Saturday, October 17, 2009

New items in Shoppe!


So, I'm starting to list my tiny embroidered ball earrings in my shoppe. This is my first foray into a wearable item and I'm pretty excited about it.
I have my sister, celenajustine to thank for the idea. When I first started embroidering ornaments, I wanted to experiment with all different sizes and bought some tiny styrofoam balls just to see what would happen. I made my first one and it was harder than I thought it would be! The smallness makes it more challenging to keep the base thread wrapping from slipping off while you wrap it and your hand cramps really bad from having to tightly hold such a little ball for a prolonged period.

My sister sees my frustrating effort, loves it, and, of course, states that she wants earrings. Aaargh. Of course my sister not only wants more, but she wants matching pairs to boot! But seriously, I think it's a neato idea. I've never seen anyone else who makes them. (Correct me if I'm wrong, please!) Plus, with how many amazing temari artists there are out there who make me look like a total amateur, it's nice to feel like I'm doing something unique with the technique.

I also have KatinkaPinka to thank in part for this new product coming together. I had already bought some earwires for my hypothetical earrings, but when I purchased some lovely felt ball earrings from dear Katinka, I knew that the kidney earwires were the way to go. I inspected them and asked her a few questions, she was wonderful as usual! So, with a little help from my friends, I am now an earring monger. Never thought that would happen. But then, I never thought I would do a lot of things I've done this year!

Also, finally put up a new banner in the shop. My sister hand carved herself a sign for a show we were planning on doing (though we didn't get accepted!) and, being the dominant twin, I told her to make me one too! She was actually kind enough and generous enough to do so. She's been too busy to finish the sanding, so it hasn't actually been stained yet, but I did some photo editing on it and I'm pretty happy with it; think it suits the look of my shoppe and could be a long term fixture! Thank you Celena!

5 comments:

  1. no problem! It was fun to make the stars- I will try to find the dremel tool soon! I'd forgotten that I came up with earrings- how could anyone see a beautiful teeny ball and not want a pair hanging from their ears?

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  2. I don't know how I missed this post. I LOVE those little earrings. I don't have holes anymore but they would be so much fun to wear it's almost tempting to get them so that I would have an excuse to buy them. Any chance you could incorporate them into a necklace? I'm all about the neck art since my hair is always covering my ears.
    I also love that sign/banner. Your sister is also very talented.

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  3. Lenox, I was just wondering if there could be a market for necklaces! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know. I'm happy that you like them so much. I, too, love necklaces; I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 27 yrs. old and frequently have the hair issue as well. You've given me something to think about. Do you think the size is right? These are about the size of melon balls, but I have balls that are more of ping pong ball size. Maybe two length/size offerings? Maybe I'll do a poll post...

    Thanks about the sign and my sister too; it's neat being twin artists, because we really end up doing similar things, but still manage to not have any desire to do the same types of things. I have zero desire to carve wood or cut paper or dye eggs, as she has zero interest in embroidery. It works out well.

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  4. I think the size is really more a matter of taste. Personally for me bigger is better. I like bold statement pieces but I know other people like my sister prefer smaller less dramatic. I think if you did a few in one kind of like beads that would be so cool but in a different price range I'm sure.

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