valentines

Got lots of fun paper at the craft store and have been entertaining myself making cards.

So, anyone need any Valentines?

coupon codes, who knew?

The etsy community has been asking for coupon codes forever now, and now they have 'em. It's simple to use. The shop owner just chooses a code with a percentage off and let's people know about it. Then when shoppers check out they just enter the code and the percentage off is automatically calculated and the price automatically adjusted. I'm trying one in my paperwhisperer shop right now. It's HOL2010 for 25% off.

The system is unfortunately kind of limited; for instance, you can't use it only on certain items or items over a certain amount. But it's a start.

what do you mean it's not time for christmas?

Collage cards made of cut-up used cards from previous years.

I find these very fun and therapeutic to make.

it's a yam sham

Thanksgiving, Buffy style...

Buffy: Yeah. I guess I never really thought about it that way. With mom at aunt Darlene's this year, I'm not getting a Thanksgiving. Maybe it's just as well.
Anya: Well, I think that's a shame. I love a ritual sacrifice.
Buffy: It's not really a one of those.
Anya: To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It's a ritual sacrifice, with pie.

To celebrate (and take any chance I can get to combine Buffy and crafting), I made this.

cards, lots

I made this.

I went simple with the cards this year, relatively speaking. I made a bunch in non-traditional colors and some cool black and whites. I'm itching to make more, but I have other things to do...

I'm in the process of uploading them to thepaperwhisperer on etsy.

wordless wednesday: glee starts up again in april

do you hate Valentine's Day?

Roses are red, violets are blue, I'd be your valentine, except I don't like you.

A moment with you is like a thousand years.

This Valentine's Day, remember... I'll get a restraining order if I have to.

and short and to the point,

Whatever.

Get them here :)

blog ring thursday - valentine's day

Valentine's Day - like it? hate it? Tell about your plans for this heart holiday - in your shop or your life.

Well, see, it's like this... I had big plans for Valentine's Day stuff - cards and cupid penguins and roses and hearts... Not so much. This season totally got away from me. Totally! So maybe I should start now with my "create stuff a year ahead of time" plan, eh?

I did make a few simple Valentines:

But that's about it, I'm afraid.

As for me myself personally, I like Valentine's Day. It's an anniversary of sorts in my life, and second to October (of course), I think February is my favorite month. Plans? Yes! Craft party with my buds on 2/13 and Rent - my absolute favorite show ever - on 2/14.

Continue the ring and see what PurpleSparkle and other EART members think about Valentine's Day.

oh hey, it's thursday again

This week's EART blog ring topic is "wordless works in progress." So here it is - I'm working on holidays cards for 2010 so as not to be so far behind next year, and snark Valentines for thepaperwhisperer.

See what other EART bloggers have in the works. Continue with pnkgeeni.

Colors colors colors!

The EART Thursday question of the week is What are your favorite colors to work with? Is it hard to work outside of your favorites? Well, OK, that's two questions.


I love color in general. It's pretty much my inspiration and my starting point for most of my art. Let's see, I guess I would have to say my favorites are bright, clear colors, like your basic roybgiv. (Interestingly, polymer clay doesn't do clear primary colors well, especially red. But I do love the way it can be mixed into almost any shade.)

I can sometimes be talked into muted colors, but mostly it's the brighter the better for me.





My absolute favorite is rainbows. I have been coloring rainbows since I was a kid. I remember folding up white paper into "books" and making entire "catalogs" full of rainbow clothes and shoes. I just loved to draw rainbow clothing. Hmmm, apparently I still do:



See what the rest of the team thinks about colors. Continue reading here at pnkgeeni's blog.

There's still time to shop for Christmas!

For the girly girl

For the Glee fan

For the Firefly fan

For the crafter

For the humbug :)

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.

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!

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!

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.

Halloween destash sale

Cards, jewelry, penguins... All Halloween stuff is on sale at reduced prices to make room for holiday inventory!

free card deal in October

FREE Halloween or fall greeting card with the purchase of $5 or more from divadea

Happy October!

There's still time for Halloween cards

thepaperwhisperer