there are bits of fall starting to make an apprearance.....

i could so live in a place where spring and fall were the only seasons.....

my studio is down in the basement....and i am so cut off from the outdoors.....in my dream home, i will have a studio above ground with plenty of windows so that i do not miss sights likes these.

i have been a busy girl in my studio and i am loving it.   so much so that yesterday i refused to crawl back in to bed while the beast was kicking my butt...i had the hubs help me downstairs so i could play.

i made a few more bird skulls...but i have been working on an art doll mostly.  the one i am assembling now is the practice model...the one i will keep for me.   a second one is being assembled to send to a fellow artist for a swap.

her front side

her backside....

i knew i wanted to make a 'cage' dress for the polymer clay doll...i have never done this before this evening.  for a few minutes i wanted to give up and quit, at least for the night, so i put the wire and tools down and worked on another project for a couple of minutes.  this gave me time to rethink my process of bringing all of these pieces of wire together to form the 'cage'.

wah-laaaaaaaaa!  taking that little break is all i needed.

here she is with her wings temporarily places on....i just could not wait to see what it would look like.  unfortunately the person i am to send my doll to lives in australia and i can not use feathers for her dolls wings....i am thinking of using some vintage millinery leaves in white.

while staring at her i wondered what she would look like wearing a mask....the hubs and my daughter like this version better.....i am still deciding.   i like them both. 

a few doo-dads wired to the cage.  this arty girls eyeballs were having a hard time staying focused by this point after 7 hours in my studio so this is the point  i left it before coming upstairs to go to bed...and an hour and a half later i am now trying to keep my wittle eyes open long enough to finish this quick post. 

my husband and oldest son can decide to go to sleep and *poof* within minutes they are asleep...for me and my oldest and youngest, going to sleep is a process of winding down.  

i am not completely wound down, but i am one tired girl, and just right on time.  4:30 am is about my bedtime.

i threw up my mini photo studio so that i could cover up some of the background clutter so you could see her details a bit better.

i will post pics when she is all done tomorrow.   this girl is going to tuck herself in to bed before she face plants in to the keyboard.....

mwah!

hopefully i will have thought of a witty title for this post by the time i am done writing it to replace this...

ok, so i made me promise myself that i would not go to sleep until i made sure i took time to do a blogpost....here i sit...with plenty to say...and my brain is like a kid with adhd running in circles yelling blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.....i feel like i can't nail it down long enough to put a thought together and then send that thought, or collection of them to my finger tips to write this blog post....so bear with me.........i had caffeine today. 


i gave up caffeine about 12 years ago when i began having heart palpatations and svt....today i had a screaming migraine that would not leave no matter how many other ways i try to give it the boot....so i added some caffeine to my system and in about an hour or two i was starting to feel like i was not going to heave up my intestines while my head exploded.   three hours later i got a round of palpations and some svt and the beast (vertigo)  kicked back in to full swing...but my head was not hurting.

so, i have been a busy girl.  i have been adding scarves to the etsy shop.  i have about 9 more to add on tomorrow.  i about drove myself nuts photo editing, not a good thing to do when one has an uber case of peri-menopause enhanced pms....and while editing i discovered that i pretty much need to re-flipping-photograph most of the blues and greens.....the lighting was a bit off by that time in the evening when i shot those photos.  

so......that will have to wait until monday.....would it be totally undignified if i threw myself on the ground and had a temper tantrum like a 3 year old?

i have a million projects going, i always swear after i get a round of projects done i will never get myself in the middle of a million projects at once,  again.....but do i listen to me?  nope, nada, never.  i try....i really do.  it is impossible to limit myself to just 1 or 2 at a time. 

i get to working on one thing, then an idea strikes and i jot it down on a piece of paper to try later.  sometimes this works, but mostly, nope.   that little voice in my head says...oh, just try it...c'mon...try it now....now now now now now....and i cave. 

so i am in the middle of one project that i can not show photos of just yet, but it involves making a wire cage.  i have a ton of steel wire that i bought a couple of years ago to make jewelry with after seeing another artist's work.   after making a beautiful piece...that i forgot to photograph and i am toooooo comfy to get up and snap one....i wore the piece, with a white shirt,  and by the end of the day black stuff had rubbed off just a bit.   well, i sure could not make jewelry to sell that left black schtuff on peoples clothing, let alone having to worry that sweating or getting the piece we would cause it to rust, so i put the wire away and figured i would find a use for it some day.

a couple of weeks ago i stumbled upon another artist's site who uses nothing but steel wire.  she puts a light coating of this stuff on it to keep the black schtuff and rust in check.

tadaaaaaa....problem solved.

well, last night i pulled the two huges rolls of wire out the  storage drawer, only to find there is some rust on it and this arty girl is in need of a tetnus shot.  at the moment we are without insurance.  hmmmmm...not good.   then....ding...the light went off.  nitrile gloves.  they will keep my hands protected, the black schtuff won't rub off on my hands,  and they won't smell like metal for a week after working with the stuff.

some girls get all in the mood for love when their hubby brings them home flowers, chocolate, or diamonds....this arty girl.....nitrile glubs baby...nitrile glubs.

sexy....aren't they?!

i mentioned awhile back that since my beaded jewelry pieces are not really selling right now, maybe it was time to do some found object and curiosity pieces.  something i love, something i have not done in a really long time. 

not too long ago while looking for critter bones on etsy to include in some assemblage pieces, and jewelry pieces...... i ran across a couple of etsy artist's that made their own bird skulls out of  polymer clay.  i love playing with polymer, but i thought there is no way i could make something like these. 

hello....girl you have spent your life doing this to yourself....get a package of clay and do it...NOW.   now, of course i was in the middle of working on two other projects when this inner voice screamed out at me.  i am glad i listened. 

so this is what i did the first night....

this was my first one....i was pretty darn excited...for about 2 minutes.  then i got a case of the giggles and thought this looks like some cartoon version of a dinosaur.....a bit later i added some additional bumps, dents and things to make it look a little more bird like. 

this was my third one....i was starting to feel pretty excited about this....maybe i can do this. 

after i baked the first three i made, i used embossing powder to give their beaks some beaky color.  i used an ecru colored clay, and i will be rubbing on some acrylic paint to give them a 'found on the forest floor' kinda look. 

this is my fourth skull.....squeeeeee....isn't it pretty?!   it is not completely anatomically correct, but i like it...i like it. 

within minutes of posting this on facebook i received a few requests for them.....i know there is no way i can duplicate this skull, so i am hoping that soon i can take a trip to dick blicks and see if they can recommend  a method to making a mold.   

i have made a mold by pressing something in to a ball of polymer clay and baking it...it works great, however i have never made anything more than a 2d-ish, cabochon type thingys.   i need to find a way to make a full on 3d mold.  

in the meanwhile i thought i would play some more last night...i wanted to try to do something owl-ish, and here is what i ended up with....squeeeeeee.....i am pretty darn excited.

i then made this guy, and his buddy below....who looks a bit angry, huh?

this afternoon, in the shower, i got the giggles.  i am sure there are some of my facebook peeps that are not arty that think i must be some creepy nut.  i suddenly felt the need to make a status to explain my new love of sculpting bird skulls.....

again...girl....you have spent your life feeling the need to explain everything you do that is not considered 'the norm'  shame on you....it is art, it is my art, and i don't need to make excuses for any  of it. 

i am, though, a girly girl at heart and i made this ring...one for me....one to sell actually. 

it was one of those happy accidents.   while giving my brain a breather in my studio i began picking up stuff from my last creating frenzy and putting it away.  i came across these itty bitty scraps of some sari silk and even though it was too small to use, it was so purty i just could not throw it away, so i began gathering up these bits and decided to 'store' them on a head pin.

ding...ding...ding....those ring blanks i have just sitting waiting for the most perfect idea.   these ring blanks are cups, i did not want to do the predictable thing and wire wrap some beads to the do-hickey on the inside of the cup.

i love, love, love this ring.    this one will be added to etsy, actually, and probably tomorrow. 


i have worked on a few other projects, and will post pics later.  they are not 'done' enough to look like anything.


well, to wrap this up since it is 5 am....we have had a rough couple of weeks around here.   the stress of it all is kind of grating on everyone's last nerve, and even this girl, who has tried to remain the positive-faith filled-cheerleader has even hit her limit these days. 

it seems that when i get to that point where i just want to run screaming like a mad woman, i get a little nudge to keep going, hang in there.  heart shaped things and pennies are usually the form those nudges come in. 

i have one story of a heart shaped rock i came across that i will save for the day it all turns around for us.....but i have got these to share for now.....


max found this one in a pile of rocks in the back yard...he just looked down and there it was

just a couple of days ago i was down beyond words.  i opened the back door and looked down at the pile of rocks where max had just found the heart rock above.   i thought God, i sure could use another heart rock...a little sign...a nudge to keep going....and there it was

somewhere in between the finds above max found this one too.

ok...if the bird skulls did not make you think i am a bit of a nut......i came across this shop on etsy.  an artist had put together an assemblagey collage piece that included a bird's nest.  i collect bird's nests.   i love them.  

as i looked closer i realized there was something a bit different about the nest, but i could not quite put my finger on it. 

i read the description of the piece and the bird's nest was made of.........hair! 

the hubby has a hair phobia thing like you would not believe.  hair does not bother me...but i don't think i would want someone elses that was not a family member...that might eek me out a bit.

well....i finally had enough of the nest making material in my hair brush the other day and i made one for my collection.....i think it is super neato....and i can not wait to find the just perfect little eggs to put in it.

i had to enhance the photo a bit, which is the first picture.  my hair color it too light and i could not find a place to take a decent photo in the middle of the night. 

you can see in the second photo how it blends in to the kitchen table. 

ok, i told you i am in to oddities.  at least it is not a belly button lint critter, or toe nail critter...almost...but not quite. 

as usual once you get me started i don't easily stop, so i will make myself stop for now and join this guy for a few zzzzzzzzz's.

nighty-night...or at 5:19 am i guess it is morning-morn. 

smoochies to ya....

wow....it all amazes me..

there are moments in time when i want a clear message to drop from the sky.    sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

there are times when i feel alone and abandoned, so there is no reason to ask then, is there, for a message to be sent? 

i often remind God that i am both blonde and hearing impaired, so no soft quiet subtle hints for this girl.

say it plain and clear.  big and loud. 

i don't always get those messages i am asking for and looking for right away.  sometimes, as in the case when i wrote this mornings blog post, i did not ask for a message, and quite honestly was not even expecting one...and i got 2. 

funny how this all works....huh?

last night, more like the wee early morning hours this morning, i had all but given up on my etsy shop. 

when i woke up i found this message in my in box.......

Zoe Designs (ZoeDesignsVintage) sent you a conversation on September 15, 2011.

Hello

Beautiful items and great variety! I'll add a few to our favorites.

Happy Sales!

Best
Ellen and Bob

this was just the umph i needed to carry on and keep going...a huge sale would have been great too...but how cool was this?!  right?!

i quickly sent bob and ellen a note back and told them they were heaven sent.  and thanked  them for the message, to which ellen replied.....

Zoe Designs (ZoeDesignsVintage) sent you a conversation on September 15, 2011.

Hello

Hello Christine,

Yes, I must be heaven sent :) I found you "accidentally", as they say, looked at your items and felt compelled to send a quick note! I do write to a few people a week - you caught my eye today :)

Synchronicity is something, isn't it?

Thanks for your note back. I'll add a few items from your shop tonight :)

Best,
Ellen

so if this was not enough to wind me up, put the wind back in my sales,  a bit later a new facebook friend, and gallery owner  complimented this photo. 

i then private messaged her about her thought on pricing.  she was pretty much in line what we came up with here.

i think there are times when we think we are at the end of our rope, and we ask, and pray, and even beg for an answer.  but we are not at the end of our rope, and so we continue on waiting for it to get better, to change, for a big sign to drop out of the sky.  then there are times when we really are at the end of our rope and we get just the nudge we need, a message drops out of the sky....plain and clear, big and loud. 


so as i tuck myself in to bed i am so thankful to God for the messages and the people that were brought across my path today. 

nighty-night....

oh...i don't know what the title should be

just checking in here.   yesterday was a photo taking marathon like no other.  the hubs and i had quite a rhythm and routine going.  it was wonderful!  without his help i could not have photographed half what i did. 

i was able to get all but about 10 scarves photographed before the sun pooped out on us.  i was pooped to say the least, it was 90 something degrees, the mosquitos sucked...quite literally.  today my back, shoulder and chest muscles are ayayay-achey.  who would think holding a camera would make you feel like a whiplash victim!  does not help that since the beast was beastly yesterday, i tensed up trying to keep from falling over.   nothing though that a couple of ibuprofen can't take care of.

 since it rained all day today the others will have to wait for their moment in front of the camera.  the backyard will be a muddy mess for a couple of days, especially since we are going from last weeks record high temps to record low temps this week!   one good hot steamy day would dry the yard out in no time. 

mike is loving jumping over the mud puddles, and then going back to run through them...such a boy he is! 

today i was all ready to start adding the scarves and i froze....pricing.  what am i going to price these at.  the process from beginning to end for each piece is lengthy, and for some pieces can be a bit labor intensive. 

i have researched till my fingers are worn to the bone and my eyeballs are ready to pop out of my head...ok maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration...but anyway.  i researched, a ton.

i found a shop, blurry, out of focus photos,  not much of a description, and prices i thought were out the roof and this girl is selling like hot cakes....ok they tell you the photos are a big, big, deal to selling on etsy, i obsess over my etsy photos.  and with that said i am even in the process of doing retakes on some items. 

i found another shop where the photos are gorgeous.  it looks like a catalogue spread.  the time this girl must spend on picnik editing her collaging her photos must be nuts.... does not hurt that she is cute, and tiny.  her scarves are 3 feet shorter than most of mine.   they have been wadded and put in a dye bath, then re-wadded, or lightly banded and dyed in another color.  i know this because i have experimented with this process for fabric to be used in other projects.  soooo....not a lot of work, blood, sweat and tears put in to her process.... she uses the same fabric i do....75 buckos for these scarves.  she is selling like crazy, and i think that is great, i am just without words, so to speak.  yikes, almighty. 

and yet another shop, awesome catalogue photos, cute cute tiny girl who is creator and model, and her back drops for her photo shoots....awesome.  she, too charges out the wah-zoo for her scarves and yet she is selling like crazy as well.   no way would i pay 90 - 100 for light weight muslin that has been wadded and put in a dye bucket, no matter what her photos looked like. 

i found yet another shop, who seems to have copied some of the previous shops techniques in layout and styling of the photos, but i would not call her photos catalogue-ish,  but they are good, and  she is a tiny girl, but, and please note here...i think everyone is beautiful, but if she is not what the general population would say is pretty.  her scarves are the same as the previous shops, and she is charging what is i think is a fair price for her scarves and over at her shop....crickets are a chirpin. 

from there i found shop after shop where the photos are mediocre,  there scarves were nice and dirt, dirt cheap these girls are way under pricing as far as i am concerned, and again...crickets chirping at their shop. 

some of them i get their lack of  sales....if you are going to model....put a schmere of make up on, chipped nail polish...really?...and girls tuck the tired, ugly, soccer mom bra in all the way in to your wife beater t-shirt....i get why their shops are quiet....if you can't take care of yourself...a little personal hygiene goes a long way girlies...then i sure would not think you put much in to your product. 

during the entire time steph and i were dyeing these scarves i thought i had figured out my pricing and then researched and found that we majorly seemed to be under charging last year...and would be this year. 

big sigh......... 

so today as i went to add my scarves, and froze, i  then researched again and again.   and i came to this conclusion....ok....i have not come to any conclusion.  

my hubby says i am too nice, i worry too much and have too much of a conscience.....if i were to charge for my scarves based on what the cute girl with the catalogue spread charged....i would be charging a couple hundred for my scarves....really....i think not.   i could not.  i will not.

my bead peeps tell me i am under charging for most of my jewelry pieces, yet i have not gone back to raise them up.....could be fear that the crickets chirping at my shop will keel over dead.


i have read where there is actually a psychological factor in pricing, if you under price people actually won't buy. 

so the big question here is...what is that thing, that thing that makes one shop crowded and another echo-y? 



right now, today, i am ready to close up shop, and every time i think about this, a little voice says just hold on a bit longer.  

who woulda  thought trying to decide on a price on a bunch of scarves could cause this arty girl to question her entire thought on what she was meant to do in life and drive her to tears.....sheesh.

i can't even blame this unruly little breakdown to hormones.

kind of thinking having a hubby, now going on month 4 of being  unemployed is getting to me a bit, just a smidge. 

thinking i will leave you all with a few unedited photos from yesterday and i am going to go curl up in the fetal position and find something funny to watch on tv, normally i love rainy days..but i am thinking a bit of sunshine on this girls face might help.  let's hope it will be shiny bright when i wake up. 

this was last nights be-u-te-ful moon.....

nighty-night....and big squishy hugs to you.

aren't they oh-so-pretty! squeeeee!

today i started the photo shoot for the first batch of scarves. 

finally!

i was covered, no lie, head to toe in mosquitos the entire time!  i have bites on top of bites and bites in places i did not know i had. 

i promised max i would not put this on facebook.  this is not facebook.   hehehehehe.....

he has always teased his brother and sister about their zits....now he gets 'em.  this masque is wonderful for zapping them. 


that is about all for now.  got a couple of busy days ahead...i will try to pop in before the week is out. 


nighty-night...sleep tight....smooches.