All New Things

Simple Woodland Treasure - Mini Terrarium by ayasuki

Hello, peeps!  It's been a long time since my last blog.  At least I'm working steadily on more jewelry and other crafty things, and I'll probably post a "progress report" this week on how all my little projects are progressing.  Today I'll be working on a sweet Ravenclaw necklace!  Don't worry, my shop isn't turning into a miniature Diagon Alley.  I just work on whatever I feel like working on at that particular moment and lately that's been this particular necklace.  I also went to a craft party a month ago, where we girls were hand sewing sock monsters.  That opened up a whole new method of crafting for me, and I've been into hand sewing all kinds of things ever since, including sock monsters.  I have photos and I will be posting them here soon.  Today I downloaded a mexican dress and embroidery pattern from http://www.themexicandress.com/.  I have a sewing machine and I don't know if I'll hand sew or machine sew.  We'll see.  When I was little, I had a lot of these little mexican dresses and I miss wearing them.  So I decided to make one for myself now and practice my needlework and my drawing...by coming up with my own embroidery design and attempting to hand stitch it onto the dress.  I don't know about y'all, but to me that sounds like fun.  I guess only other crafty-people will understand.  My grandma taught me needlework when I was very little and it's been awesome getting back into it.

Mini Zen Garden by Timber Green Woods

Speaking of feeling like a little kid again...this Thursday will be my 3rd time in English Comp. 2.  I mean, the third time attending this particular class.  It feels totally strange sitting at a desk at school again.  I think I'm the 2nd oldest person there.  I met two high school seniors in this class last week.  They're just babies!  Don't they have a curfew?  Haha.  English 2 is okay, the teacher is really nice, but I groan whenever I think of all the essays I'll soon be writing.  And peer reviews...ugh, need I say more?  We did complete one interesting activity.  The instructor gave us 10 minutes to write a paragraph using only monosyllabic words.  Some of my classmates complained a bit, but this one wasn't difficult for me.  Nobody wanted to stand up and read their paragraph, though!  That made me laugh, we're all so immature.  I hope that won't last, I swear I'll make more of an effort in the future.  These kids are a bad influence on me, ha!  I'm 30 years old, for frak's sake.  I can speak up in class! 

Sand All-Natural Foundation by BL Soaps

This is what I wrote, but was too "shy" to stand up and read.  I should have, I think it was good!

I like sand.  Yes, that's right, I play with dirt.

I bring it back home in clear, marked bags and get stopped

by "the man" on my way to board the plane.  

I don't mind at all.  Some smirk when they look through

my bag.  "Why sand?" they ask.  Why not?

It tells me where I've been, makes me smile.

It sits in rows on top of my shelves at home, a prize

for all to see.  If I can't go back to a nice place, 

I bring a piece of that place home with me.

I know it's not the most inspiring words you've ever read!  But this was a fun activity.  And I wrote more than the teacher did (and he cheated and used a lot of 2-syllable words) anyway! 

And, yes, I do love sand!  I know I'm strange.  In case you couldn't tell, sand was my Etsy theme for the day.  All items can be found by clicking the captions under the photo.  Very easy!  And here is the sand I collected at Folly Beach, South Carolina.  Oooh, exciting, isn't it?  Maybe not to you, but it is very exciting to me :)

*by the way, to any arenophiles or sand collectors reading this:  yes, I have lots of sand from Folly Beach left over, I'm definitely up for trading.  I have sand from many different places.  Let's exchange some, show me what you got ;)

I Might be Crazy...

"Luggage" ACEO by heather91.etsy.com

...but this artist just "gets" it.


Allow me to explain.  As do many other females, I sometimes get the urge to buy something completely unnecessary, just for fun.  Unlike most other women, I don't much care for shoes or purses or jewelry (which is weird, because I make jewelry).  My impulse buys usually consist of geeky tee shirts, kitchen gadgets, strangely flavored candies and ACEOs.  All of which are rather inexpensive, because I'm on a tight budget these days.

Yesterday I went hunting for some original works of art on Etsy.  I love ACEOs (or, Art Cards Editions and Originals), I've been collecting them for some time.  You're really only supposed to trade them or give them away, but since I don't have my own to trade, I don't mind buying the inexpensive ones.

I have sifted through many pages in Etsy's ACEO category.  I would say that for every 10 pages of garbage, there is maybe one piece that is actually good.  Etsy allows anybody to sell pretty much anything they handmade, no matter how mediocre it is.  And it just seems like a lot of people don't realize that their work isn't very good, or that they could benefit from some kind of instruction/improvement.  I'm not saying that I have to love every piece, I can respect art and say that it is "good" even if I don't particularly like the subject matter, the colors, the technique.

There's a noticeable difference between the pieces that really stand out and those that look like the artist had no clear vision or idea about what they wanted to create.  I hope that makes sense!  The "collage" category troubles me the most.  90% of them are random bits of trash or torn up magazines and stamps haphazardly glued to "vintage" postcards cut in half.  There's no obvious or implied structure, no coherence--and I don't think that is because the artist is trying to be ironic or "shake things up".  Nope, they're just clueless cutty-pasters.

"Safety" original ACEO by heather91.etsy.com

So I was pretty happy to discover this shop, though it was on the 40th page of my search.  

Yes there are postage stamps and birds and bits of paper...but she obviously didn't just throw said stamps and birds onto a playing card, fall where they may, slap a layer of modge podge on it and finish it off with a quaint little title. 

There are no sparkly stickers in disarray or owls with mustaches, ironic or otherwise. 

 In these pieces, the shapes are simple.  The colors are subtle.  You have to let your brain do the work.  Allow yourself to come up with an explanation for what you're looking at.  I believe that good art makes you think...  It doesn't always come right at you, forcefully.  I love the way these shapes sometimes parallel each other, even though there is contrast in the colors.  And in other pieces, the shapes seem to be at war, competing for your attention even if their colors are similar...  It's not about each individual line or scrap of patterned paper...it's about how they flow together soothingly in one direction or how they block each other chaotically.

Aw, look at me, being all "art snobby".  I'm entitled to my opinion, dammit!  And this is what I like.  Now please excuse me so I can continue shopping.

Very Good News...

mélange bracelet

...just in time for Cyber Monday!  I noticed this last week, but only had time to read about the details today.  Etsy has enabled the use of Coupon Codes now, which means that if I want to offer a discount or have a storewide sale, I don't have to go back and edit your Paypal invoice and then resend it to you.  Now, all you have to do is enter the code I give you here or on Facebook or Twitter and you type it in and the discount is automatically applied.  Please remember that you can only use one discount per order.  For example, if you have obtained more than one coupon code from here, from Facebook or wherever...you have to pick just one and use it for your purchase.  Next time, you may use the same code or a different one, but only one at a time.  I hope that makes sense :)

So I've used a bit of my free time during this long holiday weekend to take new photos of jewelry that I've recently made, and upload those photos to Etsy and Facebook.  I know that Cyber Monday is becoming almost as popular as Black Friday.  I thought it would be a good time to try out the coupon codes.  I'm sure a lot of you now that Etsy can sometimes be notorious for glitches, mistakes and bugs (not the good kind).  I really hope that the coupon codes are working.  Now is as good a time as any to find out, I guess.  I know that the "My Etsy" tab for Facebook is NOT working at this time for some people, including me.  I am very disappointed by that and wish for a better way to integrate Etsy and Facebook Fan Pages.  Until then, I hope that you all can find me there.  I think there is only one Silverbugs Jewelry on Facebook.

I'm very excited about these coupon codes and now that you've read this far, I can give you a code exclusive to readers of this blog!  Type in "silver2" without the quotations during your next purchase from my shop for a 10% store-wide discount.  This discount will be available from right now until 12-31-2010.  Remember that shipping to the USA is free, shipping anywhere else in the world is only $6 for your entire purchase.  Thanks & happy shopping!

Treasury Tuesday

That has a nice ring to it...

I just happened to be up late/early at 2am and I had the notion to make a Treasury.  Today's theme is Magic, it's for Wizards and Witches only.  It's called Not for Muggles.  Here's a mini version of it.  To see the full page view, click here.  Enjoy!

OMG Harry Potter!

I realized this weekend, it just hit me while I was looking at my (neglected) Etsy shop--Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is in theaters this week!  I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that it is NOVEMBER, Thanksgiving is next week, etc, etc, etc...

The year is nearly over and the series of HP films is nearly over as well.  Just this one and the next installment in 2011 and then it's all over for good.  It's a bit sad to think about and I sincerely hope somebody I know is planning a big party for the very last movie's release.  We have a while to plan it out.  But right now is the perfect time to get your hands on some Harry Potter-inspired handmade crafts.   In my shop, I've got some awesome stretchy bracelets in Hogwarts house colors.  They're made with round Swarovski crystals & silver or gold beads, they're cute & comfy to wear.  I only have one of each left!

 {ravenclaw}

I also have sterling silver charm bracelets, only 3 of those left:  1 in Ravenclaw colors, 1 in Gryffindor colors and the last one in Slytherin colors.  Hufflepuff colors was the first to go.

 {all four house colors}

All orders in the USA are shipped Priority Mail, so if you purchase something today or tomorrow, you just might get it in time to wear it to the midnight showing.  You will definitely get it in time for Christmas.

*Today's quest is an easy one, to be sure.  I'm just going to type in "harry potter" in the main Etsy search bar.  Here's what I came up with right off the bat...

 It's true!  Charm Studio has a lot more of these neat printed proclamations, this one is $10.

It's a snitch!  These are all over Etsy right now, H-O-T, hot!  But I love the simplicity of this one and especially that the tiny brass ball is a locket that you can actually put something in.  $16 by Last Day of Forever Designs.

I HEART Death Eaters!  Well, I do. It would've been nice if "Snape" was on this list.  I never liked Greyback, blech.  If you HATE Death Eaters, don't worry, Evie Tees has a shirt for all you yucky Gryffindors & Marauder wannabes...

Each of these tees is a very reasonable $18.

Exploding Frogs soap!  Who wouldn't love this?  It's the perfect stocking stuffer for a kid or a geeky adult (like me) and I think these look like as much fun as the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor beans.  I remember those were BIG a few years ago.  But now I want one of these.  Howard's Home gives you 10 frogs for $20.

Last up today is a cute little potion bottle which contains the Elixir of Life.  Surprisingly, it will only cost you $12 at Last Day of Forever Designs.  What a steal!  (Drinking this is not recommended, and if you did so, it wouldn't actually make you immortal.  But it's fun to pretend.)

Thanks for reading, more tomorrow!  GO SLYTHERIN!


*All prices in U.S. dollars.  Be sure to check out each of these shop's Policies and shipping info before purchasing.  If you have any questions, send me an email at silverbugsjewelry@hotmail.com

And while you're at my shop, don't forget to click on my Favorites page, where you'll find many more amazing items.