The sun sets and she appears...

Hello internets. Yes ... its been a while. A long while. Oops.

 This is me, trying to get back on the blog horse again. Like all those other times.

However, since October I've found a lot of new pieces in the jigsaw puzzle that is my physical & mental health, and my own personal brand of Chronic Fatigue. Wheat gives me hangovers, and yet I tested negative for celiac disease (but that's apparently not unusual). I've been diagnosed with a sleep disorder called Alpha Wave Intrusion, which barely any part of medical science has studied except to notice that it happens sometimes. Sweet potatoes give me tummy aches.*shrugs*

I also had a nice “Aha!” moment relating to the sleep disorder. Maybe the anxiety problems I had about five years ago aren't so much over with, but I've just somehow learned to ignore them better. And looking through my old self-help books on anxiety vs. depression rang a lot of bells.

So for right now I've decided to take a break from my social life, while maintaining home and work lives for my basic survival needs, but this time on purpose. I need to work out what's wrong with me and how to either fix it or live with it. Sacrifices had to be made, especially when it came to vending engagements and cons. But without so many distractions, I'm forced to examine where I am and what I'm doing, and its already starting to make a difference.

On the other hand, when I do get bits of energy back over the norm, I can just put that right into jewelry without being tempted by the outside world. Because it is a low-energy activity that I've loved for years, and things that make me happy and content are rare nowadays.

This means there will be blog and Etsy shop updates! Not sure how long they will last, but I've broken out my old seed beading skills for my lunch breaks, and went to the NY Whole Bead Show in March, so there will be new stuff. I even photographed all of it last weekend, with some new backdrops for my light box, which is about as exciting as it gets around here.

If you're interested in seeing my daily dance with chronic fatigue, and my latest adventure in organizing my life for maximum savings of “spoons”, plus tarot fun, take a look at my other blog:
Chrysilla on Dreamwidth!


If you're just here for the shiny stuff, here are a few tidbits to tide you over ;-)




Luv,
Chrysilla ;-)

Summertime, catching up!

Hello all! I hope your summers (or winters, on the other side of the globe) are full of awesome so far :-D

I've spent the whole summer so far trying to figure out, and maybe fix, my health problems. Results have been mixed to say the least. My symptoms persist, but some illnesses and common family problems have been ruled out. On the other hand, western medicine can't treat what it can't diagnose. So I've also been experimenting with a gluten free diet, cutting back on refined sugars, and seeing an acupuncturist.

This past weekend I finally had enough energy to photograph a backlog of 'new' pieces I finished between January and May, which had not sold at Wicked Faire of the Steampunk World's Fair.  So now I can finally upload them to the Etsy shop. Progress! Accomplishment! Hooray!

While I'm not sure if this means I'm definitely on the road to permanent recovery, or if I'll be able to get back into my old shiny habits again permanently, at least I have some shiny things to show you all for the next few weeks ;-)

And while this is by far NOT a financial emergency (bless you full time job and health care plan), purchases made in my Etsy shop definitely go towards medical costs and zillions of blood tests. So if you have room in your budget, go take a look around and thank you for your interest!

Luv,
Chrysilla

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

Still alive, promise!

Hello cobwebby web blog, I apologize for my continued absence!

On the downside, my exhaustion, brain fog, and lethargy went on much longer than September. It is actually still going on. I went to the doctor around Thanksgiving to ask if I had a hypothyroid disorder, because those run in my family. After many tests, some of which were botched or gave false positives and had to be done over, she finally called back in early January. "Actually, your thyroid is a tiny bit high. But did you know you had mono once?" Um... no? "Yeah, you don't have it right now, but you tested positive for the antibodies."

Now our working theory is that back in March-April 2011, when I had one very long-lasting sinus infection followed quickly by two smaller ones, I also or actually had mono. And the thing about mono is that there is no real treatment for it other than to stay home and sleep, the disease burns itself out within about a month. When it burns itself out, however, it burns you out with it. Many people get it actively for a month, but then don't feel up to snuff again for six months to a year afterwards. For some folks it becomes a chronic condition. But the good news is that I know what it is (was?) now, and the cause was no where near as bad as I feared.

I am the sort of person that feels most fulfilled, happy, and stable when they are doing things. When I feel stuck in a rut, I go out and do something new and different. Putting me in a situation where I physically and mentally can't go out and do new things, or even keep up with my usual things, is my own Special Hell. In fact, the only treatment for this condition is to not do things! So aside from the physical problems, I'm driving myself 'round the bend too.

I read up on Spoon Theory, and in counting my own spoons realized I had the energy for either jewelry production *or* internet marketing. Not to mention my camera is also out of whack. So I opted to make lots of new stock for Wicked Faire 2012, and that turned out to be a good and profitable decision. Faire was great this year! I'm glad I am getting back in the saddle for vending at events, but I still spent most of it sitting behind my table and let the con come to me.

Between con prep, some anxieties at work, and more anxieties at home, I was badly drained for the weeks following Faire. Again I put aside my writing and jewelry projects and opted for my less brain-active sewing habits (not to say that sewing is not creative, I see lots of people do incredible things with it, but I just match fabric + pattern and press buttons). And soon I will have to put all that away again to make more shiny things, because...


Good news: I have been accepted as a vendor for Steampunk World's Faire this May! My birthday is also that Saturday, so yay for being surrounded by my fellow costumed weirdos on my special day!

Less good news: That means putting production of shiny things over photos, Etsy, and blogging for a few more weeks or months until I'm feeling better.

Hopefull news: At *last* year's Wicked Faire, a fortune teller told me that I'd be sick for most of 2011. This year she told me I'd be feeling better within six months, and back to normal by next year. I was feeling a lot better after Winter Break, actually, but all that energy dribbled away again by late Februrary.


I really can't plan or forecast what's going to happen with my blog, twitter account, or Etsy shop. There is no plan to quit or take anything down, but I can't begin to guess when I'll have the energy and not-foggy brain to keep up with them again. Maybe next week, maybe this summer, maybe not until 2013. But I will still be making the shiny things, off grid for a while :-)

<3 Chrysilla

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 :-)

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.

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 :-/