Our Bloody Alma Mater

Remember that thing I said a bit ago (like a month ago) about clinging to the romance of my insanely punishing class schedule?  Remember how I said I hoped it wouldn't wear off?

One of the, ah, things about UCR, and symptomatic of the reasons I cannot in good conscience recommend it to any undergraduate, is that there is not nearly enough parking.  For a largely commuter school with terrible overcrowded dorms, you would think they would provide enough parking space handy to campus.

Instead, the parking is Disneyland-distance from nowhere, and there are about a hundred and fifty too few spaces for as many commuters as are on campus at midday on any given weekday.

I thought they had fixed some of the problem this year.  They've certainly painted in more spots, and I've had no trouble thus far.

Some days ago, however, I discovered that reason it seemed fixed was entirely due to my class schedule.

(Name) (Type) (preposition) (Material)

I dislike the look of the SEO-optimized item titles that are just keyword spots, and I always insist on naming my pieces, even though you're not really supposed to according to the businessy articles I read.

Naming my necklaces and earrings and such is one of my favorite parts, just as the best part of writing a story is naming the characters (which is funny, since the only one I've ever posted here had exactly one character with an actual name ... hmmm).  It gives me something to think about while I photograph.

This isn't true in the case of the steampunk-industrial stuff, which is named as or before it's made, since nearly every piece of that type has a little story that goes with it.  It's also not true in the case of the bridal jewelry I've been posting lately.  The collection names came easily and were fun to poke at, like normal naming, but the individual pieces were harder.

There's a piece of jewelry in the bridal line named for every single female character M or I have ever played in an RP (the cameo bracelet is named after M's character's mother in our current steampunk tabletop, for example) ... plus babies M has caught, obscure Greek mythological characters, and a Marquis de Sade novel.

So that was difficult, but normally I really enjoy the names and I feel like it gives me a chance to hint at the feel, mood and story I want each piece to evoke.  Unfortunately I'm not brave enough to give the awesome dark moody "descriptions" like certain cool sellers whose stuff is better than mine.

Pretty Halloween things

Halloween is, hands down, my favorite holiday.  Unfortunately, I completely missed the boat on listing any Halloween items this year, even though I have a couple.

Others were less made of fail, however.  Some Halloween things from Etsy that I love:

A lovely Victorianesque mask that I want desperately:

Image copyright Tom Banwell.

And this, I might buy for M, who loves Halloween stuff as much as I do:

Image copyright Adam Thomas.

I won't put in an image of this one since it's a little ... mature (though worksafe, I guess, for some), BUT I am afflicted with an adoration for this photo.

Also, have some cool Etsy stuff in Treasury form.  I've fallen in love with Treasury.  More on this later.

Both busy, and abruptly at loose ends

I clearly need to do the "series" of posts more often.  It gives me such an apparent, obvious topic to work with.  I've been doing so well following my three-days-a-week resolution, but I'm a little worried that now I've run out of the house posts and the bridal-jewelry posts I'm going to do exactly what I did last time I was apart from M: totally lose all gumption and stop listing stuff.

I can always do what M does and save up amusing student malapropisms, I suppose.  I still find those hysterically funny.

Maybe I'll drop to a Tuesday-Thursday posting schedule instead of Monday-Wednesday-Friday?  Then I can write them in one of my less completely intriguing classes.  Except that my students never all show up on any given day.  Also, I generally manage to write posts about two days before I, y'know, post them.

So what to do now?  Amusing dog stories?  More recipes or relative memoirs or discussions of artistic movements?  Judging from other jewelry blogs I read this seems to be de rigeur ... except that I follow those in Blogger and never read them.  I'm not good at work-in-progress photos and I don't really have time to make things right now anyway, I'm mostly just going through the backlog of stuff I've made but never listed -- and dreaming of December, when I'll be able to get my beads out again, and of January, when I'll return home to M and South Carolina and our dedicated crafting room.

I have thought of writing more of my ideas about steampunk ... or maybe some tutorials?  Are my techniques cool enough/repeatable-even-by-me enough to be tutorialable?

I do rather like linking to other shops, though.  Was the strawberry-themed link post interesting?  Does there have to be a photo for things to be awesome?

And of course, I don't think I've mentioned yet, but I'm doing an article series for Rena Klingenberg on avoiding overused, trite words and phrases in jewelry descriptions, which looks at this point like lasting 4-6 months, so that's lovely.  They're great fun to write; I'll preview one at some point.

Anyway, I'll manage.  I always seem to.  And I do need to get back to a semi-regular special offer schedule.

And now it is time to continue to instruct the next generation in the ways of the previous generation's formal writing style.  So, O readers, who lurk about -- I know you're out there, Google Analytics says so -- do introduce yourselves and tell me what you're actually interested in reading!  Come on, don't be shy ...

Bridal Collections 5: Ocean Bijoux

I'm not sure I've ever made crazy statement pieces like this before ... or simple delicate pieces like this before.

The collection was challenging.  The materials are all AB crystal, freshwater pearls, green natural shell and various kinds of findings and chain, but the designs, almost to a one, are way out of my comfort zone.  My favorites, naturally, are the earrings, which are very me, but the necklaces are rather different.  This is good, though.


Available here.

This is another one that Mom made off with a bit of, but that one was a mixed metal piece, which I personally love and it's supposed to be stylish, but I'm hesitant about the bridal market for it.  But Mom loved it, so that's all good.  The rest of this elegant, bohemian bridal collection will be selling with a special offer for the next few days:

Through October 24, purchase any piece from the Ocean Bijoux bridal collection and get a free bracelet if you mention this post.  The bracelets I use for these promotions are high-quality metal and glass beaded pieces, and all are adjustable.





Enjoy!

Bridal Collections 4: Opalesce

I am totally in love with sea opal.  I tend to like manmade stones in general -- witness my abiding love for sunstone/brown goldstone.  This is a treated glass which is absolutely freaking amazing in sunlight.  So naturally, I did an entire collection with it.


The name comes from the verb "to opalesce," meaning "to shine or glow like an opal."  I almost called it "Faience" but I figured there was even less chance of me or anyone else ever spelling it correctly.


Available here.

This is probably the most "usual," classic beaded collection.  I like how some of the pieces are very sleek and modern and some are more feminine and ornamented.  It sort of begs for mix and match.  I actually think it would be really cool for a carnival-themed wedding, with all the colors it picks up like carnival glass, but it would suit a beach wedding or a cocktail-hour sort of affair too.  And of course, there will be a sale with great discounts on this fascinating modern wedding jewelry:

Through October 21, purchase any piece from the Opalesce bridal collection and get free shipping (in the U.S.) or a shipping discount based on location (everywhere else) if you mention this post.

Discounts are given through PayPal.

Happy shopping!

Room Posting 5: The Dining Room

This is probably our favorite room in the house.

The room: The dining room
The style: Eclectic vintage with a fondness for the 1930s
The colors: leaf green, red, soft oranges and multis


Furnishings: a sideboard and chairs from a gorgeous medieval-revival 1930s dining-room set, which M has had since her marriage. The round table in the middle is a mating of a round cherry top with ebony legs from a square table; we bought it at a tiny tumbledown antiques place up the road. To the right of the photo, a vintage piece which we believe to have been a music teacher's sheet-music hutch, and which we use for filing. We upholstered the chairs in a beautiful pale green and ivory rose tapestry fabric from our stash.

The artwork on the walls is a print of The Garden of Eden, surrounded by four prints of tea labels, both from our prior collection.

More after the jump as usual!

Oh, Riverside, I'm such a fool!

How could I have thought you would let me leave California without at least one more of your special, signature cloying sewage-smelling fogs?

Bridal Collections 3: Ocean Branches

This is the collection that was actually requested for consignment -- longtime readers may remember another white coral piece with wire-wrapping which sold last Christmas, and around the same time I showed the photo for consideration, which is why I was asked to do a whole beach-wedding line.

This collection is the only one that's 100% sterling silver, and it involves a lot of fine wirework. The wire is used both to adorn the coral branches and to create a smoothish surface against the clothing or skin -- coral is a lot smoother than it looks, but it never hurts to be sure.


Available here.

Two pieces broke in their return shipping, one irreparably and one just depressingly. The rest, however, is now in the Etsy shop. This elegant one-of-a-kind coral and pearl bridal collection for classy ocean-themed affairs is now on sale:

Through October 18, purchase any piece from the Ocean Branches bridal collection and get 15% off a coordinating item. If only one item is purchased, I'll send you a pair of pearl earrings as a free gift.

Discounts are before shipping and given after purchase through PayPal.  Just mention this post to get your deals!

On another note, that piece on the lower left is in an absolutely amazing number of treasuries.  I'm not sure if it's because I've been making a lot and people are reciprocating with the first image they like in the shop, or if it's the white-on-white closeup that people like.

Which category?

I really ought to work out a system for this.  You see, as I list the bridal jewelry, I'm putting most of it in the "jewelry" category with occasional deviations into the "weddings/jewelry" section.  Is there some research on which is better?  Has someone tested?  I think I'm getting more views from "weddings," but that could be the sample, and it's bloody impossible to control all the variables to see.

I'm linking to the rest of each collection in my descriptions, so I've been picking a random one or two items from each collection to be listed in Weddings instead of Jewelry, so I theoretically cover both, but maybe it should be necklaces that go in Weddings, since it's a more saturated subcategory?  Am I overthinking this?

Room Posting 3: The Living Room and 4: The Kitchen

There are just a couple photos each of these because one wasn't what you'd call "finished" and one was occupied with the detritus of life and M refused to have it photographed.

The room: Living room
The style: Eclectic Pre-Raphaelite library
The colors: Rich burnt orange, cream, and multi-jewel tones

This is a work-in-progress photo from when M was moving stuff in:

The floor-to-ceiling bookcases are on the wall that faces the front door. They're a lot fuller now, as are the waist-high ones that occupy the entire wall to the left of the photo. We have a lot of books.

More after the jump!

Bridal collections 2: Entrance

From the first to the last: I made these pieces two days before I sent off my whole bridal line on its not-so-fateful consignment tour.

It uses primarily white mother-of-pearl and jet Swarovski crystal. It started out as an all-white necklace, which I think I've blogged about, but I think the black and white palette is very chic -- a nice simplicity that the collections sort of needed. Black and white is supposed to be in this year; the old Hollywood glamour and silver-screen femininity that we're seeing a lot lately, I imagine. The neoclassical look is rather cool and different, though, I think!

 
Available here.

If this appeals to any readers, good news: This classic, feminine black-and-white formal jewelry is going on sale as of right now!

Through October 11, purchase any piece from the Entrance bridal collection and get free shipping in the U.S. on your order of $20 or more. This is not combinable with other offers, and price is before shipping. Discounts will be given through PayPal refund.

Sorry I can't do free international shipping, but email me if you're ordering internationally and I'll see if I can do an equivalent drop.  Just mention this post to get your shipping discount!

Room Posting 2: The Bird Bath

Yes, we really are referring to it as the Bird Bath. Yes, we do kinda suck. But in a fun way.

The room: The front bathroom
The style: Eclectic cottage meets graphic
The colors: Black and purple


Forgive the photo quality, but the lighting in there is dreadful. The shower curtain is quilter's cotton from our fabric stash, a bright light purple with darker purple clematis and black magpies. Just sewn down the middle and then we added a dozen buttonholes to the top! The curtain hooks were a terribly lucky find; they're purple resin clematis that look like they were made for the curtain.

The medicine cabinet is designed to look like a library cabinet. We've had it for years. On top, a pair of stuffed bats and a decorative tin. Within, a white wire bird cage. There's also a 1970s mirror which we hung over the corner of the actual bathroom mirror; the frame, now freshly sprayed black, is molded with a pair of stylized lovebirds.


Two bird ornaments we've been planning to put up somewhere for years. The towels are the same ones we had in our old bathroom, but we dyed them. The darker hand towels were supposed to be black to go in the second bathroom, but they came out this crazy dark plum, sooo ... we now have lots and lots of purple towels.


We purchased Rit dye, the curtain hooks, and the little dollar-store wire bird cage. Total decor cost for this room: about $12. The rest, again, was assembled from our yard-sale stuff and crafty stash.

O frabjous day!

I totally just made Etsy's front page.


Available here.

That is all.

Bridal collections 1: Antigua Cove

This was the first collection I made for my 2010 bridal line, and I'm posting it first because I think in many ways it's the truest to my style.
It uses ivory, bronze, brass, topaz and gold shades. The inspirational motifs:

1. I wanted each piece to be able to go from an ivory wedding dress to a cute jeans outfit.  This doesn't mean they're simple; quite the contrary.
2. I wanted a bit of a pirate-queen feel,which could be played up or down with the right accessories.
3. I wanted each piece to be something my mother would wear.

Mom likes earth tones and relative simplicity, and wears a lot of bracelets and earrings.  If she and Dad got married now instead of twenty-two years ago -- yeah, I think she just might wear these.


Available here.

Apparently I achieved my goal; some of the pieces shown above, Mom loved and has been persuaded to make off with.  I'd love it if she took more; I can generally persuade her by reminding her that she's my advertising department. For the rest, a special offer on this eclectic, sophisticated one-of-a-kind collection of seashell and pearl wedding jewelry in brown, gold, ivory and antiqued brass tones:

Through October 6, purchase any piece from the Antigua Cove bridal collection and get a second piece of equal or lesser value 25% off.  This is not combinable with other offers and is taken from the price before my small customization fee, but it does apply to orders for multiples of one item.  Discounts will be given through PayPal refund.

Happy shopping!