So, I don't have a picture of the finished birdhouse handy, but I can tell you that it turned out pretty well. The colours got a bit darker in the baking process, which I have never really experienced before, and I was a little disappointed because they were so much brighter as I was making it and now they almost blend together. But it's still really cute!
The embossed flowers I par-baked to decorate the sides of the birdhouse as a sort of garden did wonderfully in the oven. By the way, I par-baked them in a toaster oven, and it worked marvelously.
All was not perfect, however. One side of the house did crack. I didn't try to repair it yet (not really sure how?!) but it's still cool (not a complete failure). It just has a little more character. Anyway, I guess that this is the result of not proofing the wood beforehand, or sealing it or something.
SO, I have purchased 3 more wooden birdhouses (TONS of ideas floating around in my head for how to decorate them, but alas, I only have 3 houses...) and they have been proofed in the oven (275*F for 30 min.), and none of them cracked - at least not in the same places that the first one cracked. There might have been a bit of separation at the corner joints, which might actually have been the problem with the first one, causing the clay covering the wood to stretch and, in the end, crack. I'll try another one (I've got a Christmas-y idea in mind... very excited...) and see what happens!
If all goes well, I will probably use this Christmas-themed one as a raffle prize at the upcoming craft sale I'm going to (Princess Elizabeth Elementary in Magog, QC, November 26 2011)! Kind of excited about the raffle idea. :) Then I must get started on stocking up on little items that can be sold for low prices at the craft sale!! I haven't really made anything in preparation for it yet... :/ And, I may have a new Christmas ornament order, PLUS all those ornaments I wanted to make for my friends and their children... *hyperventilates*
It will be ok, I will get at least a few things made up. :) I hope...
Will try to post pics of the first birdhouse soon.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
I am a terrible blogger...
I just really haven't caught on to this whole blogging thing, have I? Which doesn't really make any sense, because I can write page-long emails to my best friend up to 3 times in the course of a single day, but I can't seem to come up with anything to say for a blog post. Of course, what I'm writing to my best friend isn't necessarily stuff I'd want to publish all over the internet, but just the same...
Well, here goes...
Since my last post in JANUARY (*rolls eyes at own lameness*)... I finished the special order cat project in time, and it was lovely and the recipient was quite pleased, which made my day. In February I started working full-time as a secretary in a Human Ressources-type office near home (45 minute drive, currently carpooling with Dad, but he has retired and will soon be quitting work so I'll be solo), which severely cut into my crafty time. But I still managed to make 2 special order wedding cake toppers, both a little later than scheduled, but arriving before the weddings. The first was a fun figurine about 6 inches tall. The bride was wearing a Montreal Canadiens hockey jersey and the groom was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. :) I shall have to try to post pics... That wedding is next month, so I'm hoping to get some pictures of the topper in action. The second topper was for a good friend of mine, and it was actually my wedding gift to her and her new hubby. They were having a kind of country/cowboy themed wedding (which turned out absolutely fabulous, by the way). She ended up ordering 2 cowboy boots as her topper. Might sound a bit strange at first, and it was not without difficulty, but trust me, they looked AWESOME on the cake!
Those were the biggest projects I've worked on in the last 8 months... I've also done some bow centres for a friend. She makes beautiful sculpted ribbon hair clippies, and really fun bows and stuff, and last year we decided to strike up a partnership where I make little bow centers for her and she makes bows for me, to sell in each other's "shops" in an effort to reach out to different audiences and get our stuff seen by a different group of people. We also live in different areas, so that helps, too. Anyway, so I've made a couple orders for her, I'm still working on finishing up the last order.
I've also bought some fun new sewing patterns for bags. I tried one, but I didn't really have the right materials so it's a little funky, but I still like it. :) No idea what price to put on it, tho... I'm looking forward to making another and trying the 2 other patterns I bought.
I've been finding TONS and TONS of ideas of new things to do, projects to try, etc., etc. but I haven't got around to many yet. I wanted to make myself a sofa-shaped business card holder, from a tutorial I found online, but I haven't done that yet, either. If it turned out I was going to try to make a couple others to sell, but I haven't even made one! Christmas is coming, and I have so, so many ideas... I have some friends who've had babies this year, so I'd like to make First Christmas ornaments for them. There are a few kids whose First Christmases I've missed, so I'd also like to, possibly, get caught up, or at least make one with their birth year on it... So I'd LIKE to do all that, but I should also be stocking up on Christmas ornaments to sell. Which is more important? :/ And then I've been trying to ornaments for my 2 nephews every year, so I've got to come up with something for them, and I sometimes tend to make some for other family members as well...!!! My sister and I have reserved a table at the school craft fair we were at last year. It was a profitable sale for me, the best I've ever been to, so I was eager to sign up again. But now I've got to get some stuff made up in preparation. And it's so hard to know how much to make! Because you don't want to have a ton of leftovers, when will you ever get rid of them?! Next year, you say? I'll tell you in a few months... (Still have a few leftovers from last year...)
Anyway, I guess that's all the updating I can do for now. I'm currently working on a clay project using an unexpected medium. My aunt and uncle gave me a small wooden birdhouse for my birthday - a bit random, but sweet. At first I was going to paint it or whatever, something normal and blasé. But then I thought, No... I'm going to cover it... with clay! And so that is what I am doing. It looks pretty cute, if I may say so - except it kind of looks like Snoopy's house, from the Peanuts... At this point, the house itself is covered, I'm just working on some design accents and small finishing touches (should look much less Peanut-esque when I'm done)! I haven't decided whether I will be keeping or selling it... I guess I'll decide after I bake it. I've been seeing some reviews online saying that the wood sometimes cracks in the oven, so we shall see what happens! I also parbaked some pieces, so hopefully they won't discolour or crack when the whole project goes in the oven... It's an experiment! If it turns out well, tho, I plan on buying up a couple more wooden birdhouses or boxes to cover. And maybe try out some new clay techniques! The technique I tried out with this current project is rubber stamp embossing on clay... Fun! :)
Ok, bye for now, I'll blog again soon, hopefully! Comments are always welcome - please share thoughts, new ideas, Christmas ornament suggestions, constructive criticism... I warn you, however, that I do NOT take criticism well, so please be kind. :)
Well, here goes...
Since my last post in JANUARY (*rolls eyes at own lameness*)... I finished the special order cat project in time, and it was lovely and the recipient was quite pleased, which made my day. In February I started working full-time as a secretary in a Human Ressources-type office near home (45 minute drive, currently carpooling with Dad, but he has retired and will soon be quitting work so I'll be solo), which severely cut into my crafty time. But I still managed to make 2 special order wedding cake toppers, both a little later than scheduled, but arriving before the weddings. The first was a fun figurine about 6 inches tall. The bride was wearing a Montreal Canadiens hockey jersey and the groom was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. :) I shall have to try to post pics... That wedding is next month, so I'm hoping to get some pictures of the topper in action. The second topper was for a good friend of mine, and it was actually my wedding gift to her and her new hubby. They were having a kind of country/cowboy themed wedding (which turned out absolutely fabulous, by the way). She ended up ordering 2 cowboy boots as her topper. Might sound a bit strange at first, and it was not without difficulty, but trust me, they looked AWESOME on the cake!
Those were the biggest projects I've worked on in the last 8 months... I've also done some bow centres for a friend. She makes beautiful sculpted ribbon hair clippies, and really fun bows and stuff, and last year we decided to strike up a partnership where I make little bow centers for her and she makes bows for me, to sell in each other's "shops" in an effort to reach out to different audiences and get our stuff seen by a different group of people. We also live in different areas, so that helps, too. Anyway, so I've made a couple orders for her, I'm still working on finishing up the last order.
I've also bought some fun new sewing patterns for bags. I tried one, but I didn't really have the right materials so it's a little funky, but I still like it. :) No idea what price to put on it, tho... I'm looking forward to making another and trying the 2 other patterns I bought.
I've been finding TONS and TONS of ideas of new things to do, projects to try, etc., etc. but I haven't got around to many yet. I wanted to make myself a sofa-shaped business card holder, from a tutorial I found online, but I haven't done that yet, either. If it turned out I was going to try to make a couple others to sell, but I haven't even made one! Christmas is coming, and I have so, so many ideas... I have some friends who've had babies this year, so I'd like to make First Christmas ornaments for them. There are a few kids whose First Christmases I've missed, so I'd also like to, possibly, get caught up, or at least make one with their birth year on it... So I'd LIKE to do all that, but I should also be stocking up on Christmas ornaments to sell. Which is more important? :/ And then I've been trying to ornaments for my 2 nephews every year, so I've got to come up with something for them, and I sometimes tend to make some for other family members as well...!!! My sister and I have reserved a table at the school craft fair we were at last year. It was a profitable sale for me, the best I've ever been to, so I was eager to sign up again. But now I've got to get some stuff made up in preparation. And it's so hard to know how much to make! Because you don't want to have a ton of leftovers, when will you ever get rid of them?! Next year, you say? I'll tell you in a few months... (Still have a few leftovers from last year...)
Anyway, I guess that's all the updating I can do for now. I'm currently working on a clay project using an unexpected medium. My aunt and uncle gave me a small wooden birdhouse for my birthday - a bit random, but sweet. At first I was going to paint it or whatever, something normal and blasé. But then I thought, No... I'm going to cover it... with clay! And so that is what I am doing. It looks pretty cute, if I may say so - except it kind of looks like Snoopy's house, from the Peanuts... At this point, the house itself is covered, I'm just working on some design accents and small finishing touches (should look much less Peanut-esque when I'm done)! I haven't decided whether I will be keeping or selling it... I guess I'll decide after I bake it. I've been seeing some reviews online saying that the wood sometimes cracks in the oven, so we shall see what happens! I also parbaked some pieces, so hopefully they won't discolour or crack when the whole project goes in the oven... It's an experiment! If it turns out well, tho, I plan on buying up a couple more wooden birdhouses or boxes to cover. And maybe try out some new clay techniques! The technique I tried out with this current project is rubber stamp embossing on clay... Fun! :)
Ok, bye for now, I'll blog again soon, hopefully! Comments are always welcome - please share thoughts, new ideas, Christmas ornament suggestions, constructive criticism... I warn you, however, that I do NOT take criticism well, so please be kind. :)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
January Update
News:
Nothing much has changed since my last post. Except that I got another special request through Etsy, which needs to be completed and shipped by the end of January. It's a figurine of 3 cats (replicas of the real pets) sitting side by side - 2 black with a white one in the middle. :) It should be fun, I'm looking forward to getting it started and working with the client.
I've also been in touch with the friend that was at the Craft Sale in Magog. She makes hair clips, with ribbons. I offered to go into business with her - either I could make polymer clay centres for bows to sell to her, or she could make bows without centres to sell to me... And then advertise for each other. It's a good alliance to have, and this way, we both get more exposure to people we wouldn't normally be in touch with! So I need to start thinking of some Valentine themed centres to make for her.
I've also got my 2 wedding cake toppers to get started. Putting together portfolios, gathering/acquiring new materials, more sketching, and probably some trial-and-error attempts. Since this is my first time making figurines/sculptures this big, I'm going to have to try out some different methods and figure out what works best to make them stand up straight. I have a feeling and may be re-doing the first couple I make. For sure the bride. Brides are hard! lol
Resolutions:
Something I have to work on: planning ahead. Not just in general, although I do need to work on that as well. But as far as my Etsy shop goes, and being prepared for the next holiday or thinking ahead by a couple months... It's just not something I'm used to doing, so I need to start getting into the habit. If I start making Valentine's Day and Easter things now, then they'll be ready plenty of time in advance so that I'm not scrambling the week before the holiday to get some stuff made and posted. Because nobody wants to buy something the week before - it won't arrive in time! So that's part of my New Year's Resolutions for my business. To plan ahead and be prepared for holidays before they come up! :)
Nothing much has changed since my last post. Except that I got another special request through Etsy, which needs to be completed and shipped by the end of January. It's a figurine of 3 cats (replicas of the real pets) sitting side by side - 2 black with a white one in the middle. :) It should be fun, I'm looking forward to getting it started and working with the client.
I've also been in touch with the friend that was at the Craft Sale in Magog. She makes hair clips, with ribbons. I offered to go into business with her - either I could make polymer clay centres for bows to sell to her, or she could make bows without centres to sell to me... And then advertise for each other. It's a good alliance to have, and this way, we both get more exposure to people we wouldn't normally be in touch with! So I need to start thinking of some Valentine themed centres to make for her.
I've also got my 2 wedding cake toppers to get started. Putting together portfolios, gathering/acquiring new materials, more sketching, and probably some trial-and-error attempts. Since this is my first time making figurines/sculptures this big, I'm going to have to try out some different methods and figure out what works best to make them stand up straight. I have a feeling and may be re-doing the first couple I make. For sure the bride. Brides are hard! lol
Resolutions:
Something I have to work on: planning ahead. Not just in general, although I do need to work on that as well. But as far as my Etsy shop goes, and being prepared for the next holiday or thinking ahead by a couple months... It's just not something I'm used to doing, so I need to start getting into the habit. If I start making Valentine's Day and Easter things now, then they'll be ready plenty of time in advance so that I'm not scrambling the week before the holiday to get some stuff made and posted. Because nobody wants to buy something the week before - it won't arrive in time! So that's part of my New Year's Resolutions for my business. To plan ahead and be prepared for holidays before they come up! :)
Friday, December 3, 2010
December Update
Yes, it has been ages since I update my blog. However, I feel that it doesn't get much attention, so I generally don't see the need to update it. But, I don't want to get TOO far behind, so here's an update of the last 6 months or so.
Since Ree's Bangles was started as a fundraising effort for my trip to Honduras, I feel it necessary to mention that I did get all my money and went to Honduras June 26- July 2. It was amazing, a great time. I met so many wonderful people, made a few new friends, and got to meet my precious Nancy! I would do it again in a heartbeat!
So after returning home, I went to the First Annual Street Festival in Lennoxville on August 20. I had a great spot for my table. It was a nice day, although there was a bit of rain at one point. Tons of vendors were there, which was pretty cool to see. I didn't take the chance to do much investigating, but I was very impressed by what I saw, and again felt out of place. These people are GOOD! Anyway, I made a few small sales that day, but nothing extraordinary, and the rest of the summer/fall went the same way, which wasn't very encouraging. Especially considering that this is currently my main source of income. :/
However, during October and November I received 2 special orders thru Etsy, both very challenging. The first (a Queen Bee ornament) was a challenge as I hadn't quite learned to communicate with my customer as I should have. So I had to start over, which was very frustrating. We got it all figured out in the end, and she loved it. The second order was for a bunch of scrapbooking/card making charms that would be sold with rubber stamps, so the charms had to relate to the stamp, and I had to make multiples of the same things. They also had to be small enough and flat enough for cards. So this was also challenging, and there was some miscommunication there too, but everything worked out in the end. Since those 2 sales, I've also had 2 more via Etsy for clay figurines/ornaments I had posted there. And I decided to try making some Christmas ornaments, which I got really into and made 2 each of 4 different designs. Then my sister and I went to a craft sale in Magog on November 27 and the ornaments were a big hit! I also made a great contact there who gave me some potentially useful info about other sales and stores where I might feature my creations. And now I've got a ton of orders to fill for ornaments, via Facebook. Very busy! But it's a good busy.
I also have some friends getting married this coming summer and have been asked/offered to make the cake toppers! These will be a challenge as well, since they both want toppers which are twice as big as the characters I'm used to making. I've got a super cute idea in my head for both of them, but I don't know if I'll be able to bring it to "life." So that will be my project after Christmas - two wedding cake toppers!
I'm almost always open to new projects and special orders, so if anything comes to mind, please bring it up and I'll let you know what my schedule's like or if I can picture what you picture. If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you will have noted that I work in phases. First it was the jewelry, then the sewing projects, now the clay. Soon enough I'm hoping to be back at sewing.
I forgot to mention button jewelry. Over the summer I found a really great idea for making flowers out of buttons, and putting pin backs on them. I had to try it! So I did, and they have been pretty big hits. I made different sizes, and tried barrettes too. I'm also going to work on rings.
That's all for now. I hope to update again, before another 6 months! Thanks to everyone who follows and/or reads this!
Monday, June 7, 2010
June Update
So I went to another sale on the weekend. It was really a baby yard sale, but I was invited to go. I felt pretty out of place, let me tell you, and I seriously wondered if it was a good idea for me to be there. But I did make some sales!! Two bags, four necklaces, and a pair of earrings! Which is two bags, four necklaces, and a pair of earrings more than I sold at the last sale I went to!! :D
The other ladies there with tables were really nice, too! One of the ladies who bought a necklace suggested two or three other sales where I might be able to rent a table, which was really helpful. And a few took business cards to hand out to their friends - such nice ladies, they were!
I also got an order for a necklace, a possible order for a bag, and someone very interested in a wedding cake topper! So it was an extremely profitable day. I also sold three bags through Facebook last week, and will possibly get an order from my cousin soon. And another cousin bought a cake topper for his wedding in September! *sigh* Things are really starting to take off. Not to mention all the orders I had previously, which I have really got to work on in the next two weeks!!!
I also got an idea at the sale for a new project - baby slings. They are the simplest things to make, are quite attractive, and look like a really functional, trendy baby accessory! I bought some material today, so I'm going to try it out sometime.
The other ladies there with tables were really nice, too! One of the ladies who bought a necklace suggested two or three other sales where I might be able to rent a table, which was really helpful. And a few took business cards to hand out to their friends - such nice ladies, they were!
I also got an order for a necklace, a possible order for a bag, and someone very interested in a wedding cake topper! So it was an extremely profitable day. I also sold three bags through Facebook last week, and will possibly get an order from my cousin soon. And another cousin bought a cake topper for his wedding in September! *sigh* Things are really starting to take off. Not to mention all the orders I had previously, which I have really got to work on in the next two weeks!!!
I also got an idea at the sale for a new project - baby slings. They are the simplest things to make, are quite attractive, and look like a really functional, trendy baby accessory! I bought some material today, so I'm going to try it out sometime.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
UN-success...
Well, I succeeded in making the 3 bags/purses in time for the craft sale yesterday. And my mom and I baked up a storm: chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, ginger snaps, oatmeal cookies, banana bread, lemon bread, brown sugar fudge, peanut butter cups....yeah! Plus she made some greeting cards for the sale as well. I went with, what I considered to be, modest hopes - to sell 5 necklaces, 1 bag, and 2 clay figurines.
I sold nothing. Not a thing.
All that sold was some baking and 3 greeting cards, which brought in a grand total of $17.50, and the cost of renting the table was $10, so...there ya go! A $7.50 profit. :/
That was raaaaather disappointing. But we had fun getting ready for it, and it gave us something to do all day Saturday, plus the week leading up to it. But I gotta tell you, I am downright exhausted now. *sigh* And the fact that I didn't sell any of my own stuff was a downer. But everyone else at the sale was in the same boat...there just weren't many people coming in or buying stuff...Lack of advertising!!
Oh well. I've just gotta keep my eyes peeled for more sales in the area! Unfortunately I'll still be in Honduras over July 1st...that would have been a great selling opportunity...
Anyway, that's the latest news. My Etsy shop is currently down because I took all my stuff to the sale. I need to re-photograph everything, and switch the stock around. But it will be up and running soon enough, so check in often! The bags will be added to my new Etsy stock, as well as some clay figurines that weren't on there before.
Come back soon! And remember, I take orders! ;) ---> www.reesbangles.etsy.com
I sold nothing. Not a thing.
All that sold was some baking and 3 greeting cards, which brought in a grand total of $17.50, and the cost of renting the table was $10, so...there ya go! A $7.50 profit. :/
That was raaaaather disappointing. But we had fun getting ready for it, and it gave us something to do all day Saturday, plus the week leading up to it. But I gotta tell you, I am downright exhausted now. *sigh* And the fact that I didn't sell any of my own stuff was a downer. But everyone else at the sale was in the same boat...there just weren't many people coming in or buying stuff...Lack of advertising!!
Oh well. I've just gotta keep my eyes peeled for more sales in the area! Unfortunately I'll still be in Honduras over July 1st...that would have been a great selling opportunity...
Anyway, that's the latest news. My Etsy shop is currently down because I took all my stuff to the sale. I need to re-photograph everything, and switch the stock around. But it will be up and running soon enough, so check in often! The bags will be added to my new Etsy stock, as well as some clay figurines that weren't on there before.
Come back soon! And remember, I take orders! ;) ---> www.reesbangles.etsy.com
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Craft Sale
Still no sales thru Etsy. I've been reading in the forums a bit, and posted a question asking how long it takes to make a first sale. Everyone's experience is different, and from what I've gathered, it can take anywhere from one day to 6 months after opening your shop! That's not terribly encouraging... It's been 2.5 months so far for me, and no sales. :( Oh well... the knowledge and experience I'm gaining is worth it. And the people in the forums were very supportive and made suggestions on how I could improve things in my shop, so that was nice. Unfortunately I haven't had to time to do much with it. I haven't done much creating for some time, let along taking pictures and playing around with my store. So...that should get done soon.
Especially because there's a local craft sale coming up and I'm renting a table. I have lots of jewelry stock, so that's definitely not a problem, but if you've checked out my Etsy shop, you'll have noticed that there's more than just jewelry on there! I'm a woman of many talents. ;)
So I have quite a few polymer clay creations in stock, but I should make a few more. And paper clothes (for scrapbooking or cardmaking), I have a bunch of them made up, and Mom is going to use some to make cards to sell at the craft sale as well - it will give people an idea of how they can be used. Speaking of, I should use that idea for Etsy - post pictures of cards using the paper clothes, or a scrapbook page... Good idea, Ree!
I would also like to get some sewing projects ready for the sale, and anything I don't sell will be added to Etsy. If you're one of those people who creeps other people's photos on Facebook (and if you're my friend on Facebook), you may have seen the pink and purple bag I made last summer. I was very pleased with the way it turned out, and I've received many compliments on it, and people have suggested I try to sell some. So I'm in the process of making three - a 2-tone grey one, a white and brown one (the white is a honeycomb fabric, but I still need to find a lining for it), and a really cool patterned one. The accenting areas are a dark turqoise-ish green and the main parts are in this really fun orange and pink lounge chair print. I'm pretty excited about that one. I was working on it last night and melted part of the green section with the iron, though. Had it a little to hot :( Thankfully I was able to cut out a new piece and save the bag, and the iron cleaned off easily enough.
Especially because there's a local craft sale coming up and I'm renting a table. I have lots of jewelry stock, so that's definitely not a problem, but if you've checked out my Etsy shop, you'll have noticed that there's more than just jewelry on there! I'm a woman of many talents. ;)
So I have quite a few polymer clay creations in stock, but I should make a few more. And paper clothes (for scrapbooking or cardmaking), I have a bunch of them made up, and Mom is going to use some to make cards to sell at the craft sale as well - it will give people an idea of how they can be used. Speaking of, I should use that idea for Etsy - post pictures of cards using the paper clothes, or a scrapbook page... Good idea, Ree!
I would also like to get some sewing projects ready for the sale, and anything I don't sell will be added to Etsy. If you're one of those people who creeps other people's photos on Facebook (and if you're my friend on Facebook), you may have seen the pink and purple bag I made last summer. I was very pleased with the way it turned out, and I've received many compliments on it, and people have suggested I try to sell some. So I'm in the process of making three - a 2-tone grey one, a white and brown one (the white is a honeycomb fabric, but I still need to find a lining for it), and a really cool patterned one. The accenting areas are a dark turqoise-ish green and the main parts are in this really fun orange and pink lounge chair print. I'm pretty excited about that one. I was working on it last night and melted part of the green section with the iron, though. Had it a little to hot :( Thankfully I was able to cut out a new piece and save the bag, and the iron cleaned off easily enough.
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