Thoughtful Thursday – Crafting Blues

I am not going to lie – the end of last year was rough. Lots of sickness, we lost my dad, my uncle, and our family dog, and an all-around transitional period of life kind of melded together to create a big ball of sadness and stress. So, as we make our way into the new year, we’re trying to focus on the business and just being creative again. It’s hard to be inspired when you feel blue, but sometimes just making something, not related to gift giving, or putting up on Etsy, but just about making something that you like for fun, can sometimes lead to more creativity.

Today, it’s eyeball earrings. I’ve been wondering what to do with these round, white, retro, blank canvas earrings since I got them (a couple of years ago …?) They’ve been sitting in one of my many jewelry supply boxes, and I’d pick them up occasionally, turn them over, then put them back. It dawned on me today that they’d make perfect eyeballs, so I decoupaged some pupil/iris printouts on them today just for fun, and I like the way they turned out so much that I think I’ll keep this pair for myself, and list the rest in JuJu Eyeball!

Reason number 4,231 why working from home is awesome is that you don’t have to put on makeup or style your hair all the time. 🙂

So, today I’m wishing you happiness and creativity – get a little messy, and nourish your soul at the same time!

Share the Love,

Chels

Thoughtful Thursday – Last Minute Ideas To Save the (Holi)Day!

Put on that antler headband, and beat the bah-humbugs with our list of last minute holiday cheer!

Christmas is less than a week away, and yuletide is upon us. If you haven’t made your home festive (or you want to add some extra,) or if you just haven’t been able to come up with gifts for you friends, neighbors, or that relative that’s really hard to shop for, here are some last minute ideas to make your season merry and bright. (Click on the images for more info.)

Easy Decorations:

 

This has to be the prettiest, simplest tree I can imagine. Outline with lights and add paper cutouts of stars (or snowflakes!)

Speaking of snowflakes, here are some beautiful patterns to use!

 

Make an inexpensive outdoor star decoration with yard sticks.

 

Forego the can of fake snow, and break out your glue gun instead!

Free Printables:

Buddy the Elf printable.

 

 

Holiday subway art printable.

“Noel” banner printable.

 

Forget the expensive wrapping supplies. Use magazine or newspaper, plus these cute printable tags.

Quick Gifts:

An adorable gift for the women in your life!

A natural home fragrance that smells like the holidays. A great gift for the neighbors!

 

What tween or teen girl wouldn’t love some pretty lip gloss in their stocking?

 

Whip up a big batch of this manly smelling shaving cream, and divide into small containers for a great gift. Add a straight razor (and print out a good how-to) for a gift the guys will use all year!

Of course, don’t forget our giveaway to enter to win this gift-able handmade necklace:

 

Share the Love,

Chelsea

 

Thoughtful Thursday – We have a new furever friend!

My mom and I had to put her sweet baby dog, Jewel, to sleep a few weeks ago. She was really a member of our little family, and was a wonderful Yorkie. Though she was initially supposed to be mine, I was gone for the first few days after she came home with us, so she bonded with my mom, and became hers. She was sassy, funny, and fiercely protective. She showed her gratitude for being rescued in every way imaginable, and we will miss her so much!

Today, though, we brought home a new dog for Mom! His name (right now) is Sam/Sammy/Samson (he was called Sammy at the shelter,) and he’s a Shiba Inu/Terrier mix. He’s very handsome, well behaved, curious, strong-willed, and so sweet. He seems to be right at home with her, and likes me, too, which is kind of a requirement.

It’s so wonderful to have such awesome animals in our lives. From iguanas to rodents to dogs, my mom, my husband, and I have all experienced lots of joy, better emotional and physical health, and extra love because of it. I hope our little man, Bee, and Sam get along well as playmates. We’ll introduce them soon, after Sam recuperates from his operation. Just in time for Christmas – I can’t wait!

If you’re looking for a pet, please consider adoption as your first choice. Take a look at your city’s shelter website – they’re often updated daily with new dogs and cats. We found Sam at Arlington Animal Services, and there were other dogs we liked as well. So the hard part won’t be finding an animal, it’ll be resisting the urge to take more than one home.

What kind of pets have added joy to your life?

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Pinteresting People – 5 Pinners to Follow

It’s easy to sign onto Pinterest and quickly fall down the rabbit hole of beautiful images, yummy recipes, DIY projects, wedding planning, kid activities, crafts, fashion, funny quotes, and cute animals! Needless to say, there are plenty of interesting (or “Pinteresting”) people to follow, but if you’re looking for some new content, here’s a list of some of our favorite Pinners.

Etsy Fort Worth – Ok, so we may be a teensy bit biased here, but, really, our team pins some awesome stuff. There’s everything from member items for sale to DIY and craft projects to fun themed boards like “Sweet Nostalgia.” Who doesn’t love pictures of The Muppets and Bob Barker? While you’re there, you can follow individual members from our team by looking to see who’s pinned some of the content.

Offbeat Home & Life – Ever heard of Offbeat Bride, the awesomely wacky site for all things nuptially related? If you haven’t checked out their sister site’s pins, do not passgo! Even if you don’t think you’re “offbeat enough,” trust me – you are. You will love Ariel and her team of weirdos, and they will love you back.

Alison Erion – I have no idea who Alison is, but if you love vintage and antique fashion (among other things, like sewing, quilting, and homesteading) she is one lady to follow!

Tiinia Auler – Tiinia has become a good friend of ours, and she happens to be a fabulous makeup artist in the DFW area! She pins some of the most gorgeous makeup and fashion inspiration, and some of the most bizarre and beautiful images. I see something excited and new from her every day.

Stephanie Robot Pop – Stephanie pins some of the most colorful and geekerific things I’ve seen, and I love it! Follow her and add some sunshine and rainbows to your day.

Of course, you can also follow us, if you haven’t already! Our business account, LoveAndEyeballs, is full of Etsy fun and what inspires us, or you can follow me personally here.

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Thoughtful Thursday – Branding: Lots of words and a little math

As a small businessperson, I sometimes feel a little bombarded by advice. Usually, it’s a different version of the same information, or an article about something I already do without really thinking about it, so it can feel redundant. I don’t stop seeking out those “business for dummies” kinds of articles, though, because sometimes you come across one as good as this:

http://diybusinessassociation.com/gobrandyourself/

In fact, I’m finding this site has a lot of well-written, easy and fun to read, legitimate information for entrepreneurs.

So, this particular article discusses the 20/10/4 method, which, simply put, means you come up with 20 words or short phrases to describe yourself, then narrow that list to 10, then, finally, the 4 most important words on that list.

Now, even if you don’t own a business, this is honestly a pretty cool exercise to try out to help you figure out who you are and what you want to present to others. Obviously, we’re all complex people with different aspects of our lives and personalities, so the list may change depending on the context (social environment vs. work environment, for example,) but it’s worth the effort.

I won’t re-hash what’s already been written – I encourage you to visit that link up there – but I will share my 20/10/4 journey with you. As a self-proclaimed eclectic, it hasn’t been easy, but keeping our first shop, Buy Me Love, in mind, that narrows it down some. It starts with these words:

artisan
crafty
persistent
detail oriented
eclectic
geeky
classy
theatrical
thoughtful
optimistic
sweet addict
open minded
wordy
eco-conscious
animal lover
planner
tactile
creature of comfort
introvert
friendly

Then it goes a little something like this:

artisan
crafty
detail oriented
classy
theatrical
thoughtful
sweet addict
open minded
eco-conscious
friendly

In the end, though …:

artisan
classy
theatrical
eco-conscious

So, my personal brand is a theatrical but classy, eco-conscious artisan. I can’t wait to share this exercise with my mom to see what she comes up with, and to use the exercise to brand our newer shop, JuJu Eyeball. I’m sure we’ll come up with all kinds of fun words for that one!

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Are You Going To Scarborough Faire? (Thoughts on Renaissance Steampunkery)

This year, Tom and I are continuing our tradition of a trip to Scarborough Faire, the renaissance festival in our area. Last year, we dressed up as a fairy and a pirate (our first trip to the faire in costume,) and this year we’ve decided to join the costume contest! You may be thinking,  “You’ve seen one renaissance costume, you’ve seen them all,” which is generally accurate, but not always true:

I was delightfully surprised by this lady jester last year!

This year, we were so excited to discover that the faire is having a time travelers costume contest, which can be anything from Dr. Who to driving up in a Delorean a la “Back to the Future.” Of course, if you’re familiar with the territory, this also means steampunk!

Now you may be saying to yourself, “I really don’t get that steampunk thing,” and rightfully so. It’s a broad genre of style. So, let me try to clear things up for you. Here are the best definitions I’ve come across so far.

Steampunk (noun): A sub-genre mixing Victorian and Edwardian styles with science fiction, often based on characters inspired by literary figures such as H.G. Wells.

Steampunk (noun):  A style that gives the illusion of living in a past in which the future came too soon.

Steampunk (noun): When goths discover the color brown.

See also steampunkery (noun,) steampunk-ify (verb,) and steampunker (noun.)

Okay, so that last one is just funny, but it’s true to an extent! Basically,  I’ve found that there are 5 identifiable categories within the steampunk sub-genre.

1) One has a more gothic, dark tone, often inspired by Tim Burton characters with lots of black, red, and black and white stripes, and even some dead or zombie makeup elements. Also incorporates some “carnivale” style.

Vistual example of goth steampunk.

2) Another has more of a fantasy tone (fairies and elves dressed in steampunk garb.)

A visual example of a steampunk fairy.

3) Yet another has more of a sci-fi tone (human time travelers and other sci-fi creatures in steampunk garb.)

A visual example of sci-fi steampunk.

4) Then you have the costume hackers, who “hack” existing characters from other genres (superheros, comic book characters, movie characters, etc.) and steampunk-ify them.

Visual example of a steampunk hacker costume. Iron Man, a natural choice.

5) The last style is simply made of a group of steampunk purists who enjoy creating historically accurate costumes mixed with scientifically functional machinery, and who usually have knowledge and appreciation of the literature that inspires the style.

Steampunk Lincoln says it's hard to find a picture of historically accurate steampunk costumes, but they're out there!

Also, you must know that there are people who do steampunk cos-play (costume play,) and there are people who dress in steampunk style every day. Those who have adopted the style as their own in their daily life sometimes don’t know how to respond to those who call it “costume,” but I say please don’t be offended! Costuming is all about transforming yourself into someone (or something) you’re not. When someone takes the time and effort to make or buy and assemble a costume emulating your style, that means they want to be, well, you. That’s a pretty big compliment. (Even with all the steampunk fails out there.)

Not so much with the steampunk tag. You probably violated the Etsy TOUs trying to get more views for your item, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

So, I hope that breaks things down for you if you’ve been unfamiliar with all things steampunk until now. Steampunk expert? Tell me what you think of my list in the comments below! Did I miss a category?

I’ll be posting pics for next week’s Make It Monday with tutorials on how you can make your own steampunk garb, including pics of the steampunk mini tophat I just finished! I’ve never done steampunk before (or made a mini tophat, for that matter,) so I’m pretty excited. I’ll also share other elements of our costumes just for your viewing pleasure.

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Thoughtful Thursday: A new show, a great Etsy artist feature!

So, I’ve been sick for the past week with a really ugly cold, and I found a relatively new syfy channel show on hulu called “Face Off” to take my mind off of it. The show is right up my alley – a competition (think “Project Runway”) for special effects makeup artists! Now, you have to understand that I’ve wanted to do SFX since I was about 12 or 13 years old – right around the time I also wanted to be a forensic pathologist. So, I’m super excited about the show!

I watched all of the episodes available on hulu (from season 1, episode 5 to the first episode of season 2,) and when I got to the first episode of season 2, I noticed something. One of the contestants standing on the front row was wearing a cute headband that looked awfully familiar. It dawned on me that it might be a design of one of my favorite etsy artists, Janine Basil, so I sent her a message about it. Sure enough, it’s hers! Several people had already contacted her about it, but she can’t watch the episode. The show’s not available in the UK, and neither is hulu. So, Janine, I hope you can view this:

http://www.hulu.com/embed/ata_jfEmJgFvPfhOr-20Vg

You can view Janine’s headband at about 15:55, worn by the contestant standing front and center with long blond hair. Check out Janine’s shop for more amazing designs: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JanineBasil.

Anyway, the show has inspired me to pursue SFX techniques. I contacted a couple of makeup artist friends who also have experience with special effects, and they both gave me some great tips. One of them even offered to teach me! Now that’s a great start to a new year.

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Thoughtful Thursday – Back On Track

I’ve taken some time off from blogging since my aunt’s passing to regroup, delve into some big projects here at the Tri C, and help take care of my mom. There’s lots going on right now with her health, and she’s getting ready to schedule surgery for a torn rotator cuff (due to the multiple falls she’s had since the development of polyneuropathy.)

My aunt’s memorial went well. It was a little awkward, since the only time our family has met her husband’s family was their wedding, but overall it was nice and relaxed. Things have been so busy that I’ve barely had time to let it sink in. I’m thankful for all of the creative outlets I have, including a major makeover here at the Tri C! We spent 3 days painting one of the back rooms to transform into a game room, and it’s almost done. I’ll post pictures when it’s finished (kicking myself for not getting “before” pictures!) Next, we have a lounge, a devotional room, and a library to work on. No shortage of interior decorating practice, that’s for sure.

Etsy817 is on fire right now, since we’re planning a “make and take” booth at the Cowtown Indie Bazaar in Ft. Worth, a float for the Arlington Parade of Lights, and the Handmade Holidays arts and crafts show at UTA, all within the next few months!

Click the button on the right sidebar for more info!

To top it all off, there’s the 2nd Annual Winter Wonderland Festival at church (Park Row Church of Christ,) of which I am the official event coordinator. Due to some scheduling conflicts, we had to move the festival up a few weeks, which puts a crunch on planning. I can’t wait to make it bigger and better than last year!

Click me for more info!

Once I get the game room completed, I’m going to have to carve out time each day to make new items to list and sell at the upcoming shows. I’m welcoming that quiet, creative time with tired but open arms.

Share the Love,

Chelsea

Thoughtful Thursday – Death, Where Is Your Sting?

I’m writing this at 7 minutes ’til midnight, because a) I’ve had a very busy day and b) I’ve been debating whether or not to write this post.

If you’ve ever experienced the death of someone close to you, you may know what I mean when I say you can’t help but be blunt, and because of that, be prepared to console other people when they hear your bad news. It’s completely natural. That is, if you can bring yourself to talk about it.

My aunt is dying. She’s in ICU and being prepared for Palliative Care (a type of in-hospital hospice.) Her body is ravaged from years of abuse, and has finally begun giving up. Her organs are shutting down in a domino effect, she’s unresponsive, and in a partial coma. She’s also about 7 hours away, and I haven’t been able to see her. Mom is too ill to drive (or ride, for that matter) that far. Her other sisters are out of state, and I have been struggling with whether or not to make that drive.

I love my aunt very, very much, but I’m not sure if I can see her like this. I’m also not sure that if I drive to the hospital she’ll still be there to see. The doctors say it’s hour by hour.

You may be wondering why I’m bringing up such a personal and depressing topic. The first reason is because writing or typing my thoughts has always helped me sort things out. The second is because I want people to know that life doesn’t have to end this way. If you’re struggling with any type of health problem, especially addiction, please let someone help you. It’s your choice, and that’s the only thing we have control of.

The third reason I’m bringing this up is that death isn’t the most terrible thing that can happen to us. We find comfort in the fact that there’s a welcome party waiting for her when it’s time for her to let go, leave the suffering behind, and find peace and joy in heaven in the arms of a loving God.

It’s 10 minutes after midnight now, and technically not Thursday anymore. I’m going to go to bed and wake up in the morning, reminded of the fragility of this life, and how it begs to be cherished with every breath I’m given.

Chelsea

Thoughtful Thursday – Continuing Education

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about going back to school. Living on the campus of a University will do that to a nerdy girl, I guess.

I’d love to go back and get my bachelor’s in whatever at some point, but right now I’d just like to go to the community college and take some continuing education courses in art. Specifically drawing, painting, and maybe something fashion related if it’s available.

We don’t have much money right now, but the courses are relatively inexpensive and I could take them one at a time. Taking the classes individually would probably allow me to learn more by immersing myself in one class, anyway.

It’s a little intimidating, though, going back to school at a later age. I know that there are plenty of people in colleges who are older than I am, but I also know that, especially at a community college, I’ll be surrounded by people fresh out of high school. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, because it’s fun to get ideas for trends, etc., I just wonder what it will be like to be the “older” person in the classroom. 26 is old to a bunch of 18 year olds!

Maybe they’ll like my awesome new haircut. 🙂

Yay short hair!

Anyway, if anyone else has done this – gone back to school to further their artsy education, let me know! Words of encouragement, advice, reason – they’re all welcome.

Share the Love,

Chelsea