circus treasury

Just a quick post to add a link to my latest treasury - Join the Circus!

I maaayyy have been inspired a little by the last movie I saw in theaters (Water for Elephants.) It's not a great movie, but this is a great treasury, if I do say so myself!! :)


I've been making cotton washcloths like a crazy person - ready to sell alongside Wi's soaps and lotions! I'd love love love to get some resin in my magnets in the next few days.... they are just sitting, empty, waiting...

I also did a bunch of contacting today - talked to BJ at the Marina LB farmers market - I will hopefully be selling there on the first Sunday in July. I contacted Art for the Soul, and Fern's garden - crossing my fingers!!! Also, a friend of mine wants to hold another Backyard Bazaar - so I sent some dates! Things are moving moving moving!

boutique and banners

Spent this weekend at the Splash into Summer Boutique in Lakewood! It was fun - got to be next to Wisalya again, which is nice because we are starting to think of some complementary projects. She makes super fantastic soaps and lotions, and I am going to start doing some ceramic soap dishes, and crocheted washcloths to go with them!

The boutique itself was very cute - about 15 vendors - mostly for girls/babies/young children. My earrings did pretty well - and I sold a few ceramics and a few magnets. I definitely need to make more magnets before the next show. I have some new ideas for those too - alphabet sets, and "how I am feeling today" sets too.

Tonight I've been messing around a bit with new banners for my etsy shop... here are the finalists. Right now I've got the yellow one up, but I may switch...



I've also got a few new listings up on etsy - trying to get photos of my most recent earrings up! I make too many, it's hard to keep track of them!!!

If anyone has any ideas for tracking inventory, please let me know. I could use it.

I traded a few items at the Splash into Summer Boutique, and I will do a better blogpost with links soon!

TONIGHT's boutique and treasuries!!!

TONIGHT! I am getting ready to go have some fun at the Splash into Summer Boutique in lakewood! The event is tonight from 5-8pm, and then AGAIN tomorrow from 10-3!

Other fun I've been having...making treasury list after treasury list! haha. Love this etsy feature. Here are links to a few...

Vessels

So turn on the sky, let it hear what you're saying


ooh AND I was featured in someone else's treasury!! Here is it


I may or may not do a more in-depth blog post later.... but I wanted to say hi, and get these links up for ya'll.

Santa Barbara Island and my latest treasury

This past week I spent on the smallest of the Channel Islands - Santa Barbara Island.

This is the 3rd year I've gone - once was as a student the summer of 2005, and the last two years as staff (2010 and 2011).

The group that goes is a CSULB class called "Recreation in the Ocean Environment" and it's anywhere from 10-30 people, most of whom are recreation majors, some who just have an interest in spending a week on the island.

SBI is an amazing place - we hike, learn about plants and animals (largest mammal is the doormouse), get swooped by barn owls, watch pelicans, do compass/map orienteering stuff, explore the tidepools, jump off the dock, swim with sea lions, snorkel, kayak, sleep in tents and cook on campstoves. It's a phenomenal experience.

This year the group was particularly wonderful - a bunch of vivacious, enthusiastic and motivated csulb students who really upped my enjoyment of the island (and I love it already).

Spending a week camping on an island with no water, no trees, and so much amazing NATURE is the best thing for my mental health. I came home and haven't wanted to let go of it yet. So here's how I'm bridging my worlds - my latest etsy treasury - my homage to the SBI trip of 2011.

new coin purses

Enjoying the heck out of making coin purses/pencil cases... they are all up on etsy! I am lovvving them. I went to Joanne's yesterday and got a bunch of fabric remnants in bright summery colors. Today I started embroidering them, and added pockets!

free earrings!

I've decided to give away 20 pairs of my crocheted earrings. The idea is that if you receive one of these pairs and wear them around, people will say things like "gee whiz, what an awesome pair of earrings!" and you will say something resembling "thanks! I love them! You can get a pair at royaboya.etsy.com" and then when that person buys a pair of earrings, I will send you $1.00 for every pair from each buyer who says YOU sent them!

If you are interested, send me an email at royaboya@earthlink.net and I will send you a pair of FREE HANDMADE EARRINGS

earrings!

I've been crocheting little earrings lately - I love them! They're so wonderful and vibrant! I've been wearing them around every day. I make them with embroidery floss, and nickel-free hooks, and I can make them in sooo many color combos it's great. I've only just begun! I have these pairs up for sale on my etsy site today!

piggy banks and urban dictionaries

Yesterday I received an invitation from sparkpeople.com to be part of the test group for sparksavings.com - a personal finance tool, with all the great resources of the personal healthy living tools that sparkpeople is. It's FANTASTIC. It's prompted me to figure out my financial goals, and start saving - even my pennies.

It also got me to empty my three change collections and count them - I have one old apple cider jug that has a beautiful label on it, straight from the apple orchards. That jug is so pretty it sits on our bookshelves in the living room. That's my "down payment on a house" fund now.

I have another actual piggy bank - it's a blue ceramic pig with orange and red stars all over it - I glazed it at Color Me Mine many many years ago. I had lost it, change and all, when my parent's house caught on fire, and found it in one of the boxes they cleaned and returned. It's my "a new pair of work-pants" fund.

The other change jar is one of those big 3 gallon blue glass water jars. It was given to me by Kim Fisher, my ex-boyfriend's mom, when I was about 18. She gave one to her son too. I decided when I got it that I would save all of the money in there for my one-day-camp. Last night I counted it for the first time and I have almost $300. That's a LOT of pennies.

Today was a co-workers birthday lunch, so we went to Red Robin. Now none of us feel like buckling down and focusing, so we are looking up our names on urbandictionary.com - I didn't think mine would be on there, but lo and behold -

Roya hot ass persian girl who is usually the best looking girl you can find. She is any guy's dream fantasy (hence the definition of her name in Farsi is "fantasy) usually she has dark hair eyes makes her mysterious and sexy.
Holy crap...i just saw a Roya...and DAMN did she look fine!

1. A Devilish Brunette
2. One dark haired beauty who's intoxicating company (hot bod, flashing eyes, sly smile, and dry wit) teases all your fantasies but never fulfills them, and yet makes you always want to see her again. Especially potent in combination with hot-tubs or practice midterms.


mwhahaha.

Maybe I should put "hot ass persian" on my business cards.

Today I *accidentally* woke up Adam before going to work, so we had a few minutes of nice in the morning - it's amazing how time of day affects us. We're both sooo tired by the time he gets home around midnight, that if that is the only time we interact, it drags us down. Having morning time with him is so important, and we haven't gotten much of that at all lately. The city of LA has been laying off so many people, he's stressed about that. They have a huge city meeting today - crossing my fingers.

Trying to think now of ways to make money to save. ;) I've got all that marmalade - where do I sell it?? I've used up my coworkers I think.
I have the two hats for Katy - one is done. Working on number two.
Julie's chairs - I need to print the rest of the fish out and then I'll be done with Chair 3, and can start on Chair 4.
I've also got a scarf in the works for Becky.
Those are my priorities.

Then I can get back into setting up my etsy shop, and trying to use the materials I already own, rather than buy new ones!

royaboya.etsy.com

Spent some time today changing the banner for my etsy shop. Still not exactly what I wanted, but it took me forever to figure out how to get it sized correctly - now that I can do that, I can go in and play with it more in the future.

i have so many projects on the backburner...Finished 1 of 2 of Katy's hats yesterday, maybe I will start number 2 today. Have Julie's chairs which I was just kind of waiting til a lack of rain and dog hair made it easier to paint without it getting messed up - and I have a whole closet full of half-done projects. I have a lot of socks that just need the toes to be grafted. I should get on that.

Thinking about what else I can do to make my etsy site look more attractive, and attract more business. Any thoughts?

My biggest sellers in person are my little felted coin purses - maybe work on getting a bunch of those ready to sell sometime too would be good. The Good Vibrations conference wiped me out completely!

Sold a few jars of my marmalade today - almost made enough money to pay for the sugar and jars. ;) That's fun...

Leaving here soon, then home - Adam took the dogs to his dad's, so it'll be my chance to...what? need to do laundry, need to do dishes, need to make lunch for tomorrow, need to do p90x... Tomorrow we have date night. Yay. Necessary.

Feeling truncated. Bye.

tired morning, yummy grapes

Made some progress with my goals yesterday! Daniel came over and set up my computer again, which is wonderful - now I have a place that is MINE that I can upload etsy photos, etc. I also started crocheting the bases for two coin purses - I crochet them with wool, then felt them, needle felt on top of them, then sew in a liner and zipper and voila! I also crocheted 1 bowl to felt, and made the front and back squares for 1 and a half new bags.

Yesterday I also made pesto from the basil in the garden - I blended basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper - then I realized I'd kind of over salted it, so my solution? cucumbers! I put about half a cucumber in the pesto and it not only mellows it out, but tastes good too. I also made some cornmeal chicken, noodles, and chicken with olive oil - the idea of that was I was going to put it into the pesto, but as it is frequently with me, once I smelled it cooking it grossed me out and I wanted nothing to do with it.

This morning was annoying with barking dogs, a car blocking me in, and missing my alarm - but I am trying to remember the good part: going out to the backyard and picking grapes for breakfast. Yum yum yum.

Anyhow, that's my current update. I have a weight watchers meeting this afternoon - and I think I am going to take a NAP when I get home!

etsy!

I have been wanting to revamp my etsy shop for some time - so today I've been poking around the shop a little bit, cleaning up some things. I'm not quite ready to make a whole new banner or anything - I do like the one I have, and it's going to have to wait until I decide which of my pieces I'd really like to focus on.

Today I put some of my older pieces into a SALE section - with the hopes that if those get sold, I will bring out the new items!!! So go check out my shop and look at the sales! (If I do say so myself, they are awesome sales. $15 for a crocheted handbag that usually goes for $25, for example...)

Today for the first time in weeks I don't have anywhere I HAVE to be tonight, and Adam will be working, so I can putter around on my own. I'd like to take Juno for a jog, tackle laundry and dishes, make pesto with the basil from my garden, water the garden and grass, straighten up the house, breath the smell of tomato plants, set up my computer, upload photos of marina's wedding, and get out my etsy sale pieces, organize and take new photos of them.

I've heard people say that something that makes an etsy shop successful is having it narrowed down to one item or type of item. That shops that focus on Aprons, for example, do better than shops that sell aprons and beanies and socks and necklaces. In my small amount of research, it does seem that the shops that do really well at least have a common theme or material in all of their pieces. I am debating what I want to focus on, then. I really do love my crocheted handbags, and I am thinking that between those, the felted bowls, and coin purses, that would make an excellent shop. Maybe somewhere down the line I can open another shop to sell ceramics and magnets, etc.

So anyhoo - I am excited about etsy again, and am looking forward to when my sister's boyfriend can come over and set my computer up in the office, with Adam and Chris' computers, where I can look out into the backyard and the lemon tree while I fool around on etsy.

re-emerging after the holidays

I didn't mean to take such a long break from the computer, even though it was Christmas, but yesterday my internet was down and I had no idea why. Today it's all better though, so....mystery stays unsolved.

In any case, christmas was exactly what I thought it would be - fun, tiring, and good. My boyfriend actually went onto my etsy account, found my list of favorite items, and ordered the most beautiful blue and silver necklace for me from afinishingtouch.etsy.com. How thoughtful is that?

He also got me a fish tank! We went yesterday and bought rocks and plants and fish, and now our house feels even more like a home. I'll post pictures eventually.

When I got online today I had two nice etsy surprises - first, I made another sale. I sold my salt air and sea form crocheted purse - and how silly is it that I am a little sad to see it go? That was definitely one of my favorite bags that I have made - and the photographs of that bag represent a breakthrough for me in taking pictures. In any case, it is also nice to know that someone else appreciated it too!

The other nice surprise was that my shino cup with the curled handle got into ANOTHER treasury!!! This one was curated by desertsoapstone and it's a beautiful, beautiful treasury, so go check it out.

That's all for me for right now. I'll be back here later, I'm sure!

I am featured in a treasury!!!!!!!!!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=27416

I am so excited. This is the first time I have been featured in a treasury - apparently it made the front page for a while too. I'm excited, it's a super beautiful treasury to be a part of, too.

KhopeC.etsy.com put together the treasury, so let's hear it for her. Her husband also has an etsy site, which is jessedanger.etsy.com! Go check them out, go check out the treasury, (which expires in a mere two days) and spread the love!

sending gifts

This is going to be brief, because I am ridiculously tired and it's past my bedtime - but, I just wrapped up the Pollock Pencil Holder I sold a few days ago, to mail tomorrow, and I wanted to say...I LOVE wrapping the items I have sold. Every one I've wrapped has been totally different - I don't have one style I do for everything I sell, and I don't know if that's good or bad, but I like going through my materials and deciding which fit the item the best. Each package takes on it's very own handmade-ed-ness which I really like. There's also such a good warm and fuzzy feeling of sending a package all wrapped like that. It's not just a business transaction, I really feel as though I am giving a gift.

Tomorrow I want to take some work-in-progress photos of my granny square bags. I'll also write about my presentation tonight. I think it went well. It was a long day. Time for bed.

Hi everybody! It's November! Woohoo! With November comes Thanksgiving, my birthday, no change in the weather (Orange County, CA), and time for a new team etsy blogger update! First things first, this month's featured etsy blogger is storybeader! Her jewelry is fantastic - the photo is the piece of hers that caught my eye right off.

One of the most unique things about her pieces, though - is not just the beautiful jewelry, but also that each piece comes with a haiku, written specifically for that piece! It makes me want to order some just to see what she writes about them. :)

Storybeader is also a huge help for the etsy bloggers team, and, of course, keeps a blog! You can read all about her jewelry, see photos of dogs in costume and more, here: her blog.

Really - go check out her stuff, I am a huge fan of blogging, a huge fan of etsy, a huge fan of haikus, and a huge fan of jewelry - so when they are all combined, it makes magic. :)

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.

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!

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!-