STELLALTINAAN - STYLE AND INDIVIDUALITY

CLEARANCE SALE.

2012-01-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

I Just created a coupon for a clearance sale in my ETSY SHOP. Simply enter SALDI0112 and you get a 20% discount on all items purchased. Please pass the word around and I hope you find something you might like. Thank you so much for reading.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION – THE PROJECT.

2011-12-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

I was listening to an interesting talk on You Tube regarding freedom of expression and the woman in the video was so passionate about her opinion that while it was quite convincing, interestingly, I was not converted. Although she made some very strong 'true' points, I didn't share her idea of what freedom of expression was. Of course I was beading while listening.

Pondering on it later, I had the brilliant idea to create a piece of art I would call FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, and I want to do it with other bead weaving artists in the span of 12 months intending that by this time next year, we will have the finished product to showcase.

The idea is pretty simple:

Anyone, anywhere is welcome to be a part of this project. Artists may only ADD to the piece they receive*.

For those of you that are members of ETSY BEAD WEAVERS the idea is similar to our monthly challenges: we are given a theme and we all create our individual expression of that theme, in this case though we express our individuality by adding to someone else’ contribution.

The theme for this challenge is FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. The idea is to do a project with bead weavers around the world to freely express themselves in a single collaborative work that will be mailed randomly from one person to the next over the course of a year.

Requirements:

1. A mailing address, email address and a telephone number.

2. A paypal account (I’ll explain why, below)

3. TOTAL RESPECT AND APPRECIATION for project deadlines.

4. Willingness to donate your time to the project.

5. Ability to collaborate in the spirit of the project.

6. You must be able to take quality images of the work before sending it along.

I will collect the information of all interested participants and will assign dates when the item will get to you and when you will be asked to forward it to the next person. The item will be in your possession for roughly two and a half weeks pending the final number of participants.

I will provide the first bit of this project. It could be anything – a beaded cabochon, a peyote rope, a flat herringbone piece - anything at all. *Please note – it is important that you will only ADD to the piece you receive, though minor changes to the previous work to integrate your own are expected.

As soon as you receive the piece, I need you to:

1. Write to me and tell me your first impression of the item in as little as a 100 words or at most 200 words. Your text should contain what you think the item is saying to you (don’t worry about who has contributed on it before it got to you)..

2. Send text with a photo of the item as you received it.

3. Do your bit on it and photograph it again.

4. Send me another text of 100-200 your dateline to the next person

5. Send me another text of 100-200 words of what you feel you have added from your original impression of it together with a photo of the item with your addition.

Each participant is entitled to $20US equivalent toward the project materials and shipping cost to next location. This is why I need you to have a Paypal account. I will forward to you the money so that you have it at about the time the item arrives. I cannot reimburse beyond the allotted $20 and exceeding this cost is at your discretion and expense. Please DO NOT exceed the allotted amount unless you are willing to foot that additional cost. Your generosity, should you not require the $20, will greatly appreciated.

I will share the name of participants with you all before we begin BUT I will not reveal the order of the participants until AFTER the project is completed.

You will only receive info on WHEN you should be receiving the item, and WHEN you should mail it out plus the name and address of who you will be mailing it to.

I shall blog every step of the project, but will save the photos for the final reveal. And if the universe is gracious enough for me then, I shall have it published as a book.

PLEASE NOTE: As soon as I have all the names of interested participants, I shall send out contracts to be filled out and returned before we begin. This is to clarify expectations, obligations and limits. Submitting your name as an interested participant is not binding. SIGNING the contract IS.

Feel free to pass the word around to bead weavers you know who might be interested, and if we have enough interested participants we will have multiple groups and produce two or more projects – The more, the merrier.

That is about it for nowJ.

Freedom of Expression.

2011-12-10T06:07:00.000-08:00

I was listening to an interesting talk on You Tube earlier today regarding freedom of expression and the lady in the video was so passionate about her opinion that it was so convincing, but interestingly I was not converted, because although she had some very strong 'true' points, I didn't quite share her idea of what freedom of expression was, of course I was beading while listening to it.

Pondering on it later on, I got this brilliant idea to create a piece of art I would want to call FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, but I want to do it with other bead weaving artists in the span of 12 months hoping that by this time next year, we will have the finished product to showcase.

The idea is simple, I will have, for each project (I hope we create more than just one), 11 participants, including myself. I will send out the start of each project to the next participant, each will have 2.5 weeks with the project to add to it then mail it to the next person on the list until at the end of the project it is returned to me to showcase it......well, this is only the summary of it. I think it will be fun!

So off I go to search for willing participants. Stay with me and you most likely are about to have the 'funnest' ride of your beading life with this project.

PIO (Pass It On) and More.

2011-12-09T14:07:00.000-08:00

I have been beading like a maniac lately, partly because I feel the need to catch up on all the beading I have missed for the most part of last year and this, but also because I have been seriously considering making a decent living from my beading, and what better way than to stuck my ETSY shop with a variety!

My beading tray has almost become my bed fellow (I bead on my bed), and so I have sat on it a few times and it has a couple cracks and tears, but it is full of mixed coloured seed beads. I have made a couple OOAK bracelets with them like this one below.

What I do is I use complementing coloured beads to build a base then spice it up a bit with larger beads (also mostly left over from other projects). So far these bracelets are a hit, and not boring at all to make, as I normally have no idea what I will end up with until it is finished.

I have made a few more intentionally planned items like this one below.

and this

and this,

and this

and finally this,

I still have a tray full of beads I want to clear, so I am making small items like pendants, and earrings and such and I shall be putting those in a section in my shop called PIO, which simply means PASS IT ON. ETSY asks a minimum price of 20 cents be put on listed items so that is how much they will cost, the only thing I ask in addition is the shipping cost.

The reason I am doing this is not really about emptying my beading tray (thank goodness the need to empty it brought about this idea), but the simple fact that I have been blessed this year and being thankful for my good fortune just isn't enough. I need to pass it on and hope that good fortune follows them that receive mine, and that they also have the grace to pass it on.

Thank you so much for dropping by and for reading this far. Drop by the shop tomorrow I should begin listing the first of the PIO items then.

Creating Again.

2011-11-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

I have been beading, yes I have. I had set myself on a sewing project during the summer, most of which I had done but haven't had the good fortune of photographing them (on me). But I shall put them up soon. However, I have been creating. Bead weaving, to be precise.

This necklace was inspired by the colours of the tropics. It's a bit of a craze with the

colour combination but it was created this way on purpose, to portray the love of colour of the women of the tropics. It was a fun piece to create, and for the multiple colours it was not boring at all. It is currently on say in my Etsy Shop.

This braclet however is one of the many bits I have created from left over beads, put together matching colours and wove them into a certain length, no two breacelets look a like and I don't think I can duplicate them because the number and sizes of the beads were random (totally unplanned), so yes, this is OOAK (one of a kind). It's currently on sale in My Etsy Shop....But that is not all....

Here is another piece, also on sale in my shop. I had the most fun creating this one, because of the asymmetric shape of the central cabochon. It actually stared out as a brooch but I couldn't decide which direction should be up, and so out of my frustration, I decided to turn into a necklace and was actually guided by the central cab to the finish. Talk about directions from a stone lol. It's an Aventurine by the way....and yes, even this one is in the shop

I'll certainly have more photos coming soon. I am so excited about being able to get creative again. Just wait and see what else is coming.....

Self Challenge by September

2011-06-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, I took a three years course in fashion and designs in a prestigious fashion school here in Italy and as soon as I got my diploma, I decided to get rid of 90% of my clothes in the hope of forcing myself into sewing my own clothes.

Of course that hasn't happened because I hardly had the time, however, because I still was bent on doing so, I bought only a handful of essential items hoping the lack of clothes will be the push I needed, but that didn't help...... Well, I am tired of wearing the same clothes all over again....can I ask for a better push/motivation?

My plan is to make nice fun clothes that will work well for the office (which i spend 60% of my waking hours) and a drink with the girls afterward.

Plans?

1 shirt dress (designed by me).
1 knit mini dress (my design).
1 maxi dress (again, my design....not boring I hope).
1 mini pencil skirt.
1 mini A shaped skirt.
1 mini flared skirt......again all 3 will be my design.
2 blouses.
1 cotton shirt.
2 tunics (for the tops, I hope I get inspiration from magazines or pattern books)
1 pair denim shorts.
1 pair cotton trousers
1 pair linen capri trousers.
1 A cotton jacket for those rare cool evenings.
1 waist-coat just for the fun of it.

That is 16 items there. If I make one item a week I should finish b y the end of september.....Let's see how motivated I am.

This is quite a challenge for my busy schedule but I hope the boredom of dressing the same will be all the push I need.

Taking the Challenge.

2011-06-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

I've procrastinated forever until I stumbled on Faye's blog, through Shawnta's blog about this challenge to sew the perfect summer dress in two weeks and I signed myself on to it. I am not even sure I shall be accepted as I am late (the challenge begins today!!). Still, it's the push I need to get active again.

I shall be taking photos of my chosen dress and the fabric I shall be using this weekend (I forgot my camera is Rapallo!) So stay tuned, or drop by in two weeks and applaud my effort or boo me for now trying hard enough.....most likely the former.

The Resurection.

2010-12-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

This is the first piece I have created for the EBW Challenge, the last one was the one I did for my baby sister when she passed away in May, found here. I know that there is no time frame for mourning, but I also know that my baby sister will not want my creativity to go away with her passing either. So I will think of this as my 'resurection' piece, although in my Etsy listing it has a different name. The important thing is I am becoming creative again. Watch out for this space as I'll have more items soon.

STEPPING OUT.

2010-11-11T02:58:00.000-08:00

I always say that the perfect job is one that feels like a hobby. I have forever tried to find the perfect job but thus far have been very unsuccessful. However, I have some rather interesting hobbies that if harnessed properly could turn into rather lucrative job, thus made into the perfect job. The hobbies are in fashion designs and creations – both for jewelry and apparel.

I think it is quite normal to assume if one loves a hobby well enough, one would invest in that hobby, or at least that’s what I told myself when I enrolled into a fashion school, four years ago, for a three years’ diploma which I received last summer.

In the interim, I have also been self teaching myself the art of jewelry making with a base focus on bead weaving. I haven’t any formal training in this, if you would consider being registered into a school and coming away with a diploma at the end of it as formal. However, I have invested in tutorials and taken private lessons and have in the short while I have began, learned quite a bit. But just as in apparel design, you can never learn too much or enough.

I do however feel confident enough to be out there and make a mark in the fashion world. I am not necessarily in love with the idea of becoming the sort of house hold name that creates beautiful but mass produced items. I rather like the concept of being stylish but still maintaining one’s individuality.

This is my first foot forward on this lane. I don’t have a mapped out plan for what I would do. However, as much as I have no plans of quitting my day job, I intend to throw myself into this 'hobby' until I carve out the perfect job for myself. Fortunately my friends and family will be my guinea pigs on this one (Yes folks, fortunate because one day you will be able to say I have a collector's item lol).

For this year, I shall focus on finishing the items I had began during my training period that I never got to finish (both clothes and jewelry). The last blog I shall put up in December will map out the projects I intend to tackle in the coming year. So for now, warm up and get ready. Do drop by soon and see what I created in training, it may make you want to come back and see what I would create starting January, as my stepping out designs.

....or if that doesn't cut it for you, do drop by anyway as I will be featuring other artists and sharing tips and ideas.

Better late than NEVER.

2010-05-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is the first blog I am writing here this year, not because I have stopped creating but because everything I created thus far were ordered and it sincerely didn't cross my mind to picture and blog. However, it finally dawned on me that unless I want to loose my followers, I had better start giving them something to read. So I have decided to do something new, take you step by step through my creativity and this time, I actually plan to make things specifically for the blog.

I'm planning a jewellery open house party in early summer, so I've a number of projects I am working on at the moment. They are going to be OOAK (one of a kind) designs so I have no sketches for them. I'll have pictures of them as I complete them though..... And for a little twist to the blog, I am going to share my sewing too.

I am going to re-open my ETSY clothes shop, which means I shall be whipping out a few outfits. Now here are the fabrics I intend to begin with (I've a wardrobe full of them lol).

I haven't quite decided what to make yet, but with nine different fabrics out to work with - cotton, silk, satin and denim - I'm sure I'll have one of everything. I shall be posting sketches and completed work soon, so stay tuned.

Findings and Discoveries.

2009-12-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

I bought a pack of dates and was pleasantly surprised to find a nice pick in it. I'm CERTAINLY using it for a centre piece. I am trying to figure how to convert her into a mermaid.

Still Kicking.

2009-11-01T06:20:00.000-08:00

I spend more time reading other's blogs, learning new beading techniques and dreaming of free time to create than actually creating. I love beading but it's tough making a living out of it out here. I guess I am still trying to learn better marketing techniques. I have no intention of quiting although as time goes by I do wonder if i can really make a living from it (I'd love to).

Recently, I've had to rudely tell someone off that suggested I sell an item I took about 26 hours to create for 15 euros - that's about one and half hours worth of work. I was speechless at first although a thousand thoughts were racing through my head. Does she have any idea how much the beads alone cost? How about the hard-to-find-out-here threads that I waste by tearing apart and starting again? How about even the needles that I have to order from abroad just like my threads and most of my beads, that got broken over the course of the piece?....HOW ABOUT MY TIME AND CREATIVE DESIGN?????

In the end she said, 'I only want the item so that you can make some money, I don't really fancy beaded jewellery'. I didn't know if that was an insult or a relief. One thing was clear though, I've been wasting my energy marketing to the wrong group. the big question is WHERE is the right group? And how do i find them?

....Anyway, I sincerely hope I'd have my EBW challenge ready by the dateline because it adds to the number of items I make. So far I have only had two or three items created a months and that is not good production at all. HELP!.....is that what I need?

FREEFORM PEYOTE

2009-10-16T03:26:00.000-07:00

I made this piece for a demanding customer and ended up getting stuck with it. I'm not crying my eyes out though as I enjoyed the process of creating it. Here's what happened. I bid a request on Etsy's alchemy. Someone wanted freeform peyote at $55.00, I was surprised when she got in touch to ask me to see the materials and what method I would use. Then she sent me samples of what she wanted (colour-wise). I told her I could do it for her as I had beads in those colours.

Usually when I bid on Etsy, they complain about my shipping rates, understandably so too, it'll be cheaper for a buyer in the USA to buy from a fellow American as shipping would be a fraction of what I'd ask (shipping from Italy). Anyway. I didn't hear from her for about two weeks and forgot all about it, but she got back and said she was interested in working with me but she wanted the piece to be a lot heavier than the pieces she had showed me. She then sent me fotos of even more pieces, something that I would probably charge at least 250 for the work that goes into it alone! Not to mention and additional 200 for the materials as they were covered in gemstones. I pointed that out to her (she wanted it that thick and in gems too).

Finally, she sent me a lovely yellow piece that she wanted me to recreate. I told her I could use the colours as a guide, but for ethical reasons, I didn't feel comfortable recreating another beader's work (I later found out is a creation from the Etsy shop of a fellow beadweaver - an EBW member!

Anyway, when I began creating, I realized, to be able to create anything as close as her description of what she wanted (thick), I'd have to improvise with materials (which I did), in order to be able to be within the price range agreed on. In the end, it didn't turn out as the piece she wanted which shouldn't have been a surprise, because I had already said I was NOT going to recreate another artist's work....and she didn't like the 'orange in it' lol. But she did say it was otherwise lovely.... so that gives me on more thing in my shop, Hurray to demanding customers.

No more procrastinating!

2009-09-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

I started this blog to journal my journey as a wearable art artist as well as to promote my online shops. But I have only succeeded in wasting web space. My first posting which was nothing really impressive (bead stringed bracelet) was my lame effort to motivate myself to include more daring creations later on. Instead, what did I do? I featured two other artists whom (with no disrespect intended) create beautiful items but not OOAK (one of a kind) items as I would have prefered to feature here, but who am I to be choosy? after all even my featured items are NOT OOAK either!

Well, time has passed and I have evolved as an artists, the jewellery I make lately are a more sophisticated style of bead weaving with a mixture of various beads, precious stones, pearls, crystals, precious metals and Cabochons and I have been meaning to take photos and show them off, but I have spent time browsing other blogs, subscribing and leaving comments instead!!!

Recently, I joined a group called the Etsy Bead Weavers and besides learning a lot about bead weaving in this short period of time from the group members (actually a lot more than I have learned about bead weaving from ANY group EVER), I have been putting all my new knowledge into good use too, which means I have amassed a collection of lovely wearable art. Now besides the jewellery (which has been the bulk of my creations lately), I also sew.

So I have decided, NO MORE PROCRASTINATING! I am going to SERIOUSLY start blogging about my art, and this time, not only with the intention of promoting my work, BUT to have something to share with my fellow artists, especially those who like me turn to the internet a lot to learn and improve their art. So come rain come sunshine, in the next 24 hours, pictures of my creations would begin to be featured with a story behind each piece.

Etsy Bead Weaver's Challenge. My entry.

2009-09-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm getting better....I think. I started out just stringing beads, then leaning peyote stiches, right angle stitch, ndebele and finally weaving. Never in my wildest dream though did I ever imagine that I'd be bold enough to take up a challenge competing with seasoned bead weavers as I still have a long way to go, there is still alot to learn.

Recently though, I joined the Etsy Bead Weaver's group and was amazed and somewhat intimidated by the quality of creativity the members shared...intimidated for just a moment because it soon became a drive for me to get better....and I think I did, but I think only my work will show if that's true (check my shop and see for yourself here). Here is my entry for the September challenge, please take the time to vote here, I promise you, there'll be a bunch of beautiful pieces that you'd have a hard time making up your mind, still try and vote.

Beaded Cabochon Pendant

2009-05-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

After the death of my father in late February, things sort of came to a standstill. I had a lot of unanswered questions and it was most difficult because I was away from my family and didn't know when I'd be able to visit. The whole event affected my work as well. I stopped creating or following other creative artists.

But I did realize that life cannot come to a standstill indefinitely so I resumed and (to my surprise) I decided to do something that was totally new to me. Beading cabochon. I had been learning peyote beading and such and came across a beautiful bracelet done in cabochon and peyote beading and I knew it was something I just HAD TO learn. So I bought a case of Cabochons in diffrent shapes, sizes and colours and I made my first attempt. I was so impressed with the outcome that I made five more after that. For now beading around cabochons is my passion. Here (pictured above) is the very first one. There is a display of more here ....and there will be more to come. I am happy to be creating again. I will also be featuring some really creative artist soon so do drop by.