Wasting Time

I'm afraid I don't have much for you this morning. This past weekend was a particularly lazy one. Sure there was the customary lighting of things on fire Friday night, but after that there was a whole lot of sitting lazily about, avoiding the heat and not spending money. That's one of our newest pastimes, not spending money. We're not as good at it as we need to be, but we're trying it out.

In fact on Saturday not only did we catch up on dvr recorded shows, but I also read a novel. A whole novel. That was even between the TV watching and some video game playing. Sunday we managed a little errand running, a walk,  and then we gave the day to a game of Monopoly with the kids. We didn't even play the game all the way to the end, just to when the husband was bankrupted and it still sucked much of the day away.

So what about this week? Well, I did sell two very small pieces yesterday, so I'll remake those this morning. Then the house could really use a cleaning. The heat has definitely made me even more listless than usual so I've been avoiding it. I'm still crossing my fingers for some sort of project, inspiration or good news to head my way. Until then it seems it's video games, reading, cleaning, and wasting time.

4th

I suppose I should start off this morning with a Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans and a super happy Friday to everyone else. Fun fact my children won't let me forget that I taught them, the Declaration of Independence was actually ratified 2 days earlier on the 2nd, but not formally announce until the 4th, so technically we've been celebrating that announcement for over two hundred years instead of the actual date of the declaration.

That's enough of that though. I didn't get much of anything done yesterday except for getting the order I was working on in the mail. I basically sat about most of the day hoping for either a sale or inspiration and when neither came, I played Mario Kart. I don't have high hopes for today either. It's a holiday so the husband is off work and that means there will likely be more adventuring and less sit around and tat time. Maybe I'll get up to something over the weekend so I have something to share on Monday. Yeah, let's just hope for that then. In the meantime have a great weekend.

All Listed

Yesterday didn't feel quite as productive as the previous day, but I did accomplish all I had set out to do in the morning. All the new pieces are now in the shop, the necklace, the single bracelet, and the bridal pair. I had a couple of folks over on Facebook that seem to express an interest in them, but no matter how many times I posted there that they were available in the shop, it seems they didn't notice or Facebook chose not to show them the posts. Either that or they did and they found them priced too high or something. I guess I was just really hoping that something from this collection would sell quickly.

After those were all listed I went on to work on the order I had in queue. All the pieces are small ones, but I had a devil of a time finding my prototype for one of them and there was some thread hiding from me as well. I swear I was looking for things for a good hour before I finally located everything. It's time like that that I wish I was better organized or that I actually did write down all my patterns. Of course I won't change anything, that's just silly talk.

All I have left to do today is the finishing work on the order and then I'll have it out in the post to its new owner. After that I'll have to either hold my breath for an order to work on or think of something new to make myself. I might try turning the recent design into barefoot sandals, but that's about all I've got left in this one. Who know, maybe I will get a good sale today and I won't have to worry about it. What? It could happen.

The Slave Bracelet Becomes

I was fairly determined to do a few things yesterday. I wanted to make sure we got back into a nice routine that included yoga in the morning. I wanted to avoid the blistering heat that is upon us here by staying inside all day and I wanted to finally figure out the slave bracelet pattern. I know my bar is set pretty low, but I managed all three and I have to say, that feels pretty good.

I found a small adjustment to the pattern that allows for greater customization in sizing and got one slave bracelet made up in my standard black. Usually I'm not completely enamored with my own work, but I really loved the way this turned out. It has sort of a mitt appearance and from a distance it looks a bit like Venice lace. While I'm not overly found of machine made lace, personal bias I suppose, I do like the look of some of it. Anyway, I immediately thought it would be nice in a pair as bridal jewelry.

I buckled down and worked non-stop the rest of the afternoon. In a shocking display of productivity I got a pair done in time to share it, but not get any of these things listed in the shop. I also did not get the new necklace listed either though further feedback from several sources confirmed that the crystal is staying.

Right before bed I received an order with several small pieces in custom colors that will need to be made, so the day was a high note all the way through. Today I'll try to get all these new pieces listed, as well as get that order made up. I do so adore starting the day with projects and purpose. Here's to another productive one ahead.

New Necklace

I had a surprisingly productive day given that for the first half of it I was babysitting two of my nieces. It's not that they're bad, but when my kids are added to any number of cousins the volume and chaos seem to multiply by a power of at least 10. I worked on laundry and cleaning early and then had the time to get those earrings listed. After that I went back to the larger motif and the necklace that was trying to become real.

It took me quite some time to settle on a way to finish the sides. Honestly I'm not even sure how I landed on split rings. They are not my favorite technique, but it somehow looked right for the piece. Once I had that worked out I stalled for a bit and wasted some time on Code Academy. I've been using the site for a few weeks now I guess, to learn coding for no real reason other than it's there, it's free and it's been pretty easy to use. It is now my go-to stalling activity. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get competent at it eventually.

When I had stalled long enough, it was back to the necklace. It was suggested that it needed something hanging from the center and I thought I'd try it out, so I dug through my supplies and came up with this. The majority of people who saw it seem to like it, but it was suggested that a drop shape would be better suited. While that might be true, here's the problem, I don't have any suitable drops on hand and my sales have been so slow that I cannot buy new supplies at all. I am basically at the point where I can only use what I already have. It's frustrating, but them's the breaks.

I'm not sure if I'm going to list the necklace today or wait for more opinions on it. Of course at this point it's either with or without the crystal, so I might just go ahead as is and hope someone loves it enough to buy it. The next piece on my list is the slave bracelet idea. I'm having some issues working out the best way to close it. The most obvious method fits me perfectly, but I have tiny wrists, so I might have to make some adjustments so it can have a more average fit. Of course I could just get frustrated and go with it being only available in a small size. Only time will tell.At least I have a project for the day.