Here Be Dragons!

It's really no secret that I love dragons. They've become the harbingers of the world of fantasy, and they mean something different for every culture. And also think that dragons existed in one form or another all over the world, when some cultures had no way of communicating with one another.

And so, I dedicate this blog post to the universal concept of the Dragon.

Mythologicae puts a fun spin on the ideas of dragons and fairies. Artist Thomas Davies creates and sells these pieces, and sometimes along with Renae Taylor, who is also one of my favorite artists. The hatchling you see here is just adorable! But what about when it grows up? Imagine what an adult would look like.

Next up is a water serpent, placed on a vintage locket by chinookhugs. This kind of dragon has a more refined, ornate look to him, perfect for a steampunk look or for people looking for a bit of a romantic mariner theme.

And of course, after reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, I have a newfound love for the Chinese Dragon. Carried by LOOSEPARTS, this stunning medallion shows the winding, curving form of a revered spirit.

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And now, for a bit of an Etsy reflection. Have you ever hearted an item, and looked at it in your favorites section, feeling more attached to it as time goes on? Have you ever had your heart drop to finally see that SOLD label stuck on to it? Sometimes I wish I had all the money in the world just so I could surround myself with one-of-a-kind pieces of art, so I could have that care and beauty around me always, and also so I could support independent artists.

Repurposed, Recycled, Renewed!

Alright, so, I'm sure that we've all had the recycling message ground into our brains, but it really is an important thing to do. One of the essentials, really, to keeping our planet healthy. So here I'm bringing together some amazing pieces of jewelry and other items that have reused or recycled (or upcycled, whatever you want to say) bits and pieces of life.

The first piece is (get ready for some shameless advertising!) one of my own necklaces. The story behind this is that I had this lovely sterling silver vine ring. And then... I stepped on it. Squished, bent, definitely not resembling a ring any more. Short story, yes, but hey.

So, instead of trying to reshape it or just throw it out, I reused it in its new form to adorn this quartz drop!

The next bit of earth-friendly goodness is made by thecuriouscupcake. These awesome earrings are made from pop can tabs! There's some swanky wire-wrapping going on, along with some snazzy beads. Sure to be a conversation starter, and what's better, they're really affordable! Make sure to check out the rest of her shop, too. I've seen her get compliments galore in the forums, especially on her wire wrapping. :D

And now, I shamelessly promote one of my favorite shops ever, reqbat. She works a lot with recycled materials, and draws these awesome crows. You'll see one in her shop with a bowler hat on. And while the crows on this box do not have bowler hats on, they add a lot of character to the decoupage on this secondhand box! I will also unabashedly admit that I want this box, and that crow with the hat.

And the next artist we're going to mozy on over to is buttercupbloom. As she says on her shop's first page, it's always Earth day, all year round, and she really does her part to stay true to that! Her owls (which seem to be quite popular) and other critters are upcycled, cuddly, and adorable. Take a gander at this owl and some of her other dolls, and you'll see what I mean!

So I think that concludes this post on some great eco-friendly artists and their beauteous creations! Be sure to stop by and favorite, heart, and if you can, purchase from them to show your support!

Quirky Critters

So today, I wanted to bring together a few stuffed critters who I think have a lot of personality. I mean, come on, look at that mustached octopus! Now all we need is a jellyfish with a goatee and a squid with sideburns. Jayne Danger's definitely captured all that is cute and quirky.

The wee Pocket Viking just makes me laugh in general, what with having some Scandinavian blood in my veins. How could you not like a fuzzy viking? OopisNein also has some awesome octopods and monsters to share, too.

The pink monster made me think of this guy, Beedle, from Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. I think it's the nose, but anything that reminds me of one of my favorite video games is a good thing! 2Sisters1Love has such a wide array of monsters, adorable birdies, and I think I even saw a unicorn in their midst, too. Definitely check them out!

And finally, my own little striped bunny. It's not often that you see a blue, boldly striped bunny. He kinda reminds me of a totoro. If you haven't watched that Miyazaki film, please do! It's so heart-warming, with a bit of a quirky nature.

So, please visit these loverly artist's shops and if you can, support them!

By jaynedanger

By OopisNein

By 2Sisters1Love

And my own work,

The Start of Something New

Alright, so, already this blog is looking much different than my shop. The colors are darker (though not depressing) and there isn't one happy chick poking its head out anywhere. But I think that's okay, since I think people need to see that I have a lot of different sides. There's the super happy peppy fun wow side, and the more contemplative one. And, as my About Me says, there's that stuff betwixt and between.

I suppose what I'll do here is try to figure out how I want my Etsy shop to go. Where am I heading with all this? What do I want to do? It all started in January on a whim.

The story behind that is really simple. I started sewing because of all the things I was finding on Etsy. Beautiful stuffed animals, ones that made me squee from their cuteness, and ones that made me go wow, that artist has a great imagination. And so, I started making my critters.

I listed them all, and they've gotten a lot of attention. People love them, but only one of them has ever sold. Now, when I started making jewelry, that brought a few sales in. But even with what's popular, I really have to figure out what I want to make.

I've always loved the idea of old watch parts, tarnished metals, and things that have a lot of aged character. Thing is, I am also short on money, so a lot of what I have was made from whatever supplies I had laying around. Being a college student does not make one rich, I can tell you that much.

I also tried going into the Promotional forums. I joined this one thread where if you make a purchase from someone, you get your name on the list for two days. Buy more stuff, get more days. There are a lot of these threads there.

It seemed alright, and I was told they get a lot of sales. I met a lot of great people and I'm not trying to put anyone down. But, thing is, I noticed a few things about these kinds of threads:

- more often than not, any sale you make will be a result of that buyer wanting their shop to be on the list of promoted sellers for a longer period of time

- because of this, most sales come from within that group of sellers who want to keep promoting

- if you have a shop that is not very popular with that group of people, you depend on outside sales

- most people in the promotional forum, I've found, are not there to buy

I really gave it a shot, but was buying more than I was selling (I made no sales while being a promoted seller) and so, left.

I've since gone elsewhere in the Promotional forum, and I'm not entirely sure that any of my sales have been a result of this. I do know, however, that I'm getting my name out there and people know I exist. Huzzah for that!

I've made myself a Twitter account, too. I'm NaviWing on there, if anyone wants to follow. :D I love posting an item on my... feed... or whatever (jeez, I'm 20, tech savvy, and there's something about Twitter that creeps me out) and see that in moments, it gets over 20 views. That's more attention than an hour or so of promoting in the threads gets me.

So! New blog, new chance at promoting, and here's hoping everything goes well.