The beginnings of a large earring request.
More bracelets. All I need to do is find the perfect buttons.
This is the beginnings of a necklace idea that's been bouncing around in my head for a while now.
Green rings on a chain.
Headband? Bracelet? Should I make one of each?
Recycled T-Shirt necklace (extra long). I just put this in the store.
The colors of this one remind me of orange sorbet - yummm.
Mr. Man helped me with my photo recycled T-shirt photos recently and I just love the little glimpse of our life that's in this pic.
That door on the far left is painted with chalk board paint. It's one of the first things I did after we finished unpacking...or at least decided we were done unpacking.
That hat on the doorknob is my backyard hat. Sometimes Isaiah doesn't like to wear his hat when we go in the backyard, but if mommy is wearing her hat then he's a little more agreeable (occasionally). Truly, the hat is great because we don't have much shade back there and wearing sunglasses while mowing or whatever just doesn't work.
That little stick leaning against the door frame is the top part of Isaiah's broom. He likes to 'help' sweep.
And the big wooden cabinet is actually used as our pantry right now. It was going to be my craft closet until we realized how little cabinet space out kitchen has. The pantry houses tea, baking necessities baking powder/soda, flours, bittersweet chocolate chips,and various nuts; dried fruit, canned goods, wine, and more tea. Our cookbooks sit on top.
I decided not to be greedy. Variations of the ring I designed for myself will be in the shop shortly. I decided to keep them for myself and a few select friends/family :D
via www.etsy.com
The joy that garlands can bring.
This one was so much fun to make that I'm already working on a purple on, a red one and a sparkly one :)
What do you think, should I do a few in red, white, and blue for July 4th?
Arriving in the shop tomorrow - just in time for weekend shopping.
adorable rosette earrings
cute places to put them (when they're not on your ears).
corkscrew earrings will be in the shop shortly also
And crocheted garlands - the earrings of your home
crocheted rounds from the sunshine garland
Your home is an extension of yourself - dress it accordingly; starting with coasters!
Tightly crocheted from 100% cotton - no moisture seepage, and no icky pooling is droplets either.
coaster action shot!
rustic - and delicate.
All this and more is being added to the shop right now. More colors to come. Stay tuned for catch-all bowls, coffee cup sleeves and more
Ok - not quite.
But it's been so dreary and blah here that I've been working on light, springtime projects just to spite the gloom, while drinking hot spiced cider of course; hot cider is one of the redeeming things that come along with winter.
Some of these will be making their way to the shop this weekend.
Happy Friday!
If you're thinking spring, then you've got to have flowers.
This is my most recent custom order. I love the contrast between the green and the coral. The combination makes me think lime sorbet and vacation.
Ooooo and then there are the necklaces. Light as a feather, in pretty, go-with-anything colors. Fun to make, more fun to wear. Don't worry, more are coming.
sea foam green on brown
pink and brown
earth tones with a touch of shine
With everything that is going on in Haiti it can be tough to know when, where and how to lend a hand (or a dollar). Most people, myself included, need to take action while it's still at the forefront of our minds.
I have donated a few items to Craft Hope for Haiti. This group has opened an Etsy shop to benefit Doctors without Borders efforts in Haiti. Crafters can donate items to be sold and anyone can shop at the etsy shop. None of the money is being kept my the sellers (as a seller I can confirm this).
All types of crafters are donating their wares for this shop. From hand made soap and knit hats, to calendars and children's clothes. There should be something for everyone.
I'm getting ready for spring
But in the mean time, I'm offering 15% off one full order to all Facebook fans now through March 19 (the last day of winter). Just put your facebook name in the note-to-seller section.
If you haven't become a fan of Simpletruths on Facebook, just go to my Simpletruths Fan Page and select 'Become a Fan.' It's that easy.
If you're not into the social networking scene, no worries. You're here and that's what really matters (but you will be missing out on some Facebook-only promotions; but, no pressure).
A few of my favorite things from the shop
The letter of the day is 'T'
as in T-shirts
First I experimented with my own shirts - mostly inexpensive tanks from forever 21 that I'd long since grown tired of. In my trials, errors and quests for answers I stumbled upon several tutorials for "recycled T-shirt necklaces"
They were all fine, variations on a similar theme; the cutting of T shirts, the stretching of material, the tying of knots, the wrapping and tucking and, eventually, the wearing. All well and good. But I was interested in making something a bit more polished. Keeping with the simplicity of similar T shirt strand-necklaces, but giving it a little oomph ... and I hated the knots, and the tucking - all so very UNpolished.
So I tinkered, and tried a few things, then I started scouring thrift stores for T shirts that were well taken care of - no faded, threadbare shirts that looked like they had been used to dry the Volvo after the car wash.
This is what I came up with:
and this
and, if you're really going to accessorize, then you've got to have a bracelet, right?
The first one - the forest green necklace, sold the morning after I posted it to etsy :)
I'll be making more as the weeks pass, I think they work both as necklaces and even a fun take on the infinity scarf if you get a thick enough bunch together. So far I've just been doing solid colors but I'm already envisioning fun, spring-time color combinations....
quick shop update -
I'm Sold out!
I'm all sold out of the ribbed neckwarmers for the time being. That's right! You've got to be quick :)
More are in the works - let me know if you have any color suggestions or requests. Also, anyone have good ideas about where to find cool vintage buttons? I'm always looking to beef up my stash.
Any online site that wants to draw people in knows it happens first with pictures. And like any other site - I want my etsy shop to draw people in. So, I put a lot of thought into my photos.
Some people have photobooth-like set -ups with lamps and white balancing and the like. Other people go outside and prop their wares on whatever nature has to offer - fence posts, tree limbs, etc.
I have an extra couple of yards of linen I haven't gotten around to making into anything more useful. Some people iron their background cloths to smooth perfection, but I think the cream colored linen lends itself to a softer more relaxed look; that and I tend to avoid any and all ironing that isn't completely necessary - I've been known to run the dryer a second time just to shake the wrinkles out of clothes that may have been sitting in the basket a little too long.
Since the best light is usually during the little guys nap time, and product photography is just one bullet point on a long list of things I attempt to get done during nap time, I can't spend a lot of time on set up and break down. I toss the cloth on the table (right over the fruit bowl and whatever else happens to be cluttering the table), grab a few props - ranging from a couple of kitchen mugs to Mr. Man's fedora, and go to work,
This photo shoot features a couple pair of earrings with some wool roving-hand felted by yours truly, and a brass bead. I also did a pretty col wrapped bone ring right afterwards. The above photos are the 'behind the scene's look"
These will be the actual product photos from that session.
this one hasn't made it to the shop just yet. After looking at the photos, I decided a few tweaks were necessary
The macro setting is my friend :)
It was bugging me that my etsy shop's url had my old username - one that was unrelated to anything I'm currently doing. For a few days I didn't want to change it because I was so proud that I'd finally gotten it all set up.
But I bit the bullet (I've never understood that saying) and changed over to an entirely new etsy profile. That means I'll lose the hearts people gave me :( but I figured that it's better to do it now before I get really invested in it. I'm supposed to be showcasing some of my items (exciting) at a couple of holiday events and I wanted everything to be sorted out before then.
And now it is.
So the real, here to stay, URL for my shop is simpletruths.etsy.com. So much better, right?
low tide
First of all, the word 'roving' is fun to say.
and it's fun to play with. I took this stuff and turned it into these
which I turned into these
I'll be keeping these earrings for myself but there's more roving which means more beads. So I'll be making a few for the shop this weekend.
Jewelry has always seemed very impersonal to me - which is exactly the opposite of what it should be. I guess it all depends on how you wear it and your personal connection to it and all that - but most store bought jewelry (from Tiffany to Target) has so little personality.
Of my jewelry my favorite's all have a story behind them - from the Gucci watch I found (yes, found, yes, Gucci), to the silver bracelet I bought in a little jewelry shop while on my honeymoon - the same shop where the owner, noticing my husband had a bout of the sniffles, offered him a shot of tequila as a cure all. And it worked! To this day Mr. Man still finds a way to work tequila into most of his home remedies...
(taken on our honeymoon)
I never new my paternal grandmother, but I have her wind-up timex watch and I always feel so elegant when I wear it - even if the time isn't right.
So, in honor of adornment with personality, I scoured the pages of etsy, something I love to do anyway. Here's some of my favorites:
I know there's a couple non-jewelery items in the group...but aren't they nice!?
