carnival schedule

September 29th - A Keeper's JackpotTopic one:Autumn. Blog about the season, memories of the past, plans for this fall. Fall decorations, fall crafts. Apple picking, back to school, foliage, as examples.Topic two:"In summery" ;-) get it? Instead of summary... Sum up what you did this summer. Highlights, activities, vacations. Things you accomplished.October 13th - Joey & Aleethea1). Work: Blog about anything to do with your work (past, present or future) which is outside of Etsy.2). Relax: Blog about what you do to relax. October 27th - A Keeper's JackpotTheme 1) Spooky:Tell a spooky story, real or made up. Or present a Halloween crafting project or something in your shop that will give us the creeps Theme 2) Recipes!It's never too early to plan your holiday dinners. Share a recipe for something that we can share with our loved ones. If you have pictures, that's great too! November 10th - ShellMitchell1). What are you working on? Post about the fabulous creation you are currently working on.or2). Veteran's Day - Veteran's Day is November 11th. Share a story about your favorite veteran or what you will be doing with your day off. November 24th - Jersey Girl Design1. What is your favorite tradition for the Thanksgiving holiday? 2. How are you going to prepare your business for the holiday rush?December 8th - Home Made OriginalsDecember 8 is "National Brownie Day" and "Winter Flowers Day". 1.Post your favorite brownie recipe and or memory about brownies2.Post about winter flowers, flowers in winter.December 22nd - Stormy Designs1. Christmas traditions & recipes- Share Christmas traditions or your favorite holiday recipe.2. Christmas spotlight- Show & tell of a Christmas item in your shop or your favorite gift idea in someone else's shop.

ceramics, mostly

Those of you who have known me for a long time would probably be surprised that it didn't really occur to me to sell ceramics until recently. Durr. That's only been you know, my biggest obsession since I was 13. Anyhoo - at the moment, it is difficult for me to find the time to do any wheel throwing, because I have to go down to Irvine Fine Arts Center and spend an entire day just throwing/adding handles, and then go back in a few weeks to glaze, and then go back again to pick up my stuff. It's hard for me to have so much disconnect between the processes.

I wish I had my own wheel. That'd be an amazing birthday present, btw - those of you who want to band together.. A Laguna Pacifica GT 800 would be just about perrrfect. ;)

In any case - I got out some mugs I had made before, and posted them on my etsy site! Woohoo. They are now for sale!

This Saturday I will also try to go down to Irvine and throw. I'd love to make sets of things - sake glassses and pitchers, cups, bowls, etc. etc. etc. I miss ceramics!

I also received three custom orders on my handbags this week! I will be making one with a white center, red petals, black background with black handles, one bright pink LARGE bag with clear plastic handles, and one with a purple flower and green background and black plastic handles.

Super excited about these orders! I am reallllly loving these bags. I finally found what feels like a good niche could be for me. YAY!

what a lovely saturday morning

What a lovely saturday morning it has been already. I slept for a good 8 hours at least, and then we were woken up by the dog who didn't even need to go out, just was bored and wanted us awake. hardeeharhar.

I got up and managed to scramble together a breakfast from the nothingness I have in my kitchen, and then headed to etsy!

One of the egotistical things I always love to do is see how many people have listed me as their favorites. I try not to let it go to my head, but it's a really sweet, thankful feeling when I see someone else has me listed. I do love being validated.

I also have been spending a lot more time in the chat rooms, and today's feedback were to raise some of my prices to be competitive, and to take more pictures outside with natural lighting. So those will be my next two projects. I bought a new camera, I think I mentioned a few weeks ago - unfortunately, I have not acquired a memory card, or the cord to plug it into the computer, so it's basically useless at the moment. The next spare bit o' cash I get I will get those.

I've been doing more of the granny square bags - they are lovely, lovely, lovely. Today I need to go do some errands, and then I hope to get to work on them before going to a friends WEDDING tonight. I am so excited about their wedding. YAY Kj and Lori!

Tomorrow is a big open day, and a friend of mine will be coming over to knit with me. So again, yay for weekends. WOOOHOO.

Hi world!





I am finnnally starting to get over being sick, so I celebrated with an impulsive trip to Michael's. Mwhaha. I bought kind of a lot of yarn. I have plans for all of it though - I am going to work more on the granny square bags! I also bought handles. I am loving even the idea of them!
That's all for now. Don't forget to look at my treasury, it expires soon!

Ooh, I also posted a new category and new item - A BRAIDED RUG, ladies and gentlemen. That's right, you heard it correctly, a BRAIDED RUG. Guess what? It's made entirely out of recycled tshirts. How awesome is that? I'll answer for you - really, really awesome.

other etsians

http://berdandbee.com/2008/09/24/berd-and-bee-in-the-treasury/


this is a blog featuring yours truly... go check it out! they make some great stuff!

TREASURY!!!

I GOT A TREASURY!!! Everyone, please go look!


http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=11240

YAY!

Still sick...although I slept all night without waking up, and managed to do some laundry and a few dishes! yay... I've been watching a lot of Bill Maher, and am trying not to feel depressed, like the entire country is going downhill.

A fellow etsian is having a poetry contest on her site - Pheakkey.etsy.com - so these are gonna be my submissions. They are not particularly recent poems. I can't find any of my recent poems - no idea where the last three years of my writing life has gotten too.


1.

I'm having trouble focusing. All the clouds. All the
sky. They tore down the trees by the golf course.
When I drive by I think that this is what they always
feel like, the people in the Midwest. So I turn my neck
slightly to see the comforting shadow of a palm tree.
Those are my trees. They suddenly appear overnight
in hotel parkinglots and we, who live here, laugh and
spend 25 cents on another postcard. I can feel the palm
frond shadows on my neck. Your finger shadows too.
Spread and wide and orange. They are the most beautiful
hands I've ever seen. They wrap all the way from my ear
down to my collar bone and suddenly --sky, all that sky--
and you take my chin, it feels like climbing. My feet cling
to whatever's solid. My arms grab on and pull. To another
scene like a postcard. I'll put a quarter in the jar and we'll
go to Europe someday. Your hand on my neck while the
plane takes off. We'll be tilted back and climbing. I'll hold
my breath and think sky -- all that sky.

2.

we were like a pair-
beat galoshes in a puddle.
one is not enough.



3.

my mom asked me today, what i wanted from my grandmother's house.
I asked for the nutcracker, the one with the broken arm.
I'd take care of it. It's packed now, in a green plastic box.
Waiting for Christmas. It doesn't know yet that everything has changed.

Have I mentioned that I am home sick for a whole week? I have a sinus infection that knocked me on my butt! I am tired of tv, and can't focus enough to read or crochet, so I am doing all sorts of etsy and blogspot stuff. Of course, it took me about 20 minutes just to write those couple of sentences.

Anyways, here is a photo of my mommy and me when I was muuuch younger - although already preparing for etsy, as you can see.

I am sniffling, coughing, hacking and dizzy - but luckily my amazing mommy not only lets herself get painted on by little-me, but also brought me soup and pudding yesterday. I also have the most wonderful boyfriend, who brought me two types of juice, two types of popsicles, and cleaned the whole kitchen. Oh, and he brought me the most important sicky food - french fries and ranch dressing.... gulp.

My doctor gave me about 6 prescriptions, and two of them are muscle relaxants - hence the inability to hold a crochet hook. Although they are starting to wear off, so I think I am going to attempt it soon.

My newest project are these granny square bags with bamboo handles that I think are DARLING (yes, darling!) and although I only have one completed - my mom made me promise that it can be hers, so I need to hurry up and make more for etsy.

Etsy bloggers carnival Post

Scarf-wearing-weather is my favorite time of year. Except for when the days suddenly turn longer and longer and it's summer. But really, autumn is my favorite. My birthday is in November - so I am sure that helps. But there is something else... the air turns a different color, an exciting color! I am always inspired by fall.

I lived in Madison, Wisconsin for about 6 months once. I was there for the end of summer, fall, and some of winter. Madison was an amazing place to be during the fall - I remember walking down the street I lived on (east johnson, I think it was) and all at once there was this huge gust of wind, and suddenly I was walking in swirls and swirls of leaves, and that was it - all the leaves were off the trees and on the ground! That was the street with an art supply store, art galleries, coffee shops, and the pizza place that was open from "11am-late." I remember walking by one of the textile shops on that street and there was a lady sitting on the front steps knitting. Everywhere I went in Madison, there were people knitting. That was where I really learned how to knit. I had a friend who I stayed with part of the time I was out there whose mother used to own a yarn shop, and had basically been knitting since before she could walk. It was perfect - I'd knit, and when I messed up, instead of getting frustrated, I'd hand it to her, she'd fix it, and then say "okay, let me show you what I did."

I didn't have a car then, but when we could talk one of our pals into it, we'd head to one of the two most amazing yarn stores I've ever been to - one had a coffee shop attached to it, and we'd buy yarn, buy tea, and sit and knit for as long as we could. We also took the bus around the lake to the knitting guild once a month - 300 ladies and 1 sweater-making-machine-man. It was a good time for me and knitting. I wasn't working, so I could spend my time going to farmer's market, the library, the amazing feminist bookstore on state street, the coop..... I walked everywhere... wow, I am remembering things right now that I didn't even know I'd forgotten.

I started working on my first sweater in Wisconsin. It was going to be green tweed with a gray stripe. I bought tons of yarn. Never finished. Nosiree.

The first thing I ever knitted to completion was that fall was a shawl that I sent to my little sister for her birthday. I learned how to spin that fall also - bought 100% wisconsin roving and spun the yarn for a beanie, which I also knit. I remember working on it sitting on the steps of the capitol building, FREEZING, in october, during the "knit out."

Here in Southern California, where I've been for all the time I wasn't in Alaska or Wisconsin, we might not have dramatic seasons - and people might look ridiculous wearing scarves here - but it's still an exciting time that makes me crave pumpkin pie and sweaters and knitting knitting knitting!

I am trying to figure out the etsy teams I am on...and one that I am especially excited about is the etsy blogging team. I added a button to my page to be able to submit posts to the blog carnival... let's see if that helps!

I got the day off today!

Yay! It's a beautiful friday and I have the day off!

..of course, I also have a sinus headache that wants me to stay super still and quiet with the lights off all day. But I'm ignoring that!

Last night I had a friend over who I taught how to knit (? at least how to knit felted bags) and she finished up a bag she'd been working on, while I started a very fall-esque braided rug. I'm pleased with the rug. I finally figured out how to consistently keep any thread showing. It takes so much work and time and blood (talk about pricked fingers) that I think these rugs will be my high-cost items on etsy. They're ridiculously beautiful, though, and I love making them by recycling tshirts.

I also got some feedback on little granny-square bags I was making. I was unsure whether I wanted to use bamboo handles on all of them, and I think I decided!

So my plan today is to bake bread, listen to my Dar Williams Pandora station, continually clean the house through the day, and work on my braided rug. Tomorrow I want to get my sewing machine out and make lining for every bag I have finished. I'd like to also take some photos of ceramics I have to sell, since I have them and just haven't posted them on etsy yet.

It is also TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY, by the way. So I hope that's exciting for some of you.

Also - I was saving the most important for last. Today is my little sister's 21st birthday. Holy cow. Happy Birthday ROXANA!-

hi world,

Made a few more felted bowls last night. I am madly in love with them even if no one else has bit yet. I also joined Imagination Tribe ( http://imaginationtribe.ning.com/) so we shall see what we shall see! I noticed that my mommy is on there and put my etsy site on her page, AND, my little sister posted about my etsy site on her blog and on her myspace, which made me feel awfully loved.

Short post for now - lots of stuff to do. Did I mention that I finished a personal craft project? I made my first braided rug (out of tshirts) and began another one. I think I want to take this new one apart and start over though - I don't want to settle for subpar and there are at LEAST 4 threads showing!

I want to bake bread and work on my rug tonight. Adam is off camping and working till Saturday night - so I think I am going to take over the livingroom with crafts and thai food and my chick flicks til he gets back. :)

etsy chats

Every day for the past few days I have found myself in an etsy chatroom. I am in love. I am remembering being 13 and spending insane amounts of time online talking to HSC and NBTSC folks on IRC. It's so similar, and yet so different, that it's tapping into every delighted part of my being!

It's already dark out - only 7:15 pm, and I am sitting here at my work computer (because I am technically studying), wishing that I was wearing comfy clothes and a scarf. I am obsessed with this time of year, I am fixated, I yearn for it and when it feels like it is starting to approach, I am irrepresibly GIDDY.

I LOVE FALL.

So the onset of autumn and talking to all these etsy folks online has made me crave...a certain life, and I am not sure when or how I will get it, but I want it, the way only I know how to want something. I want babies, and I want braided rugs, I want Adam working outdoors safisfied and happy, I want to bake pies and healthy things and I want to make crafts and sell them, I want a garden and I want to always be working at being more self-sufficient. Somewhere in there I want to run a camp and to do art therapy and to travel to Italy for sunsoaked weeks. But right now, I want a livingroom with handmade EVERYTHING, a toddler playing somewhere close, a husband, and a computer in my lap with an etsy chat room open.

So that's my silly post of the day. I want to be domesticated.


Instead - right now, I sitting in my barefeet because my high heels finally hurt too much, and I am trying really hard to finish just three measly chapters of developmental psychology. I have no food in the fridge at home, but I just consumed a bag of popcorn here. I made three crocheted bowls on my lunchbreak and when I get home I will felt them.

Last night I finished my very first braided rug. It was amazingly time consuming, but I would LOVE to add it to my etsy repetoire. Something to think about for later!!!

quick idea

Don't want to forget - when doing photos, if the item is small enough, take the picture with cool wallpaper or scrapbook paper behind it for a neat pattern.

update!

This weekend I made a new beanie - it's bright pink with a blue stripe and it's super cute and warm. It's been posted on etsy today!

I also made a gajillion (yes, technically) magnets with water colored paintings of gifts and presents, and all of them say "royaboya.etsy.com, this holiday season" or "royaboya.etsy.com, give handmade" and I LOVE THEM and will be treating them like business cards for a while.

I am going to leave work now and go knit a new scarf. Tata.

--Roya

Joining Etsy Teams

Etsy is amazing for my own personal use - but I am just starting to really discover the community aspect of it. I have sent a handful of request to join the etsy teams that I found jived (trying to bring that word back, by the way) with what I do - and I'm happy to say that most of them have already responded.

I am just worried that I won't be able to keep track of what's what - they all seem to rely on yahoogroups, and I don't do a lot with yahoo. Guess it's time to!

This photo is a crazy quilt piece that I made while I was in Alaska last summer. We had to hike 3 miles to get out to our cabin, with all our food and gear and clothes and evvverrryyything in packs - so bringing extranneous art supplies was really hard to justify. I thought I'd be fine with my little travel-sized watercolors and a journal - but ohhh my gosh, was I itching for a good old fashioned fiber project.

Luckily, we made friends with a lot of the people who lived out on that lake (who owned their own planes) - and one lady had a bag of fabric scraps she graciously gave to me. I didn't really plan out what I was going to make - just sat on our deck and watched the "front yard" - the lake, the island right in front of us, our boat, the moose and the beavers and the eagles and the loons...eventually when I had it all sewn together, I realized that trees and water weren't enough and I needed animals. On one of his trips into Anchorage, Adam brought me back some embroidery floss, and I went at it. I stopped working on it the day we left Alaska. The needle is still stuck in the top left corner where I left it at that point. I never entirely finished either of the moose, and I didn't put in a bear like I'd intended - but I think it's a good representation of my time in Alaska, and I wanted it to only be worked on there when I needed it.

Holidays

Alrighty - perusing etsy.com just now, I was reading an article about preparing for the holidays. This will be my first holiday season trying to sell things - and I want to make sure I am at least a little bit prepared.

1. I am looking into the Holiday Art Show at Edison, where my dad works. I am hoping it's not too late (or too expensive) to sign up for a booth.

2. Maybe I could make hand made christmas cards to include with every purchase for the next couple of months as an incentive.

3. Someone on some post had the idea of "drop lifting" little business card/gift/coupon things everywhere -grocery store, hair dresser, library, etc.

4. Start a mailing list, send postcards or newsletters.

5. Do christmas/holiday themed photo shoots of my products

6. Use my new gift book and create gift baskets with my handmade presents

I am chomping at the bit right now, wanting to hurry up and EXPAND but I can also only go as far as I have products to sell. I have a lot of different directions to go in - and I am not sure which one to pick and follow first.

I guess I'll start with this new camera, and take some better photos. This weekend I should really devote to making a plan of action!

camera

In my quest for better photos I have purchased a new camera! Kinda fell into my lap - my coworker is selling her old Cannon 710 so now it is mine! I am really looking forward to the "behind glass" setting. YAY.

This is my "frame corner" where I hang all of the picture frames I have either completed or am working on. I like to have them up, because not only do I enjoy looking at them, but this way they don't get scratched or anything. I go back and forth about selling these, actually, because I really do love them so much. There aaarre a few that I have scattered around the rest of my house, with my own photos in them, that I probably won't sell because I like them that much.

One of my more ingenious organizational tools - and also handmade - the red hanging pouch for my knitting needles, crochet hooks, and paintbrushes! Years ago I was in terrible need for a way to organize those things, and hand sewed this out of red corduroy. It's actually really long, with a lot of pockets - about half of it is tucked behind it, because I just don't need it right now. But it has the ability to groowww if I ever do need the extra pockets. Down below are all my drawing pads, canvases, and a few old wallpaper books I hope to alter. There are also some blank picture frames and embroidery hoops.

My boyfriend found this clear trunk in the alley when we moved - and I cleaned it out and it is now the perfect yarn holder. This is only one of my yarn containers, though - I have another hamper full somewhere....

I recently spent an entire weekend with my cousin redoing my "art supply room" - which is the 2nd bedroom in my house, which has been turned into my haven, my studio, my space, my little corner of the world which I can paint purple or red or whatever I want and hang any old photo of anything and all my old Paul Soldner posters and organize howwwever I want and keep as clean or as messy as I choose!

I am madly in love with this room. Last weekend I bought barstools on craigslist so I can sit at my very high counter and actually do work. This is the front of the room - it has a big window looking out into my front yard, and I keep my current project up on it. Right now I am felting bowls - the upside down ones are on molds so they get a perfect shape.

Yay art supply room. I'll post more photos later.