(no subject)
Dec. 11th, 2011 08:05 pmSo far this year customers of Sunbow Gems have donated $120 to the Global Health Council! Okay, not quite $120, but I threw in an extra couple dollars. I suppose I should have waited to make the donation until nearer the end of the month, since I have a couple nearly-guaranteed sales next week (we had such fun with the UU Bazaar this week and last that we're doing it again, and somebody asked me to hold a couple things for her) plus whatever I might sell online, but right now I have money, so right now's when I'm donating.
Other than that I have accomplished jack shit this weekend. Yay?
Other than that I have accomplished jack shit this weekend. Yay?
(no subject)
Nov. 25th, 2011 05:36 pm...so I photographed these in August and they're only going up on Sunbow Gems on Etsy now. Oops.
Rosemary honey soap. I've been resisting the temptation to steal this out of the 'stock' pile and put it in the 'use' pile ever since I ran out of the soap I made from the extra from this batch.
many-colored brooms earrings. Rainbow = queer, heart = love, under the rose = secret; rainbows and hearts under roses.
wakes the dragon necklace. Inspired by Southwestern US designs.
and reaching the sky earrings. "Recycle, man!"
Don't forget, it's sparkle season, and that means coupon code SPARKLE11 which gives you 15% off any purchase!
***
There are sisters and sister's friends upstairs MAKING NOISE. ARGH. I have SHIT I NEED TO DO. Granted what I want to do, I cannot do for reasons other than sisters (jewelry needs rephotographed), but it's hard to concentrate on schoolwork with all this NOISE.
Time to put on AtLA and do a self-inflicted mani-pedi.
Rosemary honey soap. I've been resisting the temptation to steal this out of the 'stock' pile and put it in the 'use' pile ever since I ran out of the soap I made from the extra from this batch.
many-colored brooms earrings. Rainbow = queer, heart = love, under the rose = secret; rainbows and hearts under roses.
wakes the dragon necklace. Inspired by Southwestern US designs.
and reaching the sky earrings. "Recycle, man!"
Don't forget, it's sparkle season, and that means coupon code SPARKLE11 which gives you 15% off any purchase!
***
There are sisters and sister's friends upstairs MAKING NOISE. ARGH. I have SHIT I NEED TO DO. Granted what I want to do, I cannot do for reasons other than sisters (jewelry needs rephotographed), but it's hard to concentrate on schoolwork with all this NOISE.
Time to put on AtLA and do a self-inflicted mani-pedi.
signal boost
Nov. 25th, 2011 01:03 pmA woman who has been legally unable to work for three months, and who has spent months caring for her daughter with kidney disease, is about to be evicted. Donate, signal-boost, or both.
Yo, Etsy types, go forth and advertise at![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
winneganfake's Bizarre Holiday Bazaar.
Yo, Etsy types, go forth and advertise at
winneganfake's Bizarre Holiday Bazaar.(no subject)
Nov. 25th, 2011 10:33 amI did a stoopid. Photographed a whole bunch of jewelry. ISO somehow got on 6400 and I didn't notice. ISO measures light sensitivity. Higher the number, the more light-sensitive the camera. I wondered why I had to have my smallest aperture and my fastest shutter speed and was still overexposing shit on the white background. It wasn't that bright outside.
I am not spending another twenty minutes photographing shit today. Not till it warms up some and/or the wind dies.
I am not spending another twenty minutes photographing shit today. Not till it warms up some and/or the wind dies.
(no subject)
Nov. 24th, 2011 03:41 pmBoooored. Want to watch my shows or write my fic or make my jewelry or, hell, vacuum the basement, but there are siblings and cousins being noisy.
I have written porn in class. Why is it so difficult for me to focus now?
On to more serious matters. According to an Etsy tweetchat the other day, the formula for pricing success is "materials+labor+expenses+profit=wholesale x2=retail". So I'm pricing at wholesale, not retail. Is doubling my prices likely to hurt me? Not now, I think, but after New Year's.
I have written porn in class. Why is it so difficult for me to focus now?
On to more serious matters. According to an Etsy tweetchat the other day, the formula for pricing success is "materials+labor+expenses+profit=wholesale x2=retail". So I'm pricing at wholesale, not retail. Is doubling my prices likely to hurt me? Not now, I think, but after New Year's.
(no subject)
Nov. 21st, 2011 09:07 pmMaterials for sparkle-season-themed jewelry: acquired. Or will have acquired when Fire Mountain Gems gets them here. Watch this space.
(no subject)
Nov. 12th, 2011 04:25 pmCraft fair went suckily. $25 for the table. Sold $19 worth of jewelry. One sale. One frickin' sale. Don't know what happened to the person who said she'd buy a necklace but I waited until the absolute last second to disassemble my displays and she never came back. Gave away three business cards and heard about a craft fair next month and, because I brought my supplies with me, left with a bunch more inventory than I came in with. And there was a girl when I was cleaning up who asked how it'd gone and told me she thought I was overpricing my things because the other jewelry vendors were selling their earrings for $5. I suppose I could sell my cheapest things for $5 instead of $10. If I value my labor and creativity at $0, that is. $5 about covers materials, shipping expenses, Etsy's and Paypal's cuts, and the ten percent of every sale I give to charity, and that only if materials come to under a dollar, and I'm not giving a discount to people who buy at craft fairs instead of online. And my labor and creativity are damn well worth something.
So between the table price, the hot dog I bought because it was lunchtime and I was hungry, and the earrings I'd cheerfully have paid $15 for if they weren't tagged $5, today's excursion has put me $12.50 further in the hole. $14.40 once we figure in the charitable donation, which Mom is going to laugh at me for and probably refuse on behalf of our square dance club (she's the club treasurer, so she's the one to whom any donations go, and because it was square dancer earrings that sold, it's the square dance club gets the money). Le sigh.
And apparently Occupy Somewhere got a bunch of paper dumped on them, which pissed the occupiers off, because they were job apps for McDonald's. Because clearly the McDonald'ses of Somewhere have enough job openings for all the occupiers who haven't got jobs. And this is amusing to my mother, for reasons I can't parse. And when I point out that this is in fact highly offensive, because there are six fucking job applicants for every job opening, and also many of those applicants have valuable skills better used not flipping fucking burgers and asking if you want any fucking fries with that, Dad shouts me down, because apparently I'm not allowed to have opinions contrary to Mom's while I owe her money and live in her house. And I can't go through with my original plan of going square dancing tonight and attempting to sell more jewelry while I'm there, because it's going to take everything I've got to finish cooking fucking dinner without letting them see me cry.
Hugs would be gratefully appreciated.
So between the table price, the hot dog I bought because it was lunchtime and I was hungry, and the earrings I'd cheerfully have paid $15 for if they weren't tagged $5, today's excursion has put me $12.50 further in the hole. $14.40 once we figure in the charitable donation, which Mom is going to laugh at me for and probably refuse on behalf of our square dance club (she's the club treasurer, so she's the one to whom any donations go, and because it was square dancer earrings that sold, it's the square dance club gets the money). Le sigh.
And apparently Occupy Somewhere got a bunch of paper dumped on them, which pissed the occupiers off, because they were job apps for McDonald's. Because clearly the McDonald'ses of Somewhere have enough job openings for all the occupiers who haven't got jobs. And this is amusing to my mother, for reasons I can't parse. And when I point out that this is in fact highly offensive, because there are six fucking job applicants for every job opening, and also many of those applicants have valuable skills better used not flipping fucking burgers and asking if you want any fucking fries with that, Dad shouts me down, because apparently I'm not allowed to have opinions contrary to Mom's while I owe her money and live in her house. And I can't go through with my original plan of going square dancing tonight and attempting to sell more jewelry while I'm there, because it's going to take everything I've got to finish cooking fucking dinner without letting them see me cry.
Hugs would be gratefully appreciated.
(no subject)
Nov. 11th, 2011 06:40 pmMe at eight o'clock this morning: I believe I shall spend the day price-tagging all my jewelry for the craft fair.
Nearly eleven hours later: Holy FSM I have a lot of inventory. Still not done.
An hour after that: Am thisclose to declaring myself done, despite the pile of inventory still to price-tag.
Nearly eleven hours later: Holy FSM I have a lot of inventory. Still not done.
An hour after that: Am thisclose to declaring myself done, despite the pile of inventory still to price-tag.
(no subject)
Nov. 10th, 2011 10:01 pmCommitted to a craft fair this weekend, when I have a test and a project that need done this weekend and two more projects that need started this weekend. Committed to paying the $25 for a table at the craft fair, and I had bloody well better sell at least $25 of jewelry, because I do not have $25, especially not $25 to blow on funding a church whateverthefuck (because this craft fair is hosted by a church, and my atheist ass is uninterested in funding whatever the church plans on using the craft fair money to fund) with no benefit to me except that it passes six hours. Also craft fairs are a wide-open invitation for the brainweasels to come eat me, because I have nothing to do for six hours but wait and hope for people to come buy, and who's going to buy from me when there are three other, better, jewelry vendors at the same fair?
But if I'm going to make anything of Sunbow Gems, I need to do craft fairs.
But if I'm going to make anything of Sunbow Gems, I need to do craft fairs.
(no subject)
Nov. 7th, 2011 11:18 pm*side-eyes 7x08 spoilers* I AM HIDING FROM THIS EPISODE UNTIL Y'ALL TELL ME IT'S SAFE TO COME OUT.
Also jewelry of mine is going in an art exhibition! And I wrote an original story! But mostly my concern at the moment is 7x08 spoilers. Shows you where my priorities are, doesn't it?
Also jewelry of mine is going in an art exhibition! And I wrote an original story! But mostly my concern at the moment is 7x08 spoilers. Shows you where my priorities are, doesn't it?
(no subject)
Aug. 16th, 2011 07:55 pmSo I just took many many pictures of much jewelry. I still did not photograph the soaps or candles. Now to figure out why I am not photographing the soaps and candles.
(no subject)
Aug. 15th, 2011 07:53 pmI had a thought today, and I want to know whether, if I were to seriously pursue this thought, I'd be out of my tree or just out on a limb.
Opening a jewelry business. Like, an actual business. Borrowing startup capital, hiring employees, making a metric ton of inventory, storefront in the mall or downtown, the works. A particular storefront near my current place of employment is open, rent $650 a month, and I figure I'd want me and one employee to start at $15 an hour (and do not suggest lowering that number, that's only a little above a living wage) for forty hours a week apiece which comes to $4800 a month so $5450, materials could easily be another five hundred a month, so if I could get a loan for twenty thousand dollars (or hit up kickstarter.com for twenty thousand dollars) I'd have operating expenses for three months plus two thousand more to fix up the storefront with, and if I could pull in six thousand dollars a month I'd come out ahead. But I'd have to be very sure this would work for it to be worth quitting the state job, which I'd have to do to have the time and to avoid having the conflict of interest.
I keep thinking, Syn did it! I am trying not to think about all the experience Syn had working for LJ before she started DW. My experience in retail consists of the back room at Macy's and the production line at Subway. But I'm sure successful entrepreneurs have started with less.
Opening a jewelry business. Like, an actual business. Borrowing startup capital, hiring employees, making a metric ton of inventory, storefront in the mall or downtown, the works. A particular storefront near my current place of employment is open, rent $650 a month, and I figure I'd want me and one employee to start at $15 an hour (and do not suggest lowering that number, that's only a little above a living wage) for forty hours a week apiece which comes to $4800 a month so $5450, materials could easily be another five hundred a month, so if I could get a loan for twenty thousand dollars (or hit up kickstarter.com for twenty thousand dollars) I'd have operating expenses for three months plus two thousand more to fix up the storefront with, and if I could pull in six thousand dollars a month I'd come out ahead. But I'd have to be very sure this would work for it to be worth quitting the state job, which I'd have to do to have the time and to avoid having the conflict of interest.
I keep thinking, Syn did it! I am trying not to think about all the experience Syn had working for LJ before she started DW. My experience in retail consists of the back room at Macy's and the production line at Subway. But I'm sure successful entrepreneurs have started with less.
(no subject)
Aug. 13th, 2011 02:47 pmThing it's just occurred to me to wonder: lobster-claw clasps vs other kinds of clasps. Are there accessibility issues? Like, are there people who can handle bar-and-toggle clasps or S-clasps with ease but not lobster-claw clasps?
(no subject)
Aug. 13th, 2011 10:35 amSo you know how I thought I could do question mark earrings using glass pearls? Ahahahaha no. They're recognizable as question marks, but...
So you know how I thought I could do interrobang earrings using glass pearls? Ahahahaha no. They look like the letter P.
So you know how I thought I could do interrobang earrings using polymer clay? AHAHAHAHA NO. Let's leave the description of my fail at that.
The interrobang earrings using bugle beads worked well enough. Still not good, but well enough. The black-triangle-red-circle earrings came out fine, or will have once I've baked the clay. Ditto the pink triangle earrings. And somebody on Etsy is advertising their ability to make polymer clay earrings that look exactly like the cover of the book of your choice. I feel inferior.
So you know how I thought I could do interrobang earrings using glass pearls? Ahahahaha no. They look like the letter P.
So you know how I thought I could do interrobang earrings using polymer clay? AHAHAHAHA NO. Let's leave the description of my fail at that.
The interrobang earrings using bugle beads worked well enough. Still not good, but well enough. The black-triangle-red-circle earrings came out fine, or will have once I've baked the clay. Ditto the pink triangle earrings. And somebody on Etsy is advertising their ability to make polymer clay earrings that look exactly like the cover of the book of your choice. I feel inferior.
(no subject)
Aug. 10th, 2011 07:43 pmMy notes for the QUILTBAG earrings project are as follows:
queer--leather queer flag glass pearl earrings--done
questioning--
undecided--
intersex--intersex flag glass pearl earrings
lesbian--black triangle and red circle polymer clay earrings
trans--transgender flag glass pearl earrings--done
bisexual--bisexual flag glass pearl earrings--done
asexual--asexual flag glass pearl earrings--done
ally--ally flag glass pearl earrings?
gay--pink triangle polymer clay & silver bear paw charm earrings
genderqueer--genderqueer flag glass pearl earrings--done
I just ordered the bear paw charms, they'll be here in a few days, and getting the polymer clay bits done will be this weekend's project. And the questioning/undecided ones are easy enough. Question marks. The trouble is, how do I visually distinguish between 'questioning' and 'undecided'? Best I've thought of so far is question marks for 'questioning' and figurines with shrugged shoulders for 'undecided', but I have zero confidence in my ability to pull off the latter.
queer--leather queer flag glass pearl earrings--done
questioning--
undecided--
intersex--intersex flag glass pearl earrings
lesbian--black triangle and red circle polymer clay earrings
trans--transgender flag glass pearl earrings--done
bisexual--bisexual flag glass pearl earrings--done
asexual--asexual flag glass pearl earrings--done
ally--ally flag glass pearl earrings?
gay--pink triangle polymer clay & silver bear paw charm earrings
genderqueer--genderqueer flag glass pearl earrings--done
I just ordered the bear paw charms, they'll be here in a few days, and getting the polymer clay bits done will be this weekend's project. And the questioning/undecided ones are easy enough. Question marks. The trouble is, how do I visually distinguish between 'questioning' and 'undecided'? Best I've thought of so far is question marks for 'questioning' and figurines with shrugged shoulders for 'undecided', but I have zero confidence in my ability to pull off the latter.
(no subject)
Aug. 9th, 2011 07:23 pmI lost a jump ring in my KEYBOARD.
On the flip side, I have many new sparklies to play with and an ever-increasing stack of shinies needing photographed, and two of my three pieces for the Broadening the Arts event are ready to go. Because the event's theme is "American Dream", these pieces are political.
One I'm going back and forth on the title, between "Freedom of Religion" and "Lemon Test" and "Coexist"; it's aMary Campbell silver charm bracelet with charms representing twelve different religions. If one can call atheism and secular humanism religions. But I've got an owl and Buddha and a peace sign and a torii and an ankh and an aum and a cross and Kokopelli and the Goddess and a Star of David and an A for atheism and a crescent, which is all the big religions and some of the better-known small ones.
One is definitively entitled "In Celebration of Griswold and Roe". This one's a glass pearl bracelet with seven red and twenty-one white pearls and one of those Precious Feet charms between pearls numbered fourteen and fifteen.
The third... "Do you mean to say that it is not yet finished?" "No sir, I mean to say that it is not yet begun." I'm vacillating. I could do the leather queer flag in glass pearls on a chain. I could do the straight ally flag in glass pearls on a chain. I could finish my array of QUILTBAG-flag-imitating earrings and call the display a single piece. I could...ask for help! I believe I shall ask for help.
On the flip side, I have many new sparklies to play with and an ever-increasing stack of shinies needing photographed, and two of my three pieces for the Broadening the Arts event are ready to go. Because the event's theme is "American Dream", these pieces are political.
One I'm going back and forth on the title, between "Freedom of Religion" and "Lemon Test" and "Coexist"; it's a
One is definitively entitled "In Celebration of Griswold and Roe". This one's a glass pearl bracelet with seven red and twenty-one white pearls and one of those Precious Feet charms between pearls numbered fourteen and fifteen.
The third... "Do you mean to say that it is not yet finished?" "No sir, I mean to say that it is not yet begun." I'm vacillating. I could do the leather queer flag in glass pearls on a chain. I could do the straight ally flag in glass pearls on a chain. I could finish my array of QUILTBAG-flag-imitating earrings and call the display a single piece. I could...ask for help! I believe I shall ask for help.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5
What should Ellie title the charm bracelet?
What should Ellie do for the queer piece?
What should Ellie title the queer piece?
Is the point of the Griswold/Roe piece clear?
Ticky?
(no subject)
Aug. 7th, 2011 08:11 pmDid Pilates. Made soap. Made much jewelry. Put the most recent batch of jewelry on Etsy. Balanced what passes for a checkbook around here (read: GnuCash). PRODUCTIVE DAY I HAS HAD IT. I knew I was still capable of it.
I think I'm keeping the rainbow heart rose earrings and the rainbow necklace with the mandala pendant. TOO SHINY. I'm definitely wearing them to work tomorrow.
I think I'm keeping the rainbow heart rose earrings and the rainbow necklace with the mandala pendant. TOO SHINY. I'm definitely wearing them to work tomorrow.
WHEE I MADE PRETTIES
Aug. 7th, 2011 01:18 pmI finally photographed and Etsyfied the bunch of earrings et al that have been sitting next to my keyboard for weeks. I'm particularly fond of the bracelets (but then I always am) and the love outside the box pendant.
Heart outside box, get it? ...*sigh* Yeah, I know, I'm pathetic.
I also quite like the AVEN earrings.
Black for asexuality, gray for demisexuality and graysexuality, white for sexuality, purple for community.
And because my brain is screwy that way, I took this batch of pictures yesterday, and there's already a half dozen things awaiting photographed. Spiral earrings and Pride flag earrings and bi pride earrings and transgender pride earrings and genderqueer pride earrings. I likes me the Pride theme. Got a dozen and a half things to photograph if we count the soaps and candles I forgot to photograph yesterday.
Don't forget, I'm always up for custom work.
Heart outside box, get it? ...*sigh* Yeah, I know, I'm pathetic.
I also quite like the AVEN earrings.
Black for asexuality, gray for demisexuality and graysexuality, white for sexuality, purple for community.
And because my brain is screwy that way, I took this batch of pictures yesterday, and there's already a half dozen things awaiting photographed. Spiral earrings and Pride flag earrings and bi pride earrings and transgender pride earrings and genderqueer pride earrings. I likes me the Pride theme. Got a dozen and a half things to photograph if we count the soaps and candles I forgot to photograph yesterday.
Don't forget, I'm always up for custom work.
(no subject)
Jun. 5th, 2011 03:55 pmMy first serious attempt at soapmaking...looks like a crappy first attempt. I got one sellable soap out of it, and it's not all that sellable. I made four soaps. Bah. BAH I SAY.
In related news, I am never using cut-open soda cans as soap molds EVER AGAIN. As container candles they've got promise, though, if I can find a way to deal with the sharp edges on top.
Speaking of candles, my thermometer is not here yet, but I am itching to try out my candle-making kit, which would require borrowing Mom's candy thermometer. How bad an idea is this?
In related news, I am never using cut-open soda cans as soap molds EVER AGAIN. As container candles they've got promise, though, if I can find a way to deal with the sharp edges on top.
Speaking of candles, my thermometer is not here yet, but I am itching to try out my candle-making kit, which would require borrowing Mom's candy thermometer. How bad an idea is this?
