Friday, December 31, 2010

Design This – Statement Earrings

While I have had the pleasure of creating many custom pieces for other people, sometimes it comes in handy to be able to whip up something for myself. A few months ago, I found myself in need of some statement earrings to go with an outfit that I wanted to wear.

I was going to be emceeing a charity wine tasting and silent auction. A few days before the event, I went through my closet to find a suitable outfit. I decided on a short sleeved black blouse adorned with sequins and beads worn over a velvet textured maroon long sleeved shirt. Now I needed to pick accessories. The folds of material in the neckline of the maroon shirt precluded wearing a necklace and I thought a bracelet would pretty much get lost under the long sleeved shirt, so I needed to see what earrings I had to work with. While I had some simple silver and/or pearl earrings that would have worked, they were more subtle than I wanted, since the earrings would be the major addition to this outfit.

So I grabbed the beaded blouse and headed to my supply station. My goal was to create a pair of lightweight clip earrings that had sparkle, movement and picked up the colors from my blouse. I pulled out a pair of silver plated, hinged, screw back clip earrings, all of my crystal and Czech glass beads that picked up at least one color from my blouse and some sterling silver chain. I played around with several combinations and finally settled on the beads and chain that I wanted to use. I made up four short crystal sections using silver headpins for each earring. I suspended each of these sections from different lengths of sterling silver chain. I then attached the chains
to the loop of each ear clip.

These earrings are long enough and have enough sparkle that they don’t get lost, but rather are the statement earrings that I was trying for. They are wonderfully lightweight and their sparkle and movement give them a lot of life as I move.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation and would like something designed especially for you, please contact me to see if I have the materials needed and enough time to design something to fill your needs.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Fellow Etsian Sightings - CorkyCrafts

Ok, I did it again this year. I bought another Christmas tree ornament from a fellow Etsy artisan. Even though I realized that it might be a challenge to add any more to my ornament collection and still get them all on the tree, this little pony was just too cute to pass up.

Ponies, Santas, reindeer and other ornaments are handcrafted from wine corks. Ornaments are not the only thing that you will find in this talented Etsian’s shop however. You will also find great ideas for hostess gifts, other holiday decorations and home décor. Wine cork wreaths are a specialty. CorkyCrafts is the perfect place to browse for a unique gift for any wine enthusiast. Although, you don’t have to be a wine lover to appreciate the wonderful cork and other handcrafted items found in this shop.

I hope this wee bit of my holiday decorations that I have shared has brought you a spot of holiday cheer. May the rest of your holidays be merry and have a very happy New Year.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

No More Green Tomatoes

In an earlier post I described what I do when I’m faced with a blue norther threatening to turn my still unripe tomatoes into tomatocicles. And as promised, I’m back to share with you the photos of the small green slicer, shown in my previous post, that I was letting ripen on my kitchen counter.

Three weeks later, on December 8, I decided that the small slicer, that I had picked on November 17 for this green tomato ripening test, looked ready to be sampled. I took a photo just before and after slicing it. You can see that it was a nice even red inside and out and was still nice and plump. My two guys and I tasted the tomato and the verdict was that it had a nice tomato flavor. The flesh was not dry or mealy. If we hadn’t polished it off sampling it, it would have been perfect on a salad or sandwich.

I picked my green cherry tomatoes and remaining small slicers on Thanksgiving as our first predicted freeze bore down on us. They have been ripening nicely in my kitchen too. Last night, December 15, we enjoyed a fresh salsa made from most of what remained from that harvest along with store bought tomatillos, garlic and cilantro.

So remember next year that your unripe tomatoes don’t have to turn to mush on the vine or be turned into fried green tomatoes if the first freeze of the year threatens them before they are ready to be picked. Go ahead and pick them all, leave them in a colander out of direct heat and light and use them as they ripen, just as if they were ripening on the vine.

See a complete list of my gardening tips at my garden coach profile.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Thanks for the Treasuries - November 2010

Eight different Etsians featured one or more of my items in a treasury during November. Twelve November treasuries included one of my items. You can see a collage below of my items from EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic that were featured during November. (Click on the collage to see a larger view.)


I really appreciate being featured by the treasury makers. To thank them, I have listed below (in alphabetical order) links to the 8 different Etsians that featured at least one of my items, as well as an item from their shop or profile that I like.

Enjoy window shopping and I encourage you to click on the shop links of anything that pleases your eye.

ArtandWool
Lovely fine art, original handknits and jewellery from Down Under.

AuntJaneCan
Original fantasy art as sculpture, paintings, greeting cards, jewelry and prints.


CorkyCrafts
Wine-related products make the perfect gifts! If you are a wine connoisseur who happens to appreciate hand made items, look no further.

EnchantedBeads
This shop has the most amazing Victorian revival and romantic retro beadwoven jewelry with gemstones, pearls and more.

FotoGirlCreations
The prints and note cards in this shop are altered photos that resemble fine art paintings much more than the photographs they began as.

HandPaintedPetals
Hand painted keepsakes including jewelry and memory boxes, glassware, votive candle holders and more can be found here.

Teretissot
This wonderful Etsian supports the artists on Etsy by creating lovely treasuries.

TeroldegoandTomatoes
Handmade floral note cards, wedding invitations, bridesmaid thank you cards, paper magnolias and gift tags can be found in this shop.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

See Eclectic Design Choices at Olde Town Christmas

Eclectic Design Choices will join an array of more than 65 other artists and crafters for your holiday shopping at Arlington Parks and Recreation's Olde Town Christmas Craft Fair. This holiday craft fair will be held at Dottie Lynn Recreation Center in Arlington, TX on Friday, December 3 from noon to 7pm and Saturday, December 4 from 10am to 3pm.


Click on the photo above to see a larger view of most of my display from my recent Hillsboro show. Look for a similar display at the Olde Town Christmas craft fair.

You will find many of my current listings from EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic and much more. I've been busy creating and I will have many items with me that are not currently listed in my shops. I have added some photos of some of these new goodies to my Facebook business fan page albums.

Whether you will be shopping for yourself or shopping for those perfect holiday gifts, I hope you will get a chance to take advantage of this great shopping opportunity. While you are there, please stop by and introduce yourself. I'd love the opportunity to say "hi" in person. Look for my Eclectic Design Choices sign near the back of my booth.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Green Tomatoes and the Big Chill

So, your tomatoes are still producing, not all of the fruit is ripe and a heavy frost or freeze is forecast, what do you do? You get out there and pick all of your tomatoes of course, regardless of color, as the cold front's winds are bearing down, threatening to turn your still productive plants into dead tomatocicles.

You're not into the fried green tomato thing you say? Not to worry. Tomatoes are climacteric fruits. This means that they will continue to ripen after you pick them. Last year I decided to see just how green a tomato could be and still ripen to a lovely red and taste like a homegrown tomato. I kept my rescued tomatoes in a colander in the kitchen away from heat sources and out of the direct sunlight. I was surprised to find out that even the dark green ones would eventually ripen. The occasional fruit would shrivel a bit, however almost every tomato ripened and was enjoyed instead of being left on the vine to freeze. It was great having a tomato from my garden at Christmas.

As I am writing this, we are in a warm spell in between a couple of light frosts and our first freeze that is predicted for Thanksgiving night. (Guess what I'll be doing after turkey dinner?) Before our previous light frost I picked just one small slicer that was barely beginning to blush. (I have a system for keeping a light frost from damaging the plants so that they can continue to produce until a heavy frost or freeze.) The tomato pictured was picked on November 17 and photographed on November 18. I will do a follow up post to let you know how long it took to fully ripen and what it looked and tasted like.

So, if your tomato plants haven't been done in by Jack Frost yet and still have tomatoes on them, grab a spare colander as that blue norther is bearing down and pick them all. By doing so, you will enjoy some fruits of summer during the gray days of winter.

Update: Click here to read my follow up post.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Design This – Sturdy Box for Display Case

This design this post explains how I went about solving the problem of safely transporting a glass sided display case to and from my craft shows, such as the one I'll be at this weekend in Hillsboro. I could have placed it on the top of the items that I packed for the show and covered it with a blanket, but I wanted something more secure. Finding a sturdy box proved to be a challenge due to its size (18 x 23 x 6 inches). When my usual box sources didn’t have what I needed, I headed off to my local box and shipping supplies store.

They have boxes, tubes and mailers in a huge variety of sizes. Even with such a great selection, there were not very many options for my needs. I finally settled on a single wall 24 x 24 x 12 inch box. Unfortunately, none of the double wall boxes had the correct dimensions, so I would have to “beef up” this box when I got home.

This was one of the times that my “pack rat nature” came in handy. After I used packing tape to secure the bottom of the box, I set out to reinforce the bottom and sides. I had a piece of cardboard that was big enough to lay in the bottom of the box. Then I cut to size and pieced together four strips of cardboard to go around the sides of the box. I used liquid nails to secure the cardboard pieces to the box sides. I still had a bit to attach when I ran out of the remains of a large tube, so I grabbed a small squeeze tube of the newly formulated liquid nails for small projects. I love what they did with it! It squeezes and spreads better than the old formulation and I think it had better adhesion for this application.

Now it was time for a test fit of my case. There was just a little bit of room in the long dimension of my case for shifting that I needed to fill up. Unfortunately it was not quite enough for some reinforced corner pieces that I had been saving but I did have a couple of "I" shaped pieces of cardboard that I could slide down the sides to take up this space to make a secure fit. The corner pieces fit into the corners of the box to make it very sturdy, even if something got stacked on top so I cut them to length. I used my liquid nails for small projects to secure all of these pieces, applied some bracing and let all of this cure overnight.

Because this box is a large, somewhat awkward size, I wanted to make it easier to carry and reduce the risk of dropping it. I used a sturdy, open topped box that I’d saved to make a template for handle cut outs on my reinforced display case box and a mat knife to cut them out. Now I have a sturdy box that my display case fits securely into. I can use the space on either side and the top of the case to carry my table covers in. Problem solved.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Thanks for the Treasuries - October 2010

Five different Etsy shops notified me that they had featured one or more of my items in a treasury during October. Six different October treasuries included one or more of my items. You can see a collage below of my items from EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic that were featured during October. (Click on the collage to see a larger view.)


I really appreciate being featured by the treasury makers. To thank them, I have listed below (in alphabetical order) links to the 5 different shops that featured at least one of my items, as well as an item from their shop that I like.

Enjoy window shopping and I encourage you to click on the shop links of anything that pleases your eye.

CorkyCrafts
Wine-related products make the perfect gifts! If you are a wine connoisseur who happens to appreciate hand made items, look no further.

HandPaintedPetals
Hand painted keepsakes including jewelry and memory boxes, glassware, votive candle holders and more can be found here.

LilliputLoft
This mother and daughter team create enchanted, whimsical items for the child within.



Natalya1905
Natalya's Studio offers high quality, original custom knit and crochet patterns and items such as Newsboy Hats, Scarves, Cup Cozies, Moccasin Slippers, Beanies, Berets, Yoga Socks, Arm, Leg Warmers and more.


SigalsArt
This artist offers a wide range of beautiful polymer clay items including beads, jewelry, accessories and unbaked polymer clay canes in addition to other jewelry items.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

EclecticDesignChoices to be at Hillsboro Holiday Craft & Antique Bazaar

Outlets at Hillsboro is sponsoring a Holiday Craft & Antique Bazaar on Saturday and Sunday, November 13 - 14, 2010. You can "shop till you drop" from 10 am to 6 pm on both days. On Saturday there will be even more fun for those shoppers that purchase a Shopping Extravaganza ticket. So, if you are in the area, grab some friends or head out solo to come by, say "hi" and see my creations in person.

You will find many of my current listings from EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic and much more. I've been busy creating and I will have many items at the Hillsboro show that are not currently listed in my shops. I have added some photos of some of these new goodies to my Facebook business fan page albums.

Whether you will be shopping for yourself or shopping for those perfect holiday gifts, I hope you will get a chance to take advantage of this great shopping opportunity. While you are there, please stop by the crafts area and introduce yourself. I'd love the opportunity to say "hi" in person. Look for my sign near the back of my booth.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Design This – Native American Hair Tides

This design project got its start when a prospective customer saw something in another one of my “Design This” blog posts that she liked. She sent me a screen shot with the item that she hoped to be able to purchase. I had recently sold that exact pair of Native American style feather and leather hair clips but had a similar pair that was not currently listed anywhere, so I sent off a picture of them. She liked them and was interested in some earrings in a similar style and wondered, “Also, do you make Native American hair tides, they are also called hair leather straps?”. The earrings were the easy part of this custom request but I would have to do some research into these “hair tides” to see if they were something I felt confident creating.

I was having some difficulty locating examples, so my customer found a couple of links for me. After seeing the product that I was being asked about, I discovered that they could also be found by searching for Native American leather hair ties or wraps. This gave me an idea of the product that my customer was after. These hair accessories are meant to wrap around your hair braids and the solid leather part at the top is tied securely around the braids with the leather fringe hanging below. I asked for some specifics as to the preferred length of the solid and fringed portions as well as color preferences and then I was off to search for supplies and to investigate fringing methods.

I found a nice red suede piece of leather that looked like it would make what my customer had asked for. After researching fringing, I decided to use a multibladed tool to fringe the lower portion of the hair tides. I practiced on some scrap leather to get a feel for the tool. I had to be careful how I pulled the leather or the fringes would not come out right. After a bit of practice, it was time to create my customer’s custom hair tides. After fringing the pieces, I attached laces to each one for securing the hair wraps to her braids.

Since my hair is not long enough to braid, I needed a way to model the product for my client. I used the tail of my stuffed white tiger to simulate a hair braid. I have doubled up this image so that you can get a feel for what these Native American style leather hair wraps would look like when in use.

Feel free to contact me if you find something on my blog, in my Facebook photo albums or EDCCollective's sold listings that you like. If I don’t have the item but can recreate it or something similar, I’d love to make a custom piece for you.

Item availability update: I have begun listing my Native American Inspired Hair Wraps in my EDCCollective Etsy shop section Feathers, Leather n Wood as of 2/14/12. These wraps can be worn in a variety of ways. One example can be seen in this photo sent by one of my customers.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Gardening for Wildlife - Monarch Migration

There are several great plants including milkweed and butterfly weed that can attract Monarch butterflies to your garden. I would like to share two Texas natives, that you might not be as familiar with, that Monarchs flock to in my garden. They feed on the nectar of these plants to help fuel their 2500 mile fall migration to Mexico, where they hibernate for the winter. These two Texas natives, late flowering boneset and blue mistflower, supply much needed food for this epic journey.

Late flowering boneset naturally grows near streams, lakes or other low lying areas. I have found that it is adaptable to being included in my xeric garden. This plant does spread by underground roots and if it is in an area where it is very happy (damp or frequent watering), it will spread and form a large colony. It is also a vigorous reseeder, so it is best to clip and dispose of the seed heads so that you won’t be constantly pulling seedlings the next year. (Natural seed propagation is how it found its way to my garden in the first place.) So much for it’s vices, there is still a lot to recommend this plant for the right spot on your property. Late flowering boneset will attain a height of 3 to 6 feet. In my garden, it tends to get 4 to 5 feet. It usually blooms, from late September into early October. It is covered with an umbrella of white, fuzzy blooms for a few weeks and attracts a large variety of insects to feed on its flower’s nectar, including Monarch butterflies. This is a plant for the back of a large bed or for holding the soil along banks near low lying areas on your property. It is a perennial that dies to the ground during the winter.

Blue mistflower is also good for stabilizing sloping ground near low lying areas. It also spreads by underground roots but I have not found it to be an aggressive reseeder. It too, will happily fill an area that stays damp or is watered regularly. I have found it to be very useful in my xeric garden. I got my start as a division (with permission) from a local xeriscape. It also dies back in the winter but only gets a foot or so high in my garden, so it can be planted closer to the front of a bed. It usually blooms at a similar time as late flowering boneset but often for a little longer. It has similar flowers that are lavender in color.

If you have the space for either of both of these plants on your property, I would like to encourage you to plant them to help support the Monarchs on their long journey. You will be rewarded by getting to watch Monarch butterflies flitting around your garden during their fall migration, in addition to the other nectar sippers that will visit.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Thanks for the Treasuries - September 2010

Three different Etsy shops featured one or more of my items in a treasury in September. Seven different September treasuries included one of my items. You can see a collage below of my items from EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic that were featured during September. (Click on the collage to see a larger view.)


I really appreciate being featured by the treasury makers. To thank them, I have listed below (in alphabetical order) links to the 3 different shops that featured at least one of my items, as well as an item from their shop that I like.

Enjoy window shopping and I encourage you to click on the shop links of anything that pleases your eye.

CorkyCrafts
Wine-related products make the perfect gifts! If you are a wine connoisseur who happens to appreciate hand made items, look no further.

HandPaintedPetals
Hand painted keepsakes including jewelry and memory boxes, glassware, votive candle holders and more can be found here.

SpunkyDiva
Home of the StayPut towel. These towels make fantastic housewarming, wedding, or hostess gifts.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Diary 2011 Project

For the second year in a row, I have participated in the Diary Project. This is the Diary Project’s fourth year. The layout has changed a bit this year, however it is still a great solution for people that like to keep a daily diary or journal.

Artists and craftsmen are asked to submit artwork for a given day of the year. The artist is allowed to include what they do and a link to their work. This information, as well as the date, is translated into English, French and Spanish. Space is incorporated into the page design for your diary or journal entry.

You can see a preview of my artwork for Thursday, July 14, 2011 at the left. This photographic art design is of my gazelle earring model, modeling a pair of flying pig earrings. Click on the gazelle for a larger view. Additional flying pig items can be found in my shop EclecticSkeptic.

You can purchase a copy of the this year’s artistically designed diary, a CD of the diary or a download of the diary. For ordering information, please click on the Diary 2011 button at the right.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

EDCCollective begins collaboration with RhymesAndReason

Sometimes two very different things can be combined for a more pleasing whole than either of the parts could be on their own. Some examples that come to mind are bread and butter, suit and tie, Simon and Garfunkel. The combination that is the basis of EDC’s new collaboration is poetry and illustrations. Now don’t get me wrong, EDCCollective’s photographic art is great as home décor and on note cards and bookmarks, while RhymesAndReason’s poems capture thoughts and feelings that you might find difficulty finding the words for. However, the combination of a poem with a complementary illustration provides more interest and impact than either on its own.

How does this work? The poet sends me a poem, I brainstorm images that I think enhance the poem and work from my stock photos or take some new shots to work with to come up with the final illustrations. I then artistically arrange the poem on the illustration and send the finished file to the poet.

You can find the products of this collaboration in RhymesAndReason’s Etsy Shop. Most of her current listings are geared towards giving as a gift to a special friend or dear family member, many of which can be personalized. Other poems may be something that you wish to purchase for yourself and hang in your home. Also, the current listings are for a pdf of the poem that you can print out as an 8 x 10 on your choice of paper. If you would rather have a printed copy mailed to you, please contact EDCCollective or RhymesAndReason, as we have plans to make that happen as well. I'm sure there will be many more poems to come as time goes on, so please bookmark this neat new Etsy store, RhymesAndReason, for your future illustrated poetry needs.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Design This – Turquoise Crystal Necklace

Not all of my custom orders come from Etsy alchemy requests. Earlier this year, a friend asked me to show her some of my completed designs and materials in colors that she liked to wear. We sat down with what I brought and she picked out a couple of things and made a wish list of others that she wanted to add to her wardrobe over time. This post is about a jewelry set that I designed around a strand of turquoise crystal beads that she particularly liked.

Initially, my goal was to just create a necklace design using the strand of crystal beads. The length necklace that my friend wanted was longer than the strand of beads, so I needed to incorporate some spacers or other complementary beads into the design. I had other beads in the same color as well as a variety of faceted glass and crystal beads that I thought would help showcase the large turquoise crystal beads. I strung up a variety of beads in different patterns to see what my friend liked the best.

She liked the small, faceted, AB coated Czech glass spacer beads the best. They did a good job of adding length, without taking away from the turquoise beads that she liked so much. We also discussed the pattern of spacers and large beads in the necklace. To add more emphasis to the turquoise beads, the final design was to include several of these beads grouped together in the front of the necklace without spacers.

There was a pleasant surprise when I laid out this pattern to the correct length. There were four extra large turquoise crystal beads. I sent a photo of the necklace and a suggestion for a pair of matching earrings before I beaded anything up. My friend was thrilled with being able to have matching earrings, so the custom necklace became a custom necklace and earring set.

If you have a particular color or style that you would like incorporated into a custom piece of jewelry, I’d love to hear from you and see if I have the materials to turn your vision into reality. You can contact me through my Etsy shops, EDCCollective or EclecticSkeptic, or send me an e-mail.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

EclecticSkeptic adds Math and Science Geek Themed Items

In an effort to blend my love for math and science with my love for creating things, I have put on my thinking cap to come up with items for the math and science geek. My goal is to create items that not only are attractive, but that will be appreciated on a deeper level by someone with the appropriate math or science background. EclecticSkeptic has a brand new section, geekery, for these items, in addition to its broad assortment of flying pig (aka pigasus) items. At this time this new section is stocked with two of my new designs.

If you or someone you know is a math geek, the fibonacci necklace is a great accessory. I have gotten several compliments when I wear mine, just because it is a colorful and pretty piece of jewelry. The people that I know with a strong math background also appreciate what it represents. This necklace is available in silver plated chain and findings as well as the gold plated seen here. You can also arrange to have me customize the colors that represent the first five numbers of the fibonacci sequence for you.

Perhaps you are more of the science type. Then the hydrogen atom earrings would be perfect for you or for any female science geek on your list. (I'm working on ideas for the math or science guy geeks too, so stay tuned.) The electron is represented by a movable fluted gunmental plated bead. Other colors of faceted glass beads can be used to represent the proton of the hydrogen atom. Please contact me about the availability of the customizations that you are interested in.

Let EclecticSkeptic help you display your love of math and/or science with style.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Thanks for the Treasuries - August 2010

Seven different Etsy shops featured at least one of my items in a treasury in August. Ten different August treasuries included one of my items. You can see a collage below of my items from EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic that were featured during August. (Click on the collage to see a larger view.)


I really appreciate being featured by the treasury makers. To thank them, I have listed below (in alphabetical order) links to the 7 different shops that featured at least one of my items, as well as an item from their shop that I like.

Enjoy window shopping and I encourage you to click on the shop links of anything that pleases your eye.


bomobob
Unique and original fine art photography is featured as prints, in calendars and on lockets in this shop.

ClassyAndSassyCharms
This shop carries two sides soldered glass pendants that feature a variety of images and text.




CorkyCrafts
Wine-related products make the perfect gifts! If you are a wine connoisseur who happens to appreciate hand made items, look no further.

HandPaintedPetals
Hand painted keepsakes include jewelry and memory boxes, glassware, votive candle holders and more can be found here.

MarasFabric
Look no further than this shop for a great selection of pre-cut quilt squares and lace. A few handmade fabric items such as coasters can be found as well.

Maulani
Fun and bright needle felted, fabric rose and charm necklaces are sold here.

SoyComfort
Shop for a variety of shapes and fragrances of hand poured soy candles at this shop.