Behind the Scenes at Deepshade Creations

Jangle Chainmaille Earrings

2011-11-06T22:14:00.004-05:00

I probably shouldn't admit this, but it's been months since I've worn a pair of earrings. I know, I know. Who designs pairs upon pairs of lovely earrings for other people, and then fully admits she doesn't have the time to actually put them on in the morning herself?

Well, that changed on Friday. I was starting to miss how pulled together and polished I felt when I had a killer pair of earrings on, so I specifically designed these to wear to the last First Friday event of the year in Haddonfield.

Amazing. I know you've all heard it from me before about how lightweight the aluminum is, but it's funny how you start to forget it for yourself after going a long time without wearing them. But I've been reminded. I nearly went to bed with them still on that night because I forgot that they were even there. Except, that is, for the very faint, very pleasant jingling sound that the chain makes when you shake your head :)

Hence, the name: Jangle Earrings. You can now find them in my shop, and I plan on adding more color choices very soon (and please feel free to mention in the comments what colors you'd like to see go up next!)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/85421881/jangle-chainmail-earrings-brown-green

"I'm -- too sexy for my cat. Too sexy for my cat."

2011-06-13T21:42:00.004-04:00

This post will be short and to the point:

Disclaimer. I am very much an animal lover. Animals are some of my best little buddies.

However. That said.

The following are occasions when I have to try really hard to like our furry friends:

When they eat my vegetables from the garden. (Okay, they're hungry too. Fair enough.)

When they wake me up at 5am meowing to play. (Okay, some of us are early risers. I can respect that.)

When they leave surprise "presents" on the floor for me to find. (Well, it's the thought that counts, right?)

When they chew up my favorite pair of shoes. (Okay fine, I'll take the hint, eight year old sneakers are probably ready to be replaced.)

However. There is one thing that I will not tolerate, no matter how mournful those eyes are when told to "git."

I will not tolerate fame-hungry diva cats and chickens photo-bombing their way into my jewelry photo shoots. I don't care how fuzzy and adorable they are, no special treatment from me. If they want to be models, they can write to Ford or Elite like everyone else.

(Now watch they do just that, and end up being the next Fancy Feast cats or Whiskas lovebird. I guess that'll show me not to appreciate true talent!)

A Moment of Recognition for the Original Bird on a Stick

2011-02-15T09:32:00.003-05:00

The "Little Birds" craze has been going on for years in the handcraft scene, and I believe we've all forgotten to give credit where credit is due. Nowadays we're seeing "Tiny Finches" on:

pillows
charm bracelets
baby onesies
messenger bags
oversized cowl scarves
chai tea cozies

but there was one special bird that came before them all, and I was humbly reminded of this during a recent road trip.

Where would the handcraft scene have been without:

Virginia: The Original Bird on a Stick

Without that bird, we would have had nothing but decoupaged octopi on coasters and hand-stitched squirrels on pom-pom hats.

An Obvious Lesson That Bears Reminding

2011-01-31T11:20:00.003-05:00

So, deciding to have a go at the current "items on top of book pages" photography trend, I selected an attractive-looking volume of Edgar Allan Poe from the shelf, fetched my jewelry, toiled over setting up the perfect shots, and then proceeded to click away.

Somehow a very obvious fact slipped my mind:

Books have words. Yeah, no joke. And people can read words. And Edgar Allan Poe's words aren't always exactly conducive to a happy jewelry shopping mood.

So I now have about 20 otherwise lovely shots that, when looked at upside-down, contain the bold typewritten words "sufferings," "anxiety," and "putrid." Not exactly what I want people thinking about and associating with my jewelry!

Time to get the camera out again. What book should I use this time? Beowulf? Cujo?

Got any stories to share about obvious lessons you've had to learn the hard way?

Deepshade Creations is back with a vengeance! And with a coupon code!

2010-12-29T09:46:00.004-05:00

I have returned! After a five month long stay down in Chile (with side trips to Argentina, Peru, and Easter Island), I'm back and so is Deepshade Creations. Joy, right? I still had a limited stock up for sale while I was gone, and that's still there, but I know you're excited to finally see and get your hands on some excellent new tasty chainmaille treats again. Well, never fear. Just you wait til the New Year.

Hey, that rhymes. That deserves to be formatted like the cute little song it is.

Well, never fear!
Just you wait til the New Year!
So much excitement in the air
Brand new chainmaille for you to wear
Just like a prayer
Your voice can take me there

Oh wait.

But yeah. Watch out during the first week of the New Year for things special and new. And I might hint that if you check back here on the 1st, you might find a special gift in the form of a coupon code for the Etsy shop. Just sayin'. And until then, I'm saying straight out that if you go to the main site, Deepshadecreations.com, you'll be able to take 25% off your entire purchase right now until December 31st. Well, isn't that something!

So, to summarize:

I'm back from South America and Deepshade Creations is back from its hiatus.

When you call my name, it's like a little prayer.

New jewelry coming to deepshade.etsy.com next week along with a coupon code. Check back for it.

25% off sale going on as we speak at deepshadecreations.com! Use coupon code "2011" until December 31st!

And just because I'm still excited about Chile, a picture of where I was living for four months: a city called Valparaiso:

Beautiful, no??

Colors and names and LOST, oh my!

2010-05-23T19:40:00.004-04:00

This is a short post, people. Quick and to the point. I have a couple questions for you about a new item that's getting ready to make its debut in my shop.

This is the Lace Bracelet:

Pretty, no? It's an intricate little design, and I love the way the pattern looks once it's complete. I had planned on putting this out at a recent craft show to see how it did, but it mysteriously ended up going home with my mom instead, haha.

So my questions:

1) Do you like the pink, or are there other colors you would prefer to see it in first? Cool summer shades like blue or green? Fancy girly colors like purple or magenta? Bright yellow or orange? Red? Would you love to see it in a neutral like black or silver? Is there another color you had in mind that I didn't mention? Pistachio-chartreuse perhaps? (dare you to say that one three times fast.)

2) Do you like the solid one-color design or would you be interested to see it in a mix of shades? Any color combination in particular?

3) Would you be on the edge of your seat if I told you I'd created a necklace version of it, or would you feel underwhelmed and be all, "Don't bother me, LOST is on"?

4) Now I'm saving the most fun question for last. Can you come up with a better name for it than the Lace Bracelet? It's been my working name pretty much since I first created it, but I think it deserves better! I dub thee... what?

Thanks in advance for your answers, you guys!

Ice cream tastes best when served as revenge.

2010-05-08T17:02:00.006-04:00

Vanilla with Fresh Lime

It's only the first week of May, and already we're being broiled here in New Jersey. Normally this isn't such a bad thing. I'll take a scorching steering wheel any day over having size 7 ice blocks for feet. You never have to worry about digging your car out after a thunderstorm, and even if you did, it's not like you would have to bundle up. Summer is the best.

Except..

For me, the beginning of summer weather no longer signals cold glasses of lime mojitos and handpicked baskets of local strawberries. No. Now that I live in a massive apartment complex filled with kids, it means something entirely different.

It marks the beginning of the Blue Bunny ice cream truck's six month reign of terror.

I wonder.. does the music of the approaching ice cream truck inspire nostalgia for other people? Fond memories of sharing delicious frozen treats with neighborhood friends after a long game of freeze tag on a summer afternoon? Does it? Because I tell you, that's crap. I was a country kid, sheltered from the knowledge of such things as strangers circling the neighborhood for hours in their big white trucks, luring children over with ice cream bars and songs. I knew no such thing. You know what I had? A 100-pack box of freezepops in my very own freezer, ready for me whenever I wanted without my having to chase after a stranger's van and give every adult in the neighborhood a migraine with my frenzied yelling and shrieking for overpriced treats.

That's what the Blue Bunny truck is to me. Not nostalgia, but a headache. When I hear the sound of "The Entertainer" approaching from afar, I feel no twinge of wistfulness in my heart for childhood days gone by. Rather, I feel pure terror at the prospect of it parking directly in front of my apartment for twenty minutes, forcing me to listen to hordes of screeching banshee children and the same droning song that summons them over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

You know that crotchety old lady who spends her days glaring out from between her window shades and bitching about those rotten kids getting too close to her car? Well, imagine her young and beautiful yet similar-tempered granddaughter, and there you have me. But today, I decided to take a break from hurling freezepops at the unsuspecting little goblins' heads, and instead chose to stick it to the Blue Bunny truck a different way. By slashing its tires? No. Not this time.

I decided to make my own ice cream. It won't make the truck go away, but it will soothe the headache splendidly.

1- Turn the kitchen radio up really loud to drown out the evil circus music coming from outside.

2- Pour a cup of half and half, a cup of heavy whipping cream, and a half cup of sugar into a freezer-safe mixing bowl. Mix it really, really well with a whisk.

3- Add pretty much anything your little heart desires to flavor it. I used vanilla, fresh lime juice, and lime zest for one batch, and rosewater and fresh shredded mint leaves for the other. No measurements. Just start with a little and keep adding until it suits your tastebuds.

4- After you've mixed it until it's started to look thick, bubbly, and puffy, place it in the freezer. Take it out at 15 minute intervals to re-whisk it so that the frozen pieces at the edges get mixed back in with the rest and it freezes evenly.

5- Once it's solid, take it outside and enjoy it on the front step in front of all those kids who already finished their popsicles.

Fresh Mint and Rosewater

Treasury East: Too Much of a Good Thing?

2010-04-17T17:52:00.011-04:00

Was anyone else as surprised as I was to hear about the new Treasury East? I guess I don't spend enough time on the forums, or reading... uh, whatever it is you have to read to hear about these things when everyone else does.

So far, I'm not a fan of it. I know it's only beta, but it seems like there's a very large amount of tweaking that's going to need to be done.

My main complaints, which seem to be in line with what many are saying:

The thrill of the chase is gone. I know this is meant to be a positive thing, since now everyone has the opportunity to take part in the fun, but it's difficult to see it that way. Getting your hands on a treasury isn't special anymore. There's no more excitement in waiting for that little box to appear. A huge part of the appeal was in knowing that if you got one, you were one of a lucky few. It's like the trite yet strong sense of regret you're hit with when your favorite local band winds up on TRL (I totally just dated myself, but I don't care enough to look up the 2010 equivalent).

What does the above lead to? It leads to diminished quality in all these treasuries. If you no longer have to wait days for just a chance to curate a treasury, why are you going to continue to spend days working on that perfect selection and layout of 12 items? The logic of, "If I'm going to wait 36 hours and be one of only 333, then I better make this good," no longer applies. Now you can curate a treasury any old time. If this one's not your best, well then maybe the next one you make will be. It's not like you might not have another chance, after all.

Anyone can create as many treasuries as they please, and none of them will ever expire. Seriously? Who's going to take the time to actually look through all of these? We already get overwhelmed trying to search through hundreds and thousands of pages of item listings--now we have to do the same thing with treasuries? I'm writing this the day after Treasury East opened up, and already there are 89 pages. When Treasury East hits 10,000 pages filled with expired and sold listings, is anyone really going to gratefully think, "Well, but at least mine are still in there somewhere!"

You'll notice that above I said 89, but in the screenshot it says 87. That's because it's already gone up 2 pages in the hour since I captured it.

There is zero way of searching through all these treasuries. When we only had 18 pages of them, it wasn't that big a deal. But when we're already at 89 and counting after a single day, it just makes the whole thing seem even more overwhelming and ridiculous than it already was. Who's going to have the courage to venture into the craft marketplace equivalent of the labyrinth, especially when there's no David Bowie waiting in the middle of it?

There's no rhyme or reason to the hotness ranking. And they're being extraordinarily vague about explaining it: "'Hotness' in Treasury East works a little differently than the way it does in the current Treasury. Because Treasury East lists never expire, time plays a different role. We're actively refining the hotness algorithm and it will get better as more people use Treasury East." Hotness algorithm? Oh my, how complex! We'd better just leave that alone--questioning it further would be like pulling the curtain on the Etsy wizards. Can't have that.

Love that it already looks like the beginnings of a popularity contest as far as who the hottest curators are.

Like I said, I know it's still in beta testing. Which means hopefully they're actually listening to what people are saying about it, and actually plan to fix these problems before they replace the original Treasury and Treasury West with it, as they say they plan to do. I'm skeptical though. Etsy has its reasons for the way it does things, and as much as anyone might like to think they put their sellers' interests first, these are all things they would have taken into consideration in the first place if they actually cared what we thought.

In closing.. it's up to 90.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-07T17:27:00.003-04:00

McDonald's: Ruining Photos Worldwide

2010-04-02T20:28:00.003-04:00

Fast food chains. They embody so many of the things I hate. Animal cruelty; poison and chemicals disguised as food; convenience over quality; money over ethics; the almighty worldwide corporation; the loss of character in individual towns and cities in favor of generic strip mall sprawl; the ever more prevalent "they made me wait for more than a minute in my air-conditioned car for my lunch, so I deserve to get my $1 burger for free" attitude of entitlement. I could go on all day--but I won't. Why? Because these two photos from my trip to Mexico this past January say it pretty well for me.

La Casa del Whopper--it doesn't matter what city or even what country you're in--there is no escaping the King.

Or if you like irony in your photography--

It's hard to read the monument on this mini-sized photo, but it says:
"Los recursos naturales del pais deben servir para su propia prosperidad. Entregarlos a intereses extranjeros es traicionar a la patria."

Or in English:
"The natural resources of a land should serve for its own prosperity. To turn them over to foreign interests is to betray the country."

Whatever McDonald's wants, McDonald's gets though...

Check out what I have in store for you for April Fool's Day--

2010-03-31T23:50:00.003-04:00

By my New Jersey time, it's only 12 minutes left til April Fool's Day! Excitement!

You know why I'm excited though? Not because I get to make my friends ice cream sundaes topped with shaving cream, although that is a bonus. No, it's because it's the first day of the Deepshade Creations Holiday Weekend Sale! Yes you heard me!

For four days (count 'em, four--Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday--that's FOUR glorious days), you get 15% off everything in my shop that your little heart desires. Everything! No limits! And this is in addition to the free US shipping I already offer! Madness!

But wait. I know what you're thinking-- "Is this a joke? Is she toying with our fragile emotions? I don't think I could handle such disappointment.."

Rest assured, this is no joke. Despite beginning on April Fool's Day, this is the big "Deepshade Creations Yes For Real Sale!" Want proof? Go shop til you can shop no more, check out, and within hours you will find an email stating you've received that 15% discount refunded back to you. Oh yes, it really is that simple.

The sale is happening at both my Etsy and Artfire shops:
Deepshade Creations on Etsy
Deepshade Creations on Artfire

Ready? Only 8 minutes to go...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-31T20:28:00.001-04:00

It's like a fiesta in your mouth!

2010-03-27T15:35:00.001-04:00

So I had a Spanish-themed potluck to go to last night, and totally forgot about it until the night before. And I had class from 9:30am to 6pm beforehand. Did I panic and fake sick? No. Did I flee to Taco Bell, discard the wrappers, and hope no one would notice? No. I thought to myself, "What's already in that kitchen and what would Marta, Martha's Spanish sister, whip up with it?"

I cannot wait til the day I can say, "Oh, I just whipped this up!" on a regular basis. Better, I need to learn to say it in Spanish.

Well, never mind. I just looked it up. There is no Spanish equivalent for "whip up." I am very disappointed.

But anyway.. eso es lo que preparé:

Spanish-Style Couscous

(by the way, if you've ever read one of my recipes before, you know I can't be bothered with measurements - just warning you)

-like a cup of uncooked couscous
-14.5 oz of vegetable broth (I only have a measurement for this because I used a can of it)
-a handful of green olives
-the other handful of black olives
-a single beautiful green bell pepper
-a clove of garlic
-a little bit of garlic powder in my life
-a little bit of cumin by my side
-a little bit of thyme is all I need
-a little bit of black pepper is all I see
-oh yeah, and some oregano

1) Boil the vegetable broth and throw the couscous in. You can literally throw it if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it.

2) Turn the heat down to about medium and let it cook for about two minutes. That's all it takes. That's why I love couscous.

3) Make sure you get those spices in there and mixed up during those two minutes. You can mix them in after it's done cooking, but it's way easier to stir broth than cooked couscous. Put it aside once it's done.

4) Chop the green pepper, the garlic clove, and the olives. Unfortunately, you will not be choppin' any broccolay.

5) Saute them up in some olive oil. Or mayo if you're Paula Deen.

6) Mix them up with the same spices as before.

7) Put it all together and sprinkle the oregano on top. Done! So freakin easy even I can do it. Y que sabroso!

Delicious Etsy Pet Peeves

2010-03-11T19:30:00.003-05:00

I'd like to start with a disclaimer before I start ranting:

Yes, I know everything is subjective and that what one person hates the rest of the world may love. However, while you're on that one person's blog, you're going to be treated to that one person's thoughts, haha :)

Pet Peeve #1: Take a Peek!

Take a peek at my new necklace! I have a brand new design up, go ahead and take a peek! I'm having a sale in my shop, won't you take a peek? Ugh. I already have a hatred for cliched little phrases like this that you see everywhere and that show no sort of imagination on the writer's part. But this one, if you'll excuse my own use of unimaginative cliched phrase, takes the cake. Who wants someone to sneak around taking peeks at their stuff? Just come look at it! Is your shop really that big a secret that you require people to be so furtive about it? You can look, but only if you just peek!

The reason I really hate it though? Is because this is what it ALWAYS makes me think of:

Kilroy was here, taking a peek at your stuff.

Pet Peeve #2: Take a Peak!

I'm pretty sure I don't need to delve any further into this one.

Pet Peeve #3: Juicy

Vibrant, vivid, brilliant, sure. But if I can't bite into it and taste it, then I'm not buying that that bead is juicy. Watermelon is juicy. Hand-knit sweaters are not. (Or at least I hope they're not.)

Pet Peeve #4: Overuse of Emoticons

Particularly the wink ;) If you wouldn't wink at me for real after saying something, then why would you when you're typing? If you're not joking about something, there is no need to be winking. It gives the message an entirely different vibe than what you intended.

You should check out my treasury!

Okay cool, don't mind if I do.

You should check out my treasury ;)

Uh.. why? Just what kind of treasury is this, buddy? Are you trying to show me dirty pictures? Stop winking at me!

I only have four. Because I'm really not that negative of a person, haha. And I fully admit that I'm sure I do things that annoy other people to the point of blogging about them. So if you have any of your own to add, feel free to leave them in the comments, because I'd love to know! And with that, please go take a peak at the rest of my juicy blog ;)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T14:05:00.002-05:00

Philadelphia International Flower Show

2010-03-06T12:50:00.005-05:00

How is it that I've never lived more than 45 minutes from Philadelphia at any point in my entire life, yet somehow I've never heard of the Philadelphia International Flower Show before this week?

A friend invited me to go with her yesterday, and I thought it sounded fun, so I agreed, not realizing it was any kind of big deal. But then I tell my mom and my boyfriend about it, and apparently not only have they both heard of it, but they've both always wanted to go. Who knew? Not me!

It was amazing though. It was in the Convention Center, and as soon as you walked in, you were enveloped by the scent of flowers. Flowers in every direction and fancy displays everywhere. At one point we overheard someone remark that there should be arrows on the floor to direct you where to go- we mocked them at the time, but after while, we had to agree that we could see what they meant. Enormous elephant and giraffe sculptures made of flowers, an enclosed bamboo walking trail, crazy intricate bonzai trees.. we spent hours in there, and I'm still not sure we even saw everything.

The above picture of the orange flowers is what the giraffe sculpture was made from. Yeah seriously. Little glass vases filled with these beautiful blooming orchids hanging from an enormous constructed giraffe. They even had a little bird perched on top for good measure. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the show. The other favorite was the pressed flower exhibit. These things were works of art. I never imagined you could work flowers and pieces of plants into such intricate landscapes. One used hydrangea petals to make a sky that was so many shades of blue and purple with wispy white clouds; another was a clock tower constructed from all kinds of metallic leaves. It was amazing.

And of course I couldn't get out of there without checking out the vendor section. That part was hit or miss- I loved seeing all of the handmade work, and there was plenty of it. However, one of the most aggravating things to me is spotting something beautiful and different, then on closer examination, finding a "Made in China" sticker on it. And unfortunately, there was plenty of that too. I can't really complain much about it though, since it was a flower show and not an art show. I think getting critiquey about mass-produced just comes with the territory when you're a handmade artist. One thing I have to say though is that seeing the displays those vendors were using seriously got my mind working as far as my own display goes. I'm hoping eventually I'll be at the point where I can move up to doing shows on that level. Not anytime soon, but maybe next year will be my year for it!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-10T11:20:00.002-05:00

Twitter Tips. Or... Twips.

2010-02-04T12:16:00.011-05:00

I always wonder how so many people manage to keep their blogs going consistently when I struggle to post even just a few times a year. Where do they find the time? Where do they come up with topics to write about? Are their lives really that much more interesting than mine?

Or maybe it's just that everyone writes about the same stuff.

Like Twitter. Yes, that's right, I believe I've discovered the secret. You're not a real blogger until you've posted an "Awesome Tips for Succeeding on Twitter!" post. So here you have mine. Read and be enlightened.

Twips to Have You Tittering Like a Pro!

In order to be a success on Twitter, you must send each and every one of your new followers a direct message saying, "Thanks so much for following me, my special friend! I am so very looking forward to tweeting with you! :) You, only you ...and the 4587 other people I messaged immediately after you. Keep in touch and have a restful day!"

After you send said direct message, proceed to ignore all tweets from said new followers forevermore.

When said followers catch onto your little game and unfollow you, let them go. Unfollow them in return. But only for a week. Then add them back and hope they don't notice you're the same person they just deleted.

It's rude not to say good morning and good night to your Tweeple each and every day. We worry. Are you mad at us?

Don't you ever let your followers go a day without knowing you had three square meals and a fancy coffee. It's just cruel to leave people hanging like that.

If you're an Etsy seller tweeting about your new items, don't just post the link. Make sure you preface it with "Just sold and relisted!" It's vital that your followers know how lucky they are to be graced with the opportunity to purchase such hot-selling merchandise from you.

As long as I'm talking to you, Etsy sellers- if you're going to post your items on Twitter, then by George, do it right and post all 97 of them in a row.

Oh yeah, by the way Etsians? We don't care about your personal life. We only want to know what you have to sell us and how many hearts and sales you're up to. You know, the interesting stuff. Obviously.

Use as many abbreviations and omit as many vowels as possible in your tweets. The more indecipherable, the better. B Grg Im gn 2 mk dis twt ft if it kls m! Kn u stl rd dis? IDK I tnk Im spkng Grk! Kn sm1 trnsl8? Il py u!

If shorthand isn't your thing, it's okay to post multiple tweets one after the other to make sure you get in everything you wanted to say. Who needs a journal when you have Twitter to post your master's thesis on?

I think that about covers it for this class period. Please study the lesson, and if you have any of your own Twips to share with the class, please feel free to post them in the comments!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-03T09:15:00.005-05:00

Spring in Springfield Craft Show

2009-05-03T18:48:00.004-04:00

Wow, so today was a bust. Here's how my day went:

6:15am: Hit snooze on the alarm.

7:00am: Drag myself out of bed to get ready and get the car loaded up with my booth display, tables, jewelry, etc. Wish and wish and wish that the rain stops soon.

8:15am: Pick up my awesome friend Christin who agreed to be my lovely assistant today. We both wish and wish and wish for the rain to stop soon.

9:30am: Get lost in North Jersey trying to navigate from directions that went something like, "Take exit 140 towards 82 East, but don't get on 82 East, take the second ramp to get back on the Parkway South, then make a turn-aroundy-thing that's supposed to be a traffic circle but is actually a traffic hexagon to get on 22 East--NO WAIT WEST! WE MEANT WEST!" Oh North Jersey, you slay me.

10:00am: Car is unloaded, so I try to drive it out of the street and bring it to the parking area. Get yelled at by a cop for not knowing I was supposed to go down to the other end of the street to exit. He saunters out to the middle of the intersection and makes a big show of looking in all directions at the zero cars anywhere in sight, and finally signals me to come through. Ignores my apology as I drive past and, I suspect, wishes me as long and miserable a day as he is having. Well, okay, maybe not. But I do suspect he is angry at being put on Stand Outside in the Rain at the Craft Show duty.

10:50am: 20 minutes past the time we were supposed to be set up by. We weren't even close. However, this is about the time we eventually gave up on finishing the set up. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS STILL POURING RAIN.

11:30am: 30 minutes after the show's official start time. Vendors have already begun to jump ship and swim away.

12:00pm: This is about when I made the first and only sale of the day. A $10 pair of pink gemstone heart earrings. Better something than nothing.

12:30pm: Three junior high kids come by and ooh and ahh over my $5 display. I silently will them to be my second sale. No luck, my mind powers are not yet strong enough. However, I do die a little inside that I've sunk to placing my hopes on junior high kids' allowance money to make back my booth fee.

1:00pm: My aunt and uncle come by to show their support and keep us company. We enjoy the rest of our time under the safety of the canopy until..

1:30pm: ..we realize we're one of maybe ten vendors left on the entire street. Ten vendors and the giant inflatable bouncy playground things which now basically might as well be Slip-n-Slides. It's a sad picture. We pack up, and in the process, we break a $10 donut pendant, thereby canceling out that first and only sale. I curse Springfield. Somewhere, that cop laughs.

3:30pm: Christin and I bury our sorrows with Chinese and brownie sundaes. My fortune cookie reads, "You have an important new business development shaping up." Really? I check the back to see if it gets any more specific. It does not. Thanks, Fortune Cookie, for the vague yet encouraging message.

So that was how I began this year's craft show season. Just superbly! At least I know it can't get any worse than this. Unless it's Neptune City Day, that is.

Chili. It's the new ramen.

2008-12-21T20:45:00.000-05:00

So. I really don't cook much. I pretty much survive on ramen and Kraft Mac and Cheese. It's okay, I'm a college student, I'm allowed. But I can't live like this forever. So I figured this would be a nice, practical meal to make. There's enough to it that it actually qualifies as cooking, but it's simple enough that I'll actually make it from time to time, now that I know how.

Let me show you how it's done:

1. Brown 1lb of ground beef.

2. Drain it. Drain it real good.

3. Turn the heat down so it's just sort of simmery.

4. Throw in three 8oz cans of plain tomato sauce. Or two 12oz cans if you feel like being kah-raaaazy and messing with the recipe. I actually only used 16oz, but it came out mad dry, plus it caused the peppers to not cook evenly. So listen to me when I say 24oz, LISTEN TO ME!

5. Start shaking in some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder. I have nothing even resembling exact measurements for these things, so just shake and taste and shake and taste. It doesn't flavor it nearly as strongly as you'd think it would, so keep shaking until you think you've shaken too much, and then continue to shake a little more. And then a liiiiiittle more.

6. When you have ceased to shake, cover the pot and let it soak up the spicy goodness for like twenty minutes. Or whatever amount of time you deem sufficient, I'm pretty sure plus or minus ten minutes isn't going to ruin it.

6.5. Or WILL it?!?!

7. Add a can of red kidney beans and some chopped green peppers and black olives. These should have been washed and chopped already, cause it's going to take you a good ten minutes or so to do that. So if you've just been following this and cooking as you go, I am truly sorry that I didn't include this as a previous step. But that teaches you to not read a recipe all the way through before you start, now doesn't it.

8. So after you finally add the veggie-stuff, you cover the pot again and let it keep cooking for approximately another half hour. Or again, however long. Maybe only fifteen minutes if you're really hungry and like your green peppers half-cooked and crunchy.

9. Turn off the stove.

10. Put your chili on a plate.

11. Get a utensil.

12. Enjoy.

(The picture makes it look kind of gross, but I swear it's good. In fact, I might even say it's delish.)

Welcome back, me. Why thank you!

2008-12-21T20:01:00.000-05:00

I've broken my own record for longest time gone without a post. Okay, I admit it. I had no intention of coming back and updating this thing again. There's only so much you can write about beads, you know?

You don't know.

But whatever. I'm back, and for the sake of actually having something to write about, this is no longer a blog reserved just for updating you all about my website. What will I be writing about in addition to this, you ask? Well, you'll just have to find out. Mainly because I don't know myself yet.

Oh the suspense! Can you handle it??

I <3 Handbags. Like whoa.

2007-02-25T14:06:00.000-05:00

You know, I just realized that I forgot to post about my new handbags. Normally I wouldn't bother if I'd just gotten them from Target or something, but these came from fellow indie Fierce Kitten Studio, which means they're worth mentioning.

The color's messed up (it's actually purple, not blue like it appears), but trust me, this bag is gorgeous. It's well-made, it's the perfect size to hold everything I need, and seriously- ADORABLE. I also got another one in a different style, but with the same purple fabric lining the inside. I'm not much of a girly-girl (I don't wear make-up, I don't have a huge shoe collection), but if there's one stereotype I fit, it's the handbag obsession. But at least I'm supporting other small businesses, right?? Right! And Georgia is a total sweetheart, so if you're shopping for a new bag yourself, go get it from her.

Things are officially in full swing!

2006-11-01T22:15:00.000-05:00

It's so weird how Halloween has come and gone already. I'm already looking forward to next year. It's still a beautiful fall though, so I'm totally enjoying the season, despite Halloween being over. The leaves have been changing, and the weather has been so warm that I haven't even needed a jacket the last two days. I wish it was like this all year long!

I'm starting to make a dent in that huge package of beads I got the other day :) I still have another package waiting for me though, so I still have tons to keep me busy. I finished up my last shift at my day job this week as well, so that leaves me with tons of time to focus on this. I cannot tell you how relieved am I to know that I don't have to go back to it. The job itself wasn't even so bad, for a serving job at least. But the money I was making wasn't even worth going in most of the time, and nothing will be ever be worth the freedom I have to give up when working for someone else. I know the majority of the population manages to do it without much problem, but there must just be something different about my own personal mindset when it comes to this. I will never be happy living my life around somebody else's policies and schedule, and that is a huge reason why I started Deepshade Creations. I've always loved making jewelry, but it's a pretty safe bet that it never would have gone past being a hobby if I didn't have this strong motivation to work for myself. It really is what keeps me going when things hit roadblocks and I start to get frustrated when I can't find a way through right away.

But enough about my personal philosophies :P Here's the exciting stuff, two new bracelets I've made today. I'm very pleased with how they turned out, I experimented with bead combinations I normally wouldn't have thought of, and the results are lovely. They're not on the website yet, but they will be soon, just as soon as I can get some better pictures.

Rose quartz chips and heart charm, snow quartz rounds, rose Swarovski crystal, silver-plated beads, and white lampwork glass with embedded pink and green roses.

Fluorite teardrops, amethyst Swarovski crystal, silver-plated beads, and purple lampwork glass with embedded pink and green roses.

New and improved website!

2006-10-30T00:32:00.000-05:00

Finally finished the new layout on the site! It's nothing drastic, but each item now has its very own individual page, and the three category pages are now links to them, rather than packed full of all that information right there. Take a look and let me know what you think! I'm happy with it so far.

Two November shows lined up:
Sat-Sun 11/11-12 - Assumption Regional School Christmas Craft Fair, Pomona, NJ
Sat-Sun 11/18-19 - St. Stephen's School Annual Christmas Festival, Pennsauken, NJ
And definitely more to come. It's getting to be holiday season, so it's time to get in gear. And speaking of holidays, I am now offering free gift-wrapping on any purchases. Just make a note in the comment box at checkout which items you'd like wrapped, and you're good to go!

Just received a four pound package of beads on Friday, so I'm getting tons of new things made :) Lots of pictures to come, but here's one I made a few weeks ago and just photographed yesterday to hold you over:

Heart of November Bracelet

(click to see more information on its very own brand-new item page! :D )

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!@$%@$@

2006-10-11T20:04:00.000-04:00

So I thought it was strange that I hadn't received a single email since the 6th. Not even a piece of spam. Not a word from at least four people that I'd been expecting to hear from. I let it go for a few days, thinking it must just have been a slow week. But when today came along, marking the fifth day since I'd received a new message, I started to get worried. So I sent a test email to the account to reassure myself that everything was fine.

Well, it wasn't. It bounced backed immediately, saying it was a permanent error: mailbox is full.

MAILBOX FULL! I am such an idiot. I must look just super to anybody who's tried to contact me this week. Like either A) a con-artist who up and cancelled her fly-by-night account to anyone who didn't read the mailerdaemon message fully and only saw the words "permanent error," or B) an unprofessional moron who doesn't deserve her own business to anyone who read closely enough to realize exactly why their message bounced back.

Or maybe I'll get lucky and they'll think, "Oh wow, her mailbox is full! She must be incredibly busy and popular to get so many messages! I'll just try again later and hopefully I'll be lucky enough to get through!"

Oh man. Actually, if I'm REALLY lucky, anyone who tried to reach me will just happen to read this and see for themselves exactly what happened. And if that just so happens to be the case....

Here's a message for you: I fail at life and I am truly sorry. Please forgive me, and I hope this little mishap does not tarnish your thoughts on my humble business, Deepshade Creations :( To make it up to you, and also to anyone who was kind enough to read all the way through this pathetic entry, please accept a discount code for 25% off any total purchase (any amount, sale items included). It will be valid until October 31st. Just enter the code BadStacie into the discount box at checkout.

And I promise it will work.

On Westfield and Maple Shade craft shows.

2006-10-08T22:52:00.000-04:00

Well, Maple Shade was today and Westfield was last Sunday. Today went pretty well. It was actually supposed to be yesterday, but we got rained out and weren't notified by phone like we were supposed to be until we'd already arrived.

"Hello, I'm calling to let you know that the Maple Shade Craft Show has been postponed until tomorrow due to rain."
"Yeah no kidding, set-up was scheduled to start an hour ago, and I just received this apparently insignificant piece of information from some cranky guy in a raincoat five minutes ago, but thanks for the heads up anyway, lady."

That reply was what went through my head anyway, the actual response was more like a "'Kay thanks!" Oh well. But anyway, despite the not so fuzzy first impression we got, it actually went fairly well. The weather was gorgeous, a total 180 from the gloom and doom we had Saturday, and while it wasn't incredibly busy, we still made enough sales for it to be worth it.

Now, Westfield on the other hand. Westfield last Sunday was AMAZING. Hands down the best show we've done yet. It started out horribly, with a rainy, foggy, dark drive up, but by the time we'd finished unloading and setting up, the sky had somehow become a beautiful clear blue with white clouds and plenty of sunshine. How that happened, I'll never know, but I'm thankful. It was awesome. And so was the actual event. It was PACKED, with both vendors and shoppers. And Westfield is such a cute little town, we had a lot of fun looking at all the shops, as well as the other booths, while we were there. Particularly a chocolate shop called Brummer's that I plan on driving up and visiting again for Christmas presents.

Here's a few pictures. This first one is what my display currently looks like. We kicked it up several notches for these last two shows with the autumn leaves around the edges, the gift wrap display, the framed signs, the two new earrings stands, and the wooden table with the flowers and candles. It looks SO much better than it did before those changes. I've never been fully satisfied with it before, but I'm happy to say that I finally am now.

Manning the booth with dad and boyfriend (click for full size).

These next two are things that we picked up in Maple Shade today. A jewelry box with handcarved wood ornaments on the lid, and a cute goldfish print, which will most likely be going in our kitchen. I LOVE picking up handmade things, it's such a breath of fresh air from shopping at places like Walmart or even the mall. I just wish the two artists had websites of their own that I could link these pictures to. (Though now that I think about it, I should mention that I got a really nice lotion and lip balm in Pitman from a crafter who goes by Frogtown Soap, and who hopefully won't mind me linking her!)

And that's all I've got for definite shows for now. Haddonfield ended up putting me on a waiting list, so I applied last minute for Autumn in Moorestown on the 14th instead, but haven't heard back yet. I haven't applied for anything past that. All of the big outdoor festivals are ending within the next couple of weeks, so I'll most likely just be doing small shows at local schools and churches until things pick up in the spring. I may also be doing Rice's Market outside of New Hope, PA. We'll see! And that's it for this enormous post!

Interview at Crafty Synergy.

2006-09-01T18:32:00.000-04:00

The show at Hereford Inlet Lighthouse was awesome! Just had to mention this, haha. It was a beautiful weekend for it, and hopefully next week will be too. I'll be back down there for one more day Saturday the 9th, and then Avalon will be the day after that. So let's hope the little weather fairies get all this rain out of their system this weekend, so next will be sunshine and butterflies, haha!

Yet Another Updated List:
Sat 9/9 - Hereford Inlet Lighthouse Craft Show, North Wildwood
Sun 9/10 - Avalon Street Faire, Downtown Avalon
Sat 9/16 - Pitman Fall Craft Show, Pitman
Sun 10/1 - Westfield FestiFall, Downtown Westfield
Sat 10/7 - Maple Shade Gazebo Park Craft Show, Main St. in Maple Shade
Sat 10/14 - Fall Festival in Haddonfield, Haddonfield Business District

And that's the last of them! I'm no longer waiting to hear back from any more, so this is my final list until mid-October. I'm about to start with the next round of applications for November and December, so I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I get somewhere with that.

And also.. I've been interviewed at Crafty Synergy, so check that out if you get a chance. It's an awesome blog that interviews a different crafty business every Wednesday, letting you get inside our crafty little minds for a bit :) I enjoy reading it every week, and I hope you find it interesting too!

Don't forget, Neptune City Day tomorrow!

2006-08-04T17:13:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the big day! Neptune City Day, that is! It's going to be a long day, from 9am-7pm in Memorial Park on Riverview Ave., so I hope to see you there at some point :)

Another updated confirmed list of NJ craft shows I'll be at:

Sat 8/5 - Neptune City Day, Neptune City
Sat-Sun 8/12-8/13 - Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, North Wildwood
Sun 9/10 - Avalon Street Faire, Downtown Avalon
Sun 10/1 - Westfield FestiFall, Downtown Westfield

Still waiting to hear back from several more, but I don't expect that to happen until at least later this month, since the shows aren't being held until October.

And now, back to preparations and jewelry-making for tomorrow!

Wickedly Chic Review

2006-07-21T18:47:00.001-04:00

Who's got an update? I've got an update! Lots to tell you about this week! But first, I want to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday on Tuesday. All of your kind words made the day extra special. Hopefully 24 will be a good year!

Now onto the news.

July 18 wasn't just my birthday. Coincidentally, it was also the day the new issue of Wickedly Chic came out. And if you check out their Fresh and Chic section, you'll find a lovely review of my Cape May Necklace there. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be featured on such a beautiful site. You should definitely check everything else out while you're there, the Wickedly Chic ladies put a lot of work into bringing their readers the best of independent shops, and it shows.

I also have some updates on some of the shows I mentioned I was applying to. As I said before, I'll still be appearing in Neptune City on August 5 and Avalon on September 10. I heard back from the two Boardwalk Craft shows in Wildwood though, and unfortunately it turns out the jewelry categories filled up quickly, before I got the application in. But there is good news! I received an acceptance letter for the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse show, also in Wildwood, for the weekend of August 12-13. So here is my updated schedule:

Sat August 5 - Neptune City Day, Neptune City
Sat/Sun August 12-13 - Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, North Wildwood
Sun September 10 - Avalon Street Faire, Avalon

Still have five more shows I'm waiting to hear back from, and I'm also about to begin the next round of applications, so don't think that those four are it!

Deepshade Creations, Now Touring the Full Length of New Jersey!

2006-07-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! I'm sorry about the lack of updates this past month, that should be changing as of about now. The move into the new apartment was taking up a lot of time, but that's finished (at least until possibly next year!) The place is amazing- lots of space, brand new carpeting, very cute complex. Once it's set up more, I'll post some pictures of the crafty things we've done with it.

Another thing that's been taking up a huge chunk of my time is the application process for my craft show schedule over the next several months. It involves finding potential shows, researching them, getting my hands on the information, filling the applications out, then taking and getting developed all the pictures of my craft and display that I need to send. Then, in the case of juried shows, the waiting! So far there have been about twenty shows up through the end of October that I've inquired about, at least ten that I've narrowed it down to, and seven that I'm in the midst of the aforementioned process for. And I won't be stopping there! After I get this handful out of the way, I'll be starting over again for the November/December shows. It's more work than I ever would have thought it would be, but so rewarding because I know I'm doing this for myself. It's what I love about having my own business :)

And before I forget, just wanted to update that the show in Avalon was a success. Despite heavy winds and being rained out a couple hours early, it went well and was lots of fun! I'm looking forward to going back in September for their next one (though hopefully with better weather!)

Wet frizzy hair and a somewhat emptied table.

But anyway, here's a working list of what my summer tour schedule through New Jersey may be. The bolds are the ones that I will definitely be participating in. The others are all still application pending or waiting for me to actually apply ;)

Sat/Sun July 29-30 - Boardwalk Craft, Wildwood
Sat August 5 - Neptune City Day, Neptune City
Sat/Sun August 12-13 - Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, North Wildwood
Sat/Sun August 26-27 - Boardwalk Craft, Wildwood
Sun September 10 - Avalon Street Faire, Avalon
Sat September 16 - Pitman Fall Craft Show, Pitman
Sat September 30 - Crosswicks Village Festival, Crosswicks
Sun October 1 - Westfield FestiFall, Westfield
Sat October 7 - Maple Shade Gazebo Park Craft Show, Maple Shade
Sat October 14 - Fall Crafts in Haddonfield, Haddonfield
Sat/Sun October 21-22 - Celebration of Crafts and Arts, Salem

So that's where I'll be until the end of October. Hopefully my readers in the area will be able to make it to some of them, because I'd love to meet you! And don't worry, I've been working my tail off making new jewelry, it just hasn't been updated to the site yet because of my lack of time. I'll get on that soon, but until then, all of it will be out in its full sparkling glory on those display tables. Hope to see you there!

Avalon, NJ on Saturday, June 24th.

2006-06-13T00:37:00.000-04:00

Well, just yesterday I managed to find out that there's a craft show going on in Avalon on the 24th, and that the deadline to apply is the 19th. I emailed them immediately, and they got back to me this morning saying they'd send an application out ASAP. So with any luck:

1) that thing will get here within a couple of days, and 2) they'll accept it being faxed back, or 3) it'll either get there just in time or they'll accept it a day or two late.

Gotta love last-minute. And that's actually not sarcastic. I'm incredibly bad at planning, and exceptionally good at being spontaneous. If all shows had application deadlines that were only five days before the actual show, I'd be doing them every weekend, or at least as often as I could replenish my inventory. And speaking of replenishing inventory..

I'm told a lot that I don't make enough earrings. Well today I made several pairs, and this is one of them. Snow quartz, rose quartz, and montana Swarovski crystal.

That's an earring/bracelet set that I also made today in preparation for this show coming up. It's made from porcelain beads, malachite and rhodonite beads, and silver-plate. It's also the only one in existence, since those four pink porcelain beads are the only ones I have, and there's no way for me to get my hands on more. Gotta love real one-of-a-kind jewelry.

Anyway. Preparation for the show. Since there was no mention of a jury, I'm hazarding the assumption that just getting in the application will get me a spot, and so that means that I'm going to be spending the next two weeks in a jewelry-making frenzy. Which is going to be a feat, considering I already have the task of moving into my apartment this weekend on my hands. Not only is this a lot of work, but it also means all of my supplies are going to have to be packed up, unpacked, and sorted out before I can start working again. I also have to buckle down and get my display figured out. That's the main thing that's been keeping me from applying to shows, the fact that I don't have a real table setup. I have a few racks that I built (oh yeah that's right), a few tiles to display things on, a nice table covering.. and that's about it. I need nicer tables, more display racks.. and a tent! Oh, and a bigger car so that I'll actually be able to transport all this stuff ;)

So yeah, it's definitely time to see what I'm made of! I'll keep you updated on the status of my application, but as of now, I'm assuming I'll be at the Avalon Chamber of Commerce Craft Show on Saturday June 24th, so if you're in the area, come on out! Let me know if you plan to be there!

You won't be seeing any basement here either.

2006-06-09T20:22:00.001-04:00

Thought I'd give you guys a look at where all the magic happens. Except to make it a bit more interesting than it actually is.. we're doing it Tina-style!

Hi, and welcome to the Southern New Jersey Department of Creative Arts official Bedroom Workspace Tour! Let's hold all questions until the end of the tour, okaaay? Thank you!

Please say hello to one of our residents Stacie. Stacie is holding a beaded necklace that she seems very proud of. She has carefully decorated it with lots of crystal and stone. She is also working with some aventurine. Can you say that with me? AYH-VEN-TUUR-EEEEEN.

The mainstay of a jewelry designer's work is beads. Beads can be used in many ways. They can be glued, wrapped, or in this case, strung. Yes, there are thousands and thousands of uses for beads, all of which I will tell you about right now!

Okay, maybe I won't ;)

Anyway. That's my space. One of these days when I'm rich and famous, I'll have my own amazing studio, and I'll give you a real tour- something more Robert Rodriguez Ten Minute Film School than Tina How'd Y'all Like the Alamo. How awesome would that be? An enormous studio with plenty of space and no distractions, right above my future brick-and-mortar shop in my dream location of New Hope, Pennsylvania. And all the biggest stars will be flying in from LA on a regular basis to see me and clamor over my work.

"Stacie, this bracelet is SO fetch. It would look so good on me at the Grammys next week."
"Thanks Madonna, that's so sweet! Brad already put it on hold for Angelina though."
"Oh really? That's a shame. You know.. I'm shooting my new video in New York tomorrow. That's only an hour or so away, isn't it? I'd love for you to come up and make a cameo."
"I'd love to, Madge. The bracelet's still Angelina's though."
"Damn."

Haha, that'll be the life.

First Post!

2006-06-05T21:00:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've jumped on the bandwagon and created a blog of my very own! I wonder where it'll go. Won't you join me to find out? ;)

Well, if you've found this little blog, then you probably already know that my name is Stacie and I run Deepshade Creations. And if you didn't know that, now you do! I thought it might be fun to keep my visitors updated on what's going on in my life and with the business, since I was starting to feel a little nameless and faceless behind the workings of the website.

So then. Some basics? I'm 23 (for another month and a half anyway), I live in Central New Jersey (for another two weeks, then it's off to my first apartment in South Jersey, and you'd better believe you'll be hearing more about that excitement!), and wow, already I'm boring myself with these little details. Tell you what, you'll probably find out more about me as I continue to post entries, except then all the information will be in context, rather than in a forced list form. Sound like a deal?

And now, last but not least, this is what I look like. Well, I guess not always. Only when I'm attempting to take over the world!

And you wanted to know more about me. I bet you learned your lesson! ;) But anyway, thanks for checking this out! I'll definitely be updating soon, so keep it bookmarked, and if there's anything you think I should be posting about, let me know! Have a great night lovelies!