Return to Renaissance

Have you seen the latest FAETeam Exhibition yet? It's called Return to Renaissance and there are many elegant items included! As usual, Aquariann has done a wonderful job of tastefully arranging the selections, treasury-style. If you're planning a trip to the Renaissance Faire this summer, you should go take a look and see what you'd like to ad to your garb.

Just for fun

 It seems like I don't do a lot of beading just for the fun of it anymore. Everything that I make is either to sell, to use my beads from Artbeads, or to fill a spot in my wardrobe. But this ring was created just because I saw the pattern and I wanted to try to make a ring. I used five colors of Delicas, and by colors I of course mean "shades of olivine." The sad thing is this is probably not even close to all the shades of olivine I have. I added some 2mm Swarovski crystals in olivine to the edges and the center, because I felt like the design needed some embellishment and if I'm going to wear a giant cocktail ring, it should have some sparkles.

The pattern was posted on Facebook to promote Geometrics by Dustin Wedekind and Kate McKinnon. I'm pretty excited about the book, I think it will probably be just about everything that a bead book should be, and it's being written right here in Tucson!

Speaking of things made in Tucson, on the lefthand side of my blog you will now find a Kickstarter link for Autopsy Bears. This morbidly adorable (adorably morbid?) project is the brainchild of my dance teacher Fonda and one of her friends. I've already made my pledge and I really want my bear, so if you'd like to support some crazy Tucson artists, please consider singing up to be a backer.

Tribal Magic

My husband actually found this cool pendant on a shopping trip. I just had to have it! It looks sort of like a pentagram, but the lines don't actually form a star. Still very strange and occult looking. I used some black lava, fired agate, and faceted glass beads to make it into a nice Gothic Tribal necklace. I call it Black Magic and it's currently available in my Etsy shop.

I'm having so much fun designing tribal necklaces, it's giving me a chance to use a lot more stone beads. When I was primarily doing beadwoven pieces, I had to use stones sparingly, and only small ones, or run the risk of them damaging the thread. The stones in this piece came from a couple different Rings & Things bead shows. I used almost all the lava in this one, but there's plenty more fired agate waiting to be used in other designs.

Mermaids and Octopuses

I made this for Treasury Tuesday! No features for me this week, again. Most of FAETeam has been too busy to make treasuries, it seems.

On a completely unrelated note, today is the last day to enter the giveaway for my leaf anklet, hosted at Aquariann's blog. Click this link, or the handy button on the right. I'd like to thank all of you who have come to this blog via the giveaway! Good luck :)

It's Steampunk Day!

 According to the Internet, today is Steampunk Day. And apparently July 10th is "Strut Your Steampunk Stuff Day" so I suspect we will be seeing a lot of unofficial steampunk holidays as various groups decide to announce their own day. Regardless of the validity of the day, it seems like a really good time to finally introduce the new offshoot of my line of crystal bracelets! They're still created with Swarovski crystals and tiny seed beads, but this series uses metal seed beads instead of glass, and I'm finishing them with steampunk clasps, too!

Shown above is Green Energy, a name that amuses me because there's really nothing green about coal-fed steam engines.

And this is Rusty Gear. The clasp is enamel over brass and I think it looks pretty awesome.

Of course there's plenty more steampunk jewelry to be found at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. Feel free to go have a look.

What's Old is New Again

 The most recent Artbeads.com challenge is titled "What's Old is New Again" and the idea was to use vintage components (from your own collection or purchased from Artbeads) to create something new. I love designing with vintage beads, cabochons and whatever other old things I can get my hands on (keys, chandelier crystals, pendants...), so this theme really grabbed me! The hard part was deciding on just one idea so I could figure out what to order.

 Then I saw this beautiful LillyPilly lotus in the Pendants section, and I just knew that the black lip shell would be perfect with the vintage glass (or possibly crystal?) beads that I had received from a family friend in New York. Her mother had passed away and left her a lot of costume jewelry. After it has sat for a while, unsorted and unloved, she thought "Oh, AJ makes jewelry! Maybe she would like some of this" and brought bags of it over to my mother-in-law's home for me to sort through. These crystals were definitely the very best thing in there. I salvaged them from a two-strand necklace strung on the weirdest super-fine chain, which was so old and fragile that it disintegrated in my hands as I pulled beads off of it. There's even a vintage two-strand clasp with a crystal set into it, which I will have to save to use with the rest of the beads.

Searching around the site, I also found some beautiful brass links in the Base Metal section, which I felt nicely echoed the lotus design but also gave it a Victorian feel. Then to pull in the pure gold color of the lotus, I picked out some pearls from the Swarovski Beads section. I also got a few Findings to finish everything up.

When I came up with the necklace, I was torn as to whether I should sell it or keep it for myself... but then I realized that it was *perfect* to go with the costume for my solo this weekend, so that settled it! Here's a little close-up of how nicely it fits with my halter top. What you can't see is that the top has teal and brown beaded trim, and my pants have a teal and brown and black swirly print, and that I was wearing a ridiculous brown feather headpiece. I felt so pretty!

FTC disclaimer: Certain beads used in this project where provided for free by Artbeads.com in return for promotional consideration.

Make a statement

So. Usually I make small jewelry. But not this time. This is a big, crazy statement necklace! The statement is "RARH! I HAVE CLAWS!" Or maybe fangs. Anyway. I think it's pretty awesome :) It's called Shield of the Sunset Warrior and if you click the link, you can see it on Etsy. Maybe you'll even decide to buy it.

The cool crackled-looking orange beads are part of my purchase from the Rings & Things show late last month. I also got some in green and in black. I think they're absolutely perfect for tribal jewelry, they have such an old, earthy feel to them.

More new jewelry coming on Monday, I've got it all photographed but I need to take the time to get them edited and then list them on Etsy. At least they rolled out the new, more streamlined listing page so it goes much more quickly now.

On a creative roll

Wow, big creative day! I finished a beadwoven ring I'd been working on (for me), strung a black tribal necklace (for the shop), made something with my latest Artbeads blog beads (for me), and strung a orange tribal necklace (for the shop). The only reason I'm not making more things is that I really should get some housework done before I go to dance class tonight.

Tomorrow I'll photograph the new stuff and maybe list a couple of pieces in my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. In addition to what I made today, I also have another pair of Hamsa earrings ready, and the two crystal bracelets.

Only one this week!

Just one lonely treasury, curated by me. I didn't even feel like making a treasury, so I didn't put a lot of work into it, but people seem to like it, so yay.

Keeping this short, I have to run errands, practice dancing, and work on new stock for Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs.

Good bye, Tribal Orchid!

Sometimes, I'm actually a little sad to sell a piece of jewelry. I love my Tribal Orchid necklace and I don't want it to leave me! But it sold last week, so off it goes in the mail! And it's going to my mother-in-law, so I know it will have a good home and I can visit it when I go to NY this Summer. Mainly I'm just sad because Thai silver is SO expensive now that it's unlikely I'll be able to make something like this again!


Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs is actually looking a little picked-over right now. I only have one spiral bracelet left. One! I need to do some serious beading this week, in between all my dance stuff and errands and housework. If there's any section that's too skimpy for your liking, let me know and I'll brainstorm new designs to fill it back up. I already made a pair of hamsa earrings today and picked out beads for a couple of new tribal necklaces.

Treasuries!

I've got rings on my mind. I'm working on one based on a preview tutorial posted to promote Dustin and Kate's Geometrics book, and trying to dream up my own designs that I could make and sell. Rings are all over the beadosphere right now, but my treasury is mostly full of chainmaille and wirework. And of course, they're all from FAETeam!

Last week, I also made Look, I just really like green! A few FAETeam pieces are included, but the main theme is green things from my favorite items and favorite shops.

One of my tribal necklaces is included in Peacock Tales by Mermie. Apparently peacocks are in, of course, in belly dance land they're always in. We love decadence!

Do you want to win an anklet? Of course you do.

I'm so excited that I can finally announce this! The wonderful Aquariann is hosting a giveaway of the above anklet at her blog, The Art & Tree Chatter of Aquariann. Just in time for Summer weather, too! I actually wasn't sure what I wanted to offer for the give-away (I was thinking maybe a gift certificate), but when Aquariann suggested this anklet would be perfect, I knew she was right. Not only does it go well with the theme of her blog, but it helps to promote a line that I'd like to draw more attention to. And it's very representative of what to do, which is to say that it is 1: green 2: leafy and 3: something you could wear to belly dance.

And would you believe that there's more exciting news coming down the pipeline for me and Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs? I have been a busy little gal behind the scenes lately! Oh sure, it seems like I spend all my time hanging out on Facebook, going to belly dance classes, and reading China Mieville novels, but I really do get some work done sometimes.

By the way, I've decided to continue my weekend sale all through the week! I really want some spending cash for the belly dance workshop I'm taking this weekend, which is probably the last big workshop I'll do until November (probably). So remember that if you want to buy something, you should use code DISCOUNTME for 20% off!

I'm having a sale!

Wow, it feels like I've barely been home at all this week! So to make up for the lack of new jewelry listings, and to celebrate the three day weekend, I'm having a sale! Use coupon code DISCOUNTME to get 20% off your entire purchase at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs. The beautiful beaded anklet shown above is just one of the over 90 items currently in stock right now!

I hope everyone has a fun weekend, whatever they do. I'm looking forward to being home, as my next three weekends in a row will be spent up in Phoenix for dance events!

Treasuries on Tuesday!

I saw some pretty blue items and decided to do an all-blue FAETeam treasury. Enjoy!

Also, Andrea of Beadmask included one of my necklaces in her treasury Strange Birds which has some really, really awesome items in it!

Such a tease!

Do you like these Hamsa earrings? Well, you can't have them! I did create them with the intention of listing them in my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs, but I tweeted about them while I was making them and one of my dance classmates saw and called dibs! I call that proof that social networking really is good for business.

Anyway, over the weekend I worked on my new crystal bracelet variant (with metal seed beads!), and I completed two of them, but I don't really feel like setting up my photography stuff just to take pictures of two bracelets. I have the beads picked out for a third bracelet to make while I'm watching DVDs tonight. I could have made it last night after finished the second bracelet, but honestly the thread that I have to use with the metal seed beads is hard on my hands, so I don't like to work with it for too long at a sitting.

So tomorrow afternoon I will have three bracelets to photograph and whatever I buy at the Rings & Things show in Mesa tomorrow. Yep, I'm going to drive almost 2 hours to buy beads again, even though I keep saying I have too many of them. Guess I should go use up some more tonight.

Belated Treasuries

Shame on me, not getting around to rounding up this week's treasuries until Friday! I'd like to say I have a great and valid excuse, but the truth is that I spent all day Wednesday reading a book. It was a really good book! And it's been so long since I allowed myself to just read all day. And it was unusually gray and cold. Yesterday, of course, was dance class day and I had to be out the door by 4:10pm, so I didn't have a lot of time to do anything.

Anyway, it was a great week for treasuries! My sexy mermaid necklace is in the one above, one of my crystal bracelets is in Magical Twilight Hour and the Phoenix Feathers necklace did it again, being included in The Heat is On.

My treasury offering for the week is A Bounty of Beautiful Bracelets.

The Mysterious Mr. Bird-Man.

 I already showed this necklace a bit ago, along with the hair stick that I made in the same week, but today The Mysterious Mr. Bird-Man gets to take center stage in his very own blog post.

 What is he? Is he Garuda? Quetzalcoatl? A Tengu? Some other fanciful blend of bird and man? We may never know. I saw him at the Bead Museum gift shop and simply had to have him. He spent a couple years just hanging out in my bead collection until I decided what to do with him.

Now he hangs from a strand of glass, stone, and pearls in lovely shades of olive and golden brown. Not really a tribal piece, but I've been wearing him to dance class a lot anyway.

I made something pink!

Talk about stepping outside of my comfort zone! I made this for my friend Meghan, based on the colors of a little hip scarf she wears to dance class sometimes. It was very weird to work on, because these colors are so bright and there's no neutral involved. But I kept telling myself that Meghan would like it, and that plenty of bead artists work in color combinations like this, so they can't all be wrong.

The pendant is a large Swarovski crystal bezeled with Delicas and Japanese seed beads, hanging from a hand-dyed silk ribbon that perfectly matches the crystal.

Feathery Treasury

I've been really into feathers lately, and then I saw that ridiculously awesome peacock mohawk. Wow! That had to go in a treasury! So I stepped outside of the usual box of making FAETeam-only Treasuries, and made one that had members of my team, but also other sellers whose work was beautiful and feathery and well-photographed. Along the way I found lots of things that I wanted to buy, especially hair accessories. I've been so crazy over my hair and things to go in it!

No treasury features for me this week, boohoo. Actually, not many people at all made FAETeam treasuries this week, so I'm not surprised. I can't expect Mermie to include me EVERY week!

I can't help but notice that my comments section has been really quiet this week. What's up, everyone? Let's talk! I just talked about how I've been obsessed with feathers and my hair... what are you obsessed with?

LL-BFAC Kit for 2012 Auctions

How pretty is this color palette? It's the latest Layne's Legacy -- Beading For A Cure kit, to be used to create items to be auctioned off in 2012. Betcey at Beyond Beadery provided this year's beautiful and generous kit, with lots of Japanese seed beads and Swarovski crystals. There are even some of those new-ish long Magatama drops that I haven't tried out yet.

I'll probably do some bead embroidery, but I haven't decided yet what I want to add. I was looking at some nice cabochons on Etsy last night, but my taste was running towards the expensive!

Soul Eater, rarh!

It feels good to be making new jewelry for my Etsy shop again, especially when that new jewelry includes Soul Eater Skull Necklace, the most badass tribal necklace I've ever made. The awesome skull pendant was one of my great gem show finds earlier this year and I'm happy to have it worked into a finished piece and up for sale at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs.

Over the next day or so I'll also be adding another necklace and more Handmade Anklets, as well as whatever else I feel like creating and photographing. It's going to be a busy week.

FAETeam Exhibition!

Have you seen the latest FAETeam Exhibition? It's called Fairies, Elves & Pixies, Oh My! and it features a lot of great fae folk created by a lot of talented fae artists! Of course, two pieces of my faerie jewelry are in there. There are so many beautiful items this time around, I don't know that I could pick a favorite. The team has really been growing and attracting new, amazing artists.

Please pardon this short post, I have a lot to do before I leave for dance class in 5 hours!

Beautiful Treasuries!

Here we are at another Wednesday, which means it's time to take a look back at Tuesday! I was only included in one Treasury this week, but what a beauty it is! Click on any of the items in the Widget to have a closer look.

Our weekly theme was something May-ish, so I curated a collection called Adornments for the May Queen, which gave me an excuse to showcase things which were beautiful and green (or photographed on a green background).

I've also been quite busy adding new things to my shop Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs, so be sure to drop in!

A Rose for Jen

 My friend Jen's birthday was last month, so I made her a necklace. Because she often wears shades of purple and green together for belly dancing, and it's hard to find tribal jewelry in those colors, I strung some rainbow flourite and Thai silver together to make something that I felt fit her sense of style and her costuming choices. I'm happy to say that she likes it!

To achieve a nice random mix of purple, green and clear stones I left the flourite in the compartment box I had it stored in, and set it at the other end of my desk, so I could reach it but not see what I was grabbing. Otherwise I would have gotten too picky about not having too many greens or purples in a row, and it would not have looked as wonderfully random.

This also fits nicely with the continuation of Operation: Buried in Beads because the flourite and Thai focal had been part of my stash for a long time. I'd periodically tried to come up with a design to use that rose and never succeeded, so clearly it was waiting for Jen's birthday!

Interested in your own one-of-a-kind tribal necklace? Visit Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs!

Anklet Season is Here!

I know some parts of the country are still dealing with late snow storms, but here in Arizona it's warm and beautiful, which means that I have broken out the sundresses and the sandals and turned my thoughts to anklets. Today I listed three anklets, representing three of the four styles I currently make (I didn't have time to list the fourth, so it will go up tomorrow!). Above, Blue Bells is a beadwoven anklet featuring a chevron chain pattern and jingling bell accents.

 Bohemian Gothic is a chain and dangle model, featuring silver chain and vintage beads. Because I bought the chain years ago, the price does not reflect silver's current cost, which is about $45/oz. As such, it's quite the steal!

Spring Leaf features strung beads in a delightful vernal color combination. I love how top-drilled leaves look in anklets, they form the perfect little drops all around the ankle.

Keep an eye on Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs for more ankle bracelet designs, or hop right over to the Handmade Anklets section to see what is currently available!

Two new things for me!

To celebrate the fact that I finished all my outstanding custom orders and birthday presents for friends, I decided to make myself a couple of presents! First, a cool necklace with a pendant that is either a tengu, Garuda, or some other bird-man. Second a bone hairstick adorned with glass and stone beads, a carved skull, and an Afghani coin. Big surprise, both items are brown and green!

The hairstick is actually a prototype for a new product line. What do you think? Would you like to see unique tribal hairsticks at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs? Hairstick materials would include bone, horn, wood and metal, and accents would include beads of all sorts, coins, bells, pendants, keys, and whatever else would look cool. Pricing would probably range from $10-$20+ depending on how fancy they get and how much I have to pay for the base stick.

More pictures of both items will be posted next week, right now I have way too much to do before I head off to belly dance class!

Let's talk about Treasury Tuesday!

I have to say, I really like this treasury that I made yesterday! It was choose-your-own-theme again, and after vacillating for a bit, I saw a hair accessory that I liked in someone else's treasury and decided that I should do an entire collection of beautiful hair goodies. It seems rather fitting, because I've really been into taking care of my hair lately, trying new products to clean it and style it and keep it safe from harm.

Also, I was featured in two treasuries yesterday! Phoenix Feathers Beaded Choker continues its winning run by being featured in Busy as a Bee Creating Blissfully by Liza's Whimsical Art. Meanwhile, Miss July the Faerie Pin-Up Necklace is in All A-Glow by Mermaiden Creations, my favorite treasury curator!

Tribal Lotus

 This is the first necklace I made as part of my ongoing Operation: Buried in Beads. Created as a gift for one of my belly dance teachers, it features a tribal-appropriate black and red color combination and a cool matte black carved stone lotus flower. I'm happy to say that she loves it. There's few things nicer than creating a gift that is well-received :)

For more handmade tribal jewelry, be sure to check out my shop, Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs.

The return of Operation: Buried in Beads

Last year, I had too many beads and I decided to undertake Operation: Buried in Beads to try to use up some of my massive stash. Well, I still have too many beads, and I still can't figure out a way to get them all properly organized and put away, and I still don't have a dedicated workspace, so I'm doing it again. It is time to make some friggin' jewelry, and hopefully use up lots of stray beads and components in the process.

I already started, but I can't tell you what I made because it's a present for somebody! So I'll post it after it's been given. I've also got the start of a few other projects laid out, but first I have to make a couple more presents. Seriously, why is everyone having birthdays in April? And Mother's Day is right around the corner, too! Plus my birthday is just over a week away on the 1st, so I need to make myself a present because hey, I deserve it.

Anyway, back to slaving away in the bead-cave.

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!