Tag: handmade

  • A busy month indeed!

    A busy month indeed!

    Actually, it’s been two months, to the day, and things have been hopping steadily in the studio. While everyone outside of my Moonology groups rail against Mercury Retrograde and its usual chaotic effects in the more vulnerable parts of our lives in communication and mechanica, I have been taking advantage of it to redo, revise, refresh and renew old earring and ear cuff designs.

    There are so many new and renewed retro designs in The Ears Have It Etsy store, in fact, there are too many to name here, so I am going to leave it to a few picture galleries to tell the story. Hopefully they will peruse the now 90 designs available – many of them customizable with new colors and semi-precious stone choices to suit all tastes. Be sure to send me an Etsy convo message if there is something you would like customized ahead of your order if you don’t see your favorite option available. Chances are I will have something in my bead stash to fit your needs.

    New Designs

    Celtic Gold Feather ear cuff and earring
    Lunar Blue Double Pierced earring
    14k Feather ear cuff
    Silver Pentacle Triple Pierced earring
    Hekate Key Triquera Moonstone ear cuff
    Silver Dragon Ear Cuff

    Old Favorites Redesigned

    Carnelian Dragonfly Sun ear cuff
    Copper Double Piercing Eclipse
    w chain and goldstone accents
    Triple Crescent Moon gold earring
  • I’m Alive…Kinda…Sorta…8/15/21

    I’m Alive…Kinda…Sorta…8/15/21

    Whelp, I’m back at the beadboard and glad for it! Last week’s pen wrap project was a fun custom design for a gal whose granddaughter loves The Beatles. Here’s the WIP from the beta tester’s pics:

    Pretty awesome, right? I want to give a shout-out to my beta gal Tina whose work has been both quickly turned around and very well done. She has impeccable thread tension – something all-important in this type of craft. With her invaluable help, I am planning to be more productive by putting out new patterns more quickly in the future. I already have a new, original pattern drafted out and going into production today as I watch my weekend cartoons.

    It has been a GRUELING past two months, lemme tell ya. After a disastrous two caregiving jobs in a row and a week-long stretch of unemployment with only sporadic jobs to keep us alive, I nearly had a nervous breakdown. The only thing that has kept me out of the funny farm has been a rock-solid, supportive husband, probiotics that have a wonderful calming effect (for some weird reason), and the afore-mentioned, half-day job and new client case for a dear, long-time friend. And it hasn’t helped that job-hunting and catching up on doctor’s appointments and overdue errands have kept me from doing what I truly love – writing and beadwork. Such chaos kept me off-kilter and scattered until yesterday when a writing-industry marketing specialist reminded me of the importance of having an effective marketing campaign. The discipline and focus to pull off such a feat is also what allows a crafter to keep their audience entertained with new goodies on a regular, consistent basis when applied as the benchmark for their production schedule.

    This is my new goal in my business – to be more consistent and disciplined in both creating and marketing from now on.

    And speaking of such, I’m off to bead. The first time in way too long. Wish me luck!

    Kristine, the Getting Back Into It Bead Whore

    End note – if you like this style of “I Love” pen wrap pattern, email me with your custom request idea for your own personalized pattern through the Contact Me form. The basic color palette is as pictured below, using a flat black, a gloss/shiny white, and a shiny metallic red for the heart. This template typically has a seven-character limit, though it is possible to add more words/characters by shrinking the text, so don’t be shy. I might be able to make it work for you!

    Here’s another example of an “I Love” pen wrap pattern using the above colors:

  • Crystal & Color Associations for Each Day of the Week

    Crystal & Color Associations for Each Day of the Week

    There is a harmony I often feel compelled to follow when working with specific crystal & color associations for earrings and ear cuffs in my shop The Ears Have It. It seems natural to work with the color black on Saturday, White on Monday, Red on Tuesdays and so on. Stones and crystals follow suit in this fashion as well – Saturday is a day for working with my pewter charms and pairing them with Hematite, Obsidian and Jet – all dark stones associated with the darker shades and the ruling planet for this day – Saturn.

    I thought it’d be fun to share my reference chart for this. It’s taken directly from my Book of Shadows and was updated just today. I would enjoy hearing what you all think of the pairing for each weekday and what your experience has been, if any, in their application and use and how effective following them has been for you. Please feel free to drop a comment here or contact us through the website or on our social media links here. Enjoy!

    Selenite - photography by KC Dragonfly

    Monday (Moon-day)
    Planet: Moon.
    Colors: Silver, White, Grey and Pale Blue.
    Metal: Silver.
    Crystals: Moonstone, Pearl, Aquamarine, Selenite.

    Tuesday (Tiw’s-day)
    Planet: Mars.
    Colors: Red, Scarlet, Autumn Shades, Black, Orange.
    Metal: Iron.
    Crystals: Ruby, Garnet, Bloodstone, Flint, Rhodonite, Hematite.

    Citrine - photography by KC Dragonfly
    Citrine

    Wednesday (Wodin’s day)
    Planet: Mercury.
    Colors: Yellow, Purple, Orange, Grey and Mixed Hues.
    Metals: Mercury and Zinc.
    Crystals: Citrine, Agates, Aventurine, Mica, Pumice, Opal.

    Amethyst Sphere - photography by KC Dragonfly
    Amethyst Sphere

    Thursday (Thor’s day)
    Planet: Jupiter.
    Colors: Purple, Green and Deep Blue.
    Metal: Tin.
    Crystals: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Sugilite, Turquoise.
    It has also been identified with Sapphire, Emerald and Cats Eye.

    Malachite - Fibrous Chunk - photography by KC Dragonfly
    Malachite Chunk – Fibrous

    Friday (Freya’s day)
    Planet: Venus.
    Colors: Green, Aqua, Light Blue, Pink and Copper tones.
    Metal: Copper.
    Crystals: Amber, Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Rose Quartz, Coral, Emerald, Malachite.

    Saturday (Saturn’s Day)
    Planet: Saturn.
    Colors: Maroon, Purple, Dark Shades and Black.
    Metals: Lead and Pewter.
    Crystals: Obsidian, Jet, Coral, Hematite, Serpentine, Salt, Apache Tear.

    Apache Tears - photography by KC Dragonfly

    Sunday (Sun Day)
    Planet: Sun.
    Colors: Gold, Yellow, Hot Pink and Orange.
    Metal: Gold.
    Crystals: Amber, Tigers Eye, Carnelian, Sunstone, Quartz Crystal, Topaz and Diamond.

  • Symbolism and Attributes for Sunday – Carnelian

    Symbolism and Attributes for Sunday – Carnelian

    Return of the Sun

    In 2013 I posted a brief mention of the uses and qualities in the semi-precious stone carnelian. I mentioned some basic associations with chakras and the body’s system. Looking back, I see it was only a quick, incomplete overview. Let’s go over some more information and to go with a new design.

    Back then I paired carnelian with a vibrant gold sun charm dangling from an ear cuff. I have reintroduced this powerful healing stone in the Etsy store for all to enjoy today in a new form.

  • Behind the Bead Board: Gallifrey One, On Site Sales and our Next Projects

    Poll is Still Open

    Hi all. I’m keeping my peyote stitch bracelet poll open for now until I run out of ideas. Not surprisingly, “This Is The Way” from Disney’s series, “The Mandalorian” won the vote when I posted it back in late January. What did surprise me is that the Cat Pawprints didn’t tie it or at least garner any more votes since cats are so universally liked in fandom, especially amongst my personal friends.

    What Next?

    I will continue to work on new designs for Doctor Who bracelets, patterns and kits. There are a ton of ideas out there I have on backlog and not enough time in this lifetime to get to them. To mix it up a little, however, I will also be doing pagan themed bracelets and My Little Pony – the latter hopefully in time for the premiere of the new generation in March.

    Gallifrey One Commissions Closed and On-Site Purchases Open

    Commissions are closed for deliveries to our customers at Gallifrey One, which is in TWO DAYS. Man, after the Christmas season died down, #gally1 sure came at us like a freight train! I will have patterns, kits and fully-made bracelets on ‘site if you want to purchase them and will have my credit card processing chip on me at all times if you don’t have the cash flow to do an impulse purchase. Here are the items that will be available for on ‘site sales:

    Bracelets – $80.00

    Patterns Only – $6.00

    Bracelet Kits – $65.00

    If you would like to catch up with me at the convention, the quickest (and surest) way to get a hold of me if you don’t have my phone number is to direct message me on Twitter. Be sure to follow me first, then after I follow you, you can send a direct message. You can do the same on Facebook Messenger. My profile is here. Thanks!

     

  • Welcome 2020!

    Welcome 2020!

    Happy New Year, all and welcome 2020! It’s been a long time since I’ve updated the ‘site, but now’s the time and I’m excited to share what’s been happening.

    No Gallifrey One Art Show this year

    Doing the Gallifrey One Art Show every other year has worked out well for me, so I am skipping this year and will be back in 2021. I hated to do it, but time constraints and missing the submission deadline made the decision for me, so I’m going with the flow and concentrating on new designs and the Etsy store.

    New Bracelets

    All three designs are available in the Etsy store here.

    I’ve created some awesome new Doctor Who bracelet designs and are they ever FUN! I may not have hit my goal of designing a new pattern and making a bracelet a week, but I set up a new Esty store and concentrated on improving my beading techniques. This year I’m ready to set new, more realistic goals and play with even more designs than ever. Here’s a sample of the new designs now available as instant downloads:

    7th doctor question mark bracelet - final listing image

    What’s to Come

    5th Doctor Bracelet beaded final by T is for TardisThe 5th Doctor bracelet. This was one of the first ones completed early last year that really showed an improvement in my technique. I had a hard time locating end findings to attach the toggle clasps to, but finally ordered some all the way from Turkey. Now I’m searching for the right toggle clasp to use. Unfortunately, the “clock face” toggle on the other bracelets pictured isn’t in a shiny gold finish, so I’m researching other options.

    The Crack in the Universe. I can hardly wait to put this one up, OMG, it turned out absolutely AMAZING! What’s so amazing about it? It actually glows in the dark. How’s that for awesome? I just finished it off this weekend and tried to photograph it glowing, but it wasn’t cooperating, so I’ll finish up the regular shots tomorrow. Look for it to premiere in the next few days.

    The 4th and 5th Doctor’s Scarves. I say “scarves” because there are two versions of this scarf in two different color schemes, one for each Doctor. Being a big, former 5th Doctor fan, I had to do the Davison scarf in beadwork as well as the more famous 4th Doctor’s. In fact, I did the Davison scarf first. I just need to validate these two patterns are being complete and ready to upload to the store.

    Ideas in the Works

    These are all in addition to a few new ideas for new bracelet designs previously unexplored. Like to see a “Hello Sweetie” or “I (double heart) Doctor Who” bracelet? Have another idea not seen or mentioned here? Leave a note in the comments. I can always use more ideas to keep me busy this year!

  • Kustomer Order Kreation Day – Seaweed earring set

    July Kustomer Order Kreation Day

    is tomorrow, 10:00 am Pacific Time. Come see the creation of our Seaweed earring set. This multi piercing has been with us since 2010 and refuses to go out of style! This set is composed of four distinct earrings that carry the same theme of seaweed and fresh water pearl. The long, green daggers are czech glass carefully attached to copper chain. The set can be mixed and matched many different ways for a unique look every new day!

    Grab a drink, watch us work and chat with other Ears Have It fans in our chatroom. This piece is for a special return customer in the U.K. and we are excited to give her and others the opportunity to see the creation of our most complicated design piece in our Etsy store. A direct link to the YouTube livestream and chat will be made available tomorrow on our channel and on our Facebook page.

    Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to receive a notice when we go live for this and future Kreation Days.

    Addendum: the link to the finished livestream plus comments and link to purchase this design is here: http://youtube.com/channel/UC1gUAwzRuD3Tz81YJDOij4Q/live .  If you would like a shorter version of it, let me know in the comments and I will edit it down into a new video.

  • Gallifrey One 2019 Art Show & Wrap Up

    fan on lax marriott carpet from kc dragonfly

    Four days of fun, followed by con crud

    It’s hard to believe it’s only been weeks since Gallifrey One 2019 ended. It seems like so much longer! And, as has become an unfortunate tradition in the 28 years Dennis and I have attended this wonderful convention, we both caught con crud. Hence in part why this update is so late. (<== picture me laid out flat for TWO DAYS from work, looking like this Gally carpet-worshipping fan I found on Twitter) The nasty little bug came and almost went TWICE, so I went and got antibiotics for it Monday.

    It was once again a fabulous year of amazing entertainment, the highlight of which was the ribbon collecting war between Catherine Tate and John Barrowman. Barrowman, being the shy guy he is, came out on stage Saturday in a dress in an exploding tardis print in vibrant yellows and blues. Catherine showed him up the same day, demonstrating how long her ribbon trail was. She had a helper hold it on stage and went out into the audience trailing the end – which was easily two-thirds of the length of the ballroom! As you can image, her bragging about it being longer inspired all sorts of hysterically rude comments from John. Makes up for missing all the other programming outside the main ballroom!

    tis4tardis art show premiere

    What Next?

    After all the sales have been tallied up and the thank yous done, I kicked into high gear. Even as con crud was trying to slow me down, my brain was non-stop forming plans for what to do next. While all the beading for the Gallifrey One 2019 Art Show was fun, it was also hard work towards a purpose. After a couple of years away, I really want to get back into jewelry full time and this time have more fun doing it. Yes beadwork of this intensity is hard work, but it’s work I LOVE. And when you love what you do, REALLY LOVE what you do, burnout doesn’t exist. When I finished the 5th Doctor’s bracelet, I jumped straight into beading 13s necklace without a single day’s break. When it was apparent I wouldn’t finish it in time, I went back to bracelet ideas and did one for the 11th Doctor.

    I even set aside my fanfiction writing for a month because the beading bug wouldn’t let me go. And while I also dearly love creative writing I never regretted my decision to trade one fun project for another for a time.

    Now the real work begins

    5th doctor bracelet on KC DragonflySo where – you might ask – am I going from here? Forward and up and never looking back. I can’t bead fast enough, there aren’t enough hours in the day to fuel this bead machine monster Doctor Who fandom has created. The beadwork for a new 5th Doctor bracelet is done – and it is a vast improvement over even the one that sold at the convention. See for yourself. The top one is the 1st version, the bottom bracelet the one that went into the auction (and sold).

    Happily my rows were straighter and neater, there was less of a wobble to the overall bracelet and I fixed the orientation of both question marks so they face each other. It always bugged me they faced the same direction in the original design. And if ever there was a sign that doing what one loves is what we are meant to do in life, then improving one’s technique is the proof in the pudding!

    And it’s beginning to show

    5th Doctor Bracelet beaded final by T is for Tardis

    It amazes me how much repetition and getting advice from experts can make a difference – and how fast it has manifested. This third version has really come so far in just a few weeks that it has me absolutely tickled. This is by no means the final product. That will come as I work on it this week. And I cannot wait to show you wonderful folks the finished product!

    river song watch us run

    Stick around and as River Song said, “You watch us run!”.

  • Gallifrey One 2019 Art Show Update part three

    On our way

    We are finally on our way to Gallifrey One 2019. It feels strange after over a month of doing beadwork on bracelets every day to not have a bead project in hand, beading and ignoring everything else around me.

    I miss it already.

    Is that weird? Not when you’re addicted to doing beadwork like I am and have been doing it for so many years. When you do something this intense and it’s something you don’t love, it’s easy to get burned out. Me, I’m already going over ideas for my next art show which hopefully will be for a My Little Pony convention up in Northern California. Of course I’ll stop once in awhile during the panels to pay attention to who’s on stage and hang out with my sister and brother-in-law. But there is always downtime when I’m hanging in the lobby and people watching. Those are the times it’s I sit and sketch out what I want my next project to be.

    And now what you’ve all been waiting for

    The 13th Doctor Bracelet

    The 5th Doctor Bracelet

    Tarot & Angel Deck Divination Bags

    divination decks by KC Dragonfly

  • Video: Making Your Star Trek ear cuff

    This video was done for our longest-running customer, Maxine. She requested a triple-pierced Star Trek ear cuff. She supplied the Star Trek charms. Come watch how it all comes together when we create the earring of your dreams and you could see yours made live on YouTube next.

    And here is the finished product:

    custom maxine star trek triple earcuff piercing by KC Dragonfly

    Please subscribe to get notifications of our future broadcasts when they become available. We will also have links and notifications on our Facebook page here. I will be adding them for each new, unique ear cuff piece that is ordered from our Etsy store The Ears Have It. Thank you for watching!