work work work March 13, 2008

Well I have been a busy beaver.. I have 15 plushy pendants 3/4 of the way done, 7 more organic pendants waiting for their photo shoot, and I finally have another day off to get it all done. Unfortunately my sis took her awesome camera back that I used for my etsy pics..but I think she is bringing it back tomorrow night…

I am thinking of moving my blog to typepad. It doesn’t cost that much and really you get what you pay for in most cases. I’m not a big fan of blogger and well I guess I don’t fit into the rules of wordpress because your blog cant have anything to do with selling.. My blog is about me, what I do and selling. So lets see if I can do some selling this weekend to help pay for my blog.

I wish I had some pics to add, but not tonight. I did join flickr and PCGOE tonight though..A couple steps ahead. Hopefully tomorrow will be full of them.

The Ribbon is Cut! March 11, 2008

Finally I have opened my Etsy store Minerva’s Muse. It took me all day to take, edit, upload and describe all the photo’s and its only 6 items. Hopefully I get faster and more efficient at this. My photo’s did turn out a whole lot better. What do you think? Do any of you have advice on taking pics or how to become efficient at listing on etsy? Or do you have some critique on my store? I am all ears!

Im also kinda frustrated with wordpress!! Why can’t I put up a mini etsy on my blog?! OK I know why but it’s not fair. I have tried to put a pic with a link in my sidebar to no avail…. grrrr. Well here is the pic I was going to use. Maybe it will work for me tomorrow. I’m off to clay….

ahhh, no more snow please! March 10, 2008

So we went to my parents on Friday night, and we couldn’t leave till Sunday because of the darn snow! It didn’t stop all weekend! I don’t think I have ever seen so much snow at once. I was in serious clay withdrawal all weekend. I did finish a bit more of the sweater I am crocheting myself, but that doesn’t help my etsy store does it? But tomorrow I have the day off and my daughter and husband are going out all day! Yay, a day alone to be productive. Is it bad to be excited to get rid of the fam for a day? It doesn’t happen often that I get to be alone. Well I now have to go get more done. Here are some pics of the crazy snow fall! The fence is over 5′ tall so that’s like 2.5′ of snow in 24 hours not including the major snow drifts with the 70km winds.

snag in the road March 6, 2008

Well let me say High School Musical on Ice was a blast. My daughter was so excited, she danced all night (even when we were trying to make it to our seats). The show was really well done and stayed true to the movies. Well worth it!

And I thought this evening after work I would drop by Michaels and get all that ‘stuff’ I ran out of. Well it was another disappointing Michaels trip! Grrr… Now I wont be able to open my etsy shop until Monday, so I can go searching all over town for the simple things I need. But such is the joy of living in a small city.

I got home after dark today so no new photo’s from me today. But I will have lots this weekend. I am going to visit my sister and use her amazing camera. I will have much better luck that way.

Instead of pics I have a link from Polymer Clay Notes. It is a interesting article on what all us artists really need to succeed ‘1000 True Fans’.

Plushy Pendants and High School Musical March 5, 2008

Well yesterday did not go as planned. I was excited to get my ‘rainbow brite’ pendants done , but after an hour of struggling they all ended up in the fubar bin. grrrrr. What do you guys do when you are in a creative rut?
I played on the computer a bit and then started something completely different from my sketch pile (I cant manage to keep it in a book). And low and behold it went as smooth as peanut butter. They are called ‘Plushy Pendants’. Plushies are huge right now and sewing is one craft I have not tackled. So I made my own mini version, no needle required. I have a whole bunch almost done, they just need sanding and embellishment (which will include faux stitching). Its hard to tell in this pick but they are puffy, about 1″ high and are hollow. They also make a slight rattle sound when they are shaked.

Now I have to stop though and get my daughter and I ready. I am bringing her to the High School Musical on Ice. She doesn’t know yet, I have managed to keep it a secret for over a week! She is going to pee her pants with excitement. She is only 6, loves High school Musical and has never been to a large venue centre. Lets hope it all goes well!

All Used Up March 4, 2008

Don’t you just hate when you are just about finished a project and you realize you have run out of the stuff you need to finish with…grrr.

I swore that I had tons of jump rings left. But all I can find is gold and I need silver! Its been one of those days. I had all day to be productive, but every-time I start something I run into a glitch. Like lighting. I had the day off and was hoping to get some good pics but there wasn’t any sun.

I did take this pic of the pendants that are finally finished (minus the jump rings). They are about 1.5″ in diameter and not so shiny in person. They are the last ones in the ‘organic chaos’ series for a while. I’m on to something new. I will have more pictures of the new series tomorrow. I’m thinking it will be called ‘rainbow brite’.
Now I just have to get/make a photo light box to fix these crappy pics. 

Sneak Peek March 3, 2008

Well it’s all coming together. I have a blog, I am almost done enough inventory for the new etsy shop Minervas Muse, which I managed to create today after work…Oh I also took some WIP shots seeing how blogs are pretty dull without some pics. Unfortunately I took the shots after work, which means no good light. But hey something is better than nothing.

So here is a pic of some pendants that need a little bit of work and one of a few buttons that came from the ‘to be sanded and sealed’ pile. I hope to have my store fully operational by the end of the week (crossing fingers and knocking on wood).

Let me know what you think..Thanks!

It’s a Start! March 2, 2008

Well I guess now is a good as any…Well probably a little late.
I have finally jumped on the blogger band wagon!
I plan to use this as an output for my crafting progress and my journal of the adventures of becoming an etsy seller.Its about time too, I have been thinking about it for 2 years now (i am slightly a procrastinator).
So here is a run down on me; I am a good old Canadian living with my 6 year old daughter, partner and our shih-poo puppy. I am a part-time bookkeeper and a full time crafter. I work mostly in polymer clay and crochet, but do just about everything else as well. A Jane of all crafts and a master of none!
Hopefully within the next week I will have my etsy shop up and running, selling handmade buttons and pendants. We will see how the ride goes!