Return of the Destash

Many members of FAETeam are working on tackling our supply stash this year. Whether it's using things up or selling them off, we'd all like a tidier work area and maybe more money to spend on new supplies (it's a vicious cycle). As such I am working on restock the Destash Beads section of my shop. Etsy has made it easier by now charging only 1 listing fee for multiples of an item, so I currently have three strands of these fun Czech Glass Spiral Beads available in my shop. Hopefully later this week I'll also get more leaf beads listed. I've never met a leaf beads that I didn't like, and I used to buy them by the hankful from Raven's Journey because I really, really wanted specific styles and colors.

Anyway, so far the destashing is not going amazingly. I have been making things with the beads I already have, but then I had all this trade credit from Beyond Beadery and they had new mini-spike beads. As if that wasn't bad enough, one day I went to Michael's when I was bored, just looking for some crystals to glue onto my face for belly dance, and I came out with $40 worth of miscellaneous bead stuff because there was a sale going on. I have a problem!

Sales and To-Do List

So much to blog about! Let's start by getting the shameless self-promotion out of the way! I'm having a bit of a clearance sale over at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. There are ten pieces of unique jewelry currently marked down. I also discounted some of the destash lots in the Beads section. I plan to get more jewelry and beads listed throughout the coming week, some at discounted prices.

Speaking of beads at discounted prices, Artbeads.com has a coupon code out for their blog program partners to share with their readers! It's only good until the end of the month, so act fast if you want to use it! Code ZZ-DESIGNER-0211 will get you 15% off any order, no minimum or maximum. Enjoy!

I recently received my latest Design Partner package from Artbeads, so that adds another thing to my lengthy to-do list. I need to make a custom necklace for my dance friend Kelly (finally found the perfect beads on Thursday!), make the embroidered beetle pendant for MZ, make a couple of pieces using the awesome components I got as part of Earthenwood's Design Team program, and use my Artbeads goodies, too! And that's not even counting making stock for my shop or finishing Wings of the Morrigan. I'd better get busy!

This Week in Etsy

I'm toying with the idea of doing one weekly Etsy round-up post, that way I don't spam my blog with new listings, treasuries and team-related stuff. I don't know if I'll pick one day of the week to have it on, or just post it on whatever day I have a lot of Etsy-related stuff built up and nothing else that I feel a strong urge to blog about. Anyway, less rambling, more linking!

First, I've started the slow process of migrating items from my old website into my Etsy shop. This week I re-photographed and listed Phoenix Feathers and Sacred Grove.

I'm still attempting to weed out my bead stash, with the hopes of funding my further belly dance education and costume growth (yes, that's right, I'm thinning out one stash to increase another). This week I listed a grouping of yummy green leaf beads.

Today I was notified that I was in a Treasury! Andrea of Beadmask included me in What The Moon Saw. This reminded me of two things: I haven't made a Treasury in forever, and I really love masks. So I created A Rainbow of Masks.

And that's This Week in Etsy!

Selling off some beads!

To help further my goals of less clutter and more belly dance workshops, I'm listing beads in my Etsy shop! Two new lots so far, but more coming throughout the week, so keep your eye on the Beads section of my store.

I'll be listing more lampwork and other focals, some Czech glass and whatever other miscellaneous stuff I find that I'm not planning to use any time soon. I might also work on migrating more jewelry over from my old website to the Etsy shop.

New jewelry, new pictures, old beads.

Yesterday's photography session allowed me to get some new items listed today. First, Celestial Celebration which features a carved dragon pendant, and pretty much the entire strand of yummy firework jasper that I bought at the Rings & Things show back in May.

I also listed the Gossiping Pixies earrings, which I made last week while my friend Mara was stringing her first necklace.

Plus I took shiny new pictures that I added to the listings for Athena's Familiar, Automatic Ankle Accelerator, Spiral Journey, and Mysterious Portrait. I'm really happy with the shots on the black pinstripe paper. I think it's a sharp look for my Gothic designs. Definitely going to be using that one a lot.

Then I started listing items for my destash sale! Star of David beads and lampworked vessels. There's more yet to come, probably next week.

As if that wasn't enough, I also took pictures for the next Tribal Jewelry blog post, which will probably be up tomorrow! My camera and I, we've been quite busy.

Oh, and before I forget, today's Daily Special is Moonlit Seductress!

I'm a kitty godmother!

If you've been to my Etsy shop this week, you've probably already seen this bracelet, but I think it's pretty, so I'm posting it in the blog. I really like this teal and green combo. The light green is an interesting color. I think of it as a green, and use it as a green, but my friend Betcey who I bought it from thinks of and uses it as a blue. I think it's one of those colors that kind of blends in with what you use it with, so with blues it seems blue and with greens it seems green. Either way, it's beautiful, and I'm going to use it again tonight.

The silly title refers to the fact that my friend Deborah of Bead Indulgences just adopted two kitties after a long time of living pet-free. I'm the emergency contact for them, and so now we're joking that I'm their aunt and godmother. Hopefully I'll soon have pictures to share of my little furry goddaughters.

My own kitty Lira (who you hear about less than Topher because she's better behaved) is sitting here in my lap, purring up a storm. It's a little cool again today, so she's been feeling cuddly. Like Deb's two new cats, Lira is also a Humane Society find. I cannot stress enough my belief that if you're in the market for a new pet, you should check a shelter or rescue organization first. Save a homeless pet!

Ok, stepping off of my pet-loving soapbox, and back to beads. I just started listing beads over in my Etsy shop, because let's face it, I have a lot of them. More than I'll ever use. It's about time I started selling some. Of course, I'll probably turn around and spend the money on more beads... but let's ignore that little fact for now, ok? I have a gigantic stack of various leaves (almost all green) that I'll be listing over the next few days, plus some other assorted beads. I like to think that I have pretty good taste, so if you're a bead lover, I'm going to recommend that you watch my Etsy shop and maybe do a little buying.

In absolutely awesome news, I got a cab from Melanie at Earthenwood to use in my BFAC project, and it is perfect. I love it so much! I'll post a picture tomorrow of the kit, plus all the things I'm adding.