Artisans Holiday Market

I'm extremely excited to announce that I will be participating in PADNA's Artisan's Holiday Market at 919 Gallery in Jersey City! I'm currently fattening up my inventory with new pocketbooks, jewelry and even some art and photography.



This is going to be a really fantastic event!
919 Gallery is an in-home art gallery located in the artist lofts on Bay Street in Jersey City.

Be sure to visit our new Sparkletree Facebook page for details on this event and upcoming events!

I think I'd like to paint with watercolors after our dinner tonight.

Yay!

I'm back and we're married and I have a billion things to talk about.

I already have several new projects lined up and I still have to fill you in on some of my wedding crafts.

Anyway. Hooray!

Elements Collection

Here is my first installment of my Elements Collection of jewelry inspired by nature!

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLL!!!

So, in an effort to conjure up some motivation in my life, I've begun setting small and realistic mini-goals for myself. My Sparkletree goal is to have 25 sales by the end of the summer.

See?
Not unrealistic, but motivation to hustle.

I also want to start getting some Sparkletree items into boutiques. So, if you know anyone or have any advice, give mama some sugar.

Speaking of sugar, I'm done with it. I have become an alarmingly squishy emotional eating machine fueled almost exclusively by bagels and peanut M&Ms. ENOUGH already. Cripes.

So, give mama some love, too. She's gonna get reeeeal bitchy.

So, take advantage of my insanity and get some FREE SHIPPING on any item in my shop between now and Friday 7/25/08.

Just type "NO MORE M&MS" in the comments and I'll revise your invoice.

Quality Assurance

I am pleased to report that I have test driven one of my clean cloths and ran them through a washer and dryer cycle. It came out great! A little shrinkage which is to be expected with 100% cotton, but all in all a success! Still fluffy and soft!

Yay :)

THANK GOODNESS

So, my camera is still on the blink, but my Mom was kind enough to lend me her camera to get me through the slump.

As previously mentioned, I'm trying to incorporate as much eco-friendliness into my crafting as possible.

I made these lovely little organic clean cloths - perfect gifts for housewarming, for the bride, for baby or for your own environmentally-friendly home.


In addition to the super-soft clean cloths, I've been making these fun flowers out of my ever-increasing plastic shopping bag collection. I will be listing them in the next day or so.
The up-cycled flowers would make excellent gift bows/ adornments for your eco-conscious friends!

So... I've been making/ doing some cool eco-friendly crafting... however... my camera broke over the weekend.

So, I feel like I have this really great story to tell you, but I've lost my voice.

GRRRRAAAAAAAH!

So... guess what?!

I found a PHOTOGRAPHER (said in Oprah voice). Here is a link to her site. As you can see, she is awesome. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. Hooray!

In other news, I have started making these vintage-style flower pins with my freshly purchased vintage flower loom from Cathy of California at the Renegade Craft Fair.


I can't stop making them. It's an addiction.

Maybe I can make a whole slew of them and sew them together into a wedding gown.

Right. Wedding gown. I should really pick one of those suckers up.

If you're in the NY/ NJ area...

Come out and see my band's last show till Fall.

The Goldhawk

Hawt.

my DIYish wedding (1)

I feel like I haven't posted here in 100 years.
Between cranking out earrings and necklaces (which still need to be photographed... agh!), I've been really busy with finishing up school and planning my wedding.

Here are the facts:

• I'm getting married in September.
• I have less than three months to pull this all together.
• I want to incorporate as much DIY as I can feasibly handle.
• I also want to keep it as eco-conscious as possible.

I'm not sure if I was emotionally prepared for the undertaking of wedding planning. My thoughts all along were "Why make a big deal out of it? It's one day! I'm going to keep it simple."

It is really easy to lose sight of those initial thoughts when you're in the trenches navigating the vendors, the gaudy decor and general heavy pressure of the wedding machine. For instance, I was not aware that peel and eat shrimp was tacky. I didn't realise that wedding invitations had so many moving parts. And who knew that a certain kind of chair was preferred for receptions.
Not me.

Is there a place to put my ass while I eat?
Yes?
Good.

Anyway, I'm going to be posting a series called my DIYish wedding where I will share my happiness and my hell with you, gentle reader.

Enjoy.

Necklace Party!

Hi all,

I have been slacking in posts again. I had exams and I'm trying to plan a wedding... so, I'm a little disorganized lately.

Anyhoo.

Thanks to some lovely friends of mine, I've been inspired to start making jewelry again. It seems that my crafting comes in waves. Here are some of the necklaces I've been making.

Enjoy!

Not craft related...

But I had to share this.
It's too cute to keep to myself.


That's Poochie and his BFF Fink at the dog park.

Personalize me...

Guess who's been really lazy about posting lately?
Hint: Me.

I attended a superfly bachelorette party last weekend and just had to make some favors for the lovely ladies. I stuffed some pink striped bags with candy, temporary tattoos and these personalized necklaces!




I'm debating whether to list them yet. I need to put an order into Rio Grande for some supplies. I wish my magical economy boosting check would arrive soon. Grrrrr.

I've also been diligently working on a baby blanket for some friends who just had a beautiful baby girl. I don't want to post pictures until it's done. I forgot how long it takes to make a baby blanket. I'm really happy with the way it's coming out though. I tried a new stitch. Woot.

In other news my dog has been cracking me up lately. I got some free samples of these complete meal bars and he insists on hiding them all over the house. I first noticed him walking around in circles and whining with the bar in his mouth. I realized he was looking for a place to bury it. I watched him try to bury it in his bed. I found one in my chair and on the stairs. I have to take a video of it next time. It's ridiculously cute.

Attention Crocheters, Knitters and Weavers!

Pola, from my EtsyNJ Street Team was nice enough to forward the article below to the entire group. I believe the article is originally from WeaveZine. Just wanted to pass it on!

Afghans for Afghans: Shawls for New Mothers

Afghans for Afghans just announced a project to create shawls for new mothers in the maternity ward of the CURE hospital in Kabul. I was interviewing Ann Rubin, the organizer, about the initiative and after I explained the advantages of weaving (fast, finer yarns, uses less materials, etc.) she said, "Oh my gosh, I need weavers!"
This is a chance to show the knitting world what weaving is all about, as well as warm up the lives of mothers and their newborn babies in Afghanistan.
Want to help out? There are three ways to get involved:

1) Spread the word: tell your guild, your weaving buddies, etc.

2) Donate yarn. Got a stash of fine-weight wool that you know you're never going to weave up? Send it to me at WeaveZine and I'll put it in the hands of a weaver who'll weave a shawl in your name.

3) Weave a shawl (or two, or three...) and send it to Afghans for Afghans. Details, including the guidelines of what to weave are online at HERE.

Also, Danielle of CreationsbyDanielle alerted us to Project Linus.

Please be sure to check these sites out!

Happy Earth Day!

I did some custom orders last night, which always makes me happy!
Some Sparklecats and a Tree of Life necklace.



I also added a new image to the art necklace collection called Breezy Leaves.
Why?
Looks like leaves... in a breeze. Yeah.

Destashtastic!

Destash time!
Check out my shop for destash yarn!





Today at work, I unearthed some metallic paint pens in my desk drawer. I have no idea where they came from... but I know where they're going! TO GOOD USE. I'm painting the cover of my new journal right now.


Also, on a personal note, I just joined Weight Watchers with a friend. So, consider this fair warning. I may start blogging about food that I wish I was eating.

Like fried things...

Mmmmm.... fried things.

What a week...

So it's been quite a while since I last posted. There was some dog drama last week. Poochie's separation anxiety is not getting any better. He chewed through the door we put up, got loose and destroyed some stuff. Lots of stuff. Not pretty.

Luckily, the BeeF is sweet and wonderful and always fair... he has agreed to give the Pooch one more chance. We're bringing him to the dog behaviorist on Tuesday. Please keep your fingers crossed for us and send happy thoughts to the Pooch.

Anyway, I made a bunch of fun stuff.
Washcloths crocheted with organic cotton yarn.

These are SO so soft and the colors are so lovely.

I made a couple of little pouches from the yarn in the last post.

I used vintage buttons for the closures... they look really cute.

The pouches above inspired me to make some little "pick pockets" for my guitar.

You can use them for anything really... spare change, i.d. cards, lip balm. They're totally customizable, too. I can make them in any size and color.



As always, custom requests are encouraged!

Wooly wolly...

I bought some beautiful hand-dyed wool from Wool Mountain's de-stash shop. I LOVE it.


I'm making some little pouches with it. The colors are really vibrant. Reminds me of springtime. Yay. I think I'm going to start doing a de-stash of my own. I have SO much yarn. And beads. And who knows what else...

I'm also making some upcycled plastic bag totes... something I've been meaning to try for quite some time. If anyone would like to donate used Target bags for this project by mail, please email me. The Target bags are making a cute polka-dot-like design. I'm shocked that I don't have too many around my house considering my giant Target obsession.

I'm also considering making a kitchen rug out of an old bed-sheet. But I'm not certain how I'm going to approach that.

It's nice to be crocheting so much again... but my wrists are starting to cramp again. Bah.
Also, I want to take up knitting soon.

Wow... manic much?

Zzzzzz

I am exhausted. I don't know why, but the last few days, I'm feeling awfully run down. Not sick... just incredibly tired. Not fun at all. Aside from my paper making extravaganza, I didn't really do any crafts this weekend. Though I did crochet a bit at the show I went to on Saturday night. I got some pretty interesting looks.

Yeah... I live on the edge.

Holy crap - I made my own paper!

I'm so excited.

Enjoy the slide show below!

On edge...

So... I'm a little edgy this week.
I guess its the exams. I bombed one on Monday and I have another tonight. My stomach actually dropped as I was typing that. I really hate tests. Such pressure. Such a do-or-die feeling.

So, yes, I've been a little satanic. I have zero patience. I have not actually spoken to any human beings outside of my job or the BF this week. I suppose that I become a little bit of a hermit crab when I'm working through something. This is ok with me because hermit crabs, of course, are awesome. All crabs are awesome.



Ok, back on planet earth... I put an Alchemy bid on Etsy to do a purse. It's my first bid ever, which was a little harrowing. It was nice to break the ice though. I hope to do more bids in the future.

I have other things to talk about but now is not the time.

I'll be back later most likely.

Myspace

I picked up a Myspace for mySparkletree.
So, if you have one, please add us as a friend because we're a little lonely.

I have pics of pocketbooks, jewelry and even some photography that I'm particularly proud of. And of course, Poochie is there.

I'm deleting my personal one. It's dumb. I never check it.

Anyhoo... things have been very busy in the house of Sparkletree. It's mid-term week at school and I'm also running around planning my... "upcoming party."

I have some ideas for rings that I need to get cracking on. And I'm expecting my paper making kit sometime in the next couple of days. Yes, paper making kit. I'm going to make paper. Because I'm insane.

I'm starting to get that nervous feeling... the not-enough-hours-in-the-day feeling. It's good. Don't get me wrong... it means that I'm inspired. I just wish I didn't have silly little distractions like work and school and bills and housework to worry about.

*sigh*

New items and Clearance!

P to the S... I uploaded my new shrinky-dink jewelry here!

Tree of Life Art earrings.


Cherry Blossom Art earrings.


Sparklecat Art necklace

And I'm having a clearance sale - 30% off of a bunch of other earrings.

Ch-ch-check it.

P to the P to the S... as always, mention this blog and receive 10% off of any order.

PSA and other things.

So, apparently I'm a little late to the party here... but in case YOU live under the rock next to mine, Go to Pandora Radio.

Nikkol was kind enough to steer me in their direction and I can't thank her enough. I'm always looking for new music because I get sick of things pretty quickly. Also, my musical taste is a little cyclical. I go from country phases to Motown phases to crunchy rock phases and so on and so forth. I am VERY excited about this.

So this weekend was very fun. While my lovely BeeF was at rock and roll camp, I filled my schedul to the brim. On Saturday, I went to Hoboken to meet up with some members of EtsyNJ. It was nice to put faces with names and to spend some time with some other craft-minded folk. I think I get so lost in my own crafty head sometimes. It's good to know I'm not alone.

Saturday night, I got together with some ladyfriends for wine and stories. My cheeks still hurt from laughing. Sunday... well, Sunday is when I lost my mind.

I bought some shrinkable plastic (er... shrinky dinks) and went ka-razy with it. I have three new pairs of earrings and several necklaces to post. I'm particularly excited about the earrings. I'll try to get pics up later today.

Yesyes.

PS - Seriously go to Pandora. I've fallen in love with a few new songs already.

Yesterday, I unearthed the Badge-a-Minit that I purchased last year. I had no success with it on the first try so I stuffed it in a drawer. I don't know what prompted me to pick it up again, but I'm glad I did. I've been turning little doodles into wearable buttons.

I'm not sure if I'm going to list them or not. I figure I'll give them a test drive. What do you think? Here are a few. The rest can be seen on my Flickr.

Dandelion:


Tree:


More trees:


Even a Hey Tiger button:



It was really warm out this afternoon, so I took the dog for a nice, long walk. On a little side street around the corner from my house, I passed this:

A hand-sewn, gingham checked, ripped heart in the gutter. "Simplify."
It's now the desktop background on my computer. If it wasn't so soggy and dirty, I would have taken it home.

I bought some shrinky-dinks at the craft store today. I'm debating whether or not to bust them out. I have lots of ideas. But its midnight. Hmmmm...

The BF in Texas this weekend, playing his rock and roll. I miss him. The boys and I are holding down the fort though. Poochie's already passed out from all the partying.

Yeah.

PS - Has anyone seen the commercials for the "Horton Hears a Who" menu at iHop?
Incredibly disturbing.

idontknow...

So... tonight... walking from class to my car... I had kind of a strange confrontation. I passed two individuals talking in the atrium of my college building. They stopped their conversation as I passed and then hurriedly followed me out the door.
I hastened my pace a bit.
So did they.

"Excuse me... I'm sorry to bother you... can I just ask you a quick question?"

I turned around and slowed my pace slightly. I figured that a.) They were other Psychology students conducting a survey, which is common in that particular hall... or b.) They didn't know where the student center or some other campus building was.
I stopped.

"Have you ever heard of God the Mother and the bible?"

Now, the first time I heard this, I was in the mall several weeks ago. The pair caught me off guard. "God the what?" slipped out of my mouth before I ultimately threw up my hand and said "No thanks. I'm good" as I walked away.

I consider myself an open minded and tolerant person. While I not particularly religious, I come from a fairly religious family and have friends in varying degrees of devoutness to their respective faiths. I respect religion as an institution as well as our individual rights to practice as we please.

I also understand that in some faiths, it is customary for the young adult members to spread the word to their greater community as rite of passage into adulthood.

That being said, I guess I just wanted to voice my concern about the manner in which I was approached twice in several weeks time. Both times I was walking alone. Both times were at night and both times I was approached by a pair of people. Maybe it's my own paranoia and anxiety, but I found it to be a little aggressive and somewhat intimidating.

I'm just curious if anyone else has experienced a similar scenario and what your thoughts were. Also, does anyone know what group these people are a part of? My internet searches didn't give me much info.

Again, I am not knocking the religion or their beliefs, I simply found their recruitment tactics to be a bit uncomfortable.

PSA

Because I'm a narcissist, I occasionally search the internets for my name. Today's Flickr search of same was actually quite fruitful.

It led me to this lovely little treasure:
Alessi

I will be purchasing her cd today.

Poochi Poochie La La La La

Poochie's being a good little helper monkey today.
And when I say helping, I mean not crapping all over the floor.



Poochie is a bit of a neurotic little mutt. I had to take him to the vet last week because he suffers from such severe separation anxiety and because I'm 3 inches from suffering a nervous breakdown from coming home to a poopy peepy kitchen every day. The vet put him on Prozac.
Yeah.

So far, no progress... but I suppose like people Prozac, it will take several weeks for it to kick in. As angry as the mess and the barking and whining makes me, I feel so bad for this little guy. I know what is like to be in a panic. I know how it feels to be scared. I really hope this works because he is such a pea when he's not destroying things.

I'll leave you with a picture of my dinner from 12:45 am.


Grilled-to-tha-mutha-lovin-Cheese, son. It's been way too long.

As promised...

First... the two pairs of decoupaged earrings I'm working on.
The black ones are done. I'm not sure about the cherry blossom ones.




And now some entertaining shots of the inside of my brain... here's what my journal looks like:


The cover.


What tomorrow brings...


Ahhhh.


When I was a lonely girl.


He gave me a flower.


Lyrics to Atmosphere.


I remember this.


I like to do Drawerings.


Self explanatory.

Blah blah blah.