Trove Thursday- Whimsical Seashore

Here's the extra Trove Thursday post I promised. Yes, yes, it's Friday now, but I wasn't home last night to post it then. This theme is Whimsical Seashore and I featured members from three of my street teams: EtsyFAST (fiber arts), FAEteam (fantasy artists), and the Createability team.


If you're viewing this post before 10:30pm Saturday (the 29th), you can find the treasury by clicking here. If you're reading this after that, click the image to see it full-sized and find the shop names that way, or just scroll down and click the links I provide.

The "Alternates" are the ones that the curator of the treasury picks that don't show up for anyone else (at least not until they're switched in), so you get a top secret peek at them here. I even edited in the not-faded-out version from my poster sketch so you can see them better. ;)

1.) "Sea Shell Fairy Wire Wrap Necklace" by tangocatgems.
2.) "Fairy Spell Mermaid Shell Pearl Labradorite Pendant" by mermaidencreations.
3.) "Mermaid Resting Hand Mirror" by JenniferArndt.
4.) "Ocean Waves Toe Ring" by 88Links. (Alternate)
5.) "Take Me to the Beach Memory Wire Bracelet" by FaerieKat.
6.) "Blue-green natural paua abalone shell earrings with pearls and crystal" by cindylouwho2.
7.) "Storming the Beaches Mermaidish Witch in Foam Blue" by Carapace.
8.) "Starfish Thinking of You Card" by webescrapbooking. (Alternate)
9.) "BEACHCOMBER alpaca blend top" by travelingrhinos.
10.) "print - The Bright Blue Sea" by muddipuppy.
11.) "Cotton Crochet Baby Sun Hat with Starfish in Natural and Blue" by moandozzy.
12.) "MERMAIDS GARDEN / Handspun Art Yarn / by Fiber Artist GERRY / real seashells / MADE TO ORDER" by dreamfiber. (Alternate)
13.) "Seascape II - Candle Reflections" by cherylspurplecow.
14.) "Small Jonah the Whale Poke-Me-Knots" by sarabeedesigns.
15.) "Caribbean Memories Dishcloth Facecloth or Washcloth handknit in Punta Cana - Deep Ocean Blue" by ennadoolf.
16.) "Ocean Tide - hand painted silk georgette luxury scarf" by MuseSilkPaintings. (Alternate)

Trove Thursday- Dads are awesome

I think I'm going to end up posting two Trove Thursday posts this week since I snagged an Etsy treasury earlier today that I want to feature, but I also almost forgot that this week's Blogfire carnival theme is "Dads", so that's the one I'll post first.

I'd really be kicking myself if I missed this theme because my dad is awesome and deserves random recognition. ;) He's my movie/book/fishing/geocaching buddy because we have so many of the same interests- I may not get along too well with my mom, but I adore my dad. He was the one who got me into Lord of the Rings twenty years ago by reading me The Hobbit when I was six (I still remember the voices he used to do for all the characters. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure the reason my LotR alter-ego is the daughter of Thranduil is somehow because of my dad reading the book to me, lol), then FotR a few years later. And the LotR movies? Yeah, I saw them a whole bunch with him, and since dad likes a lot of the same kinds of movies and subjects I like, that means we watch a lot of literary and historical stuff together (Mom makes fun of us for watching BBC versions of Jane Austen and Victorian lit novels). And the literary thing extends to books, of course: we both love British literature. Then there's our shared love of the outdoors- my dad and I love to go fishing in his old canoe (that thing is older than I am!) and stroll through nature, and we've recently started geocaching, as well (our latest cache hunt story can be found here). I have a lot in common with my dad, to say the least. :)

And since this is a Trove Thursday post, that means I get to share awesome handmade items that I found on Artfire and Etsy and want to promote. ;) Click the images to be taken to the listings.


"Hiking Fishing Camping Print Checkbook Cover" by SewBizzyGifts.


"Frog Hollow window top Hobbit door" by OzarkKountryCrafts.


"Writer - CHARLES DICKENS - Vtg Portrait as Collage - ART SIGN" by Funcky-Love-Designs.

And I know this is on Etsy rather than Artfire, but since it's an LotR quote and geocaching-related, it's awesome and deserves to be included:

"not all who wander... Hand Screened T-shirt" by midTownTees.

Go check out those shops and if you're interested in the Artfire Blogfire guild, you can find the blog here. :D

Book review- Glimmerglass

Book review time! Last month I was lucky enough to snag a book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program: Glimmerglass by Jenna Black.



For a quick summary, Glimmerglass by Jenna Black is the first book in the Faeriewalker series. It's about a teenaged girl named Dana who is half human/half fae, which makes her a Faeriewalker- one of the extremely rare (the book makes it sound like they crop up once in a lifetime- the last one had been 75 years previous, I believe) individuals who can move between Earth and Faerie. Faeriewalkers have their own special abilities, but since Dana doesn't come into them in this book, we only really get to hear what they can do rather than see it. In this book she's little more than a pawn, with her fate in other peoples' hands and people trying to kidnap her for their political gain. Her family life isn't much better what with an alcoholic mother and a father she never knew being the cause of all this chaos. It's much better and more interesting than that sounds, though, I promise! I just really don't want to give too much away.

I was a bit iffy when I first opened this book, because teenage protagonists can be hit-or-miss, and a book written in the first person about a teenager is in even more danger of said character being unappealing. I'm glad to say that I had absolutely no problem with Dana- she's well-written and balanced. She may be a pawn, but she refuses to take that sitting down, and on the flip side, she's not so strong-headed or self-centered that the reader doesn't like her. And yes, she's a teenager, but she really does sound like she should; when she gets upset or angry, she reacts the way you'd expect someone in her situation to react.

As for the plot, I really liked that, too. There was action, but also a lot of character interactions, so that was a good balance. It started off a bit slowly but once the plot picked up, I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know what happened next. We don't get to learn a lot about all of the cast of characters, but the ones that do take center stage are detailed and even get some character development. My favorites are Kimber (a female fae who becomes Dana's best friend) and Keane (the son of Dana's bodyguard)- I'm hoping they show up in the next book because both of those characters actually interested me more than the main one and I want to know more about them. :) It did seem kind of odd to me that even though the Fae apparently don't have many children, so many of them are around the same age as the main character- I think I must just be used to other fantasy things where elven-types age differently (more slowly, I guess).

I was honestly afraid this book would read like Twilight (I couldn't even get through the first few chapters of that garbage), which made me worried about the writing and plot since it's a young adult book about a teenage girl and a supernatural twist. Once again, I had no need for worry- this book is very well-written and I could find absolutely nothing wrong with the writing style; it was witty, creative, descriptive, and nothing was wrong with the wording or pace (I'm quite picky about stuff like that, to say the least). I was even impressed when I only noticed one typo in the entire book; often early reviewer books aren't fixed completely yet, so that was a nice surprise. This really has nothing to do with the review, but I figured I'd point it out anyway since it made my word-obsessed self happy, lol.

Overall I really liked this book and am eagerly awaiting the next one in the series- I'll give this 4 stars out of 5. I think that once the main character starts to control her own life, the next books will be even better.

Art update- inspired by my writing muse

Another small update, but I have been busy this week; the main thing I'm working on is a crochet project, but I unfortunately can't blog about that yet. Sorry for the tease. ;)

Here's what I can share, though:
Jewelry:

This "Messenger's Feather" cartilage chain earring was, not surprisingly considering the name, inspired by my writing muse: these are his colors and the feather and red bead represent the feather-embedded-in-amber pendant that all the priests of his order receive. I'm amused that this muse insists on giving me art, but I won't knock it since it means I actually work in warm colors. ;) (It can be found here on Etsy and here on Artfire.)


Geeky time! Yup, more dice, this time a bracelet/anklet in pretty pinks and purples. What can I say, dice are fun. ;) I really need to get my fiance to make me beads out of real dice, though, so I can use other multi-sided dice besides D6s. Anyway, this one can be found here and here.

Writing:
Other than the mystery crochet, this was largely what I worked on this week, between blogging and working on my fantasy story/ficlets. My dad, fiance, and I went geocaching again this weekend and had a lot of fun- you can see the photos I took and read all about the adventure here.


I've also been doing a lot of work on my story and updated that blog; I decided that in between the backstory, I'm going to have Cyneric answer prompts/questions about random subjects. This week I tried to embarrass him by making him talk about love, but I'm not really sure if it worked. ;)

I'm having so much fun writing for this character because I get to come up with silly plots- right now I'm writing about the mischief he got into when he was younger while I wait for my fiance to draw up maps I need to finish the longer backstory (the downside of writing about a world he created). I know not many people are interested in reading random fiction, but hey, it gives me practice and I enjoy writing it, and that's really what matters. :)

That's it for this week- hopefully next week I'll have more art done to share. :) (Psst: art muse, you don't need to let the writing one take over all the time. I don't bite, I promise.)

Cute animal time!

The animals were being especially cute today, so I took some pictures and videos. The downside is that some of the photos are on my phone and I can't find the cord to connect it to the computer, so I'll just share the ones I got on the camera.

First, the stills:

That's Bella, my sister's shih tzu (still think she should change the name to "Ewok" or something) playing with her favorite toy: my cat's spinning mouse thing. Her nose is so short that she can't get it inside, so she'll just keep playing with this like the cat does (only longer because my cat's toy attention span is about 30 seconds).


Clarabell going "Hey, that's mine! ... Besides, what's the big deal? Dumb dog." Pay no attention to my random assortment of shoes.

Chloe, the older white dog, just seems confused:








The poor cat (she looks like a black shadow- ninja cat!) gets bumped out of the way. My dad and I are very amused.

Yeah, my family has a thing for adopting weird animals. The one dog is pretty normal but the other thinks she's a cat on springs (she can jump to the high places the cat can) and my sister's dog is just as crazy and apparently is also cat-like. My cat, on the other hand, puts up with all this craziness as best she can, mostly by staking out territory (ie the comfy chairs) so the dogs can't sit there. I'm really glad Clarabell is so good-natured!

Art update- cartilage earrings, hemp, costume sketch, and writing

Yup, another week where I didn't get a lot done. My sides have been really sore so while I'm trying to decide if I should get tests done or not (don't even get me started on health insurance and the "healthcare" system in this country), I haven't been able to work on much art or sit at the computer to catch up with street team stuff. :(

Anyway, I have worked on and listed a few things, so hooray there!
Cartilage earrings: if they look familiar, I hinted at both of these in an earlier post.

This one was inspired by Gondor and the White Tree in The Lord of the Rings, and the star is to represent the seven stars of the House of Elendil (and Gondor's flag). At least, I think that's correct; by now everyone should realize that I know far more about Rohan and Mirkwood than any of the other locations on Middle Earth, lol. This can be found here on Etsy and here on Artfire.

The other cartilage earring I listed this week is this one:

Hey, look, another thing LotR-inspired. ;) This one was inspired by Fangorn Forest: the greens and browns represent the Ents and the trees, and the blue is for the rivers that flow through the forest (and Ent-draught, I suppose). Before I had a chance to blog this, it sold, so I only have it listed on Artfire right now. I'll be remaking this and a few other earrings this week, so it'll go back up on Etsy soon, too.

Hemp jewelry:

"Red and orange hemp bracelet or anklet - Summer Flame"
Only got this one bracelet listed this week, but I have a few more queued up. ;) You can find it here on Etsy and here on Artfire.

Drawing
This drawing is the only art I really finished this week (since I made the jewelry last week).

It's a sketch for my next costume; as soon as my sides start feeling better enough for me to work on art for myself, I'm going to start crocheting the tunic and sleeve. I largely drew this for myself so I wouldn't forget what I wanted to do, but I wanted to share it, too. :)

I'd love to make some of the leathery bits this summer, too, but I don't know if I'll have the money for those supplies; I may have to do something with what I already have. I'm planning on enlisting my fiancé to help with the armor and bow, but I think I can make a quiver myself. As for the boots, those depend on which Order of the Stick cosplay I'm going to be making first so they'll work for both costumes. If I make Haley, I'll get brown boots, if I make Kyrie, I'll get green. I'm leaning more towards Kyrie, so if I can find them, I'll probably get the green boots first. I've also been sorta planning out the Pit (from Smash Bros) costume I'd like to make and how I can do all these as cheaply as possible, but so they still look really nice.

If anyone has white angel wings, a white chef's apron, a long green wig, or a wood longbow (fake is preferable, I think) they want to get rid of (or know a good place to find them), let me know! ...yes, I realize what a weird group of items those are. ;)

Writing:

I didn't do a whole lot of new writing, but I did do some editing to my fantasy story and got the next part posted to Cyn's blog. My writing was much the same with my D&D game: I added more to the plot I had already started, but I'm waiting on the storyline to advance before I can write more.

Presenting Pretties- Critter Crafts

Yup, the Stalkers Guild on Artfire is featuring one of our own again- this time it's Critter Crafts, which I guess makes this a "Presenting Pets" post. ;)

As someone who has always been ruled by pets (because a pet-parent knows that no one owns a pet- if anything, they own us), I'm loving the items in this shop! Here are some of my favorite items:

Fish and Bird Catnip Toys

Upcycled Fish-shaped Cat Feed Mat


Camouflage Bone Dog Toy


If you're looking for handmade pet toys and accessories, you can find Critter Crafts here. And hey, if you're interested in joining the Stalkers Guild and are a member of Artfire, you can find the guild here.

Art update- a few geek-inspired jewelry things

My health has been kicking me around this week, so I wasn't as productive with making and listing things as I'd like to be. I'm hoping I'll start feeling better because there's so much stuff I want to work on!

Here are my creations from this week:

This crocheted bracelet/anklet is called "Eye in the Trees" because it reminds me of stories of glowing eyes staring at unwary adventures from deep in the forest. It's on green hemp cord, which is a new thing for me, and I just really love those beads. :) It can be found here on Artfire and here on Etsy.


Yup, something geeky- dice! I'm not too keen on these beads, though, because they're all wonky and have the side with one dot blank, so I'm hoping Josh can start making me beads out of real dice soon. I'd have to charge more for those (dice aren't cheap- I think they're about $1 or $1.25 each now), but real dice are much better than these from the craft store. Plus then I can start using something besides D6s. ;)
Anyway, this bracelet/anklet can be found here on Artfire and here on Etsy.

The only other thing I worked on this week are cartilage earrings- I haven't edited photos yet, so here's a sneak peek at what they look like:

The one on the right is one I remade, but the other four are new and somewhat geeky. The first is inspired by Fangorn Forest (LotR), the second is inspired by my writing muse, the third represents Gondor (LotR), and the fourth is a random Wood Elf earring. I'll give you guys a better look at these soon! :)

As for writing, I only had a chance to do a little bit for the Dungeons and Dragons game that I'm running and came up with a little bit of info about a centaur who's apparently good friends with my main wood elf NPC.

So as you can see, I wasn't up to doing much this past week. Here's to hoping I'm able to be more productive soon! *fingers crossed!* I am amused, though, that my writing muse actually let my art one take over long enough to let me work in blues and greens again! Since he was good, I let him inspire the one earring. ;)

Edit: Oh! I forgot to mention that my talented jewelry-maker friend Brandi featured me on her blog! Check it out! :D

Trove Thursday- Step into the Enchanted Elven Forest

I've been working on a design for a new Renfaire costume (once I finish the sketch, I'll post it) and since that means Wood Elf clothing and accessories have been on my mind... you guys get a related Trove Thursday post. ;) This week's theme is Step into the Enchanted Elven Forest.


You can click the image to view it larger, but you can also find it here for quite awhile because it's a Treasury East and those don't expire. Most of these fantastical items are by my FAE (Fantasy Artists of Etsy) teammates, but a few are some random talented artists I threw in, as well. (Psst- you guys in that treasury who aren't in the team- you should join us.)

Here's the list of who's featured this week:
1.) "Woodland Mini Cloak" by CrystalKittyCat.
2.) "Complete Leather Elven Package" by mojoleather.
3.) "Woodland Leaf Cuffs in Brown and Gold" by AncientGrove.
4.) "Lothlorien Spring Forest Earrings" by Thyme2dream.
5.) "Mistress of the Secret Forest -- OOAK fantasy necklace" by ErtheFae.
6.) "Tribal Goddess, Tribes of Deep Earth Collection, recycled leather halter top." by tahnaya.
7.) "Green Ivy HAIR WREATH ... Woodland Faerie - Nature Gypsy Bride - Goddess - Fae - Fairy RING" by Alteredevents.
8.) "Copper Filigree Cuff Woodland elf" by tangocatgems.
9.) "Canopy - Chainmaille and Crystal Necklace" by youvegotmaille.
10.) "Custom Order Bow and Quiver" by Ladynarf.
11.) "Green Feather Artifact Pendant" by mermaidencreations.
12.) "Woodland Leaves Earrings" by 88Links.
13.) "2 green 16 -18 X 2 inch (40.5 - 46 X 5 cm) Real Human Hair Extensions" by Puppycatmeow.
14.) "Wood Nymph Circlet" by VimaSunrider.
15.) "Brown Woodland Pants - Eco Fashion - Elvish - Forest - Faeriworlds - Dance - Pixie - Medium" by Onanya.
16.) "Grassy Mama Leaf Pouch" by ButterflyEffect. (I have one of her pouches and I love it!)

Random fandom meme game - join in!

One of my livejournal friends posted this and I really wanted to share because it's geeky fun. Please join in and guess, then go do this game on your blogs because I really want to guess what you guys pick. :)

Pick 20 movies/books/video games and put their summaries from Better than it Sounds and, WITHOUT CHEATING, have your friends guess.

1.) A prince must pick up litter in order to make up for his father's alcoholism. (Katamari Damacy, guessed by Zabby on Facebook)

2.) A blacksmith's rich girlfriend gets kidnapped by zombie pirates, and he goes to rescue her with the help of another pirate who is not a zombie but wears eyeliner. And it's based on a theme park ride. (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, guessed by Cecily and Niere)

3.) You become the indentured servant of a raccoon. Your neighbors randomly hand out pianos, computers, and beds as rewards for completing minor chores. (Animal Crossing, guessed by Niere)

4.) A short guy who plays the banjo is convinced to go into show business. Along his way to Hollywood, he teams up with a struggling comedian, a portly, bad-tempered would-be actress who knows karate, a plumber with a chicken fetish, and other oddballs. He also has to avoid a restaurateur who really wants the short guy to be his new spokesperson. (The Muppet Movie, guessed by Ruthie)

5.) A guy minding his own business gets roped into reclaiming a mine. (The Hobbit, guessed by Zabby on Facebook)

6.) Bad Ass improves diplomatic relations with Denmark by killing a man who lives in his mother's basement. Then kills the guy's mother, and eventually dies fighting a grouchy miser. (Beowulf, guessed by Zabby on Facebook)

7.) The trophies are brought to life again, only this time there's an actual plot. It mostly involves trophies being brought to life to fight each other. (Super Smash Bros Brawl, guessed by Josh)

8.) A group of bored people walk to visit the site where somebody died. On the way, they tell stories in hopes of winning food. (The Canterbury Tales, guessed by Josh)

9.) A teenage girl is drafted into her grandfather's job, which conflicts with her efforts to save a handsome young man from his new guitar. (Soul Music by Terry Pratchett, guessed by Cat. Well, she guessed a translation, but since I know she knows Discworld as well as I do, she could have said anything and I'd have given it to her, LOL!)

10.) Ordinary man from an ordinary planet (which has recently been torn down) goes galaxy- and dimension-hopping with a hot scientist, a perpetually unhappy robot, an alcoholic daredevil, and a narcissist with two heads and three arms. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, guessed by Zabby on Facebook)

11.) Two Brits are trapped in a town where puzzles are Serious Business. (Professor Layton and the Curious Village, guessed by Niere)

12.) Centuries after the prequel, a reincarnation of aforementioned boy rides around on a boat. The boat talks. (Legend of Zelda: WindWaker, guessed by Josh)

13.) A baby is switched at birth, which causes great problems later on. Meanwhile, a cynic with a fondness for antique cars, a rare book dealer, a Granola Girl, a man who breaks things, one of the last witch-hunters in Britain and the witch-hunter's landlady attempt to prevent four rather sinister bikers from causing The End Of The World As We Know It. (Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, guessed by Haffina)

14.) A misogynist addicted to smoking and cocaine lives together with an ex-army doctor with a mysteriously migrating injury. Together, They Fight Crime! The Big Bad is a math teacher. (Sherlock Holmes, guessed by Cat.)

15.) Girl talks to animals and fights giant metal birds with human heads and later falls in love with her teacher, who is twice her age. And her father actually has horns. (Wild Mage Quartet by Tamora Pierce, guessed by Cecily)

16.) A bored boy drives a toy car through an education-themed world, which nonetheless has no rhyme or reason. Because he has nothing better to do, he goes to rescue two princesses who were locked up by their stepbrothers. Accompanying him are a blowhard insect and a dog that can tell time. (Phantom Tollbooth, guessed by Cecily- wow! I'm surprised someone got this!)

17.) King Arthur on a low budget. With many original additions. (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, guessed by Zabby on Facebook.)

18.) A grumpy man and a clingy jackass are sent to fight a dragon due to a zoning dispute. (Shrek, guessed by Haffina)

19.) Spoiled brat gets sent to boarding school, angsts a lot, comes out of the closet, angsts some more, and eventually becomes the most powerful person ever to have existed. Dies at the end of it. (The Last Herald Mage series by Mercedes Lackey, guessed by Cecily)

20.) A warrior, a wizard, a valkyrie, and an elf walk into a dungeon. Yellow wizard shot the food, and a ghostly voice won't let him forget it. (Gauntlet Legends, guessed by Josh)

I'll give some hints: Six are video games, four are movies, and ten are books; some of the books also count as movies, though, so that'll also help.

Art update- busy with all sorts of fantasy and artsy things

Time for another art post! There isn't as much in here as I thought there'd be because I've been working on a lot of half-finished projects (those'll be shared soon!), but here's some of the stuff I've done and/or listed this week:

***Horns***
I listed another two pairs of horns this week. The first is a simple pair of green-gold ones:

The pictures really don't do them justice; the green-gold is a lot more striking in person. :) They're here on Artfire and here on Etsy. (Edit: These sold to one of my awesome Plurk friends. I'll make another glittery pair soon!)

The second pair are my absolute favorite ones that I've ever made; I love these so much that I'm going to have to make a pair for myself!

These "Green Vine Forest Fairy Costume Horns" have little leaves and vines sculpted and carved out of clay and are attached to a horn shape I'd never used before, so I'm really digging these. You can find them here on Artfire and here on Etsy (the AF name is slightly different because google base doesn't allow the word "vine". Yeah, I think that's dumb, too).

***Jewelry***

I made this as a custom order for one of my awesome repeat customers. :) I really like how the blue and silver looks with the castle- it's pretty! I know the upper post looks weird; the earring was made for the right ear and my mannequin doesn't have holes in that cartilage, so I had to tuck it under her hair.


"Black and white hemp necklace - Ice Goddess" is made from white, clear, and black glass beads, a pewter goddess charm, and white hemp cord. It can be found here on Artfire and here on Etsy.


"Summer Simplicity", another wood and hemp bracelet/anklet here on Artfire and here on Etsy.


And this is my favorite hemp piece of jewelry I've made recently- it's called "Muse's Inspiration". This necklace was inspired, oddly enough, by my writing muse, who has a tendency to take over when my art muse should be in control. I made this in warm colors (reds, oranges, and browns) and in an ornate but masculine style, as befits his inspiration. It's here on Artfire and Etsy (once again I had to change the name on AF; this time because that site doesn't allow apostrophes in the title).

***Writing***
Yup, still been writing! The latest update to my fantasy story is Called by a God. Like always, you can find my writing blog here:

I've written a good deal more to the story, but I'm kind of stuck because I can't fine-tune the details until my fiance writes them; I'm fine writing small bits about my character and can do what I want, but I've gotten to the point where I need to know the political and religious goings-on of the world, and I can't make that up without going against the ideas said fiance already has. I'll help Josh create it, but a lot of that is going to have to come from him. That's what I get for writing about an aristocratic priest, I guess! When I played street rats, I never had to worry about knowing that kind of thing. ;)