Cleaning house again

Growing up, my dad always made us clean the house for the New Year. So, I'm cleaning out my "hobby grade" beading supplies via craigslist in order to make room for new supplies. :) These things have been sitting around as the weight in the bottom tray of my tackle box...

9 silver toned metal multi-ring bracelets. Good for making charm bracelets. Each one approx 7.5 inches long, with lobster clasp. Purchased for $17.07 plus shipping from Oriental Trading Company.

36 silver tone metal frame charms in oval, heart, and rectangles (12 each). Approx 20mm x 25mm. Purchased for $40.45 plus shipping from Oriental Trading Company.

10 black satin pendant cords with adjustable links and lobster clasp. (Got these with an order for pendants which I converted to something else. My guess is that you could probably find these for $2-5 plus shipping.)

Overall, I estimate my cost, including shipping, to be somewhere in the ballpark of $70-75, but would be willing to entertain reasonable offers. I do want to get rid of this stuff and maybe offset some of the cost of new materials to play with. If you're here from the ad, make me an offer!

Christmas Crunch Time!

Hi,

Hope you don't mind, but the holidays are here and I still haven't finished trimming the tree, stuffing the stockings, or wrapping the presents. :)

The ideas are there. The time isn't.

I'm sure all you moms know how it goes!

Christmas Card designs?

These were designed using templates on Vistaprint.com:




The third was designed using a template on scrapblog.com. All pictures were taken this weekend by Harmony Jacobson.

Look at Frosty Go...

Thanks to being featured on Huggermugger's Blog, these little guys are all packed up and ready to make a trek over to Green Mountain, North Carolina. I have a grand total of 4 pairs of these guys left. They're super cute!

As an experiment in increasing sales and feedback, I also decided to try offering free shipping via USPS Priority Mail on all jewelry items in the store. We'll see how that goes. The USPS website says Priority Mail is 3-5 days, but experience shows that it really takes more like 5-7 days from Hawaii, especially to the East Coast. (Sometimes longer.) The last day folks can take advantage of the free shipping and reasonably expect delivery by Christmas is December 17th. Even then, that's cutting it close.

In other news, it seems I have a little chocolate eating desk mouse. I guess that means I should clean up my sewing stuff and stop eating while I work, huh?

Beader's Block

With the exceptionally dreary weather and the realization that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away, I am completely stressed out. I have several project ideas in mind, but haven't figured out how to make the leap from the brain to the fingers... for example, I found some neat pineapple shaped buttons very similar to these on a cheesy kiddie aloha shirt. They would make really cute upcycled earrings. I have 6 buttons, so I may make a bracelet instead. I just have to figure out how to string them together.

In fact, I've been really "stuck" on the upcycling idea lately. I think my next sewing project will be to upcycle my senior prom dress into a dress for the baby's first Christmas. Maybe I'll post some before and after pictures. :) Speaking of pictures, I have a few more items to list in the store, but haven't gotten decent lighting for at least a week. It really is critical to have natural lighting, no flash, no filter, and no editing other than cropping to properly display a piece of jewelry. Artificial lighting just doesn't look right when it comes to beading.

Mermaids Love Pearls

We've been having massive rains, high winds, and flash flooding since Thursday. Unfortunately, I went to a couple of different stores, looking for red tulle, and so far, nada. I did, however, manage to make it to the post office to ship these earrings off to their new owner! (She's an old friend of mine, from back in the Academy days. I hope she enjoys them!)

In other news, the store's been featured on another blog! Huggermugger is another crafty mom blog. She sews, she writes, she crafts, and she shops! What's not to love about her?

How Cute is This?

Once, again, I should've been doing other things but I was looking for ideas for how to dress the family for Christmas photos. (Scheduled for this weekend with Harmony.) We'll be over at the Ko'olina lagoons waaaaay too early in the morning. All I can say is thank goodness we're all morning people in this family!

Anyway, most of the portrait tips recommend light colored clothing, white and jeans or khakis. Being a Christmas in Hawaii photo, we're thinking maybe red, contrasting with the green foliage? Personally, I'm thinking we should bring a change of clothes- one bright and one neutral. After all, the reason everyone else is in white is because it looks good. Speaking of red, how cute is this?

A bunch of ladies on Etsy have custom made tutus, including the one pictured (listed here). How cute would it be to have a few shots of the baby on the beach in a fru fru tutu? Am I crazy? Probably. I would actually have to make one to have it in time for pictures this weekend.

I am SOOOOOO making these for all the little girls on our Christmas shopping list!!! (Ok, I'm making a Tink inspired one for the one little girl I know well enough to bother making something for.)

Photo Ideas?

Some of the photos in my shop need to be redone. I'm just uninspired at the moment.

Here are some links to photography how-to's:
Digital Photography School
Table Top Studios
MK Digital Direct

And a couple portrait photographers' websites (just wanted to bookmark):
Photogenesis (Alicia Yoshimoto)
Paul Johnson
Chrissy Lambert

Well, it's my first weekend drilling with the reserves, and I have three job interviews lined up for next week so I probably won't get to it in the next few days. Maybe next weekend I'll get a couple of different ideas posted and see if anyone has suggestions. :)

Go Navy! Beat Army!

It's time for the Army-Navy game again!

Every year about this time, I tell the story about how my parents tried to explain the concept of the United States Naval Academy to my 16 year old self, while going through the college selection process.

Mom: Why are you throwing that away?
Me: There are uniforms on the cover.
Mom: But it's the Naval Academy!
Me: The what?
Mom: You've never heard of Annapolis?
Me: Sure, it's the state capitol of Maryland!
Dad: You know, the Army-Navy game... they're Navy...
Me: Huh? I always wondered how it was the Navy had a football team. I mean, how would they have try outs with everyone on ships? What does that have to do with Maryland?

You might say I had no idea what I was getting into. Haha. Ya think?

My Fur Babies

Since you can never really have too many puppy-on-the-beach pictures, here's a shot of my two fur babies running around on Dam Neck Beach in Virginia. They're only 4-5 months old in the picture. Ace (the white one) just turned 3. Roxy (the neurotic one) will celebrate her 3rd birthday next week. Both are German Shepherds. In fact, you can read Ace's pedigree here and Roxy's mom's pedigree here and her dad's here.

White German Shepherd puppies are just about the cutest widdle polar bears you'll ever see. And they make the bestest dogs EVER... unless you have allergies like my fiancee does. :( In fact, they are almost the WORST dog to have in the house with folks who have allergies. (Golden Retrievers are also "up there.") So these two are the first and only German Shepherds I'll ever have.

Charmed, I'm Sure

A friend of mine has sensitive skin and can't wear earrings unless they're gold. She asked for a charm bracelet instead. I experimented with attaching charms to silver chain bracelets and with single strand, beaded bracelets, but was never really satisfied with the outcome. In my opinion, when working with lampwork beads as charms, the heavier chain maille is a much better option. Since it really doesn't make sense to "experiment" with brand new ideas/techniques using top notch materials (likely to be ruined during the creative process), I started making up a few charm bracelets using pre-fabricated nickel bracelets.

I really liked the way this one turned out, and will probably list this as a keiki/teen piece. The others are being pulled/cut apart.

What do you think, in terms of design, etc? Do you wear charm bracelets? Is this too heavy looking? Not full enough?


PS- Go visit Beth's Baby Boutique. It's her grand opening, so "heart" her and check back after the holidays!

Teaming up!

If you're on Etsy, make a profile on We Love Etsy and then add me as a friend! Think of it as myspace for Etsy-ers. I found some new "favorite" Etsy stores, including MadisonGre which has lovely handbags, clutches, and wallets made in beautiful Asian inspired prints.

I've also joined the Etsy Moms Street Team and Etsy Homefront Teams. (The former is for moms with Etsy businesses, the latter is for spouses of active duty service members. You may point out that technically, I am not the spouse of an active duty military member... yet... which reminds me, if anyone has tips on wedding planning, I'm all ears!)

Don't forget- if you Twitter, be sure to follow me!

I've been better...

Unfortunately, strep throat is going around and I've been out of commission for a few days. So here's a picture of my son and two friends at their school's Halloween parade. (My son is the Dementor in the Middle.) Hehe, oh, by the way, I made his costume.


You can also check out my crafty mom friends and their blogs...

Sara is a friend of a friend who has become my friend. She is just a remarkable person who happens to knit and sew. She's how I found out about Connor's Caps.

Myra is a childhood friend of mine who stamps. She makes a total killing on the local craft fair circuit, so you know her stuff is great! Haha, she knows all my dirt.

Beth is a college classmate of mine. She sews and is the sweetest person you'll ever meet! But don't let that Southern charm fool you into thinking that's all there is to her. Beth is one sharp cookie!

Here, There Be Pirates... Yarrrgh!

Ok, so this has nothing to do with beading. Maybe it's just me, but I'm fascinated by pirate stories. How stupid do you have to be to think you and maybe a dozen of your craziest associates could basically cruise around in a speedboat with some rifles, hijack a huge cargo or cruise ship, and get away with it?

Well, believe it or not, while the US has a policy of not negotiating with terrorists (or pirates, for that matter), many other countries (say, for example, FRANCE) have a nasty habit of paying whatever ransom is demanded. So while you may not find a ship full of gold, there is money to be had in piracy. Most of the time, pirates focus on tankers- high value cargo, with only a handful of people. This week, pirates attacked an American operated cruise ship transiting from Rome to Singapore. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Anyone want to guess where all that booty goes?

Findings and Stuff

There's a new category of items in the store: Findings and Stuff. In this category, you'll find lots of great deals on stuff I bought as part of overzealous projects which never came to be. When I first started beading, I bought a lot of supplies in bulk before realizing that I prefer to make only one of each creation. They all use the same basic, time tested techniques, and in some cases, related color schemes, but everything made in the past year is one of a kind.

You may have heard of the Fly Lady. (For those who haven't, it's basically free help for escaping CHAOS- "Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome" via baby steps.) I discovered the Fly Lady when I was pregnant and nesting like an obsessive-compulsive crazy woman. The clutter in the house was weighing me down. I took at least 5 car loads of stuff to Goodwill. Do you fly? Leave a comment!

So anyway, I realized that I have more beading supplies than I know what do do with at the moment, and decided to have an online garage sale of sorts. Why? Haha, so I can go buy more beads. Shhhhh... don't tell the boys!


Technorati Profile

Black Friday Specials

Although I love shopping, I hate holiday shopping. The closer it gets to Christmas, the grouchier and more desperate my fellow shoppers become. So anyway, most of my holiday shopping is done online these days... and as a "Thank you" to anyone who decides to shop Simply Leilani on Etsy this weekend, we're going to send a free pair of Christmas earrings with every order AND offer a rebate for free shipping on orders over $20.

Also, in an attempt to declutter my beading corner, we're going to start listing some findings and other goodies from my personal stash. As much as I love to bead, even I have to admit that having two full tackle boxes is probably a bit excessive. :) There will be some great deals for my crafty friends who want to save some cash this Christmas by making presents.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a great weekend, surrounded by friends and family! We'll be off island for the day, but will be running some Black Friday specials in the Etsy shop! The best part, especially for you non-Hawaii folks, is that they won't start popping up until I actually wake up on Friday morning... which will probably be about noon, East Coast time.

Caps for Connor

Yes, yes, I also sew. Anyway, I have a soft spot for kids with cancer because when I was about 7-8 years old, one of my best friends had leukemia. So, when I heard about a young man suffering from a rare type of brain cancer, and that his friends were going to shave their heads in the dead of winter to keep him company, I couldn't help it. Anyway, I can't knit a stitch, but I did manage to sew up 11 fleece hats. Of course, my son wanted one, so we're only sending 10. Don't ask me what the kid thinks he's going to do with a fleece hat in Hawaii, but I guess it's a good sign that he thinks mom makes cool stuff!

You can read about Connor's Caps here. Connor's school is having a hat day in December, so any donations would have to be in the mail this week. However, you can always donate hats and other things to The Ship's Project. I will never forget being deployed to the Gulf and having a box of knit hats, booties, and mittens arrive. The guys in my department were ALL OVER that box, even though it was something like 120 degrees out on the flight deck. Why? Because, believe it or not, it gets cold in the winter. REALLY cold. I took a hat (even though I didn't think I needed one) because the guys told me to. OH MY GOODNESS. I never would've imagined it could get THAT cold!

Who's that girl?

You may have noticed some subtle changes around here... like a completely new name up at the top? Anyway, I'm in the process of overhauling my Etsy shop, to include a more eye catching storefront and some other things.

So, who's Leilani? She's my baby girl! We asked her Tutu (grandma) Evie to help us pick out a middle name. When she suggested Leilani, Dad and Grandpa Steve locked on to it like Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB gun. Why? Because of a little barefooted girl running around in an old John Wayne movie called Donovan's Reef. It was filmed on Kauai in the 1960's, and my dad actually remembers being on a flight with Lee Marvin following filming. (He was a kid at the time, returning from a baseball tournament.) Personally, I think the movie is completely misleading about life on a tropical island AND dreadfully BORING, but what do *I* know?

Here's a trailer for the morbidly curious:


Lest you think we're totally crazy, the baby's first name is Audrey... after Audrey Hepburn. Actually, if you knew us, you'd know we're crazy. But you know, that's just part of the fun!

Even more stitch markers

Just listed a few more sets of these on Etsy since it seems the only showcase you can buy slots for is the knitting showcase. If these don't sell, then I suppose I can convert these into stemware markers.

More Stitch Markers

I had so much fun wrapping wire for the last pair of stitch markers that I pulled apart a couple pairs of earrings I had for sale on ETSY (don't worry, I still have Frosty Earrings) and made them into another set of stitch markers. The Christmas Tree is made of Swarovski crystal, the snowmen have Swarovski hats and Czech Druk bodies. Everything else is sterling silver.

Something new...

I got a special request last week from a friend of mine who knits... she wanted to know if I could make up some stitch markers for her. Since I don't knit, the thought never occurred to me, so thank you for the idea! They were fairly easy to make once I figured out how to make the loop at the top the right size. They needed to be big enough to go over the knitting needles, but not too big. So anyway, here's the result!

Please visit her awesome knitting blog here!

Lanyards

Maybe it's schizophrenic to attempt to make a bizillion different types of things via beading, but here's a little something for those who need to wear ID badges, whistles, pens, someplace to hang reading glasses, whatever...

Each lanyard is approximately 30 inches long, which should be more than long enough to swipe badges while still being short enough to keep whatever you're hanging on the lanyard above waist level. The beadwire used to string these lanyards is tested to 44lbs, so you could hang keys on the swivel and still be okay. I tried to get my fiance to test one out with a whistle while refereeing a soccer game, but he wouldn't be caught dead with one of these! :) However, I'm sure a female ref could appreciate the artistry. The swivels are silver plated, to keep the "jewelry" look. Each lanyard is crimped twice, for extra durability. After all, what's the point of having something like this if you can't take it out year after year?

NaNoWriMo

Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo)? The short of it is that during the month of November, aspiring novelists attempt to write a 50,000 word novel. Although there's no quality control tied to being a "winner," (all you have to do is write a novel of 50,000 words) it's still a LOT harder than it sounds.

This year, NaNoWriMo celebrates its 10th anniversary. So, to anyone who's ever said, "One day, I'm going to write a book," maybe that day should be today...

"Improved" scrapblog slideshow...

More Spirals

This is getting pretty addicting. The first rope took a bit, but now I'm starting to have a little more fun with variations in bead sizes, patterns, etc. You'll probably recognize these- I'm still playing with different clasp/closure configurations.

Here's one I think is simple and darling. Just looks like a bit of the ocean around your wrist. I toyed with some charms and other beads, but it just got distracting. This one is pretty, but part of the fun of these spirals is making a one of a kind pattern, so it's on to the next one!

And here's a cute little one I'm working on. It's got little Czech fire polished beads in there...

Spiraling

This month's sale at the local bead store is on seed beads and stringing supplies, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to learn how to do ropes. Spiral ropes can be really versatile, depending on the size and shape of the beads. I put together a few spirals using the same sized beads.


This one is another take on the inspirational bracelet. On each side of the pewter plate, we have 10mm Swarovski crystals on stretchy elastic so you can actually slide the bracelet on/off. The rope is flexible, but not stretchy so it was either add the stretchy part or use a clasp. The engraved plate seems to be more than enough metal, so I don't like to use clasps with them. But anyway, it's an interesting look, that's for sure.


Here's one I'm working on now... the seed beads are smaller and I haven't decided which of the matching lampwork hibiscus to incorporate or how to do it yet. (My original idea was to use one of the beads as a clasp and make a beaded loop at the other end.) Well, time to get some sleep.

Chunky Monkey

Well, I may have gotten a bit carried away, but while organizing my current stash of supplies, I found some memory wire and lots of chunky glass beads. My son loves stringing beads with me, and we put these together a couple nights ago. (I had to do the finishing work since memory wire can be tricky.)

They're easy and fun, and because the beads are bigger, I can sit and do these longer than I can work with smaller beads. These are great for active folks because they stay put and there's no clasp (which is usually the part of the bracelet which fails.)

Back in business

Unfortunately, my carpal tunnel got the better of me after cramming to prep for the Christmas craft fair. Although I started out with a relatively minor case, it turns out that we're expecting a little girl this summer. The good news is that we have a healthy little one on the way. The bad news is that I ended up with sciatica, back pain, acid reflux, and of course, carpal tunnel. Such is life!

Fortunately, my last day in the office is this coming Friday. In the coming months, I hope to have enough quiet time to finish a couple of projects a week and also an opportunity to take some classes at the local beading store. Hopefully, I'll have enough inventory to peddle my wares, because I promised my fiancee that I wouldn't buy more beads until I sold some stuff. :)

I am, however, considering purchasing a couple of beading books with great reviews from a lady in California. If I do end up purchasing these books and trying these patterns, I'll be sure to identify which ones come from the book.