Howling Caterpillar's Maybe Daily Crafty Blog

I've been on a jewelry kick...

2011-06-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last time I was here I was bitching about my lack of headpins...well, I took care of that matter and finished up the bracelet/anklet/necklace. It could be any of those...I used a silver chain with a black coating which was then diamond cut, adding sterling findings for the end. The bears are a resin, with black glass seed beads, silver headpins, and silver spacers and silver crimps.

This is the end result:

Artaios: The Bear King:

And I got the focal for this necklace as an extra goodie when I ordered from Luna Essentials on Etsy.

The focal is ceramic, the beads are pearl and Keltic style plastic beads and glass seed beads. I named it Mefusen, the Welsh name for Strawberry. Because that's what the colours reminded me of.

And I made earrings to match with the beads that I had left over:

I also made THIS one for the Pagan Team Spring Challenge. I bought a couple of Bone Arrowhead and didn't know what I was going to do with them, until then.
It's called Mitakuye Oyasin which is Lakota for "Everything is Related."
I also made a bracelet to go along with it and it hasn't really left my arm since I made it.
They're made of cowries, buri nuts, lava rocks, and wood beads.
I made a similar necklace which I posted on my new Artfire shop...this one had an adjustable piece of wood for the main part of the necklace, which came from Aneurythm's Etsy shop. You can even see my brand new pacemaker scar in this one...
This was my first Artfire sale and it went to a gal in Washington, DC who was going to wear it doing tribal dances...way cool.

Then I went and got some Kambaba (Crocodile) Jasper from Luna Essence...it was different, but I had no idea what I was going to use it with...this seems to be a major feature of this adventure...

Then I found some neat black glass twist beads on clearance at Michael's, green and black dyed Buri nuts, and gold spacers. It came out really nice. I named it Osiris in Khemet. Because Osiris (Ausur) was known as a Fertility God and was pictured with a green face. Khemet is the Egyptian name for the country. I made a set out of this bunch of odds and ends also.

I sold the matching earrings and the earrings to Mefusen to the same customer. She was waiting patiently for me to make them.

This one is made with Blue Tiger's Eye, black pearls and dark metal findings. I bought the Blue Tiger's Eye from Luna Essence. I had to go back and buy more because I fell in love with this necklace. And thank the Gods, she had more.

This one I made about the same time as the Circle Challenge one. I had bought a choker when I had gone to Disney way the Hades back in 86. I added a pair of sterling turtles, and a carved shell turtle. It's lovely actually.
My most recent piece is glass and more glass in Amber and Silver.

Another project sponsored by Luna Essence.

Right now I'm waiting on some items from Aneurythm and from Blue Rose Beads and another one from Ebay...I've been trying to match some Gold and Cobalt/Navy blue Window beads that i got from Luna Essence and have not been having an easy time of it.

This little tiki guy from BlueRose and the little shells from Aneurythm will make up part of my Metaphysical Team Summer Challenge piece.

This is for the blue glass windows.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360196150496&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1510wt_922

I couldn't get the picture to come up, but at least you have the idea...I THINK I do...hehe

Trying to be a good doobie.

2011-02-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

I'm helping a friend out with a hand up. I met her on a Cowboys Prayer, an EZBoard/YUKU site I've been on since forever...I'm the resident Pagan and there's an Atheist too...but we all have fun, get along and try and help each other out.

Her husband died in May of last year. And since I allegedly sell on Etsy, she asked if I could try and sell some of her husband's chokers. I said sure. I only have 20 cents to lose.

My Gods. John did beautiful work.

I got a bit of information about him so that I could better understand him and his work. He was 1/4 Choctaw Indian. His grandmother was 1/2. But all the papers were lost in a fire. Dang. Way back when interbreeding was frowned upon. But still!

He was a Swabbie. He was sent off to the lovely jungle playground called Viet Nam where he got to play with that wonderfully carcinogenic delight Agent Orange. He died from diabetes probably caught from that silly chemical...pfft.
He managed 3 years over there without getting his ass shot off. Hoorah!

Came home and became a smoke eater at Fort Hood. When he retired, the family moved to Macon Georgia. I did a bit of snooping to get some of this information. I had his first name, last name from FB, and address from his wife's package. But I wanted a bit more...so I did a google search. And I came across this...

http://marinemajorone.blogspot.com/2010/05/john-julius-irwin-iii-us-navy-veteran.html

By the end of it I was bawling. I am proud of all of our fighting men and women.

These are his goodies that I want to share with folks:

All of them:

Turquoise and Bone Hair Pipes with Silver

Unakite Chips with Bone Hair Pipes

Faceted Garnet, Black Jasper and Tea Dyed Bone Hair Pipe

Rose Quartz, Silver, Black Buffalo Hair Pipe

Carnelian, Brass Beads, Black Buffalo Hair Pipe

Turquoise, Silver, Black Buffalo Hair Pipe
Carnelian, Brass, Dyed Blue Bone Hair Pipe

Turquoise, Carnelian, Bone Hair Pipe and Black Buffalo Hair Pipe
My fave. Lapis Lazuli and Silver:
According to Tradition, the amount of strands the choker each had meaning also:
1=One God
2=Affirmation
3=Completeness
4=Earthly Situations/Seasons/The Four Directions.
5=God On Top
6=Human Accomplishment
7=Spiritual Perfection
8=New Beginning

George Catlin, the Painter famous for his Native American portraits did one of a chief way back in the 1840's who was wearing a 4 strand hair pipe choker.

Hair pipes were supposedly originally made from bird bones because they're hollow. Ewww. I know some tribes used to make flutes out of bird leg bones so what can I say...

Hair pipe beads can be found in coastal shell middens. And were made of bone or shell, now you can find them in the crafts stores made of plastic, or resin.

Chokers were supposed to protect the warrior's throat from knives and arrows and also if worn during a meeting, it was to show that the person would speak truly...

These days they're made from lots of different materials and styles like these by a couple of my Tsunali: Sweet Grass Valley, Dream Weaver Spirit, Lakota Witko, and Sirocco.

Lakota Witko
Lakota Witko
Sweet Grass Valley
Sirocco
Dream Weaver Spirit
Sweet Grass Valley Dream Weaver Spirit
Sirocco
If you do an Etsy Search for HairPipe Choker you come up with 3 pages...

Enjoy your looking.

Some new goodies.

2011-01-20T05:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a sorta jewelry trend for me...

I listed some vintage goodies in the Kiwi shop...

Yes, I DID actually wear these...except for the teeny buddha. I don't recall where I got him. The purple heart choker was a gift, both my sister and I got one.

I didn't use a fancy shmancy clasp. I used THIS instead:
Necessity and all that...

This is just so pretty and interesting....
I don't know how they made the beads, with all the carving and scrolls and cut outs...

But I've also been MAKING some jewelry...

I introduced you to this one last blog post, but I love him too much not to show him off again. This is one of my fave pieces that I've made because it has so much meaning to me personally...

This one here was just a half formed idea I got while roving through my friend SageHealer's shop. She was going to use it, but it didn't quite fit, so I snagged it myself. Glad I did too because this necklace just came together so well. I also bought the Blue Laced Agate beads from her at the same time... The wood beads came from my stash and the turquoise-looking ones are dyed Howlite.

This last one I finished last week, but didn't list it...I hate listing on Etsy...it's so danged long to do and with the new picture thingee it's even more of an aggravation. But my friend Beadlady helped me out there. She called all the way from the West Coast to help me out...Thanks so much. It actually worked. W00t!!

It's part of KickingBear's Circle Challenge. This challenge has been going on since September, but we sorta put it off a bit because of the holidays.
I bought the focal from my friend, Aneurythm. She has a section called her orphans and I raid that alot. As soon as KB announced this challenge and I saw it, I had to use it. The black beads are from my stash too. As are the sterling pieces.

The focal reminds me of the phases of the moon for some reason. It starts out light then goes dark just like the moon phases. It came out really well and Ernie thought that I BOUGHT it!! And another person saw that THEY liked it and they're a jewelry maker. So I did good...

This one isn't finished yet. I had the idea and some of the supplies, but when I went to string the beads, I found out I needed headpins...guess who doesn't HAVE headpins? The beads are carved black bears. They're resin of some sort, I think. The chain is black enamelled, I think, diamond cut to show the silver underneath. So it's gonna be a black and silver anklet or bracelet. I think it'll be nice. I hope...

That's about it for now...don't forget to check out my shops. You never know what I might scrounge up from the cellar or my stash.
www.howlingcaterpillars.etsy.com
www.akiwisilkie.etsy.com

Wellllll...it's been a long time...

2011-01-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

But I'm gonna try and be better at letting folks know what I'm up to for my Etsy shops.
I've continued with the Altars in a Jar line.
I have some for Mabon, Samhain, Halloween, and I want to do ones for Beltaine and Imbolc, but I dunno if I'll get to them...I can't seem to find exactly what I want...but I'll keep trying.

I even made one for a Sea Witch which I was in love with. I sold it to a gent in Coventry, England.

It has Gar Scales, Hermit Crab sand...hey it was on sale at work and a nice colour and designer/craft store sand is bloody expensive. There's also shells, sea glass and a vanilla scented candle. The one I REALLY wanted to use was a Yankee Candle one that was oceany scented but it wouldn't fit in...pfft.I bought the pretty blue jars at a yard sale on Federal Street. Woot! I bought her last two, so I can still make one up for me...

Another thing I made up was something I sorta stumbled over...I wasn't really looking and spent way too much, but it came out nice. It can be found in the Kiwi Shop.(www.akiwisilkie.etsy.com)

It's made of a metal and glass candle chimney that's painted to look like wood. It's a bit scratched up, but it added to the interest for me. There's styrofoam balls that are covered in various feathers, and some Cedar scented potpourri with some nuts and pods. This nifty goody is called "Thank Heaven for Little Birds."

There's a fruit bowl I made up for this past Mabon. It's also neat for an altar to Pan with grapes and leaves and a wine scented candle. I really like this one.

Another new project is a take-off of the Feathery Blessings bottles. I made ArchAngel Bottles and Zodiac Bottles. The ArchAngels are made with a gemstone, a feather piece, and Swarovski crystals. They've really come out nice and I've sold a few. The Zodiac Bottles are made with Gemstones that correspond with each sign.
I haven't gotten them all done yet, but that's certainly on the list.

So far I have Three of the ArchAngel bottles still listed, out of 15:
Tzadkiel, Ariel and Uriel.The rest I have made but not listed.
And I have 9 out of 12 of the Zodiac made and listed.

A couple of more new items are a Santiago's Cross Necklace. He DID give approval or I wouldn't have done it. Gracias Senor.
And Trias Magios (Three Magi for those not fluent in Greek) Ornaments.

Santiago's Cross, I made with a metal shell that I got at Michael's and a Sword Pendant that was marked down. I wasn't sure how I was going to use them, but it came together easily. I strung it on a piece of silk fabric.
The Trias Magios Ornaments are hollow hearts that I filled with a gorgeous purple and gold brocade fabric. Purple was a royal colour and Gold was one of the gifts that Gaspar, Melkior and Balthasar brought to the Christ Child. It also has Gold cube beads, and Frankincense and Myrrh resins that I snagged when I went to the St. Catherine's Taverna. Shh...I'll hafta turn in my witch license...They're alot friendlier there than at the place I got hitched and Mike got dunked in...and the Priest is cute too...

That's about it for now...time to watch the Steelers and Ravens...

Ok so it's been longer than a day...

2010-05-20T17:02:00.001-07:00

But I've been a busy gal...

I try to make all of the Paganteam Chats and keep things going there...but I'm still creating away...

My newest things are bottles: keychains, or necklaces; ornaments, altars in jars.
I've been doing tons of Challenges between my teams and have joined a Native American Thread, which moves as quickly as a shadow in the dark. But we have tons of fun.

I now have a Facebook account too...my flickr's full and they want $$ to upgrade...pfft.

So here's some of my newest goodies:

Altars in a Jar-Samhain/harvest version:

They have some coloured Sand, incense or candles, silk leaves, fake gourds, all the things that reflect the season.

For the Balance Challenge in September 09 for the PaganTeam, I did a Hunab Ku done in the style of a Mola.

Here's the Feathery Blessings Bottles I've done too:

They have feathers from all of my birdies, and authentic incense from Mount Athos. I've also made ornaments and I wanna do keychains too, and maybe necklaces. I have a Feathery Blessings Keychain.

Around Yule there was an Introspection Challenge from the EAST Team, centring on Introspection. I made a mandella with a Bear ornament, glacier/snow looking fabric and wool...

And there was also a PaganTeam Challenge about the Wheel of the Year, and I had a pair of Wagon Wheels stashed in the cellar. Hmm...this is what I made.

I saved the wishbone from the Xmas turkey; I had some fake bear claws, some buffalo hide and I sent away to Sauk Mountain for Wolf Hair. It came out beautiful.

I've also made some simple necklaces out of pendants I had hanging around...

Another jewelry line is "mood beads". I still have my original one from the 70's.

I think that's enough for now...my brain's turning to mush...enjoy...

It's Been A While...

2009-03-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

But I have finally sat down and worked on some more DreamWebs...AND I listed them on Etsy too! Yays.

I made two Easter/Christian ones, a Mardi Gras/Easterish one, a Pirate one, a Breast Cancer one, a Japanese one, and one each for a boy and girl baby.

I also listed some items that I had made from kits. Those are a pair of Talking Feathers, two small traditional DreamCatchers, and a medium sized one. I have to repair a War Bonnet and then I will list that one too.

Faith, the first one comes in light and dark shades. The Boy/Girl ones come in Pink and Blue.

The first one is Pirate themed, in honour of a dear Etsian, Liz Staley. Her NaNoWriMo was lesbian pirate themed. The next one has the colours of Mardi Gras, even though it has a jelly bean print fabric. The last one is Holy Carp! because another Eastie, Avalon, has a tendency to be dyslexic and type crap as carp...LOL But it's more of a homage to all things Japanese...

The only Kanji I was able to translate read, Hope...and that's what the name of that DreamWeb is...

Should I or shouldn't I...

2009-02-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

I've gotten wrapped up in a thread that a person started about Gemstones for anxiety...I answered and posted another link to ANOTHER thread...We all gave some input and I recalled the necklace that I had made for my mother's 55th birthday. She had made me mad with all of her crap about "I can't leave Dad alone" "I have to make him dinner" all sorts of martyr Bullshit to prove to herself that she could never have a life of her own...

If I remember correctly, I had just left World of Science and I was still into gemstones and their properties.

She needed courage and spine and even small brass balls couldn't have hurt...

So I found a carved Sterling Silver Lion. She was a Leo (July 25) but never had courage at all.

I learned that Tiger's Eye, Smoky Quartz, Jaspers and such were good for courage and strength.

So I made her this necklace from Leopardskin Jasper, Carnelian, Tiger's Eye, Smoky Quartz, Red Jasper, and Poppy Jasper in Chunks, Balls, Tubes, Lozenges, and Crescents.

But sadly she never got to wear it because my grandfather found her dead in the bathroom ntwo days before her birthday. He thinks she stroked out, but I think she was drunk, got dizzy and fell and broke her neck in falling into the bathtub. That's neither here nor there...

I made myself a set that had some of the stones that I had left over from hers. It's a necklace and earrings that I made from some beads that I bought at Michael's Craft Stores, and others that came from broken earrings that I had bought at World of Science. Come to think of it, I still have some Citrine and Peridot beads...hmmm...gonna hafta to look for those...

My set is made from wooden rice beads, Leopardskin Jasper, and Poppy Jasper.

My conundrum is should I sell these or should I hold onto them? My mother's I wore once and that was at her funeral.

My set, I wore a couple of times. And I don't wear jewelry at work because something would try and eat it.

What do you guys think??

I made my Etsy Avatar into a Plushie...sorta

2009-02-05T17:31:00.000-08:00

It's just a prototype, but I wanted to see if I could do it...

It's cute in a primitive sort of way. My DS thinks I should add fangs, but not googly eyes...shrug.

Like I said, except for the Sock Snakes I made for everyone's new babies' way back when this has been my first foray into stuffed critters...I still have a Cocytan from The Dig to make for DS which I promised I'd do 10 years ago and a Triops...

I made him out of Green Fleece and an Autumn Ombre yarn with orange Glitter Stiff Felt for his tummy. His spikes are from the yarn and his body from the fleece and he's stuffed with Polyester Fiberfill. I used my Glue Gun, but if I was going to do him for sale, I might sew him instead...

I'm destashing!!!

2009-01-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

Yeah me!!!

I have things in the cellar that I bought to use to see if I liked and then decided that I didn't or that there was no way in Hades that I could even remotely do it...sort of a buyer's/crafter's remorse...but I've been listing it all in my Etsy shop as Destash/Supplies...
I've even sold a couple of things already...I still have plenty lurking down there. It's just to darned cold to spend too long of a time down there...

I have candlemaking stuff and wire working stuff and stitchery kits that I haven't touched...sigh. They're nice too...Native American pictures are three of them and the other has North American Endangered Species. There's books and supplies for some of the things also.

I'm not in the mood, because it's too cold, for putting all the pictures up, so I'll put in the link instead.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5406335&section_id=5848336

More New DreamWebs

2009-01-15T02:54:00.000-08:00

I've been as busy as a one armed paper hanger with fleas...YIKES! Working part time is supposed to be LESS stressful than working full time...in a pig's eye! The last couple of days, I've been running around like Mike the Headless Chicken buying supplies to make more DreamWebs...Dang!! I dunno! But I've done 3 brand new ones and have one that I made in November for Chickenstock and for DS's girlfriend's birthday.

My new ones are for the spring. Goddess I hope we HAVE a spring. As I sit here at the buttcrack of dawn (1/4 of 6) with the air temp being a 7 whole degrees and the windchill below zero, I'm planning on taking out the famous groundhog if he predicts 6 more weeks of winter. It'll be just like Caddyshack...

The DreamWeb from November is called New Age Leopard. It's pink, tan and cream argyle with red and orange leopard spots. Typical 00's Goth...

For Valentine's Day, I did the typical Hearts...I've done this one before and it usually sells well.

This one's for St. Patrick's Day...White with Green Shamrocks.

This one was an impulse. One of the POEST gals suggested that I use stones and I haven't used them in quite a while...I made one with Amethyst for a POGO person's mother and other than that, I haven't used them. The last one was for my MIL and that was a few years back. It had shell birds and Amethyst because it was for her February birthday.

I went to Michael's and found this stone called Cherry Quartz. I picked it up and I liked it, so I hemmed and hawed and finally went to the fabric square aisle and found a really neat print of pink Peacock eyes on a camel background. It came out really nicely. I try not to have favourites, but she's definitely one.

Making Protective Mirrors.

2009-01-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

These can be really effective to keep the bad vibes/juju from making your home or yourself uncomfortable.

Materials:
Mirrors-you can buy a value pack at Michael's Craft Stores. Any shape is fine. They come in Square, Octagonal and Round.
Black Cord or Ribbon-for hanging loop and feathers
Black Felt (optional)for a backing
Silver Bead-one for each mirror Sterling is best, but silver coloured works also.
9 Black Feathers-from a Frizzled Hen is best, but any would work in a pinch. I use ones that Obelisk the Tormentor, my Leghorn hen has moulted.
Scissors
Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
These are the mundane things to use.

The magickal ones are:
Salt
Water
Incense-Sandalwood is pleasing to almost everyone. Frankincense and Myrrh, Violet, Cedar and Sage, Juniper, Cinammon, Clove, are also good for protection.
Sun and Moon or Rain and Sun

First thing is to wash the mirrors. Soap and water is fine. Let dry.
Saturday is the best day of the week to do a protection spell, which is what the mirrors are. If you can't do it on a Saturday, when the moon is going from New to Full is good. I know that some folks will beg to differ, but that's okay too. I do it then because it increases the power of the spell.
Put the mirrors outside. They will be charged by the sun and the moon. If it's raining that's okay too. Snow's good too.

Leaving the mirrors out for a week is best, but even a few days will work.

Now you can take the charged mirrors and charm them.
If you're a ceremonial witch, now you draw your quarters and call the guardians.

Add Sea Salt to some water. Regular table salt is fine.
Light your incense.
Those cover your four elements. Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
Salt Water-Earth and Water
Incense-Air and Fire

Pass the mirrors through the incense smoke and drip some saltwater on the mirrors or you can dip the mirrors if your bowl is large enough.

If you're more laid back, you can ask your patron God/s or Goddesses for their protection. I like to use Anubis, because he's a watchdog. Any of your protective deities of your path will work.

Close your quarters, thank your patrons for their help, and let the incense burn down and the saltwater evaporate.

Let the mirrors dry completely.

Next step is to get your felt, if you want, ribbon or cord, bead and feathers all together.
Spark up the old glue gun.

The mirrors can in 5 packs for the size I bought.

The Spools of Ribbons and the Beads. These are Spacers.

The Felt Backing and the Hanging Loop.

9 Black Feathers.

Making the Feathers into a Bunch. The Feather Quills in the Bead.

The finished products.

This bit of hoodoo comes courtesy of Lucky Mojo.com. It's a great site...Lots of information...

This is about Black Frizzled Hens and the Feather Bundles.

http://www.luckymojo.com/blackhens.html

Dang!! It's been a while.But I've been NaNoWriMo ing

2008-11-20T18:21:00.000-08:00

Here's an excerpt from the story that I'm writing. Enjoy and give me some criticism if you must.

Nila Olwen pushed back her newly hennaed hair and sighed. She
was absolutely finished with people! She couldn’t believe that after all hard
work and complaining that she had had to endure with her last client that the
woman had had the unmitigated GALL to paint the crappy 70’s ranch Pepto
Bismol Pink with Mint Green shutters and Venous Blood Purple railings!
She was definitely a reject from good taste class! Nila had chosen a classic
Barn Red with a complimentary Creamy White and it would’ve looked
awesome! She almost wished that her mother hens, Esther and Sarah hadn’t
stopped by her cramped pigeon hole in the basement of Welcome Home
Realty Company, but they HAD gotten her a lot of her work. Nila restored
old houses and made newer ones look fresher and brighter. Her job were
pretty seasonal and since she had a work force of one, she couldn’t be THAT
selective. She could tear down and put up drywall with the best of the guys
and wielded a pretty effective paint brush. Her clients had always praised her
use of colour and paper…except for this last one…She made it a matter of
pride that she frequented the local Mom and Pop shops in Weymouth,
Braintree, and Quincy for her supplies, sometimes wandering as far afield as
Dorchester and Southie if need be for a special order.
Right now, since she had finished with Mrs. Taste-in-her-Ass’s place,
she had no new projects on the near horizon. But with the economy swirling
the drain, everyone was hurting. Interest rates were bouncing like rubber
balls, and no one was looking for a new house or were too busy trying to
keep the one they HAD over their head. She could use that monthly
mystery check right about now. They had been coming for as long as she
could remember. They were always drawn on a big Boston bank and
forwarded to her at Welcome Home. More than once she had been down
to her last dollar and the check would show up and she’d be solvent once
again. And it wasn’t like she was an airhead when it came to money matters,
but living in a tight economy was just very hard for a single girl on her own.
Sometimes the check had been enough to cover her rent and other bills,
sometimes leeway, and sometimes a little extra to treat herself to takeout at
Panda Palace or La Paloma. Her parents had always made her save a part of
the checks even though they themselves didn’t believe in banks. Well they
were around in the 60’s and all…And Nila always thought it was strange that
her brother Kenny never got a mystery check. She had always assumed that it
came from grandparents that her parents had gotten into a fight with and
never forgave, but had always been close to the little girl anyways. Thinking of
her family always made Nila depressed…as strange as they had been, she
knew that they had loved their children. And now that they were gone, she was extremely conscious of what she was missing.
As she pondered, the office manager knocked on the door.
“Hi, John, come in.”
He was okay looking her books: brown hair and hazel eyes and he was always
nice to her. They had gone out a few times, but Nila had made it clear that
she wanted to be his friend and nothing more. He had readily agreed and
things had remained pleasant between them.
“Nice colour, Nila, but was it in your budget?” He indicated her new
hair colour.
“It was until my last client stiffed me her last payment”, she responded
bitterly.

“Taste-in-her-Ass woman, I presume.”
“Yep. None other.”
“Well then, I’ve got good news and bad news for you, friend. Which
would you like first?”
“Neither” she thought.
“Then I will decide! Bad news is no spring off for you this year, my girl.
And the good news is, da-da-daah! There’s a registered letter in my office for
a certain Nila Olwen, who comes highly recommended. The person wants
their house updated over on Old Town Way.”
Nila knew the one. It hadn’t been lived in for years and Esther and
Sarah couldn’t even give it away!
“It hasn’t fallen down yet?”
“No such luck, but that’s the one. AND, they want you to start next
week.”

Nila dutifully consulted her ever present Witches’ Date Book and said that she was clear until next year.
Nila spent the following two days closing the book on her previous
client. She was debating take her to small claims court, but decided against
the action. If the woman wanted to live in a house that someone could throw
up on and not notice a change, that was fine. Besides, she could always write
it off on her taxes as a business loss.

Saturday, Nila spent at the Town Hall, then at the Public Library,
taking pages and pages of notes. There hadn’t been an owner of record for
50 years, but the taxes had always been paid from an Estate account…
“Curious”, she thought, filing the fact away. The last owner on the list
had died during World War II in the Philippines and his body was never
found…Lots of bodies were just left by the wayside during the Death
Marches; 25% she recalled. The poor guy had been a philanthropist, and
had never married or had children. There was a yellowed picture in the microfiched archives. He was handsome, but his eyes were sad.
“Bummer”, she said out loud, looking quickly around to make sure no one heard her.
The house was over a hundred years old, she wrote in her notes, and the family had come from old, old, OLD Spanish money.

Can't believe a whole month has come and gone...

2008-11-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

But I'm still crafting away...sorta...

I've traded for one DreamWeb: I Heart Dogs and sold another one just yesterday: Celestial, the one I put up for the Elemental Challenge for POEST!

Since I've written last, I've gone to a Chickenstock in Milford, NH and sold 3 DreamWebs and a Petroglyph Pendant...happy happy joy joy! And they want me back next Saturday!!

Autumn has caused overwhelming creativity!

2008-09-05T10:44:00.001-07:00

I've been working my little fingers to the bone these past few days...

I've made 8 DreamWebs. I'm surprised my glue gun hasn't caught on fire. LOL

I did pretty well at the fair this year. I sold two CellPhone Charms, 2 Tshirts, and 4 DreamWebs! AND I entered the Woodland Poppet in the Specialty Doll Category and she won a Second Place Ribbon...she's very pleased with herself.

Here's my newest DreamWebs:

This one I made for my son's friend who wanted a Halloweenish one. I didn't have any Halloween fabric so I made do.

This one is called Petroglyphs. I bought the fabric because I thought it was really nice. Then a seller on Etsy posted to a thread about Mexican things...and she had the focal bead and I snagged it! It was PERFECT for the piece! And it all came together well.

I Heart Dogs!! I've had this fabric for a while...it's printed with pet names like Bubba and Fluffy and Spot and Kitty.
I Heart Cats!!! Same Fabric, just used Cat Scrapbooking Buttons...tell ya what though. Using the shapes is a bitch! I've ripped these out and started over at least 5 times on each of them.

That NewWhite Magick...sort of a play on the ancient song, "That Old Black Magic" This one is new for Halloween/Samhain '08. Michael's was having a 2for $3 on the Jesse James Scrapbooking Buttons and I went hogwild...The Stars and the Pony beads glow in the dark.

Trick or Treat!!! I bought Debbie Mumm fabric at Joann's because I think I had much left...This is a cute Halloween/Samhain one, new for 08.

Starlit Alchemy This was another hard one to make...I stumbled across "wizard school" scrapbooking buttons and got a brainstorm...
Cowgirl Up!! I go to a board where the folks are horse crazy so I couldn't resist.

What a slacker I am...

2008-06-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

It's not that I haven't been doing things...I really and truly have...I just haven't posted anything...

Bad girl, no soup for me...

I was inspired, actually clubbed over the head by the inspiration to make like a simple doll...It was like being mauled by a rabid hybrid of an alligator and a Tasmanian Devil...just got me and wouldn't let go!!!

I also made some more DreamWebs:

Chicken Themed Ones:

The top one was going to be a raffle prize at this year's Chickenstock, but I managed to catch a bug and can't go...The feathers are from Jerry Remy, Tom Brunanski, (I can't believe I had any of her feathers) Slifer the Sky Dragon and Miss MoneyPenny: all of my dearly departed feather babies.

A Sleeping Greenman:

I had gotten a pair of ceramic green man faces when my DS and I has stayed with my SIL in NH and we went to a couple of rock shops...the feathers I used for him came from the annoying Quaker Parrots at my petshop.

A rich coloured Chocolate Brown/Teal one that I've labelled SemiSweet:

The fabric I had to buy because it jumped out at me and the bone beads and tagua nut beads I bought on that same rock shopping trip...The green beads are glass with blue flowers in them.

There's also a relative of this coming: Same material but different decorations. You'll love it...It's another rich looking dreamWeb.

Here is the piece that I had to make, was COMPELLED to make!

I call her a Woodlands Poppet. Her clothes are violet, with a print of butterflies and what might be ladyslippers and seed pods.

Doesn't she have such a cute face?

She's holding a bouquet of roses and there's a butterfly along for the ride.

I bit the bullet

2008-05-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

I took my pendants to Greek Easter so my SIL could comment on them...She thinks they'll sell...I hope so. I put them up today on Etsy...I have cords/ribbons for them to go on...

2008-04-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't made anything new this weekend, but just wanted to say that I'm having an EarthDay Sale!

Working my Toaster Oven to the Bone.

2008-04-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

I've made some more Polymer Clay Scarabs...cute little devils...and some more Petroglyph Pendants. Wednesday I made Petroglyph Pendants that look like Rhodochrosite. Todays are Pistacite, pistachio nut coloured Epidote. My Scarabs from today are Sodalite-ish, blue, white and silver.

As for the pictures, the top left is the Pistacite, top right are Scarabs and a frog I made from moulds. The bottom left is the Rhodochrosite, bottom left are todays Scarabs and the one all by it's lonesome is the Scarabs I made the other day that look like Turquoise and Jade. They're all made by hand so they're all different. The clay is handrolled, no wussy pasta machine for me. LOL The colours are all blended and made into ball shapes, then flatten the bottoms and carved. After that I bake the Scarabs. In the case of the Pendants, I roll into balls, then flatten until they're wafer thin. The mould ones are more difficult for me anyways... I can't get all the little bits to show up well, but those Scarabs came out alright...The moulds came in a Make Your Own Egyptian Amulets set that I was given for Christmas a few years ago.

I also found out that my digital camera has loaded editting software on the computer...that helps my picture taking immensely...I can do all sorts of neat things with the pictures but the best thing is the cropping feature so that I can get close up pictures and more details. It's a marvelous thing...too bad I didn't think of it earlier. D'OH!

Shrinky Dinks...

2008-04-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

These are a Tuxedo Cat and a Siamese Cat Cellphone IPod charms.

Yummy Pepperoni Pizza for your Cellphone or IPod.

These are Calico Cat Earrings.

These earrings are an Owl, and a Sun and Moon hanging off a tree. This is a Haida Raven Pendant.

This is my White Horse of Uffington Pendant.

These were my project for today. I used an idea suggested on an Etsy Techniques and Materials thread. It was about using embossing powder to seal your work. the items came out nicely, even though it was a bit messy...but these were just a trial to see how they did.

It's Monday...

2008-04-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hi there again...I was working on some of my things last night and I asked for opinions on my items...the best thing I heard was that the littler ones looked like Gummy Bears...NOW THAT made me laugh...I know Bes, one of the Gods that I made would've LOVED that...I think I'll go with colours that are more natural...like a turquoise, jade, lapis, earthy shades, and metallics...so that they look more like the originals...I would LOVE to make Ushabtis...because they're cool. I also think that I'll do them more by hand than by using the moulds...I'm still thinking about things to do...ack...lots of ideas...so little time...then I got an coupon from Michael's for 20% off your whole order...ohboyohboyoboy!!! LOL

First Post in my brand new Blog...

2008-04-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

Since this is an introduction...let me tell you a bit about myself...

I'm 43, married, have a kid, 2 pet hens and 2 tanks of fish.

I'm one of those people who love to do all sorts of crafts. My bread and butter ones are DreamWeb, my version of DreamCatchers, the most well known Native American craft and Tshirts. My Tshirts have logos on them, but not like "I'm with Stupid" or things like that...no cutesy things either, but if I got the right amount...then maybe. LOL My Shirts have cultural arts on them. Mayan Jaguars, Gods from Egypt, Keltic Symbols and of course, Chickens. Can't forget them.

I'm employed part-time at a chain petshop. I love animals...except dwarf hamsters, scorpions, quaker parrots, and tiger barbs. Scorpions just creep me out badly and I've never heard of a New Englander having to shake out their slippers for fear of scorpions...
I'm also allergic to everything with fur...stupid, huh? But I get my animal fix and come home with hardly any animals...I DO get fish, though. Rather low maintenace pets...

As of now, I haven't gotten any hours at my job, so I've been listing my items on Etsy, a handcrafters paradise...of course, I keep seeing things that I like...but I'm trying to be a good girl.

I also joined POEST, Pagans of Etsy Street Team, a collaborative of Pagans that make crafts on Etsy. Yes, I am a Pagan. I have YET to turn anyone into a toad or any other life form...but there are a few folks that would come up in the world being a lower life form.

The only other things I've been working on has been some pocket amulets and talismans. Having not worked with Polymer clay in a long time, I absolutely Chernobyl-easted the first batch that I made...DO NOT leave the stuff alone in the toaster oven...jes sayin' It will do some funky things if you burn it... I'm also working on some Shrink Plastic Pendants. I have a White Horse of Uffington and a Haida Raven...

That's about it from here. I'll write more soon...I hope.