October Garden

Today is the last day of the September Surprise Sale!

For 15% off your entire order, simply use the coupon code SurpriseSale0927 before checking out!

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I posted these listings last week, but with October just around the corner (tomorrow!), I thought I'd share them here.

October Garden Set

October Garden - One of a Kind Hairstick

 

 

October Garden - One of a Kind Earrings

 

Accompanying Story:

It should come as no surprise that the Landus Fantasticus is a beautiful place all year long. While Spring and Summer certainly have their share of bright and cheerful colors, the other seasons are equally lovely in their own right.

An example of this is the October Garden. Located in the plains near the Noble Court, it reaches its full splendor during Autumn—specifically October, as its name implies. Spectacular flowers bloom in orange and red and brown, and the leaves on the trees echo these same shades. Set against the Autumn sky, the October Garden is certainly a sight to behold—and poets from all across the Kingdoms come to view its beauty.

This set is made in the colors of this garden: maple-red, flower-orange, and two different shades of Autumn sky, all mixed with brass and brown. Indeed, it looks like it could adorn one of the visiting poets, as they viewed the spectacle of the October Garden.

A Letter to My Husband...

Five years ago, we were married...

...and, if possible, I love you even more today than I did then. 

You have been my support, my encouragement--a blessing beyond words. You have believed in me when I didn't believe in myself... And you have helped me grow in ways I would have never imagined. In short, you are awesome... and I am so happy to share my life with you.

Happy Anniversary, my love!

One More Treasury...

...because I'm still not entirely back into the swing of things after last week (was the accident really only last week?), and I'm not able to concentrate on writing actual entries. Ah well.

Still, there are pretty things! 

And I want to share!

The full treasury can be seen here.

Thank you all for your patience, as I try to figure out up from down. I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Acorns!

These were just listed on my store (which is still having a sale--yes, shameless plug *grin*).

I wanted to share them here because yay, acorns!

Candied Acorns

in both Gold and Silver

Golden Candied Acorns - Hairsticks

Golden Candied Acorns - Earrings

 

Silver Candied Acorns - Hairsticks

 

Silver Candied Acorns - Earrings

I am so ridiculously excited for Fall... I am thrilled to live in a place where the leaves change color and there is apple cider and where the temperatures hover near chilly.

...And where there are acorns! Hurray!

Hope everyone is having a nice day!

Tonight's Random Craft

...Making paper beads, for the first time ever!

And then turning those paper beads into earrings.

Those pearly dangles are actually taken from a vintage earring I had
sitting around--an earring that had no partner, so it was destined
to be repurposed.

More danglies! ...Yes, all from the same vintage earring.

Amusingly enough, I actually colored both of those sets of beads using Sharpie metallic markers--bronze and copper, respectively. Applying the top coat of varnish changed it from bright metallic to a kind of patina. Not only that, but I rolled them kind of wonky--don't completely have the hang of that yet.

But, honestly, I kind of love them.

All in all, not bad for a first attempt... And I'm sure I will play with them more. So many color and shape possibilities!

Anyway, thanks for letting me share... I hope everyone is having a nice night!

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And, remember--my store is having a sale! 

Feel free to check it out!

...Surprise!

Wonder and Whimsy is having a SALE!

15% off your entire purchase, from now until the end of September!

Simply use this coupon code before checking out: 

SurpriseSale0927

Thank you so much--and I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

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And know that any purchase that is made will be incredibly and tremendously appreciated! Yay breathing room, while we deal with accident aftermath and my husband's transition from one job to the next! :)

Something Shiny for Your Friday

This is just a quick entry, really, but I wanted to show off some pictures...

After a rather rough week, I was finally able to list something shiny on my store... And not just shiny, something relevant to the changing season!

I don't really have much else to show for this week, but hurray for accomplishing something!

Flower of Fall

Hairstick

Why, yes, that is a carved tiger eye flower... Thanks for asking. :)

If you're interested, the listing is here.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Friday!

Radio Silence

So, there may be a bit of silence over here for the next few days.

Why?

Well, my husband was just in a car accident. And, don't worry--he's fine! The other driver is fine! ...But we are honestly not sure about the car (being assessed by the mechanic), and between that and some other insurance-related things, I'm just really needing a time out.

I should be back in a few days, recharged and ready to show off more pretty things.

Until then, love to all... hope you are doing well!

One More, for Good Measure!

Totally just realized that Shining Silmarils was also tagged in a Pay-It-Forward treasury.

Darn... another excuse to look at pretty things! :D

I've made one more treasury... This one is also inspired by butterflies, but instead of black-and-white, they are bright and festive--perfect for the very last days of summer, just before Autumn rolls around (and the Monarch Butterflies start their migration).

And so, I present:

The full treasury can be seen here.

Okay, really stopping now. Time to go tackle some stories I'm writing up to accompany some new store merchandise. Fun fun! :D

And Now for Something Completely Different... Treasuries!

"Study in Black and White" can be found here.

...This was the treasury that started it all this morning. Essentially, I was tagged in a Pay-It-Forward treasury, and thought I'd play along (follow the link to the treasury itself to see how that works). 

Now, while trying to decide what kind of treasury to make, I was really inspired by the black-and-white butterfly theme... especially since so often butterflies are colorful and bright, it was interesting to see a more subdued, black-tie take on them. Elegant butterflies. So I decided to make that the focus of the treasury.

But, I was on a roll, so I made two more treasuries!

"Red as a Rose" can be found here.

I had started this treasury awhile ago, and just this morning was inspired to finish it.

Red roses are my favorite flower... Rather cliché, I'm sure, but I love love the delicate petals and the velvety texture and the deep rich color... Yeah, they make me happy. So, I wanted to capture that in a treasury--and the incredibly talented people on Etsy made it possible. :)

And, last but not least...

"It's All Geek to Me" can be found here.

Oh, I had so much fun with this treasury! StarCraft, Dr. Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Tetris, World of WarCraft, Lord of the Rings, Shakespeare, Carl Sagan, language geekery, chess--so many wonderful things that I love all in one treasury. And there was so much more that I wanted to include...

Next time.

...Because, at the rate I'm going, there will be a next time.

There is so much beauty, so many happy things... thank you for letting me share!

Ouroboros in Copper, Brown, and Brass

Just a few shinies to share...  I listed them on my store this morning, and thought it might be fun to post them here, too.

Because shiny!

...And because shiny makes me happy. 

Ouroboros Necklace in Copper, Brown, and Brass

Necklace shown double-stranded with toggle clasp in front.
Worn this way, the necklace is 16.5 inches with a 4 inch dangle.

Necklace shown worn single-stranded,
and over the head.
Worn this way, it is approximately 33 inches long,
again with a 4 inch dangle.

  

Vanity shot!

Picture of the entire necklace,
with toggle clasp unfastened.

The listing is here (as is an explanation for why I call this type of necklace an ouroboros necklace, if you want to know).

But, wait, that's not all!

...Because apparently I really am addicting to making matching sets. I don't seem to be able to stop myself--especially since I'm not convinced it's a bad thing. :)

In any case, I made some companion earrings and even a companion hairpin--for those who like to be entirely coordinated!

Companion Earrings

Companion Hairpin

So, there you go... Just a little bit of shiny to make your day happy.

Hope everyone has a great Friday! :)

Another Present!

This particular present was for my mother-in-law... Because my mother-in-law is awesome. 

(Yes, that is a link to her blog.)

...And also because I've been extremely inspired by her writing. She is an author who has been writing for years--and has been encouraging my own writing endeavors--and I really wanted to show her how valuable I find her words and her world. 

And so, I made her this:

The backstory:

For the past several years, she has been working on a novel/collection of short stories that is set in a fantastical world that is sort-of-kind-of-not-really-but-close-enough based on Imperial China. 

Her characters are delightful, and her world is made of gentle fable mixed with tongue-in-cheek humor and copious amounts of tea. 

Now, the birthday of her main character, Emperor Quo, was last week... So, technically, this necklace was made to show my support of all of her work.*

But, really, more than that--I wanted to show her just how much she inspires me. Just like Evensong's Heir inspired the Songbird Tribute Collection, I wanted to create something from her story. I wanted to give her a physical representation of the world that she has in her head.

And, honestly, writers sometimes can feel extremely isolated in their work--so much of our craft is done alone, shaped alone...

I wanted her to know that her words are loved.

...Now, maybe she'll just go ahead and get those words published! ;)

(Heh, not that I can talk--I haven't even finished the two sprawling messes that I'm working on!)

I am blessed, blessed, blessed to have such wonderful people in my life... 

And I have so much fun using my talents to celebrate theirs!

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* - I should say that this is not the first time I've done this... I have also made her another story-inspired necklace, and wrote about it here. Just please pardon the iffy pictures--I was still learning about my camera and lighting and all the jazz.