BTW...Holiday Discounts!!

If you lurk around in the last few posts, I have listed a discount code for items in my shop! Free shipping to the first person to order using the discount code. Happy Hunting!

Busy Busy Busy!

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth! I am so sorry I have not posted in quite a while! I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and are now in full swing for the holidays. I just decorated my "Christmas Shrub" last night! (Christmas Shrub –noun 1. A small everygreen tree resembling the sawed off top of a "real" tree, decorated at Christmas with ornaments and lights. As defined by me, hehe.)

This week I have made it my goal to put in a renewed effort to my etsy shop!

My Holiday To Do List for 12/7-12/14:

1. List at least 3 new items.
2. Add photos of my adorable gift wrap for this holiday season.
3. Blog at least two more times!

Keep your eyes peeled for the new stuff!

Holiday Promotions!

Wow, I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week! This year has gone so quickly! In honor of my first Holiday Season on Etsy, I have really been working on how to gift wrap items! I have settled on a golden caramel colored ribbon with white boxes. I felt like that color worked well for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, without being too overtly Christmas-y. (Not to mention it is very similar to my favorite color goldenrod!) Inside the box I used brown recycled shredded paper to create a bed for my jewelry. I made new cards with my logo stamped on them to display the jewelry inside. (Pictures will be posted later today!) I'm pretty excited about all of this, but hey, you need to enjoy the little things, right?

Tomorrow check my shop for some new items! I have at least 4 items to post for saturday! I had bought some excellent vintage raw brass chain with the most wonderful warm reddish hue. I think that brass is my favorite metal -- it develops a gorgeous patina, is very versatile, and keeps costs low!

As a thank you for visiting my blog, mention the Promo Code "GOLDENROD" in the message to the seller portion of your purchase, and I will refund 20% off your order! (Good through December 2009.)

Happy Shopping!

A Feline Photoshoot

This weekend I was taking photos of my soon to be listed new items, and my kitten Captain Jack decided he would like to partake in the fun. So I thought I would share some of the photos, because he was being too photogenic to keep them all to myself. This way you can get a little preview of these adorable new earrings that will be listed later this week too! (Sorry they're a bit blurry, but this picture was too cute.)

The little captain seems very interested in jewelry making. I should make him my apprentice. As soon as he sprouts some opposable thumbs...

Now he is peering down at me setting up my shot. (I am crouched next to our sliding glass doors to get some light.) There's our other cat Whiskers, in the background. She is apparently too cool to be excited about jewelry from the unenthusiastic look she is giving me.

Here's the last one. At this point, I am focusing more on the cuteness of El Capitan here, than my jewelry. I'm easily distracted by a cute kitty, it's true. I can't tell you how much time has been lost browsing page after page of lolcats!

Treasuries Part 2

I think this week is going to be a wonderful week. For the first time, not only did I get to create a treasury but have my Secret Garden necklace be featured in a treasury by ChYMieRa. She has made her treasury Skeleton Key themed. It is also a BNR, so if you purchase one of the items shown, she will replace the item you buy in the treasury with one from your shop! Very cool, right?

Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=90358     Have a wonderful day!

The Elusive Treasury

I finally got a treasury! My theme was birds. I tried to choose sellers I had not ever seen on the front page of Etsy before. It drives me crazy when I see the same sellers over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I am happy they are getting some exposure, but I think that Etsy should spread the love around. It feels as though there are some sellers that someone at Etsy must really like. But enough about that.

It's funny: I absolutely love representations of birds in art, yet I'm not incredibly fond of the real thing. Sure they are beautiful creatures, but I wouldn't like to have one as a pet.Something about all that chirping when you're trying to sleep makes them a less than ideal pet to me. I feel that birds are best appreciated through art or in the wild. So go and check out my treasury when you get a chance! :)

Gorgeous Goldenrod. My favorite color :)

I thought I would share some finds on etsy in goldenrod yellow/orange. (So perfect for fall!) I just feel warm and happy whenever I see this color :) I tried to choose items with an interesting texture too.

Here are some great earrings by laceramiste. What a lovely crackle texture to the beads.

I love this wee fox plushie by sleepyking!! Such a great contrast of fabrics!

I absolutely adore this little hat by pixiebell! Those little buttons are a gorgeous accent!

Hooray for fall shopping!

An Overdue Update

I haven't blogged in quite a while; the day job and life in general have been keeping me away from the computer. But fear not, I have returned with some fun new items to list on Etsy! I am still working through the massive assortment of estate jewelry I purchased, and have excavated some excellent little finds. I found this adorable little filigree goldtone (possibly gold plated) cab setting. I placed this hand painted peach Javanese flower cab into it, and it looks great! I have several other necklaces to list tonight, definitely stop by my shop and check them out!

On a different note, I am looking for some bright red and beige sailcloth-esque fabric to make some rockin' pillows to go on my couch. My boyfriend and I have recently painted the walls this excellent shade of green (the paint company calls it guacamole). The couches are a light tan, and I reupholstered our table chairs with bright red canvas. For the couch pillows, I am envisioning a repeating zigzag pattern, or something else equally exciting. If you make pillows, sell fabric, or know where I could find something like this, let me know!

Felted Fun! The Conclusion.

I am sorry to report that my first attempt has not been a complete success. While you can see from the photo below that it has more than succeeded in its cuteness, but my measurements were a bit off, and so when zipped the case puckers and does not lay correctly. I think this is largely due to the inclusion of a zipper in my design. You'll notice I also decided to try sewing the kitty applique down with my sewing machine rather than by hand with contrasting large grey thread. Which style do you like better? Since I have the opportunity to redo the case, I can tweak the applique as well.

I now have a whole new appreciation for crafters who sew items with zippers! I found it very difficult. I have been searching around for a design idea involving velcro and found this on etsy:

Isn't it wonderfully cute?! It is by indibe on etsy and while it is a bit more than I would like to spend, it is inspirational for me to try and craft my own case again, this time with velcro!

p.s. Does anyone know where I could find a large sheet or wide strip of velro in goldenrod yellow? Thanks!

Newly Discounted Items in SALE section!

Just a little update:

As of right this moment, there are 10 newly discounted items in the sale section of raechan.etsy.com! As always, free shipping and gift wrap for every item purchased.

Get a head start on your Christmas gift-buying. Happy Shopping!

p.s. I am trade friendly, so feel free to convo me about a swap! Trades make Christmas shopping more fun, not to mention much easier on your wallet!

Felted Fun! Phase 2

This morning I began sewing my little cat applique on to the outside layer of my laptop case! I lightly glued down the cat first, and then began sewing around the edges. My trusty bottle of FrayCheck came in handy again also, as the edges tends to get a bit fuzzy with a more detailed cut out. I will say that it is pretty difficult to sew through 2 layers of felt with a larger needle. My hands were pretty tired, but I feel like the result came out nicely! Here is a picture of the cat (sewn down) and some of my supplies.

I was pretty excited to have found such a bright yellow zipper to match my case. Unfortunately, the cats felt whiskers fell off while I was trying to sew it to the case exterior.

I had not tried to make such a small cut out before, and apparently it doesn't work well. I am thinking I may just pick up some yellow embroidery floss and create the whiskers that way. If anyone has any suggestions for the whiskers, let me know!

Felted Fun! A feline adventure...

I have decided to try something completely new and different from anything I sell on etsy or have made before. I am attempting to make a felt laptop case! I have chosen a great charcoal gray felt for the exterior (I have gray cats, and I must take in consideration their shedding factor.) The zippers and the interior of the case will be made with bright goldenrod yellow felt! It is a fantastic color, and every time I look at it, I feel happy and sunny, even on the rainiest day.

A little cat cutout I made of the yellow felt will make an applique for the front of the case. He is very kawaii, and has a very large head and tiny body. :) I thought it would be a great idea to create a little cord/usb/mouse pouch, and what better way to decorate the exterior than with a wee mouse applique. A mouse bag to hold my mouse...cat and mouse set....ha. ha. I know; I'm witty. Go with it!

 

My cat likes it too!

New Vintage Finds!

As promised, here is a necklace featuring those adorable white vintage swirl links. I'm pretty tempted to keep it, but I feel as though I should share its awesomeness with etsy shoppers! :)

I harvested the chain from other vintage jewelry as well. I am currently working to clean, restore, and repurpose a multi-layer chain necklace. It's definitely a statement piece. Very very long, and has a variety of different lengths of chain. The chain used in the white swirl necklace came from the multi-layered one, as it was broken, and no longer long enough to work for its original necklace.

I refitted the multi-layer necklace with gold plated chain, to contrast with the matte vintage chain. It's definitely going to be very exciting looking. Keep an eye out!

Today I listed a vintage braided bracelet as well as vintage enamel unicorn earrings. Very cute! I wasn't sure what the metal was for the bracelet, but it reacted after being cleaned and placed in liver of sulphur. I am thinking it is most likely silver or silver plated. Sigh, I love each and every piece I make. It can be so hard to part with something and sell it. At the same time, it is a pretty cool feeling to know that people who aren't my mother like my designs and are wearing my work right now!

White swirls and brass roses...lots of fun little treasures

I bought a surprise mix of 6lbs of vintage jewelry, and I am so excited to start making things. I love re-purposing or repairing vintage jewelry :) I found these excellent white swirl pattern metal links, which are just begging to be made into a necklace. Keep an eye out for one in my etsy store!

I am trying to figure out what the best way is to attach these adorable brass roses I have on to a necklace or earrings. They have a little ruby chip in the center, and no real way to hang them from something else. I will have to brainstorm this week, because these roses are too cute to stay with me! I want to share my excitement with someone else.

Speaking of sharing the excitement, I will soon be introducing a "destash" section to my etsy store. I have all sorts of little goodies left over from previous projects. I should be starting to post those this weekend.

Silver wire and LOS - Experiment 1.0

Yesterday, I received some HH silver wire that I ordered on etsy. I am very into trying different patinas with Liver of Sulphur (LOS) right now and I thought it would be fun to try it on this wire. However, I know almost nothing about wire jewelry (I am really into assemblage jewelry using all sorts of fun little vintage, gemstone, or metal trinkets that I discover.)

I am very new to the whole LOS and finer metals aspect of jewelry. If anyone reads this and has tips or advice I would love to talk to you! I am the only person I know that is into this sort of thing, so it is difficult to find help :(

I tried wrapping a stone with the wire, but I felt like it came out sloppy. Maybe I am being too much of a perfectionist. Is there a particular technique to wrapping the top of a stone to make it a pendant?