Picture Project - Update 2

On day two of my picture project, I have updated the pictures for the Mark of the Hand set.  I had almost forgotten how much this set makes me happy...  it was a pleasure visiting it again.


Here were the pictures that I decided to use:

I had to chase the sunlight around on my desk to get the lighting just right.  So glad that I did, though! 


The full listing can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/24557340/sale-mark-of-the-hand-set

Ki's Inheritance - A Second Look

One of first necklaces that I made for my store was called Ki's Inheritance.  It was one of my personal favorites.  This is what it looked like:

Forward ahead a few months, to today.  I just posted Ki's Inheritance - Necklace 2:

There are some very obvious differences between the two (the second one, for example, is much darker).  Yet they both have a beautiful flower-burst pattern, and are both simultaneously light-weight and sturdy.  And so, they both are attached to the same story (which, incidentally, is also one of my favorites).

I am very happy to be able to once more represent Ki's story on my store.  

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Just for fun, here is the entry description for the second necklace (copied directly from my store):

Item Number: 19 PK 19:08
Object: Necklace
Category: Personal – Jewelry
Material: Oxidized silver, rubber cord
Weight: Approximately 1 ounce
Length: 18” cord with 2” chain extender, 2” pendant

Artifact Analysis:
There once was a young orphan. Her name was Ki… or, at least, that was what everyone called her. She had been found by a farmer and his wife, alone and cold. They never quite told her where they had found her, but they did tell her that she a necklace wrapped around her wrist. (It had been placed there thoughtfully; it was not around her neck, lest she unwittingly choke herself.)

As she grew, she treasured that necklace. It was, after all, the only thing that was hers. It was a simple pendant—a silver circle filled with stylistic flowers—hanging from a black cord. The silver grew darker with age, the black cord became loved and worn. Her adopted parents never told her to take it off, or made fun of it when it needed to be repaired again. In fact, they were loving and kind and she never wanted for anything. Anything, except to know why she had been orphaned.

Then, one day she got lost while running an errand for her adopted mother. Trying to get back on the road, she found something that she could not help but explore: ruins. It was a beautiful castle all but covered with creeping vines, the land trying to reclaim it. Yet as she walked through its halls, what drew her attention the most was the Great Seal. It was etched on every wall, larger than life and beautiful. It was an emblem of a circle filled with stylistic flowers.

The design etched onto the pendant of her necklace.

In that moment, the disparate parts of her life came together. When she once more found her way home, the farmer and his wife confirmed what she now knew—she was the daughter of the Lost King. Before they disappeared, her parents had charged the farmer and his wife with her well-being. The necklace was left to her by her mother, wrapped around her wrist so that she would one day reclaim her inheritance.

The pendant of this necklace resembles the symbol of Ki’s inheritance. Surprisingly light, it is both delicate and striking—enough to make the wearer feel like a princess in disguise.

Cataloger’s Notes:
Please note that most stories told here—unless otherwise stated—are my original ideas. They are part of a larger work that I am writing and planning on publishing. As such, I would appreciate that they be treated as just that—my intellectual property. Stories that are completely not of my creation will be designated with an item number of BU (Borrowed Universe). I greatly appreciate your cooperation!

Picture Project

I have been working on taking new pictures for some of the older items on my shop.  Both my lighting and my skill has improved, and I really want my photos to reflect that.  


(Of course, this also gives an excuse for me to take more pictures.  Apparently, I am addicted to my camera, and this gives me something productive to do.)


Here are the items that I updated today...

Armistarn - Necklace

Circles within Circles - Earrings

Purplemoon and Starlight - Necklace
This is not the first time that I have taken new pictures of this particular necklace...  It is so beautiful, and yet so hard to capture!

Royal Pink - Necklace in Gold

For more shots of these lovely items, visit the listings!  Look, I'll even give you the links.  Enjoy!

Armistarn - Necklace: http://www.etsy.com/listing/24931630/sale-armistarn-necklace
Circles within Circles - Earrings:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/27162783/sale-circles-within-circles-earrings
Purplemoon and Starlight - Necklace: http://www.etsy.com/listing/24228933/sale-purplemoon-and-starlight-necklace
Royal Pink - Necklace in Gold: http://www.etsy.com/listing/25174522/sale-royal-pink-gold-necklace

Green!

Confession time: I have been a bit obsessed with the color green recently.  

Why am I so taken with it?  It might be because of the green I see every day outside my window, since the grass and the trees seem to be becoming more and more vibrant as summer wanes.  Or it might just be because I don’t actually own that much of it, and I’m determined to rectify such scarcity.  (I own one green sweater, and I think that's it...)

Whatever the reason, I have been thinking in shades of green.  And so, just for fun, here is a gallery of green just for you!

Here is a picture of one of my favorite trees, taken recently.  (I think it may be what started the green fixation in the first place...)

Here is, once more, the green that I see in the morning.  I have been finding myself excited to get out of bed every morning, just so that I can see this:

These are some silmarils that I made while on vacation with my parents...  Do you sense a theme?  (I believe I gave all of these to my mother, she liked them so much.  *grin*)

Here are some of my new bead acquisitions...  Yep!  Lots of green here.

Two pairs of earrings that I have made recently.  I actually made the green tiger-striped ones today, and they are currently my Favorite Pair of the Day (tm).  They are a bit more vibrant than the picture suggests, but it can't be helped.

And, last but not least, here are the two items that I posted on my store tonight.  The name I chose was Taste of Lime--yes, because of the color, but also because we went grocery shopping today, and I'm currently craving the Key Lime Pie yogurt that we purchased.  Yum!

Aaaaand the matching earrings:

So, lots of green!  It is a beautiful thing, and has been making me smile.

It's Sale Time!

Yes, indeed!  Until the end of August, enjoy 30% off ALL items in my store.  


That's right: everything.


I love going to stores where things are on sale, so I thought I would spread the love.  Enjoy!

A Still More Glorious Dawn Awaits...*

Just look at these...

The Seagull Nebula

The Comet Lulin

Galaxy NGC 4911

Aren't those amazing?  All of those images are courtesy of the NASA image of the day: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/iotd.html


I have always loved watching the stars.  I can only imagine what the ancients saw when they looked at the skies--so many more stars than we see today.  When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut...  that is, until I learned how much math was involved.  So, I decided to stay Earth-bound, but still look at the sky in wonder.


It is partially that wonder that led to the items that I posted tonight.  The focal beads for this set reminds me a comet and its tail, hence the name (Shooting Star):

The beads themselves are positively luminous, and seem to glow.  They play with light the same way that the moon does.  (Yes, back on my light kick.)


Isn't the world we live in a beautiful place?


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* - For those of you who don't know the reference, the title of this blog is actually a quote from Carl Sagan.  :)

Dragon Teardrop

When I first made this set, I called it the Dragon Teardrop:

This, however, led to a rather interesting question: what makes a dragon cry?  They certainly don't strike me as the kind of creatures that would actually be moved to tears through sorrow. In order to post the set, though, I needed to come up with something.  And so, I sat around and contemplated it.  


Finally, I came up with this story, and it made me very happy:


Dragons, as a rule, do not cry. They rarely are moved to pity, and they are not known for being particularly sentimental.

That was why Helane despaired when she had a run in with a particularly disgruntled fairy in the Haunted Forest; due to a rather unfortunate culinary exchange, the fairy cursed her to only eat broccoli until she could make a dragon cry. Besides hating broccoli, Helane knew it was impossible to move a dragon to tears. Still, she knew that she had to try, or face a life full of green florets.

So, with loads of broccoli in tow (as much as she hated it, she had to eat something), Helane ventured into the High Mountains. It did not take long for her to find a dragon—or, rather, for a dragon to find her. Luckily for her, the dragon was in a fairly talkative mood; it did not eat her immediately, but rather cornered her and started a battle of wits.

Helane was never good at word duels, so she tried the direct approach. She told the dragon of her curse, and tried to move it to pity. The dragon, for its part, did not cry.

It did, however, laugh.

Helane was indignant, but there was no stopping the dragon. It found the thought of a curse-induced broccoli diet was extremely amusing. She sat there, humiliated and fearful, until she noticed something rather strange. The dragon, in its mirth, had started to tear up from laughing. A single black tear welled up, and then fell down its scaly cheek, splattering on the ground beneath it.

The dragon was so amused that it then flew off, leaving her behind in awe. Not only was she still alive, but her curse had been lifted. 

She had gotten a dragon to cry.


--


Disclaimer: May it be known that I actually like broccoli.  The whole purpose of this story was to be light and humorous, and a little clever.  No offense was meant to broccoli, other similar vegetables, people who enjoy eating said vegetables as their sole source of nutrition, or dragons who think that such a story is absolutely ridiculous in the first place.

Light and Shadow

I am officially addicted to taking pictures.


This morning when I woke up, I noticed that the light was on my desk again.  Actually--who am I kidding?  I woke up specifically looking for the light.  Also on my desk were some of the pretties that I had been working on last night (hoping to make more silmaril pendants).  So, before I even ate breakfast, I was busy taking these:

I love, love, love the way the light hits these beauties.  In fact, I love the interplay of light and shadow in general.  (I don't suppose it's any surprise that one of my favorite artists is Rembrandt?  I did an entire college paper on this: 

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem

That paper ended up being quite long, too, if I recall...  I ended up writing 32 pages in one day.  Ahhhh, college.)


And now, for a lame segue:  also speaking of shadows, tonight's posted listing on my store is another pair of hairsticks, called Shadow Rose.  (Yep, lame.  I warned you.)

I named them Shadow Rose simply due to the contrast between the light and the dark--the dichotomy that I apparently find so aesthetically pleasing.  I actually made this pair for myself awhile back...  as with many of my other hairsticks, I have just never had the chance to wear them.  So, here they are, in all of their white-and-black glory.

Oh, and another name for Shadow Roses is Silent Roses.  Because I thought it sounded really cool, and enjoyed creating the story to go along with such a moniker.  (Curious?  Go see the listing!)