25% off all items
OneFoldDesigns.etsy.com – free tags with purchase
opheliasapothecary.etsy.com – free US shipping OR 15% off; free int’l shipping over $35
sierrapelonacrochet.etsy.com - free shipping (except catnip toys)
wiresnpliers.etsy.com - free shipping on select items

And a bunch of cool people on Plurk are also running sales- they're listed on auntifranni's blog here, or you can see the info right here (I'm helpful like that!). The sale information is below the image.


auntifranni- buy 5 candy cane holders in any combination get one free. Please put your choice of free candycane holder in notes to seller no coupon code needed. You will find them in the ORNAMENTS section.
-20% off the entire shop Black Friday thru Cyber Monday use coupon code CYBER09 You can combine this with the coupon for the candycane holders.


merigreenleaf- free shipping to the US and Canada until the end of December with coupon code HOLIDAY09


28sidesdesigns- 25% off all items until the end of November: coupon code: ERLIDAY09


Avalon_Studios- 25% off everything from now until December 17th, which is the last day to order to be sure your item arrives in time for Christmas. Discount is already taken off.


pegasussoaps- Nov 24-30th save 20% off every item with coupon code ANNIVERSARY


charspirit- 33% off, use the coupon code CHARSPIRIT. Good thru Dec. 15


sewhappydesigns- 15% off Coupon sale with code THANKSGIVSEW from now until Saturday, November 28


thebeadedbranch- FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING until Friday, December 4


nightmaiden- free shipping on everything and there's a coupon code (gobble09) for 20% off


mzzthang- free gift with every purchase over $30.00 Coupon Code: HOLIDAY-09


smiss00- 20% Off Black Friday Thru Cyber Monday coupon: Get 20
OR
Buy 2 items get FREE US Shipping, Coupon Code: 2ITEMSFREESHIP, Half Off International Shipping given through paypal refunds.


creativehaven- each is good for a one time use and is good for a year:
CH-20% ~ 20% off all items
CH-30%~ 30% off all items
FBFANS for 25% off entire purchase
creativesupplies-
FREE SHIPPING
20% OFF ~ for entire purchase use code: 20% off


EmilyClaireCreations- 30% off your entire order, using coupon code HAPPYHOLIDAYS


WHSKR- FREE SHIPPING on all pins and dolls until 1st December 2009

Talented Tuesday- Dori of Sassy Clay Creations

Yup, time for another artist interview! This time it's Dori, one of my Plurk buddies. She does some amazing work with polymer clay; I'm in love with so much pretty stuff in her shop!



What's your name?
Dori Thompson

Where can you be found on the internet? (Website, Twitter, shops, blog, etc)
SassyClayCreations.artfire.com
sassyclaycreations.blogspot.com
http://www.plurk.com/sassyclayer

Describe yourself in five words.
Creative, Happy, Old, Bold, Colorful

If you were a color, what would you be?
RED

If you could live anywhere (or anywhen), where/when would it be?
On the coast of either Washington or Oregon, watching and listening to the waves whenever I wanted.

What is your greatest dream or goal?
I would have to say I accomplished most of my goals and my greatest dream right now is to not have arthritis.

What was your very first piece of art?
I remember a map of the US made out of salt and flour showing rivers and mountains. Did that in 4th grade.

How long have you been an artist?
Every since I can remember. As a child, I used to draw on everything.

If you sell your art, how did you get started?
I decided I wanted to try it when I got older. And here I am.

What is the strangest thing you've ever made?
An outhouse made with polymer clay. It has a working door, a toilet seat and a "Sears" catalog (instead of tp) inside.

Pick your favorite project/artwork- what is it and what inspired you on it? If you'd like to share, tell a little about the process you used from inspiration to
completion of that project.
My favorite always seems to be the next project that turns out the way I wanted it to. Sometimes they don't cooperate. I would have to say right now, it would be my clay mask I made for our Smoosher challenge. I didn't draw a picture of it, I just saw it in my head. There it is.


What kind of advice would you give to other artists?
I have always been very picky about my work and was very critical of my work. I took some art courses in college and learned from a very fine art teacher that I should not be so hard on myself. I learned. Don't let things get in the way. Don't become discouraged. Whatever it is, do it anyway or how will you know how very good you really are?

What is your favorite:
Color? Teal Blue
Quote? By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; Third, by experience, which is bitterest. ~ Confucious
Book? Wall-E
Character? (book or whatever) Edgar Allen Poe, Sean Connery
TV show and/or movie? I have more than one. Eureka, Fast Forward, Armageddon, Sleepless in Seattle just to name a few.
Season? Fall, and in second place would be Spring.
Food? Dungeness Crab
Animal? All of them except snakes, lizards and spiders.
Art medium and/or supply? Polymer clay and anything that can be used with it.

Kind of music I listen to when working with clay. Celtic, folk and relaxing music. It is easier to work when I am more relaxed.

Thanks for letting me interview you, Dori! :D

Silliness and tormenting my kitty

I'll do an art post soon, but right now I wanted to share the amusement that is my cat in antlers, and a few other funny pictures I've taken recently. ;)

First, Clarabell:

"Really, Mom? You're making me wear this dumb hat?"


"Maybe I can get Aunt Amy to take it off me if I act cute..."


"No such luck. I'll get you for this. I hope you like the "present" I left in the litterbox."


"I mean, antlers? Antlers? Couldn't it have been something more dignified?"

I love that Clara just sat there and took it! She glared and meowed a bit, but she mostly just sat there in Amy's arms giving me The Look. My cat is so lazy and good natured that even antlers don't cause her to get angry. I did reward her with a bunch of kitty treats, though. :)

Now onto other random pictures:

Our dustmop, sheep, and butterball. ... I mean, two dogs and a cat. Oh, and dad's boots which seem to enjoy hanging out with the fuzzbutts.


My best friend's cat? Thinks she's a parrot.


I was helping mom with decorations today and this is what I saw sitting on the dining room table:

My thoughts: "A cute fuzzy bear, okay. ...Wait, what's that below it? *looks closer* The battery pack sticks up its butt?! Where does mom find these things?"

And it's not funny, but I wanted to share my sad little tree I put on my desk today:

This little $3 Walmart (I think that's where Josh got it?) tree makes Charlie Brown's look like a great sequoia. I tried to fancy it up with a handmade skirt and ornaments, but it's still kinda sad. It just doesn't have enough branches. ...honestly, it looks pretty decent in the photo, but looking at it in person you can see all the gaps. I mean, it's pretty sad when you can fit a tree on your desk behind the keyboard.

I hope you enjoyed this silliness. I'll have to do this more often. ;)

What I'm thankful for

I figured in the spirit of a bunch of my teams and guilds doing Thanksgiving/Harvest-y things, I'd make a list of what I'm most thankful for. :)

Here's my list:
My fiancé, Josh:

That's an old picture, but it was taken right after he proposed two years ago so it's special. Josh is the most wonderful guy I could ever ask for- he's funny, he's sweet, he's artistic, he's intelligent, and he's so patient and supportive of me. I know he's always there for me and loves me as much as I love him. :) I love having a fiancé who can debate literature with me, knows about art supplies, and likes the same kinds of things I do. It really does help to be in a relationship with one of your best friends (and he was a good friend before we started dating). And he's cute! Have I mentioned how adorable he is? ;)

My friends:

That's a picture of me and my best friend Care. I loves her; for the past decade she's been my "Probably Evil" (haha, OotS reference) twin and the Pippin to my Merry. Seriously. Look:
She's like my sidekick (or I'm her sidekick- either one works, lol) and let's just say that seventy years from now, we're going to still be best friends, probably trying to cause chaos at the retirement home and running people over with our scooters. ;) She knows me better than anyone else and is always there for me- we also share a lot of the same interests, so we can be geeky together. It's always good to have someone who is always up for dressing in costumes with you. ;)
The other friend I want to mention is one who hasn't been in my life all that long (only a few months) but I consider her one of my closest friends and I can't imagine her not in my life now- that's Ruthie. She's my best online friend and my elf-sister, and she is always there for me with support, a sympathetic ear, and is a wonderful person to bounce ideas off of. We have so much in common and we can relate to each other so well; she's the one person I can really talk about my health problems with because she understands and, while hers are different, can definitely relate. That just means so much to me, to have someone who is not only sympathetic and caring (Josh, my sister, and Care fit that bill, too), but who also understands.
I'm also really thankful for my other friends, of course, including my Plurk buddies, FAE friends, and street team friends because those guys keep me sane in a time when I don't get much social interaction outside the house. Thank goodness for the internet!

My sister:

My parents may not be very supportive of me, but my little sister is. She's so sweet and she's always been my best friend. Seriously, even as kids we never fought, although I did used to torment her by shutting the basement door on her and turning out the light. But what older sibling doesn't pick on their little sibling sometimes? ;) Really, we've always gotten along great and I love her very very much.

My furbaby Clarabell:

I love my kitty so much! She's always so affectionate and ready to give me headbumps and purrs when I need them (or when she wants to give me them, of course, but she's a cat so I know she has her own schedule, lol). I love her even though she thinks kitty bonding time is whenever I'm in the bathroom (since that's where her food bowl is, it's her favorite place). She's so silly!

My creativity:
Art keeps me sane and (generally, hopefully) lets me pay my bills while I can't work. I don't know how I would have been able to take this much time off from work to recover if I didn't have my art, Josh, and my parents (granted that one's kinda begrudgingly, but hey, at least I have a roof over my head and food to eat) supporting me. I don't always feel up to making things, but when I do it really does help me feel better. :) I want to always make things, and I love that selling things means I get to share it with people. I think it's so cool that there are people all over the world who have some of my art! :D

Trove Thursday- Woodland Princess

The theme for this week's Trove post is inspired by this charm (the one in the first spot below) by my friend Ruthie- actually, this is a circle of inspiration because that charm was inspired by the bracelet she made custom for me. I'm beginning to think that Ruthie really is turning into my elf-sister, and soon she'll be making almost as much woodland stuff as I do. Mwahaha. ;)

So here's my Woodland Princess Trove:


1.) "Woodland Princess - Cell Phone Charm, Zipper Pull, or Key Chain" by kstreasures.
2.) "Original watercolor painting Wood Earth Fairy" by meredithdillman.
3.) "Handpainted local wool roving MIRKWOOD 3 oz." by wildhare.
4.) "ACEO 044 Elven Princess - Limited Edition Print" by villemoart.
5.) "Wood Elf - Kanzashi Silk Flower Hair Clip" by PetalMix.
6.) "WOODLANDS GREEN ELF HOODIE SWEATER SCARF // RECYCLED UPCYCLED // SCOODIE SKOODIE // CRAZY QUILT" by designedbyginalouise.
7.) "Genuine Malachite Antiqued Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings" by JewelledTrellis.
8.) "Elfs Haven - Print" by Mizzdraconia.
9.) "Elven Leafy Necklace" by Avealina.

New cartilage earring (and photography) style!

I'm really happy with how this new style of cartilage chain earrings came out- amazingly what was in my head worked in practice! ;)

Instead of just having the one chain connecting the lobe to the cartilage, this one has two:

I'm really loving this one- the colors, the shape, the size. :) I wanted a way to expand on my cartilage earrings (since they're one of the main things I make), so I thought a "deluxe" or more intricate version would be cool. Hopefully people will like these ones, too.

I do have a question for you guys- what do you think of the orbs in the photo? Since it's colder now I'm going to be taking pictures indoors, and I found a great spot in my sister's room (and her walls match my mannequin, lol) with good light in the early afternoon. When I got pictures that day the light was coming in at just the right level to give me orbs and I think it's neat and all faerie-ish. However, I'm not sure if it makes the picture look professional and like something someone would want to buy. What do you guys think?

I'm using that photo as the main one on the Artfire listing because my sister said she liked that photo best, but on Etsy I'm using the plain photo with no orbs.

I'm just trying to come up with good ideas to make my photos look unique. I noticed this week as I was going through older listings for earrings to remake that my photo quality from '08 was terrible. They're so much better (and so much clearer!) now, but I'm still no photographer, so I'm trying to think of prop ideas and things to give my photos a unique, fantasy look. Orbs may help with this (and since I have Paintshop, I can edit some in on the days the light doesn't give me them naturally).

I think I also might want to get some further away photos, so you can see how they look with more than just the ear closeup. :)

And as I'm typing this my sister's best friend mentioned that it would be cool if I put a feather in my mannequin's hair because feathers are popular now. I have feathers (I collect them whenever I can find them), so that sounds like a great idea!

Talented Tuesday- AJ of Erthe Fae Designs

Hooray! Time for another interview with one of my favorite artists! :) This interview is with AJ of Erthe Fae Designs; she's one of my FAE friends (as in one of the regulars in the Fantasy Artists of Etsy team thread in the Etsy forums), and she's also the only elven bellydancer I know. ;) She makes lovely jewelry, so definitely check out her shop!



What's your name?
AJ Reardon

Where can you be found on the internet? (Website, Twitter, shops, blog, etc)
http://erthefae.etsy.com
http://erthefae.blogspot.com
http://www.erthefae.net

Describe yourself in five words.
Quiet and unassuming, unless dancing.

If you were a color, what would you be?
Green.

If you were a "Dungeons and Dragons"/fantasy character or creature, what would you be? (Can be a specific character, or something general like "elven bard", "centaur", etc).
I think I'd be a dryad, and whenever adventurers came to me for help with something in my forest, they'd have to pay me in beads.

If you could live anywhere (or anywhen), where/when would it be?
Right where I am. Arizona suits me well. I like the weather, I like the annual gem shows, and I like the friends I have here.

What is your greatest dream or goal?
To be Tucson's foremost teacher of Tribal-Style Belly Dance. It's a very specific goal, and one I'm actively working towards. There's no better feeling than being on the path to achieving your dreams.

What was your very first piece of art? How long have you been an artist?
My first piece of jewelry that I remember making was a two-strand necklace made with beads from cheap kiddie necklaces I'd cut up. I was probably 8-10 at the time. But I didn't start beading seriously until 11 years ago.

If you sell your art, how did you get started?
I was 16, the holidays were around the corner, and I knew my allowance wouldn't be enough to buy nice presents for my family and boyfriend. I'd been trying to find a job, even temporary Christmas retail work, for months, and no one wanted me. There was a store at the mall who had beads for good prices, so I decided to make a few necklaces to sell on eBay. Within months, I was totally hooked on beading, and what was supposed to tide me over until I had a "real job" became my main focus. I've still never held down a day job.

What is the strangest thing you've ever made?
Definitely Cthulhu, In All His Hideous Glory. He's a 7" plush Toy Vault Cthulhu, heavily embroidered with seed beads.

Pick your favorite project/artwork- what is it and what inspired you on it? If you'd like to share, tell a little about the process you used from inspiration to completion of that project.
Same as above! He's weird, but he's my favorite. Years ago, when looking at the beaded dolls of other artists, I had the idea that it would be fun to bead my plush Cthulhu. But I naturally shy away from projects that large, so it stayed in the back of my mind until this Summer, when it was announced that the Bead Retreat I was attending was going to host an Ugly Beaded Project contest.

Now, I have a natural aversion to the idea of wasting my time making something ugly on purpose, so I wasn't going to participate. But then I thought "Hey, Cthulhu is ugly, and I've always wanted to bead him..."



Cthulhu is largely inspired by the beaded Beanie Babies created by my friend Dot Lewallen (http://speediebeadie.blogspot.com/). I studied pictures of her Beanies, then started work on mine. I picked out the beads along the way, based on what tickled my fancy at the moment. I started out with very few ideas as to exactly what I'd do where, with the exception of the details on the wings.

I spent approximately 2 months on Cthulhu, beading almost every day. He's done entirely in beaded backstitch, using Japanese and Czech seed beads in several sizes, Japanese bugle beads, and Czech pressed glass.

What kind of advice would you give to other artists?
Make what you love. Don't go chasing after the latest trend on Etsy. Choose your niche and try to be the best in it. Others will be drawn to your originality, creativity, and love for what you make.

What is your favorite:
Color? Green.
Quote? It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Book? American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
Character? (book or whatever) I don't think I could even narrow it down to a Top 10.
TV show and/or movie? Babylon 5 and MirrorMask.
Season? February and March, when Winter gives way to Spring. It's a wonderful time in Arizona. Gem show, Ren Faire, and wild flowers in bloom.
Food? Really depends on my mood, but usually something involving chocolate.
Animal? Pembroke Welsh Corgis.
Art medium and/or supply? Beads! Probably a tossup between size 11 Japanese seed beads and 4mm Swarovski bicone crystals. I use a lot of both.

I hope you enjoyed this Talented Tuesday post. Thanks, AJ, for letting me interview you! :)

We apparently have a turtle dog

My sister has lost her mind and decided that it would be a good idea to put the dog bed on one of the dogs. Poor Chloe had no idea what was going on and kept running in circles, lol! I took two videos, but I apologize if they didn't turn out too well; I'd never tried to record things with my camera before, and I have no idea if the uploading and embedding works. *fingers crossed!*

Anyway, I wanted to share the silliness:




I love that in the one it looks like she's dancing to the Jeopardy theme. ;)

Art update- costumed cats, dryad horns, & faerie earrings

Time to share the stuff I've been working on this week. :)

First, the cat dolls I'm making for a trade with one of my POEST teammates:

I'll get a better picture of them when I'm done the third doll (a mermaid) I'm making for her, but I wanted to share these two first. :) They're based on her two cats; one is slightly larger and a bat-cat, and the slightly smaller one is a devil-cat. I really really like how these came out (I'm still fiddling with the cat pattern I created, but I think I've almost got it to where I want it to be), and I think when I'm done with all the dolls I have to make for Christmas and trades, I'm going to make a line of cats in different costumes for my shops. I know I want to make an Egyptian cat first, but I'll have to think of other ones I want to do. Do you guys have good ideas for costumed cats?

The other thing I made this week was this custom earring:

I'll have to find more of these fairy charms; they're the perfect size for my cartilage chain earrings.

Speaking of cartilage chain earrings, I've been coming up with a new design, but I haven't finished those yet, so those'll probably be in the next update. ;)

And last, my most recently listed item are these Dryad horns:



They're here in my Etsy shop and here on Artfire.

They started out on a whim- I just wanted to mix together some of my new Pearl-Ex powders on a pair of clay horns (I think they started off just black clay), so I grabbed a couple powders (red, orange, and gold, I think) that ended up merging really well into a coppery-color. Then I added the spiral and thought "Hmm... this part would look good green", and when I showed them to Josh, he said how they looked all tree-like and I should paint ridges on them. Unfortunately, you can't see the ridges so well in the photos, but they look like bark now. :) Next time I'll have to scratch some lines into them, too, to make them look even more tree-like.

Man, I love making fantasy things! :D

Next up are lots of dolls- that mermaid for that trade, my friend wants a Luigi (from Mario Bros) and some sort of princess for her grandkids, then I think I'm doing a trade where I'm making two Pokemon, then a kobold for Josh from his webcomic, and I have a few more dolls to make as gifts, as well as something for the swap my FAE team friends are doing. I still have to figure out what I want to make for that, though- I have a bunch of ideas and I don't know which to go with!