I started at the gym

Medusa Turning to Stone is today's Daily Special. One thing that I love about Green Girl is that she made not one, but two different Medusa bead/pendant styles. This one, and a two-sided flat coin with Medusa's head on the front and a snake on the back. That other one is in a necklace I made for myself and wear all the time, in gorgeous olivine greens. Mmm.

As stated in the title, today I started attending Chris's gym. I guess that makes it my gym now, too. While at the gym, I learned that I suck at squats. I also did a lot of rowing. I also hung out with my friend Casey, who is my learning-to-workout partner, and who does not suck at squats. While I was trying to learn to keep my stupid heels flat while squatting, he was lifting big heavy weights from a squat. So in a way, it was actually good to suck, because I was a lot less tired at the end than he was. I'm going back on Thursday, to learn what else I suck at.

And now, a bra!

Wow, it's gotten all costume-irrific over here at the ErtheFae blog! First two days of steampunk, and now finally, my bra. Sorry about the glare, the non-flash shots didn't turn out.

So. I started out with a cheap padded bra from Target and then I put my DIY skills to use. Ribbon and trim were hand-stitched down, and I accented the ribbon with some copper sequins. Then coins, bells, and "copyrite" beads* were hung from swags of Charlotte** bronze seed beads. For a final touch, I put a round pendant in the center to cover the strip of cloth (called a gusset, I think) between the two cups, so it would look less like lingerie and more like a tribal bra.

It's photographed on top of a scarf that I intend to wear with it. I'll take some model shots of the whole ensemble in a couple of days -- it's too hot and humid today for a 10-yard skirt and makeup.

I tried to take photos for my next tribal jewelry post, but none of them turned out, so I'll give it another try tomorrow with a different background.

Oh yes! In all of the clothing-related excitement, I keep forgetting to post about Daily Specials. Sacred Clouds earrings are on sale today!

*The mysterious "copyrite" beads have tenetively been identified as chalcopyrite, which makes sense. They look about right, and it would be pretty easy for "chal" to get dropped in transit and translation.

**For the non-beaders in the audience, a Charlotte is a small seed bead with a single cut or facet, giving it a little sparkle. They're also sometimes called one-cuts or true-cuts.

More Steamy Pics!

First, a close-up of Amy's amazing work! A little too much flash, I guess, because the cream flowers are really glowing and the clock hands got a little lost -- but I still love how this looks on my head! The feathers at the front sort of frame my eyes, the peacock eye sticks out jauntily, and the entire thing compliments my brown hair very well. You can click here to see it on Flickr, where you can also view a larger image.

This image is my new profile picture on Facebook, and I might make it my profile here on Blogger, too. I know my current image is kind of small and you can't really make out any details of what I look like, only that I love green and have wings ;)

And finally, a front view of the whole costume, which shows the neat double row of (non-functioning) brass buttons down the front of my pseudo-corset. You may notice that I am trying, and failing, to look sultry. I blame my freckles.

Tomorrow I'll try to finally provide pictures of my tribal bra!

The day I steamed it up in Tempe

Today Chris and I drove up to Tempe to meet an on-line friend Serge and his wife Sue. Like me, Serge is into steampunk, and he was dressed up to attend FiestaCon/WesterCon. I couldn't attend the convention, so I chose to do what I am told is "ghosting." And to make myself easier to spot, I dressed up in steampunk gear as well. But let's face it, we all know that I love an excuse to dress up!

I'm developing a steampunk persona for myself -- a dancing girl who was abducted by airship pirates, and decided that she liked the pirate life better. It's a good excuse to combine glamorous elements like my bronze bustle skirt and gorgeous feather headpiece with the military-influenced styles of my pseudo-corset (with brass buttons) and suede short-sleeved jacket. Next I need a name for my persona. I think she'll be showing up as a character in my steampunk jewelry stories, too!

Anyway, we had a great time hanging out with Serge and Sue. We all had a lot to talk about, and we stayed in Tempe longer than I expected, only leaving because I didn't want to leave the corgis home alone for too long (Mom did come and give her "grandcorgis" their dinner and some love). It was so much fun to get out of town and kick back with some new friends and chat about sci-fi, writing, work, pets, and childfree life.

By the way, back to the costume. I love sharing my resources! The gorgeous bustle skirt is from Damsel in This Dress on Etsy. I really love my bustle skirt (I may have mentioned wearing it to the Swarovski party back in February). Unfortunately, she doesn't have any in her shop right now, but you could probably request a custom order.

The feather, flower, and clock-hand headpiece came from The Gypsy's Kiss. I clipped it onto a lace headband that I bought at Target. A gentleman at the convention even came over and asked to take a picture of it. It really is that beautiful! Amy does fantastic work, I'll definitely be buying more.

The socks are of course from Sock Dreams. I'd forgotten that last time I wore the skirt, I wore either black lace tights or my brown-striped thigh highs. I can't remember which, but knee-highs are not high enough. That doesn't make the socks any less awesome, though!

And that's about it. The shoes are just from Payless, and the pseudo-corset and leather jacket are both lucky finds from Buffalo Exchange, our local resale boutique. Plus my steampunk cameo necklace, and a brass bracelet that Chris gave me for the holidays.

I'm off to edit more photos and upload them to Flickr. I'll post links tomorrow!

Thrown off

Chris actually got half the day off for the holiday, so I didn't spend nearly as much time at the computer as I would normally. As such, I never really got around to writing a blog post for today.

Tomorrow I'm going up to Phoenix to meet an on-line friend, but I'm leaving late enough that I should have time to set up the usual Daily Special and blog post.

In the meantime, Forest Singers bird earrings are today's Daily Special. Tweet!

Fun times were had!

Today's Daily Special is Asrai!

Yesterday, my friend Mara was over, and we decided that it was time to play with beads. So I taught her how to string a necklace, with some hematite, Czech glass, and a wolf/fox head pendant. It turned out pretty awesomely, and she was very happy with her necklace. I think I've made a new addict.

While she was blissfully stringing her necklace, I was making a cute pair of earrings with some faerie pendants she found. I didn't even remember that I had them. These earrings will find their way onto the website or Etsy next week.

Just Flitting By!

I have a couple of things to do this afternoon before my dear friend comes over for some much-needed fun times, so I just thought I'd flit in and let you know that Summer Dragonfly is back up on Daily Special. Only $30. The For A Summer Day earrings shown in the image are not included in that listing, but are available for only $15. That means for $45 you could have a beautiful, perfectly coordinated set of jewelry that will carry you all the way through Summer and into Autumn.

Things that make my day

A while back, I sold this brooch, Soaring Wyvern. It was the only brooch I'd ever made. I listed it on Etsy with only one image, and I didn't even have it sorted into a category -- and it sold anyway. Yesterday, the buyer posted her "Best of Ets" blog post and gave me and the Wyvern a glowing review. I've been walking on air ever since. There's nothing quite like a happy customer to make my day, especially when they've purchased something that I wasn't sure would sell.

Ever since Soaring Wyvern sold, I've been thinking that I should make more brooches -- so that's my goal for after I finish my BFAC project. If there's a particular color or style of brooch you'd like to see me make, please leave a comment here or go over to my Facebook fan page and join the Brooch discussion I've just started.

As for today's Daily Special, it's the Automatic Ankle Accelerator! Only $25 for a gorgeous steampunk anklet.

...and back around again.

Today's Daily Special is Aviatrix, because I've reached the point where I have to start repeating Daily Specials! I only have 54 items in the shop right now, and I've realized that I can't really discount my earrings, because with free shipping, I'd actually be losing money on those.

Clearly, this means I have to start adding more jewelry to my Etsy shop. Luckily I have one new necklace ready to be photographed, and lots more items planned for after I finish my BFAC. For instance, I've noticed that I no longer have any spiral rope bracelets on Etsy. This is a situation which must be remedied! Luckily I'm making good progress on BFAC, so I'll soon be free to work on whatever I want again.

In the meantime, Monday is a boring day of laundry and other housework, as I tidy up the messes made over the weekend. Surprisingly, I find that I'm not too achey from yesterday's yoga workout, even though I didn't do nearly as well as I did last week (I made the mistake of eating too soon before it, and the heat nauseated me). I might even dance later, after the house is clean :)

I hate the economy!

Before I start ranting, today's Daily Special is Unlock My Secrets, a beautiful key necklace in earthy orange.

Now, on with the rant. While I was dancing yesterday, I got a phone call from my Mom. She was at Chivalry Sports (aka the Renaissance Store), our local Ren Faire garb shop. They were in the process of going out of business and Mom wanted to know if I wanted any of the belly dance patterns that they had left.

Now, I can handle the fact that my own business is molasses-slow because of the economy. I'm fortunate to be in a position where I don't need to sell my jewelry. What makes me mad is when awesome niche businesses have to close down because no one has any money left to spend on their hobbies.

Chivalry Sports was an awesome store. You could go in there and walk out with breeches, a tabbard, a chemise, an overdress, whatever you needed, and it would be sturdy, well-made, and in most cases, you could throw it in the washing machine and dryer. Because my tastes run towards belly dance clothes, I didn't have much of their stuff, but it was our go-to place for my husband's garb, and I also got my mirrored black skirt there.

By the time Chris and I got there yesterday, the store was pretty picked over. I picked up a few belly dance patterns and one of the basic cholis that I'd been wanting (they were out of black, so I bought white and I'll probably tea-dye it). The mirrored skirts were long gone, as were the various belly dance scarves and veils. It was depressing, as I'd been wanting to go in and shop for months, but their limited hours meant they were always closed when I was in their neighborhood.

And of course, this phenomenon is not limited to Chivalry Sports. Everywhere I go in Tucson, I see empty spaces where small shops and restaurants used to be. Some neighborhoods look like ghost towns, the strip malls empty and in disrepair. I have to wonder how many more neat little stores will fall prey to increased costs and decreased spending.

I'm sorry to be such a downer today, but I think it needed to be said.

A quick post before I dance

The above image is Tribal Cameo, which I listed on Etsy yesterday. Today's Daily Special is another tribal design, Midnight Dancer. I'm really enjoying this line of jewelry. Next up I'm going to make a necklace with some Afghani coins and a mendhi-inspired lampworked bead by JC Herrell.

Over on Facebook, I'm friends with a couple of other dancers, and as such, I keep seeing various dance troupes and organizations in my list of recommendations, but they're all across the country from me. So today I realized that I should search and see if Plaza de Anaya -- where I'll be taking classes starting next month -- was on Facebook, and I was happy to find that they have a group, fan page, and gift application. Hopefully this will help me network with other semi-local dancers, both in and out of the classes I'll be taking. I'm so excited!

The classea are in Tempe, which is about 1 1/2 hours from Tucson. It is a bit of a drive, but my Dad used to commute 90 minutes each way to work 5 days a week, and then we'd frequently make a similar drive to visit grandparents and aunts and uncles on weekends and holidays, so when compared to that, driving to Tempe once a week doesn't seem too crazy. Especially when you look at how the local belly dance class offerings compare to what's available at Plaza de Anaya. Members of the group I'll be learning from are also in my favorite belly dance troupe at Ren Faire. That pretty much made my decision right there.

Anyway, even though it's a hot Tucson afternoon, I'm going to go dance now before we have to start tidying the house up for tonight's game. And tomorrow is yoga! My days are filling up with fun activities.

For all of you steampunk bellydancers

I just listed Automatic Ankle Accelerator on Etsy today! I plan to take more pictures of it, but I figure there's no harm in listing an item with only one picture. That one image might be enough to convince someone to buy it, instead of it sitting around here, unseen and unloved.

The story that prefaces the item description is part of my ongoing attempt to build a world and cast of characters around my steampunk jewelry line. There's Professor Langstrom. Some of his inventions -- such as the Aetheric Chronology Manipulatronic mentioned in Her Airship Sailed Through Time -- are actually effective. Some -- like the Automatic Ankle Accelerators -- need a bit more work. Halcyon Greene, the lady adventurer who owns the time-traveling airship, is based on a roleplaying character of mine. Next, I believe I need a name and persona for a lady inventor, as I keep mentioning them in item descriptions as well.

I also listed Mysterious Portrait today. And today's Daily Special is also one for the bellydancers, the Spiral Journey gothic tribal anklet.

Happy Fairy Day!

Yes, today is Fairy Day! You know I can't let a day like this go by unremarked. To celebrate, I'm having a sale in both my Etsy shop and website. Lots of faerie jewelry on sale, in lieu of a normal Daily Special :)

I'm also going to celebrate by wearing my wings (as seen in my profile picture). I'll definitely wear them for tonight's game, but I'm torn on whether to wear them out for sushi. I think they might be a little too big and I don't want to get in the way of the nice waitstaff at the sushi place. As much as I love the look of BIG wings, I really need to buy a pair of small wings for when I want to be a faerie without also being a nuisance. Because I'm so happy with my current pair, I'll probably buy my little ones from Fancy Fairy.

So very sparkly!

I've just added a listing to my Etsy shop for a custom crystal bracelet. You choose the colors, the length, and what sort of clasp you like, and I make it happen. I love these bracelets! I have several in my own collection, and I've made them frequently as gifts. I've also sold dozens, and I never get tired of making them. Who could get tired of sparkly crystals?

And speaking of bracelets, today's Daily Special is Within the Waves. A great deal on a cute bracelet that would be perfect for a day at the beach.

With just a few weeks left until the deadline, I'm finally moving along on my Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure project. I got a lot done on it yesterday, in between dealing with various house emergencies that kept popping up. I'm hoping to finish it in a week or so, so that I can mail it with time to spare.

More Owl Love

There's a quirky Chicago-style pizza and Italian food restaurant a few blocks from my house that always has silly phrases on their marquee. This weekend it read "The Owls Are Not What They Seem." I'm not sure if that's a pro- or anti-owl statement, but it made me decide that Athena's Familiar should be today's Daily Special!

Not only am I happy with how this necklace came out, but Chris really likes it, too. It's sitting here on my desk, and the other day he said "I do like that pendant... in fact, the whole necklace is pretty cool." Of course, it's also far too girly for a meaty-thewed barbarian like him to wear. Some of my work is unisex, but this is definitely one for the ladies.

In other news, my abs and shoulders are hurting from yesterday's yoga work out. I like to think that my abs are in better-than-average shape, what with my love for chest lifts and rib circles in my dancing, but clearly I was using them in new and unusual ways yesterday. I'm hoping to dance tonight, and hopefully that will work some of these aches out.

Also, Up was pretty good. A little too silly at points, but I enjoyed the fact that it wasn't afraid to be sad or serious at times, it has a big airship, and lots of dog humor.

Yay, yoga.

A really quick post because we're about to take off to see Up.

First, today's Daily Special is Pearl Branch. I love this bracelet, but it's very short, so it's been waiting for the right person with the right tiny wrist!

This afternoon Chris and I went to a yoga class at his gym, and it was a lot of fun, so we'll be going every Sunday. Yoga is great for bellydancers, as it increases flexibility and balance, so I'm very happy to find a place to take it just a few blocks from my house.

And now, movie time!

Tinkering around.

Today's Daily Special is Subtle Charm. $20 is a great deal for such an elegant necklace and earring set!

I've just finished doing a little work on the blog, tidying things up, removing links to blogs that I don't read anymore, that sort of thing. I also provided convenient links to all of the places you can stalk, er, find me around the Internet. Twitter, Facebook, my writing blog, all had been strangely absent from my links. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of all this social networking.

Home and Inspired

Now that I'm back home and have a good internet connection and a PC, I can get back to having Daily Specials. Today's special is Misty Isle, a nice subtle grey crystal bracelet that is well-suited to the rare rainy June day we're having here in Tucson.

The above-mentioned inspiration is that I have finally settled on a plan for my 2010 BFAC project, which is due in less than a month. The idea that I came up with when I first got the kit lost its appeal in the intervening months, and I've been cycling through various ideas over the past few weeks, each time thinking "Oh! That would be perfect... no, wait, there's no good way to use the focal/bugles/rose montees." But I finally have an idea that should use all of the beads in a nice way, look good, and be easy to finish in the 3 1/2 weeks that I have left, without me completely giving up all of my free time to work on it. I'm hoping to start it today, after I put the finishing touches on my coin bra.

Well, this is weird

I'm on a Mac.

You see, my friend has a wireless connection. But she forgot to leave me the password, so I can't log on with my laptop. She did, however, kindly leave me her pretty Mac laptop (with its nifty light-up keyboard... tee hee! Why yes, I am easily amused) and said I could use it. So I am.

But... it's weird! Safari doesn't have tabbed browsing... or if it does, I can't find it. And when I tried to load up AOL mail, I spent a good five minutes staring at a spinning color wheel, unable to close my browser or hit stop or anything. And it keeps disconnecting me from AIM, but I think that might just be her connection.

Anyway, I'm going to be out of communication until Thursday evening. No Daily Specials, no bog posts, no Facebook or Twitter or e-mail. Good thing I brought beads!

It's dogsitting time again!

From Monday to Thursday I'll be up in Marana sitting my friend's three awesome dogs -- and bringing my two crazy corgis along for the ride. Will I survive 4 days with 5 dogs? I sure hope so!

Anyway, I'm bringing my laptop and I should have internet, if I can get onto my friend's network. She said I could use her Mac, but I've never used a Mac in my life and I'd be worried that I'd mess something up.

I had planned to bring my BFAC kit along and work on my project, but I'm still up in the air about what I want to do this year. I had an idea right away, but I've really been second-guessing it. Unfortunately, every new idea that I come up with is stymied by one or more of the difficult-to-use beads in the kit. Hopefully I'll daydream something while I'm gone. The deadline is fast approaching.

Oh yeah! My bra is mostly finished, just needs the central motif attached. I'll get pictures when I get back from dogsitting. I'm very happy with how it turned out, though I ended up using a lot more coins than I had planned.