In love with Blue Agate

I’ve been on a creative streak the last couple of weeks and have moved from crochetting undrilled gemstone nuggets to reviving my rosary bracelets to wiring agate slices.

Along the way, I’ve fished out some long-ago stashed away supplies and stumbled upon some new ones which continue to get me on road of experimentation that has produced quite a few creations I am very proud of.

Some are still “in development” which is that phase of production where even when you have a finished piece, you “test drive” the product by wearing it.  I do this for my more unusual pieces to what comments I get and if the integrity of the piece will hold together.

For the “conventional” designs, it goes straight from the production to photography to posting.

Pardon the grainy photo but there wasn’t enough light when I took it, I guess.  There are times when my iPhone cam is all I need to come up with a spectacular showcase, but other times, I’m reminded it IS just a phone cam.

I’ve been so enamored by these blue agate beads which I have found in various shapes and sizes in flat faceted form — and I have been wearing the above pair for a while now simply because I love it.  A real shoulder duster pair, the agates are very airy and light because although there are three major chunks of agate in this piece, they are held together rosary style by gold findings which makes them sway with you as you move about while wearing them.  They have a very regal shade of blue that makes you look and look a second time.  I don’t even have to add any other major embellishments and voila — such a statement piece.  Coming soon to the Etsy Shop, I have several configurations I’m putting together and hope to post this week..

The Store is slowly getting back on its feet again which is good.  It has taken me long enough to get back to tending it and growing the inventory again.  Traffic is picking up as well, which is good.  Now, if I can only make things pick up in this corner… (First, I have to keep posting, I know.)

Thanks for stopping by…

Posted in the Shop: gothamchick.etsy.com

I spent the better part of my evening last night working between the Etsy Sellers App on my iphone and doing final tweaks on the laptop. Finally, three new pieces. Cross promotion via Instagram, Pinterest and Flickr took a bit of effort but is now a neccessity in this day and age of digital marketing.  My Instagram posts have never been more popular than the posts of these three bracelets…

Rosary Braceler in Caramel Dyed Jade

You are my sunshine in Pink Agate

Prayer in My Heart in Red Jasper

Time to get back to the real job of motherhood / home maker — my job description for the weekend. More later!

Things I have been up to

The previous week(s) have been rather busy but I’ve been trying to get things done on the creative front.  The will is there, but there are days when I am too exhausted or just need to skip the creative time altogether.  I know I must find the time, even just a few minutes each day, but not everything I want to do can be done with the snap of a finger.

But the point is, I’m trying.  It has given me a sense of accomplishment somehow.  It’s a concrete sign of being able to move forward, no matter how slow it may be.

The good news is that I  have been successful in keeping my art journal up to date, and as I’m writing this and trying to make some chicken salad of some leftover KFC, I am also working on some backgrounds that need “gesso”-ing. But more importantly, I’ve managed to scribble something rather regularly even if not literally every day.

My gesso is a little old so I’m thinning it with water. The idea is to cover the back of the layouts below because the black ink of the text and the color shadings had seeped into the back of the next page. I was initially thinking of covering it with chalkboard black paint, but I nixed that for gesso first. I still might do the background in all black — but I’m having second thoughts right now.

My first attempts at using gesso were rather a disappointment, and I realize now that it’s probably because I used too much of the gesso.  I like it when it’s applied a little thinner btu still enough to be opaque.

I’ve also been trying to create accessories again, this time trying my hand at wire-wrapping. I’ve found a lot of inspiration online and am trying to learn from the various tutorials available on YouTube, while trying to create my own way of getting things done. My first attempt after several yards of wasted wire is below. It’s a work in progress literally but I like the way this came about. I need to watch more videos.

The shop is beginning to get populated again little by little.  Slow traffic but I know I have to keep posting to bring the people in.  Even this little corner of mine isn’t exactly bustling with reader traffic but I’m telling myself it’ll come if I finally come around to devoting enough time to it.  Then I quickly remind myself that I have to accept that there is only so much that I can do.  A day at a time…

GothamChick is now on WordPress

Moving my domain to a wordpress blog has taken me forever and a day to decide because I’ve had one on another blog server.

From the very start, I had hoped to devote this blog to the “crafty” side of me, showing the crafts I have been working on and hoping to make personal notes about my crafty exploits.  I also wanted to be able to provide tutorials, mainly to demonstrate that there is much one can do “the ordinary way”, even if you consider yourself artistically challenge.  As a crafter, I take pride in being able to produce work using the simplest materials.

I haven’t had much luck maintaining consistency in posting in my original Gotham Chick blog mostly because I try to do my posts with accompanying photographs.  I am even thinking of doing video eventually as well, but I’m trying to start fresh here.

So instead of migrating the old blog, I’m starting fresh.

This is a crafter’s blog. While there are times when I get lucky and what I eventually produce can be likened to art, I am by no means pretending to be an artist.  I have an array of artists that I am a fan of, and I take much inspiration from their works, even if I can only hope to do anything close to what they create.

Creating is a good means of expression and something I encourage in my friends.  I hope this blog helps other fellow crafters as similar blogs have helped me in my own craft journey.  Many of the things I have created are the result of hours and hours of internet research and countless experiments.  One of my personal mantras is “I learn something new everyday.”  Opening ourselves to “new things” helps us grow, no matter how young or old we may be.  I’d like to think that it helps us go through the challenges of daily life and become better persons.

I blog here, and I sell on Etsy.  My etsy shop, Gotham Chick — what else? — has been in existence for three years now.  A lot had happened in 2012 that had forced me to put the shop in the backburner or in semi-hibernation, but I’ve put the shop back online and I’m repopulating the shop with existing stock.  I am also starting to experiment and create again, and hopefully, these new ventures will find their way into the shop soon.  The first three years have seen some sales, but they can be better.  And I know I can do better if only I can focus more on the “creating” part.  This is my challenge for 2013.

So welcome to the new home of GothamChick on the web.  Join me on this never-ending crafter’s journey.