Phoenix Llewelyn Designs

nothing to read!

2009-04-17T04:55:00.002-05:00

So there are 18 days until the new Charlaine Harris book comes out... May 5th.. The 'Sookie Stackhouse' series. Most people may know it from the 'True Blood' HBO TV series. I'm addicted to both. I know there is this HUGE vampire craze right now. With 'Twilight' and 'True Blood' taking over the planet. But I have to say, I see nothing wrong with jumping on either bandwagon. I have always been a huge fantasy fiction fan. I never really got passed the wizards and magic until I read 'Twilight'. And then again after watching my first episodes of 'True Blood' last summer, I am hooked. I've read both of the series at least twice already. And I can't wait for the new 'Sookie' book, or the next 'Twilight' movie... I love how normal and every day each series seems. Not so 'out of this world'. I have tried reading other vampire series, but I just can't seem to click with them.

*sigh*

I wish I had something to read until then. But I am... picky.

nummy in my tummy

2009-03-29T00:58:00.004-05:00

I have always been intrigued by those cupcake in a jar sellers on Etsy. I have never purchased from one, because the shipping is INSANELY expensive. But tonight I had a hunkering for some brownies.. and I haven't any unsweeted chocolate squares so I sort of improvised. At first I was going to do some easy quick microwaev brownies.. but then I couldn't find a glass pan. So I went in search of regular recipes, when I found out they all require baking squares **ugh**. So I sorta winged it... used like a bunch of cocoa plus some soybean oil to replace them.

Anyhow. I wanted to try that fluffy vegan icing I always see those sellers using on their cupcakes and I found a recipe that is just AMAZING! I am not a vegan, but the frosting always looked so fluffy to me. I didn't use vegan margarin/butter. But other than that I pretty much went by the recipe. Except I melted the butter and crisco together first then I poured everything else in after and beat it for a few minutes with my french beaters.

here's the link to the recipe i got. If anyone has a sugar craving.. MAKE THIS FROSTING! it rules.

http://www.chow.com/recipes/10856

locally sustained

2009-03-24T19:49:00.001-05:00

A fellow artist from Etsy that is actually a local artist from my area wrote a very informative blog entry about handmade and supporting local artists. She says it much better than I can so I thought I would share her blog with everyone.

http://lenoxknits.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-shop-local.html

It's a very interesting read and only takes a minute or two. So go ahead and click!

The Land of Odd

2009-03-24T06:33:00.003-05:00

I really need to get it in gear. I am so lazy!!! I love making jewelry. But every piece I start, I put down, and start another one, then I put that down and start yet ANOTHER one! I am not really sure where this comes from. It's getting worse and worse as I get older, and I'm only 23.

I make so many things and then they sit around 1/2 finished and then get lost among the muck of metal I have in gobs everywhere in this room.

Tonight (really early morning actually) I've posted 3 items to my Etsy. That's not to say it's an accomplishment, because those things were already made, I just never bothered to photograph them. Which is my second biggest problem. I hate taking pictures SO much! It sucks a lot because all of my items for the most part are One-of-a-Kind. So I have to take pictures and create listings for every single item I make. A lot of jewelry artists make the same earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets over and over again. I guess they just have styles they want to stick with. And I wish I did too just to make it easier on myself.

Does anyone else have these problems?

Anyhow, here are a few things I just listed. Click on em if you want to see the listings.

Queen of the Class:

Goblin King:

Gwyneviere:

craft show epilogue

2009-03-22T18:15:00.002-05:00

So the 'Green With Indie' craft show is over and done. I've had a very eventful weekend. I think I did pretty well. But as this is was my first craft show I cannot compare. But I think I could do pretty well if I choose to do some more. I got a bunch of information on 3 more shops coming up this year and I will definitely be applying to them as soon as possible. I sold quite a bit of my LlewNaTique jewelry. Everyone wanted to know where I got the novelty vintage charms from. So that was definitely a hit.

If anyone that makes handmade items hasn't done a craft show before, you should totally look into it. It's definitely worth it. Even if someone only walks away with your business card.

I also met some really awesome crafters. Some I've seen online before on Etsy and others I was just now getting to see their crafts. It was pretty awesome. I also got to meet Tammy who is the inventor of STLHandmade.com. So all in all it was a great weekend!

♥

Green With Indie Update

2009-03-20T22:43:00.002-05:00

So the craft show is tomorrow. I'm excited and nervous. Since this is my first I am not expecting to do too well. But I want to get my name out there.

http://www.greenwithindiecraftshow.com/

Anyone in this area should come and visit! Shop around for some eco friendly and handmade items! Once this show is over I am taking a well needed rest though! But I will be back in full blossom soon!

a long time

2009-03-10T01:04:00.003-05:00

so i've neglected my poor little blog. well i'm sorry. i've been really busy. and we had some crazy electrical problems for awhile too. it SUCKED! the power would die about every 2 minutes. *sigh* so the modem for the internet would fail.

so anyways. i'm here! i'm alive! i swear! i'm just really busy. i've been trying to make things in excess for my 'green with indie' craft show that's coming up on the 21st and 22nd. but i don't know how much to make and i feel so inadequate. but i'll just keep on truckin'. this is my first craft show after all.

after that i'll probably be on the DL for awhile. because i'm so stretched thin at the moment. i'll make some new things. post them on etsy. but for awhile i plan on doing some "katie" searching and just keeping it real in the real world.

so anyhow. if anyone wants to say hi! then comment!!!!!! and i'll write ya back!

also if it's urgent.. my email address is PhoenixLlewelyn@GMail.com

byby!

CONTEST WINNER!

2009-02-14T20:18:00.006-06:00

Alright. It's official. My first contest ever is over! *sad face* And I have generated a winner with random.org

Here are some photos of my escapades over yonder...

So if you can't see that. Number 22 has won my loverly necklace! And number 22 is Genevieve. I will be sending Genevieve an email and rewarding her with her necklace via USPS and it will belong to her as fast as the postal workers can go!!!

Stay tuned... for maybe some more contests coming soon!

Thank you to everyone for participating and making good fun of my first ever contest! And congratulations to Genevieve!!!

Blog Giveaway Reminder

2009-02-13T20:21:00.003-06:00

Tonight is your last chance to enter to win my skull and crossbones necklace. Midnight, central USA time. (it's currently 8:22pm)

so hurry up!

http://phoenixllewelyn.blogspot.com/2009/01/llew-contest.html

click the link to read about it and enter to win! Winner will be announced some time tomorrow (probably evening because we're having the electricity looked at during the day time)

good luck everyone!!!

green with indie.

2009-02-10T22:32:00.004-06:00

so i submitted my application to be a part of the stlcraftmafia's green with indie craft show. and i got accepted! *heaves a sigh of relief* so now the frantic unsure anxiety starts. i've never been in a craft show before. i am kinda scared. what if i sell nothing? what if someone else is selling better jewelry than me and is having the time of their life?

by default, i'm a realistic pessimist. whatever that is. i know i do good things, yet i see the bad side to everything.

i just hope i can get through this with glorified colors. i would love to actually make my craft a business. *sigh*

so here's the info...

Green With Indie, brought to you by St. Louis Craft Mafia
Webster University's Grant Gym

March 21st (Saturday) 10am - 6pm
March 22nd (Sunday) 12pm - 5pm

belly dance bazaar

2009-02-08T19:51:00.004-06:00

so i snagged a treasury. this time i didn't spam click to see the seconds and pass up my turn for a treasury... which is what i did last time. which sucked.

so here you go! i'm sharing my lovelies!

click to take you to the real deal! enjoy!

♥

whimsy

2009-02-04T17:50:00.007-06:00

Hey ya'll...

I'm writing today to tell of my awesome swap I'm doing on Craftster. It's my first one, so I'm pretty excited. The one I signed up for is called 'Jar of Whimsies'. And basically what happens is people sign up. Then people are paired up. You get to know your partner a little bit via messages and the questionnaire they filled out prior. And then you take a 15oz or 30oz jar and fill it with tiny little things you think that person wo uld love, and they do the same for you. then you send them to eachother. It's gonna be rad fun! I don't know who my partner is yet, but I will get that information sometime this evening. I've already spent a lot of time today shopping for tiny things at an antique store. It was fun.

There are a whole bunch of different swaps you can signup for on there. Only stipulations are you have to be a member for 1 month first, and have 15 posts on their forums. But it's all grand fun!

p.s. that's not my jar. just one i yanked from someone else's post for an idea of what it is!

p.s.s. oh and don't forget about my blog giveaway either! free skull and crossbones necklace, no strings attached.! just comment your fav. color and maybe you'll win! don't forget your email!

http://phoenixllewelyn.blogspot.com/2009/01/llew-contest.html

frell?

2009-02-01T11:35:00.003-06:00

i'm so tired of cliquey people.

currently i'm incensed at the crafting community that is just a bunch of tiny little cliques like high school. i thought that in the adult world people were more accepting and generally just free spirited compared to the angsty teenage world of ourselves. but no. i run into it everywhere. the nonacceptance and the basic sarcasm like "*snort* you didn't know that?"

how on earth is anyone ever supposed to "know" anything or become a part of something if everyone turns their backs on their peers.

yes. i'm a peer. I AM YOUR PEER! i make crafts too!!! i sew, i scrapbook, i mostly make jewelry. but i am also your equal. why is everyone so snub nosed and matter-of-fact about things? like i'm sooooo ignorant to the way things can be done. and just because i don't know some random girl somewhere in utah that makes some awesome looking chicken magnets doesn't make me naive.

i'm really getting irritated with the entire "community" of crafters as a whole. i am feeling extremely single. i want to create my own community where everyone is welcome. but people seem to only want to be a part of "cliques"

it's high school. and i'm a grown up.

blah.

feedback.

2009-01-31T12:14:00.002-06:00

so i think i mentioned in an entry somewhere that i'm selling some of my recent school textbooks. today i found out that someone.... and the only person that i have gotten any from, has left me negative feedback. they stated that the whole book was falling apart and they gave gave me the lowest feedback possible.

i responded to this feedback. stating everything was untrue. but what can i do? i have 1 feedback, it's negative now... so my entire feedback is 100% negative. now i won't be able to sell any of my other books. EVERY SINGLE one of my books is in perfect condition. i love books. i could never NOT take care of one. i hold them all dear to my heart. i just had an overspill of textbooks that i didn't need anymore.

why would someone do that? i looked this person up, and i found them on facebook/myspace/twitter/livejournal (i got all this in 1 google search by typing in their name) and they're just some regular 26 year old punk kid.

i don't know what i did wrong. it's making me second guess everything now. but to me... it was PERFECT. and that is NOT an overstatement.

i'm really really bummed.

´¯`·.¸.· S p A r K L e S ·.¸.· ´¯`

2009-01-25T16:24:00.004-06:00

I did a nice trade today. Because the Etsy Trade-A-Holics TNR (Trade and Replace) started today.

I've done a trade with SparkleGarden before, but here is the one her and I exchanged today!

My Faerylis:

Her Robot Bubbles:

deep.

2009-01-23T03:58:00.004-06:00

Yay! My favorite robit (cute robot) wallet maker, FAWNs featured me in an Etsy Treasury! I feel l♥ved!

Clickity Split!

Purely Paige

2009-01-22T01:12:00.005-06:00

Featured Artist:

PurelyPaige joined the Etsy community November, 2008. Her items have a regal like quality to them and deserve some undue attention. I found Miss PurelyPaige in the Etsy pounce undiscovered section. I found her blog and have perused her shop for awhile. And I've decided to feature her here to get her some clicks and maybe some sales that she is well deserved of. Which you can see in her work.

Here are a few photos of my favorite selections.

i c e . d a n c i n g

p e a c h y . p i n k . s w i r l

p u r p l e . g l o w

Click each picture to take you to the listings.

You can read her blog yourself here. PurelyPaigeJewelry.Blogspot.com

And on that note, all I have to say is GIRL RAISE YOUR PRICES!!!!

Enjoy!

mac.

2009-01-21T14:22:00.007-06:00

The 10 reasons that Apple must think is imperative for making the change from a PC to a MAC can be found on their website. Of course if you have the time to read through all of them you realize that these 10 features or reasons have been standard with the PC a long, long, long time. Some of the reasons are just plain myths that Apple invented. Probably because they ran out of fabricated facts.

So take the journey through the 10 commandments of a mac-enthusiast and enjoy their naive attitude towards personal computing.

1. The Mac... It just works

This is maybe the ultimate reason a mac owner will give you to explain why it's superior to a PC. The mac owner will tell you that all people that own macs are really satisfied with their computers and would never switch back. This is of course not true. If you read our Real stories you will find all kinds of interesting stories about owning a mac.

The mac owner will also tell you that with a system from Apple you will never have to think about drivers, upgrades or anything. A mac is perfection itself when delivered. At least according to their standard. Many mac:s can't even be upgraded. So what you buy is what you get. Expect your system to be outdated within 1-2 years.

Apple also states: "Only with a Mac do you get an operating system built by the same people who built the computer it runs on.". Actually Apple's Mac OS X (the operating system) is not based on their own technology, but by the technology of freeBSD. Apple's own capabilities in form of creating an operating system have been demonstrated in previous versions of Mac OS. It took an operating system based on someone else's technology to get a Mac multitasking and not behaving like an oversized pocket calculator from 1985.

2. It doesn't crash

Yes it does! And it does it a lot. The difference between a pc based on Windows crashing and a Mac is that on the PC the crash is in 99% of the cases caused by badly coded third party software, when the Mac just has a faulty operating system. Why else would Apple themselves run their india website on Linux RedHat?

There is another fun part about crashes on the mac, it's almost always impossible to trace the source of the crash. When your mac crashes you simply reinstall the system. Sounds like a fun thing to do on your spare time, well buy a Mac then!

3. Simply the best in digital music

This point is actually based on Apple's iPod. I must admit, the iPod is not an ugly creation. I'll give Apple credit for that. But as always, they exaggerate the benefits of their product. Apple was far from first with creating a portable mp3-player with a built in hard drive but on the other side they do offer the most expensive solution.

The iPod is about 40-60% more expensive than technologically equal products. Keep in mind also that it offers no recording option and no belt clip. Two very crucial benefits a portable mp3-player should have.

4. The missing link in digital photography

It's amazing! Apple has invented a program called iPhotos that will revolutionize the way we look at digital photos. Hear what they have to say: "Simply drag your mouse, and iPhoto magically grows or shrinks your photo thumbnails. So you can view individual shots in detail or see hundreds of photos on the screen at once...".

Maybe mac users are new to digital photos on the computer but on the pc we have a huge variety of freeware that does the job of iPhoto and more, to choose from. So when Apple says that they are "the missing link in digital photography" maybe what they meant was that iPhoto is the missing link of the Mac.

PC users reached that stage of evolution ages ago.

5. Your own digital entertainment center

It seems that Apple thinks that they've revolutionized computing by developing mediocre software for viewing digital photos, editing video, burning CDs and DVDs and listening to music. Well they haven't!

6. Goes everywhere you go

You better sit down for this one, hold on to your seat and embrace yourself for some cutting edge news from Apple... they've invented the laptop, eureka! Not only that, they think they've made it superior to other laptops. Let's look at why and also try to answer their questions:

Can your PC laptop go coast to coast with just one battery?
— Ofcourse. And if it only needs the performance of the Mac it could probably go around the world. (sarcasm)
Can you put the system to sleep just by closing the lid?
— Oh my god, a Mac can do that? Well, so can a PC!
Does it wake up instantly?
—Duh!
Can your PC laptop automatically switch between Ethernet,
dial-up and wireless connections on the fly?
—Without a doubt!
Without a restart?
Is this a joke? This really proves that Apple has no clue on what their competitors are doing. If they never have used a PC running Windows it makes their tests and objective sayings about the Mac really credible. Oh, by the way, I was being sarcastic.

7. It's built for the internet

Apple makes a huge point about the easability of configuring an internet connection on a mac. All new Windows versions come with just as easy to use guides for connecting to the internet with modem, lan or anything else. They also brag about such obvious tools of communication like email, favorites and contacts. Yes Apple, this is really new and hot stuff, you are indeed innovative. Or maybe not.

The worst part might be that they lie about their under average video-plugin Quicktime. This might be one of the worst programs ever to install. Actually if some students at a university needed an example of a really poorly written program, this would be a perfect opportunity for Quicktime to step into the limelight.

8. Office is Office, and then some

Yes, the mac comes with Office and this is why you should make the switch from a pc to a mac:

"The transition to a Mac is easy in part because you’ll continue using the same applications you already know"

Ask yourself this: Why would I switch when It's the exactly same on the mac? -Beats me. Apple does speak of some mysterious features in this sentence:

"And thanks to exclusive features, the Mac versions improve on their Windows counterparts"

As you might expect they mention nothing on what these features are. Well they're probably just wonderfully, perfectly and amazingly non-existent!

9. Works effortlessly with PCs

Apple thought for a long time that they'd be best off constructing their own method for network-communication. Everyone that has struggled with the glorious AppleTalk knows that they didn't do a great job. Now they have realized that it's better to use an already working technology that someone else created instead of poorly reinventing the wheel.

"Networking on a Mac is built on the same technologies used by PCs."

They also reveal amazing means of medias you can use on your mac:

..."you can also swap files via data CD, floppies or Zip disks."

10. It's beautiful

Apple emphasises that all their products are masterpieces of design. Their problem is that their focus on design hinders them from creating ergonomical and practical machines. If you have ever used the small round iMac mouse you have probably too suffered from aches in arm and hand.

"...ergonomic products that are the toast of the design world..."

It wasn't I who brought up the word toast into the debate. On the other hand it was I who drew the paralell to machines looking like plain household machines. Who wants a computer that look like a remnant from the 70's like the one on my right. You could probably achieve the same state of hallucination if staring long enough on this iMac, that you could by inhaling large amounts of heavy drugs.

So what have we learned from these 10 points that Apple provides for the potential buyer. We have learned that Apple likes to tell their future customers that the mac is built on technology they probably already are using on their PCs. They also lure the extremely naive buyers with words like internet, word-processing and cd-burning.

Please do not be fooled. You have nothing to gain by switching to a Mac. Apple has proved it on their own, with a little help from us.

Userfriendliness

Apple has always had userfriendliness as a high priority with their previous operating systems. With OS X this changed. By basing it on a UNIX-system Apple lost all of their simplicity. Not that OS 9 was great in anyway but atleast you didn't have to mess around with a text based terminal to get things working.

In fact many applications available don't come with a graphical user interface, so if you want them to work, you better start making friends with the terminal.

Userfriendly? -I think not!

Price

Price is one of the major factors influencing the purchase of a computer. You don't always get what you pay for. Buying a computer is not like buying a car. The PC gives you the performance of a Ferrari for the price of a used Toyota from -87.

Performance (Longer bar is better):

Pentium 4 (Dell) - 2,8GHz (8,7)

Dual G4, 1.25GHz (4,5)

Price (Shorter bar is better):

PC - $1,706

Mac - $2,874.00

Note: The PC system includes 19" Screen whilst the mac is sold without a screen.

Test: http://smc.vnet.net/mathkarl4.html

iPOD

The fact that I have to synchronize the music with the iTunes software bugs me. My other (non-Apple) players have allowed me to simply drag and drop music onto the player or synchronize it through Windows Media Player. I'd like the device to function more like an external hard drive when connected to the computer. I guess since I get my music and video from sources other than iTunes (Zune Marketplace, Amazon.com, etc.), I'd rather not have to install iTunes at all.
When I first launched iTunes, it made an effort to import information about my rather extensive (300+GB) MP3 collection. I say "an effort" because it somehow managed to miss all of my comedy MP3s, my podcasts, and some other MP3s in the same directory structures as the items it did discover and import. I have no idea why, for example, it managed to successfully import 3 albums by an artist and not the other 5. All of them were in the same directory structure, all of them were MP3s and not a mix of MP3 and WMA files, and were in any significant respect essentially the same.
When I first attempted to sync the iPod, it wanted to sync the 200+ GB of items it found (out of my 300+GB) onto the 32GB device. Clearly, that wasn't going to work, but that didn't stop iTunes and the iPod from trying. Given Apple's reputation for ease of use and design, why didn't the device and software recognize that 200GB wasn't going to fit on a 32GB device and start asking me to pick and choose what I wanted?
Recognizing that my entire collection clearly wouldn't fit on the device, I went through and hand-picked the artists, albums, and tracks I wanted to include on the iPod. Even though I'd selected that iTunes should sync the "checked" tracks, for some reason it only synchronized a handful of them and thought it was done. Eventually I had to muck around with some of the synchronization settings until I found a combination that caused it to synchronize all the things I'd selected, and only those.
Although the built-in Safari browser does do a nice job of rendering pages, the small size of the screen means that at the default resolution and zoom level most pages I visit are blurry if not outright unreadable. If the device's screen was just an inch or so larger, the zooming might not be necessary and the iPod would still fit comfortably in my pocket.
One of my favorite uses for my MP3 player is to listen to the Bob and Tom radio show podcasts through my VIP subscription on their web site. I thought it would be fantastic to be able to download the podcasts directly onto the iPod Touch and listen to them without having to go through a synchronization process. Unfortunately, Apple prevents you from being able to download files through Safari. This means that in order to get the podcasts onto my iPod, I have to go to my PC, log into the site, download the podcasts, import them into iTunes, hook up the iPod, sync the device, and then listen. In my opinion, this is a very lame restriction for a device that purports to offer me "the entire Internet" in my hand. (Granted, I would have to download the podcasts to my PC to use with any other MP3 player, but for an "Internet enabled" device like the iPod Touch, this seems like a really crappy limitation.)
One of the more enjoyable web sites, to me, is hulu.com. This site offers a large number of television shows and movies for free over an Internet connection. Unfortunately, like many YouTube videos and other sites, hulu.com relies on Adobe Flash technology. Apple, in its infinite wisdom, continues to reject Flash for the iPhone and iPod Touch while allowing other video technologies. I hope they're able to sort this out in the future. Flash would make the device quite a bit more useful (and fun) in my opinion.
While I acknowledge that I'm still getting used to it, I find the on-screen keyboard on the iPod Touch to be a little frustrating. There are times that I tap on a key, see that the Touch has recognized which key I hit (because the right key "zooms up" to greet my touch), and yet still displays the wrong letter in the text field I'm typing in. Although I hope at some point to be able to enter short blog posts through the device, I'm not exactly brimming with confidence at the ability to do so at this point.
For reasons I don't understand, the device will not charge when connected to certain USB ports on my computer. It's easy to identify one of these ports, because the battery icon will "blink" extremely rapidly and the iPod will emit a sort of "sad, sick" sound due to its low battery and lack of charge success. The weird part is that it will synchronize just fine when connected to one of these ports, it just won't charge.
If I use the Touch to its fullest potential while I'm at the office, which is to say that I make use of Wi-Fi connectivity, listen to music, watch an occasional video, check my personal email on my lunch hour, etc., I find that the battery is gone well before the end of the work day. Granted, the Touch is doing more during the day that any of the other media players I've owned (which have done music and video and that's about it), but the other players' batteries have lasted for days between charges... and they've also used standard USB cables so I could if I wanted attach them to my office PC for a quick charge without having to invest in a specific cable or cart one back and forth between work and home. I'd be happier with a slightly larger device that had a much longer battery life, or one that used a standard cable that I have lying around the office.
Maybe I'm missing it (and I acknowledge that I probably am), but most media players I've had offer some kind of on-screen indicator of how far into the track the player has played. That is, there's some kind of countdown or "meter" that shows you're 2 minutes into a 4 minute song. I'm not seeing any indication of that on the iPod Touch's display while it's playing a song. That's a relatively minor nit, but losing a feature you're used to having is kind of frustrating.
The supplied headphones are decent, but not great. To my ears, they sound a little hollow and tinny at times, even with the equalizer set to the type of music I'm listening to (or adjusted to some others to experiment). I'd expect a $400 "premium" media player to include some equally "premium" sounding headphones. Fortunately, the iPod does use a standard headphone jack so I'll be able to rectify that soon.

courtesy of mac-sucks.com and themacsucks.com

btw, i own a pc AND a mac. i am also a+ certified, mcse certified and have a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and network science. and i primarily support linux and other 'open source' projects.

Eternity!

2009-01-20T15:01:00.003-06:00

I've been featured! A bow down to MsHalston for making a lovely treasury of circles and spheres and the ever loving orb!

clicky clicky!

A Llew Contest

2009-01-19T20:40:00.009-06:00

So I'm having a contest. Yup! I'm hopping on that bandwagon. I don't know how everyone else proceeds to do theirs. But some of the ones I've seen they make really complicated.

Here are the rules...

Contest starts.... NOW! Contest ends February 14th (v-day! my favorite holiday!) I will be using the Random.Org integer generator. Basically I will put the number of comments in the box. And choose to select 1 random number. It will then give me that number when I click generate.

How to win:

Post a comment. In that comment tell me your favorite color (cause you have to have something to say!) and also please be logged into your Blogger account, if you have one, or give me a way to reach you such as email/etsy.. etc... Also, post your email address so I have a place to message you. Because you can't send messages via blogger.

That's it! Oh...

And here is your prize...

The bow isn't really a vital part of the necklace. But it made for some nice pic. fluff!

On Valentine's Day at around noon my time (central). I will post a new entry with the winner! And I will even take a screen shot of the winning numbers for verification.

Thanks everyone and good luck to you!

p.s. chain can be any length you want!

a penny for your thoughts.

2009-01-18T18:38:00.004-06:00

so i've decided to list a few random books i have lying around my house on amazon. they're all in really good condition because i'm like that with the written word. what i don't get though is why brand new shape versions of a book i'm selling in the same condition are going for 1 cent! how can you make a profit off of that? and even if you're trying to just get rid of it... why is EVERYONE doing that? i don't even think anyone will purchase any of mine since i charged between 2-3 bucks for mine. but seriously.. why is EVERYONE charging 1 cent for a book? does that makes ANY sense?

someone clue me in.

Dreaming of Scotland

2009-01-15T14:10:00.005-06:00

I just posted some new earrings on my Etsy shop. I adore, love, cherish these beads that I have gotten to make them! I call these earrings 'Inverness'. You can read the profile for them by click on a picture to take you to my listing on Etsy.

Yesterday I also made some terrific vintage style earrings that are fabulous! I named them 'Meet Me In Venice'. I don't know why, it just sounded romantic. These earrings LOOK romantic. Click the pictures to take you to the listing.

Faeries

2009-01-13T21:23:00.006-06:00

So awhile ago I bought some beads at Michaels (I think) and I never did much with them. Like everything else *sigh*. Well I tend to find my most creative moments are when my husband is behind me in the room babbling about something or other. So I created these wonderful earrings that I adore! What is so strange about them and that I didn't realize when I bought the beads. But they change color. In certain lights they are an opaque blue and in other lights they are a milky purple. It's very weird. But here is a couple pictures to show you what I mean. And I have them linked to my new Etsy shop that is officially my name http://PhoenixLlewelyn.Etsy.com

LCD Screen Light:

Tungsten Bulb Light:

And now you can definitely tell which I normally take pictures under. Hah! As per usual click the pics for the listings.

uhm...

2009-01-12T10:58:00.004-06:00

So somehow I managed to get a treasury. I've never really tried before. So when I saw a post in the Etsy forums saying it was opening in 20 minutes I figured I'd see what all the hubbub was about. So here is my first treasury. Click the picture to take you to it, at least until it expires.

I had recently read a romance book that lead mention to the Tuatha De(there's an accent here that UI don't know how to do) Danann. But it was mostly mythical faerie stuff, nothing at all what I read on Wikipedia. But I decided I'd dedicate this one to the fae world anyways! Thanks for looking and/or sharing!

rowbits.

2009-01-11T13:13:00.016-06:00

I don't think anyone knows this. But I LOVE robots. Yup. I confess. I am obsessed with robots. So I've been browsing Etsy searching for supplies that I can use that contains robots. But I just can't find anything I like. So instead I'm just going to list a bunch of handmades I've found that I just adore! You can click on each picture to take you to the individual listings on Etsy. Enjoy!

Saint Valentine

2009-01-10T12:53:00.005-06:00

Well I guess I'm starting a trend here. I'm going to post some earrings that I've technically "sold". I'm doing a trade with a lovely lady from Etsy under the name of TheGuildedBee. She's making me some custom envelopes for my jewelry. So soon I will have some snazzy shipping! woohoo! I've needed an update FOREVER now.

So here is the earrings that I had neglected to post earlier:

Massacre:

Click the pic for the listing with the description!

Relief

2009-01-09T07:50:00.004-06:00

I posted a pair of earrings yesterday. They sold yesterday. I'm pretty excited about that. But they never really got a day in the sun so other people could enjoy them as well. And since my items are for the most part One Of A Kind, I will put up a couple pics of them for you all to enjoy!

You can click the top picture if you want to go to the 'Sold' listing that has the item description.

❖ ❖ ❖ F R E E ❖ S H I P P I N G ❖ ❖ ❖

2009-01-08T08:36:00.004-06:00

I'm doing a semi-sale today. I'm offering free shipping to both of my shops. The shipping prices have already been altered. So check 'em out!

Phoenix Llewelyn Designs

LlewNaTique

Have a great Thursday guys!

Jewels for Jan.

2009-01-05T12:33:00.003-06:00

A very nice lady named Susan who is SimplySuzula on Etsy has featured me and some very other lovely artists on her Treasury West.

click it to take you there. (at least until it expires)

♥ MiM ♥

2009-01-05T05:48:00.003-06:00

So there is this awesome new community for handmade enthusiasts. It's called MadeItMyself. Click that to go there. I made a new profile. Right now it's in it's beta phase. So to list is absolutely free! Go check it out. And maybe add a few things of your own. Also they have a Ning (click that) community for keeping up with updates and just have some awesome artists on there that are a lot of fun to talk to. Here's the links to my two pages.

Phoenix Llewelyn's MiM Shop
Phoenix Llewelyn's MiM Ning

They are doing a lot of advertising through charities and craft community magazines. I think I remember seeing a bunch of stuff about Indie Public. Well either way. Check it out! We always need new venues to get out wares out there!

♥ Llew

Her Gypsy Soul

2009-01-04T00:32:00.007-06:00

I'm not sure how many people view my blog a day. I have a feeling it isn't very many. But I wanted to feature a special artist anyways. Because I think their work needs some recognition! (not that mine doesn't?! ha! :oP)

Her name is Shirley (according to her Twitter) and she makes insanely gorgeous wire wrapped goodies. Such as necklaces, earrings, etc... She sells them on Etsy. I haven't found her anywhere else so I figure I will just link you there directly. http://HerGypsySoul.Etsy.com

Alright! Now it's time for PICTURES! (click on them to go to her direct listings on Etsy)

Spicy Kochi:

Ruby Spice:

La Madeleine:

OBSESSED!

2009-01-02T22:52:00.002-06:00

Okay, like the title says... I'm OBSESSED with these new earrings I made. In fact I have a few different variations of the same bead that I haven't taken pictures of yet. But here's one style.

Faerie Sticks:

Aren't they just awesome? They look so badass. Click the picture to go the Etsy listing I created.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-01T04:55:00.002-06:00

2008 was a busy year for me. I got married. (yay!) I started school. I stopped school. I had 2 jobs. I quit 2 jobs. Right now I'm on a path of verifying who I am. I am doing a lot of Katie related things. Like... reading tons of books, and making a lot of jewelry. Whether I end up posting my jewelry anywhere, I am making it. It gives me that extra kick I need, to know I accomplished something. Even as minuscule as putting a pair of earrings together. It makes me feel good. And I need that right now. My resolution this year is to do what makes me, me. Not to stuff myself into a shell of someone else's size. I am branching out and screaming all the colors that Katie is.

So happy new year to everyone. And I hope you figure out what you want your resolutions to be!

♥

Cinderella ♥

2008-12-31T00:58:00.003-06:00

I posted a pair of earrings today. They are very similar to the Xanadu necklace I posted the other day. (click the pic)

Lady with the Golden Slippers:

lettuce, spinach, radishes and plums

2008-12-30T01:24:00.007-06:00

What? I'm making a scarf! And it has all those colors in it! So I bought more yarn at Hobby Lobby. And some Hobby Lobby brand that is made in Turkey is pretty cheap. It's 100% acrylic and SOOOOOOOOOOOO soft, (for yarn). I mean most yarn.... to me (normal kind, not that fluffy stuff) is usually itchy. But this stuff isn't! Yay!!!! The last scarf I made I gave to my mom for xX-Mmas. And quote "So, what is it?" *Sigh*

Anywho. Updated Etsy again today. Here's a couple items!

Faerylis: (click the pic fo sho)

So this one is actually up on www.ShopHandmade.com but uh.... I didn't really get any hits or anything, and I also can't figure out how to take it down... so I'm just going to assume no one is going to buy it on there. So I posted it on Etsy instead.

Gosalyn: (click pic y0z.)

I think I might actually make more pairs of the Gosalyn earrings. Mostly because they seem to remind me of Mother's Day. Not sure why. Nonetheless, I might be making more version. But probably not exactly the same.

Xanadu, it's a color of grey, I think?

2008-12-27T22:52:00.002-06:00

So, I'm terrible at updating my shop. I may make lots of jewelry every day, I just never take pictures. And then, sometimes I do take pictures, but then I don't upload them to my computer. And then sometimes I do upload them, but I don't post them on my shop. Well I uploaded today. 1 item. WooHoo! Not very much. But I'll get around to more. Maybe I just need some motivation. I got some after Christmas blues. *sigh* Well, here it is! Enjoy!

♥ Llew

♥ LlewNaTique ♥

2008-12-16T20:08:00.005-06:00

I've opened up a new line of jewelry bobbits! It's a lower cost line, that uses wood/plastics/metal materials, that are cheaper to make than the glass I have in my main Etsy store.

LlewNaTique.Etsy.com

check it out y0z.

2008-11-07T10:58:00.002-06:00

I'm the first official 'Featured Artist' on StlHandmade.com! Woohoo!

Click the banner below!

click that link there, and all you St. Louisan's Join the community!

♥♥♥

melonberry treasure hunt

2008-10-29T21:51:00.011-05:00

so one of my items was featured in JVDarcy's Treasury West list! go me! so here's bump for her treasury!

click the pic to go to the treasury now! wo0t.

good grief.

2008-10-26T17:20:00.004-05:00

i'm having a problem posting pictures. for some reason when i try to upload it won't resize even when i choose to resize. i've tried everything. and i hate editing the html each time. that's a darn pain. is anyone else having this problem?

Loverly

2008-10-22T08:59:00.003-05:00

I did another lovely trade last night for this purse I've been drooling over for ages!

mine.

hers.

i'm also going to throw in a few freebies for her, because i think this purse is worth more than a bracelet! *shhhh* don't tell. i'm sending it off today before i go to work.

also, last night i got around to getting some new earrings up... it's always earrings with me. haha

Beautifalls

and

Jupiter's Monarch

Other than that. no more updates for me! i'm still awaiting a few trades and purchases right now... *twiddles thumbs* lots of soaps, copper headpins, scarf, more soap..., purse wristlet, some goofy earrings, crochet ring, and some bead supplies.

haha sorry, that is mostly a list for me so i remember.!

have a good day all! happy etsy-ing!

2008-10-21T10:10:00.002-05:00

so i just got a new job at kinkos... the help pay our bills. *sigh* and honestly the worst part about it. is worrying about the uniform. i like being able to wear what i want. because i don't have to worry about what is clean and what isn't. and then i know what clothes of mine fit. wearing a uniform.... well let's just say i feel so uncomfortable and out of my element. :o( anyhow. i have some things that i need to make. but the store i go to closes at 8 pm. and i get off at 8pm. so i don't know how that is going to work. oh, and i'm supposed to have all black shoes to wear.... i just started yesterday and they want me to buy all these things last night. uhm... hello.. no money?... and i don't get my first paycheck until nov. 7th.

so what the hell?

Orange Juice in the AM

2008-10-20T07:35:00.004-05:00

okay so yesterday i promised to post my loverly trades.

so....

these of mine...

traded for

this is going to be part of an xmas
present for my M-i-L

these of mine...

traded for these...

this is going to be part of a gift for my
sister-in-law

and these are going to be for my sister

and in case you haven't caught on yet, i always try to post the link to the listing, just by clicking on the picture. so if you are also interested in purchasing a similar item!

Frenzy

2008-10-19T12:33:00.001-05:00

Today is trade frenzy again. I have only posted in the Business Forums. I guess people are right. Your shop gets around better when you're not promoting it in a thread where your post is on page 9 in 30 seconds flat. I'll post my trades here later. But right now I have to get ready for a family dinner! Yay for free food! MMMMmmmMmm to pot roast!

Trades & Checkbooks

2008-10-18T10:41:00.007-05:00

i got a bunch of my trades today in the mail! i was so excited i woke up husband up. my favorite thing so far was this watermelon soap that i received from GoldenWillow77 on Etsy

click the pic to go to my exact purchase.

i also got from GoldenWillow77 some lime lip balm. it is awesome! the tub is HUGE and the smell is soooo mouth watering, literally!

as usual, click the pic!

I also received a t shirt from the loverly miss SparkleGarden! she and i traded some items. and i'm wearing the shirt right now because it's so well fitting for me! here the design that i received. my shirt was actually short sleeve and grey though.

today i also got my coin purse from MushroomMoon. who i already featured on here in a different post. but i got the pouch and i LOVE it! it was bigger than i thought it would be, which is a good thing. so if anyone wants an amazingly cute pouch go there. she has some daschund ones, and i really want a particular one for my Mother-in-law for an xmas gift. so i'm twiddling my thumbs until she has the one i want available!

also i received my checkbook cover from EliteElishi the other day. it's a little large but very well made. if i had a different purse it would probably fit in the right pocket. but with my awesome style rockstar silver purse it's a little too big. also very affordable. check her out. i found her in a chat room!

In the works.

2008-10-16T16:58:00.004-05:00

so yesterday was a really busy etsy day for me. i did about 5 trades!

i mailed off two of them yesterday and have two more to do soon and 1 more after i make the item once i find the materials.

i also posted some new items for sale in my shop

llewelyn5749.etsy.com

1 of which has sold already to the last mentioned person i traded with. it's hard work!

whew!

Free Business.

2008-10-13T14:04:00.004-05:00

Since I haven't made anything in awhile... there isn't really anything I can post to credit my own work. But I have purchased a few items from fellow Etsy vendors. Here's a few things..

this one is actually going to be a checkbook cover. but she is going to make it for me in this fabric. isn't it loverly?! i think so. click on the pic to go to the listing

this one i found from a lady in one of the chat rooms for 6 bucks! i have had my change rattling around in my purse for years!!! i've just never liked any of the coin pouches i've come across. then i saw this one! as per usual. click the pic for the listing!

I did a trade with HeathensHearth for this one. I really like it. it's a facial bar soap which i always need. clicky for the listing!

Chatty McChatChat

2008-10-10T16:09:00.003-05:00

So I started browsing the forums and chat rooms on Etsy. It's like shopping at the mall the day before Christmas. Really, it's insane. If you post 1 second, the next second your post is lost on page 7 because no one responded. And when you do respond to someone else's post, no one else really bothers and it gets buried too! It's kind of a win/lose situation. I am not sure if it's helping my shop to sit in the forums and chat rooms. I have sold 3 things since I started, but I'm not sure they found me in the forums. I think they just had me saved from before. Well, I dunno. I guess I'll continue to do it until it seems futile.

lala.

Update Frenzy.

2008-10-08T18:29:00.005-05:00

So I'm trying really hard to keep up with updating my Etsy. I'm not very good at networking via the computer, or in real life either. I don't frequent craft blogs very often, in fact I don't even venture into the massive array of Etsy forums either. I could, and I should, but I feel like I have nothing to add to anyone's opinions or ideas. *sigh*

Well here is the next batch of lovelies I made this last week. Just a few. Remember, you can always click the picture to take you to the listing of that particular piece, as sold on Etsy.com

Camera in the Blues.

2008-10-01T14:07:00.004-05:00

So I've decided.

My camera sucks.

It's not THAT old. And it seemed pretty good at first. It's a 7.2 MP Samsung. It's got all the normal features for close up shots and such. But the lighting is HORRIBLE. I can't take any good pictures unless I have the correct lighting. And yes, I've changed all my AV and yadda yadda settings to multiple different types to just test it. Nope, it sucks.

Well here is the product of this afternoon's gallivanting. And aggravation I must say, when it came time to take pictures. I think that is my most dreaded part of making jewelry. Taking pictures.

*sigh*

Grapes.

2008-09-25T22:30:00.003-05:00

This pair of earrings is truly unique in my line. The ear wires are hand forged by E2Supplies on Etsy. Click the pic to take yerself to the listing for these.

Graceful Lines.

2008-09-25T12:21:00.004-05:00

Lace is Grace is what I call this one. I couldn't really think of a name. It seems a little more complex than what I chose. But I think I can live with it until someone decides to covet it. Click the pic to be directed to the listing for it in my Etsy shop.

♥ ♥ ♥

2008-09-25T12:07:00.004-05:00

Love Potion #9, minus the 9 part. I wanted to start a line of really simplistic easy to wear necklaces that aren't too bulky or erratic like most of my stuff. So I have made a variety of different styles. More pics will follow as I get them finished! Click the pic to take yerself the listing on my Etsy shop.

Jewelz.

2008-09-25T12:04:00.003-05:00

If you click on the picture it will take you to the listing on my Etsy shop.

First of Many.

2008-09-25T11:59:00.005-05:00

So I finally started updating my Etsy shop today. After a pretty eventful garage sale-ing weekend where I made 56 bucks off of random garage sale peruse-ers, I decided I need to get back on the jewelry making train.