DC Designs

DC Designs is still closed....

2010-03-22T17:15:00.008-05:00

Denise has had a bit of a rough time the last nine months. She said it was okay for me to come and post this.

Summer time lull

2009-07-23T14:57:00.004-05:00

Normally summer vacation means lots of clay time. But for some odd reason it just feels too hot to be productive. I've filled orders but haven't made anything new in quite a long time. May to be exact. A friend wanted to know if i could turn the rectangle word necklaces into a key chain for Mother's Day presents. I was quite happy with how they came out. Sometimes the best stuff comes from customer requests. That's why I love doing custom orders. A few other people saw them and I actually got quite a few local orders for them. Typically I concentrate on online sales and after a half a year of craft shows I think I needed a break. But the clay table is starting to whisper in my ear from across the room as I waste my time organizing the house, reading lots of books, watching cheesy movies, and playing on the computer. I think I might clean off that table pretty soon here.

still pretty

2009-04-17T21:09:00.003-05:00

still pretty
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

We all get a bit withered in this life, but we are still pretty.

I thought this was a very appropriate shot to be taken on my 31st birthday. :)

Here's me back in my good ol' cheesy senior pic.

and here's me now. :)

and I even got carded tonight at Happy Hour. So I guess 31 isn't so bad after all.

p.s. The poppy shot was taken at The Meadows at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, TX. The hubby and I spent a weekend there for my birthday. We had tons of fun and you can check out tons more pics on my flickr photostream. I've got over 400 to go through so I'm picking the best ones, cropping them, and uploading a few a day.

two become one

2009-04-13T20:48:00.002-05:00

two become one, (version 3)
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

This weekend the hubby and I went to Fredericksburg,Tx for my birthday. There was so much to do and see that we will definitely go back. We went to vineyards and did the whole wine tasting thing, we walked the nature trails at the nearby state park, we went to the Pioneer Museum which turned out to be really interesting, we went in shop after shop after shop, and we went to a wildflower farm. The wildflower farm had a butterfly house. It was absolutely amazing. This is my favorite shot from the whole trip. I just couldn't believe that there they were on the Passion Vine. It just seemed like too good of a photo op to miss. I couldn't believe how good the shot came out. I love how the flower buds are leaning in towards each other almost at the same curve as the butterflies but flipped.

hooray!

2009-03-15T16:38:00.008-05:00

After a week of rain, clouds, rain, and more rain (might I add it was Spring Break this week) it's finally sunny! The hubby has a theory that no matter what the weather is like all week Sunday always seems to be sunny. I'm starting to think he just might be right, but don't tell him I said that. :) I've been outside all afternoon taking lots of pictures in the yummy sunshine (I don't quite understand how sunshine can be yummy, but it just is somehow.)

I snapped a quick shot of my picture taking set-up. I like to do it out on the front porch so that everything doesn't get dirty from the grass and dirt in the backyard. Today there was a lady sitting out across the street on her front porch. From that angle I'm sure she must of been wondering what in the world I could be up to.

The enigma that is Facebook

2009-03-10T15:04:00.001-05:00

Okay, so when I first started my website before I even had an Etsy Shop I signed up for Myspace to promote my shop. It's been pretty helpful. I also have a lot of friends who are on it also. Well my friends kept telling me how much better Facebook was and that I had to sign up for it. After several months of resisting I finally broke down and signed on up. It has some pretty cool features. For a while there I was completley obssesive about adding Flare to my page (little buttons that you put on your bulletin board) and the online chat feature is really cool. But there is something that I think is kinda strange. You see on Facebook people who are friends with people you are friends with can see some of your stuff even if you haven't friended them. That kinda is strange. On Myspace you would literally have to go to somebody's page to read the comments that somebody made on their page. On Facebook you sign in and the comments other people have made on everybody's pages are there. So it' more in your face so to speak. It is certainly a way for everybody to know everything. It's a bit different to get used to. One of the neat things about facebook is that you can become fans of businesses, bands, artists, brands, etc. that you heart. So I created a DC Designs business page and now people can be a fan of DC Designs on Facebook which totally makes me laugh but is also kinda cool. So if you are on Facebook you can become a fan. hehehehe I'm thinking I might use it to post new items, links to when I update my blog, contests, specials, stuff like that so ummmm pretty much the same way I use Myspace. Seems a bit redundant. Hmmmm I'll have to wait and see how this all goes.

The Simple Life

2009-03-10T01:48:00.008-05:00

I've noticed that shops that are simple really tend to have items that stand out. So I've been on a quest to simplify and make my items stand out more. Decided to try out a cleaner no fuss look. Downloaded GIMP and made the most low key banner ever. People kept telling me to put item pics in my banner. I figured I'd give it a go. It seems rather plain. I love my fancy Sylvie banner. But this does show off the jewelry immediately when you click on my shop. Any thoughts?

*I know a couple of the pics are a bit darker than the others. I just mean generally speaking. Nothing nit picky or anything. =)

This is what happens when you give me a sketch book

2009-02-22T18:21:00.001-06:00

This is what happens when you give me a sketch book
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

Okay so I had this crazy idea while sketching one night of making a new logo out of clay. (Sometimes when I can't think of new things to make I start sketching and new stuff emerges, but it's always kinda a bit out there) This is only one component of the two completely different concepts I came up with. This is pre-baked. I was really excited to mix up this very shabby chic sage-y green. I've tried to get this color right in the past and have never been able to. Pretty jazzed about it. Yep, I seriously just used the word "jazzed" in a sentence. I must be excited. :)

Picture makeover continues

2009-02-22T18:13:00.001-06:00

Picture makeover continues
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

The quest for a more unified shop look continues. Okay so typically the backyard is too sunny to take pics in. I took out my pvc light box and sheet and tada!!!!!!
I think the lighting is pretty good. And I think this background will work for everything. It's just a plaque I painted for craft show display but I like the texture of it. I think it will give the shop that Shabby Chic feel that I've always kinda wanted.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-08T10:19:00.001-06:00

cinderella group
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

Yet another Halloween with the crazy kinder teachers. :)
Soooo disappointed you can't see my pink chucks with the sparkling laces to match my wand. Oh and I have silver star charms dangling on them that match my necklace and earrings which you can't see either.

Oh time why must you fly?

2008-09-28T18:19:00.003-05:00

October! It's almost October! Oh my! Well let's see I didn't touch even a scrap of clay for about five weeks once the end of summer vacation hit and it was time to get back to school. Thankfully things have started to slow down a bit at school and I found some time to assemble some finished clay pieces in time for the show last weekend in Gruene. I did pretty good. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law and I aren't sure if we are going to have a booth there for Oct- Dec. like we hoped. Apparently the spots we have been in are from people who come back once the holidays come around. I'm trying to find some other local craft markets to try. There are quite a few to choose from, however I haven't actually attended them which makes me nervous. Things have been so crazy at school that this weekend is the first one that I've been able to relax a bit. Well, if relaxing equals catching up on mountains of laundry, cleaning the office which looks like DC Designs and school stuff exploded into each other, and cleaning the bathroom counts as relaxing. Hopefully next weekend I'll get back to claying and have some time to take pics of some new stuff. All the new stuff sold at Gruene so I didn't even have time to photograph it. Kinda cool. :)

What a great weekend!

2008-07-20T23:27:00.002-05:00

Gruene was a lot of fun. Too tired to actually string together a coherent post but here is a pic of the booth. :)

I'll be at Gruene Market Days this weekend!

2008-07-13T18:59:00.005-05:00

After my experience with the Crafty Mama's Market in March I decided that I would no longer try craft shows that haven't been around for awhile. After much research online and a few leads from some very helpful craft booth vendors I had a list of venues to check out this summer. First on my list was the monthly Market Days in the historic district of Gruene. Gruene (pronounced "green") is located only thirty minutes outside San Antonio and just an hour from Austin. Gruene is part of New Braunfels, Tx. My sister-in-law also has an etsy shop and I convinced her to come check it out with me in June. We decided that a two day market was a little intimidating as far as the amount of product to fill a booth goes and we decided to try doing a show together. After much late night instant messaging we decided to create Little Meadow Studios. Check it out! :) And come say hey if you happen to be around New Braunfels this weekend.

Let's Hear it for Wii fit!

2008-06-22T23:44:00.007-05:00

Okay so according to the wii fit I've lost 4.8lbs! Yippeeee Skippy! Don't you dare tell me it is just water weight or that it is natural for the body to fluctuate up and down 5 lbs as the month goes on. I'm going to believe what the cute little wii fit board told me. :) I've also been eating pretty healthy. Well, I did have some Mexican food yesterday with my sister-in-law while we were scouting out Gruene's Market Days as a potential venue (you can read all about our adventure and new business venture here), but other than that I've been super healthy. Breakfast has been 1.5 whole wheat mini bagels. Why 1.5? Well, that's the right number of bagel halves to equal the right number of ozs for a serving of whole grains. I've been topping it with a smidgen of whipped cream cheese. A side of sliced strawberries finishes the plate and makes it all worthwhile. I've also been having a mug of green tea which is supposed to help with migraines, weight loss, and adult acne (Wow!) and it sure does taste good. I'm reading the book Eldest in this pic, it was a good junk food kind of read. The place mat and napkin were made for me by my friend Jen of Winged Egg. She surprised me for my birthday with them. Aren't they the prettiest place mats ever? For lunch I've been sticking to this salad from Ellie Krieger. It's really tasty. If you decide to make it triple the amount of Grey Poupon you put in the salad dressing and use red wine vinegar instead of the balsamic. I left out the parsley because I forgot to put it on the grocery list and it still tasted really yummy. I've been working on finishing assembling all those finished clay components that are just waiting to be transformed into finished pieces of jewelry. Hopefully I will have some shots of new stuff to share soon.

For all us San Antonians

2008-06-13T18:27:00.003-05:00

Who doesn't love local stuff? Alamo Mama is a site maintained by a couple of groovy San Antonio Moms with a great eye for where the cool places are, from a motherly perspective of course. Want to know what restaurants have the best sand boxes? Maybe you've been wondering where you can go play dress up on a stage with your 4 year old. Then check out this really cool site all for moms, which also happens to have excellent taste in jewelry.

Someday I will......

2008-05-25T20:30:00.006-05:00

Learn not to procrastinate. Someday I will sport a "carpe diem" attitude. However, not today. Today I am allowing myself such trivial pursuits as playing my new Wii game, "Wii Fit." I hate my fat mii (the character you make to represent yourself changes according to your BMI, eeek!!!) and am determined to see it shrink. Today I did Hula Hooping a couple of times, hit the soccer balls with my head and managed to hit every damn shoe that was thrown at my poor mii as well. I tried out the running and got really tired. Then I did a few yoga poses (the lady trainer is really annoying with her perky boobies and teeny waist) and finished the session off with the Balance Ball game. I got some fitness credits in my piggy bank but I didn't play long enough to unlock a new game. I'm very jealous of the hubby who got to do boxing today. grrrrrrr........ The hubby has played the game three days longer than I and has been sore each day after. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. It really is a fun way to exercise and procrastinate all at the same time. :) I also procrastinated today by spending some time trying on some hair colors (turning 30 has made me a bit conscious of the grays that I started getting back when I was 20.). Seriously this Clariol Hair Studio thing is hysterical and a great way to put off doing something important like laundry. Someday I will have purple hair!!!! Seriously, someday. And that is totally not may hair. Someday I'll figure out how to use rollers effectively too.

M&M-anator

2008-04-07T17:35:00.001-05:00

M&M dc
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

So you have tons of work to do. You don't feel like folding that laundry. The studio is a mess but you just aren't in the clutter buster zone. Everybody is hungry but you just can't seem to turn on the stove. You find yourself running out of opportunities for procrastination. Eek! What is one to do? Have no fear. The M&M-anator is here. I wasted about an hour finding the perfect haircut for my rockin purple hair. And I kept wavering between the more true to life book in hand or something more exciting like the tiki cup drink or the wizard staff. I'm quite loving the purple hair and the sheen on my green skin, but the thing I love the most is that even though my M&M is quite round she is still looking pretty kick ass. M&M-anate yourself at http://www.becomeanmm.com/

Tortellini Soup

2008-03-30T16:14:00.001-05:00

Tortellini Soup for my hard playin hobbit hubby
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

This is a really yummy soup that is cheap, fast, and very tasty. Instead of boiling the tortellini in water boil it in stock, beef stock, chicken stock, veggie stock, mushroom stock, whatever kinda stock you have in your pantry. We like it with beef stock or mushroom stock. So follow the directions on your package as to how much liquid and for how long. (I use two cartons of stock for one small pack of tortellini.) While the tortellini is boiling sprinkle in some steak seasoning (I use McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning). Slice up some roasted red peppers from a jar. If you have some marinated mushrooms slice them up too. When the tortellini is tender crank the heat down to low and taste the tortellini and broth. Add more steak seasoning if you want. Throw in as much of the peppers and mushrooms as you like and ladle it up into the bowls. Sprinkle in some shredded parmesean and cut up some crusty bread for soaking up all the yummy broth. This soup tastes great left over also. If you use the chicken or veggie stock it will taste lighter so I'd probably leave out the steak seasoning and use some fresh basil torn up or whatever Italian Seasoning blend you have in your pantry.

Stolen

2008-03-30T13:07:00.001-05:00

Stolen
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

I stole an egg today that had fallen from a nest in the tree in my backyard....

I dropped the egg I stole

2008-03-30T13:06:00.006-05:00

I dropped the egg I stole....and it cracked
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

It cracked really bad after I dropped it

2008-03-30T13:06:00.001-05:00

It cracked really bad after I dropped it
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

Hidden Inside

2008-03-30T13:05:00.003-05:00

"Stolen"
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

I gently opened the egg up and hidden inside was a tiny Mama bird! Three of her eggs had been stolen and were trapped in a bird cage!

Well okay, actually this is my entry for the Polymer Clay Guild of Etsy's April Challenge. The theme for April is "Covered Eggs." I wanted my egg to look like I had stolen it from a nest, dropped it, and caused it to crack. I never do anything realistic so it was a fun challenge to try to get my egg as realistic as possible. Trying to get a real looking crack and not just a cut was the most challenging part. Since the plastic easter egg I covered came hinged I knew I wanted to keep the hinge and hide something inside. I just couldn't resist the temptation and I had to do a bird. I thought the copper would look good with the pale blue and then I remembered I had some vintage copper birdcage beads. I pried the cage open with my pliers and put three tiny beads of turquoise dyed jasper. I like to think the mama bird's eggs have been stolen and put in the bird cage.

You can see the making of this piece documented in this set of photos in my flickr photostream .

getting ready to egg it up, but I should probably clean up this mess

2008-03-22T16:14:00.004-05:00

Every month the Polymer Clay Artist Guild of Etsy has a challenge. For April, it's to cover an egg. I've never covered an egg before so it should be interesting to see what happens. I went to the fridge this morning and pulled out a real egg, but I just couldn't bring myself to poke the hole and blow the egg out. I don't like eggs. I can't stand the way they smell. Then I went to Walgreens to buy some Advil (darn those cramps) and I came across some hinged plastic Easter eggs. So I thought, why not? The bag came with lots of different sizes and I figure I have 14 opportunities to mess up so hey, for $2.50 and no yolks that isn't too bad. I have a feeling that I'm going to plagued with air bubbles. I haven't tried covering an object in years. Not since that Christmas with the infamous snowflake covered box that cracked and drove me mad. Of course that was over 3 years ago at the least. I'd like to think my clay skills have evolved since then and hopefully I'll be more successful this time. Or I'll just to a highly textured and antiqued egg so that the air bubbles are very sneakily disguised. hehehe, let the eggy claying begin!

The wind is my new enemy.....musings on my first craft show experience

2008-03-21T13:10:00.012-05:00

The alarm rings at 5am. I run from the office/ clay room into the bedroom, flick on the lights, and jump on the bed. “Wake up! Wake up!” I shout as if it were Christmas morning and I were only 6 years old again. “Okay, Okay calm down please.” Says the no longer peacefully sleeping hubby as he rubs the sleepies out of his eyes and actually gets out of bed without hitting snooze once. He loads up the car as I run around the house frantically trying to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything. The car is packed and off we head to Austin at 5:35 set to arrive at the Crafty Mama’s Market right on time for set-up.

In the car I try to fight off the urge to close my eyes after an all-nighter in the clay room. Seriously, I tried to go to sleep. Honestly, I really had every intention of sleeping, but I was just too gosh darn excited. I mean seriously it is my first time bringing DC Designs out to a craft show. Who wouldn’t be so excited!

So the hubby and I get there right on time even after stopping for breakfast at Chick-fil-a. Let’s all pause for a moment to appreciate the deliciousness of the Chicken Minis. Mmmmmm Chicken Minis. So we pull in to the parking lot, I meet Traci the organizer, in person. She is as sweet in person as she is on email. And I find my spot labeled, “DC Designs.” The hubby and I set up the tent (which a bar snapped on during the practice run so we had to duck tape it.). So begins the first problem. I can’t get my side up at all. I’m a wuss, what can I say. I have no upper body strength what so ever. Luckily, the really nice ladies next to me have some burly men with them who run over and help the hubby out. Gotta love that DIY spirit.

I throw up the folding tables and we get the tent weights my big brother made (my sister-in-law was doing the show too) and begin setting up. Somehow when the hubby put the vanity in the car and unscrewed the legs something happened to the molly bolts and the legs won’t screw back in. Luckily I’m able to prop the legs up and get it to work. We roll out the gorgeous banner my Dad made for me and I start making signs with prices on them.

Then we notice the wind! The tent is blowing like crazy and displays keep falling down. So my big brother decides to go get cinder blocks and I take down the easel displays I just bought and put things down flat. My display is now way less interesting. It’s about 11:00 and we still haven’t seen any customers. Vendors start walking around and peeking at other people’s stuff. The tent is blowing forward inch by inch and seems like it’s going to blow away at any moment. Two people’s tents actually tumble and blow away. Necklaces fall and blow off. It was crazy. The hubby starts guessing whether people are customers or just coming to see a friend’s booth. By the end of the day the hubby counted only 18 real customers. Hardly any of them bought anything from any of the 40 vendors assembled in the parking lot.

My brother and his wife and son come up from Georgetown to check out the show. The first thing they said was that there was only one sign and it was on the gate. They had trouble finding it even though they had directions. They thought for sure there would be signs of the main streets. My sister-in-law and the nice ladies at the booth next to me give some names of some well-established markets that always have great turn-outs. Looks like I picked a bad venue.

But all wasn’t lost. I learned that my tent is crappy and I’m going to exchange it for the one that has supports in the middle. Whatever you do don’t buy an EZ up Embassy II. The winds were only up to 15 mph. The EZ Up couldn’t handle it at all. The people next to me had an EZ Up with the trusses across the ceiling. This one didn’t move an inch and it was weighed down by only three bricks on each leg. I believe it was the Express. Apparently at Sam’s there is one for $149.00. That’s the one I got. Then there is one for $194.00. That’s the one they had. This is a circumstance where it is worth the extra money to get the better model. I also learned that my displays need to be heavier. I bought the most adorable antiqued copper racks. But they were easily blown over. I finally weighted them down with the hubby’s Stephen King novel once he realized he couldn’t read as he was going to have to spend the whole day holding the tent. He certainly gets a gold star.

So I learned a lot my first time out even though I didn’t sell a thing. And the best thing was right before we were getting ready to pack up I got to meet my friend Sam from Old But New live and in person! I have a great group of Etsy buddies online and we have been chatting it up together for almost a year now. We help each other out with promoting our shops through treasuries and bumping forum threads. It’s great to have people to go to who can help you out with crafty business questions. And quite frankly we just hang out and chat quite a bit. They are a great group of friends and I’m so lucky to have them. Sam and the boy and the hubby and I went out for some Chinese food afterwards and had a great time gabbing away. So even though the craft fair wasn’t profitable financially it was a great experience.

Busy little Beader

2008-03-13T19:16:00.003-05:00

I 've been beading and claying as fast as my little hands will let me go. The Crafty Mama's Market is this Saturday the 15th and there is still so much I want to finish! Another tray of clay is curing in the oven and I decided I had to snap a shot of one of my earring racks. I've never made anything without polymer clay components before. It's been really fun to just sit with my box of brass and my box of beads and just go crazy making earrings. I decided since I'm short on time to focus on polymer clay necklace focals and mirrors and then make the earrings out of vintage beads. I got a ton of yummy glass vintage beads that complement the colors that seem to predominate my work. So here's a sneaky peeky!

The best gifts in life....

2008-02-18T21:40:00.005-06:00

For Valentine's Day this year I got one of the best presents possible from the hubby. A clean house! Yep, he mopped, he vacuumed, he washed dishes, he scrubbed toilets, he did just about everything but dust. And no, you can't have him. :)

So what did I give him? Well, normally we go out to eat or pick-up Pei Wei for Valentine's, but since it was the first day in almost two weeks that he wasn't having to close. I decided to do it up right and cook a special dinner. I bought some Bacon-wrapped Fillet Mignon and made a mushroom sauce to go with it. (I'll post the recipe on my blog sometime this week), cheesy scalloped potatoes (from a box, hey it was a work night!) and steamed haricot verts and parisienne carrots with lemon pepper and a bit of butter (It was Valentine's Day after all). I hadn't really cooked in so long. We both just sat there and went mmmmmmmmmmm.

The hubby is not one for fancy desserts so I brought him home the leftover un-frosted cupcakes I had ordered from the grocery store for school. In my book a cupcake has to have sprinkles and a cherry on top or it's just not a real cupcake.

Then we snuggled on the couch and watched Lost. What better night could we possibly have had?

Good things happen in threes. :)

2008-02-12T21:19:00.008-06:00

My mom always says life is like a box of.........oh wait......let me start over (okay cheesy I know, but i just couldn't resist).....My mom always says that things come in threes. Babies, deaths, weddings, new jobs, exciting news, etc. I've never really quite believed her but in the last few days her theory has proven true.

The first exciting thing is that I got a really sweet convo (kind of like an email for you non-Etsy folk) on Etsy from Traci of MyHouseBoutique inviting me to participate in the first Crafty Momma's Market in Austin. I mailed off my application yesterday and I was just so thrilled that I practically did the Happy Joy Joy dance all the way to the mailbox. This will be the first time DC Designs has had a booth at an event and I just can't wait!!!!! *squeeeeeeeeee* Well that's assuming that I sent my application in on time and there is still space and all. I did it really early though so I should be okay. I'll keep you posted. The last couple of nights I've been lying awake envisioning my booth and dreaming up displays. This is the tent I'm thinking about purchasing. It got really great reviews from other sellers and it's a huge deal at the local Sam's Club. It's going to be so fun!!! And I love that it's outside. I love any excuse to spend the day outside.

The second thing that happened was that I hit my 100th sale!!!! *throwing confetti in your hair and handing out balloons* I wanted to make it to this landmark by the end of February so that I would have 100 sales my first year. (I actually listed my first item in Feb.) I was so excited to make it. And yes, I jumped up and down, grabbed the hubby's hand and started dancing around like a fool. :) And what was it that sold? *drum roll please........* The "If only you knew how beautiful you really are" mirror." Six of them to be exact! So my 100th sale was just over 100 dollars. That will go nicely towards buying some more supplies for the market. I need to build up that inventory.

The third and final bit of good news is that I decided to join the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy. I used to be in my local guild but I have been so busy lately that I was never able to make the monthly meetings. This guild is full of wonderfully talented and super welcoming artists who have shops selling polymer clay items on Etsy. Their website and flickr photo pool is shock-full of talent. You can also go to Etsy and enter the tag PCAGOE in the search bar to find items made by various sellers of this wonderful online community. The other day when I was on the phone with my clay buddy and she asked me if I had tried/ seen the new line of clay and tools out I realized how out of the clay loop I was. I had no idea there was new clay out there! It made me realize how important it really is to have keep up with the polymer clay community by belonging to a guild. It is also great fun to have other artists to bounce ideas off of and get feedback from.

That about sums up my three good things. So I guess now I better go email Mom and tell her that just maybe she is right and that good things certainly do come in threes.

Look, Look, Look at me!

2008-02-07T16:59:00.000-06:00

Yep, that was a very self-centered post. But anybody who knows me would tell you that I'm so the opposite. So I thought they'd get a chuckle at that title. =) I came home from school today to find lots of fun convos in my inbox on Etsy. I love convos. Sometimes people send them to ask questions, to say how much they love something, or just to say hey. Today I got a convo from Jessica, creator of a really totally jawsome blog called Funky Finds. She talks about some of my Valentine's Day items today. How cool is that!?!?!?! Check it out and leave a comment! Pretty please. :) I'm really excited today because the shop hit 99 sales! My goal is to be at 100 by the end of February. At this rate, I think I might make it! So thankful to all my wonderful beautiful customers. :) I'm also contemplating bringing DC Designs out in person for the first time and participating in a local market. I'm not sure yet because I need to find a helper. I'll have to bribe a friend with some jewelery maybe. :) I'll keep ya posted. xoxoxoxoxo (Can you tell I'm quite chipper today with all my smiley faces and hugs and kisses.)

*edit* I'm one away from one hundred! Which is so crazy because all day today I celebrated the 100th day of school in kindergarten. It's a really big deal for the kinder kids and we do fun stuff with the number 100 all day, like making crowns with 100 stickers and necklaces with 100 fruit loops. How cool would it be to hit 100 sales on the 100th day of the school year. Well, I got six more hours and a showcase going on so maybe.....

Extreme Makeover?

2008-02-03T00:37:00.000-06:00

So I finally found a way to add a shopping cart to my actual website that I can understand. All that CSS, html, Xtml, etc. stuff is like Greek to me. I signed up for Big Cartel which is basically a shopping cart service you can subscribe to. It prompted me to think about changing things up a bit as far as the design and the layout of my site goes. I've been polling people on the Etsy forums, bugging my flickr buddies, and posting bulletins on Myspace asking for opinions. Surprisingly a majority of people really think the black and white shows off my work better. However a lot of people are big fans of the pink and green flowery look. My sweet friend Sylive of AlbinaRose has been quite a banner making diva and wiped out some really neat options to try to combine the two looks. I'd love to know what my blog readers think. If anybody is reading of course. :)
You can get a sneak peak at all the different home pages trying to mesh the two different styles.

*update* The new look is uploaded!

Old Style
http://www.d-c-designs.com/index2
New Look
http://www.d-c-designs.com/index8

the new meshed together look!
http://www.d-c-designs.com/

Very last special for the anniversary sale

2008-01-27T21:41:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, Monday Jan 28th will be the last day for the anniversary specials.
So I guess I better make this one count eh?

Buy one item of $15 or more and take 25% off a second item of equal or lesser value.

just enter coupon code "anniversary" at checkout.

This special will expire at midnight, central time, Monday, January 28th 2008.

Two days left of my one year anniversary specials

2008-01-26T13:48:00.001-06:00

For today you can buy any necklace in the shop and I'll send you a free pair of earrings that match it.

just put "free earrings" in the note to seller at checkout.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

2008-01-21T10:53:00.000-06:00

or so said good old Henry David Thoreau. I remember back in junior year of high school (oh about 13 years ago or so!) we had to read some excerpts from Walden. If only the real world were so very simple. Unfortunately there are bills to pay and other people who's expectations you must meet. I think now a days we tend to live so that maybe someday we will have some free time to pursue those dreams. If only we could have simple dreams. Do we ever stop having more dreams. Once one dream is met does another wait in the wings to manifest only once you think you are content. Can we ever truly be content? Can't we just be happy with being simple? HDT's mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great." I actually have that hanging above my clay table. It reminds me that it's okay to be happy with the fact that my clay work is simple. If only I could apply it to all the areas of my life. If only I could hold good old RWE's quote fast in my head whenever good old HDT starts coming to mind.

Only 8 days of specials left!

2008-01-20T22:38:00.000-06:00

New special

free shipping and a free surprise gift with all orders of $15 or more.

I'm feeling really tired due to stuff going on at school. I have tons of ideas for new stuff, but I'm just kinda too exhausted mentally to work on anything new. Kinda sad. Maybe I will condition a bunch of clay tomorrow to work out some of my anxiety about stuff.

Mailbox Fun, Ramblings, and the next special...

2008-01-09T21:21:00.000-06:00

One of the funnest things about buying supplies is getting them online. I went to the mailbox today and just about did the happy dance in the middle of the sidewalk when I saw I had a package. I bought some really neat vintage white chains to make some Valentine necklaces with. I'd post a shot but the camera just won't work at night in my house with cheap builder's stock light fixtures. (Someday I will get around to picking out and buying some and the hubby will get around to figuring out how to install them....someday) Last night I ordered some more of the awesome copper chain that I've been using in my heart necklaces. I ordered all that the supplier had. I hope she has more eventually as I have quite a crush on copper and I've been trying to find decent copper chain for about 6 months! I also have some fun copper charms coming soon. And my new years resolution for the shop is to make at least one pair of earrings a week. For some reason I make them for myself but never save some to sell. Go figure. I'm going to go ahead and roll out the special for the next few days.
*insert drum roll*
Buy 2 of anything in the shop
and get one item
of equal or lesser value
absolutely free!!!!

Wow! Now ain't that a peach of a deal.

DC Designs’ Etsy Shop
Buy Handmade
Etsy

offer may not be combined with any other offer or coupon
please enter what item you'd like for free in the note to seller at checkout
valid until the next special is posted

extending yesterday's special

2008-01-08T22:23:00.000-06:00

If you are looking for the blog special scroll down, I'm extending yesterday's till I post the new one late tomorrow.
I just listed this in the shop. Its pretty different for me; it's not antiqued, it's hearts and the clasp is in front. I think I might make another in turquoise this weekend. Nighty Night.

Back to work

2008-01-07T21:35:00.000-06:00

So vacation is over and I'm already tired again. I spent about four hours moving furniture around at work and now I'm sore and grouchy. No new jewelry today but my friend Crystal inspired me to offer Custom Candy. So now there's mean candy, nice candy, and custom candy! *singing* "I want candy....du..du...du..du...du..du..du...I want candy!" I can't remember how the rest of the song goes!

2008-01-07T07:08:00.000-06:00

DC Designs One Year Anniversary Celebration!
31 Days of Specials!
Day 11
January 7, 2008
Free Surprise Pair of Earrings
with any purchase from the shop of $10 or more.

DC Designs’ Etsy Shop
Buy Handmade
Etsy

Please enter coupon code Blog 09 in the note to seller at checkout.
Offer valid until the new special is posted.
Sale maybe combined with anniversary coupon.

2008-01-04T02:27:00.000-06:00

DC Designs One Year Anniversary Celebration!
31 Days of Specials!
Day 8 -10
January 4-6, 2008
Free Surprise Pocket Mirror
with any purchase from the shop of $10 or more.

DC Designs’ Etsy Shop
Buy Handmade
Etsy

Please enter coupon code Blog 08 in the note to seller at checkout.
Offer valid until the new special is posted.
Sale may not be combined with any other special offer or coupon.

Day 7 of 31 days of Anniversary Specials!

2008-01-03T01:41:00.000-06:00

DC Designs One Year Anniversary Celebration!
31 Days of Specials!
January 3, 2008

Purchase anything from the

In the Meadow Collectionand take 20% off the purchase price.

Please enter coupon code Blog 07 in the note to seller at checkout.

Offer valid until the next special is posted.
Sorry but, sale may not be combined with any other special offer or coupon.

Mean Candy

2008-01-01T17:26:00.000-06:00

Remember those Valentine Candy Heart stamps I was talking about? Well, last year I thought it would be hilarious to do some mean candy, but I never quite got around to it. Maybe this will be the year I finally, “get around to things.”

A couple nights ago I made the first prototype for my mean candy. I resisted the urge to go with the classic puffy heart candy shape because I figured these hearts are mean and they need to be a bit sassier. So I made an elongated heart with a little curve at the tip that should hit right at the cleavage. Now I was making mean and sassy candy hearts. I started to get even more excited about the project.

I wasn’t happy with the lettering and I didn’t want the hearts to need to be antiqued. So next I worked on solving that problem. Thanks to those new letters and the inkpad the problem was solved. At the last minute I decided it needed a bit more and I added a flat-back crystal. Now I had sassy, sexy, mean candy.

Last night I baked the piece off and I couldn’t wait to assemble it this morning. First I had to sand and buff the piece so it was nice and shiny. Then I opened up my box of vintage treasures since I decided sterling silver just wasn’t right for this piece. I took out a length of vintage copper chain that I bought a long time ago from EpochBeads on Etsy. Then I remembered the vintage glass dangle beads with copper headpins and an idea began to take shape. I had made some spiral topped copper headpins a while back but never used them. I got out a headpin and added some Swarovski bi-cones. Then I remembered the spiral jump ring type things I hade made while practicing my wire work and got one of those out too. I added the two dangle beads and had a nice little spiral dangly beaded thing-a-ma-bob to add to the chain. I was pretty happy with how they looked together and now I all I had left to do was to attach the clasp.

Little did I know that figuring out how to close the necklace was going to be a project unto itself. The vintage chain was too fine to get a jump ring or a piece of wire through. I couldn't figure out how in the world I was going to attach a clasp. I tried several different things but eventually I decided to use a length of beading wire and make the ends beaded. I have some vintage snap clasps but I thought they were too hard to open and close so I took it off and added my obligatory handmade hook and eye clasp.

So finally, here I have my first piece using my Mean Candy. I’m actually really excited about it. This piece is the first piece I’ve made that encompasses all of my jewelry making skills. I got to use some wirework, some bead stringing, some assembling, and of course some polymer clay skills. I plan on spending the rest of the day making some more “Mean Candy” with different sayings on them. I also promised the hubby I’d make some “Nice Candy” because as he so eloquently reminded me, “Valentines is supposed to be nice you know.”

If you are looking for today's special, well, thanks to too many glasses of wine for New Year's I forgot to post it last night at midnight. So yesterday's special is good until midnight tonight. Just look two posts down.

Do you have Mail?

2007-12-31T16:46:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I hand wrote so many cards! I have to admit I had a bit of a meltdown in the middle of my Thank You note writing. I realized that here I was using mass-produced made in who knows where cards. You see as well as my purse addiction I have an addiction to stationary that was long feed by the hubby's 30% off discount when he worked at good old Barnes & Noble. I have 2 whole drawers of random cards and beautiful papers and envelopes. And I never use them! Well I told myself that I bought them a long time ago so it would be wasteful to not use them. So some people got adorable Christmas tree thank yous, while others got really cute stars thank yous, and...........I ran out of thank you cards. So I attempted to make some since I didn't have time to order any handmade ones online. Since the paper arts are uncharted territory for me I decided simple was safe. I used my new lacy puncher to fancy up the bottom of the plain white cards. Three cards later *insert nervous giggle* I finally got the hang of it. I then used my eyelet puncher to make 2 holes at the top so that I could add a little green ribbon. I seem to think everything needs ribbon lately. Finally, I stamped the word "thanks" in brown in the middle. That was it. I had a much more elaborate idea but it looked awful once I tried it. Over 50 hand written cards and three glasses of Dr. Pepper later (I don't normally drink soda anymore, but this was a caffeine emergency) this is what I had. Doesn't the table look pretty?

Day Four of the Anniversary Celebration!

2007-12-31T01:05:00.000-06:00

DC Designs One Year Anniversary Celebration!

31 Days of Specials!

December31, 2007

Happy New Year's Eve!
Buy anything in the shop and the postage is on me!

DC Designs’ Etsy Shop
Buy Handmade
Etsy

please enter coupon code BLOG04

offer valid today only until 12 am eastern standard time

At midnight a new special is announced!

Like a dragon rolling around in its very own treasure trove nest....

2007-12-30T15:35:00.001-06:00

(if you are looking for today's anniversary special its the post below this one)
That's how I'm feeling right about now. Forget the pills, the shrinks, the aromatherapy! Give me some good old-fashioned Retail-Therapy any old day.

Things have been a bit rough thanks to the hubby's new job. He's in the middle of a stretch of seven days working closing shifts so everything is thrown off schedule right now. His tire that he had patched just won't hold air anymore so he is taking my car to work until he has a day off and can go get a new tire. Which means I'm stuck at home while on vacation. Today I just had to get out of the house! So I went shopping and promised to have the car back in time for him to leave for work. I was even nice enough to fill it up with gas for him.

Okay so when the average women is in need of Retail Therapy she hits the mall, well according to what my friends say that's what she does. I don't know as I hate the mall and hate shopping for clothes (its a short person thing). So what does Retail Therapy look like for me? Oh I'm so glad you asked! Let me show you my treasure trove.....................

First Stop? Why Barnes and Noble of course!
First, I hit the news stand and picked up two wire working magazines. I always look at the wire work magazines and put them back determining that I don't really need them and that at $6.99 a pop they just aren't worth it. I bought them both!!!
Next I took a stroll to the fiction section and found that 2 of my favorite authors finally published their latest novels in paperback. Both are the next installment in a series and I had the hardest time deciding which one to get.......I got both!!!!
Finally on my way to the check out I picked up the Sunday paper.
I dropped thirty bucks at B&N and didn't even bat an eye (I'm typically a buy one thing only kinda girl), went into my wallet to get out a Visa gift card and thought to myself, oh forget that, this will be the gas money I'm saving by not working this week!

Now the paper just happen to have a 50% off coupon to Michael's in it and I have a Michael's Gift Card. Micheal's is in the shopping center right next to Barnes & Noble so I decided why not. It's not really Retail Therapy if you only go to one store now is it?
Now I can wander around Michael's just as long as the next girl but today I had something I actually needed. I'm working on some rude conversation hearts inspired by these stamps which are of course inspired by that famous little rectangle box of candy hearts. So I needed to pick up a red ink pad that works on clay. Which got me to thinking that i need a background to shoot Valentine's things on so I headed over to the scrapbook paper section and got a nice sheet of pink with a great texture to it. Hanging on the end-cap was a pack of white cards and envelopes that I picked up since I seem to be writing a bunch of cards lately. I then wandered down the Martha Stewart Crafts aisle which I've never looked at before and found the coolest paper puncher that makes a lacey edge. It was $14.99 but I had my 50% off coupon so I decided to use it on the puncher. It should also work on clay! *shivers with excitement* On the way to the register I saw some calendar mouse pads and thought one would be great to write down my shipping deadlines on. That way when I'm wasting time on the Etsy forums I have my deadlines glaring at me right in the face. We'll see how that works. :)
So I spent 23 bucks of the 25 dollar Michael's gift card, not bad for a days work.

So you'd think I'd had enough and go home. Oh no, next I headed into Office Max for my gridded index cards that I work on. Well, last night I broke my stupid plastic tweezers I use to set my stamps. Well I spent 27 bucks and got a new set that has two handles, two alphabets (one larger and one smaller than what I already have) the tweezers and a black ink pad. So I went up to the counter and did I use my Visa gift card this time? Nope, sure didn't, I put in almost all of my DC Designs money into our account this month, I think I can buy a little stamp set. I need new supplies every now and then after all, don't I? Oh and I picked up a mini ruler since I broke my plastic one.

So, all in all it was a most excellent session of Retail Therapy and it only cost me about 60 bucks! Now its time to go play with all my treasure!
*skips away happily to decide what to play with first*

Day Three of the Anniversary Celebration!

2007-12-29T23:40:00.000-06:00

DC Designs One Year Anniversary Celebration!

31 Days of Specials!

December30, 2007

Buy anything from the
"Industrial Garden"
Collection
and get

A free Pen!

please enter coupon code BLOG03
offer valid today only until 12 am eastern standard time

At midnight a new special is announced!

Day Two of the Anniversary Celebration!

2007-12-29T00:22:00.000-06:00

DC Designs One Year Anniversary Celebration!

31 Days of Specials!

December 29, 2007

Buy anything from the
"In the Meadow"
Collection
and choose anything
from the
"Crafty DC"

section for free!!!
please enter coupon code BLOG02
offer valid today only until 12 am eastern standard time

At midnight a new special is announced!

Happy Etsy-verisary to me!!!

2007-12-28T10:25:00.000-06:00

Today I've been on Etsy one year! I can't believe it! To celebrate I've shipped off a Thank You Note with an extra special coupon for all my customers from this first year on Etsy. And in order to celebrate even more I'm going to have 31 days of specials!!!! That's right, a different special each day! How will you know what the special of the day is? Why I'm going to announce it right here on my bloggity blog of course! So let's get this party started!

DC Designs One Year Anniversary Celebration!
31 Days of Specials!
December 28, 2007

Buy any necklace from the
"I've Got Something to Say"
Collection

and get a
"Sneaky Peaky"
new design of
matching earrings free!!!!!!

please enter coupon code BLOG01
offer valid today only until 12 am eastern standard time

At midnight a new special is announced!

What I'd buy for Christmas, part three

2007-12-22T11:24:00.000-06:00

To continue the virtual window shopping here are my picks for my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law

for my mother-in-law's bathroom

from BigBlueHeaven

for the brother-in-law who is a lawyer

from ArtExchange

Complete exhaustion

2007-12-20T00:19:00.001-06:00

Okay so I know, I know, I promised I'd write up what I would buy for the mother-in-law and the brother-in-law but I'm just too exhausted to shop. Finished packing up the last of the "by Christmas" orders. Then went to the work Christmas party. Had fun. Somebody totally "white elephant" stole both my awesome Elmo and my awesome Homer Simpson ornaments that I stole from other people. So now I have a stocking ornament. SO I have to get up at 5:30am to get ready for work. No shopping tonight, promise to type it up tomorrow. 2 days till vacation!!! Whooohoooo!

Here's the mutt dog taking a nap under the Christmas tree. Snapped the pic with the phone so the quality isn't so good, but darn it he sure is cute!

Say Goodbye.....................

2007-12-18T22:57:00.001-06:00

I hate sewing yes I do,
I hate sewing how 'bout you.
Sewing makes me want to run,
Sewing is just so not fun.

That's my new sewing song. I'm sitting here sewing my last two pouches. I have a fresh batch of clay creations out of the oven and I can't even start sanding and antiquing because I have to sew. I've decided that since it takes me about an hour to make a pouch I'm not going to put them with my mirrors anymore. I'm not a good seamstress so it just takes to much labor. Pouch-making zaps the joy out of mirror-making. Someday if the shop keeps growing I'll get somebody to sew the pouches for me. Until then the mirrors will be pouch-less and I will be so much happier! Maybe I'll look for something else to put them in. Say good-bye pouches.

What I'd buy for Christmas, part two

2007-12-17T19:01:00.000-06:00

Tonight I'm posting what I' d buy the sister in-laws for Christmas on Etsy. Make sure you scroll down and read the previous post of what I'd give my Mom, Dad, and brothers.

For my sister-in-law, who rocks her cute little short hair(on the hubby's side)

from TrueMirage

For my sister-in-law who has her own Etsy shop

from AlbinaRose

and these awesome fertility tracking beads

from WingedEgg

for my sister-in-law who always sends the cutest cards and invitations

from MewPaperArts

and this awesome sea glass necklace since she lives near the beach

from ArtisticDetour

for my sister-in-law who has a one-year-old baby boy and has to put up with my fiesty youngest brother, God Bless her

from AllisonStrine

and this to help her relax when those little boys are stressing her out

from GoodThymesBath

Tomorrow I'll share my picks for my brother-in-law and my mother-in-law. On Thursday I'll post what I'd get my three adorable little nephews.

Hope you are finding just the right gifts for your loved ones!

What I'd buy for Christmas, part one

2007-12-17T18:32:00.000-06:00

Christmas time is always really tight. We mostly buy for the nephews. Then we get a team gift for Mom and Dad (even thought they tell us not to), something for my mother-in-law, and a team gift for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. With my brothers and their wives we each bring something that could be a good gift for anybody and we do the whole White Elephant, steal each others' presents thing. We refuse to use credit cards so everything must be paid for in cash. The hubby and I forgo presents for each other so that we can make every penny count. But if I had a nice little Etsy for Christmas Shopping Spree to buy something perfect for each person here is what I'd buy.............

For my Mom who likes to wear her hair up in a little twist

from OldButNew

for my Dad I'd get this to wear when he fills up his SUV even though Mom would never let him wear it

from MixedSpecies

I'd get this for my programming big brother

from Juror2

for my little bro who is a newly hired firefighter I'd get this

from StevensSigns

for my other little bro who likes to hunt I'd get this

from PooyabeesPlace

tomorrow I'll post my picks for my in-laws.

Whooopeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-12-17T17:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was quite an exciting day! Why? I can't believe that I got my 80th sale last night! I'm so super excited! I swear I was jumping around the house on cloud 9. What a great way to start the week! What was it that sold? It was this little pink number that was one of the very first pendants I ever antiqued at least over a year or more ago. Just goes to prove that sometimes an item is just waiting for the right buyer.

Christmas Ramblings.......

2007-12-16T14:56:00.000-06:00

Its been a very busy first Christmas here at DC Designs. Thanks to all the wonderful customers who chose to do their holiday shopping at my little store. Every time I tie the ribbon on one of my little boxes I can't help but smile as I wonder who will untie that ribbon and get one of my creations for Christmas. It is quite mind-blowing to be perfectly honest. When I think about how I got started working with polymer clay back in January of 2003 simply because I was frustrated at not being able to find gingerbread ornaments that I liked for my Christmas tree I just can't believe where it has lead me.

I made my first beads back in the summer of 2005 and then I was determined to make jewelry out of polymer clay that I felt expressed my own style. For Christmas of 2005 my thoughtful mother-in-law filled my stocking with bars of clay and the tools I had been looking at dreamily on the internet. I now had enough supplies to not feel afraid to "waste" clay with all my experimenting.

In March of 2006 a friend convinced me to put a few necklaces for sale in her Mom's craft shop. Needing to find a way to display them I bought some large white tags and looped pink ribbon through them. I then used some stamps I had of my initials to stamp DC at the bottom. Now I had a name for my little creations, DC Designs. It wasn't at all clever or original but it was simple. I was amazed when they sold. I was also starting to feel a little guilty at how much money I was spending on my polymer clay habit. I started to dream of the day when maybe my jewelry making could pay for itself. I had no visions of grandeur of people flocking to buy my items or quiting my career which I love. Now the craft store was really cute but my items were a bit more expensive then the other jewelery they were selling. I decided to research opening my on website and bought my domain www.d-c-designs.com in October of 2006.
Now during that time my much beloved purse strap broke. I had bought it at a craft fair and decided to look online. This is when I stumbled upon Etsy for the first time. I bookmarked some sellers but didn't join up or buy anything.

In November my sister-in-law and I went to Stitch in Austin. I was so inspired by all the indie designers there who had taken their ideas and run with them. I knew this was the right market for my work and came home more determined then ever to set up my little website. I spent hours reading about html and didn't understand a lick of it. I finally downloaded yahoo's sitebuilder tool and figured out how to use it. I learned how to insert code for my paypal buttons and began to resent how much time this took away from actually making stuff.

In Dec of 2006 just in time for Christmas I came up with the design for my original I've Got Something to Say necklace. My Grandma was my first website customer and ordered two for Christmas presents for the nurses she works with. I then remembered that purse I wanted to buy on Etsy and signed up for an account. The purse was sold though and I didn't find another one that I wanted. So instead I used the money to buy supplies.

I plodded along with making my website and getting frustrated with the paypal buttons. Then I wondered what it took to be on a site such as Etsy. So in Feb. I decided to open up shop and list my first items. Business was slow and I didn't have a good camera so my pictures weren't very great. I had a few sales and saved up every penny to invest in a good camera. Once I started replacing my pictures the business started to pick up. I started trying to list more often and promote in the forums. As of today I'm waiting to hit my 80th sale.

There are many people on Etsy who have enjoyed quicker success and much more sales. At first this discouraged me. But now when I think about it I realize that to almost be hitting 100 by my one year anniversary is quite fine with me. I didn't list my first item until Feb. but since I joined in Dec my Etsy-versary will be on Dec 28th. I plan on having some big doings to celebrate. :) Curious? Check back soon. And thanks for being here.

At last, I found my yummy chocolate beads!

2007-12-09T11:14:00.000-06:00

Last week I was so doing the happy, happy, joy, joy dance in the bead aisle of my local crafty store.

I have been looking for a decent source for 4mm chocolate brown wood beads for almost a year and a half! The online wholesalers didn't have them that tiny or that dark. The only place in town had them in a variety pack for 5 bucks and I wasn't going to pay 5 bucks for 20 beads when a necklace needs 85 of them!!! So I settled for second best and have been using a light brown wood bead from the online wholesaler I use.

Well, low and behold while wondering the craft store aimlessly looking for some new inspiration (you never know what you might find) I spotted a whole bag of 250 5mm chocolate brown wood beads. And the rack was full! I bought 10 packs straight away and danced all the way home.

I originally designed the whole "I've Got Something to Say" collection with yummy combos of chocolate brown and sherbet-y pinks, greens, and blues. Not being able to find an affordable chocolate brown wood bead has been quite a problem because it just didn't have the look I was going for. So now I'm busy restringing and re-shooting the collection to show it at all its intended chocolate brown yumminess! Doesn't it look so much better! Come on dance the happy, happy, joy, joy dance with me!

Christmas doesn't have to be a big glittery santa sweater.........

2007-11-09T19:34:00.001-06:00

I mean that's perfectly cool and all if that's your kinda thing. But for those of us who like to go a bit more understated while spreading the holiday cheer there's lots of delicate and dainty yet fun and funky new designs over in the DC Designs Holiday Shop. Run! Go now! Quick! You know you want to!

Happy Halloween!!!

2007-10-31T23:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

Every year at school we all dress up as a theme. This year we were insects. Ladybug, bumblebee, and butterfly were already taken. SO I decided to be a dragonfly. Of course you can't buy dragonfly wings. I had no idea how to make a dragonfly costume. I was really worried about how I was going to pull it off. After much deliberation and google-ing with a friend from work I finally decided on how to make the wings. I made these out of white glittery felt that I free handed some wings on. I whip stitched the maribou boas around the edges and sewed the short and long wing together for each side. The wings are safety pinned to the back of a shirt I got at Target in the pajama department. I made the antennae too. They are my favorite part of the costume. Oh and I have on lime pajama pants and some great fuzzy slipper shoes. To see photos of the making of my costume and the back side of the costume click here .

Its Saturday night. Where do all the cool kids go?

2007-10-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

Why shopping of course! Every Saturday night at 5:00 EST the Saturday Night Special Thread springs to life in the Etsy forums Promotions section. Indie Sellers of all things handmade from jewelry to soap, to handbags and candles post great sales available only to people in the know about this Saturday Night tradition started by Willowglass. So kick back, relax, and scroll through some amazing sales. Many sellers offer payment through Paypal, however you don't have to have an actual PayPal account in order to pay. When you go to check out you click Pay Now with PayPal. You will then have the option to click pay with PayPal account or pay with credit card. So there you go, no excuses! Click now and go buy yourself something so cool that everybody will want to know where it is you go shopping. Oh you want to know if I have a Saturday Night Special? Why of course I do!

*Get Ready for Halloween SNS*

**US Customers**

Purchase anything from the “Happy Halloween” section and your whole order will ship free!
All US SNS orders will ship out this Monday via US Priority Mail.

**International Customers**
Spend $25 or more anywhere in the shop and get free shipping!

**All Customers**
Spend $10 or more and get a free *Surprise Gift* with purchase!

*Please put SNS in note to seller and wait for
a revised PayPal invoice prior to making final payment.*

Happy SNS-ing and Happy Halloween!!

Offer valid until Oct. 14th 6am Eastern Standard Time (Esty time)

See all the *SNS* specials being offered!

Ghosties and Ghoulies

2007-10-12T20:22:00.000-05:00

Brand spanking new Halloweenies are up in the shop. If you mention DC blog in the note to seller I'll send you a free gift with your purchase of $10 or more. Offer good till October 25th!

The State of the Studio, an update part 2

2007-10-08T11:14:00.001-05:00

So, here is what happens when you tell yourself you can't go to sleep until you are finished reorganizing. Tada!

The table is huge! I plan on buying some desktop drawers and stacking them up two high across the table up against the wall. Then I will be able to get rid of the colored drawers that never stay on the rack. They are constantly falling and driving me crazy. They are also blocking my bookshelf, grrrr.

I am so thrilled at finally having a home for all my packaging and shipping supplies. The surface of the hutch is great for standing at and packing while everything I need is in the drawer and cabinet underneath. The white box with all the slots (meant to organize bills) is where I put the print-outs of my orders. I put them in the slot of the date they need to ship by. In the drawer of it is business cards and hair ponies. Hopefully shipping supplies will no longer be destined for the floor.

The hubby's old desk has been assigned school duty. There is a stack of stuff to still go through, but that's for another day. :)

This desk holds all my jewelery making supplies and general art stuff, including my polymer clay books.

And finally my box of sandpaper, sanding tub (you have to have a tub of water when you sand polymer clay), paper cutter, varnishing and painting supplies, and dremmel (for buffing) have a home. Since I only take these out when I need them I figure its okay to store them down here. I figure once the table has its organizational drawers I can move the painting and varnishing supplies to there. I'll always end up sanding and buffing on the floor but at least now I have a place to put it all away.

Of course I still want to paint the room someday and I know that none of the furniture goes together. I know that wall to wall furniture isn't very aesthetically pleasing either but in this room function definitely is more important than form.

The State of the Studio, an update

2007-10-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

Last month I posted horribly embarrassing pictures of my messy office/computer room/clayroom.

I actually did reorganize the drawers and get everything nice and tidy but well, it didn't stay that way long. Packing and shipping supplies seemed to be destined for the floor. School stuff was dumped in piles all over. The clay table didn't have enough room to handle producing more than two mirrors at a time. It was time to rethink "The Office." When the hubby and I decided on which floorplan of house to build what sold us was the option to turn the dinning room into an office off the living room by adding walls and french doors. We figured that all our books, the computer, my teaching stuff that I keep at home, and a small clay table would all fit nicely. Well it worked out great with the addition of some hand-me-down mismatched furniture. A little over two years later the hubby has begun to refer to the office as "your room." Which wasn't what I had intended. Today as we changed out the half size folding table for my parent's old tile-top 6 foot kitchen table I finally owned up to the fact that, yes I have taken over the office. I finally claimed the unused desk that was his as my own. Being the wonderfully understanding hubby that he is, well, its just fine with him. As long as the computer desk is a neutral zone he is fine. So as I fill what used to be our kitchen hutch with shipping and packing supplies and set out a couple of my displays on the shelf it is with a shred of guilt that I now admit yes, DC Designs has truly taken over the home office. Here's some pictures of organizing in progress. I'm still working on it and hope to have it presentable by tomorrow morning.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-06T14:11:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting for October to hit so that I could show you guys the custom beads I did for Kristen of Earthcharms on etsy. I don't sell my beads and pendants as supplies, but when Kristen contacted me with the request for some pumpkins, headstones, and skulls DC design s style I had to accept the challenge. I must admit that I love the pumpkins and made an extra pair of pumpkin beads for myself. The gravestones were the most fun to make. Something about making that dimpled texture with the stylus was very satisfying. The skulls were made from faux ivory and have a really shiny translucent quality to them that just doesn't show up on camera. These Halloween beads are available online only through Earthcharms. Go run now get you some spooky jewelry! Later on this week I'll be posting some of my own Halloween creations.

The State of the Studio

2007-09-14T20:42:00.000-05:00

I finally have a whole weekend with nowhere to be! I came home from work and was dying to get to claying but it was impossible. The office/ studio is in shambles! So tonight I'll play on the computer and tomorrow its reorganizing day. Enjoy the photos! So embarrassing!

DC Designs may be on vacation over at Etsy

2007-08-14T15:08:00.000-05:00

But I'll tell you a secret. shhhhhh I'm still here. Its August which is the busiest time for me as far as the career that pays the bills goes so I had to shut down the shop for the next two weeks so I can focus on what I have to get accomplished in so little time. I just put that I was on vacation because it sounds a heck of a lot better than really I'm frantically arranging furniture and hanging up posters and such. For those of you who might miss the bloggity blogging while I'm off in the real world check out my other blog. Gasp!!! Other blog!!! Yep I'm a double blogger. My second blog is all about my love affair with books and its in desperate need of comments so feel free to skip on over and sprinkle it with witty remarks and friendly heys. Seriously, go now! You too Monica, I know you are there!!! hehehe

Yay for shopping!

2007-08-10T23:55:00.000-05:00

Every month I treat myself to a little something from Etsy. There are so many talented artists and craftspeople that sometimes its hard to choose. Well I've had my eye on the adorable fairy dolls created by Kerri of Little Moon Originals for quite some time. Her dolls are really works of art. From their hand spun and hand painted yarn hair, to their adorable embroidered eyes, and all the way down to their quilted dresses of gorgeous colors and textures the attention to detail is amazing. I've been watching the shop waiting for just the right fairy to make her home in the clayroom. When Dilly Dally the Good Fairy showed up I immediately marked her as a favorite. I decided that after a good three weeks of hard work at the day job working on my presentation and everything that I deserved an Etsy fun purchase. I went to my favorites and immediately decided it was time to buy my little woodland fairy. I convo-ed Kerri and asked if she could switch out her necklace to a leaf charm. hehehe :) She was so sweet and speedy and sent me a picture of several leaves to choose from. I'm so excited with how she turned out. She's going to look great in there once I finally get my act together and paint the walls sage like I want to and hang up the tree-ish art I've been collecting. So go run and check out Little Moon Originals. Kerri's got really cute patchwork purses if you don't have room for a fairy in your neck of the woods.

School Supply Ads? What the leaf?

2007-07-31T00:31:00.003-05:00

Well the school supply ads came out this Sunday and I've been swamped with school work. It seems that summer is coming to a close. Lots of meetings with colleagues and plans to make. I'm giving my first staff development this year (on teaching reading) and am busy designing power points and hand-outs. The
clay table is empty of projects and my desk is full of things waiting to be antiqued, sealed, and strung. Before all the school madness started I had started on my long list of things to create to expand my leaf collection. As I've said many times before I'm often teased for constantly returning to my favorite theme. My style of leaves have kinda become my signature style. I was going to wait till the fall when I had the copper leaves and the fairy leaves (mica powder) completed but now I'm not sure if I'll have time to get to them. I also have a leafy wreath about halfway complete that I'm making for a good friend (you'll have to wait for the grand reveal on that one). The slipping away of summer suddenly inspired me to reveal some of my leafy goodness ahead of schedule. I'm hoping that by the end of this week I'll get a little bit of time to clay this weekend and finish all this leafy goodness. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

yay for new stamps!!!

2007-07-19T23:17:00.001-05:00

yay for new stamps!!!
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

I walked into Hobby Lobby today and they had stamps 50 off!!!

Texturing clay with stamps is my second favorite way to use it. (My first? Well making leaves of course!)

I never let myself buy real stamps, I always search the dollar and discount bins.

Some of the summer job money went to DC Designs supplies so I decided I needed some new inspiration. As you can see I went for three leafy motifs (surprise, surprise) and a butterfly. But paisley???? I just loved the swirly feel, and I think it could look cool with my faux tooled leather thing I do. Hopefully I will get some time to play around soon. I've got quite a few orders to work on this week and of course I have to finish rereading Hal Blood Prince by Friday when the hubby gets home from work with the new book. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big Blue Ocean ACEO

2007-07-18T21:09:00.001-05:00

Big Blue Ocean ACEO
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

This was a Surprise ACEO. The customer bought an ACEO but had no idea what it would look like. I used pearl clay in this so its really shimmery. I also sanded it and buffed it. The card came out really slick and shiny. On the back is stamped my name and website. The name for it was inspired by my friend Pam who has an etsy shop called BigBlueHeaven. She makes awesome hand painted tiles. www.bigblueheaven.etsy.com

Crafty DC

2007-07-10T01:36:00.000-05:00

I recently acquired a new dining room set. I was trolling the craft store looking for fabric to recover the seats of the chairs in when I came across the button aisle. Okay I bought the cover a button kit with the intention of making some hair ponies for myself only. But they were just so
darn cute and fun that I went nutty and made a ton. So I kept a bunch for myself and I've decided to list some since I have sooooo many (only 4 bucks a set) . See I can be crafty. :)

No AC = mushy Clay

2007-07-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

The air conditioner broke late Saturday night. Thank God we are having rainy weather again and it is only in the mid to high 80's. Typically we would be having 98 degrees, 99 degrees, 102 degrees, something like that around this time of year. It has been very unusually rainy and not so hot. The house is up to 84 though so its still bad. The humidity is the worst.
The muttdog is starting to smell a little too doggy. I spent yesterday reading, a
whole-book-in-a-day kinda day. Just sat on the couch with the fan pointed on me and ate no sugar- added Popsicles and drank lots of iced tea.
I decided to try to clay today. The clay is super smushy. Can't really do much except for play around with the smushiness. Smushy clay tends to be good for sculpting so I'm playing around today with a project page from CF Originals. Her stuff is really amazing and she has such a defined style. I got the ocean book for Christmas and I've been wanting to play around with it. Figure her techniques might work well with smushy clay. Of course knowing me I'll just smush it when I'm done. ;) Don't look for any of that in my shop though. I think enough people are doing CF style stuff right now. Its not really my bag of jellybeans (sculpting projects that is). But its fun to have a diversion every now and then.

Lets hear it for supplies!!!

2007-06-28T16:17:00.001-05:00

Lets hear it for supplies!!!
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

I'd been waiting and waiting until I saved enough to get the volume discount from Fire Mountain. After being out of sterling silver wire for a month I find that good things do indeed come to those who wait. When I added my 15th item to my cart my total went down by almost 15 bucks!!! Hopefully I can afford to do that again next time I need supplies. Click on the picture and it will take you to my flickr. I put notes on each thing if you are curious what they are for.

One of Life's Little Important Moments

2007-06-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

Tonight I did something I haven't done in over eight years. I ran. I know there are a lot of people who are like so what. You have to understand why this is so huge. I used to run 2 miles a day and 5 on Saturdays when I was in high school. In college I went down to 1 mile a day and then 1 mile a couple times a week and then to nothing. My internship took everything out of me. There was no time or energy for anything but crashing on the couch. When I started playing with clay it became a huge stress reliever and it felt so amazing to be allowing myself the luxury of time to be creative. That was over 4 years ago. This summer vacation I'm doing some work from home but I'm also allowing myself to just concentrate on my clay work. I was sitting at the clay table about a week or so ago. I had come up with a new way of doing something I've been doing with the clay for awhile and, it struck me how happier I am since I've started claying. I thought of all those years, about ten of them, when I didn't allow myself a creative outlet. I started thinking about what else I have given up in my life that use to make me really happy. I used to love to run. Now I'm in no where near the shape I was in back then. I'm probably about 4 pants sizes bigger now. (I was teeny tiny then.) So getting back into running is going to be hard. I went a mile and a half today. I couldn't run the whole thing but I ran as much as I could and walked a little, ran some more, walkeda little, ran a little more, walked, ran a little more, walked a lot, ran a teeny bit, and walked the rest of the way home. It felt great. Part of what I love is just being outside running along the undeveloped part of the neighborhood. I love feeling the wind and hearing the birds. its full of trees and I kinda feel like I've escaped somewhere. Of course my legs are going to be so sore tomorrow. I'm not letting that get me discouraged though. Just as it took time to get my creative work to a level I was happy with its going to take time to be able to run that mile straight through again. But the day that happens will be just as great as that day a few years ago when the first person asked me if they could buy something I made. Life is all about learning to take the baby steps necessary to do whatever it is you want to do. Are you ready to take a baby step?

Sun Shiny Day!

2007-06-23T15:18:00.000-05:00

Its a beautiful day outside for picture taking. So I'm busy outside with the camera but I'll share these really quick while I wait for the second batch of pictures to dump.

edit- wouldn't you know it started pouring about an hour after this post. so ya the other ones didn't get photo-ed. bummers

Sneaky Peeky

2007-06-23T03:13:00.000-05:00

Ever since I got the new camera I've been really picky about the quality of my photos. But thanks to all the rain and the fact that I can't wait to give ya'll a sneak peek I'm gonna post some photos that are a little rough around the edges. This is the new line of DC Designs pendant necklaces that I've been working on for people like me who don't have a lot of money to spend but still want quality handmade artisan jewelry.

Here's the unbaked pendant ready and waiting for the ol' oven to heat up. It was stamped with ink for a change. Usually I stamp without and just get a texture imprint to antique later.

Here's two dragonfly pendants that have both been baked. The one on the left however has been sanded. I sand both sides and all round with 600, 800, 1200, 1500, and finally 2,000 grit sandpaper. Then I buff it to a glossy sheen with a Dremmel. Oh and yep, I decided they had to have a little bling bling.

Here is the dragonfly after its been antiqued and sealed. See the butterfly and the ladybug? They will be strung the same way. There is also a bumblebee that I haven't done yet because I need to figure out just the right yellow.

Stop rambling and show us the darn thing, eh? There it is! The cord slips over your head and will adjust from a choker to all the way down to about the breastbone. I'm going to make some of these to bead too but I thought it would be a cool idea to offer a DC Design pendant on a simple cord for those on a strict budget like me. ;) Weather allowing they should be appearing in the shop sometime tomorrow. One more thing- whats funny is that its taken me this long to finally figure out how to do the magical knot to make these necklaces. Suddenly the diagram finally made sense, seriously I tried to do this way back when i first started with jewelry and could never ever get it. :)

Rain, Rain Go Away!

2007-06-23T03:10:00.001-05:00

rain rain go away- I want to take some pictures!!!!
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

Well it rained on Wednesday and it rained on Thursday and it looked like it was going to rain all day Friday. So I have lots of new stuff but no pictures of it. Very bummed. I'm working on a new line of pendants that are simply strung on a leather cord with magic slip knots (you know the ones that are adjustable). Since they will be strung with just a leather cord and there is no sterling silver, handmade clasps, beading wire, or Swarvoski Crystal bicones involved they are going to be considerably lower in price then my normal designs. Don't get me wrong though they are still custom colors that are inlaid into clay bezels, stamped, textured, baked, sanded ( through 6 grits of sand paper), buffed, antiqued, and sealed. Well I guess I could give you a sneak peak.......

Mistress Maggie's Metal Garden

2007-06-21T11:31:00.001-05:00

Mistress Maggie's Metal Garden
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

Being a little tired of sanding and antiquing everything I decided to break out the mica powders. I use to use mica powders all the time but then I got into antiquing everything. This is actually black polymer clay. Being that I'm currently having a total love affair with copper I brushed the whole thing with copper mica powder. The copper mica powder was quite a bit coarser than the powders I typically work with and it didn't cover the black clay enough. I was about to smush it and just try something else when I remembered my friend Maggie's recent experiments with enamel and copper. This inspired me to get out a really fine silver mica powder and add it on top. The result is a bright silvery piece with lots of copper flecks going on. I applied two coats of glossy varnish to highlight the reflective properties of the mica powders. In this picture the pendant is a little greenish because its reflecting the grass by where I shoot my photos. This mix of metal colors inspired me to mix up the metals in the beads. Czech glass copper-colored seed beads, sterling silver beads, and coppery-colored wooden beads are an unexpected mix. A copper handmade hook and eye clasp finishes the necklace. I call this Mistress Maggie's Metal Garden because this texture always reminds me of stylized vines. Mistress Maggie loves to work with metal and often creates incredibly unique and inspired pieces. Hopefully this one will get me an A on the final exam. ;)

My poor weed infested garden

2007-06-17T18:28:00.001-05:00

My poor weed infested garden
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

So why is my garden still full of weeds? Because so far my summer has been spent in that room right there whit the window beading and claying up a storm. As one of my friends said, "The clay must be flyin'!"
This garden is now a year old. Some people say its a flowerbed. But I've always wanted a garden and since it is ten feet square I think that its big enough to be called a garden. The front garden, it just sounds better than the flowerbed.
Anyway it was a birthday present. The hubby had to remove all the grass and then he and my parents bought some of the plants from my wish list. since we live in San Antonio, TX I choose plants that were really low maintenance and drought resistant. I haven't water these at all. But were lucky with a lot of rain this spring.
I still need to purchase and plant the rose bushes that are supposed to go in front of the salvia. We are also supposed to have a curving path going through it but we haven't gotten to it yet.

Beading Outside My Box

2007-06-15T15:15:00.000-05:00

The last week of May I went to a party at my friend the bead guru Heather's house (check out her site she's in magazines and everything). It was a Bead Soup Party. What's a Bead Soup Party you say (that's what I said)? Well everybody brings a strand of beads in a particular color scheme (turquoise, copper and bronze in this case) and we mix all those yummy beads up in a bowl. You bring your own focal bead, spacer beads, clasps, etc. So we pass around the bowl and get spoons of Bead Soup. It was a really fun and relaxing way to spend the evening. Everybody was super sweet and supportive and there was even chocolate. :) So we were all making bracelets and I've only made two bracelets my whole beading life so it was a bit of a challenge for me. As you can probably tell from my work I'm a pattern-y kinda girl. Well the Bead Soup was so pretty and sparkle-y that I wanted to use a bit of every bead so I had to think outside my beady box and NOT do a pattern. I had no idea how hard that was going to be for me. I kept looking down and realizing I had a pattern. I unstrung that bracelet at least twice. Everybody was convinced at the end of the night that I was going to go home and re-string it the first chance I got. Well I'm happy to say that the bracelet has sat on my nightstand and it has grown on me. It use to really bug me that the way it is strung reminded me of those plastic rubber bracelets that we used to wear in 5th grade. Now I think its kinda cool. I've even worn it out and about a couple a times. So last night I was going through my beady stash and I decided to use another of my little copper daisy beads to make a necklace that matched the Bead Soup Bracelet. The turquoise Swarovski's and the rectangle beads are from the Bead Soup. So technically most of them are from my own stash and I could list it in my Etsy shop, but I think I'll keep it. Gotta have something to wear with my new bracelet right?

My Own, My precious

2007-06-14T03:39:00.001-05:00

Locket 2
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

Sometimes, mistakes are a good thing. Silly me working so late at night epoxy-ed this flower on the wrong side of the locket. I guess I'll be making a new necklace for myself with this one. Which is kinda cool because I haven't made anything for myself in a long while.

Polymer Clay Clasp

2007-06-12T08:59:00.001-05:00

No Metal Necklace- Back
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

I've never taken a picture of the back of my necklace before but I thought since I designed the polymer clay toggle clasp to match the back I'd go ahead and show it. This was done for a customer who has metal allergies. I strung it on hemp so I had to use 6mm beads instead of 4mm.

Clay Table

2007-06-12T06:08:00.003-05:00

Clay Table
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

My oh so fancy worktable! A half width folding table with a plastic crazy tablecloth and a plexi-glass sheet on top. The two towers are from Costco one I bought and one my big brother demanded out of his house (too tacky he said). I was glad to take it off their hands. :)

Computer Crash! June 8th

2007-06-12T06:08:00.001-05:00

Computer Crash! June 8th
Originally uploaded by dcdesigns

eeekkkk!!!!! Whats the worst thing that can happen to a flickr/ etsy addict? A computer crash at midnight. Thank god for the nice guy at the DELL support center. Once it got to this point at 4am I went to bed and in the morning the computer God's were satisfied and my computer was restored. We only had to repair so nothing was lost thank the great computer gods (must back-up hard drive, must back-up hard drive). The hubby thinks I'm golden right now for fixing it, lets not tell him it was all thanks to the gnomes of Dell and the computer gods smiling down on our little slice of technology.

Oh Happy Blog!

2007-06-04T13:02:00.000-05:00

Oh dear blog, you see I didn't lie to you. I'm back!
*hugs blog, kisses its forehead, and pats its head*
Lots going on in the DC world. I'm currently working on some new non-jewelry items to post next week. First up on the list are some ACEOs. ACEOS are Artist Trading cards that are available for purchase instead of trade. This allows people who don't participate in making and trading cards to still be able to get their hands on some. See the little brown rectangle with the leaves growing along it? That's one of my ATC's that's already been swapped. What else do I have planned for my little slice of cyberspace shopping? I've been working on some new mirror styles, ball point pens, trinket boxes to keep your jewels in, and even a purse! Super exciting things happening now that I'm on vacation for two months and am working on the shop full-time instead of part-time. And speaking of excitement, check this out. GerriJo is really sweet and also has a shop of her own with the cutest little shrinky dink art and Gocco prints too! So my dear blog you see I did come back just like I promised. :)

Dear Blog,

2007-05-26T10:40:00.000-05:00

Remember when you were new and I posted to you often? You were like a new friend I couldn't wait to talk to. Then came the dark times where you sat here all alone with no attention for days, weeks, and even months. One day, I came back to visit you and I posted and posted and posted. You were so happy, but I didn't come back for a long time. Dear, dear, blog, I am sorry for my hurtful ways. I'm sorry that you often feel neglected. This spring you got a makeover. You look all spiffy now. I tried to give you the attention you deserve. I even found some people to comment and read you! Yay! I was posting regularly. Your future seemed to be bright and shiny. But then came the end of the school year. Dear blog, you must remember that when I am not pursuing my clay and beads and other artsy things I am hard at work teaching. Helping five year olds learn the tools they need to read and write, count and pattern, play and be happy. Right now all my attention is turned to that task that I have set for myself. However, have heart dear blog, as summer vacation is edging ever near and then our good times will come again. Until then dear blog, please be happy and hopeful. I promise I will return. xoxoxoxo

Tweetiful

2007-05-18T21:33:00.000-05:00

Okay I'm suddenly obsessed with birds. Don't worry the leaves aren't going anywhere but birdies are suddenly on the brain.

check out my etsy soap opera

Meet Tweet Tweet
Tweet Tweet Embarrassed
What Embarrassed Tweet Tweet
Tweet Tweet's Surprise

Lower Shipping and New Work

2007-04-02T17:55:00.000-05:00

Well being in the reflective mood that I have been in I decided to try not shipping Priority Mail. This means that customers will save about 2 bucks on shipping because orders will go out first class with delivery confiramtion. This has also been a very productive weekend. After such a great response to my leaves I decided to go back and look through my box of old work. I found a lot of themes and and ideas that I like, but weren't exactly executed very well because I was still learning at that time. If you go way back to my first post on my blog you can see what the black pendant with the green and silver leaf looked like a few years ago. I always liked the idea but now I love the way the new one turned out. Might have to keep that one for myself. I like the black one with the spirals too. ;) I'm hoping to string these up and post them on my shop throughout the week. On another note- I've got to get a digital camera with a close-up feature my scanner just doesn't work for darker items.

Prices and Production

2007-03-30T21:38:00.000-05:00

In my profession we talk a lot about being reflective on one's work. I decided to apply that philosophy to my artwork as well.

I took a good hard look at my materials and pricing breakdown spreadsheets that I made to figure out my prices. (about 6 months ago or more on some) I have switched suppliers and get better deals on some of my materials so I updated that info. I also have re-timed myself on some of my standard items that I've been selling for a while (off-line) and have come to find that I have really streamlined my production a bit over the last six months.

SO with my new numbers I was able to mark down prices a little bit on quite a few designs. I'm curious to know what you guys think. I don't use the colors out of the package so I have to take into consideration the time spent making my clay colors and that the clay has to be sanded, buffed, antiqued, and sealed so please keep that in mind when looking at my prices.

Honest feedback would be great. Don't worry I don't offend easily. :) Denise

The return of my favorite theme....

2007-03-25T12:17:00.000-05:00

Anybody who has known me since I started with polymer clay knows that I went nuts with my leaves for a while. Well I told myself that the leaves had to stop because I needed to develop different items. Well five years later I'm so excited to have made this. And ya'll can tease me about my leaves all you want. :)

I've Got Something to Say Mirror?!?

2007-03-25T12:12:00.000-05:00

Just when you thought that The I've Got Something to Say Collection couldn't get any bigger here I go adding to it. I'm so proud to introduce my first thing in my shop that isn't for you to wear and its only$10!!! That's right, and don't forget to type DC blog for free shipping to the US and Canada in the note to seller. Hope ya'll heart them.

Mirror, Mirror in my hand who's the fairest in all the land

2007-03-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

Okay so you are thinking why in the world is she posting an ugly picture of unfinished pocket mirrors? Well, I've decided to spend a little time working on those empty sections of my website. Don't get me wrong, I'm still making beads, but you see I never meant to limit myself to just jewelry. So I'm also thinking what else can I have in my shop that might bring in people. So cutesy little pocket mirrors seem to be very popular right now. I have a couple packs I bought a long time ago that I thought I would decorate with clay but never got around to experimenting with. I'm thinking "I've Got Something to Say" Pocket Mirrors. Done the same way as the round pendants but I finally will be able to use some of the longer phrases I've been collecting. I started one tonight, "if only you knew how beautiful you really are." That would be cool to get on a mirror don't you think. Or the title for this post was another idea. I stamped it all out and everything but my eyes are burning from allergies and I'm pretty tired (first day back at work and all) so I stopped before I rush things and mess it up. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it tomorrow night and you'll have something new to look at. :) Nightite Night! :)

I think I'm Going to Be Sick....

2007-03-18T18:40:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those moments where you did something on the computer and it makes you feel like you're going to be sick? I'm talking accidentally deleted your resume that you've been agonizing over for days. Maybe you deleted your file of pictures from your honeymoon. Well, I have never had one of those moments- until now. I've never understood how those things can really happen until just now. You see I'm the webmaster for my local polymer clay guild and I was feeling all pleased with myself for finally updating the site when suddenly I realized something horrible. Instead of publishing to the guild site I had published to d-c-designs.com!! My website was completely wiped off the surface of the internet (does the internet have a surface??)!! I had NEVER had such a feeling in my stomach before. After a few seconds of panic the fight or flee mechanism in my brain must of clicked in. No, I will not panic, I will not admit defeat by the computer. I went and opened up my file where my website lives and hit the lovely button named republish. My site is slowly but surely republishing as I type and all order is restored to my small inconsequential universe. Rant and Ramble officially over thanks for reading. :)

A Shop to Brighten up Your Day

2007-03-18T17:38:00.000-05:00

If you are having one of those days where your jeans aren't fitting, the house is a mess, and all you want to do is hide from the world might I suggest a stop by Allison Strine's Etsy Shop to perk up your mood. Allison's collages remind us to not take life so seriously and be happy in our own skin. I absolutely adore every single one of them. Her use of fun colors and interesting phrases will definitely make you remember that life really isn't all that bad after all. To read more about Allison and her work check out this interview I found when I googled her name.

Making things a bit more interesting....

2007-03-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

I have become completely and utterly addicted to etsy. There are so many amazing artists that I wish I just had tons of money to throw around. Of course, I don't, so I can't. Soooo I'm going to start posting the shops I absolutely adore. Hopefully it will inspire somebody somewhere to take a chance and buy something handmade for a change. Here's to quality. Here's to individuality. Here's to arts and crafts. Here's to shopping!!!

Inspired by Family

2007-03-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I come up with an idea and it just sort of takes over my brain. As you can tell I've become quite preoccupied with beads that say something. This is one of the original beads (the pink one) I made when I first started this kick. I originally made the bella one then came hope. Then I started thinking about what other words people might like. I started thinking about people I know and what they might want to wear. This one I made thinking about my godmother. My sister-in-law was the one who suggested antiquing them. If you look at old posts you can see what they looked like plain. Then she said she would like one with her name on it but in blue (she never wears jewelry). So then I made hers and added the crystal to the dot in her i and that is how my custom necklaces came about. She wore it to a guild meeting and people went a little gaga (I think they thought she made it at first) :) Then I just went crazy making them. I thought it was about time that I finally string this one (the pink one) up. Hope you like it. :)

Here it is......

2007-03-14T12:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the great feedback and ideas. I especially liked the idea of oxidized chain, but that will have to go on my list of things to learn this summer while on vacation. I decided to just go with my gut and use my favorite combo for a simple necklace so that the copper pendant can really shine. I used Czech glass twisted black bugles and Czech glass matte black beads. Its for sale on etsy!

Little Copper Lovelies

2007-03-12T22:46:00.000-05:00

I made these during Christmas Break. I really like them. I'm not sure what to string them with. I've tried finding brown beads, copper beads.....nothing looks right. I really want to put black bugles and seeds but that's my answer for everything. I'm trying to think outside my box with these. Hmmmmm Maybe I need to go through my supply catalog. Any ideas? Wish me luck!

A tale of two blogs......

2007-03-12T18:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I went to myspaceland for a while and tried using their blog since I was getting such a good response over there. However, posting in both spots is just too time consuming. I have a couple posts over there are might be interesting but I can't post them over here because they would be out of order. You see I have a lot of websites to keep up with. I have my etsy shop, my website, my myspace, this blog, the San Antonio Polymer Clay Guild site, and my school website. Way too much to keep up with soooo I'm going to post here instead of myspace because I like blogger's interface better. I also like the fact that anybody can read on blogger. So from here on out I'm making a resolution to post on blogger and add a link to this blog to my myspace. I'm publishing it in a post so that now I have to do because I said I'd do it. :) Happy blog reading and please leave a comment or two!!!! :)

Its Spring Break and I just want to.......

2007-03-12T13:01:00.000-05:00

I'm on Spring Break right now and I just can't bring myself to do what I promised myself I would. What is that you ask? My workroom is a DISASTER! It looks like somebody went in and just threw everything everywhere. I have a reputation among friends and family for always having a clean house! Little do they now that I'm just a fast cleaner! My workroom is always a mess! But after shoving things in drawers when people are coming over there is no room to put things back where they really go. I promised myself today would be super organization day. But instead I'm typing on the computer and waiting for my sister-in-law and godson to come get me for ice cream! Hehehe it is spring break after all! :)

My litttle helper

2007-03-11T20:37:00.000-05:00

Here is my dog Tony. We rescued him from the pound about 4 years ago. He keeps me company when I'm working. I usually put his basket right at the doorway of my office so that dog hair doesn't get in the clay. Here he is trying to convince me to cave in and let him sit in my lap while I string my necklaces. :) He is such a cutie! He is also a little fighter. He suffers from a condition called megaesophagus. Most dogs that have this don't live very long. He is a little doggie miracle, and is doing just great!

First etsy sales

2007-03-11T18:34:00.000-05:00

After doing a trade for some great new graphics for my site I got my first two real etsy sales.
Hopefully more to come. I've been busy updating the website with the new graphics and I made a business card. Here's a peek at my new look. :)

New Customizable style!

2007-02-25T17:09:00.000-06:00