I have often relied upon the kindness of strangers...

There is a new gathering place for crafters, compatible with every sales platform I know of, and a few more to boot. So far, all done for love of the community and not for profit. Like... wow. The creators are VERY dedicated to this vision. They have tons of nifty gadgets, a community blog, and a great forum!

What exactly is Byhand.Me?

Why exactly is Byhand.Me?

Innovative Window Shopping!

And look! I've made a Spotlight of my Victorian Art Pendants! And a profile, of course ;-). It's easy.

There are a lot of people on the internet doing a little (or in this case, a lot) something extra for us needy artist types, in the face of economic recession and recovery. Thank you all for your help to our community.

Come along and play!

Enter the Dreaming City

Not only is it Mardi Gras, it's

PALIMPSEST DAY!!!

Palimpsest, a novel by Catherynne M. Valente, is finally available in stores.

I've made so many pieces of jewelry based on her books, and I've already made one based on the short story of Palimpsest from Paper Cities:

Casimira, dressed in green. Handmade chains of green goldstone, semiprecious stones, buttons, bones, wood, sticks, a copper magnifying glass, and spiraling green seed beads. Featuring polymer clay creature molds.
(Forgive the picture, I need to unpack my light box!)

Once I'm done with moving, I suspect there will be many more Palimpsest shinies to follow. I can't remember the name, but one reviewer applauded her use of "jeweled language," in all of her stories. That's probably why her work is so inspiring to jewelry artisans ;-)

Now that I think of it, the necklace I made custom for Catherynne is also very Casimira-like...

In Malachite, copper, glass, steel, and sterling, with a happily curling lizard.
(Wow. My photo skillz have improved drastically over the years.)


Tomorrow is the Palimpsest launch party, with C.M.V. AND S.J. Tucker, at the Brooklyn Lyceum in NYC. Tickets are $10 (You can buy them online, follow the link!), and I'll be selling literary-based jewelry at the event, including pieces based on C.M.V.'s books The Orphans Tales, and a few "tickets" to Palimpsest ;-)

If my words and pictures alone can't move you to attend, listen to Ms. Tucker's new album Quartered, based on Palimpsest. It will be even more awesome live, I promise! And this is just the beginning of their book tour, so check out C.M.V.'s website for more shows in your area!

Dream yourself to death

What am I wearing at Wicked Faire this weekend?

CASIMIRA

Wood, glass, seed beads, bone, polymer clay, green goldstone, multiple metals, various stones, single magnifying glass. Hand made bead-chains, hand made creature "molds" of small creatures. Will she stroke my head if I bind myself in chains?

[Not for sale, but I'm available to make similar items.]

Based on a secret city.

From a not so secret book.

And after Wicked, I'll also be vending jewelry at the Palimspest book launch party. Also in chains.


I miss my old photo rig. There's a hold on my moving date, I should unpack it and photograph some of my new stuff anyway.

<3 Me

Happy Valentines/Singles Awareness Day!

Whether you have a someone or not, Feb. 14 is about love. If you are a single person confused by this statement, stop by my other blog The Sassy Spinster for my Singles Awareness Week Blogathon!

Hearts and loves are definitely in season, so let me share a few of mine:

Wicked Faire! Hooray!!

I'm in the middle of real estate hell, but there is one gleaming light of hope to look forward to:

The Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire, February 20-22nd in Whippany, NJ! Now open on Sunday!

Attractions include ME ;-), other awesome vendors, and lots of great performers and artists. The Lazersword Continuum, Voltaire, White Elephant Burlesque Society, and Repo: The Genetic Opera, with Terrance Zdunich in the flesh! Plus author Catherynne M. Valente, and spectacular steampunk events!

This year's theme is Wicked Chocolate Factory ;-), and I'm totally prepared.

Unfortunately, with all the packing, I am without my usual awesome photo setup. But here are some raw clues to what special pieces I'll have at the fair:







(Please don't eat the jewelry.)

Furthermore, I'll have some fine pieces based on The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice, one of Cat Valente's latest books. And by request of the author I'll have several of these:

Djebah, coins from the city of Marrow:


I was a little ... bored the night I made these, so they also glow in the dark. Yay for polymer clay.


For my online onlookers who can't make it to the fair this year- what I don't sell at Wicked will eventually end up in my Etsy shop. Also, I can make more tasty looking pieces if there is interest and demand. Just ... not this month.

Right now, my stock is still accessible, but my craft and jewelry supplies are all packed up. I'm so bored.

<3 Chrysilla

Back from limbo, again!

Eeek, sorry I've been away. I was house hunting for several months, but now I'm back. And *almost* closed on a deal for a co-op in Queens. Once I get the new home (and the new workshop! SQUEE!) set up, there will be a LOT more action goin' on here :-)

In the next few months, Catherynne Valente's new book Palimpsest is coming out (trust the link, it's an unsubtle story waiting to happen), which means I'll have a lot more storybook pieces to work on. Also, some fun commission work is coming together.

To tide you over, I <3 these Etsy Widgets!

Etsy Buy Handmade QueenoftheCatPeople

<3 Chrysilla

The Salon Convention!

So as I understand it, there is lots going on this weekend. Fannish events, fighting events, cosplay events. However, many of these seem to be out doors, and in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, PA) September is a tricky month for weather.


So if it's too wet for you to wear your silk and chain mail outside this weekend, come down to Sommerset NJ for The Salon Convention on Saturday September 13th!

Corsets! Kilts! Kimonos! Evening wear! Day wear! Underwear (pls check the dress code on that one)! Ballgowns and masks! Victorian! Goth! Lolita! Steampunk! Art Noveau! Pleather and lace!

Not to mention a whole day of programming. There will be salons, readings by famous authors, a performance by NY Jedi, a performance by the White Elephant Burlesque Troupe, a BPAL meetup, concerts, a cream tea, a masked ball, and horseshoes! Furthermore, a hall full of vendors of fine wearable art and decorative objects!

Catherynne Valente! Abney Park! Queen of the Cat People! ;-)

Why not you?

It's better than catching consumption out in the rain. TRUST me on this.

http://www.salonconvention.com/

See you there :-)