Coming Out of Hibernation!

Hello! I am still alive.

Actually, I feel a bit more alive today than I did in August. Not sure if its the weather (not all that much different yet), the return to my normal school-year work schedule, the receding of allergy season, or my new vitamins. Either way, I hope it lasts.

Since my last posting, I have:

• Learned to use my sewing machine. Sewing became very satisfying (albeit time consuming, OMG) in the midst of my creative block. As long as I was pattern sewing, I didn't have to be any more creative than "What color fabric do I want?" and yet I was making things. I may show off a few items I've made here as soon as I figure out how to photograph them.

• Started writing a web-radio series, and then dribbled to a halt due to heat melting my brain. But I'm picking that up again too! It has much potential to be awesome.

• Left my improv practice team. I really like performing teh improv, but it is very time consuming, and I miss my other projects. I also miss going to watch improv as a humble audience member. But I'm still on their mailing list, so I look forward to seeing them perform in the future :-) I am in a short term class right now (which actually relates to the web-radio show), not sure if I will take more classes in the future. Cash is a leetle tight right now.

• Picked up a folding table for my sewing habit, but it also looks like a good set up for the light box I photograph jewelry with.

• Recieved some conical shaped bud vases which may work well for photographing bracelets. One of the reasons I don't make more bracelets is that I find them tough to photograph.

• Taken lots of naps.

• Attended DragonCon. I was somewhat sick, stressed, and sleep deprived, but I still had a mostly good time. And the con itself helped me realize how I want to prioritize my non-job time for the next few months.

A big theme in my life now is whether I can balance *making* art with *performing* art. I like doing both, but I think now I want to focus more on the making.

I took all of August off from social activities, with a couple exceptions, to rest. There was a really crazy late winter-into-spring period that I hadn't given myself a chance to recover from, and August usually melts my brain, so I just holed up in my Chantry and watched Star Trek. Once allergy season blows over, I hope this helps renew my stamina.

And thanks to a month of reflection and a weekend of DragonCon, I am going to prioritize jewelry, my writing project, and starting Tai Chi classes. After that come sewing, watching improv, and getting back to the cultural activities I used to enjoy (costume parties, readings, etc), cash flow allowing.


But this blog will of course be devoted to the jewelry :-) If I can start this week, I should have photographs up by October. Yay!

Right now I'm planning to do some work on a gothy color palette (I have a ton of onyx in storage), develop a new polymer clay project, edit an old polymer clay project, make more Game of Thrones pieces, and work on more talismans.

Last night I dreamed of buying magic crystals and gemstones, and will take that as a good omen.

<3 Chrysilla
aka Queen of the Cat People

Summer Vacation!

Its been a rough 2011 so far. Was very busy with life for the first three months, and overwork and overstress quickly segued into the worst allergy season ever. Including some of the worst spring colds ever. And now it is summer in NYC, which is well known for brain-melting heat and humidity. I've made only a couple of new pieces over the last several months.

I'm very sad that I've lost the yen to bead, but until my health improves I don't see how it will change. I am having some fun with a writing project, however, and would like to focus on that for a while. So I'm going on a summer vacation from jewelry.

With luck, I'll be back on my feet in September (after Dragon Con ;-D) with new energy and new shiny things. I can't fathom that this isn't a temporary situation, as jewelry has been a large part of my life for over a decade. But we all burn out sometimes.

My Etsy shop will stay open to customers over the summer, but I can't guarantee that I will be available for custom orders until September.

Thank you for your interest and your support! I will be back :-)

Star of the Evening - Blue Goldstone Necklace

I've all but stopped purchasing new blue goldstone because it turned out to be really hard to sell. Online or in person. Photos can't quite capture the glitter, and neither can the lighting at cons, clubs, or craft fairs. I do like the subtlety, but subtle doesn't always come across well. Like the piece Pearl Wings [on Etsy!] which I still can't quite *get* in photos.

Of course I still use it in my own jewelry ;-)

Blue goldstone, beads and a carved rose. So sparkly! Not directly inspired by Kushiel's Dart, but when I had both book and necklace completed they were a clear match :-)

This stone is man made, technically a sort of art glass. But glass is useful in amulets and talismans depending on its colors and shapes.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Quartz and Fluorite Necklace

Unfortunately, I've hit a bit of a creative/energy block for the last few weeks, and have run out of new jewelry to post. I way over-scheduled myself with other activities from January through March, and was sick for most of April, and am slowly starting to bounce back. This happens, especially when you have multiple hobbies and creative outlets on top of a 9-5 job. On top of that, I'm starting to work on updating the photos on my gallery website.

So to tide my fans over until I get over work, allergy season and hibernation, I'll be posting photos of some of my personal not-for-sale jewelry items :-)



To start, this is a necklace I made to test out the wire wrapping techniques that eventually made my House Dayne [on Etsy] and Tranquility [on Etsy] necklaces:

Instead of amethysts, I used fluorite and clear quartz. Fluorite is one of my favorite stones :-) Good for balancing heart and mind, helps with inspiration, ideas, and balance. And quartz makes a good battery. Hopefully my own batteries will recharge themselves soon.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

Petunia Bracelet

Petunia Bracelet
[For sale here on Etsy]

Violet seed beads spiral together with fire polished Czech crystals in pink with AB an finish.

This bracelet is adjustable, from 6.5 to 8 inches long, with a simple hook clasp. All seed bead weaving is made by hand.


Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Violets Necklace

Violets Necklace
[For sale here on Etsy]

Purple seed beads spiral together with blue goldstone and pink fire polished Czech crystal.

This necklace is 16 inches long, with a simple hook clasp. All seed bead weaving is done by hand.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Hyacinth Bracelet

Hyacinth Bracelet
[For sale here on Etsy]

Light purple seed beads spiral together with fire polished Czech crystals in pink and lavender.

This bracelet is adjustable, from 6.5 to 10 inches, with a simple hook clasp. All seed bead weaving is made by hand.


Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Metal Luv, a Necklace of Gunmetal and Pearl

Metal Luv Necklace
[For sale here on Etsy!]

Metallic black seed beads spiral with freshwater pearls and hematite hearts.

This necklace is 18 inches long, with a simple hook clasp. All seed bead weaving is made by hand.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Gilded Age, Woven Seed Bead Bracelet

Gilded Age Bracelet
[For sale here on Etsy]

Bright gold rocaille seed beads spiral with fire polished Czech crystals in blue and AB finished clear.

This bracelet is adjustable, from 6.5 to 8.5 inches long, with a simple hook clasp. All seed bead weaving is made by hand.


Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Eye Spy, a Steampunk Inspired Necklace

Eye Spy
[For sale here on Etsy!]

A magnifying glass, mounted in an antiqued brass colored setting, hangs from a necklace of firepolished Czech crystals in antiqued metallic finishes and freshwater pearls.

This lariat necklace is 27 inches long with no clasp, and the pendant is 1.5 inches long.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Lady Bronze Bracelet

Lady Bronze Bracelet
[For sale here on Etsy]

Bronze seed beads spiral with freshwater pearls, and fire polished Czech crystals in metallic colors and finishes.

This bracelet is 7.5 inches long, with a simple hook clasp. All seed bead weaving is made by hand.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Looking Glass, a new lariat necklace

Looking Glass
[For sale here on Etsy!]

A magnifying glass, mounted in a finely detailed pewter colored setting, hangs from a necklace of fire polished Czech crystals, vintage style glass cathedral beads, and black vintage pearl beads.

This lariat necklace is 26 inches long, with no clasp, and the pendant is two inches long.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Midnight, a Seed Bead Bracelet

Midnight Bracelet
[For sale here on Etsy]

Dark iris blue seed beads spiral with blue-black fire polished Czech crystals in an AB finish. Beads all woven by hand.

This bracelet is adjustable, from 7 to 10 inches long, with a simple hook clasp.


Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Black Jack

Black Jack
[For sale here on Etsy!]

Elegantly carved black cinnabar hearts hang from a delicate necklace of red garnet spades and black onyx.

With sterling silver findings and heart-shaped toggle clasp, the necklace is 17.5 inches long.


Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Blueberry Bracelet

Blueberry Bracelet
[For sale here on Etsy]

Cobalt blue seed beads spiral together with sky blue catseye beads.

This bracelet is adjustable, from 7 to 10 inches in length, with a hook clasp.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Iris Necklace

Iris Necklace
[For sale here on Etsy]

Dark violet seed beads spiral together with fire polished Czech crystals in blue, violet, and AB finishes.

This necklace is 17 inches long, with a simple hook clasp of sterling silver. All bead weaving made by hand.

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

... And a metric ton of green and Celtic pieces live here in my Etsy store ;-)


In fact, we are still having a giveaway contest for a pair of aventurine, onyx, and dice earrings! Enter now, contest closes tomorrow March 18th at midnight! Click here for rules and details.


Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Privacy Somewhat Broken on Etsy

I sell primarily through Etsy, so I wanted to give my customers the heads up on Etsy's latest not-so-great idea. Go check on your privacy settings!

Etsy users irked after buyers, purchases exposed to the world.

Also, I haven't looked around at their forums in a couple of years. And now you're only allowed to discuss Etsy's own website and its features. Srsly? No more forums for promotions or technique trading. I don't know how much work it took for the company to maintain that part of the website, but so many buyers and sellers used it that it seems like another not-so-great idea.

On the other hand, I remember when an Etsy listing cost ten cents for six months, so I guess these sorts of things are inevitable :-/

Ocean's Depth

Ocean's Depth Bracelet
[For sale here on Etsy]

Dark blue iris seed beads spiral together with freshwater pearls and small beads of blue goldstone.

This bracelet is adjustable, from 7 to 9 inches, with a simple hook clasp. All bead weaving made by hand.

FYI, We're still having a giveaway contest for another pair of wire worked earrings until March 18th :-) Check out contest and details here! Remember, you have to comment to enter!

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.