So many photos!

I've been working on getting all of the photographs done for the 2007-08 Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure challenge. 50+ items, 5+ images per item... it's a lot of photographs. I'm almost done though, yay! Of course, then I have to edit them all... But all this hard work is for a good cause, and well worth it!

I haven't beaded as much as I'd like this week. I got all the beads picked out for the Phoenix Feathers necklace, only to arrive at my friend's new place for the Wednesday game and realize that he had no light in his apartment! I'm hoping to get it started tomorrow, and finished in time for Monday's update. I also plan to make some new earrings for the update, and maybe another spiral bracelet.

Yesterday it started raining, and today has been very grey and very rainy. I love this weather! About an hour into tonight's photography, I was roasting from being under those lights, so I just opened the front door and let the cool air wash over me. It felt wonderful.

Last night we finished our final chapter in Chinese class! On Tuesday we all perform the skits that serve as our finals, and after that it's all review. Unless I bomb the skit, I'm pretty sure I'll be getting an A. Since I went into this with the idea that I'd probably only be able to manage a B, I'm really happy with how well I've done. I still get frustrated with all of the words and concepts that I don't know, but it's a lot of fun to be able to express myself even a little bit in another language... and to figure out how to say silly things like "I am DEATH PONY!!!" Thank goodness our teacher didn't ask what we were giggling about...

Woohoo, socks!

This weekend I finally gave in and placed an order with Sock Dreams. True to what I've heard, their shipping is quite quick... My socks arrived today. Hurray! Impatient thing that I am, I'm going to wear a pair to tonight's game. I'm torn between the over-the-knee lime green and the thigh-high black and grey stripes. Decisions decisions.

I just finished working on a great woven necklace using a polymer pendant. I need to track down the identity of the artist before I post it on the website tomorrow. I'm pretty happy with the necklace, so I'm looking forward to showing it off. I have two more woven necklaces planned for this week. Here's a little teaser: One of them will be named Phoenix Feathers.

The above earrings are Shadow Vines, which were part of this week's update. When I saw these black and white beads at Lois's booth back in February, I knew I had to have them. So did some other customers, though, so I only ended up being able to snag two. I'll have to get a full set of five or six sometime and do a necklace. I really love the black-and-white floral/leaf patterns that I've seen on a lot of clothing this year. It's just so elegant.

Mythological Beasties.

Pegasus Flight is the result of my realization that though my jewelry is fantasy-themed, right now I have a pretty limited amount of fantasy creatures represented. Mostly just faeries and mermaids, and then jewelry inspired by legends of dryads and naiads and salamanders and gods. Part of this is because it's a little hard to find good fantasy-themed focals. Most of them ARE faeries and mermaids. Plenty of dragons, too, but somehow I hog all of those to myself... Anyway, now that I've noticed the problem, I'm going to work on solving it. Oh, I'll still buy faeries and mermaids, because I love them, but I'm going to look for dragons and unicorns and pegasi and whatever else I can find.

The Pegasus charm in this necklace was a random buy at a random gem show in NY last year. I think the lampwork is from one of Laurie Byrne Smith's Random Bead-Freeing incidents, too, so it's a very random necklace. Ok, really, really random. Maybe this will ruin the mystique for you, but this is how the necklace happened:

I was running out of room for beads, so I decided to try to use up some beads that I only had a few of. Usually I do strand collages for that, but I wanted something quicker, so I decided to do a strung necklace or three. I was going through my blue beads, and then I went looking for blue focals, and I found a few. I really thought that this one needed something dangling below it. Originally I was thinking just some wrapped crystals, like in Pan's Grove, but then I saw the Pegasus and I was all "Heeeey...." The cobalt and the white are to match the bead, and the light sapphire and opal blue are to suggest the sky.

All of the pictures that I took of it have that weird glare at the center. I think a sunbeam must have been coming through my kitchen window at just the right angle, because I've never had that happen before. I'll try for a new image next time I'm doing photography.

So what mythical beast would YOU like to see worked into a piece of jewelry?

Cyber Monday Blues.

Cyber Monday is essentially a myth perpetuated by retailers who seem to want to convince us that it's a big shopping day. The sad thing is, most of the Cyber Monday advertising that I've seen is from large chain stores. It isn't enough that they have Black Friday, and in some cases are even open on Thanksgiving itself, now they want us to shop on-line after our holiday weekend is over. Well, bah on them.

I don't really have the blues about Cyber Monday not being an amazing day of sales for me... This is the Cyber Monday Blues post because I made three blue necklaces for this week's update. Next week I hope to have some earrings to compliment them, but after these and a custom-ordered blue badge holder, I need a few days off from blue. I also added two spiral bracelets and two pairs of earrings today. Maybe after seeing all of this week's new beauties, you'll find yourself inspired to do a little Cyber Monday shopping of your own!

Atlantean Treasure (pictured above) Necklace featuring a lampworked bead by Ann "Schermo" Baldwin.

Dark Jester This one also features a Schermo bead!

Pegasus Flight A Sterling Silver Pegasus and lampwork by Laurie Byrne Smith.

Spirit Dancer Black, rusty red and golden bronze iris look stunning together. Yum!

Lilac Whisper If you have a purple addiction to feed, this one is for you.

Shadow Vines As promised, gold filled earrings... And with lampwork by Lois Oster!

Rain of Blood Named after that Die Form song. Also gold filled.

By the way, the sky is turning awesome colors right now. It's been overcast all day, which makes for a gorgeous sunset. Wow. If I wasn't nice and cozy with a warm kitty in my lap, I'd rush out and take some pictures.

Busy Sunday.

The weird thing about being self-employed is that you don't always have a clear-cut work week and weekend. I've tried to put myself on schedules where I only do business stuff Mon-Fri and then fun stuff Sat-Sun, but it never quite works out. Sometimes I'm inspired to make something personal during the week, and sometimes I want to take a business project to D&D with me. I think that since my business is so heavily reliant on inspiration and creativity, it's important to work on what I'm moved to do, when I'm moved to do it, rather than putting myself on a set schedule.

That said, today is a busy day. I want to make some jewelry, but I've also got to put the finishing touches on my Chinese skit, and do some photography, and tend to some housework. I do hope to find time to work on some ornaments today, and make some gold-filled earrings for this week's update, which should happen tomorrow. There's also a woven necklace that I want to make, but I have a feeling that it won't be done in time to be added this week -- hopefully next week.

Please remember that today is the last day to take advantage of the Thanks2007 coupon code for 15% off your entire order. You can also say "Ornament me!" in the comments section of the shopping cart and receive a bonus beaded ornament with any order of $50 or more. These deals are not mutually exclusive! You can do both! Isn't life grand?

Hey... it's cold!

The weather finally decided to cool down to acceptable November levels, so of course I'm cold. I mean, I'm happy that it's not unseasonably hot anymore... but I'm COLD! I need to dig out all of those cool-weather clothes that I've been wanting to wear. They're probably buried under the shorts and tanktops that I've been wearing.

The nice thing about cold weather is that we went out and bought hot cocoa and marshmallows today. Ah cocoa, it's been way too long! As soon as I finish blogging it up over here, I'm going to make myself a mug... oh, and one for Chris, too. After all, he did take me to JoAnn's!

Our game today was canceled due to practically everyone having other plans. A bit of a bummer, because I wanted my EarthDawn fix, but what can you do? Unlike some people who also play at our local game store, I do believe that real life comes before gaming, and I don't begrudge any of my friends who had to work, fulfill family obligations, or do homework. I just wish they didn't all have to do it on the same day!

Anyway, deprived of our usual Saturday plans, I decided to make new plans. This involved taking Chris out for a nice Greek lunch and then dragging him off to JoAnn's. The store was crowded, but not unreasonably so. I picked up some bead magazines and holiday presents and such. I wanted more 30mm ornaments for the 2007 Holiday Ornament Give-Away, but they didn't have any. I did get some cute ornaments, but I think they're only 25 or maybe even 20mm.

Bead Unique, Bead and Button, and Beadwork all look good. Lots of things I'd like to try out. Beadwork has their Gem Show 2008 preview already, which tells me that I need to line up employment and start thinking about where I'm going to shop and what I want to buy. Luckily I won't need findings, but I'll need a lot of crystals and focals! I've put quite a dent in both collections this year, and I know I'll use a lot more up before February.

Hot cocoa, here I come!

Staying In.

When I was a kid, Black Friday was a fun time. Oh sure, the stores were crowded, but it was bearable. Mom and I used to go hit a department store or two. Nowadays, though, the shopping has become so competitive that it's not even worth it. When people go stand in line for 12 hours just so they can get a "door buster" at a particular store, things have grown out of hand.

So today I stayed home. I did consider heading over to the bead store, since they usually have sales on Black Friday, but Chris and I were both in a pretty lazy mood. It was so much nicer just to stay home, get a little work done, and have some fun. I finished the two bracelets that I'd started on Wednesday, and gave some thought to future projects.

Thanksgiving itself was good; we had a nice time with my family, and a great meal. My parents have a new cat, a half-grown Siamese mix named Loki. He's simply adorable. Of course, my own cats are pretty darned cute, too!

The Giving of the Thanks.

Ah, Thanksgiving. A day to spend with your loved ones, enjoying a feast, and thinking on what we're thankful for. For some it's also a day for football, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a family more apathetic about sports than mine. If the TV gets turned on at all today, it'll probably be to watch a DVD. Our holiday gatherings are small. Just my parents, my brother, Chris and myself.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. This month especially has been good to me: The Collaboration Exploration, the Art Bead Scene interview, the Anime NebrasKon auction. I feel like a lot of opportunities are opening up to me. In the meantime, Chris has taken his lay-off as a chance to pursue his dream of running a business with his best friend, and opportunities also abound for them. If there's one thing to be thankful for this year, that's it.

But there are lots of other little things to be thankful for! I found a great new finding supplier at the start of the year (thank you, Lois! I never would have checked them out without you!). Art Bead Scene has rekindled my love of designing with art beads, instead of hoarding them. Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure raised more money than ever this year. I read a lot of good books, played a lot of good games, and saw a lot of good movies. And there's still a little more than a month left in the year for further excitement. Best of all, I've been blessed with the good health to get out there and really enjoy my life.

I hope that this post finds all of you, whether you're reading it today, tomorrow, or sometime in the future, happy and blessed with a number of things to be thankful for.

As Promised, New Jewelry!

I just added the above bracelet, Brass Vein, to the website. It lies really comfortably on the wrist and looks great. I don't know why I've waited this long to make a bracelet like this for the site. I made one for myself a long time ago, and then stuck to using the technique for necklaces. Expect a couple more bracelets along these lines in the near future. The Woven Bracelets section really needs expansion, after all!

My findings order arrived yesterday! As a wholesale company, my supplier has a minimum... and I usually don't "need" enough stuff to meet that minimum, which means that after I take care of restocking everything that I'm running low on, I get to have a little fun picking out new things. This time around, I picked up two new colors of crystals, some really pretty new clasps, and Gold Filled findings! Yes, just in time for the holidays, I will have some lovely golden jewelry for sale. I expect to have some Gold Filled earrings in the next update, which should be on Monday.

Don't forget about my current ongoing sales: 15% off with the code Thanks2007 and a free beaded ornament with every order over $50, just mention the promotion in the comments section!

Shipping and Sales and Stuff, Oh My!

Ok, first of all, I spent some time today and managed to fix my shipping in PayPal. Basically I had to delete my profile and start all over. But while I was at it, I set up Priority and International shipping. I might add some more options in the future, such as a Pickup for anyone who knows me in person and wants to shop through my site. But for now, shipping should be working, which means no more Accidental Free Shipping Sale. It was fun while it lasted!

But! Don't despair! While I was fixing the shipping preferences, my awesome husband was putting the finishing touches on the latest feature for Erthe Fae Designs: Discount Codes! Simply enter the code in the box under the Add to Cart buttons on any item on my site, and the discounted price will be applied in the shopping cart. Furthermore, my site will remember your code until you close your browser, so you only have to enter it once. How cool is that?

So, to celebrate this awesome new feature, I'm having a Thanksgiving sale from now until 11:59PM EST. All items are 15% off! Just use the discount code "Thanks2007." And if you click this handy link, it should already be entered for you. How cool is that? It rocks to be married to a programmer!

And as to the "Stuff" mentioned in the title, yesterday I placed an order for a whole bunch of great findings and beads, all the better to make exciting products for the holidays! Because my findings supplier is in Phoenix, and because they have a great shipping department, my order is supposed to arrive today. Woohoo! I hope the UPS man arrives before I have to go to class. I just love receiving a box full of new supplies!

Finals are evil!

Whew. We just put the finishing touches on the second draft of our skit for Chinese. This is the first time in my life that I've ever had to do a final project, and I have to say... man, these things are a lot of work! I have so much more respect for college students now. We have to do the last draft of the skit over Thanksgiving break. No rest for the weary!

Today was super-busy, and I haven't had a chance to find batteries or an AC adapter for my camera yet, so I did not update the site. Shame on me, I know. But on the bright side, I also didn't have time to wrestle with PayPal -- don't get me started on them -- so the free shipping sale is still going on! And you can still get an ornament with every $50 purchase just by asking nicely! There should be new jewelry this week. I'm thinking Wednesday. How does Wednesday sound to you?

I am happy to announce that all three items which I sent to Anime NebrasKon sold this weekend! Hurray! Dylan-the-con-organizer said that they received much attention and drooling, which was a happy boost to my ego. I wasn't sure how my jewelry would go over at an anime convention, but now that I know, I'll have to consider exhibiting at one of the ones we have here in AZ.

Speaking of anime, I'm going to go veg out and watch some Mushishi. It's some freaky-weird show that our friends Alex and Casey insisted that we watched. I'd been burned out on anime for a bit, but this series is different enough that it piqued my interest. Afterwards it will be time to bead a bit -- I've sold 3 spiral bracelets in the past week, gotta start restocking!

Time to sit some dogs!

Just a quick note. Today I'm heading over to my friend's house to watch her dogs for the weekend. I intend to spend my internet-free time getting all sorts of things done while I keep the dogs company, including beading. The nice thing about dogs is that, unlike some pets, they don't walk all over your beadwork and play with your thread. At least, Border Collies don't. It'd be disastrous if they did!

I've got to go pack my over-two-nights bag now. I'll be back on Sunday!

Collaboration Exploration! AKA, my secret project!

At long last, my secret project is revealed! Last month, Melanie from Earthenwood Studios approached me to be part of a Collaboration Exploration. She and one other bead artist/jewelry maker would provide beads, and then all three of us would make jewelry using those beads. I love the challenge of working with beads that someone else has picked out (such as the Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure challenge!), so of course I jumped at the chance. The fact that I love Melanie's beads and had been daydreaming about playing with them some day certainly helped my decision. The third partner for this fun experiment turned out to be Pam Brisse from The Blue Between, a new-to-me artist, even more reason for excitement!

When my beads arrived at the start of this month, I was inspired right off the bat. I knew that I wanted to stack the lampworked flower, the poppy shield, and the poppy faerie to form the focal. At first I wanted to use the links as stations between sections of woven beads -- maybe a spiral rope -- but after a little bit of thought, I decided that was too obvious. Sure, they're meant to be links, but what if I used them as dangles, and hung accent beads from the second loop? I quickly decided on a Nepal chain, as it really compliments the floral theme of the beads. After that, it was just a matter of picking out the beads to use!

My first thought was to use black for the base, and do the flowers in purple and red, because I don't normally like to put green with red and purple. Then I said to myself, "Self, don't be a wuss. This is a challenge. Challenge yourself!" So green it was for the base. I've had these green metallic iris beads, with hints of red, for a while, and they were perfect for this piece.



One thing that I really like is how the lampwork spacer dangles ended up looking like pomegranates. Pam's spacers are rounder than most, which gives them the lush look of ripe fruit. I think that the whole piece has a decadent feel to it. I was going for a Victorian look that would be at home with Gothic styles, without yelling, "Hey! Look at me! I'm SPOOKY!" I think The Lady of the Manners would approve.

Partially inspired by Melanie's post earlier this week about her inspiration for the poppy beads, I've dubbed this necklace "Keeper of the Garden of Forgotten Memories."

Please visit Melanie and Pam's blogs to see their own beautiful inspirations with these beads!

(PS: The current photo is bad, but my camera is out of battery juice so I'll have to take a better one later! I'll edit it in when I get the chance)

The Free Shipping Just Won't Stop!

Neither Chris nor I could get PayPal's shipping system to work last night, so I had to e-mail their tech support. They say it will be 2-3 days until I got an e-mailed response, and it's hard to say whether or not that will fix it. So the Accidental Free Shipping Sale will likely continue on for the rest of the week... Possibly even through Sunday, since I won't be home on Friday or Saturday to act upon any e-mailed advice.

So, allow me to reiterate: now is the perfect time to shop at www.erthefae.com! All orders will receive free shipping and be entered into the drawing for a hand-beaded holiday ornament. All orders over $50 will come with a 30mm beaded ornament. And any order placed through Friday morning will be mailed Friday afternoon, so your jewelry will be in-hand next week!

With only a month and a half until Christmas, and less than a month until Chanukkah, it's time to think about the holidays! Jewelry makes a great gift for mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, aunts, nieces, girlfriends, co-workers, everyone! And don't forget something for yourself, to wear to holiday parties and gatherings!

Sale Continues!

I'm not going to have time to wrestle with PayPal's cart until after class tonight, so I am going to say that the Accidental Free Shipping Sale will run until at least 11pm EST tonight. That's right, there's still time to buy jewelry and get FREE shipping!

The above image is the bracelet Gloaming, which I added to the site yesterday. I don't think the image came out quite as well as Galactic Beauty did, but it's still very nice. The colors are dark, but the detail on the crystals and amethyst is superb.

I'm almost done with my secret beading project. I'm going to hopefully finish it tonight, and I'll post it on Thursday. Now I just need to think about what to pack for my dog-sitting adventure this weekend. Maybe a strand collage... I haven't done one of those in a while. I'd like to do one in purple, or maybe red. Possibly black and red.

In the meantime, I've got to study for tonight's Chinese test, print up the first draft of my skit, and take an exciting trip to the PO. I get to have all the fun!

New Bracelets!

Today I added two new items to the Strung Bracelets category: Galactic Beauty (seen above), and Gloaming. As you can see, I'm once again experimenting with the photos. I can't decide if I prefer the plain white backgrounds that I've been doing before, or the fancy backgrounds that I see a lot of people doing on Etsy. Anyone want to weigh in with an opinion?

Both of these bracelets use lampworked beads. I've really been using a lot of lampwork lately, which means I can justify buying more at the gem show in February. Of course, I'm also trying to diversify and use other art beads. I think lampwork will always be my primary addiction, because I love glass, but variety is the spice of life, and I really enjoy the effect I get by combining many different materials in one necklace.

If you haven't already, please scroll down to the post below and find out all about my Accidental Free Shipping Sale! Also, if you're looking for details on the 2007 Holiday Ornament Give-Away, please click here.

Accidental Free Shipping Sale!

This morning I had a sale come through my PayPal cart, and it hadn't been charged shipping... So I logged into PayPal and saw that currently all of my shipping values were set to 0.00. They've apparently recently made a lot of changes to their shipping center, and must have lost my shipping costs somewhere along the way. No big deal, I'll just set them back up, right?

Oh no, that would be too easy! PayPal is giving me a stupid error message whenever I try to set up my shipping. Since I have other things to do today (like update my website), I'm leaving it as-is. That means that I am happy to announce the first-ever Erthe Fae Designs Accidental Free Shipping Sale! Every purchase made at www.erthefae.com will receive free insured first-class shipping! This sale will continue until I fix my shipping cart... And just to make things fair, I won't even try until sometime tomorrow. That means that today is the perfect day to either do a little holiday shopping, or buy yourself a special "It sure is Monday!" present. All items purchased today will be mailed tomorrow!

Don't wait! Act now! Take advantage of PayPal's inability to calculate my shipping rates!

(another update coming later today with new jewelry!)

An Eventful Day!

First and foremost, the image says it all. Today, I was interviewed over at Art Bead Scene! Ok, actually, I was interviewed a bit ago, but I kept it under my hat so I could surprise everyone when it was posted. If you've been reading for a while, you know that I really enjoy the ABS community, so I was really thrilled to be invited to talk about myself and my business. Thank yous go out to Melanie and all the great gals at ABS!

And that was just the start of the day. One of my friends gifted me with a subscription to Simply Beads, and the December issue arrived today. I flipped through it and while most of the projects are very simple, they are also quite attractive. The designers have a good eye for color, balance, and trends. I've heard that there's going to be more seed bead work now that Barb Switzer has taken over as editor, so I look forward to that.

The afternoon was spent running errands, including mailing out the jewelry for the Anime NebrasKon auction. We hit Bookmans, where I picked up some old bead magazine issues, a cool encyclopedia of faerie lore (because I don't have enough already), and two books to read while I housesit next weekend. One is a collection of Lovecraft/Sherlock Holmes crossovers, which means that within one month's time, I went from having zero instances of A Study in Emerald to having two. The book also has stories by Barbara Hambly, the author who got me hooked on fantasy, and Poppy Z Brite. I think I like her, but I might just like her name. C'mon! Poppy Z Brite. It's the most awesome name ever. I wonder if it's a nom de plume? And if not, what does the Z stand for? Zinnia? Zenobia? Zelda? I could go look it up on Wikipedia, but every time I do that, I get distracted by twenty other things.

I realized today that I have nothing prepared for next week's update yet, which means that I need to be beading instead of playing on Wikipedia. I allowed myself to get too distracted by ornaments and anime conventions!

Swirling Flames.

These earrings are called "Swirling Flames" and they're also going to Anime NebrasKon. They're made with a pair of Joan "Mothwoman" Eckard's lampworked beads, in fact, the same beads that I used in All Hallow's Sprite. It seemed silly to have a pair of little lampworked beads just sitting around, and I happened to have four opal-red beads that matched the red in the lampwork nicely, so ta da, earrings!

In totally unrelated news, I finished reading Fragile Things this week. I have to say that it did get better. Not only is Feeders and Eaters (a really disturbing little story) in there, but I really enjoyed Sunbird, and a couple of the poems. And of course, the novella Monarch of the Glen is in there, so if you don't already have the Legends volume which contains that story, it's a good way to catch up with Shadow from American Gods.

In the back of the book there's a little interview with Neil Gaiman, and he talks about the next book he hopes to write, which will be about a boy who's raised in a graveyard. This interests me, as it's a similar theme to the overly lengthy background story I wrote for a roleplaying character a few years back. I never finished the story, and the game is long since over. In some ways that makes the story a waste of time, but on the other hand, I enjoyed researching and writing it. It's one of the things that rekindled my interest in writing anything longer than a one-page background.

I've really felt like writing again, but I don't know if I'll find the time. At the very least I'm house-sitting next weekend, so maybe I'll take the laptop and get some quality writing time in then. It's easy to get a lot done at my friend's house, since she has dial-up so I don't even bother trying to get on-line (yeah, I'm a snob). Maybe the writing that I do then will tide me over for a while, or it will inspire me to rearrange my schedule and make time for writing.

Camera Love.

So, as I said yesterday, I really love my new camera. I purchased a Canon PowerShot A570IS. It has lots of nifty features that I look forward to using, and if I just let it use the default settings, items on the black neckboard come out perfectly. I'm still having trouble with the white neckboard, and small displays, but that can easily be fixed. And even those images are super-sharp, they just have an annoyingly dark background.

The above necklace was photographed with the new camera yesterday; all I had to do was crop, resize, and do some quick background clean up. None of the usual playing with brightness and contrast and sharpening, and still not being happy. As for the necklace itself, it's called "Tears of the Earth Dragon." I made it for the Anime NebrasKon art auction. If you're going to be in or around Lincoln, NE the weekend after next, and you like anime and/or manga, you should definitely go to the convention. Not only will three of my jewelry pieces be up for auction, but my awesome friend Dylan is one of the organizers and he deserves your support. Keep up the good work, Dylan!

I have so much housework and homework to do today, hence getting the blogging done early. Chris and I decided on a time travel theme for our Chinese skit final, and we have to have the first draft of the script done by next Tuesday. That's on top of our existing homework, ugh. It's going to be some hard work, but I think it will be a really fun skit and will stand out from the crowd.

Ornaments!

As promised last week, here's an image of the ornaments involved in the 2007 Holiday Ornament Give-Away! Remember, any purchase of $50 or more made before December 15th 2007 is eligible to receive one of these beauties. Just say "Ornament me!" in the comments section of my shopping cart. This offer is good while supplies last, of course. Also, I will be giving away a larger, more ornate ornament, drawing to be held December 16th. All orders, regardless of size, will be placed into that drawing. You may also enter the drawing by posting about the Give-Away in your own blog, and contacting me with a blog link!

I updated the site today with a necklace called Eternity. You may recognize the Czech rectangles as being part of my September gem show haul. I really love how they look with the rectangular carving.

I'm not quite sure when the next website update will be. I may go back to Sundays, since I no longer run errands on Sunday, or I may stick with Monday, or I may go back to Friday... I'm having a little trouble adjusting my schedule to having Chris home all the time, on top of having class 2 nights a week, and gaming two times a week. I may fiddle around with the update schedule for the next few weeks until I find a day that I'm really happy with, but no matter what there will be jewelry every week.

One last thing: I LOVE MY NEW CAMERA! :D

I'm going to buy a camera.

It's settled. I've just done some research on-line and picked a camera that looks good for my needs and my budget, and found out that my local Office Max has it on sale. So tonight I'm going to go look at it in person, and if I like it, it will come home with me. This means that I'm going to put off the website updates until tomorrow or Wednesday. After all, why take photos with my current camera when I'll likely have a shiny new one that will take better pictures?

My current camera was a surprise gift from a friend, and has served me really well. Before then, I had to scan all my jewelry... it wasn't pretty. I've felt so much more free to use larger focals now that I'm not constrained by a flatbed scanner. I'm probably going to find some sort of charity to give that camera to, so that someone else can benefit from it as much as I have.

I'm pretty excited. I don't often make electronics purchases. My last one was a printer, almost two years ago, and that wasn't very exciting at all. And of course, there was the laptop, but I share that with Chris and he made most of the decisions on it.

Tune in tomorrow, when regardless of what camera I have, I will post ornament pictures!

A Day Of Getting Things Done.

I woke up today, and just decided that I didn't feel like going to D&D. Not only am I a little tired of the Dungeons and Dragons system, but I was feeling a little blah. I knew that if I went to gaming, I'd be uncomfortable, start to resent being there, and possibly take it out on my friends. So instead, I just stayed home. And while I was home, I figured I might as well us all of this unexpected free time to get a few things done.

One of the things that I did was finally add a list to the blogs that I read every day. Some are shopping related, some are bead and jewelry related, and some are not. Insect Picture of the Day, for instance, is exactly that. Pictures of bugs. Hey! I like bugs! And Gateway to Doom is the blog of my friend and fellow AJ, who does fantasy artwork. Oh, and Miss Doxie is just plain funny, though her language is a little salty. You have been warned!

I also set up my own playlist on Chris's iPod, which I've taken over ever since he got his silly iPhone. Previously, the only list I had was my dancing list, which had just a fraction of the music that I like. Now, don't get me wrong, for the most part our music tastes overlap, and I don't think there's anything I like that he doesn't. However, he has a few bands on the iPod that I really don't like, and some that I have to be in the right mood to hear. I really got sick of getting up to skip past Rage Against the Machine whenever they came up. I don't have all the music that I want in the list yet, but I've got a day and three hours worth so far, which means that today I can bead unmolested by Corrosion of Conformity.

The other thing I kept putting off was signing up for Facebook. Our D&D GM has been using that to post exp and other game info. I'd resisted signing up, simply because I already have two e-mail addresses, a blog, several forums, etc to keep up with. But everyone else gave in, so I caved. Now I just need to figure out how it works.

With all of that done, I have hours and hours of good beading time ahead of me! I'm halfway done with another ornament for the 2007 Holiday Ornament Give-Away, and once that's done I'm going to work on my top-secret project. I started it last night. I might take a break and play a little Guild Wars between beading, or maybe dance a bit. I danced last night and surprisingly, I don't hurt today.

I've got BEADS!

Ok, so the topic is a little obvious. Of course I've got beads, otherwise I couldn't make jewelry. But what I'm actually referring to is the fact that I received the special beads I was waiting for, to use in a special project. They're really awesome, too, but that's all I have to say until I finish the project.

Anyway, things have been going fairly well in Erthe Fae Land. Halloween was fun; I made great yarn hair ties and a yarn fringe belt for my Gothic Tribal dance costume. The whole costume turned out really well, so I look forward to wearing it again, I'm just not sure when. I can't wear it for dancing at home because my cats + yarn belt = disaster waiting to happen. And I can't wear it to the Renaissance Faire, because straw bale seats + yarn belt = straw belt. I'm house-sitting for my friend Helen in two weeks, so at the very least I can wear the belt then, when I take advantage of her large living room and dance it up a bit. I'm pretty sure that her dogs will not be as entranced by yarn fringe as my cats are!

Things also seem to be shaping up well for the business my husband is trying to start, which is definitely a relief for both of us.

The final for our Chinese class is a skit, and we've already been assigned work to start on that. It's going to take an insane amount of practice -- especially since we're not allowed to have a script to read when we perform, it has to be by memory. I'm not that great at memorizing English, so Chinese is going to be rough. The good thing is that we were allowed to choose our partners, so I'm working with Chris. It will be really easy to come up with a concept and practice together that way!

Holiday Ornament Give-Away!

Erthe Fae Designs is proud to announce the 2007 Holiday Ornament Give-Away! From now until December 15th, all orders over $50 will be eligible to receive a complimentary 30mm hand-beaded holiday ornament. Each of these ornaments is unique, just like my jewelry. I'm using a variety of beautiful, non-holiday-specific color combinations. You can happily display these ornaments in your home, no matter what you celebrate. They also make great gifts! To receive your free ornament, just say "Ornament me!" in the comments section in my PayPal cart.

I will also be giving away one large, elaborate ornament. All orders, regardless of cost, will be entered in the drawing for this prize. You can also enter by blogging about the 2007 Holiday Ornament Give-Away. Simply contact me with the link to the post and I will enter you in the drawing. Said drawing will be held on December 16th, 2007, and the winner will be notified via e-mail.

Ornament pictures are forthcoming!