fortythree: more earrings.

i am pretty pleased with myself, i can't get over how good these photos look. i have been really enjoying making earrings, i can finish them quickly and it is easier to experiment with them than with larger pieces (like necklaces). the pair at the top are my fave, but i must admit i like them all.
i read an article today about how the recession is helping crafters. too bad i didn't do more on etsy, i suppose i have missed the christmas rush. one of my coworkers found this site today, which looks like it follows the same model as etsy. i can't decide whether or not i even want to sell my stuff. one of my neighbors asked if i was selling anything yesterday and i told her no, even though i have about 20 necklaces i have been saving. one problem is i don't want to part with anything and have the new owner not appreciate the piece as much as i do.

fortytwo: the fema house

i made my first attempt at making a gingerbread house on saturday. i found a great site that included a template for the walls and roof of the house. i cut out the different pieces after work one day and was not paying too much attention to what i was doing. the result was lopsided walls and a roof with a gap of half an inch in some places.
for a while, it looked like the house was going to turn out well. the walls were standing up and the roof was not collapsing. we even started to place vanilla wafers on the roof to mimic shingles (this may have been our fatal mistake). sadly, we were not able to finish the roof. the wafers slowly fell down and eventually half of the roof came down. to prevent the walls from separating we tied a piece of string around the house. my mom thinks the house is hilarious and is introducing it to everyone as the 'FEMA house' (not a very pc name).
if i ever make another house, i think i will try to make it themed. i was thinking of a sweeney todd themed gingerbread house, because my favorite gingerbread people to decorate are the dismembered ones (see the picture below).
BEFORE:
AFTER:
COLLATERAL DAMAGE (from the falling shingles):

fortyone: written in the stars

so, apparently a number of my coworkers are really into astrology. i have never been one to care much about the alignment of the planets, but i have become more interested in all that nonsense recently. one of my coworkers showed me this site. i input the time, date, and location of my birth and then it told me everything i could possibly want to know about myself. a lot of the information was dead on, even silly things like the fact that i walk quickly.
here are some of the necklaces i plan on giving away for xmas:

forty: christmas gifts

after a fairly late start, i have finally finished most of my xmas shopping and crafting. below is a picture of some of the earrings and necklaces that i will be giving away on the 25th.

thirtynine: experimenting with colors

i am playing with backgrounds and color to make more interesting photos. here are some of the results. i think the least successful pictures are the bottom two (the red and wood backgrounds). i noticed a lot of people on etsy use stone or slate in their photos, but i don't really like that look. i am also looking for interesting accessories to dangle my earrings on. i am getting bored with my terracotta bowl.

thirtyeight: t minus 16 days

so, because i have been lazy the past couple of weeks i am madly making earrings and necklaces to give away from christmas. i have now set up 'shop' in my living room in front my tv. in the past, i have had my beading supplies in a guest bedroom on another floor (sans tv), but i am finding i am much more productive in the company of my friends from law & order or whatever else i may be watching.
i have not taken anymore flashy photos of my jewelery, but i am going to have to do some photography before i give everything away. once i have done it, i will be posting some on here and on my picasa web album.
last weekend i was in new york visiting my friend maria with another friend caroline. we did quite a bit in the 40 hours we were there - explored central park, braved the crowds on fifth avenue and around rockefeller center, walked around the village, and wandered around the upper west side. we went to a bar in the village that will forever be my absolute favorite bar in the world. we call it the 'bar-that-shall-not-be-named' in reference to you-know-who from you-know-what (wink wink). i honestly felt like i was in the middle of a harry potter book, which pretty much made it the highlight of the weekend. it felt like a little hole in the wall, but i think it may be quite well known to the locals hipsters.
in a previous post, i mentioned that i was going to make a website. well, i started to do it and got frustrated with the host server. i still have not taken anymore steps towards doing a website, but i will try to in the new year (my first resolution!). i am also going to try to start a flickr album with more or less the same things i have on my picasa album.