October Charity of the Month

So, October starts in a few days, and the time has come to pick a new charity to donate a portion of my profits to. September's charity was The Elephant Nature Park: http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/index.htm and there are still a few days to help me contribute to that charity! 10% of all my profits will be donated to this fund :)

I have chosen to support the World Wildlife Fund (www.worldwildlife.org). I have a tshirt from this organization that I wear ALL THE TIME! My boyfriend can vouch, its the most comfortable tshirt on the planet and it gives this wonderful organization more exposure.

There are many different ways to help contribute to this Fund, so, if you feel so inclined, you can donate to them in any way you see fit, simply check out their website and choose a method that suits you :)

I hope you all had wonderful weekends and check out this amazing organization!

Interview with javachip

I haven’t done an interview in while, so I decided to interview fellow EtsyU member javachip. Born in the Philippines and now attending UCI, javachip is a master of many different artistic mediums. Although she is a Biology major, javachip really just wants to start her career helping other people and making her art. I asked her a few questions so we could all get to know her a little better:

Where did all this artistic expression start?

I grew up loving art. I was the little kid with the crayons and the fingerpaints (both of which I still love!) and a humongous backpack full of crafts to do to and from school. I carpooled to school, and traffic in the Philippines is awful, so each trip took about an hour or two. I used the time to draw and "make stuff." I have never gotten carsick in my life, which definitely helped further my artistic career. :) I also adored my older brother, and copied everything he did, which included every drawing. So my stick figures had fingers when everyone else's didn't have hands. Not to say it looked good; my favorite old drawing is a picture of a stick figure whose legs came straight out of its circle head and whose arms came out of its legs. But he had hands attached to those arms. And fingers.
What medium is your favorite to work in/with?
My favorite medium is watercolor. I have been told that I use mediums in very strange ways. I like to lay on watercolors really thick so that the colors are very vibrant, which is something people usually do with opaque paints, not so much with watercolors. And when I use oils or acrylic I like to do lots of really thin layers, which is what watercolors are usually used for. Oh well.
What is your favorite beverage?
Oh dear, I love so many! I love tea. Major tea fan. I'd probably go with milk tea. Specifically from Taiwan; they have great milk tea with pearls (aka boba)! Ohhh, but the bottled jasmine green tea in China and Singapore is amazing as well. And cheap. In China at least, not so much Singapore.
If you could learn any new craft, what would it be?
I would learn pottery/ceramics. I took one pottery class in high school and it may have been my favorite class ever. I wish I had my own gigantic kiln. Some of my favorite memories from high school involved doing chores for my pottery class (we all had to do 30 minutes). We had two giant barrels of old clay that we soaked so it could be reused. Then we'd put it through the pug machine and it looked like it was pooping giant tubes of clay. Amazing! One time I got to get in one of the barrels and jump up and down to squish all the clay together. It was amazingly goopy. Needless to say, I was usually a tad bit dirty that semester.

Javachip’s shop can be found here: http://javachip.etsy.com

Weekend Busy-ness and Custom Critter Cozy

Who else watched the debate last night? We did, we were actually very intrigued and didn't realized that it lasted the entirety of two hours! It was a very enlightening time and to avoid any political debates of my own, I will leave it at that.

Today has been a busy day, what with moving the rest of my things from my old place to my new place. Its nice to only have one place to live and not two. So that kept my beau and I busy for quite a few hours this morning. We finally got some time to relax this evening and I had the time to finish a custom creation for another Etsian.



This Circus Tent Critter Cozy is the result of an Alchemy request from another Etsian. I think it turned out really well, I love the colors, I believe I will be making more. Do any of you know people would like a critter cozy? Hamster hut? Gerbil tent? Etc?

New Hat, Spinning Rovings and Finally a Weekend!

Ah, finally the weekend is coming. Took it long enough if you ask me.

I listed a beret in my shop today, I finished it earlier this week but with work and classes didn't get a chance to take pictures and what not till today. I think it turned out wonderfully and hope somebody else does too!
I also got some spinning done from that roving I was talking about last week, I am knitting a neck warmer out of the orange merino, and will add the blue wool to bits of a scarf I am knitting up. I think the yarns turned pretty good, thick and thin and the colors are gorgeous. The only problems I encountered was when the housemates' cat decided he wanted to assist me. I'm sure you can guess how that all turned out. We have to keep our room locked at all times when we are not around because the little bugger can open the doors. We also don't want him taking too much of an interest in our poor little Delilah.















Also, I will be raising my prices periodically today, this weekend, and next week. So if you want to get great deals on all my items please hurry! With the current economic situation, the prices of EVERYTHING have gone up and my supplies are no exception :( So, I just wanted to give a heads up to all of my readers.

Hats, Roving, Sorority Promos

Aside from classes, I have been keeping busy knitting, learning to spin, and keeping the house in order.

This hat was knit for my darling Dominic. The first edition was just a bit too small and can be found in my store. It would fit a child perfectly. Both hats were knit with the finest, warmest, softest yarns I could find and my beau, and a lucky child, will not get a chill and can ski and snowboard all day!











I also received some gorgeous, super soft roving from FiberMonster on Etsy. Both colors are Merino and I cannot WAIT to spin them this weekend :)

I finished some flower broaches for a promotional opportunity being organized by LaurieRyan, also on Etsy. She will assemble gift bags to be given to a Sorority and hopefully these girls will be drawn to Etsy and discover the magic within.


Please come back so you can see what I spin the roving into and all my other soon-to-be-completed projects :D

Weekend Happenings and A Sale!

So this weekend was a busy one, but fun too!

My beau and I traveled up to Albuquerque (only an hour away) for the weekend to attend the New Mexico State Fair where I saw a Sheep-to-Shawl booth that was doing demonstrations. This made me really excited as I just ordered my first drop spindle. I have this brilliant idea that I want to learn to spin my own yarn...and maybe someday have my own sheep! This is an extravagant idea, but who knows, anything is possible! So that got my all excited to start spinning and I had to hold myself back from purchasing some of the beautiful roving they had on hand. We also wandered through the isles of goats and sheep that were on exhibit and, again, had to resist the selling techniques of simply showing a small, adorable, newborn to entice the impulse shopper ;)




Sunday evening (last night) my beau and I (and some friends) went to see the extremely talented and amazing Santana! It was an amazing concert, the band just jammed all night, like it was just another day. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and feel to privileged to have been able to go.





Also, I made a sale! One of my most popular items sold this weekend and I found out about the sale this morning after I was half an hour late to work. So bad things don't always turn worse. My green and purple wrist warmers sold on Saturday and I am sad to see them go, but also pleased that someone will get some wonderful fingerless mitts to keep their hands warm while still letting them be productive.

Awesome Possum Custom Beanie

My friend Miriam is an artist, and we decided to make a trade. She made me an absolutely gorgeous painting based on some ideas that I had, and I made her a super cool, one of a kind, beanie based on some ideas she had. She recently returned to classes after attending Burning Man and sent me this picture as I had been asking her for one. Here is the absolutely gorgeous custom creation for Miriam:

Lacey Shrug

I finished this shrug last week but just listed it today, its very pretty and there are a lot of little details to add extra character.

Made from a variegated, machine-washable yarn in shades of purple, green, blue and some cream, this shrug was knit in a lacey pattern and the picot edging adds charm. There are slight details in the stitches of the edging as well, the pictures should show this, but depending on your computer monitor it may be hard to see. This would probably fit a size medium or small. Exact measurements can be given, but alas, as I moved recently, my tape measure has not yet surfaces from the havoc.

*Photo disclaimer: It is hard to take pictures of oneself and show the back of the shrug, for this I am sorry and will hopefully get the beau to assist me in some better photos*

Interview with 2monkees

This adorable shop seems to cater to the young and young at heart, the fashions are very eclectic and fun and the quality is top notch. Who doesn’t need a little spritz of “girly” in her days?

Please tell us a little something about yourself:

I am the mom of two little active boys. In my former life, I was a child and family therapist with very little children. It is a very necessary, rewarding job but one that I felt like I needed a break from. My family likes to spend time outside- hiking, skiing or biking.

Where/When did you start your jewelry making?

I started making jewelry about a year ago when I was helping a jewelry designer from Sri Lanka import her jewelry to the US. Many of the necklaces arrived too long for the American market. When I went to the bead store to find someone to shortened them, the woman suggested I do it myself. After many mistakes and a a lot of wasted sterling silver, I began to get the hang of it. Now I find that I am obsessed with making jewelry.

Where do you find your inspiration for your craft?

Nature seems to be my biggest inspiration. I am very attracted to all things natural and organic.

What can you be found doing when you are not making jewelry or rounding up rambunctious munchkins?

In my spare time, I can usually be found either hanging out with friends and family or working out. On the best days, I am doing both at the same time. I am blessed with a group of woman friends who like to ride, hike and ski as much as I do. We tend to take off together for a little sweating and gabbing.
If you had to find another way to express your creativity, how would you do it?

It seems there are so many different ways to express creativity in this world. It would be very hard for me to choose one. I would love to learn to knit, paint, throw pots or write a book. The trick is finding the time!

This shop can be found here: http://2monkees.etsy.com

And her blog can be found here:www.ourgreatgreenglobe.com