MZ Beetle Pendant!

 You may remember that in February, MZ gave me one of her new beetle cabochons to work into a bead-embroidered pendant, so she could inspire prospective customers. Here's what I came up with, using Delicas, Japanese seed beads and some Czech three-cut seed beads. I really enjoyed working with the bright color palette in this cab, it's pretty far out of my usual muted olive and bronze palette :) For more beautiful lampwork, please visit MZ Glass. For more bead embroidery, visit my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs.

It's that time again....

It's Treasury Tuesday! Ok, well, yesterday was! I always wait and post my round-up on Wednesday or Thursday to make sure I don't miss out on any late-night treasury features. This week, I am beyond thrilled to be in the gorgeous treasury above. Mermie has such an eye for beautiful things that look even more beautiful when grouped together, and she chose my very best product photo ever to be part of what I think is a very front page worthy collection.

And my Phoenix Feathers Beadwoven Choker gets a second chance at treasury time this week, having been included in Orange you just in love with this?? Which is also beautifully curated despite the silly name. Great job, Midnight's Meadow! I've noticed that Phoenix Feathers has been getting a lot of hearts on Etsy, too. I think it really grabs peoples' attention.

Last but not least, we had a Mother's Day theme for the week, so I chose to draw inspiration from my own mother and create Unicorns and Dragons for my Mom!

The Difficult Pendant

I received the components for this pendant as part of the Artbeads.com Winter Enchantment promotion. That should give you an idea of just how long I've been struggling with it, since we're now well into Spring.

Honestly, I probably should have just sat this challenge out, but I can't resist the lure of free beads. It took me a bit to think of something to fit the Winter Enchantment theme. Let's face it -- I am not enchanted by winter. I hate it. Especially this winter, with its hard freeze and the need to replace my water heater and my furnace. But there is one thing I really love about winter... the February gem shows! My first thought was to get some stone beads, but I didn't see anything that caught my fancy. Then I figured, hey, why not get some nice crystals and make a fancy necklace inspired by the Swarovski party?

So I picked out some Rivolis and a Pendant from the Swarovski Elements section, and some super gorgeous purple iris 24k gold Delicas from the Seed Bead section, and figured I would make something pretty and fancy.

Once I caught up on my massive beady to-do list, I sat down to work on the necklace. Well, things kept going wrong. The first bezel I made for the large rivoli was too small, so I had to make a bigger one. I had two small rivolis, and the first one bezeled up fine, but the bezel was too large for the second one, even though I used the same number of beads! So I decided to just stack the two rivolis and hang the beautiful baroque teardrop from them, but I don't think I like the way it looks. Whatever, I just wanted to finish it and move on. So I decided to string a pretty necklace with faceted freshwater pearls, Swarovski pearls, Czech glass, and use the Delicas as spacers to tie the color scheme together. No, that didn't work either. I didn't have quite enough beads for any configuration I tried, and the SoftFlex didn't want to go through the Delicas at the top of the bezel. That is about when I gave up.

Last night I thought I'd give it one last try before photographing it. I figured maybe the super-fine bead stringing chain would fit through the Delicas. But no matter where I looked, I couldn't find the last bit of that chain that I have. So I give up, evil crystal pendant. You win. And by win, I mean I'm going to put you away someplace where I don't have to look at you for a while, and eventually I will cut you up and use your components to make something else.

All difficulties aside, the crystals and Delicas were all great. I love the color of the Delicas, they really embody Winter with their soft, muted metallic colors. And I've wanted to use one of those graphical Swarovski pendants since they came out. The design is printed on the back of the pendant and seems pretty permanent -- at the very least it didn't rub off when I was working with it, and I can't scratch it off with a fingernail, so it should stand up to daily wear. One of the rivolis did have a small chip on the edge, but I don't know if Artbeads sent it to me that way or if I dropped it and chipped it at some point.

Disclaimer: FTC guidelines require me to mention that the Swarovski Elements and Delicas used in this failed project were provided to me by Artbeads.com at no cost in return for promotional consideration on my blog.

Preview for a new product line

This may look like one of the usual crystal bracelets that I make, but I assure you that it's something new! Instead of using standard Japanese seed beads between the crystals, I've used tiny metal seed beads. Yes, real metal! I made this one with silver, but I also have some beautiful brass that would be perfect for steampunk designs. Right now I'm giving the green and silver one a test-drive, and if it holds up well I'll be adding them to my selection of handmade bracelets at Erthe Fae Designs.

New jewlery next week, promise!

You may have noticed that it's been approximately forever since I posted any new jewelry. I've been up to my eyeballs in things, ranging from custom orders to learning algebra to working on a solo for belly dance class, and as such my jewelry productivity has really taken a nosedive. Well, no more! I've got a house full of beads and I want to create with them! Also, I want to sell some jewelry because I like having spending cash to buy other peoples' handmade creations.

So enjoy your weekend and come back on Monday to see what I've got up my sleeves!

An awesome Treasury Tuesday

 It's an exciting day here in Erthe Fae Land, because I have finally decided to try using this new-fangled Craft Cult wiki to directly insert a treasury into my blog post, instead of capturing a screen shot! If I did this correctly, you should be able to click on any of the above gorgeous items and be taken straight to their listing! Or, if you prefer the old fashioned way, you can visit Because green is my favorite color and view the treasury on Etsy. This week we were encouraged to pick our own theme, so I had a lot of fun making a treasury consisting solely of things that I liked in my favorite color, by my fellow FAE Team artists.

This was a good week for me in regards to treasuries, as I had three different items featured in three different collections! First, Medeine is included in An Easter celebration, a perfectly seasonal theme by Midnight's Meadow. Next, I was pleased to find my Enchantment Gothic Chandelier Earrings in Spring Fantasy, a darkly elegant creation by the lovely Mermaiden. Lastly, I was quite unexpectedly included in a RED! treasury by Lithia, who chose Phoenix Feathers to be part of her Robin Red Beast.. Er, I mean Breast collection. Except my necklace actually isn't in the treasury anymore because the listing apparently expired this morning! Whoops!

So yes, it has been a good week so far for Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. The only way it could be made better would be some increased sales... hint hint! ;)

Go forth and bid!

The time has come, my friends! Salome's Dance is up for auction this week! This stunning crystal and seed bead necklace (with a few pearls) was lovingly woven by yours truly for Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure. If I were to sell this necklace in my Etsy shop, I'd have to ask at least $200 for it. The starting bid is only $35, so I expect you to bid it up closer to what its worth ;) And remember, there are many more beautiful beaded objects up for auction this week, so have a look at all of the BFAC Auctions and bid on as many as you love and can afford! The proceeds go to the NCCRA, in memory of my late friend Layne, who was a wonderful friend to me during some tough times in my life. Even when she was battling her own cancer, she was also there for me. Making and auctioning off jewelry is the least I can do to honor her.

Cute cat picture!

I haven't posted much about my pets lately, so here's a photo of my favorite fluff-monstah! My friends Helen and Bob left their two dogs with us for the week, and Helen brought over a nice big bed for Tess, who is a senior citizen and doesn't need to be lying around on cold tile all day. Well, Tess decided that she'd rather sleep on the carpet under Chris's desk (she really likes him!), so the other pets have been taking turns enjoying the big bed. Topher has clearly decided that he's finally find a cushion worthy of his regal body. I love how he sits pretty much in the middle of it, openly declaring that it is HIS bed and he will NOT be sharing it with any corgis.

90 days of dance practice!

Hmmm... I don't really have a lot of good, recent pictures of me dancing. I used to drag Chris to all of my performances, and he'd snap pictures and/or take video, but lately he's been busy or sick when I've danced, so I've had to rely on what other people post on Facebook. Oh well.

Yes, I'm taking a break from my usual promotion of my business Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs (ok, shameless plug out of the way), to talk about my exciting life as a belly dancer! You may remember at the start of the year, I decided to set the goal of practicing for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, and then I started a separate blog to chronicle my progress and also to just chat about dance, which meant that there was a lot less belly talk on this blog. I did promise to post the occasional update, and I think that three months of dance is worth updating about!

That's right, for 90 days in a row (not counting one day when I was really sick), I have danced every single day. I've taken classes, I've been in workshops, I've danced at parties and concerts, and I even had two performances so far this year. I have been one busy dance girl. Daily practice has been great for me -- it's done wonders for my shimmies and my belly rolls, and really improved my knowledge of my tribal move vocabulary. If you want to read more about it, feel free to check out my other blog, Confessions of a Dance Pants Addict.

FAETeam goes to the Faire!

For Treasury Tuesday this week, FAETeam had a Renaissance Faire theme (suggested by yours truly!). It was a big hit -- I know, it's so surprising that a team of fantasy artists would be so enthusiastic about the Faire! My steampunk pirate necklace Piracy in the Age of Steam was included in Pirate Invasion at Ren Faire! by the lovely and talented Lithia. The equally wonderful Mermaiden included my The Sweetest Lady steampunk necklace in her treasury Huzzah! It's funny, I would have expected some of my tribal or fantasy jewelry to be chosen for the treasuries over my steampunk designs, but I am not about to complain! And really, that's one of the best things about jewelry -- you can make it your own and make it work with whatever look you want.

Of course, you know I also had to make a treasury! Mine is called Are you ready for the Faire? and it features costumes, jewelry, and images to inspire.

Sadly, our local Renaissance Festival ends this weekend. It's so warm here that we run in February and March, whereas most other Faires seem to be scheduled for late spring, summer, and even into early autumn. I may hit some other festivals and faires later in the year, but the AZ event will always have a special place in my heart, as Chris and I had our first date there!

LL-BFAC, Week Two!

Don't forget to check out this week's Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure charity auctions. There's plenty of unique jewelry, a beaded lamp, beaded windchimes and more! Something for everyone, and all proceeds go to the NCCRA to fund colorectal cancer research. Beautiful beadwork for a good cause -- what more could you want?

My necklace will be up the week after next, so make sure to save some money if you want a chance at Salome's Dance. Otherwise, bid til your wallet BLEEDS!!!!

Treasuries and Things

Elvensoul beadwoven fantasy necklace (shown above) was included in this beautiful Faery March Madness treasury. Much more interesting to me than all this NCAA basketball March Madness! Thank you rainwaterstudios for including me.

For Treasury Tuesday, we had a Spring theme, so I created Spring Flies In, celebrating faerie wings.

Not a treasury, but one of my anklets was featured in Aquariann's Friday Finds post, which had a belly dance accessories theme. She attended Art of the Belly this past weekend, and I have to admit I'm a little bit jealous! The line-up of workshop teachers and performers was really impressive, and I bet there was some nice vending, too! I had really hoped to go to a major belly dance festival this year, but home repairs got in the way, so I'm staying home and taking workshops in Tempe instead. Maybe next year!

Check out the blog hop!

My friend and fellow FAETeam member Aquariann is hosting a blog hop! Click the image to view her blog and read all about it. I've also added a little button for it to my side bar, in case you want to check it out later.

If you're coming over from the blog hop... Hi! You'll quickly find that this blog is mainly about beading and jewelry making and my Etsy shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. However, I also have a blog about my passion for belly dance, and a link to that can be found on the left side of this blog.

In other news, hooray, it's Spring! We had a very unseasonal (for Arizona) rainstorm over the weekend, and when I went outside today I saw little green leaves on my huge mesquite trees. I'm so happy! We had a false Spring in January, so my trees sprouted new growth, then lost it all suddenly in the hard freeze that followed. I was worried that my beloved trees (one of the big selling points of this house) were dead, but they are just covered in life today.

LL-BFAC Auctions Have Begun!

My friend Deborah Gray-Wurz's "Regal Moon" necklace is just one of the beautiful hand-beaded objects up for bids in the first week of Layne's Legacy -- Beading For a Cure auctions! If you're not already familiar with LL-BFAC, please visit the official website. I've been involved with this charity in one way or another since day 1, and while I'm no longer serving on the committee it remains close to my heart! I do hope you'll take a look at the auctions and bid if you see something you like. I'll post every Monday that the auctions are running to give you a reminder!

Happy Green Day!

Ok, yes, technically it's St. Patrick's Day, not Green Day, but I am really, really, really not Catholic. My family is so predominantly protestant that I don't think I'd even met anyone of the Catholic faith until I was around 15, and that was only on the internet. And though I do credit my Irish heritage with giving me pale skin, freckles, and red highlights in my hair, Irish is only one of about 8 nationalities that make up my heritage, so I wasn't even raised with Irish cultural heritage. I think my Mom made corned beef and cabbage once in my childhood -- and I hated it. I still refer to corned beef as "zombie beef" due to the fact that I was reading Xanth books at the time, and zombies in Xanth are pickled.

So to sum up: I am not Catholic. I am Irish, but they are probably going to take away my Irish license for the zombie beef joke. And I am a colossal nerd.

So I like to think of March 17th as the day where everyone pretends to love green as much as I do! Hooray! Let's all wear green! And eat green food! And drink green beverages!

To celebrate, let's look at some beautiful green jewelry from my shop! Above, the always-popular Turtle Talisman necklace.
Medeine, a woven spiral rope necklace in soft shades of green, perfect for Spring.
This crystal beadwoven bracelet is made with two richly saturated shades of green. I call it Marsh.
Verdant Pageantry is a very elegant pair of chandelier earrings, adorned with drops of my favorite stone -- malachite!
Eternal Spring earrings feature crystals, cane glass, and lovely opalescent green leaf beads.

This is just a small selection of the beautiful handmade jewelry available from Erthe Fae Designs. There's plenty more in green, and even some in other colors, too :)

WWWC Costumes: Casual Friday

Chris didn't have a costume yet when we hit WWWC for the first day, so I decided I didn't want to seriously outdress him. As such, I declared it "casual Friday" and put together a cute, simple costume out of every day clothes and steampunk accessories. The cargo pants and aviator cap came from Buffalo Exchange, the lace tanktop and corduroy vest came from Target, the boots were $25 on sale at Charlotte Russe, and of course the stripy socks are from Sock Dreams.

The accessories are what really make it, of course. Brass pins from Creative Etching and Airship Entertainment (aka the Girl Genius store). Awesome goggles from Brute Force Leather. And of course, my necklace, Time's Dead Flowers.
You can find more handmade steampunk jewelry at my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. I'm catching up on my jewelry-making to-do list, so hopefully I will have new one of a kind necklaces up soon! Yay!

WWWC Costumes: Orientalism

This was my costume for Sunday. I knew I wanted something I could dance in, because I was taking a belly dance workshop, and I also wanted something without too many layers because it was hot and I had offered to help a friend tear down her booth (luckily she got someone bigger, stronger, and less costumed to do it instead). So I decided to emulate some of the Orientalist paintings of the Victorian era, and go as a Victorian perception of a belly dancer, but steampunked! My concept here was that my steampunk persona had recently returned from the Orient and decided that their clothing was much more comfortable and appropriate for the desert than bustle skirts and corsets :) Because my persona is a former saloon girl, she doesn't mind showing a little skin, and she's already been running around an airship in pants, so pantaloons are fine by her.

I put this together out of stuff that I already had on hand, but I like it enough that I'll start buying things specifically for it, to have for the next time I need to be a steampunk. I'd like to get some much poofier pantaloons, preferably made out of something shinier. And maybe replace my entari (the long jacket-y thing) with a more diaphanous one, to be closer to what the painters portrayed. Of course, brown and gold stripes are pretty steampunk and they kept the sun off of me, so who knows. But pantaloons are a must!

The components:

Entari, turkish vest, and pantaloons all purchased from Anaya Tribal, all part of my regular belly dance wardrobe.

Homemade steampunk tribal belt. I started with a woven belt that I bought at a thrift store and added a drape made of chain, chain tassels, and keys, with a huge kuchi pendant thingie front and center.

Unique tribal beetle necklace made by yours truly, AJ of Erthe Fae Designs, with an MZ Glass beetle focal. For some reason, I don't have a steampunk tribal necklace. This must be fixed.

I also made the yarn dreadfalls, which you can barely see in the picture. Some people are of the opinion that steampunks should not wear falls. I am of the opinion that those people should take their costume snobbery back to whatever reenactment group they originally belonged to. Ahem.

The scarf I'm wearing around my head was a few dollars at a cheapy mall store. It's held in place using a flower clip that I bought at the dance studio and a feather fascinator from Kyla's Keepsakes. You should see that thing -- it's got a locket, and leaves, and a vintage button, and a tiny shrew skull!

This was probably the most comfortable costume that I wore all weekend, if you ignore the fact that those dreads weigh a ton, and that I am in fact wearing the scarf to help distribute the weight a bit :)

WWWC Costumes: Formal Steampunk

I'll be doing a series of posts about my WWWC costumes, for several reasons: because I know some of you want to see them, because I want to give shout-outs to the vendors that I got some of my pieces from, and because I want to show that you do not have to be a master seamstress/tailor or have a ton of money to put together a fun costume that will garner you a lot of compliments.

This is what I wore for Friday night's Chrononaut Ball, with performances by The Mission Creeps, The Strand, and Voltaire! It isn't even what I was originally planning to wear, but then I saw the ivory lace skirt in my costume closet and remembered that I wanted to build a costume around it, so I did. That very night. The key to pulling a costume together at the last minute is having a well-stocked closet and a good imagination.

Costume components:

Ivory lace skirt and black strapless top from Buffalo Exchange. I totally recommend resale boutiques and thrift stores to find things that you can wear as-is or easily modify.

Bronze taffeta bustle skirt from Damsel in this Dress. I bought this from Michelle's Etsy store over two years ago and I love it! I met Michelle in person at WWWC and got more great costume pieces from her. I highly recommend this vendor -- she's sweet, talented, and her garments are well-made.

Tatted lace cuffs by TotusMel Tats. Honestly, why would you buy tatted lace from anyone else (unless you managed to score some sweet vintage/antique tatting). Pamela is the best!

Flower, lace, and butterfly hairstick by The Gypsy Kiss. You can't see much of it in this photo, but trust me, it's really pretty! Amy is my go-to girl for tribal and steampunk hair accessories, as well as my primary bindi dealer as well.

Steampunk cameo necklace by yours truly, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. Of course, you can't really see that either, since my arm is in the way.

Also not visible in the photo: cute lacy black and bronze socks by Sock Dreams and pseudo-Victorian boots from JCPenney. Yeah, that's right, my steampunk boots came from Penney's and I have danced for hours in them at numerous parties and they've still held up. They were $40.

See, with some smart shopping and good luck and an eye for interchangeable items (I've worn everything except for the ivory skirt with other costumes/party outfits), you too can look sharp at a steampunk convention!

My Muse, on Different Backgrounds

So. I think this was my second embroidered piece ever. It's so old that it's done on awful cheap fabric store suede cloth instead of real Ultrasuede. I embroidered it, but then never finished it, however I did decide that when it was finished, it would be called "A Portrait of My Muse." So during gem show, I stitched on a quick bail so that I would have something "new" and shiny to wear for the Swarovski party. I also wore it to Wild Wild West Con this weekend.

The vintage matte black glass cameo is surrounded by embroidery and peyote stitch done in Delicas, hex-cut Delicas, size 15 seed beads, and of course a border of lots and lots of jet Swarovski crystals. I wear it on my basic black herringbone cord.

I photographed it on all three of my wooden necklace displays (I bought two new ones during gem show!) to see how I liked them. Above is the basic natural color, a nice, clean neutral that seems to work well with all colors.
This is more of a dark ebony color. I bought it primarily to use with lighter-colored jewelry. I think this image is nicely dramatic, with the black backdrop and the ebony display and the black necklace, but it would make a pretty muddy thumbnail.
This cherry color is very rich and the black pops nicely against it! I think I like it better than the natural color for black jewelry.

The new necklace displays, as well as some teak earring displays, will start to make their way into the listing pictures over at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs soon. You know, once I actually make some new jewelry!

By the way, Wild Wild West Con was a lot of fun! At some point this week I'll post photos of my costumes, complete with links to some of the vendors who I buy costume components from!

Earthenwood Design Team -- Time's Dead Flowers

I'm honored to have been chosen to be a member of the Earthenwood Design Team for the month of February (yes, I know it's March now, I fell behind). Melanie sent me a great assortment of new components to design with. I used half of them to create this piece, which I call Time's Dead Flowers, inspired by a line in a Faith and the Muse song. Be sure to click on the link so you can see what the other Design Team members have done so far. It looks like everyone got the same elements but in different glaze combinations, which gives the designs great variety -- but of course, mine is the only one that is green ;)

This was very much a design-as-I-go sort of piece. I knew that I wanted to use the Clock Face Link and the pair of pewtery links to design a steampunk necklace to wear to Wild Wild West Con this weekend. I also knew that I wanted to use the bits of leftover chain that had been floating around on my desk for a couple of months. Other than that, I wasn't sure if I wanted to put in some bead weaving, or some strung elements, or what. I went into the beadroom to find what I could find.

One thing that I love about working with Melanie's components is that they're easy to work into any sort of beading. The wire loops are especially versatile; they can be linked onto a chain, hung from a strand, crimped through, or woven through. The punched holes in the pewtery links were a little more challenging -- My jump rings were a tight fit, which meant that I ended up substituting ribbon for chain.
The ribbon was wound around a card, so it looks funny in this picture, but the weight of the necklace pulls it straight when it's being worn. I originally had it hanging from a brown ribbon, and it looked nice, but then I said to myself "Wow, this necklace is really brown, and I'm a proponent of color in steampunk... I should add some green." So I grabbed the green ribbon, wove it through the chain and links, and added some green dangles, with vintage flower beads to echo the floral theme of the brass stamping.
Closeup! I decided that this was a perfect opportunity to use some of the new TierraCast brass oxide Metamorphosis components that I picked up during the gem show. The clock drop was a natural companion for the clock face link!
Another close-up! See what I mean about how easy these links are to work with? I simply used jumprings to attach the link to the brass flower. The entire necklace came together in minutes, if you don't count all the time I spent redesigning it and changing things and looking for things.

Melanie also sent these two red components with lovely heart themes. I have plans for them, plans involving beadweaving, red satin 3-cut seed beads, a black enameled key... It's going to be luscious! And another steampunk design with color!

If you'd like some Earthenwood components to use in your own designs, you should visit Melanie's website or Etsy shop. If you'd like to see more of my jewelry using Earthenwood components, you should visit my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs.

Disclaimer: FTC regulations say that this post isn't long enough yet and I need to make it abundantly clear that I received some of these items for free in return for promotional consideration on my blog. Consider yourself disclaimed.

A garden full of treasuries!

Yesterday was Treasury Tuesday once again! This week, I was in two treasuries, both with the same name! Lithia's Creations included my Tribal Orchid necklace (shown above) in How does your garden grow? and Mermaiden Creations included my Trundling Beetle spiral bracelet in How Does Your Garden Grow?

Keeping with the garden theme that was chosen for this week, my treasury is called Faeries help my garden grow and it has a cheery palette of blue, green, and a touch of pink for contrast.

Want more treasuries? You can also visit the official FAETeam Blog, where FaerieKat posts all of the treasuries featuring FAETeam members, or you can visit Aquariann's Treasury Tuesday post, which has a cool Linky for treasuries.

And if that's not enough fantasy goodness for you, you can always take another browse through Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs!

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!

Word of the Week: Passion

Andrew Thornton is posting a word a week for the next year, putting out the challenge that anyone who wants should blog and/or create around that word, and share the results. To kick it off, he chose the word "passion."

Now, I did just finish reading a cheesy fantasy romance novel this week, so it is tempting to go off on that sort of passion, but I try to keep my blog family-friendly, so instead I'll talk about my main passion in life: tribal belly dance! The picture above is from my first solo performance back in May 2010. Let's not get into how bad my arms/hands are in this photo, we're talking about passion, not criticism. So! Passion!

There are few things that move me as much as dance does. Sometimes it's a nearly transcendent experience for me, when I really connect with the music and my heart is thrown wide open and joy just flows out. And sometimes there's passionate frustration, when I just can't get a combo to click, or I keep stepping on my veil, or my finger cymbal gets caught in my hip scarf during recital. And sometimes, when watching one of my idols dance, it's all I can do not to weep from the sheer awe.

I wanted to create a new tribal necklace to celebrate my passion for dance, and to celebrate being more than 7 weeks into my 365 days of dance, but I didn't have much time to work on it, and what I attempted didn't work out right away. Instead, you can admire this picture of Innana at Dusk (which I made and wore for my solo performance), or go to Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs and check out some of my unique tribal necklaces.

Wings of the Morrigan, Progress Post 4

It's been a long time since I posted about Wings of the Morrigan, mostly because I've been too busy to really work on it. This is where I'm at currently. Unfortunately, I have to once again shelve it for a bit so I can work on custom orders and new stock for my shop.

So far this necklace includes:
-1 Black Kyanite specimen
-2 Swarovski Elements Pegasus Pendants
-1 Color of Czech size 11 seed beads
-Many Colors of Japanese size 11 seed beads, including permanent galvanized and hybrids.
-1 Color of Japanese size 15 seed beads
-1 Color of size 15 Charlottes
-8 Flat-backed freshwater pearls
-3mm Swarovski crystal bicones in Crystal Silver Night
-2mm Swarovski crystals rounds in Black Diamond.

Disclaimer: FTC regulations require me to mention that the Pegasus pendants in this necklace were provided for promotional consideration by Artbeads.com.

Shop news!

Today I listed Blue Heart, a spiral bracelet in my shop.

And today is the last full day to use coupon code loveandsparkles for 15% off anything at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. I'll shut it off when I get up tomorrow, so you can also use it tomorrow morning -- I'm a late sleeper!

A spiral, as promised!

I just listed this Trundling Beetle spiral rope bracelet in my Etsy shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. I photographed all the other spiral bracelets, too, but I only had time to list one, and I decided to do the best one! I love the bone bead focal, with its little beetle. I'm surprised I didn't make it into something for myself, honestly.

Most if not all of the other spiral ropes will be listed at a discounted price, I think. There's nothing wrong with them, they're just not as fancy as I tend to make them now, and a couple of them are really small.

No dance class tonight, which makes me sad! But this weekend we'll go to the Renaissance Faire and I'll get to see my favorite live music and dance group, Ghazaal Beledi! I'm so excited to see them dance, hear their music, and get their new CD! Oh yeah, and all the other stuff we'll do at Faire, too. But mostly Ghazaal Beledi! If you go to the Faire, make sure to see at least one of their shows and give them a big ol' cash tip, too!

More spirals coming soon!

So, today I was rearranging my Etsy shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs, because Valentine's Day is over and it was time to get the hearts off of center stage. I decided I wanted a row of various bracelets, and that's when I made a startling discovery: I only have two spiral rope bracelets in the entire shop! White Salamander, as discussed yesterday, and Pearl Branch, as shown above. This simply won't do! I found half a dozen more spiral ropes that are on my old website but not in Etsy, so I'll try to get them photographed and listed across tomorrow and Friday. I also plan to make new spirals, using some of the new, yummy colors of seed beads I picked up during the gem show, but those will have to wait until after I finish the two custom orders on my plate.

Treasury Superstar!

White Salamander is a superstar today! This gorgeous orange and white spiral bracelet is not only one of the items I chose to highlight in the new animated ad I made today, but it's also featured in THREE FAETeam treasuries! Our theme was the Pantone Spring/Summer 2011 color forecast, and White Salamander is a shoe-in for Coral Rose. You can see it alongside many other beautiful items in Color Me FAE, Dreaming of a FAE Spring and Spring's Fresh FAETeam, where two more of my items represent Regatta and Russet!

But that's not all! Yesterday I found Beneath an October Moon in The Color of the Wind's Song, a beautifully curated treasury.

And of course I took my turn at curating. My Pantone-themed offering focused on just one color. A Magical Lavender Daydream shows just how varied FAETeam is, with items ranging from stationary to costuming to jewelry.

Is your appetite for treasuries still not sated? You can view all FAETeam treasuries, or check out the linky on Aquariann's blog. You can even post a treasury of your own, but be sure to follow the rules by clicking and commenting on others as well.

By the way, I've decided to keep the loveandsparkles coupon code active until I get up on Saturday, so you still have a chance to save 15% at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. Please help feed my belly dance costume fund! ;)

Love and Sparkles!

Happy Valentine's Day! You know I am not the sort to usually celebrate this holiday -- not because I'm not in love, or not because I feel like it's overly commercialized, but mostly because it falls between the gem show and our anniversary, so I would feel silly expecting to get additional sparkly gifts. This year we are having a bit of a romantic day, with plans for him to get off of work early and make me a delicious dinner. No gifts needed, just a night to ourselves without work, house guests, or outside obligations of any sort.

But I do have a gift for you! Well, not really a gift so much as an offer. You can use the code loveandsparkles at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs to get 15% off anything and everything in the store! So buy yourself something beautiful, or get someone else a sparkly surprise. And have a lovely day, whether or not you're celebrating romance.

Unprofessional Vendors Irk Me

Due to a general sense of being tired, and having a bunch of stuff to catch up on here at home, I didn't make it out to the Gem Mall until today. This was the last day of the show, and it was set to close at 3pm instead of the usual 6pm. So I fully expected that when I got there between 12:30 and 1, some vendors would be in the process of packing things up. After all, it's a two week long show, and I remember from the couple of years that I worked it that we were all pretty eager to leave by the end!

What I did not expect was to find that many of the vendors were mostly, if not completely packed up! This included my usual Swarovski crystal supplier, and the vendor I get my carved bone pendants from. So I completely failed to stock up on those items, as if there was anyone else selling what I wanted, they had also already packed up!

The aisles were full of boxes and packaging materials, and the tents echoed with that irritating sound of tape being pulled from the roll. Many sellers seemed much more focused on packing up than on serving customers!

So my money went to the people who actually had the integrity to stay set-up until the end. I got a few strands of Czech glass and a handful of dyed ribbons from Da Beads, Inc and shared a gripe about people closing shop early. And I got three super gorgeous tribal pendants (one for me, two for business) from a vendor whose name I forgot to get. I wouldn't have splurged on tribal goodies at all, but I had extra money in my budget thanks to not being able to buy what I was there for in the first place!

I'll be looking for new sources for Swarovski crystals and carved pendants now. Anyone who can't stay open for the duration of the show they signed up for does not deserve my patronage in the future.

Speaking of patronage, here's my token mention of my shop! Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs! Your home for fantasy jewelry and blog-based griping!

Treasury Love

Fantasy Artists of Etsy Team has been participating in Treasury Tuesday! Last week I got featured in several but had no time to blog about them... This week, no one from the team featured me, but I have plenty of time to blog! Ah well. I curated the above collection, called In love with a fantasy. Please consider taking the time to view a few items, leave a comment, and maybe share it on your favorite social networking sites!

I was featured in one non-FAETeam treasury at least! My mermaid necklace, Queen of the Arctic Ocean, is in the nautical-themed Out at Sea.

My plan is to get some new fantasy necklaces made and listed at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs this week, so hopefully next week will be more treasuriffic!

Gem Show 2011 Recap!

Gem Show 2011 is more or less behind me! I still have two shows to go shop at, to get some supplies and more wooden necklace displays, but I've wrapped up most of my shopping and all of my working. Speaking of working, above is a picture of me at work! This is just a fraction of the Beyond Beadery booth. It really is bigger -- and has a better selection -- than a lot of bead stores I've been to.
But enough about work, and more about beads! I only took pictures of part of what I bought. Above, a cool heart bead (with an octopus!) by Christi Friesen, and some beautiful raku cabs by MAKUstudio. Mak is based in Phoenix, so it's pretty likely I'll be getting more of her yummy clay in the future!
And here, lampwork beads by two of my favorite artists! The tree and two sets are by JC Herrell, and the beetle, caterpillar, and other set are by Margaret Zinser. The cab is actually going to go back to MZ, in an embroidered pendant. I'm very excited about the project!
Of course, I had to get some steampunk goodies! The key with lampwork on it is by Kerri Fuhr. I've been admiring her work on Etsy for a long time, so I was really happy to meet her in person! The enameled pieces are from C-Koop, and I actually have a lot more than I put in the photo. I have more of the new TierraCast components on the other side of the photo, too! And I got the "Lolita" skeleton cab from work, and also have a smaller one to work with.

I've also got a big bag of seed beads, a bunch of chain, and some new crystals. I can't wait to get designing and bring some exciting new pieces to Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs!

Jen's Dragon

I could have sworn I had a better picture of this, but I can't find it, so I guess I don't! This is the necklace I made for my friend Jen as part of a Pay it Forward crafting thing on Facebook. Jen loves dragons, and I thought this one that I got from Artbeads.com a while back was perfect for her, because it's highly detailed, unusual, and a nice size. Plus the round shape looks great with the nephrite jade coins! I also used hematite, and Czech glass in Montana blue with a jade green Picasso effect on the ends. I was finally able to give it to her on Sunday and she loves it. Yay!

If you would like a dragon necklace of your own, I do have some available at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. Well actually, it looks like right now I only have one, In The Dragon's Nest. So I guess I know one thing I need to work on after gem show! I have a bad habit of hoarding all the dragon focals for myself instead of making them into jewelry for the shop! I need to either be less greedy, or buy more duplicates ;)

Green Girl Goodies!

Octopi! Owls! Hearts! Medusa! All this and more. I hit To Bead True Blue today so I could restock my Green Girl Studios focal stash. I focused mostly on what's sold well for me this year, plus a couple of new designs that I really liked. They make me want to sit down and make jewelry right now! You can bet that after the gem show is over, some of these lovelies will be made into new necklaces and listed in my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. But not the octopus with garnet eyes... she's MINE :D

Unfortunately, the weather was pretty bad, so I didn't head down to the Gem Mall to stock up on crystals and carved bone pendants. I'll have to go next week, after I'm done working at Best Bead.

Frontage Road Shows

Why do I love the frontage road shows? Because that's where I score sweet tribal jewelry! Not only did I get two cute rings for $3 each today, but look at this amazing belt that was only $35! Yes, that back panel that spreads across my entire bum is in fact peyote-stitched seed beads (size 8ish) with a netted border. There are two smaller triangle panels at the front. And the bells make such a pretty chiming ring. And there are mirrors! Oh, I love it so much! In fact, I plan to wear it tomorrow when I perform in Tempe! My friend Jen and I will be doing a duet!

Anyway, we didn't have much time to spend at the shows today. We did check out a new show, on the east side of the I-10 and 22nd Street corner, which has free parking, clean restrooms, and some friendly vendors. I saw some cabs I wanted and OMG Liquid Fire Mantra was there and I saw the ear things in person and I WANT THEM SO BADLY! If only I hadn't just bought a new belly dance skirt on Thursday, those ear things would be MINE!

Remember, if you would like to support my debilitating tribal jewelry, 25 yard skirt and elf ear habit, you can go to Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs and give in to your addiction for unique beaded jewelry. Just saying... ;)

Earrings in a Treasury!

My Midnight Dancer tribal chandelier earrings (pictured above) are in Beadmask's beautiful Labyrinth-themed treasury Dance the Magic Dance. Labyrinth has been one of my favorite movies since I was old enough to form opinions. We must have watched it at least once a year when I was a kid, and it's largely responsible for my love of the fantasy genre and the art of Brian Froud. I somehow never became a Bowie fan, though.

So please visit the treasury, click a few items, make a comment if you feel moved to, and definitely visit Beadmask's shop! I've loved Andrea's work since way before Etsy! She's so talented.

And while you're at it, pop over to my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. Any purchases made within the next week will go straight to purchasing supplies at the gem, mineral and bead shows. My first shopping trip is tomorrow! Woohoo!

Have I mentioned the gem show lately?

I know, I know, it's nothing but gem show around here from mid-January to mid-February! I just love it so much! The first long-running shows are opening up along the I-10 this week, so I'm very excited to take my brother-in-law to them on Saturday. He's never had the Tucson Gem Show Experience. I hope he's up for it!

Wings of the Morrigan is just not shaping up. I've ripped out about as many beads as I've stitched down! I probably won't finish it in time for gem show, but it's not as if I don't have plenty of old jewelry to wear... and while I may not have a new necklace for the Swarovski party, I will have new moves on the dance floor.

Win a trip to the gem show!

Not this year's gem show, because hey, you need time to schedule vacation days and save up for the shopping. But Artbeads.com is offering you the chance to win round-trip airfare for 2, 3 days accommodations, and classes at the 2012 gem show! Pretty sweet! And you won't even have to compete against me, because hey, I already live here. Click here to learn more and enter the sweepstakes. If you do win, you'd better let me know so we can meet up!

I am super excited for gem show 2011! This is when I buy almost all my supplies for the year, though I also stock up a bit when Rings & Things comes to Phoenix, and occasionally I make some good finds at bead stores or the tiny show in September. But the February shows are where it's at! I'll get my crystals, seed beads, and focals, which shape what sort of designs I'll be offering at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs through 2011 and beyond. Based on what has sold well this year, I'll be looking for supplies to make another Medusa necklace or two, some steampunk earrings, and definitely more skull jewelry. Maybe some more owl necklaces, too. As far as tribal jewelry, I'll mainly buy things for myself, since that collection doesn't seem to sell as well as I expected. But maybe 2011 will bring new surprises!

Need more time!

Wow, how time has been flying. January is already more than half gone, the gem shows start in less than two weeks, my brother-in-law will be here on Sunday... and Wings of the Morrigan isn't even half done! I need to get back to work, furiously embroidering this week and next, if I have any chance of wearing it to the Swarovski party. I have a feeling I'll need to come up with a back-up plan.

Because I've been so busy, and so stressed-out about house stuff, I've really been neglecting Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. I had all these cool ideas, for the FAETeam's Stag challenge, and for Valentine's Day, but I've barely touched my beads except to make a few custom pieces last week. I have to clean up and put away my beads to make the guest room inhabitable, so I'm hoping to sneak some beading time in as well, as seeing things while I put them away will no doubt inspire me!

Things that make me happy

Three things that make me happy!

First, I'm featured in the treasury A little bling by AnikasArt. Anika is a really talented fellow FAE, so please make sure to check out her shop after you're done admiring the treasury!

Second, I had a fun day exploring the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum with Andrew Thornton. I'd tell you all about it, but my guess is that Andrew will blog it more eloquently than I will, and with better pictures (I left my camera at home because I'm paranoid about it dying again). I will say that my inner Goth was very pleased that the first birds in the raptor free-flight were a pair of Chihuahuan ravens!

Third, by the time I got home I had a new water heater and a fully-operational shower (and a new bathroom faucet to boot)! Oh, happy day! I can finally take a hot shower in my own home again! And my water heater won't make weird sloshy noises any more.

At last, my style and versatility have been recognized!

As you surely already know, I am both stylish (in a Goth/steampunk/boho/jewelry addict sort of way)...
...and versatile. Why, I can't even begin to enumerate my various uses! Aquariann chose to recognize these two great assets of mine by sharing with me the blog awards that she was given for also being stylish and versatile. I'm suppose to choose 15 other blogs that I think are both Stylish and Versatile to pass the award on to, but I know most of the bloggers I follow are too busy for that sort of thing, so I'm just going to recommend that you visit them:
1: TotusMel's Wunderkammer
2: Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
3: Cephalopod Tea Party
4: The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
5: MadDesigns
6: Mermaiden Creations in the Underworld
(Around this time I realize that I might not even follow 15 active blogs right now)
7: Fantasy Artists of Etsy
8: SaraBeth's Belly Dancing Bead Blog
9: Multicultalism for Steampunk
10: Princess Farhana
(Fiiiiiiive moooooore)
11: SpeedieBeadie
12: Darkling Woods Studio
13: Bead Indulgences
14: Anne E. Mitchell
15: Art Bead Scene

But wait! I'm not done! Now I'm supposed to tell you 7 random things about myself. This is turning into a really weird acceptance speech.

1: I used to think blogs were dumb and I only started this one to promote Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. Then I got addicted.
2: I met my husband in a chat room for on-line roleplaying. We were in character at the time. Gaming turned to friendship turned to romance turned to almost 11 years of marriage so far.
3: My favorite color used to be purple.
4: As far as I know I am not allergic to anything... except maybe vodka.
5: I enjoy learning new belly dance combos, but I have a hard time remembering them. I do not enjoy learning choreography, but I am good at learning it.
6: I have recurring dreams about being forced to walk through rooms full of dark aquariums full of inky water and things I can't quite see.
7: Any time I see a greyhound rescue group I have an irresistible urge to run up and pet a greyhound. They're just so sweet and calm and they have the sleekest, skinniest little heads!