Online Trunk Show Tonight

The EART etsy team of artists is having a virtual trunk show tonight, Monday 11/30/09, in the etsy virtual labs, in the SKY room - 7:00 PM Eastern time. About a dozen sellers will be showing their items for holiday gifting - cards, jewelry, knitting, polymer clay, all sorts of stuff! Everyone is invited.

cherries!

Today was chocolate-covered cherries day. So much fun!


Maraschino cherries - 8 big jars of them - drying out



Goop - butter, corn syrup, juice from the jars of cherries and LOOOOOTS of powdered sugar


Cherries wrapped in goop


Cherries dipped in chocolate - dark chocolate mix of Wilbur dark and Ghirardelli bittersweet


Cherries dipped in Wilbur milk chocolate

Lotsa lotsa cherries - 242 to be exact...

Now they just gotta sit around for a few weeks so the goop can goopify.

the christians and the pagans

I've been listening to the Dar Williams song, The Christians and the Pagans, and thinking about the holiday season and how it's really OK that not everyone celebrates Christmas. Given the choice, I probably wouldn't. But we all do stuff to keep the family peace, don't we? And of course there's not much work for a choral musician who doesn't do Christmas! Anyway, as generally non-religious as I am, I am somewhat fascinated by the history of holidays and the transplantation of Christian holidays on top of pagan ones.

These are goddess pendants. Could be put on necklaces, hung as ornaments or just kept as little talismans, perhaps a reminder of everything women do to keep the world turning, especially during holidays seasons!

More goddesses here.

speaking of whatever...

I've re-opened my card shop on etsy, thepaperwhisperer. I'm starting with holiday humor - simple designs, large attitude.

I'm not a huge fan of Christmas, or holidays in general. Some years I get into it a bit, some years not. This year I'm making lots of cards. The nice collage ones recycled from old cards are at my main shop, and these are getting their own home.

Perfect greetings to keep in touch at the holidays even if you're not a fan. Or just to make someone laugh.

Bah Humbug.

about Glee

So I am a television junkie. My favorites to rewatch are Buffy, Firefly, The West Wing, Six Feet Under, and a few others. The ones I watch (or rent as soon as they come out) are Big Love, Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, Weeds, and a whole bunch of others. Just started The 4400 - has potential.

Anyway, I've been watching Glee since it started. I absolutely loved the first episode, but I feel like it went downhill from there. The characters are so ridiculously cliche. Big fat stereotypes, anyone? Yet I can't help liking some of the them, especially Kurt -he's just so cute. And of course Jane Lynch as the cheerleading coach is hilarious. Still, where is there for the characters to go? I don't see much character development going on, and that's what I dig about good TV. I think that's also why I prefer TV series to movies generally.

I think my main beef with the show is that it isn't what I hoped it was going to be - gasp - the nerve! I wanted it to show the coolness of ensemble singing and how it works, and well, duh, it doesn't. Everyone gets sheet music and is singing in harmony and dancing big complicated choreography within seconds. Yeah. Whatever.

So, complaints and general embarrassment for my TV-watching patheticness aside, I have to say that zinger quotations from shows, brilliant or not, make me happy. I had to make a card.



P.S. Chuck starts up again in January! Woot!

In the beginning...

It be EART Thursday blog ring time again, and the question is How did you get started doing your art/craft? Well, I'll tell you.

It all started with a friend named Miss Cathy. We saw some of those polymer clay cane work beads, the dolphins and smiles and things like that, knotted into hemp jewelry. We thought, hey, we could make those. Yeah, let's make those...

Then we got this book and started making those. Or, er, something not at all like those. It was harder than it looked. We made canes. We reduced them crooked, we left air bubbles in them, we sliced them with tools not quite sharp enough. We baked our beads anyway and knotted them all up in hemp like the wannabe hippies that we were. And we were proud. We mixed up a bunch of our messups and ended up with an awful lot of teal clay. We listened to a lot of Paul Simon while we worked on the diner-esque kitchen table with the perfect smooth and cool top for clay-rolling. The building shook every time the train went by. We continued to make clay beads in the middle of the night until we got pretty good at it. We even had some kids over from our day care center job to make beads with us. And we took the clay to school and made beads with the kids. All beads all the time.

And that's how it started.

To find out how some other EART team members got their art start, continue reading at PnkGeeni's blog.

I love the comic book store

Despite the fact that I had never entered a comic book store until Buffy Season 8, I find that I feel very at home there. The little comic book store in my town is owned and run by one guy named Jim, who is sweet as pie.



I was very pleased to take some stuff over there for consignment/display - stake earrings, Firefly necklace, slayer ornament, and of course the vampire slayer penguin.

I'm finding that I love the comic books, and I'm having to hold myself back from buying more. I'm only allowing myself to buy the Buffy and Angel related ones, but I can't help wondering - do I need more superheroes in my life?



Visit and support your local little stores. Their proprietors love what they do!

had to share

Sometimes you come across an artist that makes you so happy that you can't resist sharing! This is the work of Tenika of Velvet Morning on etsy.



She makes collages in several layers, including antique handwritten letters and texts, ephemera, textures, vintage portraits, acetate, photography, digital effects, etc. She often uses a travel theme, which is partly why it feels like the woman in each piece has her own story. These pieces inspire me to want to write stories. But alas, I'm no good at that, so I'll just admire.



The shop has ACEOs (which are little playing-card-sized bits of art) as well as prints in larger sizes. I definitely want to add at least one (OK, 20) of these pieces to my etsy art collection, but I'm having trouble deciding which!



Visit her shop and take your time. Each piece is an amazing work of art.

Thanksgiving table

Polymer clay pretties for the Thanksgiving table or autumn dinner party:

Napkin rings, set of 8

Filigree-style vase

Tall vase in rich fall colors

Adorable, tiny salt and pepper shakers

Scavenger Hunt - lots of prizes!

The Eclectic Artisans Team has a new team shop. Check it out! To celebrate our new shop and the beginning of the holiday season, we're having a scavenger hunt, and everyone is invited to participate!





Here's how to play: Visit the participating etsy shops (scroll down for the list of shops) and search their items for this photo:





When you find it, send the shop owner an etsy convo letting them know you found it. You can search and enter in each participating shop. You can only win once (we want to share the love as much as possible), but the more shops you enter, the more chances you have to be a winner! Each shop owner will randomly draw one winner at the end of the hunt. That's all you have to do.

The scavenger hunt runs from Friday, 11/13, 2009, to midnight EST on Friday, 11/20/09. Check the EART website on Monday, 11/23/09 to see the winners. Enjoy the hunt!

(Please note: EART members are not eligible to win prizes.) Here's a list of participating EART shops and their fabulous prizes:

MichellesCharmWorld
Prize: Pair of Lego Earrings & Lego

EDCCollective
Prize: Set of four photographic art note cards with envelopes, your choice of images.

DivaDea
Prize: set of four handmade christmas cards

IndigoOrchid
Prize: Platinum Freshwater Pearl Drop Earrings

Pnkgeeni
Prize: set of six handmade embossed christmas cards

AWEshop
Prize: Hammered Copper Adjustable Spiral Ring

Purple Sparkle Crafts
Prize: Sugar Pink Marshmallow Cupcake Candle

MouserkinsMagic
Prize: Choice of 2 Bookmarks

InspirationRecycled
Prize: Peacock and Brown Felt Pendant

Punkynmunky
Prize: Animal print no slip hair clip trio

BeautifulSchlopp
Prize: $25 gift certificate

Hair Bows Wonderworld
Prize: red velour rose pin-on corsage/buttonhole

EclecticArtisansTeam
Prize: sparrow earrings from MichellesCharmWorld

Questions? Convo divadea on etsy. Thanks for playing!

EART blog ring: holiday specials!

The Thursday EART question of the week is: Do you have any good sales/deals coming up for holiday shoppers?




My recycled holiday cards are a great deal at only $2 each because they're made of old greeting cards and leftover card stock from a wedding. Good deal!

Another good deal to consider is shipping. In my etsy shop, you pay shipping on the first item only, and after that there's no extra charge no matter how many items you buy. Shipping can really drive up costs, so... good deal!

Continue through the blog ring to find sales and holiday specials from other Electic Artisans Team members. Next up - PnkGeeni.

Happy Holiday Shopping!

penguins, what else is new...

I've started pulling penguin ideas out of a hat. Well, plastic bag, actually. Here are the first few: red hat penguin (oh, the irony of the red hat, but that's a post for another day...), stars and stripes penguin, and baseball penguin.


Here they are before baking.



And here they are after baking. It's like a penguin costume party.

Or a joke. "Three penguins waddle into an elevator..."

The penguins are living at the Palmyra Public Library for the holidays!

Already?

Yep, already. It's time for holiday cards. This year, I'm making recycled collage cards out of used cards from holidays past.



Mostly the cards are turning out colorful and cute, but occasionally they lean toward elegant - depends whether I'm at the country craft snowmen or the nature scene section of the old cards pile.



The cards are being uploaded to my etsy shop over the next several days.

So in the continuing effort to make the penguins on my list of penguin personality ideas, I built good old Dorothy and her trusty dog Toto. I knew before baking that the hair wasn't quite right, but turns out that was the least of my problems. The whole deal fell over in the oven, thus squashing the ruby slippers and the hair and severing poor Toto's head. Now I have a better idea of how to put this one together, though, so I'll try again. I was pleased at how Toto turned out, since my sculpting skills are limited, to say the least. I don't think I'll be making a habit of building little dogs, but it's always good to try something new.

This weekend I took a break from penguins and made a boatload of Christmas and birthday cards, all collages made out of used cards. Somehow making these cards gives me a sense of satisfaction. I think it's the using up of materials. So to achieve that sensation with the beads, I would just need to make a 127-foot long necklace... OK, perhaps not.

autumn necklace

This is a necklace I made as a gift this week. I made these vibrant fall beads a couple of years ago and made them into necklaces in bracelets that didn't sell. So I took them apart and made this custom one. In addition to the polymer clay beads, it's also got glass, plastic, wood and stone beads.

Thursday EART blog ring: Holiday Planning

The question for this week's EART blog ring is How far in advance do you start planning for holidays?



Well, my answer is NEVER FAR ENOUGH!



Seriously, I always wish I'd started sooner. Usually I only make stuff for two holidays - Halloween and Christmas. Ideally, I'd like to be planning and creating about 8 months in advance. I'll let you know when that starts happening...

Usually, I'm cramming at the last minute. But this year I'm doing a bit better. I had Halloween stuff made and in my etsy shop by the middle of September, and now, beginning of November, I have most of my Christmas cards and gifty items ready to post. When my Halloween destash sale is over this Friday I will start listing for the holidays. We'll see what happens.
To see more responses to this Thursday's question, continue reading at PNKGeeni's blog.

You want to make Buffy ornaments, I know you do...

From the Buffyfest blog: "The purpose of this event is to craft 4-6 ornaments with a Whedonverse theme and send them to 4-6 different recipients. In return you will receive 4-6 completely different handmade ornaments..."

Clicky the picture to read about and join the Whedonverse ornament swap. It's fun. I'm not sure what I'm making this year - possibly something from Dollhouse. Or not. Hmmm. Anyway, there's still a day or two to sign up, so come join the fun.

Support the Arts!

This is the Cumberland Singers. Our concerts are scheduled for December 11, 12 and 13, 2009, in Mechanicsburg, PA, and we could use your help.

Support the arts by purchasing a program booklet advertisement. Details and rates here.

Live long and prosper

Here's the penguin getting mailed to the winner of PenguinPalooza. Can you tell who he is? I hope she likes it!

Here's the list of all the ideas I got. Hope to be making a bunch of these soon!

penguin dressed up as a turtle.
penguin holding a jack-o-lantern.
bluetooth/cellphone penguin.
raking fall leaves penguin.
penguin in a space suit.
penguin in raincoat/boots.
penguin with a waistcoat & a watch! (like the white rabbit)
80s boombox penguin.
orchestra conductor penguin.
buzz lightyear penguin.
policeman penguin.
firefighter penguin.
penguin cradeling baby penguin.
librarian penguin.
penguin with huge jar of huge pickles.
mountain climber penguin.
penguin in a hot dog bun, or a hot dog suit.
baseball penguin.
oompa-loompa penguin.
Penguin dressed as a fairy!
Penguin vulcan!
Renaissance/medieval penguin!
Rainy day penguin with umbrella and slicker who has fallen into a mud puddle!
Disco penguin
Albert Penguin Einstein
Dorothy and Toto penguin
Glenda the good Witch Penguin
Wicked Penguin of the West
Phantom Penguin of the Opera
Pharmacist Penguin
Accountant Penguin
Star Spangled Penguin
Statue of Liberty Penguin
Red Hat Penguin
Under the Sea Penguin
Mermaid Penguin
Fa Penguin
Penguin as a birthday candle.
Penguin as a Pineapple.
Surfing penguin.
Star Trek Penguins
Lord of the Rings Penguins
Pilgrim and Indian penguins
Penguin as a turkey
Rudolph the red nosed penguin stuck in a chimny.
Snowman penguin
Penguin as a cupcake.
Hula couple penguins trapped in a volcano.
Missionary penguin in a stew pot.
barak,
bush,
hillary,
abraham Lincoln
PIRATE PENGUIN!
+ Leather penguin
+ Dominatrix penguin
+ Singing/Choral penguin
Michael Jackson penguin
+ Penguin in a wheelchair
+ Swine flu penguin (again not sure how you'd do it...my head is full of weird thoughts today)
+ Jogging/80s aerobic penguin
+ Photographer penguin
+ Disco fever penguin (fun with patterns!)
Dickensian choir penguins
An Internet one (wwww.penguin?)
Penguin in a kayak
Surfer penguin
Penguin on a slip and slide
Penguin dressed up as a pig
Workout penguin in his zumba gear
Jay Leno
Trumpet player!
Penguin dressed as a frog
Medieval Knight penguin
Painter penguin (possibly wearing a smock and holding a paint palette and paint brush)
Penn State Penguin
Scarecrow penguin with a crow sitting on its shoulder
Monty Python penguin
Ninja penguin
family of penguins (mom, dad and baby)
Phantom of the Opera Penguin
Musician Penguins..... guitar, drum sticks, microphone, etc.... :D
Penguin holding a fishing rod and wearing a fishing hat and a fishing vest
Penguin with swine flu...wearing a hot water bottle on his head and holding a box of tissues with a thermometer in his mouth
Suitcase, umbrella drink and a hawaiian shirt or lei!
Zombie penguin!
barista penguin
A fish with a penguin in it's mouth - you know, maybe hanging off of the penguin butt or something. Life in reverse!
bartender penguin - a little martini shaker in it's hand
Race for the Cure penguin
Breast Cancer Awareness penguin
Video game penguin. A penguin tangled in video game cords.
A penguin drinking many cups of coffee that looks very tired
A photographer penguin, with a big camera around his neck.
A nerdy penguin, with the glasses with the tape and the pocket protector.
A California penguin with a bikini or board shorts and sunglasses
A Hannah Montana penguin with the blonde wig for all those crazed kid fans
A Mickey or Minnie Mouse penguin
cheerleader penguin
6 of 1 size, 2 a little bigger, and the 2 more even bigger and then you have Jon & Kate plus 8
a bride and groom penguin
a penguin in a tiny wheelchair
a chef penguin with the little chef hat and apron
a doctor or nurse penguin with the lab coat or scrubs
A Veternarian Dr. penguin holding a little animal
Newsreporter penguin with a little suit and a microphone
racecar driver Penguin in a tiny car
Angel penguin
penguin with antlers to be Rudolph
penguin in a bunny suit with ears and tail for Easter!
penguin with t-shirt that either says Wildcats or High School Musical for kids
penguin dressed in camo for the military
Michael Jackson penguin with a leather jacket and a glove on one wing

Behold the cute!