A Few New Things

Here are a few new pieces on the webz. There's a few on ARtfire, Zibbet, and Etsy. Prices are quite reasonable.

Check out the sites and see what you might find...

Stuff in a Jar

Lately Etsy has been featuring a lot of stuff in Mason Jars: sawdust, string, various other stuff in the whimsical barnwood, farmhouse chic style.
So a bunch of people who frequent the Creative Breakroom forum were challenged by Eclipse to create our own Jars of Stuff. She's made a Treasury using some of the examples we listed on Etsy.

My entry is a one eyed bird, in a nest, in a Mason Jar, pictured above.

It's a new year! It's a new fresh start!

We're back on target to make some creative moves again!
Mr Foxaz spent 12 days in the hospital, from Dec 5 to the 17th.
It kinda put the hammer down on our holidays. Had to close the Etsy stores, and the others til we got back from Phoenix Good Samaritan. When we got back, I opened them up again and we had a few sales. Not much.
But what can you do when you're out of town and in the hospital?

Today was a good day - January 5th - and I hope we have more to come.
All the tests came back negative for the serious bad stuff (cancer) so for that we're very very thankful. Still doing follow-ups and taking it one day at a time.

But today was a good day, and that's crazy good!

Etsy's Offices- Peek in and see!

The article is from November 2009 and offers a look inside the new Etsy offices:

http://www.businessinsider.com/etsy-brooklyn-headquarters-2009-11#etsy-is-in-brooklyn-but-not-way-out-in-brooklyn-the-york-street-subway-station-exit-dumps-you-under-the-manhattan-bridge-1

Some New Work.. and an old picture...

Warm and cozy for winter, just ahead. I'll be listing these for sale someplace soon. Probably Etsy, or Artfire. I've been knitting alot since the weather cooled down. It's a fun way to stay busy and productive. My parents valued being productive. Very important.

This is a picture of an old bakery in Jerome, sent to me by my friend Bobbi. Late 1800's perhaps, with the smelter stack in the background. So neat and tidy - the smelter smoke kept anything green from growing. Ah the good old days!

Is it Christmas Yet?

Because we have some new things to put in the shops... Above, a tiny antler tip on red leather cord. It's cute, and didn't hurt Rudolph at all, since these are naturally shed antlers found on the forest floor.
These earrings are my favorite stones- Carnelelian and turquoise. I made these with the powers of the stones in mind- carnelian invokes passion and energy; turquoise is a lucky stone which aids in relieving anger. What could be better than that? And the copper finding aid in transferring thoughts into action.
This is a mystery stone. It must be some kind of agate; it takes a wonderful polish! And there's a tiny tube along the side which has the black of the stone inside. There's a crystalline hole in the middle and some opalescent bubbles on the side- altogether a wonderful accent piece for any outfirt
Here's another agate with a crystalline inclusion. Perhaps it is a piece of geode. It holds a super polish and has both mystery and excitement in it.
This piece started out as a bead, but broke in half. Such an outstanding natural bright blue color! It's set in a cast sterling silver backless setting, and hangs on a sterling silver figaro chain. We just love the beautiful blue color of natural Kingman turquoise.

These and other outstanding pieces will be posted on our various sites over the next few days.. Hope you like them!

Changed my profile pic...

... cuz I'm just not that angry anymore. Now, I just have my popcorn ready and wait to watch the next train wreck.

Whether it's Kanye West, Serena, or Joe Wilson, - or just a typical Etsy Etc thread - I'm ready.
Cheers!

The Wolf is at the Door

I'm taking my felt pins in a slightly different direction. This is the first of what should be an iteresting series of animals, birds and insects. Minimalist, yes, and hopefully different in a good way.

I love making things. My Bucket List is mostly things I want to make, projects I haven't finished, promises I've made about one thing or another. As I get older, the weeks just seem to fly by, and what with my fixation on keeping updated on blogs, current affairs, Etsy, Artfire, Artistry Arts, etc- I'll often spend hours reading on the net.

My photo project is HUGE! Every time I open a box or bag I find more pictures to document. And Mr Foxaz has been making a lot of new pieces, which I need to photograph, edit and list. As you can see up above, there are lots of new things in our Etsy shop, which I've decided to focus on his work with antler and turquoise. I think he'll be doing some Cherry wood and turquoise pieces for the vegans in the audience, too. So stay tuned! (an Etsy turn of phrase)

I know I'm a critic of Etsy in the forums, like so many others these days, but I have no intention of closing shop there. Not willingly, at least. I have too many business cards with my Etsy address! And the forums are addictive. So hopefully my big mouth won't get me kicked out.

Artistry Arts is a new selling site. They just moved to an all-new site, here:
http://www.artistryarts.com/index.php?/
and they are definitely worth a look. If you had stuff listed before the move, you'll have to re-list it all (bummer) but it's fairly easy to do, and they have a "list similar"function if you sell a lot of similar items. It costs $5 a month, with no selling or listing fees.. Check it out!

Here's a wonderful picture of a couple of the old folks at home:

Facebook

I'm on facebook, here: http://www.facebook.com/susan.d.fox?v=feed&viewas=1096466571

I don't use it much, because it seems to generate spam, and such. Over the course of time, perhaps I'll get into it more. Maybe when I don't have so many things to do in real life.

Etsy now has a cute little button where I can uoload my items to facebook. It seems like spam to do that, since the info would go to my friends, who already know about my shop.

It's a lot of work keeping up with all the blogs and shops and reading others blogs and flickr and facebook. People who manage it, and do it well, have my utmost respect.

Lovely Days, Lovely Nights...

Here's Betty, checking me out while I take pictures of some of my latest creations. She's a very good helper, making sure things are set up right and everything's in focus. She helps Mr Foxaz also, keeping track of his turquoise and watching out for intruders.

Finally! My First Cowl / Hat / Headwrap / Neckwarmer

I resisted, oh I did, I did! I didn't want to be just like everyone else... I march to my own drummer, after all...

But here it is- Cowl #1, in blue and purple - purple homespun, blue and purple boucle, and fluffy fun fur yarn.

I'll be listing it on Etsy, the home land of all things Cowl, later today.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

This picture turned out so Etsy, don't you think?

I haven't listed it yet, but it's a very cool, matte-finish, yellow pebble from my collection of rocks and things. It hangs on a copper colored figaro chain with a twist clasp.

Such fun, and so funky. Just the way I like it.

Cherry Heart 4 Valentines Day

Isn't this just lovely? Made by Mr Foxaz out of our neighbors poor dead cherry tree. Such beautiful wood! - And it hangs on a 925 sterling silver figaro chain.

You can find this in our Etsy shop - www.foxaz.etsy.com

Latest Creation: Hand-embellished!

I've had this hammered brass bracelet for almost 30 years. Used to wear it dancing at the Disco (oh the stories, the stories!) It was made by Dana Driver, an artist/jeweler I knew back in Jerome, AZ.

Well, now that I've got a few years on me, and the Disco is but a distant memory, I decided to fancy it up a bit with some faceted red glass beads, a mother of pearl flat donut bead, and a foiled glass gold colored bead. I like the way it turned out, don't you?

It's listed on Etsy, in case you are interested.

Just listed - on Etsy!

I added 3 things to my Etsy shop last night. The process, though tedious - 5 pages! - went fairly smoothly. Since views have bee re-calculated, or using a different set of criteria, views have fallen significantly.

The antler pendant got 4 views; the red copper pearls has 3, and the lampwork earrings garnered 2.

That's sad. Just sad.

Lookie Lookie!!

I bought some of those cute little flower beads- in my continuing quest to create items just like Etsy likes...

The beads were fun to use though, and I think they came out well.

Look on Shophandmade (link at right) for these two...

Keep Calm & Carry On

Watching the stock market bounce up and down is giving me a stiff neck. Following politics has my head spinning. So I thought I'd make earrings.

I bought some antique copper findings from Artful Market and got busy. You can see some of my output above. Cool, huh?

Problems with searching Etsy...

So we list and renew our items on Etsy - some people do this more than others - it's generally the only way to have your work show up in the searches. Today they announce there are problems with listings not showing up. Photos appearing as grey squares, whole categories showing zero stuff.

Until this is fixed, I won't be listing anything new, or renewing anything.

But I still make stuff, every day.

Tonight Leanne (leannimal on Etsy) won her first challenge on Project Runway. It's a fun show to watch; so many different types of designers, it's inspiring!

Have a great end of August!

The end of July! Days are getting shorter, folks on Etsy are getting antsy to hear Holiday Plans from the top dogs, the ones with initials: CEO, CCO, CFO, CTO.

What kinds of promotions will be featured? What kinds of advertising will occur? Will EtsyKids finally end? Will the issue of copyright infringement be dealt with? And especially-- will sales pick up?

Ah the many questions of an online handmade seller...

Rearranging my "blog furniture"

When I was younger, before computers and the Internet - (yes, I could be your mother) - I used to enjoy moving furniture around , often, to make it seem like the room was new. I just enjoyed seeing things from a different angle, making a new space.

Now, I can change my blog page around to satisfy that urge. And it isn't half so painful, in terms of lifting and back injuries.

Today, I added a hit counter (so I'll know how many times I've visited) and a slideshow of some of our work. Some of these are available at our etsy store - www.foxaz.etsy.com. I've been experimenting with ACEOs-(Art Cards Editions & Originals) using some of my digitally tweaked photos. They are a lot of fun to make, like little baseball card-size art pieces.

In the slideshow you'll also see antler pendants and earrings are by mr fox, crocheted stuff by me, and some photos of the iris in the garden this year. The iris blooms are so beautiful and short-lived. And this year, the wind has been so strong. It really sucks the life out of plants, drying everything out and knocking it over.

Now that I've changed things up and added some deep thoughts, I think I'll go craft...
Don't forget to check the Sunday Secrets at www.postsecret.com !