Not Much

I spent all day working on orders and then didn't take a single picture. Thus today's post is extra boring. I still have one more piece to finish for the orders I've gotten, but it has been a rather unsuccessful sale so far and once that's finished I'll be back to the Armenian lace doily. The home schooling year is less than two weeks away now as well, so I need to start focusing on that and getting the kids back in the schooling groove. And well, I guess that's it for me this morning.

Oh, and just the usual reminder that the sale and giveaway are on until Friday. The sale code is HAPPYBIRTHDAY30 for 30% off in my etsy shop and the giveaway is located here.

Well, That's Over

Thank you guys so much for all the birthday wishes. I really do appreciate them! I had a nice, if low
key, day. We tried to shop and found nothing to buy. We went out for frozen yogurt, watched a movie, and had some family over for pizza because I just couldn't be bothered to clean the house enough to do anything more elaborate.

I did have some sitting time so I worked on this Armenian lace piece. Since it's going to be a gift, I'm taking these slightly ridiculous colorized pictures to share my work without giving away the color and fine details.

I did get a couple of orders yesterday for my birthday sale, so today it's down to getting those made up. I've got a pair of barefoot sandals that need making and a pair of earrings that just need to be remade. I decided I earned taking yesterday off, so I saved them for today.

The sale is still up until Friday. Use the code HAPPYBIRTHDAY30 for 30% off anything in my shop. Also, you can still enter to win the fusion lace pendant by leaving a comment on yesterday's post.

Happy Birthday To Me

Okay, so I wasn't sure until this very moment that I was going to go ahead and celebrate my birthday in a public manner. You see it's one of those 'big' birthdays. You know, the ones with a zero at the end that card companies have a whole section devoted to. I know it's not really a big deal, but it's made maybe not worse, but more prominent, by the fact that I am the oldest child in my family and they are all making a big deal out of it. So if I'm going to suffer the slings and arrows of the birthday anyway, might as well be in on it too, right?

So while I'll gladly accept gifts(address provide upon request, or amazon/etsy gift cards to totusmel[at]gmail.com), I'll just default to my traditional birthday celebration of an etsy sale. Get 30% off this year, partly because that's how old I wish I was, with the code HAPPYBIRTHDAY30. The sale will run through Friday to give everyone enough time to see this and take advantage of it if they choose.

As a bonus I thought I'd do a really small giveaway as well. Just leave a comment here on this post to win a fusion lace pendant in your choice of colors. I'll choose the winner of this on Friday as well. I guess it's off to face the day now, goodbye 30's, I'll miss you.

A Winner

It was another long day of schooling and not much else, except walking and reading. There was a lot of that as well. I'm crossing my fingers for a weekend surprise or bout of inspiration to get me back to my needle and thread.

In the meantime I did visit random.org this morning to chose a winner for my 1,000,000 page views giveaway and the winner is...Deana MacKenzie! Just message me on etsy to receive your credit code and instructions. 

Thanks again to everyone who commented and to all those silent readers out there as well. I'm glad that you can occasionally find something interesting in my ramblings. I hope to get back to a creative place soon, so I can stop being so bloody boring and give you something new to look at.

Habit

Well, nothing new and interesting, again. We're at that deadline point in the kids' school year. There are papers due and the oldest child is very skilled at procrastination. This means I get to sit with her and pester...er, I mean encourage her to keep writing until the papers are all done. The hardest part for me is to just not write them myself, because I actually enjoy writing, but I know better and I just sit there poking at her with questions until she finally gets moving. All that extra time schooling means much less time for me to worry about tatting, or knotting anything.

I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning to pick a winner for my 1,000,000 page view giveaway, so if you missed that post yesterday, head there and add a comment to enter. I'll do two winners if many more people comment. So far, it's too few to justify more than one. Thank you to everyone who has commented with congratulations so far. Truly, this is just a bad habit I got into and can't stop. I fear I will be writing here long after anyone stills cares, purely out of habit.

1,000,000

Well, my computer is behaving again thanks to the husband, unfortunately I have little to share againthis morning. I've been extremely focused on the year end nonsense for the kids schooling and the shop has done little to grab my attention away from that.

I do have one bit of blogging news to share. I just noticed this morning that I just reached 1,000,000 page views! That's just crazy, right? Of course that did take like 8 years.  I feel like I should do something to mark the occasion, but haven't a clue what. Okay, how about a quick giveaway. Just leave a comment on this blog post and I'll pick a winner or two on Friday to receive a $10 credit in my etsy shop. I know it's not much, but I'm making this up as I type.

So, thanks for popping by my blog for the last 8 years. Hopefully I'll get it together soon and have something new and interesting to show you.

Hello 2016

Nothing really changes on New Year's Day, but it's as good a time as any to get optimistic about the future. I don't have anything more specific to add to the sentiment, but it seemed like a good way to start today's post. The last day of the year was filled with movie watching as the family sat about and simply spent time with each other around some old movies. We were in bed far before midnight which is why I can be up at this ridiculous hour writing about who won my pattern giveaway.

The winner of their choice of any three of my sale patterns is louine. I just need you to message me either through my email on my profile page or on etsy to pick the 3 you want. Thank you to all of you who entered. Unfortunately there were so few entries that I decided to go ahead and just stick with one winner this go around. I'm hoping for a better turnout in April when my etsy shop turns a decade old and I'm sure to do something celebratory for that.

For today I'm going to keep plugging along with my knitting and my still slightly foggy sick brain, hoping that this year things will start to pick up again. I'm hoping for amazingly creative ideas to strike. I'm hoping for unexpected attention and press with more opportunities to share tatting and other handmade laces with the world. I'm hoping for financial growth and few to no large expenditures. I hope I can say that the shop is doing great and is busy much of the year instead of the opposite. Most of all though, I hope my family and friends are all healthy and happy and safe through the year. I guess I did have something more specific to add after all. Here's to it then.

Year End Giveaway

I feel almost human this morning. I mean I'm definitely not at 100% or anything yet, but I also no longer feel like a walking virus, so I'm calling it a win. I didn't get round to much knitting yesterday as I decided to just focus on making the pair of barefoot sandals for the shop. Since I was focusing I actually finished the pair as well. It felt really good to be breathing a bit better and tatting all day again. My brain was still a bit foggy though, so I think it will still be a while before my creativity gets back to form though.

I am going ahead with a small end of the year giveaway both here and on my Facebook page. Just leave a comment on this blog post to enter to win this one, a collection of 3 of my tatting patterns currently listed for sale in my etsy shop. I'll email the winner(s) their choice of any 3 PDF's of my patterns. I haven't quite decided how many winners there will be yet though, at least one, but if there are many entries, I'll likely add additional winners based on the number. I'll pick winners early on Friday morning so please pop back to see if you've won. There will be a different giveaway on my Facebook page(later this morning), so feel free to enter both if you'd like, but you'll have to enter that one there.

Happy, Merry

I completely forgot to write yesterday morning as I got occupied with other holiday related matters. Mostly I was getting things ready for this morning, but I'm back today. So Happy Friday, or Merry Christmas, whichever you're most happy to have today. I have a house already full of sleeping relatives and come afternoon, there will be many more. In fact I think this year we might be stretching capacity at our house, but there's nothing for it.

There will definitely be cleaning, cooking, eating, and more cleaning and it will be loud. I'm all but certain that I will have no time for creativity today, but hopefully I'll find something interesting enough to share for Monday. I do plan on having a small giveaway here and on my Facebook page to close out the year next week. Not sure what going to be given, but something. Opinions on what you'd like to see would be appreciated. In meantime have a lovely weekend and thank you for everything.

Current & Final Etsy Shop Sale: 10% off with the code HOLIDAY10. Code is good through Dec. 27

3000+ Giveaway

Yesterday afternoon I passed the 3000 sales mark in my etsy shop. Unfortunately the sale that put me over was for two items and so I never got the pretty round number to photograph, but I'm not complaining at all. I said that I'd do a giveaway when I got here and so I am, two of them actually.

You may enter the one here as well as the one I'm posting on my Facebook fan page, or you can enter one or the other, or I suppose neither. The point is there are two places to play. What can you win? One of my tatted pieces of course.

Leave a comment here on the blog to enter to win one of two pieces, the Dark Doily Necklace or a pair of Vine barefoot sandals in yellow with turquoise beads. You are free to tell which you'd prefer should you win. Winners will be chosen by random number on Friday morning. Your comment must also include a way to a way to contact you should you win, email, etsy link, etc, or I just move on to the next random number.

Thank you to everyone who has ever made a purchase in my shop, whether it was some of my tatted work or a pattern. I really so appreciate the support!

We Have Winners

I can't believe it's already Monday and I know that this week is going to fly by as well. Why? Because it's vacation week for the husband which means I will oscillate between trying to get too many things done and trying to "relax" and doing neither as well as I like. You don't care much about that though do you? I have giveaway winners to announce this morning.

The random number generator has chosen a few names for us though there were a couple who might have won had their entries or profiles contained an easy way to contact them. I'm just saying you've got to make sure one can find your info if you want free stuff. The three winners are Fox, Jillian Rueter, and Simeon Huff. I'll be contacting everyone for their mailing addresses in just a few minutes and three pieces will be heading to new homes. I think I might be donating the ones that didn't make it into the giveaway. To whom, I don't know yet, but I'm certain to find someone who can use it for charity fundraising.

Aside from the giveaway I did get some work done on the new slave bracelet and ankle corset/barefoot sandal. This is the bracelet version I think I'm going to go with. I need to do it over again with a longer ring loop though as it's tight even on my tiny hands. Of course this has a completely different look than the first version, but that one is how the foot version will look...basically. I did do all the complicated mapping to make the pieces in one pass this time. I even worked out how to crochet the finger loop within the tatting. It's a little odd to crochet with the tatting needle still in play, but it makes for a nice sturdy piece all with one continuous thread,

I don't have any pictures of the foot piece, but I've got one made up. It's got the addition of metal chains on the sides. That will make more sense when you see them. Today I've got a mask to finish remaking for the shop and then I'll use any spare time I'm afforded this week to get these pieces up to selling quality and then hopefully get them listed. I have have changed my mind about the week. It might be a long one.

One Of A Kind Giveaway

Well I did nothing interesting yesterday, at least tatting wise. The family time was lovely though. Swimming, food, fireworks, cursing at the no fewer than three huge groups of college kids in the neighborhood surrounding us in a cocoon of bad decisions and fire. I said there might be a giveaway today and there shall be one.

I have an increasing number of one of a kind pieces that I have been letting expire from my etsy shop, so the deal is this: The more people who enter the more pieces I give away. After the first 25 people(not entries) I add a new prize, after the next 25 a new prize and that will keep going until Monday morning when I pull the winners with a maximum of six prizes.

What are the prizes? Let's see...I think we'll start with the earrings:










 After that it will be this necklace:

Edited to add: The third prize, this bracelet has been unlocked!

I will edit this post to add pictures of the other pieces which include a bracelet and a few more necklaces as they are unlocked.

Oh, right, how to enter. Just leave a comment here for one entry. You can get additional entries by following me on twitter, liking my facebook page and if you already do those things you can get an additional entry for posting about the giveaway either place. Please leave all your entries in one comment so they're easier for me to count and make certain I can contact you. If there is no easily found email on your blogger account, leave a twitter handle, etsy name or email in your comment. If you don't, you can't win. Remember the prize count is contingent on the number of people who enter, not the number of entries. The giveaway is open to everyone and the winners will be posted in Monday mornings blog post so you have the weekend to enter.

Also anyone who enters and then makes a purchase from my etsy shop during the giveaway time period will be treated to a free gift with their order. Just mention the giveaway at checkout.

Good luck and get lots of people over here to enter!

Want A Bracelet?

Lately I've been a little out of sorts and I'm not at all sure why that is. Things are generally fine around here. Sales are slow, but not frighteningly so and I'm getting things done both new and old. Could it be that I see the end of the child's school year just ahead and Spring fever is manifesting itself as malaise? Or could it be as simple as allergies and the headaches they bring putting me in this mood? I really have no idea, but I certainly hope it sorts itself sooner rather than later because I don't like it...not one little bit.

So to raise my spirits a bit, I thought I'd have a little giveaway. In order to do my latest Instructable, I had to make another bracelet so I could photograph it at the different stages of construction. The result is that I have an extra Immortal Corsage bracelet lying about. Want it? Well, if you do just leave a comment at the end of this blog post with an opinion. I'd prefer the opinion relate to me or my work, the easiest would be to tell me your favorite piece that I've made, then I would know that you've actually been paying attention, or you could tell me what you'd like to see me try and make, but I digress. Leave said opinion in the comments and I will use a random number generator to pick the winner on Friday morning.

Sure, I have a few more things I could talk about, but I'll leave it here with the giveaway. Don't forget, it you actually want to win, I must have a way to contact you other than a public announcement. Acceptable means are an email address noted on your blogger profile, a twitter handle, an etsy account or just note your email in your comment, otherwise I'll just pull another name. Thanks in advance for playing and hopefully pulling me out of this hole.

1000th Post Giveaway

Happy One Thousand all! Before I get to the giveaway details I just wanted to take a short stroll down memory lane. I started the blog way back in 2008 because...well, because the folks in the etsy forums told me to. The implication was that doing so would help send traffic to my shop and I complied. I also spent a lot of time plugging my blog posts and generally pestering people to pay attention to me. It worked for a time, but man was it bothersome and exhausting. There was a point where I thought I should just let it go and move on, but then something weird happened, other tatters found me. Then it became less about self promotion and more about connecting and self expression. Here is the place I lay my thoughts, complain, celebrate and create. You're sure not shutting me up now.

Now for the giveaway part. I though long and hard about what to offer and decided to offer you your very own one of a kind Trailing Scrolls necklace like one of those pictured above, but made just for you. So how do you get in on this action? I need you to leave a comment here on this post sometime before Monday morning. That comment needs to tell me what shade you would want your necklace in should you win and you must make sure I have a way to contact you, email, twitter or etsy account. If I have to search for you, I'll just pick someone else.

The winner or maybe winners if I get an overwhelming response, will get to choose a thread color from those I have on hand, they're all listed on my policy page at etsy. They will get to decide whether they want the necklace plain, like the black one above or embellished like the others and I will choose from my on hand stash of bits to make a one of a kind piece. Once the piece is done, it will be displayed here for all to see before being shipped to the winner. Sound good? Well then, get your comment in quickly. The winner or winners will be chosen by random number drawing just before I post Monday morning, which given my usual posting time probably means you really only have until late Sunday night.

Thanks for 1000 posts and here's to many thousand more...what, does that scare you?

More Scrolls

So the new choker got listed yesterday right after schooling which did go much smoother on day two. I suppose it just takes her a bit to get back into the swing of things. The choker was not nearly as well received as the necklaces that preceded it. Add that to the complete lack of sales lately and I was pretty bummed after that. Though honestly I'm not 100% in love with some of my choices on the pieces either. It will probably end up being a one off with the next version slightly different particularly at the top edge.

Once I finished sulking I had other ideas though and I got to work on a bracelet idea for the design. It too took a little extra work to make happen. I mostly used the choker as a base, but the center scrolling had to be longer and I added the same motif I used on the sides of the choker to the center top. I wasn't sure until the very end whether it was going to be a slave bracelet or not, but if definitely looks better like that. The sun was already nearly gone by the time I finished this one, so it's still waiting for it's shop debut.

As one piece seems to inspire another, so did the slave bracelet get tried on my foot to see if it could become a barefoot sandal. Guess what? It can. Again there were some adjustments to be made to the design, but honestly the fewest between pieces. The main body was already large enough and I mostly had to shorten the bracelets length and add the crochet chain ties. I only got one done yesterday and it was really late by this point. Mind you my really late is much earlier than yours likely is, but still it was the last thing I did for the day. All the new stuff still needs to be pressed and worn around a bit to make sure it's all battle ready, but I should be able to finish the other sandal and get both those and the bracelet listed today.

Last bit for today is an announcement and a question. Friday will be my 1000th blog post here and after some goading yesterday my blog follower numbers just hit 500. Yes, I know that means I have babbled quite a lot in the last few years. The point is I'd like to do something to mark the occasion and a giveaway usually does the trick. So now for the question: What would you like to win? Be honest now, what would make you take the time to leave a comment to enter? I will seriously consider all suggestions and the giveaway will go up on Friday with a winner pulled on Monday.

And The Winners Are...

Well, I mentioned the giveaway a few times over the weekend to give everyone a chance to enter, so if you didn't, at this point it's your own fault. So without further stalling the winners are:

For the One of a Kind necklace, the winner is

ANN MARTIN

and the winner of the Ankle Corsets is

INGOTHWETRUSS

The winners have until Wednesday to contact me with their mailing info or I draw new winners. I seem to have had a run of winners who really didn't want their prizes when I've done facebook page giveaways. I announce and I remind and still they don't contact me and then I honestly forget all about it. I can be contacted through etsy, DM'd though twitter or emailed at TotusMel at gmail.com.

I really want to thank everyone for stopping by and entering. Every time I do one of these I am surprised by the number new names I see. I just wish all these folks would comment more often so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself all the time.

Moving on, I did finish the set of kitty ears over the weekend though it seems sourcing the fabric covered headbands that would work best is going to be difficult and I'd hate to buy too many of them and then have the idea go over like a lead balloon. I suppose I'll just get this pair listed later today and see how it's received before I look to the future. I can feel the upswing of the fall shopping season starting already so there may not be many new pieces between now and Christmas as I focus my energy into keeping the shop stocked up. I'm made a short list of pieces I want to make multiples of so I'm going to try to focus on that and hope I didn't guess wrong on what might sell this upcoming holiday season. Of course I am easily distracted so I might head off in other directions despite these plans I've laid. In the meantime I'll try to keep finding interesting things to write about so I don't bore you all. I think that's it for me this morning, see you all next rotation.

Kitty Ears

As of this writing, we just need one more person to enter the giveaway and I'll throw another super secret prize into the mix. I'm gonna go ahead and assume that happens and let you know what that prize is... it's a pair of my In Bloom Ankle Corsets. So if you still haven't entered by commenting on the giveaway post, you might want to get on it. This is the last time I mention it and I will pick winners Monday morning before I post and you know I post at an ungodly hour.

I was off most of the day with the kids at a field trip to the park. There was much play and merriment and I was pretty exhausted when we got back. I did however have an interesting idea. You see the whole tatted mustache thing got me thinking about about other costume bits I could tat up. I thought why not kitty ears on a headband? Well it turns out as easy as working up a tatted triangle is, making it attach standing up on a headband makes this a bit of a challenging project.

What I have here was the first prototype and though I wasn't happy with the stitch count, I had figured out the attachment method. I added along the bottom edge a set of mirrored chains that created a stand for the ear. An unexpected bonus was a slight curve in the design that means I won't even need to stiffen the lace. I really don't ever like stiffening my work, so that was a really great development. I still need to pick up some black headbands so I can sew a set of ears on, so these may not appear in the shop for a little while. I also need to make sure I can ship them in my existing envelopes...they should fit, but it's not something I've done before and I'm too lazy to get up and get measurements right now.

Other than the cat ears, I don't have any real tatting plans this weekend unless I get orders to take care of. I know I really should get some masks listed as custom made up just in case I start to get Halloween traffic. Honestly though, I don't get as much as you think...I'm pretty sure it's because there are a plethora of much cheaper masks to buy, but I digress. I have also included a picture of one white kitten in the basket that the cats have all appropriated with the help of the children and I'm off and you all enjoy the weekend.

Happy Kitty Birthday Giveaway

As you may be aware last November we welcomed two and then two more kittens into our house bringing our total cat population to seven. Yes, it has been ridiculous around here since then. As they were born at my in-laws house to a captured feral cat, we know today is their first birthday. This is what the first two looked like then...all sweetness and light. They have brought love, chaos and two tons of white fur into our lives. The chaos and white fur, I could really do without, but they'd probably be less cuddly bald.



But I digress, to celebrate this rare quadruple birthday I'm doing a quick giveaway for this one of a kind necklace that was created not too long after they arrived. All you need to do to put your hat into the ring is to leave a comment on this post. I'll pick a winner on Monday by random number generator to give everyone more time to enter to win. If I get more than 50 entries I'll add a second more awesome secret prize.

I'll just leave you this morning with a picture of three of the four much larger kittens now since I couldn't get them to pose all together and I wish you much luck in the random drawing.

EDIT: The second prize has been added to the mix, one pair of In Bloom Ankle Corsets will go to a second winner!

Happy 5th Etsyversary To Me!

That's right, five years ago today I signed up on etsy. I had no idea how this single event would shape the years following it. That act is responsible for my growth as a tatter, a designer and my current persistent Internet existence. I know many people have strong opinions about the site particularly as of late, but I've got nothing but love. You might also know that I just passed my third year blogging here as well as the second birthday of the Wunderkammer.

So, I hemmed and hawed about what to do in celebration of this anniversary since I barely acknowledged the others. Even as I write this I'm still making up my mind. You may feel free to send gifts of course, but these sort of milestones are generally celebrated with gifts to you, the friends and fans. I do wish I had spent more time working this up...let's see, how about a small one day discount? Sure, I can do that. All day April 19th, you can use the code '(code expired)' to receive a 20% discount. That doesn't seem like quite enough does it?

How about a giveaway then? I don't have the time or energy to maintain a big one so I'll give away just one of my newest necklace designs. You can enter to win the black or sepia version of the Studded Flower necklace.

How? Well, for one entry just leave a comment with the color you'd like to win. For another entry, 'like' my facebook fan page. For one more, follow me on twitter & tweet the giveaway and last one 'heart' my shop on etsy and tell me what your favorite piece is. Just to keep things simple, you can leave one comment with all the entries you've done & a way to contact you should you win.

I'll pick a winner sometime on Friday by random number generator to give you time to get entries in. I'll post the giveaway and one day sale on facebook and twitter, but I have no plans to spend the day promoting it since I'll be doing my civic duty this afternoon.

Thanks so much everyone for all the support over the years, here's to at least another five!

1000 Strong

I tracked that package all day to reassure myself that it would make it safely to New York and it apparently did. I of course haven't heard anything regarding it yet, but most people don't stop whatever they're doing and say they 'got it'. So now I wait.

While I am waiting though I have plenty of work to get on with. I have stocking in anticipation of event reaction and I got a most interesting commission request. How interesting, you ask? Well, very. Again, you know me and spilling details, but I'll give you some broad strokes. I received a message from a Seattle based sculptor. She approached me about using some of my lace for a very interesting concept piece. I am terribly exciting to have any part is her art and am awaiting further dimension details before I jump into work. I shall share more details on this project as it evolves providing that this one doesn't fall apart either. First fashion, now the art world...I don't know how they're finding me, but this year seems to be starting off with a bang.

In other news, look, I bought a white shirt just for listing photos and they look so much better with the white jewelry. I'm still desperately searching for the perfect off white shoes to do pictures of white and Ivory ankle corsets, but apparently I have expensive shoe taste and since I know I will only wear them for this purpose, I need them to not only have the right silhouette for the corsets, but be under like $40. I also couldn't find any in store and I am weary of the colors online being what they appear. Usually it's easy to online shop shoes, because I only ever buy black ones and those are always true to color.

Also, I just broke 1000 fans/likes on my facebook page so I started a giveaway over there. It won't close until Wednesday evening, so you have plenty of time to get in on it, if you like. Rather than offer up a particular piece, I'm offering a gift certificate/credit to the shop for $50. There will be more credits adding to the pool if I get more people to enter. You can find the direct giveaway thread here. I know a lot of you aren't facebook people, but don't worry if you don't want to play over there, my 5th anniversary on etsy is coming up in a couple of months and I will do something interesting for that, provided that I'm not ridiculously swamped. No, I'll do something either way, 5 years deserves acknowledgment whether I'm bored or busy.