Going Handmade

Custom order

2009-11-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

I finished a custom order for a wondeful Artfire seller and this was the completed project:

I think it looks great and I can't wait to get it to her! This is also kicking off the fact that I am no longer requiring a deposit for custom orders during the holiday season. So if you have an idea for something, let me know and I will see what I can do for you!

Making a Cat Toy from a TP Roll

2009-08-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, obviously TP is one of those things that everyone has and has to use... But what do you do with it once the paper is gone? Well it can be a cheap and effective cat toy. You have to spend the money for rolls of the stuff anyway so really you aren't loosing any money. Here I will tell you what you can do to reuse the empty roll so you can have a fun toy for your kitties.

Step 1:
Use all the paper, I really don't need to get into details on that one....

Step 2:
Remove the empty tube from the holder.

Step 3:
Take it to the living room and carefully throw it on the floor.

Step 4:
Find the chewed, shredded and soggy remains a week later, most likely under the covers of your bed.

There you go, that's it. Reuse, Recycle, and Reduce. (since I will guarantee that the tube will have been reduce to shreds)

After the Storm

2009-05-28T18:59:00.001-07:00

Have you seen the changes that are going on in Greensburg, KS since the F5 tornado ripped through? They have stepped up the efforts to make their city "green". The are incorporating all renewable energies and have been taking steps to preserve our Mother Earth.

I have been fascinated by weather and severe storms since I was a little girl. Even to the point that I chased storms and tornadoes. I wanted to see how these things formed and what we could do to better prepare for them.

When I started writing for HandmadeNews.org, I decided to share the important work that Greensburg was doing. I wrote an article for the Green Wise department about this city while it is still rebuilding. The article is called, Changing the Face of Energy and you can read the entire article here: http://www.handmadenews.org/article/index.php?id=853

I wanted to get the word out that even though this city was devestated, they still saw some good that could come out of these trying times. If we, as a whole in humanity, could take a few pointers from this single city, I think this world would be a great deal better. Let's all start giving back and maybe we will start to see some change.

Handmade News

2009-05-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of HandmadeNews.org? No, well let me fill you in on exactly what it is.

HandmadeNews.org is pretty much an online newspaper. It is filled with interesting articles on just about any topic you can think of. If you want to read about tips to help promote your business, there's a whole section devoted just for it. Wanna learn a new craft, look in Craft Techniques. There are so many fascinating and fun articles for you to read. You can even find some awesome tutorials.

Sound like fun? Well it really is... Wanna know what else you can do? You can place ads for your own shop. Think about all that additional traffic. Plus, you can even write articles and contribute your knowledge to the site. The benefits are amazing.

So, ready to see what all the buzz is about? Then follow the yellow brick road....

Okay well maybe just my little dotted road.............................

handmadenews.org

Chainmaille Giveaway

2009-05-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Since I have not done a giveaway before, I have determined that now is as good as any to get with the program and do one. So from today until the 15th of May you can enter to win a pair of Chainmaille earrings.

Here's how it works:

What you can win:

These earrings are in my Twisted Flowers line. They are a mobius flower made with twisted wires. They are 2 inches in length. This particular style is pierced but don't despair if you need clip-ons, that can be arranged with no problem...

When will you pick a name:
The last day for entries will be May 15th. I will pick a name randomly on May 17th. This will give me a day to go through everything and put it into a generator to choose a name randomly.

How do I get an entry:
This is the fun part because there are several ways to get 1 and even up to 3 entries...

1 entry - Check out my Photography blog and leave a comment about one of my photos (I will be adding to it during this time.). There will be a maximum number of 5 comments/entries.

1 entry - Blog about the giveaway

2 entries - Blog about me or my shop

2 entries - Purchase something from my Artfire shop

3 entries - Since it's almost Mothers Day, if you purchase something from my mom's shop at frugalkitty.artfire.com you get 3 entries....

Plus, guess what, your entries are accumulative... so this means if you blog about me today and leave a comment on a photo on my blog tomorrow, you get the entry for each for a total of 3 entries... make sense...

How do I know if I have won:
This has the potential to be fairly tricky... I will announce the winner here on May 17th. However, please leave me some way to find you to let you know if you have won. Such as if you are on Plurk or Artfire, leave me your username. If you are not on these then leave me some way to get a hold of you... Any questions can be directed to me by commenting here or you can email me through my ArtFire shop.

What are the sites that I need:
Okay, here is the list of sites that you may need for the above entries,
My blog: goingphotographic.blogspot.com
My Artfire shop: nightmaiden.artfire.com
My mom's Artfire shop: frugalkitty.artfire.com

Blogging about me or giveaway:
If you do any kind of blog post, comment here with the link and I will credit you the appropriate entries.

Creative Beginnings Month

2009-04-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

It has come to my attention that May is Creative Beginnings month. Now this can have several different meanings to everyone but I thought I would take a moment and lay out an idea where this can pertain to everyone here.

Being artists and artisans, we all create works of art everyday. Let's band together and for the month of May try a little something special... For those of us with children, let your child choose something that they can do and then help them work on the project. When these projects are finished, I will have a place where we can post pictures of the projects and pictures of them working on it and the fun they are having...

If you don't have children, that's okay too because guess what you can do? Try a new project. It doesn't have to be big and expensive but just something new. Who knows maybe this will get all the creative juices flowing and you may find a new love... (Yeah, if you look at my shop I think you can tell I like to try new things...) Just remember this is for fun and it doesn't matter if the projects are perfect or come out just right.... As long as everyone has fun, that's what it is all about.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this, you can get a hold of me on plurk, artfire or just leave a comment here. Depends on where y'all know me from since I'm all over...

New items

2009-04-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

I finally have been able to get pictures of the new stuff I have been working on. I just did not have any motivation at all yesterday but I did get a few things done...

This is my pillow for nurses... I think it would be a great addition for anyone who works in a hospital or doctors office.

I also made one that has an amazing Zinnia pattern...

The next 2 have to be my favorites... I just love Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead and everyone should know that I am a serious Breast Cancer Awareness supporter...

I have so many pieces to actually get done as well as some amazing seasonal fabric too. I have Halloween and Christmas fabric. (Okay so I also have a cute Christmas fabric that I think more people will laugh their heads off at than anything else...) I have some novelty pillows coming too...

I have also been doing custom pillows too... My mom now has 2 new pillows that I made for her and a third is about to be started. She loves the pillows so much and I don't think she'll buy pillows from a chain store again...

Busy Day

2009-04-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

I could not believe how much I accomplished today. I really wanted to get stuff done before these thunderstorms moved in and now I have about 3 projects that are almost done. Now the storm can hit and I don't care...

I have 3 pillows that are hanging up drying. One is a nurse themed pillow and one is Dia de los Muertos themed. They look so good. The third one is Palm trees that I am making for my mom. All they need is to hurry up and dry and then they can be stuffed and then hand stitched on the last side to finish them. My sewing machine decided it was time for me to quit since it kept deciding to throw my bobbin and knotting my thread. I think I can take a hint.

I finished up the Zinnia pillow and just need to get pictures of it and it can be listed. Hopefully I can get some of the ones I worked on today finished up tonight too. Tomorrow, I'm gonna finish what I can't get today and then I'm thinking of working on a Breast Cancer Awareness pillow. I just love the fabric and I'm dying to use it. I have some Halloween fabric too but not sure when I should start to make those pillows. I have such cute fleece fabric with pumpkins and ghosts on it and I really want to use it but I'm afraid I'll end up keeping it for myself.

I'll get pictures up of my finished pieces as soon as I get them done. I've been babying the batteries in my camera in the hopes that they will hold out just a little bit longer. So hopefully will have pics tomorrow if the weather stays as its forecasted to.

New Pillows

2009-04-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I actually got things in order and believe it or not I actually got stuff done... I made a nice sized pillow out of that fabric that I blogged about before. Now this pillow is larger than the one I had made before out of Brocade. The Brocade one was 11X11 inches and this new one I made is 17X17 inches, so a bit bigger. I personally think it look amazing but then again I'm biased... Here's a picture of how it turned out...

The fabric is amazing, I love the richness in the colors. plus, I'm partial to anything that has that flair to it.

I also found some fabric that I had bought a while back and made a smaller pillow out of it just to test out the fabric. It worked beautifully. I can now make tons of stuff with this pattern because I bought all they had... Here is what I made

It is not perfect but I cranked it out in like 20 minutes. At least I know that it is thick enough for pillows and now I can take custom orders....

I have so many other fabrics to make stuff with, I think I'm going to be sewing for a while now, especially if I keep finding more to buy...

You can buy the first pillow in my shop or here:

Nightmaiden

Buy Handmade

New Fabric

2009-04-09T16:35:00.001-07:00

Well, I got some new fabric now so I can get to work on some new pillows and pillow cases. I am so excited, I can't wait. The fabric is amazing and my poor little sewing machine is feeling lonely.

This is my my favorite fabric that I bought and I can't wait to figure out what I'm gonna do with it... I was only able to get 1 yard of it, so whatever I end up doing with it, I have to be very careful not to screw up. I got 3 other fabrics and I will have to post what I do with them when I get something made.

I have several projects lined up for the next few days. Mostly between my photography and sewing so I am sure to have something finished up for you guys soon...

ArtFire Easter Egg Hunt

2009-03-31T18:10:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow begins the ArtFire Easter Egg Hunt. Its gonna be a ton of fun with great prizes.

You can check out all the information here on this blog:
http://easter-eggs-artfire.blogspot.com/

Its bound to be a ton of fun. You can find the entry form on the blog. The hunt will run from the 1st through the 22nd of April. So you have plenty of time to find those eggs...

My First Pillow

2009-03-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I have finally listed my first pillow to both of my shops. Well, okay, it's not technically the first one I have made, just the first one I listed... I made one out of the exact same fabric but made a bonehead booboo and it came out a little lopsided. But it worked out because my cat loves it and has turned it into a kitty bed.

This one, I took special care in getting everything just right and even did a special stitch to make sure it was super strong. Its completely gorgeous. I machine sewed 3 of the sides and then stuffed it with fiberfill and hand stitched the last side. Of course my hand kinda was about to drop off after that but it was well worth it.

I have so many more designs in my head that I am practically known by name at my local fabric store, may as well get a fricking job there... at least I could use the discount.

Anyway, here is the pillow....

Nightmaiden

Buy Handmade

Also, I can make any size and quantity you need, just let me know so I can make sure I have enough fabric... If you don't know ArtFire, don't worry, you need an account to buy. You can just click the photo above and it will take you right to a check out.

I will have more to come so keep up with my Crafting ADD...

Recipe - Irish Bananas

2009-03-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is a great recipe for St. Patricks Day and if you're Irish then you know how yummy this can be. If you're not Irish, then this is the perfect thing to make you feel Irish for a day...

First, this is what you will need for 4 servings.

1/2 cup Butter (stick form not melted)
1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar
4 large Bananas, peeled and cut in half lengthwise not across the middle
1/2 Irish Whiskey
Vanilla Ice Cream

Now you are going to want to pull out a skillet and melt your butter over medium heat. When that is melted, stir in the brown sugar and whiskey. Bring this to a boil and cook it until the sugar is dissolved. Turn the heat down and add the bananas and simmer gently until they are tender and glazed over with the glaze of sugar and whiskey. They are then ready to be served over the ice cream.

It's that easy and they are so yummy. You will want to have these every year for St. Patty's Day.

Got Creative

2009-03-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

I actually got creative the past couple of days and worked on some new designs. I finally decided to work up some new Rosary Bracelets and I cranked one out that turned out just amazing. I had thought about doing this style in chainmaille for a while now but I always kept putting it off for one reason or another. I finally sat down and made one in 2 shades of red. I blended red and magenta for a subtle and lovely contrast and I think it came out amazing.

I have a few other color combinations that I am going to be making these in and I can't wait to get the others listed. I thought it was even better to list this piece as "Chained in Faith", as I thought it really carried the theme well. I can not wait to bring out the rest of my line.

I am also getting ready for St. Patrick's day and I will be posting a recipe that has become a tradition with my husband and myself. Since I am Irish and my husband is part Irish, I have to celebrate the holiday the best way I know how... Fixing some yummy Irish treats. So keep an eye out for the recipe which will be coming very soon!

Etsian in Need

2009-03-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you that have a shop on Etsy know of the seller ChristieCottage... But not many people actually know that she is really sick. There are threads going in support of her and certain shops have been donating the proceeds of any sales that they get to go to Christie. She is in need and as we all know, Etsians stick together and help each other.

So if you would like to stop and see what shops are donating as well as give your well wishes or even do a little shopping.

For those that are interested, here is the thread: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6072679&page=1

Please stop by and give your heart to a great person and a great Etsian!

Pain in the neck

2009-02-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

I can't believe what I did the other day... I tried to sit down on the couch and banged the back of my neck on my husband's thick book of cardstock... Wow, did that hurt... I now can't lean my head to the back, barely can turn it to the side and if it happens to fall forward... yeah I better not do that.

I wish I would have looked before sitting down but that would have been too easy. Not only have I had a migraine since then, but it now also hurts all the way down into my back... It sucks and I really wanted to get back into doing my Yoga and Belly Dancing again... Way to go me!!! I already have tendon problems in my left wrist, 2 screws in my right knee and a bad back so whats a little more torment to keep me from being able to work out and get my flexibility back.... This is another reason I hate being 30, I think its nature telling me that I'm old, I really do.

Hopefully, this will stop hurting so I can get back into the things that I love and then I can start to feel as young as my husband.

Busy day

2009-02-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

Well after running a very busy day and buying a desk from Circuit City since they are going out of business... Yay, I'm gonna have a new computer desk! Of course, that is as soon as I get this one out first. Then the joys of finding a chair and hopefully I can find one before this one breaks... Seeing as how my cats have decided to use the legs as a scratching post. The poor thing looks like a tree after a beaver has had a go at it...

At least in the midst of all that I did get pictures of the pendant that I made last night... Still been too lazy to put the ring on it for a bail... But I think it came out well. I have so much stuff I need to get photos of so I can get listed.

I have been trying to get a day that I can make some bath salts and fizzies, yeah, I'll let you guys know how THAT goes... Hopefully I will get a chance to play around with that tomorrow. I hope I can schedule myself a little play time for myself to try this. Of course this is when my Crafting ADD kicks in full speed ahead and then I get addicted to something new...

Hopefully tomorrow will be nice and warm and the rain won't push in til later tomorrow evening or maybe night. I need a nice day, I want to work outside and maybe look at some flowers that are coming up in my yard. I want to take pictures of all the pretty little pieces of color popping up all over... But I guess its a wait and see but maybe I might have flower pictures tomorrow.

Getting Creative

2009-02-25T18:13:00.001-08:00

Well, I made a new pendant this evening of course I say that figurative since I didn't solder on the bail.... Ick, I hate putting the bails on since I use a ring that is twisted and the solder will not come out perfectly smooth. I wonder if that would make a difference but hey it is handmade after all... I hope to get pictures of it tomorrow. It's super cute and anyone that sews will love the imagery.

I am seriously getting sick of all this cold weather. I want warm sunny days so I can clean out the workshop outside. As soon as I do that I can do my soldering there and I can even set up for photos as well... I think I just want it to warm up so I can actually get out and take more photos. I am planning to head to the Battlefields in Yorktown and get some shots of the deer as they come out in the evening. Maybe even get some shots along the Parkway and down through Colonial Williamsburg. I love shooting down there because of all the history and ghost stories... I already have one photo on my ArtFire site that was taken at one of the churches that is reportedly haunted by 2 little boys. It makes it so much cooler when I go there since my mom used to give lantern light ghost tours all through the area. I know the majority of the stories and just love to walk around the area and feel the energy.

Well, I can't wait to share more of my work and hopefully some photos and if you ever want to hear a cool ghost story, just ask....

Successful Feelings

2009-02-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

I feel extremely overjoyed at how a project that I was working on turned out. I had decided to make something special for one of my friends birthday. I wanted this piece to be really special so I made her a soldered pendant. This is the first one that I have made for someone else other than me. This pendant, I have to admit, turned out extremely well. I am hopefully getting to the point that I am comfortable adding them to my shop.

This is a photo of the piece that I took after I made it. I want to have photos of every piece I make even if its not listed because it will be a good portfolio of what I can do...

I am so excited to see how this piece turned out.

So, I would like to wish Julia a very Happy Birthday and hope you will enjoy this pendant...

Under Construction

2009-02-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

Hi, this is going to be the new site for Going Handmade... I have decided that a revamp of my blog needed to be done. I decided to move to a new location and start from scratch so that I can get back into the groove with all my friends.

So stay tuned and don't trip on the clutter...