Tag: jewelry

Sold my artwork ❤

ElvenAssassinLeave a comment

I sold a 5×7″ print of my little pseudodragon! ❤

I also sold a small tote with him printed on it, too ::beams:: There is very little profit margin, but it gives me warm fuzzies knowing a couple of local people have my artwork. Family gets a lot of compliments using it, but I haven’t sold one by word of mouth yet.

Tried to work on more artwork this evening, but using Photoshop is still a painful experience, I find, and set it aside. ::sigh:: I’ll get there. Found an interesting looking book to add to my collection. It’s always a bit of a love/hate feeling to buy another reference book, when half of it covers the same basics every other book covers, just to glean a bit of new information.

Took a class and made this cute little bracelet the other day…

With Strange Things Emporium being vendor (event) based and online only right now, I expect sales to be slower. I really need to buck down and start photographing my jewelry again, but I’ve been lacking motivation. My work space needs a complete overhaul, and I get so lost :( There is a gallery at The Forks that might take my higher end items, but I need a substantial body of work (aka photographs). As fun and beautiful as they’ve been to make, I stopped focusing on them due to lack of sales… therefore I have few to photograph. Perhaps I need to return and refresh my memory on the style they carry; see if that inspires me. Finding the energy for everything is just going to get harder because…

Thursday is the last day of school! (yay! say my children!)

Summer is such a challenge.

I want to do so much with my girls, but in reality, working nights saps all my energy, leaving so much to be desired. During the summer I feel like such an abysmal parent because of it. The girls are very understanding, but it’s hard on them, too, being housebound while I nap. I am hoping this year, I can plan our afternoons better, and take them on picnics, or go exploring. I have a car now, which is an improvement over prior years. ::grins::

Friday we’ll kick off summer holidays with a trip to the movie theatre, and view Despicable Me 3. I’m sure many other parents will have the same plan, but it will still be fun. ::smiles::

See if I can get another recipe posted up. Now that my jar is free after making limoncello, I can make yogourt ::laughs:: Not for the faint of heart… it needs to culture for 5-8 hours. While I’m at it, I’d better make baguettes, too.

Back in a few days, I hope ❤

 

Viking Knit

ElvenAssassinLeave a comment

So proud of myself <3

I’ve wanted to make this for quite awhile!

Viking knit requires – in its simplest form – a pencil, and extra wire to form a jig.

When I first stumbled across this weaving technique I thought, “Fantastic! Who doesn’t have a pencil at home?” That didn’t work for me; I could not stabilize the jig no matter how hard I tried. I have since read that an Allan key held in a vice is another option, but by then I’d already purchased a Lazee Daizee.

While I found it worth the cost, it is certainly one of those “your mileage may vary” situations. I advocate attempting this wire weaving technique with household items first; it is always rewarding to make something yourself, and more-so when you can save money in the process! ::smiles::

~~~~~

In just shy of two weeks, my darling girls have their dance recital. Dragonet auditioned yesterday for RWB’s Dance Ensemble under Musical Theatre. It will be interesting if she is accepted.. already she wants to take a fifth class. Four is challenging already! ::laughs:: Of course, her sister would like more dance classes as well.

Last week was their school recital; everything for them is wrapping up!

~~~~~

As you may be able to infer from the lovely photo, I have a high quality camera again. (Yay!) Once things settle down in the next couple of days, I’m going to have to work hard to photograph and relist items. The plug-in I fell in love with for WordPress is easy to use, which is fantastic(!), but with ease comes cost… I think I may have to start from scratch and try again. ::deep breath:: Hopefully I will find the winning combination.

Until then, be good <3

Scarves and Yarn Stashes

ElvenAssassinLeave a comment

No pictures of my work, I’m afraid.

I did a lot better at my 2nd craft sale. While I only sold items to one customer, I was in the same boat as other vendors, and traded a lot of items. I now have beautiful shades of purple and magenta mixing bowls from Tupperware, plus other goodies, mwahaha!

Two of my infinity scarves sold, so that was nice as well.  ::smiles:: I am still swamped under scarves and need… well, more. Sort of :P They are excellent samplers, and a nice way to learn new techniques. For example, I got tired of waiting for my cabling needles to arrive from China, and I’m attempting cables for the first time… without any extra special tools! Go me!

::struts:: I’m ridiculously proud of myself, and you know what? It even looks good, if I do say so myself (and I do).

I haven’t figured out how to go about listing them for sale… but I’m sure it’s going to be stiff competition, whether it’s on Facebook or Etsy. Of course, the girls lose scarves almost as quickly as they lose their mittens, so I may not have extras to spare. ::laughs:: Their school will also accept donations, so I have options, one way or another.

As for zee stash, it is filled with practical, and not-so-practical stuff to knit with. I bought yarn that was pretty, with no idea what I’d knit, so I have lots and lots of pairs of skeins, meaning I only have enough of one colour to, well, make a scarf. Heh.

While sorting today, I took this picture (for shopping purposes. Don’t you ever do that?).

I am one of those people who can never leave things well enough alone; I’ve found a sweater pattern I want to tackle and I’m thinking this yarn may be an acceptable substitute. Probably shouldn’t mess with changing the fiber type when size matters, but it will be a learning experience no matter how it turns out.

I am behind on some orders for ornaments for friends (none sold, but family and friends like ’em!). Extra appointments on top of shuttling children to extra-curricular activities. This candle is pretty much burnt out. Blah.

Oh oh oh! Don’t recall if I said some of my jewelry is being sold at Strange Things Emporium? Apparently some of it has already sold ::preens:: I will have to go down in person and see what’s gone and whether I should supply similar items.

That’s all for now,
ElvenAssassin

Craft Sales Are… Learning Experiences

ElvenAssassinLeave a comment

So I showed my work at a craft sale over the weekend.
~~~~

Standing in the thick of it, I was worried it wasn’t a strong presentation, but I felt differently after reviewing this photo.

wp-1474451371123.jpg

Truthfully, I find it almost easy to forget this was my table. ::laughs:: Silly, but true.

Positives, to take away from the experience would be…

  • I earned enough to cover my table fee
  • I made business cards, and a few were taken by potential customers
  • Practice making a nice display and getting a feel for next time
  • learning from a very experienced artist that KeyCon’s art show will probably be a bad venue, unfortunately, so be cautious there.
  • I met some really nice other artists

Negatives are:

  • I barely earned enough to cover my table fee
  • There was hardly any foot traffic, which is almost a neutral, as I may have sold more, if more people had come through.

I made some new things that no one batted an eyelash at; I’m not terribly worried. Not sure if they weren’t well displayed, or thought to be over priced… I think I’ll turn my little “witch potions” into necklaces, and then they’ll be more attractive. Worst case  scenario, the snakes become dragons ::coughs::

Speaking of dragons… I’m working on custom USB keys.

wp-1474456031994.jpg

I don’t remember if I mentioned that? This is my second one, which is a work in progress. I think the side with the red dragon is a little… empty, and it’s the front, so I need to do a bit more before I can post it to Etsy. Already some love for it on Instagram, so that’s heartening. I have a second one waiting to be varnished at the same time. I have one pre-sold, so I shall let my customer pick their favourite, and list the other.

I am going to try very hard to post here at least every week. ::nods:: No guarantees, of course, but I shall try.