I'm back!

Hi there! Sorry about the long delay between posts; I've been trying to work out the picture hosting, and life in general has been rather hectic.

Also, my camera briefly died horribly (again), so I haven't been able to take any new pictures. Now that it's all better, I just need to figure out what I've done since... wow, February... and get it all put up. Plus, I've gotten my spreadsheet sorted, so I'm finally going to be able to add a price to everything! After I get the picture hosting fixed, of course.

I am going to move everything off of Flickr; the add-on hasn't been working very well, and I don't think I like the layout very much. I'm looking at Photobucket right now, since it allows you to sign in with your Facebook  or Twitter account as well as an existing account from them, which will make commenting easier.

Also, an answer for a question I get fairly often: "Why don't you start up an Etsy store?" The main reason is that every complete piece I have, with very few exceptions, either goes into my personal collection, where I wear it on a regular basis, or it is a gift or commission for someone else, and it belongs to that person. For the bits I have that do not fall into either of these categories, I may put them up on a third-party seller at some point. That comes back to the camera being out of commission for a few months, and me getting my pricing fixed. Of course, I'll post here once I get that set up!

I'm going to leave everything as it is until I get the new hosting sorted out, and of course, this blog is always here. If you see something that you absolutely adore, send me an e-mail (dragonlover121@gmail.com), and I'll give you the price, any additional pictures I might have, and we can work something out! Even if I can't find the exact materials that I used on my existing piece, we can work together to make something that is unique to you. That sounds like a marketing line, but seriously, not only do I like doing something fun and interesting each time, there is also the fact that each stone is different. Also, I've been known to part with things of mine if someone really loves that exact thing and wants that, rather than a replacement.

Please comment if you have any questions or ideas on how I can improve this blog and everything else (apart from posting more often, which I do need to do).

Technique fun

Awhile back, I got a nifty little bone pendant of a dragon and a phoenix. I'd read that you could "antique" bone beads by soaking them in tea, so I thought I'd try it. It worked out quite well, but then I couldn't think of what to make with it, so I set the pendant aside.

Last night, I put it with some gold beads and red tigereye, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. You can go to the Flickr page to see the completed necklace, but I thought I'd share the closeups of the pendant here.

Before:

go to http://www.shipwreckbeads.com/catalog/Pendants-and-Charms/Bone-and-Horn/ if you want to buy this

After:

Front

Back

As you can see, one side ended up a bit more tea-y than the other; I turned the pendant over a couple of times, but I think it's just how the bone absorbed it. I'll definitely do this again; there are times when the stark white of bleached bone works, but I like the way the tea highlights the carvings.

Another note: I generally have more pictures of my pieces than what I put on the Flickr page; if you're interested in one of my necklaces, for example, but you want to see the whole thing, or the clasp, or just how it looks on a different background, e-mail me and ask about it!

Flickr difficulties

Edit: Apparently the gadget is borked, so I went to Flickr and made a new one. New stuff, too!

Okay, then. My Flickr gadget seems to have spontaneously died, so I'm going to see what else I can do to make pictures visible again. Until then, you can still go directly to SparkleTindi's Flickr to see all the new stuff I've put up.


I may have mentioned this before, but the primary reason I don't have an Etsy store right now is because I make stuff to order. Everything on my Flickr page is either something I wear or use on a regular basis or have given to someone else. Any piece you get from me is 100% unique, not only because stones are, but because I rarely, if ever, repeat myself unless directly requested to.


Anyway, once I get around to pricing out all of the stuff I did over the holidays, that will show up, even if the blog doesn't want to show it right now. *pokes blog irritably* I'm still working on a long-term solution; never fear!