However my fingers get way too itchy to be idle for too long.
I've brought my shop to a new location: bigcartel.com I found that I was tired of etsy nickle and diming me to death. They charge you to post something for a limited time, then they charge you when you sell something, then they charge you to repost the same thing. I was also tired of swimming in a sea of commercial companies vying their wears as home and hand made when they clearly were not. Unless you spend 8+ hours a day on etsy promoting your etsy shop you get lost in the sea and no one ever sees you. So thanks to a friend who pointed me in the direction of Big Cartel I have moved my shop there. For a single monthly fee I can have my shop in peace and can concentrate more on my art then on trying to swim to the surface of etsy.
My next challenge is getting my new url - raincrowcreations.com - to work correctly. I'm still not sure whats going on but hopefully soon I can either get someone to figure it out for me, or figure it out myself. So in the meantime my shop home is:
So in the meantime I've really started to bump up the activity on my facebook page. Continually posting new items and coupon codes for discounts (be sure to go "like" my page to keep informed about discounts and such.
Sooooo one of the things that is new since I last posted anything is that I've been starting to get into Metal Clay. I've had an interest in this for quite some time but wasn't really sure how to get started or where even to purchase the product. By chance a coworker mentioned a class by Delia Marshellos-Traister down near Long Beach, CA and instantly I jumped on the opportunity signing up that same day. It was a simple 2 hour introductory class but it was enough to stir my creative juices and convince me that this is something I clearly want to pursue.
This was the pendent I created from the class and I'm totally keeping it for myself! It is Fine Silver with a lab grown purple sapphire.
The clay is a little different to get used to as it dries pretty quickly. We also happened to be in a very windy area because the place was hot and they were trying to keep the air circulating to keep it cool... so I'm hoping in my own home it wont dry so fast.
It's been a few days over two weeks since I took the class and I was hoping to get started right away however that hasn't happened yet as I've been acquiring the different equipment I need to get me started. Last night I was able to get the remaining key supplies to get me started at home. So I'm hoping that while watching "The Thing" tonight with my boyfriend I can get another pendant made.
This second pendant will not be on sale either, as it is a thank you gift for the aunt of a friend. However once it is fired I will be sure to post pictures. I do have a simple sketch of the design I hope to make.
It's a grape vine in a vinyard. This last weekend my boyfriend and I were invited up to our friend's aunt & uncle's winery. They were so very warm and inviting! They made us lunch, showed us around their beautiful place, and we even got to go label some wine bottles for them. And we left with a whole case of wine! WOW! That was completely unexpected and very sweet of them, considering all of the proceeds of their winery go to a non-for-profit charity. So needless to say I felt it was fitting to make her a Fine Silver pendant.
We'll see if it actually turns out anything like my sketch! Hey - got to start somewhere right!
Ok, that's all for now. I'm off to lunch!
