DC-Area Etsy Sale

The Capital Region Etsy Street Team (CREST) is holding a team sale -

Black Friday - November 27, 2009 to Cyber Monday - November 30, 2009.

Complete your holiday shopping with CREST . Please visit the following shops for amazing items and special deals. Check each shop announcement for details.

The following shops are offering Free Worldwide Shipping Nov 27 - Nov 30....
Free worldwide shipping at bijouxrocks...
bijouxrocks

Free worldwide shipping at aprilmist...
aprilmist

Free worldwide shipping at ardenjewelrydesign...
ardenjewelrydesign

Free worldwide shipping at stitchberry...
stitchberry

Free worldwide shipping at AWEshop...
aweshop

Free worldwide shipping at jetsy...
jetsy

Free worldwide shipping at sweetbeadstudio...
sweetbeadstudio

Free worldwide shipping at at JustinesJewelry...
justinesjewelry

Free worldwide shipping at tarabu...
tarabu

Free worldwide shipping at silverdotjewelry...
silverdotjewelry

Free worldwide shipping at lanyapi...
lanyapi

The following shops are offering Free Worldwide Shipping PLUS other discounts Nov 27 - Nov 30....
Free worldwide shipping plus 10% off all items at anastassiadesigns...
anastassiadesigns

Free worldwide shipping plus 15 % off all items at OceanSea...
OceanSea

Free worldwide shipping plus 20% off all items at morewarped...
morewarped

Free worldwide shipping plus 10% off all items at moonblossomdesigns...
moonblossomdesigns

Free worldwide shipping plus 15% off all items at sewartsy...
sewartsy

Free worldwide shipping plus 15% off all items at hitchcockcreative...
hitchcockcreative

Free worldwide shipping plus 20% off all items at rainestudios...
rainestudios

Free worldwide shipping plus 15% off all items at bellameidesigns...
bellameidesigns

Free worldwide shipping plus 10% off on $50 or more, 20% off on $100 or more at erinmapes...
erinmapes

Free worldwide shipping plus 20% off excluding clearance items at TashinaFalene...
tashinafalene

Free worldwide shipping plus 10% off on orders over $20 at sunflowerexpress...
sunflowerexpress

Free worldwide shipping plus 20% off and a free "Flower Power Ring" at doyoulovelucy...
doyoulovelucy

Free worldwide shipping plus 20% off on $20 or more at BrigaBauble...
BrigaBauble

Free worldwide shipping plus 10% off orders of $20 and up. 20% off orders $75 and up at BigHelmetHead...


Free worldwide shipping plus free gift with purchase over $20 at BelleCouleurJewelry...


Free worldwide shipping plus 10% off all items at GenerationsTieDye...
GenerationsTieDye

Free worldwide shipping plus 10% off on $50 or more at UPHORIA...
UPHORIA

The following shops are offering other Discounts Nov 27 - Nov 30....
Free shipping to US and Canada. $2.00 International shipping. 20% off all items at shellydaly...
shellydaly

Free shipping to US and Canada on purchases over $35 at wildhare...
wildhare

15% Off All Orchid Plants (prices will be adjusted to reflect discount) at sapphirechild...
sapphirechild

Free domestic shipping on orders over $10 plus 10% discount (on Black Friday only) for orders over $50 at theguestroomcloset...
theguestroomcloset

20% off all orders at DesignsbyJocelyn...
DesignsbyJocelyn

toe-catchers

The flickr toe-catchers group always amuses me, and it tickles me that there are two sets of toes caught in this week's d'arteboard (and it's only Monday!)

It's sale time!

And many, many of the Etsians I know are hosting sales in their shops this time of year.

Find free shipping by searching 'EtsyFreeShipping' in the Handmade>keyword search field.

Add Etsycrest or BaltimoreEtsy to your search and find regional artists from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District.

*Note* some of those free shipping sales won't be live until Wednesday 11/25 or Friday 11/27 - take your time, heart your favourites, and buy when it's cheap!

HollyFest - This Weekend in North Baltimore!

Hollyfest will celebrate its 25th anniversary this Saturday and Shelly Daly will be there for her fifth year!

The Friends School show is a big, bustling family oriented show that takes place in two gymnasiums and the new cafeteria as well as outside for the sale of, you guessed it, Holly...as well as other greenery and potted plants!

It offers lots of handmade crafts, music and fun events for kids. Besides the crafts which include some amazing ceramics, jewelry (of course there’s lots of that), fiber art, photography and fine art, there is Gourmet to Go packed with yummy donated home baked goods which are sold as a fundraiser for the Parents Association.

The kids can enjoy the Elf Booth where they can make inexpensive “secret” do it yourself gifts for their parents while they’re off doing some shopping. One of my favorite things every year is the holiday wreaths and plants which sell at great prices. There’s even lunch available in the cafeteria, usually pizza or hot dogs with drinks and chips. Maybe this year with a brand new cafeteria that just opened, the lunch menu will get a little healthier!

The hours are 11-4. The event is in the gymnasium and cafeteria at the back of the campus. There are traffic guides all around the campus and plenty of parking.

There is a $5 entry fee as the event is a fundraiser. This is a great place for kids to feel comfortable roaming and looking for inexpensive gifts.

Sorry no website for the event, but you can visit www.friendsbalt.org for directions.
Post written by Shelly daly

P.S. FuzzyMug will be there, too!

talking to myself

There's a conversation that has gone on for the past few days over at d'arteboard about making art - including what it takes out of a person and the sometimes never-ending processes involved.

Personally I often find myself very frustrated with some of the craft artisans I know - particularly the jewellers that can whip up a pair of earrings or a bracelet between the workday and bedtime.

I know things are not always so easy for them, and that sometimes a pair of earrings can take an entire weekend as a result of the madness the wire, the beading, or some element of construction can bring about.

I find the current darteboard discussion appealing because a) I don't know how to do anything quickly and b) misery loves company and c) it's reassuring to be reminded that the artists I often stare at in wonder are people too.

This conversation has been timely for me because I realized/accepted recently that I have always been drawn to tedium and drawn-out productions:

I only know how to use oil paints, and the only style I like (so far) is grisaille - I've tried a few others but they either dry too quickly or they seem flat, or it doesn't seem like I could possibly have accomplished much if I was only there for twenty minutes.

I only know how to quilt (not tailor) although I am ridiculously intriguied by the way pleats come together and know that one day I will try that, too. Wholecloth quilting is simple, straightforward and does reasonably well at the seasonal craft fairs that pay for part of this internet connection, but it doesn't feed my soul. The quilting I love is either the ridiculously involved threadpainting of a wholecloth piece or the pattern-directed stitching of a pieced quilt that involves rigid division, well-placed gaps or ornate color contrasts.

When I try to sketch with ink I wind up doing something involved and celtic or something floral that could have been victorian wallpaper with its excess of symmetrical ivy.

When I try to collage I wind up with great heaving masses of paper, glue, paint and fabric that either threaten to curl up like an armadillo or could be used to reinforce a Dutch levy.

So, do I have a point as I sit here mumbling to myself in written form? Probably not, except that perhaps now that I have realized that for me it is (and probably always has been) more about the process, maybe I will relax and enjoy it more and worry less about how much I finish this week. but probably not.

diversion

I have a nearly finished infant quilt I could be binding, or I could force you to face my catharsis and post some unfinished painting so you can kick my butt about finishing it, or I could go do some yoga so my hour-and-a-half commute is less damaging to my hips, or I could find silly pictures on the internet and share them with you so you can waste time too.

You're welcome.

This happens at my house at least twice a year:

StephG Sidewalk Art - Year Round!

So, I have a bit of a girl crush on the work of Stephanie Gerolimatos, and I adore the weekly sidewalk doodles she puts up on Sundays over at d'arteboard.

I cannot tell you how tickled I am that she now has work up on Cafe Press.*

Including Monkey Freak . .

. . on all manner of accessories: I know I do not need another mug, but I just might be having one. I already have the calendar and a pack of postcards in my cart - now if last weekend's sales would just clear, dangitall!

*I think Cafe Press rocks a little more than redbubble because you can get your stuff on mugs and magnets, too.

Belle Couleur Artist Profile

One of the many fun and fabulous features on tarabu is the Artist Profile. You may be familiar with the short profiles that run concurrent with holiday gift guides and sales, but this will hopefully be a regular weekly feature here at tarabu.


Today's featured artist is Monica, of Belle Couleur.


So, Who are you? What's the BelleCouleur 411?
My name is Monica, I grew up in Peru and California and have lived on both coasts. I moved to the Washington, DC area for work about 4 years ago. I'm single and live with a precocious white cat who shines in the dark and LOVES to play with my wire when I'm working on a project.

When did you begin to pursue your work as a craft rather than a hobby?
Since I was a kid, I tried all sorts of crafting and nothing really stuck. But early this year, a lady suggested making jewelry and that I'd probably like it. She was right! I loved it so much! I've had two foot surgeries this year and I needed to do something to keep me occupied during my recovery. I loved it so much and made so many things during that time, that I decided I should take it more seriously and to open an Etsy store.

Besides creating, what do you do?
I love good food and wine, and traveling internationally. I try to travel as much as I can. I stay healthy by exercising and matching what I eat, even though I'm a sucker for almost anything with sugar. Recently I've been getting more into classical and baroque music.

When did you realize you were an artist?
Since I've never really good at arts or crafts, the thought of actually being an artist didn't cross my mind until the instructor of my wire-wrapping classes at Potomac Bead Co. complemented my work. Then I knew I had become an artist.




What inspires you?
I get inspired by the colors of flowers, by my travels, and my sister, Denise.



What's your favourite thing about your craft?
My favorite thing about jewelry making is the process of creating a design and mixing and matching colors that would go well with it. And at the end, I like it when someone says, "wow! I love it"

Where do you most often work?
I sit on the couch in front of the TV.

Do you multi-media when you work? If so, what's your favourite diversion?
When I work, I usually have a movie or TV show in the background.

What's your favourite thing right now?
My favorite thing right now...Definitely rice krispies treats!


If you could have any craft wish granted, what would it be?
I wish copper didn't tarnish cause the red color is so beautiful!





What are three things about you we'd never guess from your craft?
No one would guess I'm an engineer and studied math in college, that I really like vampire and fantasy books, and that I'm half Chinese.


You can find Monica's work on Etsy at Belle Couleur and on Artfire at Zared.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A grande event, if you are in the Philly area this Sunday. I may well be outclassed, but I am putting my best effort on the block - The show runs 10a - 4p.

Leslie Brown will be there, too

sigh. Etsy . . . tsk tsk tsk

Etsy has been doing some decidedly anti-seller things lately - beyond the usual not responding to corporate resellers so they can keep getting listing fees - that I won't go into here. I am not in the mood to invite haters into my little apartment on the web.

I will take a moment to point out that this highly amusing little thread about proper grammar, spelling and listing etiquette: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6346435&page=1 was pulled by admins because they want to pee on our parade.

Me, I think it was full of great reminders. It also made me hungry for cream cake.

Join the Handmade Crusade - without disturbing your ass divot

Right there, from the comfort of your (noun) you, too can take a stand for the dorky homemade gift you know you want to give!

Join Handmade Black Friday on facebook - and artists: fans can post their shop links on the wall!

Besides being a vote for a non-binding resolution on supporting handmade artisans, it's a virtual shopping mall of the cute, the creepy, and the heartfelt.

Teenage Turtles from the wrong side of the tracks

Science Friday is one of the many small pleasures I look forward to every week. Ira Flatow's voice pulls me to the radio like the pied piper pulls children to the abyss.

He really should not have put his picture on the internet, because now if I ever meet him, I will recognize him and go all giggly and socially inept like I did the time I met Eliot Engel when I was thirteen. At that point I had been a Dickens' Disciple for approximately four years and meeting him was like meeting Jordan Knight would have been for a normal tweener. *

The point of this little bit of taracana was to introduce today's diversion: a video that was previously featured on Science Friday. It is about the kind of taxpayer funded science program that sounds frivolous at first blush, but that almost always winds up expanding our knowledge of the interconnectedness of all things:



Enjoy!

*sidebar - I could not remember the names of any members of New Kids on The Block (I know, you are shocked) so I had to do a search and - did you know - there is actually an annual three day cruise with NKOTB members. For what? a chance for a bunch of forty year old women to pretend they still look good in Aqua Net and neon pink, while deep down trying to reclaim some of the lost hopefulness of a time when their life was a glorious buffet before them before marriage and kids crushed their souls? I totally do not get how they have sold that out for next year already. But hey, if those women come home a little happier, with a little more spring in their step (and don't turn around and divorce their husbands for not giving them the life of excess they wanted) then all the better.

Christopher Walken

One of the things you will be getting, lucky reader, in the new tarabu blog (for as long as I can keep up with it) is a number of shallow and unexpected insights into the dark cold heart of tarabu.

Today I offer up my crush on Christopher Walken. A truly platonic crush, I have admired the depth and breadth of his fabulosity since I saw 'The Dead Zone' - 'The Milagro Beanfield War' sealed the deal for me and I have made it a minor life's mission to see and hear everything he has ever done.* Thanks to the 21st Century (okay, Netflix) getting my occasional WalkenFix has been easier than ever.

I thought I had experienced the be-all and end-all of his glory when I saw him dance in the video for Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice.

After all, until then I did not realize he could levitate (although I was not entirely surprised by the revelation).

For your further amusement, I bring you Christopher Walken's rendition of Lady Gaga's Poker Face, courtesy of BBC television via YouTube (noting your sources in the internet is way too tedious these days!)




If you are missing the memories, when you have clicked over to YouTube, just search Christopher Walken Fatboy Slim Weapon of Choice. Put your headphones on and prepare to be delighted.

*Quite frankly he owes me, I watched Gigli for that man.

I know I am no Anna Wintour, but . . .

. . I have a deep, internalized love of fashion.

It is true that I generally dress like a child who was adopted by gypsies after being raised by wolves for the first nine years of my life. However, it is also true that deep in my core lives a woman of unassuming style and grace, whose shoes are always polished, whose earrings always match and whose stockings never run and have impeccably straight seams at all times.*

It is also true that I have a boiling cauldron of snark that is rarely tamed.

I did manage to hold my tongue last weekend when I saw a woman wearing a polyester sweatsuit tucked into suede boots, but I am not always so lucky. Often whatever companion is unfortunate enough to be with me when I see a blatant fashion offense is forced to listen to my commentary in a tone just below stage whisper.

You will not be surprised, then, to know that I enjoy the voyeuristic snark of the peopleofwalmart blog.

I am a little fed up with them, though, and may not go back thanks to the touch of smarminess I noticed there the other day. You see, many of the tags on their posts had little or nothing to do with either the photo or the commentary. Such blatant fiddling of search engine spiders angers my deeply inflexible moral code.

The site has been reviewed in multiple national media outlets - blog readers and voyeurs are actively looking for what they offer, there is no need for such sophomoric foolishness.

I do not feel like I am missing out on much, either. You see, I work in a city with a rich and diverse population, very near an Arts College; so I can see plenty of mismatched clothing and poor underwear choices without having to ever boot up my computer.

*A woman who was thrilled when the etiquette gods declared that one could pair a navy skirt with black shoes and black stockings and not be stoned outside her door by vicious mavens wielding Chanel eyeshadow compacts and quilted clutches.

Sleeker, Cleaner, more pictures

While I am not ready to pay for all the bells and whistles of a profesional blog, I did get a little tired of the orange fields and perceived clunkiness of my old blog layout.

I know, who would believe I would ever get tired of orange? Maybe it is the impending arrival of winter, that is leaving me in a snow white funk.

You, faithful reader, now get to look for all the things I set out to do with this blog originally: works in progress, unfinished objects, book reviews, artist links and a healthy dose of snark.

I am also entertaining links from other artists - you will see them in the sidebar - that will be rotated monthly, with a new piece at the top of the list every week. Feel free to suggest yourself or a friend, but this is my little piece of the internet, a quiet dictatorship, where I operate as a benevolent despot, and your request may be denied.

Stay Tuned

for an update, revamped, possibly more exciting, at the very least: different, tarabu blog*

*runon sentences, poor punctuation and stream of consciousness a specialty!

a few words about . . . Regretsy

While Regretsy brings me great amusement, the amount of drivel that is featured and then sold hurts my soul a little. Okay, maybe a lot, because I produce and share pieces that are attractive, practiced, and destined to be around for a while.

Besides being a place to highlight the hideous, mundane, unnecessary, it is a great place to mock the deflicted. In fact, it's been condemned as a wickedly mean-spirited place.

Well, it is.

It's also full of unexpected wisdom.

As vangoghbabe was kind enough to remind us all:
“CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM!!
DUH!
You construct it, we’re here to criticize it!!”

Yup, I am going to keep those words in mind the next time, and every time, I submit any of my work for anything.

No longer will I weep at the rejection that comes with the words "Work that is merely technically proficient and visually pleasing is not acceptable." I will simply remember that those judges are simply doing the job I asked of them - judging me.

I will be strong in the knowledge that visually pleasing is an end in and of itself for us shallow girls.

Then I will log on to the nearest Regretsy-enabled computer and take out my angsty resentment on the nearest unsuspecting paperclip necklace.

Because deep down, maybe I am a little wicked and mean-spirited.

no news is good news, right?

I don't have much to offer the world today - I had a kickin'-my-butt head cold this weekend (minor coughing remains), so I missed my Halloween party, but did manage to get the quilting done on one of my remaining sandwiches. The binding isn't finished though, so you will have to wait for photos.

I tried to paint in the hopes the turpentine would clear my sinuses, but sadly it just made me feel ill.

It's not too late!

To enter Mrs. B's 31 days of Halloween giveaways. Click for details: