Weekly update. . . new supplies

 My order of new scales and rings arrived yesterday. 🎉

5 colors of large etched dragon scales, 5 colors of smaller regular scales, more rings because I always need more rings. 😅Now I really need to get busy making stuff and then pray for some sales because I've invested quite a bit of money on frames for the art and expanding the ring inventory to include more sizes/colors and scales. I am super hopeful about the events I have scheduled this fall, if they go well all this should be worth it. 😇 

I am also pretty glad I didn't schedule any June/July events with this ridiculous record heat. I thought about it months ago, but it just didn't work out and now I'm like that's probably for the best. This way I get to spend all summer framing art and making new stuff in my air conditioning instead of dying of heat stroke at the farmer's market. 😎 

I am making progress on framing art, but I have realized that any of them that are/were already listed will have to be deactivated once framed because the listings will need updated with new photos and pricing to reflect the frames, so. . .  

Warning: Some of the art will temporarily disappear and eventually come back framed at higher prices, so if you have your eye on something currently listed, I highly recommend grabbing it now, unless you want it pre-framed and are willing to pay $20-25 more. 😉

In the meantime, more dragons will be coming and probably sooner than you thought. 

I already have a second body done I was just waiting on the large scales. The second dragon will have a color-fade down his belly that will be reflected in the scales on his back, he is slightly shorter bodied than Regol but overall will likely be close to the same length when including his tail. I plan to attempt legs on this version along with several other changes like half the number of scales and slightly different wings. 

We'll see how he turns out. 😉

Weekly update. . . I did it!

I am so thrilled and actually quite proud of myself. 😇 

I have finished my dragon project, my first ever dragon. 

He has been a real adventure and learning process, new weave, scales, trying to figure out how to taper the tail. 😶 I am pretty pleased with how he turned out. 😎 He's not perfect, I do have some ideas for improvements and things I would do differently, but overall, he looks great, and he sits well.  I considered adding a clasp in his tail scales so I could wear him like a necklace, but when I tested the fit he's not quite long enough (believe it or not). However, he does sit nicely on my shoulder so who needs a clasp. 😅

 For those interested parties who have asked, you might have noticed I mentioned possible improvements, so yes, I will make more dragons. 😉 Although, this one will not be listed for sale and future ones will not be exactly like this one, I think my price estimates have turned out to be accurate so they will not be cheap. This guy has about 60 scales (in 2 sizes) and just over 550 rings (in 4 sizes) so I'm sticking with the $150. I could make smaller ones for less or larger ones for more but as a baseline just know dragons are not cheap. 😅 

Also, I will not likely take custom orders for the dragons just because the scales would have to be ordered special and it would make it take too long from order to completion. I mean it already took me 3 weeks to finish this one, but if you add message discussions and ordering supplies (which come from Canada) to the beginning it would be well over a month at least and that is simply too long of a processing time for me to be comfortable with. 😏 

Worth noting though that I will likely be making keychain fidgets and bracelets in the pattern used for his back, so expanding product lines all the place. 😊 

Random mid-week post

So, much like last week's "weekly update" coming out on a non-Sunday was weird, I'm now following that up with a totally off schedule mid-week update. 😅

My husband is on vacay from work and there is a major holiday, so this is just a weird non-schedule conforming week. 😉 I'm not keeping up with my regular post schedule on socials, I'm not actually getting much work done in the shop, but I did update my blog header so that's something. 😎 I'm not sure I like the new header or maybe I'm just so used to the one that was there for years that it will take me a while to adjust to the new one. I have been meaning to update it for quite a while but just never did. Honestly, there are several things about this old blog that could use an update, it was established several years ago and options and settings have changed a lot over the last 8 years. 😅 However, I am an OCD creature of habit so big changes are not likely. 😅  

Weekly update. . .on a Friday!

Ok so this is a bit weird for me, I usually do my weekly updates on Sunday, but we have company coming this weekend so I thought I would do it early. 😎  

It has been a bit of a weird week overall and not as productive as I would have liked. 😏 I have made progress on my dragon, but he is not finished yet and there are some things I need to tweak. I'm not entirely happy with the head to body attachment, I mean it's attached but it doesn't sit the way I want. 

His head droops too much, it makes him look sad. I wish it would sit more level, but so far, I'm not having any luck getting that to work. 😅

I've tried multiple things like adding a ring here and there, trying to tighten the weave, reinforce the flex point between the two patterns.  I'm not giving up, but I am running out of things to try. 😐 I am determined to figure it out, I know it can work and I would like to make other dragons in the future so there is no choice but to solve this.  However, it won't be happening today, or this weekend as previously mentioned we have company coming and a cook-out planned, so I'll be busy cleaning the house and preparing for killer kabobs. 😎

Weekly update. . .Summer

It has been blazing hot all over the place lately. 😏 I know it's summer but good grief with the heat wave, heat dome, ridiculous record temperatures, it's only June so I am not looking forward to July or August. 😅 

Little Merlin has recovered well and quickly from his vet visit, he is happy to be free of the cone and back to running around. 😇 

I have finally decided to conquer a project that I have wanted to do for a long time but have always shied away from.  I've been doing chainmaille for years now, ok a decade.  I have learned many patterns over the years, mostly from studying photos of completed things. I have seen a lot of photos of a lot of versions of. . . Dragons.  However, almost every version is different, there is no real standard and I have always found them to be rather intimidating in their complexity, they trigger my imposter syndrome. 😰 It is kind of sad considering how much I love dragons, I literally am a dragon under the Chinese zodiac. 😅 So, in the spirit of continuous learning and conquering my fears, I am making a dragon!

Yeah, I've been working on him all week and he's still nowhere near finished. Yesterday, I spent 2 hours and multiple attempts just to get his head attached straight. 😅

I made the head and fringe first because it seemed like an easy starting point, but it has also been a good inspiration sitting there staring at me 😶 like come on. . . I need a body.

I am about 300 rings in, and I think I underestimated just how many rings it will take, considering he is currently a scale-less wing-less serpent. 😕 There are tons of rings left to go, to line his back with scales, to make and attach wings and then a tail. So yeah, he is only about half done right now, which makes it kind of insane that I am already thinking about making another one with different chain patterns and legs. 😅😄

The kit came with a limited number of scales, but I want to make his wings bigger and different from the head fringe. I'm going to have to order more scales, this is not going to be good for my supply addiction. 😎

Weekly update. . .Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all. 😇

Not much of an update this week, it was not really what you'd call a "productive" week business wise. 😏 I got my teeth cleaned and I got Merlin fixed but that's about it. I'm fine and he is recovering very well, although he does hate the cone. 😅

I did finish the 5th beads and rings necklace. 

I think I have an idea about how to make the matching earrings, but they are not finished. 😉 I received a fresh order of rings for a whole new to me thing with scales 😬 we'll have to wait to see how it turns out. I admit I've never been really good at getting scales to lay right. 😅

Any guesses on what this pile is supposed to make? 😅

Weekly update. . .Merlin

Time for a kitten update. . .Merlin is rapidly outgrowing the "kitten" phase. 😅 He has grown in not only size but also attitude, he has begun to spray so it's time to get him fixed, his appointment is this week.  I am hopeful that this will settle his rottenness some because I am sick of him waking me up yowling his little head off thinking he needs his tuna-breakfast at 4:30 AM. 😠 I feel like I'm perpetually exhausted, I have taken to actually napping trying to make up for the fact that the cat never lets me sleep in the morning, but I'm not normally a nap person so half the time I wake up feeling worse. 😔  

In his leash training he just stubbornly pulls like a sled dog until he gets to go where he wants to, or he pops his collar off. 😏 Luckily, he hasn't actually tried to run away, so far when he gets his collar off, he knows he's in trouble and usually comes to the door. Let's face it there is unlimited cans of tuna in the house and as a previously starving orphan why would he give that up. 😉 

My next batch of frames has arrived with white, silver and gold trimmed options. I still have to sort out which frames for which paintings but with more options I am happy with the results so far. Take this piece for example, the white edges used to bother me I regretted not covering them it made it look unfinished somehow, but with the white face black recess of the frame echoing it, it looks like it was planned all along, the frame suits it and finishes it. 😍

Sometimes it is just obvious which color frame should go with certain paintings. The process of framing is kind of a pain since the screws and brackets are attached from behind you just kind of guess and pray that the canvas stays centered and straight while you tighten the screws. 😅 I'm partly kidding, it is a P.I.T.A and the brackets are basically attached blind from the back, I do have ways of marking the back and some spacers to try to help but it ain't easy. 😏

Or maybe it's just a "me" problem because my wrist has been broken and dislocated previously so the hand screwing things makes my wrist hurt. I also hate the steel hanging wire. 😅 Sure sure it looks nice and proper and professional and all that jazz, but it is the least enjoyable part of my art process. Followed by one of the least enjoyable things about having an online business, the spam. 😖 Spam is literally everywhere, I get spammy messages on instagram wanting photos of my pets or wanting me to model "their" jewelry, never mind that I am not a model and if I wanted to do that, I'd do it for my own jewelry.  I regularly get spammy messages on facebook, makerplace, and goimagine, nowhere is safe from the spammers and bots, sadly.  Mostly I just ignore it but sometimes I wonder what is the purpose? what is their point? what do they achieve? 

Now, I'm not sure how they wound up in my goimagine shop to find the button to message me, but goimagine's home page is pretty clear that the site is Handmade, my shop's main page is pretty clear that my art and jewelry is Handcrafted, and within the listings it is very clear that each piece is one of a kind and handmade. So seriously asking if they are handmade is just ridiculously repetitive, again what is the point? However, I don't just assume every message is spam, so I politely replied that "yes, all my items are handmade."  The follow-up makes me think it is spam and likely angling to sell me some SEO advice or other "help". 

I appreciate anyone who appreciates and compliments my art, but the asking about my sales is out of bounds, especially if this was an actual buyer. I suppose it could be one of the new sellers looking for insight or advice but seriously that's what social media is for not marketplace messages. 😉 I have plenty of social media, facebook, instagram, threads, pinterest, Maker Circle and this blog, there plenty of places to contact me. 😇