Monday treasury

What an unusual week!
Last week I was in no treasuries and I managed to curate exactly no treasuries!

I seemed to be always out of the house or asleep when the treasuries opened up.
But, I hear you ask, "how do you know when the treasury will open?"

This is very confusing at first but once you get the hang of it, it's easy-peasy!

To access the main treasury, go to the front page.
On the left-hand side under categories is a box titled 'explore'. In this box is the treasury link.
When you click on that it will take you to the treasury with pages of lists. It says how many lists there are.
Down the bottom of the page it says "the treasury is full right now."
and "the ability to create new lists will happen again when enough lists expire so that the total number of lists falls below 333".
As I write this the number of lists is 384. So I need 51 lists to expire to get to 333.

A little sorting is required!
At the top of the page under the treasury titles are headings "hot", "title", "curator" and "expiration".
Click on "expiration" - it will sort them from most recent to nearly expired.

A little calculation is now required!

There are 20 lists per page (at the moment).
So if I locate list number 13 on page number17, that will be list number 333.
Next to that it will say when that particular one expires.
At the moment it is 4 hours.

So you need to come back in about 4 hours, but in practise the opening is usually before that, as some people delete their treasury so that they can get a new one.
Check on it from time to time, but generally about half an hour before is OK.

Then you sit patiently and watch the number count down - 335, 3334, 333.....

Very important DO NOT REFRESH THE PAGE! or you may miss it.
You can click between treasury pages but NEVER REFRESH.

When treasury 333 expires, a box opens up at the bottom of the page.
It will ask for your title - so have one ready, because that cannot be changed.

Then click the 'create' box and a page with 16 empty boxes will appear.
Fill them with your treasures - and enjoy!

How to unblock

- your creative block.

It happens to us all from time to time.
"What shall I make?"
"I don't know where to start!"

"My inspiration has abandoned me!"
"My muse has departed!"

"Nothing's selling. What's the point?"
"Nobody appreciates what I am doing!"

We procrastinate. Spend hours on the computer - chatting and blogging!
Make endless cups of tea and eat chocolate.

Nothing helps!!

SO! I forced myself into my workroom.
I thought "what are some sure-fire combinations?"

Red coral and turquoise.
How about the cheaper turquoise ceramic beads?
String them in a simple combination - kind of a warm-up exercise.

Hey! That didnt hurt a bit!
OK, more coral and different shape beads.

Pull apart a serpentine bracelet and restring with some red aventurine.
Mix the left-over serpentines with some other beads on my desk - and Voila!
Three bracelets.

Rectangles are always a favorite -
and here is the result of my unblocking afternoon!



That wasn't so difficult was it?

How do you unblock?

This week Janet took the first sentence in 6 of her favorite books...she invited us to fill them in...with the right words or even better, ones of our own.

And...here we go!

1. "In a hole in the ground there lived a very dirty grumpy hobbit."

2. "I seem to have run out of chocolate, but that ain't no matter." (Oh yes it is!)

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, water poured down the watercourses into the dam, and at last we were no longer living under water restrictions."

4. "The sound of the kettle boiling rose from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness and in it was a teapot - here comes my early morning cup of tea." (I love my hub)

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, so always 'be prepared' and carry chocolate."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to the movies to see 'Milk', tomorrow my plans include taking a big bag of stuff the op shop and Sunday, I want to cook fish on the BBQ!

Wishlist Wednesday - 2

I bought one of Lyptis's wonderful dresses.

I think it would look great with boots.

vintage plum embroidered cowboy boots by shoeville

a scarf,

Moorland heather felt scarf by Willowfelt

and a colourful hat!

Plaid trilby by missfitt

Works in progress

Do you love to learn?
Do you look for new techniques and ideas?
Where do you find new inspiration?

I do a lot of stringing in my creating, but I do love the rythmic repetition of beadweaving.
It takes forever, kind of like knitting, but it is strangely meditive.
It is also portable.
If you are going somewhere for the day you can take a small project of beadweaving with you.
Just a few beads, needle and thread.

I have been making these little peyote stitch tubes with some of the japanese cylinder beads I bought at the craft show.


These will become something I found in Beadwork magazine.
- hopefully!

Beadwork magazine is just one of the beading magazines I subscribe to.
Even if I never make anything from them, they are gorgeous to look at, have heaps of inspiration.
Great ideas about colour and trends and the best instructions for new techniques.

I'm in love with beaded triangles, so I was thrilled to see instructions for these hollow triangles in a recent Beadwork.
Phyllis Dintenfass generously shared her design for reversible earrings.
It looks hard, but Phyllis's instructions made it simple!



I made mine in green and gold - not sure what I'll do with them yet.
I'm already hatching a plan to make some linked ones!


Lastly here is something that has been on the go for a few weeks.
I keep picking it up doing a few rows and putting it away again.



I think it is looking a bit plain in the centre, so will have to work on it a bit more. Add some embellishment, feature beads or raised up bits.
The beauty of freeform is that you can do whatever you want, the beads just take you where they want to go.

Magazines I subscribe to -
Beadwork
Bead and Button
Stringing
Beadstyle

Treasuries with me and by me

What a great start to last week, to find myself selected by the gorgeous Meg of artnomadix in this very bright and colourful treasury.

My colour my world necklace is here amongst many of my favorites.

Artnomadix makes incredible hat creations, like my personal favorite spiralling purple hat.
You really should go visit her shop and marvel at her ingenuity and accomplishments.



Later in the week I logged into the wonderful site craftopolis which tells you if you are featured in a treasury or as an alternate.

What a joy to find my winter ocean bracelet in this atmopheric collection by KnotChaCha.

KnotchaCha as the name suggests makes beautiful knitted scarves and hats, also knitted jewellery.
My favorite is the lovely felted purple hat - just my style!

Thanks so much knotchacha!



Now to a couple from me.
The first one I based on the colours of the gorgeous photo by karenharries - coastal grasses. (top row second from left).


The next one I found inspiration in the rich colours of the felt slippers by 2emus.


And that's all for this week - hopefully there wll be more next week!
See you then.

Friday Fill In

And...here we go!

1. Why do we have to grow old?

2. Turning the computer on and checking my email are now habits.

3. I have gorgeous children and a fabulous husband. (sorry - just had to boast)

4. I had never heard the phrase "magic happens" and it happens. But maybe it's just me!

5. I'm going to make myself a nice cup of tea the way I always do.

6. How was I to know that opening a shop on etsy would turn into a computer addiction.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to dinner with friends, tomorrow my plans include having a stall at Glenbrook market and Sunday, I want to rest, but I know I'll have to go shopping! Pooey.

Wishlist Wednesday

- even though it's Thursday!

I have an obsession with bags at the moment
and it's hard to go past these three beauties by Australian sellers on etsy -

birds nest purse by tabidesigns

clutch with vintage japanese komono silk by berlinksi

Licorice allsorts clutch bag by TheTwistedWillow

Thanks to Carley of vanillapixie for the great idea of wishlist Wednesday.

see you next week!

Bracelets

'ringing bells of oranges and lemons'


'the moon's purple night'



'heralding the freshness of spring'



'into the dreamy spring'





Lovely lampwork glass beads by my fave glass artists.
Every bead is different and I love making them into bracelets.

Treasuries on a Monday and how to do it.

What a way to start the week! With this gorgeous bright rainbow treasury from laceandluxuries.
Rainbows are great!
I love it that Carmel of laceandluxuries included my 'colour my world necklace' along with all the other beauties.

Laceandluxuries is a good description of what is in store there.
But don't take my word go and have a look yourself and you will find treasures such as this 'floral purse with vintage doily'



I came home from my weekend away to a lovely surprise.
Many thanks to enchantedquilling for this enviously glorious green treasury - very aptly titled.



So glad she chose my green square earrings amongst so many different greens and such a variety of jewellery.

Enchantedquilling has some great green gems herself.
How cute is this kermit cupcake card?



And lastly one from me -
I love these colours at the moment.
Dark but with flash of bright - hence the title.



In answer to Tins and Treasures question about how to get a photo of a treasury on your blog.
This is what I do.
I use the screenshot add-on from firefox.
It takes a shot of the whole page, not just the bit visible on the screen. So it does need cropping.
I save it in paintshop, in a folder I have designated to treasuries.
Then I crop it to get rid of the comments and save it and 'voila!' it is ready to go every Monday!

I hope that is helpful.

See you next week.

Friday Fill In

And...here we go!

1. When I look to the left, I see a beautiful calendar that out friends brough back from Slovakia .

2. My workroom is the room that has the best view in my home.

3. Let it work out that my daughter does OK at the market tomorrow for me.

4.Going on vacation can be done dirt cheap!

5. Looking after the environment is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

6. If you have any chocolate feel free to share.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the music festival in Katoomba, tomorrow my plans include going to the music festival in Katoomba and Sunday, I want to listen to some more music - guess where?!

This week's treasuries

Another week passes - and I was thrilled to see that I had been selected in two treasuries and I also managed to grab two myself.
First, thanks to pippilangstrumpf (under the shade of a bonsai tree), for choosing my desert dreamtime necklace as part of her colourful collection.



Pippi makes lovely jewellery using chiyogami papers, like these pretty earrings.
Please visit her shop there are many more beautiful creations.


Later on in the week, MefeArt designed a sunburnt country treasury.
Thanks to Greer for including my Coral Sea necklace, with all the other gorgeous items.


MefeArt has some spectacular jewellery in her shop - this one is my favorite.

Labyrinth necklace.


When it came to curating my own treasuries this week, I took a look at my favorites and found two really lovely bright colourful artworks.
I decided to see if I could find more items to fit the theme - and then it was born.


In total contrast I had 'hearted' some grey and red hairclips and these colours were the basis for my next collection.
Unfortunately I forgot to put the original hairclips in!

Watch this space!

What I bought

...at craftfest last week.


Lovely lampwork orphans from DKS lampwork (a favorite of mine).
Dichroic pieces, a goddess, a mushroom and another couple of lampwork beads from Jennifer Findlay.
Carved white coral and carved rose quartz beads from Bead Them Up.
Carved jade and red cinnabar from Oriental Beads.
Also some Miyuki seed beads from S'Bead and Jennifer Findlay.

Now I'd better go and do something with them - other than play with them!

Friday Fill In

1. Taking someone else's trolley back at the supermarket was my last random act of kindness.

2. Another place I want to go to is Laos.

3. Rational behaviour has no place in matters of the heart.

4. Coffee, tea or more tea.

5. Children eventually take their separate paths.

6. Our children remind me that there is hope.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to dinner with friends, tomorrow my plans include making some tshirts with my daughter and Sunday, I want to watch said daughter play football!

Look what I won - part 2!

The second time I have won something in a blog give-away!

All these gorgeous little treasures from poshplushies!


I am so excited!
I have long admired her cute woodland creations - brooches and pincushions.



Just look at the detail and how neat they are!


Of course daughter snaffled this one -


These pin toppers are a fairly new creation and it was in their honour that poshplushies decided to host a give-away on her blog.


- all I can say is "thank you" poshplushies.
And tell you all to go and check out her etsy shop.

And her blog where she a tutorial on how to make this beautiful pin cushion.

Monday treasuries

How to curate a treasury?
How to choose what to put in?
Where to start?

There are various strategies to collecting your pics,
and I think this week's treasuries show some of them.

Natalia of realisationcreations tapped into her mood to bring this one to life.
She is a very talented treasury curator and always seems to find the most amazing pics to fit her theme.
This one - apart from being totally beautiful (and featuring my san juan fiesta necklace) - has the colours of a sunrise.
Now isnt that clever?!

I have to admit to a great admiration for Natalia and her lovely jewellery.
This necklace, Kadinsky's circles is my favorite, because it's a bit geometric and edgy.
Please visit realisationcreations and marvel at her work.


Another tactic is to choose an item, and make your treasury around that.
for instance in the past I have done chickens, because I love chooks.

Artdecadence choose cats, but found some unusual ways of expressing the theme.
Not all traditional cats and the title reflects the unusual aspects.

I'm thrilled she thought my ginger cat earrings were worthy of inclusion.


Artdecadence is a fabulous shop full of variety and chrisy is a very talented artist, working in many mediums.
This canvas has always been a favorite of mine.


Sometimes the easiest way to decide is to pick a colour and then you can search for that colour.

This soothing collection by michvanetta is deceptively simple but has a very subtle colour scheme.
I was so happy to see my sneakin up on you earrings were a part of it.

Mich makes jewellery with clean, simple lines and takes the most awesome photos.

It's hard to go past these turquoise and brass earrings, it's a great colour combination and the design is so strong.
I love them!

Please visit michvanetta - you wont be disappointed.

Members of etsy street teams often showcase other members of their team.
As in the case of Australian beauty by getfunked.
Her featured items are all from the Australian street team - DUST (down under street team).


and - yay! she popped in our cupcake tshirt.
Thanks Robyn!

Robyn helped me with my with my new shop banner and avatar.
I must say I was very drawn to this design, but she has lots more and will do custom ones for you in her getfunked shop.


If your shop, or blog, or twitter page needs a facelift talk to robyn.

What did I do this week?

Well first of all I was inspires by someting grey and red that I saw, but then couldnt find again!
Undetered I used that colour scheme and selected what I considered to be amazing photos.



Then I wanted to promote the wonderful DUST team and our March promotion - which has the theme - green dreams.




Please visit the dust team March sale and grab yourself a bargain!

My new shop

As with most people who busy themselves with craft activities, I have accumulated a lot of 'stuff' over the years.

Some 'stuff' is the result of over zealous buying (I like to buy in bulk - it's cheaper).
Other times I buy something I love but cant really find a use for it.

I have boxes of these gold-edged thick cardboard ovals.
I have used them for jewellery display and a friend used some as a base for paper tole - but I have got far more than I will ever use in 10 lifetimes!

I have also got a box full of rectangles made of the same card.

Some things turn out to be less useful than I thought.

These flexible bracelet stands, for example.




They have lots of advantages - they are clear, they pack flat, they are light and they were relatively inexpensive - so I bought lots!
Unfortunaley they do not work well with woven or strung bracelets, as they dont stay bent in a curved shape and push the beadwork out flat.

However they are excellent for metal or resin bracelets - so take note all you metalsmiths out there!

I also have some ring-sized stands.

Some things you just hang onto in the hope that you will one day use them.

I love these double-drilled black and white banded agate pieces.
But when I designed a necklace with them it turned out too 'fancy' and not really my sort of thing at all.


After sighing over them for several years it is time to let them go to a new home - someone will make something lovely out of them.

I also always buy jewellery findings in bulk (cheaper - but probably false economy if I don't use them).

I have these and more listed in my destash shop - planetdebris.
- the things that are left over -

So be sure to check out planetdebris as I will be regularly listing more destash items.