Intentional Stones

Holidays: Getting the season moving!

 

Fed-Ex trucks are coming up my little dead-end street daily, carrols are on the radio, and the ads on TV have ramped up the the max.  It's that time of year again.

And we know you're thinking about your lists, even if the racket raised by retailers is driving you nuts.  (Some years it keeps me from shopping almost indefinitely.  Handmade holidays are my favorite!)

I'm working to keep it subtle around here.  I'd much rather post artwork and let you decide to visit our shops on your own.  Still, I would love it if you spent a little of your holiday shopping time looking at Intentional Stones! 

Here's the deal:

We're looking to liquidate the stuff we have so that we can start fresh in the new year. 

And we need your help.

Starting today, The last day of November, and ending January 15th, I'll ship anything via USPS anywhere for free. 

And over the course of the season, we'll run online sales, something different every day! 

Does this work for you?

 

 

Gratitude for Handmade Artists

This week, I'm lucky enough to be featured by my friends in Handmade Artist's Blog Ring #1. 

Thank you for reminding me how important this blog is to the people who want to read it, to the people I write about, and to me. 

The HAF team is from all the different worlds of handmade online sales- Etsy, Artfire, Zibbet, Ebay, their own personal sites, and the new Handmade Artist's Shop!  And we're all in the same boat.  Small boats in the gigantic ocean of the internet. 

Our blogs are our voice.  The place to show that we're more than just a group of listings.  A place to talk about why we do the crazy things we do.  Why we make.  Blogs also let us tell about our day, other passions we pursue, and our families.

So, I guess I want to thank you, too.  The friends who read my blog and the blogs of- 

Tammy http://www.tammysultemeier.blogspot.com

Larissa www.ReefBotanicals.blogspot.com

Teresa http://www.trusk4u.blogspot.com

Sandi http://www.iKnitQuiltSew.blogspot.com

Debbi www.flowerandbud.blogspot.com/

Karina http://www.etsy.com/shop/kabidesigns

Dana http://www.31Summers.blogs.com

 Haffina http://haffinacreations.blogspot.com/

Traci http://crazyinsanitycreations.wordpress.com/

Shauna http://DesignsByShauna.blogspot.com

Todd  http://peacethroughpottery.blogspot.com/

Rhonda www.etsy.com/shop/Lilbitsassy

Kristen http://www.thejewelrygeek.com/

FindingCharm  http://findingcharm.blogspot.com/

AlsoMrsB http://www.artfire.com/users/alsomrsb

and Almanzo http://greenwickpress.com

Thank You!

 

 

Celebrating Reef Botanicals

Once a week, on the Intentional Stones Blog, we're going to feature a fellow artist.

Reef Botanicals! "Handcrafted soaps and other indulgences."

Ok, here's a great idea she and her spouse have whipped up. 

Beer Soap

You read that right. 

Beer soap.  Coffee soap.  Dead Sea Mud Mask.  I feel like I've just found my kind of soap shop. 

They're crafty, obviously, and fun.  Creating their own soaps, with handmade bases and natural additives.  They're working with a local brewery on the beer soap.

Visit them at their blog and their Handmade Artists Forum Shop.

-Simbelmynë

(A blog ring is a cooperative blogging effort, with fellow members of the Handmade Artist's Forum.)

 

 

 

Artist's weekend

My family will be out of town having the time of their lives.

And I'm staying home to have a party! (yes, I do feel like a teenager whose parents have left town for the weekend)

It's an artist's retreat at Simbelmynë's house!  I'll hit Costco and fill the house with food. I'm used to all sorts of eaters-picky eaters, carnivores, vegetarians, vegans, food sensitivities, OmNomNomNivores... Also I have hot and cold running WiFi, which is, of course, optional.  And, never fear, coffee.

Everything's ship shape with lots of room for big projects.  I'm not far from Construction Junction, really you could get pretty crazy. I'm planning to set aside areas for specific things, and we can adjust as people arrive with their projects and goals for the weekend.  I have lots of places to sleep, if you're from out of town or just don't want to leave.

The jewelry studio will be in full swing.  I have almost every type of equipment anybody could need-from torches to finishing equipment. I have tables and corners and quiet areas for writing, being quiet, meditating.  A park next door for walks and listening to the world around us.  A full crafting room with all sorts of supplies, if you forget anything.  I even have a macro photography studio, if you want to get some small photos.

We can swap, dump, laugh, play, work, meditate, trade secrets, teach, learn, whatever we want to do.

If you RSVP I can make sure I have what you need.  Or just show up, the more the merrier!

Stay all weekend or come and go as you please. 

Official Start is 7pm Friday, March 18 and end at 7pm Sunday March 20.

-Simbelmynë

(412)608-8986

235 Oakview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15218

(Please ignore the photo it's from the highway, for some reason)

We're the last house on the left.

West Virginia Loves Us!

Intentional Stones will be showing at the West Virginia Arts and Crafts Spectacular in Morgantown WV on November 5-7th 2010. 

We're pretty excited.  This will be our very first big arts and crafts show!  I'll do my best to keep you up to date on the projects we're preparing and the special pieces we'll be making for this show. 

We look forward to making new friends and enjoying West Virginia once again.

 

Networking thoughts

I've said before that I'd love to be more active with the guilds on Artfire.com and yet, I feel like not much comes of it.  We're all struggling to make enough noise in the online world that somebody will notice our shops.  Standing together seems to be the best way.  But we're taxed enough getting our own shops going, hours blogging seems like it's not going to do much.  

Artfire has introduced Collections, and I think this is a great tool, similar to showcases on Etsy.com.  I need to read up more on the rules and etiquette of these delightful opportunities to highlight our favorite items and sellers.   

I played with it and made a Fall Collection of a few of my favorite things.  I hope it does a bit to help out my fellow sellers. 

-Simbelmynë

Forgotten days of Spring

Every summer, when the real heat is pouring down on us and I'm debating turning on the air conditioning, I think "Why did I miss those sweet, warm days of spring?"  And I realized where they go.

They're crushed between chilly miserable days where I complain about winter's reluctance to let go of its hold and rainstorms that shake the house.  They get confused in the pile of extra laundry that results from wearing layers to keep up with the constant changes in the weather.  Sometimes I overlook the beauty of the warm moments in preparation stress as camping gear replaces hotels or the homes of friends or family for short trips.  Or maybe, in the spring I'm just breaking the habit of doing all my work indoors.

How could I be so silly!

This year I'm going to watch out for these mistakes.  Keep my eyes open, and just spend more time outside. 

I will savor the colors, and bring in more flowers from the yard.

So even when the weather is not to my liking, I can remember that it's my favorite season.  I like living here, in Pittsburgh, especially, because we have a real spring.  With rain and puddles and chills and butterflies and hot days with cool nights. 

I will wrap myself in something beautiful and warm, so that even the slightly chilly days are nice. 

And I'll use my most convincing looks for everyone around me that outside is just better.  I think that the computers are going to become less accessible.  I'm not really one to ban them, but if it worked with the TV, it can work with the internet. 

For the stormy days, I still need to look for a new umbrella.  Walks and art events are much better with one.   It can help keep the sun out of my face too!  I guess that stuff seems more important to me after my stay in Australia.  We have to learn our lesson somehow.

Anyway, it's spring!  Have a wonderful day.

---

This post illustrated with a little help from my friends who Love Artfire

Trying something new

Teams and Guilds, Guilds and Teams.  These seem to be an awesome idea.  We try to help ourselves by helping each other.  And my Sunday posts have been full of wonderful artists from my friends at Etsy, in the Handmade Artist's Forum Team.  I've chosen my favorite item from the shop recommended for promotion each day. 

And, while this is certainly an excellent way to make sure this gets done, my heart's not been in it every week.  It's just boring. 

For a while now, Mina and I have been disputing Artfire vs. Etsy.  We have our shops on each, and Etsy is certainly the biggest marketplace and the most well known, but we're kind of small fish in this huge pond of the internet.  Artfire is simply smaller and a little bit more to our liking. 

The end result of this decision is this:  We'll be focusing our attention on the Intentional Stones Artfire Studio.

We Love Artfire.  We are already members of the guild by that name.  I'll probably just help my guild members in my favorite way each Sunday.   

Macro Photography

Going through the gallery for the guild, I've chosen my favorite up-close photos of small objects.  (Many of these artists have other wonderful photos, click the links to go to their shops)  I'll try to put into words what it is about the photo that caught my attention.  

KatsAllThat

This photo showcases the colors of this piece.  The pale antique writing on the background paper provides interest without distracting from subtle shades of pink and brown in the gemstones.  The leaves brighten the image.  The posing of the necklace draws the eye to all its different features. 

The artist has also provided a wide variety of photos of the piece and labels on each photo so you know the materials used, even while you're taking a closer look.

Pinkymonkey provided this image for these dangly wire wrap earrings.  The shallow depth of field accentuates the embellishment on the bead.  I guess I'd like to see the focal point of the picture in the center of the image, but viewed in it's thumbnail size, it caught my eye.  I count this as effective, because a shopper is viewing items, this is the first impression they get. 

Earrings have been my biggest challenge in photography, because getting the proper focus on a dangling piece can be tricky.

novadesigns

Here the neutral background and slight spotlighting make the carefully accomplished color jump right out.  The shape of the earring provides the motion of the photo and promises even more interest in the piece when it's hanging.  

  Grahtoestudio

 I enjoy the different designs of the snowflakes displayed together.  The fur in the background complements the smoothness of the wood of these pieces.  The neutral grey brightens the natural golden colors. The lighting shows the polish of the pieces and provides shadows to display the intricacy of the carving.

I guess this post encapsulates my goal in taking photos and preparing them for a listing.  I'd like it if my photos were the ones that stand out. 

I know when I'm shopping online it's the images that make me click as I browse. 

Could you comment and link to examples of items you've found while shopping online?  Why did that one pleased your eye enough that you wanted to see more?

-Simbelmynë

How did we almost miss that?

We saw the parliament, we hiked, we enjoyed the museums of the capital.  But we never walked next door to the Botanical Gardens.

One thing I've found, living in wonderful places, Like Northern Virginia, one wrong turn away from the National Mall, is that living in places that are interesting desensitizes you to the high value of your surroundings.

One place to see the widest variety of gum trees.  Greenhouses full of flowers from all over the continent.  Artificial ran forest, walks through the canopy, and sunlight through the leaves.  And a perfect chance to share memories of the beauty of our opportunity to live abroad.

I've learned that sometimes the coolest things are right around the corner.

I'm deeply grateful for guests who make me want to show off the interesting things around my area.

Share the Love January 25 through 31

Queen Kat's Royal Craft Shoppe full of pretty stamps and stamped artwork.

Lisianblue Enchanting stained glass.

Paradise Sunrise Essentials

featuring handmade lip balms (perfect for the weather here in Pittsburgh) and bath products. 

Pleasant Peasantry handthrown pots and macrame.

Rojagato's Designs beautiful bead woven jewelry.

Simply Naif who's donating 100% of her etsy profits to Haiti.

Sweet and Simple Jewelry Stay tuned, this is a brand new shop!

Many thanks to CJGrand for her blog link. Please share the love by visiting her etsy shop! as well.