I says to myself, "this Thursday is in need of a Secret Cave!!"

And wouldn't you know it, NJ etsian Kerstin delivered!!

Her shop is www.chimera.etsy.com, and she features not only hand-spun yarn and hand-dyed roving, but also creates these detailed needle-felted playmats that are each a little masterpiece. I've always been obsessed with tiny things. As a child, the smaller the toy, the better (i miss Charmkins) so these gorgeous playmats appeal to the side of me that is currently resisting having kids just so i have an excuse to get an elaborate dollhouse. Now, if you're not much into caves or camping, check this out...



Aliens have never been so CUTE!!

I've dabbled in many areas of handcrafting, but the world of fiber arts is kind of mysterious to me. I grew up in Yorktown, VA, and if you live in the Historic Triangle you can't graduate high school without carding wool at some living history site or other. but... spinning your own yarn? Tres impressive.

Check out www.chimera.etsy.com, she also has handmade stitch markers, uber-stylish knitting bags,


as well as mounds and mounds of fluffy roving and handcrafted yarn that makes me want to learn how to knit. Check out her blog here: http://www.freewebs.com/dragonflyducky/myblog.htm

And don't forget to visit the NJ etsy street team blog for more New Jersey goodness!
http://www.etsynj.blogspot.com/

True story

Kelly: We had breakfast for dinner. I made an egg strata.

Me: Was it an Eric Egg strata?

hotcha, whoopee!

Featuring Madebymelissa!

Visiting Madebymelissa's virtual store on etsy is like walking into a real-life gift shop. She resides in Dumont, NJ, and her store is stocked with handmade jewelry, kitchy little magnets, unusual crocheted items, even vintage jewelry... including hard-to-find clip earrings! She has over 100 items for sale on her etsy site www.madebymelissa.etsy.com so something is sure to catch your eye. Some of my faves:

Crocheted facial pads/makeup removers


"These facial scrubbies were crocheted with 100% 4 ply white cotton yarn. They are just under 3 inches wide and are perfect for removing eye make-up and face washing. They are soft and luxurious and provide gentle exfoliation. Stop throwing away your money on cotton balls and grab a set of these!"...a steal at $2.50! How clever.

Bottlecap Magnets:

These super cute bottle cap magnets will remind you of the important things in life - Live, laugh, love and when all else fails - SHOP!!

"These are perfect for office file cabinets, lockers and of course refrigerators."


Blue Dragonfly Ribbon Necklace




"This cute little dragonfly has 4 shades of blue going up his body and cute pale green eyes. He is slightly over an inch tall and about an inch and a half wide from wing to wing. He is hanging on two 18 inch long ribbons - one in light blue and one in royal blue - they compliment his lovely blue body perfectly!! The necklace secures with a silver plated lobster claw clasp."

Check out her vintage section too, for some great finds!

http://madebymelissa.etsy.com
http://madebymelissa.blogspot.com




I've just joined the Etsy NJ street team, and I'm looking forward to featuring local etsians. Please let me know if you have a NJ favorite you'd like to see featured here! www.etsynj.blogspot.com

i heart the crap out of wall decals!!!

How well they come off... and whether they go back on again... seems to vary. but these giant graphics for your home are SO FANTASTIC! Here's a couple of my faves.




http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_3&listing_id=13786274

Bird in Birdcage Vinyl Wall Decals Stickers Art Graphics $25 from Singlestonestudios



http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_5&listing_id=13778033

from sodeco, a delicate hippo $55





http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_11&listing_id=13497066

from oneupdesigns, asian bloom wall graphic $28


LOVE this stuff!

In the local art vein... NYC folks, you simply MUST see this show!

Prince Trevor Amongst the Elephants by award-winning playwright Duncan Pflaster has one more performance in the Midtown International Theater Festival. It is not to be missed.

Twelve powerhouse actors take the stage to tell a twisted fairy tale full of surprises. You will laugh, you will cover your mouth in surprise, you will nod your head and say, "oh, that's so true."

Eric C. Bailey*, Chris C. Cariker, Patricia Comstock, Jon Crefeld, Keith Patrick Dunn*, Carlos Rafael Fernandez, Paula Galloway, Clara Barton Green, Jason Alan Griffin*, Kelly Nichols, Luke Strandquist, and Jess Cassidy White (* denotes membership in Actors Equity Association) come together as a seamless ensemble to tell a story full of "crude profanity, full-frontal nudity, and iambic pentameter; may not be suitable for all audiences." Oh, there's giant elephant heads, too. I made them.

The final performance is Saturday, August 2nd, 9:30pm at the June Havoc Theater in Midtown Manhattan, June Havoc Theater (312 West 36th Street). BUY TICKETS at TicketCentral.com or call 212-279-4200.

For the complete lowdow, a VIDEO CLIP, and Duncan Pflaster's official website, visit http://www.duncanpflaster.com/trevor.php

Local Art

I just recently moved to Jersey City Heights, and before that I lived in Hoboken for three years. I discover new things about the arts scene in north jersey every day, and it's totally inspiring to see so much going on that you can really only call 'cutting-edge'. And not sarcastically, as in "The scene in Williamsburg is totally 'cutting edge'." It's kind of exciting to be able to use the term in earnest.

Roland Ramos is big on the scene out here. We met through Art House and DeBaun Auditorium functions, two influential theater companies in Jersey City and Hoboken (respectively). Roland, along with his girlfriend Judy Nunez, are constantly surrounded by talent. It seems that wherever they go, art happens.

Roland's recent undertaking is the curation of an art exhibit at the Monroe Center for the Arts in Hoboken (720 Monroe Street) entitled "POLITrix: Art to Reflect the Current Political Climate," with co-curator Amy Bauer. Husband Don and I went to visit the gallery this past Friday night, and as we were there early, we had the run of the place. I love smart art, and this gallery was brimming with it.

There had been a monologue performance scheduled that night, but due to some mysterious incident outside the gallery, the performance of Red Tape Monologues was canceled although the art gallery was still open. As Don and I were adding our own embellishments to two paintings that had a bucket of crayons in front of them, and an invite to help finish them, another patron flagged us down.

As it happened, one of the performance artists, Some Woman, was there to visit the gallery. A small group of us coerced her to perform despite the actual show's cancellation. We piled onto some comfy chairs, and Some Woman delivered a sassy, enlightened monologue full of commentary on modern government. Art On Demand.

Roland is also in a reggae band, a talented musician and freestyler. He also hosts art and performance gatherings at the venue 4th and Jackson in Hoboken, showing off the movers and shakers of the art scene in north Jersey.

To find out a little more about him, check out his blog Artifactions. Pictures of the opening night party, and much of the artwork from POLITrix, can be found here.

a nom for friday

One of my favorite things when i was little was banana laffy taffy.

want!

Banana lip balm from A Breath of French Air's shop!



and also: HAMANA HAMANA



fudge brownie muffin soap from www.thesoapbuffet.etsy.com
fridays are so deliciouso...

If I had a hammer...new items!

These will be up by the end of the day! I love the technique i used on the necklace and dangles... instead of using a loop or a headpin, I'm hammering the end of the wire to form a teardrop. I think they're so elegant, and I'm looking forward to playing with the style!

LoveMaryxoxo!

An Etsy Find for Friday!




Wear the key to your heart...on your arm. This steampunk french style crocheted cool amazing wrist bag in deep fuchsia, with antiqued metal features it fashionable, practical, and just plain cute. Unsnap it from your wrist, and unsap the inside pocket and put your money and small notes inside. Snap it back up and put it on. No need to carry a bag if you don't want to. Great for every day and vacation.

------------LoveMaryxoxo's store is described as "A little bit of Neo Gothic, Victorian, Euro vintage flair with splashes of African and Asian."

I also love this haircomb...



She's in the nyc area, and has free shipping thru the 27th! Swing by her etsy store and give her some love!

www.lovemaryxoxo.etsy.com

brain cloudburst

just had some ideas about some great designs. I'll post pics tomorrow!

New Logo!!!

So you'll see, at the top of the page, the logo our friend Michele created for me! i adore it. please let me know if you'd like to get in touch with her for any logo or banner work, she is fantastic to work with and unbelievably talented.

next step... trademarking.

Baby Steps...

The other day, I went to help some close friends pack up to move. I've been taking my business cards with me everywhere and handing them out like candy, because thanks to Vistaprint, i have a hefty supply!

one of our friends' parents were there helping, too. they run a jewelry store nearby. the good thing is that i've worked with the dad pretty closely in the past, as he did our wedding bands, and he knows that i'm reasonable and easy to deal with in the business sphere. we've also hung out with them socially, and they seem to like me. ;) but i wasn't ready to pitch my line to them to see if they would carry some pieces in the store.

so.

i recently acquired, from another etsy-an creations by ingrid a little card-holder... made from a capri sun wrapper.



so you see, now i can say "oooh, you wanna see my awesome business card holder???" without saying "hey! take my business cards! i got 500 of 'em!!"

and it totally worked. our friends did not as yet have cards, and it paved the way for one to say "hey, dad, alex is selling her own jewelry!" it couldn't have worked out more smoothly if i had done a huddle beforehand. i was really proud of myself for not chickening out, and super happy that my friends are so awesome. but, of course they are. :)

Conquering fear of code!!!

Oh man.

I'm sure I'm not alone out there, but I am a creative type who never quite grasped the finer points of HTML. Thanks to things like myspace, i'm warming up, and tonight with a little help, I'm figuring out how to trick out this fine space of bloggery. :)

Met up with a customer in the city tonight, she purchased earrings for a wedding she's heading out to in CA tomorrow. I suppose I should advertise that, a 'free shipping' option for my NYC and North Jersey peeps, in that I will hand-deliver! It was really rewarding seeing the earrings on her. She looked gorgeous in them!

Persephone's Seeds

Hades ruled the Underworld. Hades loved Persephone. Hades kidnapped her and took her off to the great Down Below. Lucky for that girl, her parents Demeter and Zeus had some connections and sprung her from her captor, but not before Persephone had herself a little Underworldly nosh... pomegranate seeds.

Because she ate food of the Underworld, she had to return down there and hang out with Hades for four months of the year, and Demeter made those months Winter.

Moral of the story? Always pack a granola bar.

These little red glass beads are wrapped in sterling silver wire. They glow out of their little cages seemingly from within, and hang from dainty sterling earhooks. I hope they serve as a reminder that to everything, there is a season.




Triple Freshwater Pearl Dangles



Three top-drilled freshwater pearls dangle from silverplate chain and sterling silver earwires. Perfect for an evening with your hair up!

Feedburns and myspace and chatrooms, oh my!

In an effort to Get The Word Out, I now have this blog, a myspace page, and an lj for my store.

I'm hoping that I have time to continue to create jewelry after all of the posting I'll be doing...

I CONQUERED feedburner, however! whew, very proud of myself... still learning about everything. discovered CHATROOMS in etsy this morning, wow, is that intense.

still trying to figure out new and exciting marketing strategies! need to call hoboken about the arts and music festival for the fall.

Wednesday's favorites!!

One of the things I love about etsy is the "mini" feature. In this case, here's a 4x4 of items I've added to my favorites. There are some amazing artisans among this group of picks, hope you enjoy perusing!

Tangleball earrings

Like a dreamcatcher filters out all of the bad dreams, these little Tangleball earrings will filter out any bad daily-grind mojo before it even gets in your head.

Sterling silver wire is woven into a little sphere smaller than a dime, and hung from a skinny sterling earwire. These are my favorite earwires! Because of their small gauge, they are perfect for sensitive ears, and the Tangleballs are light as a feather.

***I'm getting a lot of TERRIFIC feedback on these! I'd really like to see my Tangleballs and my pearl flower earrings get into a store in Hoboken. I'm planning on making up a sample trunk and taking them to a few of the cute stores there, and just see how it goes!

Neck, meet Alex.

I am my most convenient model, so i've started taking self portraits with necklaces on to show the length. The only snag...well, when was the last time you saw a close-up of your own neck?

It's alien territory.

This Dark Horse necklace will be for sale on Etsy later today, as a set with a pair of matching earrings!

the haystack seems smaller

wow, how voyeuristic is this 'next blog' setup? nothing else to do? click 'next blog'.

I'm going to get carpal tunnel from all the nosing around...

eggs in one basket

Still on the search for a perfect storage item for all of my jewelry supplies... not just the little compartments, but larger ones as well, someplace for spools of wire, etc. Target surprised me and didn't have tackle boxes, although they DID have a wide array of fishing lures.

really? fishing lures but no tackle boxes? are you supposed to put your shiny worm things in your pocket? come now.

that makes me want to make earrings out of fish lures. check back later for a new line--

also, a new logo is on the way! Verrrry excited!

I have a gorgeous necklace and earring set that I created this evening, just waiting for daylight to photograph them. Time to rig the light box. and take a photography class.

in non-jewelry-specific news, there is a red spider the likes of which i've never seen before who has spun herself a web on our back porch. she had actually caught something and was tying it all up the last time i was out there. i'd have tried for a closer look, but uh... well, i grew up on three acres of land in Virginia, and I've never seen a red spider. yeah.

perhaps a spider brooch is in the near future. ;)

A sampler

Inaugural Post!

Greetings! I'm alex of alexladydesigns!

I'm an actor in the NYC area, and I've been making jewelry for about ten years or so, and I've just opened my own e-store at www.alexladydesigns.etsy.com. The past few weeks have been incredibly exciting, and I'll be using this space to chronicle my discoveries and learning process, as well as a place to give a shout out to other creative etsy-ers.

www.etsy.com is an online marketplace for handmade items. It's also a community of artists. There is so much talent on one place here that it's easy to lose an hour... or two... just browsing. However, it'll make your holiday shopping MUCH easier this year. :)

I'll be doing giveaways from my store, as well as highlighting favorites from the etsy-sphere and other great handcrafters' sites, so feel free to add me to your feed and check back in... I'm adding new items all the time.

Thanks for sharing this journey with me!