Spring Kinda Sprung?

We're supposed to have snow tonight in the city, but prior to this blast, it was starting to actually look like spring.  The weekend before last, I got my garden cleaned and flipped by beds; and this last weekend, I planted one side (with winter tolerant things like kale, lettuces, radishes...), and worked on lowering the pH of the bed where I will later plant tomatoes and peppers.

Also, there will have to be new herbs.  Both my rosemary plants died in the cold, and my oregano, nearly 7 years old, seems to have not made it through.  My regular thyme may have also passed, though the lemon thyme seems fine; as is the sage.  This kind of puts a severe damper on the herbal components in my Magic Vial Pendants when my garden is reduced to thyme, lavender, and sage.  With this cold snap, it will still be a few weeks before I can get bedding plants.

That said, after the time-change, I have noticed an up-tick in energy and creativity, which is a good sign.  The other weekend, after gardening, I put some work in on a long neglected drawing of a dragon, and started a new watercolor painting of a unicorn.  Most likely, neither of these will end up on etsy, but it's a good sign for productivity.

Speaking of, obviously trying to be a bit better about blogging over here, though most of my blogging energies are still going to keeping up the 3-times-a-week updates over at South Eats North, my foodie blog.  Having a chronic addiction to eating everyday means there's normally something to blog about most weeks, whether it's recipes or restaurant reviews or whathaveyou.

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I've also been poking around on pinterest more, in need of aesthetic inspiration.  It may officially be spring, but it still looks cold and grey up here, and that's not very inspiring or motivating.

It was actually through pinterest that I found out about hair chalking and this etsy seller:  Sexy Hair Chalk.

I haven't yet played with hair chalk, so I can't really say anything much on it, except it looks cool, and I look forward to playing with it this summer.  Here is a WIKIHOW about how it works.  There's lots of how-to's on google, and on youtube.  I admit, I'm surprised it will work on non-blondes, and am trying to figure out what colors might work with my red hair?

The above is her wheel of available colors, and she has lots of listings whether you want to just buy one stick for $1.49 (some colors on sale), or buy a big set of $48 for $39.99.  I'm personally trying to think about maybe just 2 or 4.  It's just a matter of deciding on which colors; but what a fun way to play with color without worrying about weird looks at the office!  

I'm alive!

I know this is my most neglected space, and that's saying something considering how the new 4 pendants I just put up on my etsy site are the first 4 since spring!  I'm taking a moment to make a go at updating here, though, as well, since I just updated my DeviantArt gallery and blog.

Mostly, I'm doing semi-OK with keeping the Izile's Oddities Facebook Fan Page updated on a semi-regularly basis.  I did a Halloween costume give away!  That was fun!  And the not-for-sale artsy things (some unicorn art, mostly, and other sketchy-doodles) made their way onto the DeviantArt gallery over a month ago.

As far as blogging, I'm mostly working on keeping a regular schedule on my South Eats North blog, about food.  It's proved fairly difficult to keep up with that, but I'm making a real effort, and over the past summer/fall I've found myself a lot more passionate about food - especially due to my whole conflict over not sure if I want to keep being a customer on etsy - I mean, I guess I can just not leave feedback on anything I buy.  Just tell the artist in a note "hey, this is great, I love it, but I'm not leaving feedback because I don't want the entire internet to see my entire purchase history."  - This also gets more tricky as I don't want people who know I shop on etsy looking through my purchases (which would now be public), and seeing if they can figure out what I bought them.  It's dubious that would happen - but I know some people are sneaky that way.  So, I'm trying to reconcile my "must shop small business" mantra with "desperately want to keep every shred of privacy I still have" need.

That said, I did put up four new Magic Vial Pendants this weekend.  Mostly rehashes and variations of past favorites.

I make these vials just about every winter.  For one, I love forests and trees and how this vial seems to be a bit of an upside down tree.  I also love how beautiful cedar wood looks in the oil; and cedar wood is something that I can use all winter long, and has great properties of protection and purification.  Sad I could never work out the cedar/cinnamon bath salts the way I wanted them.  That, combined with the chrysocholla and peridot, beautiful contrasting green stones for earth, life, regrowth, vitality of nature . . . it's just a good feeling vial.

I also made a Clear Seas (aquamarine, pearl and lemon balm), Eternal Sunshine (sunstone, citrine, and immortal flower), and a variation of the Snow White vial I had made that was really popular, but finding snow quartz has been a bit difficult, so I'm trying one with white moonstone instead - still black onyx, one ruby and a rosebud.  Still a great looking pendant for those who love the fairytale princesses.  (I tried making a Sleeping Beauty one, but it went over less favorably, and I never got around to designing more fairytale princesses, though, I still want to, one day.)

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As for shopping on etsy - it's up to you.  I still encourage people to shop small business and independent artisans whenever possible.  Some people don't care if everyone can see that they spent $XX.xx on _____ .  Others are more secretive - like I said, I guess you could always just send your feedback privately to the seller, so they know you liked it, but you're not giving up your privacy.  I dunno.  I'm still unhappy with etsy on this point, but I think they're committed to this path more than to however many artisans they've pissed off.

My friends over at Dark Side Customs have been rolling out some GREAT new designer pieces with some amazing original flare and artistry.  If you're in the greater NYC area, they also show up at a lot of fairs and markets, so you can always try and keep an eye on where to find them locally (bypass all middle-men).

Speaking of gifts - take a tired old cliche of a gift and turn it on its head.  Cyberoptix is a shop promising you "ties that don't suck."   There are quite a few really great designs in both silk and microfiber; not to mention bow ties, because bow ties are cool; and even scarves for the truly tie-phobic.  

Me, I just saw Gravity, and the s/o is a big space-guy, so these two pictured below, I think are my current favorites.  There are hundreds of entries and variations, though, so go and see for yourself!  

 

(project Mercury rocket schematic)

(Apollo cockpit print, in red)  

Happy Vernal Equinox!!

The first day of spring, even when the wind still carries an icy blast, just knowing the sun has rounded that point makes it feel more tolerable.

What better way to celebrate spring then joining a bunny-themed spring blog hop! (like I did with the Snowflakes previously).  As you can see I have changed out the Follow the Snowflakes icon on the side bar to the Chase the Rabbit icon!  And a white rabbit at that, wherever might they lead you?  (Hop the link and go see!)

Small side note, I will be doing a Fairy Treasure Chest give-away on my Facebook Fan Page just as soon as I hit 300 fans (only need 3 more!)

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First, let me start by saying there is no shortage of rabbit-themed-ness on etsy.  If you're a fan of lagomorphs, you are in luck.  That stated, obviously I wasn't able to comb through even half of the results the search engine threw at me.  So, here's some of my favorites that I stumbled across.

Limey Ts caught my attention first with her fanciful and playful designs.  As shown in the picture here, this artistic feel combined with simple lines makes for a very charming item.  Also of note is that all the shirts are Eco-friendly, and hand printed with water based inks.  A bevy of other cute woodland creatures and sprays of botanical themes decorate just over 3 pages of shirts and prints.

And giving me a through-back and a chuckle from my childhood, Petimagery is home of hand painted pet rocks.  Shown here are their family of bunnies in a basket.  There's a good bit of detail to the works, and, as an added bonus, the artist does offer to paint custom pieces from photographs of actual pets.  She does do regular portraits as well, not all just on stone.

And if you like your rabbits a little darker, a little stranger, well then I think that Hi Horse - art by Andrice Arp might be more up your alley.  The picture shown here is just one of a few rather darker paintings of bunnies, or bunny-men or similar.  The art is compelling and has a definite feel of a bygone years.  There are a number of full-color pieces as well as a series of faux-woodblock prints of dead presidents as dogs. I think aside from the bunnies, the pieces featuring aliens are probably some of my favorite, they remind me of the old sci-fi alien horror movies of the 50s.

Red and White

That time of year and I always just love the way strong reds look against clean whites.  Maybe it's that strange Snow-White fixation that's so common with love of contrasts; the look of blood upon the snow.  Ah, and snow - we finally got a little of it this weekend here in NYC.  Not a lot, and it didn't last long, but my garden was tiny drifts of white for a couple of days.  I'm now left torn between wanting at least one more snow, a good one, with real deep pillowy dunes; and spring with budding little flowers breaking through thin frost and fleet feathery flurries.

Well, since my rubies finally came in for Valentines Day projects, I've made a couple of red and white themed vials.  Every year I make a couple of Lil Love mini vials pendants with rubies and pearls.  I love the symbolic mix of the passion and joy of the rough rubies with the purity and loyalty of the smooth pearls.  Topped off with some flecks of red rose petals and sterling silver wire.  It's one of my favorites to make.

And of course, a variant for the full-sized bulb-bottom vials is always a fan-favorite.  For this one, I have had a surplus of creamy opals, which with their little flecks of fire and versatility combined beautifully with the deep red rubies and a whole red rosebud and the classic silver swirl of wire.

Blood and snow, flowers and frost, it's still a little early yet, but I guess that's where my thoughts are turning.

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Along those lines, I found a new etsy shop that I'm loving - oddly off pinterest this time, and not through my regular grueling searching through page after page on etsy.

Gardens of Whimsy is right in there with my thoughts turning towards early flowers; and it doesn't hurt she's also a redheaded crafty Brooklyn-girl, too ;-)

The majority of her shop focuses around floral hair accessories, whether crowns, clips or pins.  While there is a definite nod to bridal customers, there are many pieces that would look more in place with cosplay or a ren faire than a wedding aisle.  The elfling in me also appreciates an entire section dedicated to more fae creations.  (I am also totally envious of her ability to style her hair so great - and take such awesome pics herself! I have a LOT of hair and I'm doing good when I can get it into a fishtail braid!)

She has a huge history of sales (this is definitely a "new to me" entry) so if nothing catches your eye immediately, you might want to give it a peek.  She does do custom orders, though I'd read her policies page first.

Me.  I think I need to go back on pinterest and see if I can find more step-by-step instructions on how to put my hair up in swanky ways while I try and make up my mind.

USPS Strikes Again!

So, for those who hadn't heard, the USPS is having yet ANOTHER fare hike.  This time focused primarily on international shipping charges.  It will not be a small one, sadly.  This blog HERE has a great calculator set up so you can see the differences in the price now and as it will be next week.  As an example, a 1-2 oz bubble mailer being shipped from Izile's Oddities here in the US, to someone right over the border in Canada used to cost about $3.00.  The new price will be $6.16.  Yeowch!!  UK and Australia (my other two biggest international shipping destinations) aren't looking any better, either.

So, starting tomorrow (Friday, 1/25/13), I'm going to start the process of adjusting all my international shipping charges to reflect the new USPS "please bend over" system.

Fun.

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Completely unrelated, but fantasy artists are really starting to grow back, and I love finding new fantasy artists.

The Faerie Market is one of those new-to-me sellers, and I thought I'd share some of her awesomeness today.

She describes her shop as "nature inspired" and predominantly works in the fiber arts.  Embroidered flower and leaf hair pins and headbands make up a bulk of the shop in the under $50 range.  There's a wide variety of colors, styles, types of leaves (you could actually identify some plants by the detail she puts into her fabric leaves).

And if you have a little more room in your budget, she has some gorgeous and very fae scarves made to look like you're wrapped in the woodlands, themselves.  They vary not only in colors but also in foliage styles, to give a look that could work with any season.  To give you an idea, I've picked two different leaf scarves that I think show a fall vs spring feel.

There are also more "sparsely" leaved scarves for those who might prefer a simpler line with only one ornamented floral point.  Regardless of your color preferences or wallet capabilities, it's a great shop to go check out and see something new in the fantasy arena!

Vintage and Etsy - a Warning / Lecture

I normally stay pretty benign on my posts; but once in a while I get a hair in a bad place and have to say something.

Winter is creeping on, and I'm a big fan of vintage clothes, especially coats.  Plus, my Mom just brought me a box and a garbage bag full of old small vintage pieces some for crafting, some for resale.  I've been pouring over ebay for a bit, with a good deal of frustration, and hitting flea markets and vintage shops (I miss the thrift stores of the South - they were gold mines), and then I turned to etsy.

Holy retro metaphor in place of an expletive, Batman!  Vintage sellers on Etsy are more loony-toons than the people who run the Vintage Consignment Shops in Manhattan!!

Now, I'm not just saying this from the point of view of a buyer.  One of those life-times ago, before NYC, I dealt and studied in some great detail various bits of Vintage accessories.  My Mom was an avid and studied collector as I was growing up of certain vintage goods (mostly costume jewelry, glass, silver and china; about which I learned some).  So, really, as a warning to buyers, and as a heads-up to sellers (and just to get it off my chest so I know it's out there somewhere), let me go over a couple of points about how to tell if you are price gouging or being price gouged when it comes to vintage goods.

1.  When it comes to vintage fashion accessories, be it jewelry, coats or other, CONDITION IS EVERYTHING.  I'm sorry, your 1940's rhinestone pin that is missing a lot of stones and has a broken back is NOT worth even $20.  Likewise, your 1950's swing coat with bell sleeves and mink trim with a giant tear in the fur is NOT worth hundreds of dollars; it's not worth $50.

If a man came up to you and said, "Hey! A long time ago, I bought this diamond ring, and it was really pretty, but the stone fell out.  BUT, I paid a lot of money for it a long time ago, and that should mean something, right?" Wrong.  Would you pay it?  No! You shouldn't! And he's a fool for asking!

2.  STUDY.  Just because something is vintage doesn't mean it's automatically worth a lot of money.  There are rhinestone pieces from the 40's, that are in fine condition, but they're really not worth more than $10-$20.  They're fine pieces, great for beginners, probably small, simple, colorless, not signed.  Just because it's vintage doesn't mean you should pay $50+ for ANY item, even in good condition.  Now, if you see a red rhinestone, large, perfect condition vintage pin and you flip it over and see the name "Eisenberg" and they're asking $50, grab it! Odds are you're getting a real steal, there!  How do you know the difference?  Get a book, search the internet, the information is out there, and it's best to be an informed buyer.  You can't really expect most sellers to be scrupulous and well educated and fair (I know, I expect to much of my fellow sellers), but at least if you educate yourself in the stuff you like, you can know when to walk away.

Here's just a few random vintage points to consider:

* Vintage jewelry with missing stones, or dead stones, especially if there is no name on the piece, should be greatly discounted.

* Broken jewelry is broken jewelry.  It doesn't matter when it was from, if you can't fix it, it's not worth it.

* Torn clothes are the same way.  Most people, in regular clothes, can tell the difference between a split seam that can be repaired and disintegrating fabric that will only keep decaying into nothing.  However, for some odd reason, when it comes to vintage fur pieces, people lose their minds and don't realize that most of the time with vintage pieces, a ripped pelt = irreparable trash.  If you're lucky, you'll find a crafter who just wants to cut it up and make teddy bears out of it, anyway, but, you've got a big piece of junk, and it should be priced accordingly.

* Nothing made out of rabbit that isn't brand new should ever cost more than $50.  Rabbit skins are thin, they shed when new, and they dry out, crack, split and decay really quickly.  Never waste your money on anything rabbit skin unless it's really cheap, or you don't mind that it's most likely going to start falling apart within a year or two, tops.  The older the rabbit item is, the more likely it would be better off in a compost bin.  If you just want a little throw-away piece that you don't care if it lasts more than a season or two, and you see it for $20 or under, go ahead, grab it.  But people asking hundreds of dollars for old rabbit coats are trying to rip you off.

3.  Speaking of furs, just because it's fur doesn't mean it's worth a lot of money; or any money for that matter.  Furs are like cars, they depreciate hugely just for leaving the show room.  Within 2 years of age, furs lose 80% of their value.   You wouldn't try and sell your 10 year old car (assume 20K retail) after a couple of minor fender benders for $10,000 - no one would buy it, nor should they.  And retail does vary type to type, like with cars.  You have a better job of reselling your 10 year old Corvette for a better percentage than you do your 10 year old Hyundai Accent.    This kind of goes back to research.  A mink coat in great condition (NO tears! NO drying, NO cracking, NO shedding, NO bald spots, NO "stiff" feel when you squeeze it between your hands, No split seams or loose seams!) that originally retailed for $5-10K, will resell for $4-600.  yes, HUNDRED, NOT thousand.  However, fox? Sorry, fox decays almost as badly as rabbit, and it's so fluffy it's hard to examine unless you know furrier methods.  A little, blue fox short jacket (like you see ALL OVER ebay and etsy, too) with the ribbing that used to retail for $600-ish brand new back in the 70's/80's, you really shouldn't pay more than $50-$75 for one of those unless it's in absolute great condition and the person can guarantee that.  I can see if it's in pristine condition, the seller can guarantee it's been kept in cold storage (which slows the decay/rot process) and has it cleaned and glazed, AND it's a little different than the standard (maybe color, or the leather ribs between pelts are really tiny and infrequent, or a really nice big collar. . . something) then MAYBE it could be worth as much as $125; but it would have to be an exceptional example to be worth that much.  People asking several hundred dollars? Rip off.  They're trying to get you to buy their dented 2000 Hyundai Accent for only 20% off the original MSRP.  You wouldn't buy the car, don't buy the coat.

4. Ask questions!  Sometimes it's that the seller doesn't know and hasn't bothered to educate themselves, sometimes they just forgot to put something down.  Exact measurements are crucial in ALL kinds of vintage accessories because not only was sizing different back then (not that women's sizing makes a lick of sense currently), but people were smaller.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ONE SIZE FITS ALL.  Learn your measurements (including those of your hands and your head if you want to look at hats and gloves, they're both notoriously a couple of inches smaller than the average person today can wear) - and always ask for the proper measurements for any item.  Even check those vintage rhinestone pieces!  Many of those 30's-40's non-choker necklaces still only have 12-14" on them; and bracelets can frequently be under 6 or even 5 inches long.

Well, I guess that's enough of that for now.  I just get frustrated seeing so many people, either through ignorance or through malice trying to rip off other people.  It takes so little effort to just read and do a little study, especially with google, today, to see if you're over-pricing your stuff, or if someone's trying to sell you something that just plain isn't worth it.

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I'm not really sure how to tie a plug into this little rant. . .

I have a seller I really want to plug right now, but I'm actually going to give her her own whole post, no babbling from me, because it's one of those rare etsy sellers where I've actually seen their stuff in person, and bought her products and can vouch that everything she does is *AMAZING*

All I can think of for this post is to show you an example of a GOOD seller who is selling things at a completely sane and un-gouge-y manner.  (For a reference, I've already gone through 200 pages of vintage stuff and have yet to find a good example yet. - I mean, really, the inflated hipster flea market in Williamsburg is half the price of most these items! And those items are already well over what you *SHOULD* pay)

Well, it's a bit hit-and-miss out there, but no one's going to agree all the time.  Dancing Brushes, who normally makes painted mailboxes, does have a small vintage section which seems to be right on point for price.  She even has one of those little short blue-fox jackets with the strips of leather right at $55.

Hey Darlin is another that's got a lot of very fair priced vintage pieces, but a few that seem just a bit on the high side - not crazy high, just a little, and they seem to be in the minority.  Her entire store is dedicated to vintage, so there's lot of variety.  There is one secret treasure on her shop that she seems completely unaware of, that the savvy shopper who's done their research will find quite a deal! But I'm not spoiling the secret ;-)

I'm also giving a nod to Yesterday's Resurrection for having some fun different stuff (see her "Random Awesomeness" section), and for recognizing a 90% great item with the 10% wrong kind of damage should = HUGE discount.  She has a really lovely mink coat for $35, because it has a tear in one of the pelts.  Not a split seam, a tear in a skin (normally denotes "cancer" - as in, patch it and it'll just split again on the other side of the patch, and again, and again. . .)  However, for $35, if you're good with a leather needle, you could cut it up, find the parts that haven't gotten the "cancer" yet and make some awesome recycle artsy/craftsy things! Or add it to your Renaissance Festival costume! Or any other cosplay!  I even heard of a woman who used a torn old fur coat to line a pet bed for her puppy.  The recycling options are plentiful!

And after 400 pages of entries, I think I'm calling it a night.

Good luck!

Hearts and Flowers

No, not exactly getting an early jump on Valentine's day.  It just so happened that my vial supplier had a few new styles.  I only bought a couple of 1 new style, figured I'd try them out slowly; after all, business isn't exactly booming for anyone outside of the top 1% these days.

But, I did get some heart-shaped vials.  I made a Heart of Love, with rose quartz, a little ruby and a red rosebud; and Heart of Creativity, with garnet, opal and a red rosebud.  The 2nd one seems to be the most popular (going by favs on etsy and on deviantart), so it is shown here at left.  These new vials don't have loops in the corks, so a bail is on the back of the vial, formed out of (in this case) brass wire.  (the other pendant is sterling silver).  So, hopefully these will go over well!

I also have some more sterling silver being shipped in and hope to have a few more traditional pieces in shop in the next couple of weeks.  I'm finally going to attempt the dreaded task of setting opals (they are very soft on the Mohs' scale and easy to accidentally scratch of break when setting, so, I'm a little nervous!)

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As for today's plug, I know I've plugged Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab before (they do have an etsy shop as well as their own website!) But I don't think I've ever plugged the Black Phoenix Trading Post etsy shop before.  And today, they've been listing t-shirts left over from years and years of full moon designs.

See, every full moon, Black Phoenix makes a perfume to commemorate that full moon, whether it's Strawberry Moon, or Dragon Moon, or Moon of Small Spirits, or whathaveyou; and to go along with that, the Trading Post prints up a companion t-shirt.  These are only sold for about 3 days a month.  So, the chance to go back and look for your favorite missed opportunity is a really nice touch!

Shown here at right is their Candles Moon t-shirt from February 2010.  I actually bought this one back at the time, and it is one of my favorite t-shirts!  Currently the etsy shop has only put up the babydoll style v-neck t-shirts (the base shirts are from Bella, if anyone else is familiar with the company.  It's a good, sturdy, not too light weight t-shirt.)  I believe they have said that straight line crew neck and possibly even some tissue tees will be listed as they go back through the old stock.  Supplies are very limited, and not all designs are available in all sizes.  A great opportunity to get in there and grab something special!

Shiny!!

This quickie blog post is almost no blog and all plug today.

See, for years and years, back since livejournal days, I found through various friends this amazing lady on LJ who made ridiculously great costumes, lots of fairy and elvish stuff, too.  Every few years, I seem to stumble upon her website, drool over all the gorgeousness.  Not long ago, through another completely random friend, I found her new Facebook, and immediately started following.  Then, this morning, I saw an update (she's now working on fantasy jewelry, too) that included a link to an etsy shop!

She created her etsy shop a week ago.  YAY!!!!  It's mostly just the fantasy jewelry right now with a few pairs of her awesome costume wings - but also make sure to check out her .com after you've looked over her etsy shop.  She's still around after all this time for good reason!

Firefly Path, by JoEllen aka Lillyxandra, welcome to etsy and I hope you blow a whole new level of customers away with your awesome!

Oh, and the piece from this morning that caught my attention and lead back to the new etsy shop?  Her Autumnal Equinox necklace, GORGEOUS!

Happy Unicorn Appreciation Day!

Yeah, I'm a ThinkGeek fan.  But long before Think Geek, I was a unicorn fan.  I was probably a unicorn fan before I was much else, as I think my sister put my very first unicorn in the crib with me before I can remember (I've just always had Uly).

Since I'm still at my day job, so even if I drew a new unicorn sketch right now, I couldn't scan it, I leave you with an older Photoshop painting I made, trying to recreate one of my favorite childhood prints.  I kinda amped up the background as I was playing with lots of cool new Photoshop brushes at the time; but one of my favorite pieces of art as a litle girl was this gorgeous unicorn on a starry background, printed on veeeeery fine foil, which meant it didn't hold up to childhood affection very well.  So this is me trying to mimic it to the absolute best of my ability in Photoshop (based on scanned line art)

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Etsy is full of unicorns  (yay!) If you look under vintage, you can find some real 80's unicorn art (even a couple of Sue Dawe pieces! (She was my favorite unicorn artist in the 80's/90's.  I wouldn't have a Lisa Frank folder for school - I had to have Sue Dawe folders!!)

But, there's a lot of stuff under the Handmade, too.  Out of curiosity, and to narrow things down, I searched "80's unicorn."

Love1111 (no given shop name) I had to mention because of her use of Vintage 80's cartoon fabrics.  I saved up as a very small child for over a year to buy myself the sheet set that she has made into this skirt shown at left.  (Yes, my parents were amazing parents who when I whined and cried for special unicorn sheets told me I'd have to save my own money if I wanted them.  And I was like 6 or 8.  And guess what, I wanted them bad enough that I *DID*.  I saved the money grandma gave me and picked up extra chores around the house (like picking up sticks out of the yard before Dad had to mow for $0.25 an hour - that was the agreed rate, but they normally always rounded up and gave me a $5) and saved and saved until I had over $100!  My parents were so impressed and I was so proud of myself!  I will always remember it - and somewhere back at home, these sheets are still rattling around in a closet somewhere.  Too bad they are for a twin bed, otherwise I might still have them ;-)

She also has Care Bear, Strawberry Shortcake, Cabbage Patch, Smurf, Rainbow Brite and a bunch of other nostalgia fabrics!

 

I also have to give a nod to Tinrobo Designs for their nod to classic G1 My Little Pony.  Gusty was always one of my favorites (along with her "sisters" Glory, Moondancer and Majesty.  They made up the royal family in my My Little Pony world.)  The shop actually has a lot of MLP stuff, though most of it is the more currant My Little Pony that is so popular.  (I have to admit, I feel a bit like a MLP Hipster, because I started with the first original 6 ponies and collected tons of them; and while I do like the new cartoon, I don't think the art style or the cartoon and DEFINITELY not the style of the toys are anywhere near as good as the original.  I also like that old school MLP would get really dark with their villains.  Tirek of Midnight Castle was seriously scary on a child's scale!)  

And no collection of 80's unicorns would be complete without a nod to one of the best Unicorn movies of all time (and best books, too!) The Last Unicorn!  This beautiful necklace is made by The Tamerlane.  I also appreciate the shop tagline "wearable oddities."  ;-)  The shop has a very interesting mix of items and style (little steampunk, little victorian for sure); but this is their only unicorn piece.  They do have other necklaces in this style, mostly of nebulas or galaxies.  Very pretty!

So, I hope I've shown a nice little sampling of unicorns for your Unicorn Appreciation Day!

New Addition to Etsy

If you saw my last post you know I had just started making prong set Sterling Silver and gemstone jewelry.  Well, I've made a couple of more steps!  First, I tried a set of "snap-tite" style sterling silver settings.  You see these all over etsy (though not all sellers actually tell you outright they're using them, but they're pretty distinctive looking, so they're easy to spot once you do a little research).  So, here are my sterling silver and peridot snap tite stud earrings:

They literally took less than one minute to put together, so easy!  And while they are nice, and the stones are gorgeous, I just thought that this wasn't the way I want to go.  I'm doing this to learn and progress.  It was a step in my education I wanted to try for myself; but having used them once, I don't really think I want to keep using them.  However, I posted them on FB, and a friend of mine bought them off me in a heartbeat! ($10 in case you were curious, slight friend's discount.  But really, the snap-tite settings are so inexpensive, there's no reason to charge a lot for them, unless you've got seriously expensive stones in them.)  

So, then I made a second pair of stud earrings, this time with traditional cast sterling silver prongs:

These took a lot more time and effort to get right, but I think in the end, this way is worth it!  And these are the first pair to be put up on my etsy shop!  I have a lot more pictures, too, including a louped photo so you can see the garnets better.  You can see the full set of pictures, description and details HERE.  They're good sized studs, sterling silver, and genuine, nice, clean, deep garnets; but I am still learning, so I'm only asking $30 for this set.  (They will also be repolished/buffed before shipping)

Next, I am working on a very special necklace for my Mom.  The sterling chain and jump rings should be in any day now, as is the special magnetic clasp (she has pretty bad arthritis in her fingers, so I thought that's a nice touch, to not have to worry and try and fidget with tiny lobster claw clasps that can even give *me* fits, and my fingers are still 100% nimble!)

After that, I'm going to try and make a ring, and a necklace to put on etsy.  I'm also going to be learning about setting other gem shapes.  (I'm excited to set the big 10 mm trillion! And I have some gorgeous london blue topaz emerald cut stones that I think will also become studs - I know, I don't even have any piercings, but they seem like a good starting point!) 

Also on my etsy shop, I did make one of my Magic Vial Pendants using cut/polished gemstones.  I said I was going to, and I did have some gems that had chips or deep scratches on their table or crown, so I couldn't set them; but I don't think I'll be doing another one.  It takes so many gemstones to fill up even the smallest vial I have; it makes them much more expensive than the raw gem ones I normally make.  But, it's a nice creativity vial, with garnet and citrine and lots of opal, in 14K gold-filled wire!  Next time, I might stick mostly to raw gemstones, but include a single cut gemstone as an interest.  Like, I'm not much on heart jewelry, but I have a few gemstone hearts.  So maybe throw in a nice small cut/faceted gemstone heart in the mix - might be especially nice for a Love themed vial!

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Since it's started to get hot, and I'm thinking of beaches in my future; and since I'm going to DragonCon again this year and am thinking of costumes . . . and I cannot remember, honestly, if I ever plugged them before or not:  Utopia Armoury!

I bought this from them!  As a nerd/geek/gamer girl, I have always wanted a chainmail bikini.  But, they also terrify me, as a girl who does not have a very secure ego.  However, all doubt was put aside when I tried theirs on.  For one, they are made of anodized aluminum and latex-free EPDM rubber, which means that not only are they waterproof, but it's light with just enough stretch in their to be supportive and uplifting.  I have a hate-hate relationship with most bra's as I've never been able to squeak up to a real 34B in my life.  However, these are custom made, their straps are adjustable (tie) and secure, and with the combination of materials, you end up with a happy little elfin girl who looked down and went: "Ow! Lookie! I have cleavage! *squee*!"

They also come in a wide variety of color combinations for you to mix and match.  I went with the green, black rubber and silver trim.  When I first got it, it was still cold out, and I didn't want to take it off!

Someone's in the Kitchen

That's where I spent a lot of time today. Made 2lbs of wings and a great batch of homemade butterscotch pudding. I always liked the cook and serve Jell-O butterscotch pudding until I used Gale Gand's recipe from her Butter Sugar Flour Eggs book. She's right, real butterscotch tastes almost nothing like the artificially flavored stuff you buy in a box; and ever since I tried her homemade version, I need the real thing. The smokey character, the way the flavor almost seems to morph in your mouth from first bite to last bite. For those of you who cook, try it sometime, you'll be a convert!

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Well, I love to cook, and I do actually own a very snazzy apron I love to wear when cooking that I plugged here and bought from Dianne Designer Aprons; but I have a rule about plugging new people in ever post, and I just found this new shop that also does aprons, but with a bit of a twist.

Haute Mess Threads showed up on my Facebook wall just the other day, due to my nerdy friendship with several Star Wars obsessives enthusiasts. Yes, that design looks a little familiar, doesn't it? And yes, there's a more golden companion piece in her shop, too. And a darth black apron in the same theme. Now, if you're not so much into Sci-Fi, there's also Wonder Woman, Alice in Wonderland, and even a Harry Potter Gryffindor uniform inspired apron. If you're less geek in your chic, there are plenty of playful and retro designs as well.

Adorable!!

From Faerie - Leanan Sidhe

The Leanan Sidhe are an interesting branch of study when looking over the various types of Fae. Most commonly these days, tales bend their mythology exceedingly dark, making them vampirish succubi. Mostly these confusions and different interpretations end up varying by location. Central and mainland Europe was much more given to the vampiric succubus stories, while the Irish treated her more as a life-giving spirit and source of inspiration. It was in later times that she was given the distinction of trading her love and inspiration to men at the cost of the shortening of their lives. However you prefer to think of your Leanan Sidhe (and there's almost as many spelling variations for her as there are interpretations of her nature), one thing holds over. She is the Fairy Sweetheart and seeks out mortal men to love her in exchange for her own love and gifts of inspiration and creativity.

I am working on a From Faerie product in tribute to the more favorable side of this particular Sidhe. Currently, I have the petals from 5 red roses sealed up in an airtight container with pink Himalayan salt, to desiccate the petals and infuse the salts with their natural oils. I'm not sure where I will go from there, just yet, but it is in the making.

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Leanan Sidhe and Bean Sidhe are probably two of the most widely known Irish fairy women in everyday society. Though, I think her sister, the Banshee (modern Anglo of Bean Sidhe) probably wins as the best well known, if not most commonly misunderstood, because of that, as well. But, sorry dear sister, today we are dealing with the Fairy Sweetheart. And while the proper name doesn't give very many results on etsy, some creative searches based around the meaning of the name did offer some relevant finds.

PixieGirl Felt and Clothing has some adorable hand felted hats and headbands that could definitely make you feel like a lovely fairy woman yourself. One of my favorites from her shop (pictured here) is this vibrant red headband felted from silk fibre, mohair and tussah silk. The shop has many color options as well as clothing and accessories. I would note, however, to be mindful of the S&H as they are based out of Australia. Etsy is international and you should always note where your crafts are coming from so there's no surprises during check out regarding international shipping.

Dreaming of Spring

So, I got a great review from the buyer of the GreenWoman scrub, so it prompted me to do another scrub. Sadly, spring is not due for some time, and so there is no fresh mint in my garden. So, thinking of a whole different type, I started with a base of my Himalayan pink salts (that I use in the Seelie bath salts) and ground them in with lavender buds, making a very fragrant mix of pink and purple. Then, for the extra fae element, threw in some fresh bicolored (yellow and green) lemon thyme, which is still alive in the garden, and blended that in as well with safflower and vitamin e oils. The end result is a lovely pink, purple and green salt scrub with a very lovely lavender-lemon thyme scent. It looks and smells like a spring garden, even if it is still another month or two away (depending on where you live.)

I also bought a new plant in my desperate pleas for spring to hasten thusly: a New Zealand tea tree plant! I am hopeful to soon make a couple of new Magic Vial Pendants taking advantage of the tiny plants tiny buds/flowers that look so very like extremely miniature roses. However, I have gotten a new day job and haven't yet had a chance to sit down and make my pendants since I bought the plant just this last weekend.

But, it is in the workings, though! And it gives me more time to read up and find out which gemstones would partner with it best.

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A little off to the side, but I think only a little, is I just found out one of my favorite dress shops in SoHo has an etsy page! And I say it's only a little off to the side because when I first found them, I found a blurb that had them self-described as ". . . a Victorian psychedelic fairy dream." and that seems pretty on target for me :-) So, I introduce, apparently built last September, MoMo FaLana of SoHo, now on etsy!

I actually went to the store once last summer and tried some things on, though sadly, very much unemployed at the time, the expense was not possible. However, I adore their work, it's beautiful and different and I've been thinking of taking a trip back now that I have more regular income.

The hardest part of plugging these designers, I have to admit, is picking just one dress to feature on the blog. It's a little easier since their etsy shop has a much more limited scope than the actual shop or their full gallery on their non-etsy website. (My favorite green and blue dress that I tried on last summer is not there, more's the pity.) This one, however, is a gorgeous example, though I don't think I'd ever be taken anywhere nice enough for one of their long gowns. Still, as a work of art, beautiful!

Back and Updating

Holidays are over, hope everyone had a good one and a great New Years Eve! Back in NYC and I'm slowly getting things back in order. Izile's Oddities is open again at etsy, and I've updated the DeviantArt page as well. Just refreshed all my entrecard advertising, and here I am a-blogging-away.

I'll have to get my own life in shape with banking and groceries and all that before I can start putting new things up on etsy, but they are coming. I've even picked out a new scanner/printer so I can finally launch that "From Faerie" (tentatively named) bath line. I was happy with the results of the Fairy Milkmaid Bath Soak I had mixed up and let cure for a good month or so. So all I need to do is top it off and make a label and my first prototype will be up on etsy. It won't be this week, or probably the next, but they are coming!

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But, otherwise, back to plugging random etsy-ers!

Well, we had our Western New Year, but the Chinese New Year isn't until February, and it will be the year of the White Metal Rabbit! Let us hope the rabbit is kinder than the tiger was.

Most unique and awesome result for searching "white metal rabbit?" Awesome hat/mask made by Kristin Costa. This sculptural piece is one of a kind from her own "Alice in Wonderland" themed runway. Gorgeous piece, wish there were more photos.

Winter Woods

December is here, Happy Chanukah to those who celebrate it!

Just put up one new Magic Vial pendant - "Guardian Heart" and was splintering off some red cedar wood to finish it up. The rest is a blend of Obsidian glass and a single chunk of genuine Rub.

The garden has already started dying off, leaving me without basil or mint. The verbena is none too happy, either, and while the sage will be fine, it has stopped putting out fresh growths, which is where I find the

leaves small enough to fit in my bottles.

I need to go for a long walk through the "wilds" of the park and see about foraging winter woods from the ground debris. Maybe

while I'm home in Mississippi for Christmas, I can go wandering through a real old forest and maybe find some things there.

But, despite the cold and recent wet and wind, I feel the need to be amongst trees.

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That's an easy enough segue, isn't it?

I thought I'd start more specifically about cedar, because it's in the vial, and it was always a favorite back home. I remember when Mom was refinishing grandpa's old steamer trunks, she'd always redo the inside in red cedar. I still love going home in the winter, digging through the trunks that hold a wild variety of forgotten treasures and the warm smell of those old trunks.

Unfortunately, that scent is rather hard to synthesize, and I just ended up being a little frustrated and branching out more into the overwhelming general search of "trees." (Yes, Virginia, Izile spent many hours on this one little blog post, didn't she?)

The first thing I came across is a leather iPhone case. Now, I don't have an iPhone, but like everyone else does, right? (heh) Anyway, this is a beautiful piece of leather workmanship and a gorgeous peach tree. Tovicorrie's "Beautiful Skin" has a gorgeous selection of all leather iPhone, iPod and iPad cases as well as a few non-tech-centered leather items. The selections and designs are definitely worth looking through if you have any of those

tech pieces.

Slightly more abstract as how I got from "tree" to this is next plug is PetalMix who is self described as a maker of "hair accessories and brooch pins are a modern twist on the Japanese art of tsumami kanzashi." The "Wood Elf" piece is how I assume I stumbled across her shop (and is pictured at left), but there's a wide selection of colors, styles and fabrics, ranging from $17 to $40. Definitely worth the time to browse the options!

Holiday SALES & Schedule

First off is the Holiday Schedule for Izile's Oddities.

My etsy shop will be on hiatus from December 15/16 - January 5(?)

My last Post Office drop before I go back to the South will be early Sat., Dec 18th. In order to guarantee timely shipping, all purchases made before 15/16 must be paid in full by no later than Friday the 17th by 5pm, EST.

So, now, for the SALE BIT!

Starting tonight (11/28) until the time of hiatus, I will be offering 3 different holiday sales.

To participate in any of the sales, just enter the "code" and any other pertinent information into the "Message to Seller" field. Depending on which sale you choose, you may have to wait for an adjusted paypal invoice before you pay. Please, if you do not enter any code or information, I will assume you are opting out of the sale and charge you normally!

SALE 1) - Get your choice of any MINI-Print free with any purchase (while supplies last) - CODE: "Free Mini" + which mini you want

SALE 2) - 1/2 OFF all full-sized prints! CODE: 50 Off. First print purchase will get their choice of a free bonus surprise in either Japan theme or NYC theme. Second print purchase will get whichever bonus was not chosen by first purchaser.

SALE 3) - BOGO 1/2 OFF MAGIC VIAL PENDANTS! - Yup, bringing it back just for these couple of weeks. Buy any Magic Vial Pendant and get any other (of equal or lesser value) for HALF OFF! The 1/2 off magic vial MUST be a premade vial already available in shop, but the original purchase vial can be a pre-made or a custom order. CODE: BOGO

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I was a bit scattered in my searching today. I wasn't really sure in what direction I wanted to look for a fellow etsy-er to plug. I admit, I even tried being a little more abstract and doing searches of song lyrics. I guess it just gets daunting, sometimes, when you do a search and it gives you over 34,000 hits. (but you can get overly particular, there's a great lack in the "murano glass hair clip" results.)

In the end, I came back to the one theme that repeats itself so heavily this time of year: "Baby, it's cold outside!"

OK. It's not my sort of thing, and it's above the normal price cap I put on items I blog about, but Obey My Brain Creations MUST be obeyed and must be plugged! After pages and pages of etsy, to have something pop up, smack you in the face and grab your attention by the short hairs, wow. Yes, this must be shown to all.Now, I wasn't sure how to talk about this product though. I really think it's something that needs to be seen first, and I can only imagine the impact of seeing one of these in person, and then poor attempts at verbalizing should follow.

I'm even giving this shop the rare two picture feature, because he does have a hat option under $50. It, too, is of the sort that if seen in public, must be envied, applauded, and then the camera phones must come out, because there's no way you're describing this in a text message.

Rock on, Mr. Freeman! We're glad you're out there.

Zombies

Ahh, so life can now begin to get back into its rhythm. My family that was visiting left, and I had a lot of fun with some new friends at ZombieCon last night. Once I get the ol' bedroom cleaned up, I can start thinking about artsy stuff again.

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in the meantime, as there's still time before Halloween, some zombies from etsy.

I'm going to preface this by saying there are some amazing and very graphic zombie creations on etsy that I will not be featuring because I'm just not in the mood to try and handle that level of graphic rot and gore. If you like that, I recommend the zombie taxidermy heads. However, it's too early in the morning and my stomach is still unhappy from the zombie chicken wings at the Bawl last night.

It would seem like a crime to not feature Undead Ed and his shop on this theme. His pieces are still graphic and gory and very bloody. . . but they're toys. I was always a My Little Pony girl, so that's what I'm showing here. Other favorites in his 6 page shop of horrors include zombified

Care Bears, ninjas, baby dolls and rubber duckies.

And for those who prefer their zombies a little on the cute and cleaner side, Licorice Wits would be my recommendation. This

store displays impossibly cute hand painted wooden kokeshi dolls with a heavy leaning towards zombies and mummies. I liked the zombie nerd boy, pictured left.

And last for my feature, when one is joining a zombie horde, the question always is, "What to Wear?"! While I'm still wondering how much red tempera paint will wash out of blue jeans, you could buy designated zombie wear from Morose Melonhead . Her shop has pages of clothes that are cute, fun, pretty and even sometimes a little punky, creepy and of course, zombie. My favorite of her zombie inspired pieces is pictured here, but the style of her shop is eclectic enough that I think you really need to browse yourself to see.

Restless

So, I've been a bit restless as of late. I haven't known what I wanted to create or work on, really. I've had a bit of a window-shopping bug as well, but haven't found much I really like.

Either my google-foo has gotten weak, or there just isn't the variety of independent business on the internet that have much of a magical/fantasy/fae-esque twist to them - except in art and jewelry. I seem to remember there being lots more fantasy inspired clothing designers, bath/body/candle shops, and other things best filed under "miscellany," several years ago.

I want magic in everyday places where I'm not finding it. I want magical socks and fantasy bath products! And, on the bath/body product front, I don't want the same old formulaic, generic churn out you find in the scores. Shops that resale the fake resin fairy sculptures from the 'anyone can be a wholesaler' catalog are no more inspiring and magical than people who go to an online wholesale company and order premade bases for lotions, bath salts, oils, etc., and then just add another prepackaged premixed scent oil to the base.

Also. Adding glitter does not automatically make something "magical" or "in the fantasy genre."

I'm restless. I'll keep looking for whatever it is that I'm not finding, but it is frustrating, because I have the feeling that years ago, there was much more out there. I remember a website that I

used to love to look at called The Faerie Tree that had the most original, unique and beautiful customized parasols. I can barely remember anything about the website or the parasols, but I remember it was beautiful and different and I loved it and I think the internet is a lesser place that it's not there, and apparently hasn't been for years.

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Now, how can I possibly plug an etsy shop after that diatribe? Well, today, it's not easy. It seems everything I've been looking for, for myself and for others, is just coming up bust on etsy. (Not finding the kind of Celtic torcs/torques a guy friend has been looking for, nor a similar style leather kidney belt. Have found basically nothing under "scuppernong" at all. And fairiesque lacy parasols are non-existent as well.)

I DID, however, find a shop to add to my favorites list. When in my quest for the still intangible desire for God only knows what, I actually started clicking on almost every single banner ad I came across, and looped and looped around until it landed back on etsy at Dark Fusion Boutique .

Gothy, romantic, whimsical and playful with the occasional nod to steampunk, they really gave me a break from what was becoming weary work. It was a joy to look at their webpage and their esty branch. (Yes, they also have a .com HERE )

I think my favorite piece currently for sale in their etsy shop is this red and black striped halter. They have a lot of variations on this basic garment, however, so if it's not quite your style, definitely look over the shop for different models. And if you just want to look at something to help recharge your aesthetic batteries, visit the website

DragonCon

Yeah! Back, and I know, I was technically back on Wednesday, but it's been kind of weird/strange slow-ish week, and at least one day of hell.

So, first, I have yet to locate any *good* pictures of us from D*Con, have been scouring flickr and google and other as much as I can and so far, nada. So, if you see us, let me know. Might even throw in a thank you goodie of some kind.

So, a revamped of last year's Mad Scientists costume:

Goggles by: Darkly Sewn of Etsy

Both Lab Coat/Lab Coat Dress customs by: Aughra Moon (

roommate and pro seamstress)

Arm band Test Tube holder by: Lost Realm of Etsy

Thigh holster by: BoMoLuTra of Etsy

Raygun by: Agent of Chaos of Etsy

Boot spats by: Faitavec of Etsy

(and those are fiber optic hair clips I got off ebay, and the

pink stuff in the test tubes is X-rated, lovely neon pink vodka liqueur flavored with blood orange, mango and passion fruit. Nummy! And a nice way to spike a Sprite in the hotel lobby!)

And then there was our Steampunk costumes. This is our first year with them, and we'll both need a LOT of accessories before next year to up the steampunk factor.

Now, this is the ONLY picture I have of us in these costumes together, so this one is a HUGE - PLEASE - if you see a picture of us in these costumes, let me know! I don't know what happened, between my camera, Bentley's Iphone (which is one of the new ones with the actually decent camera) and our other friend, Mel's camera (this one was from hers).

Goggles by: Darkly Sewn of Etsy

Necklace, obviously by me, Izile's Oddities

Shirt by Lip Service Corset by: Timeless Trends

Skirt by: Aughra Moon (roommate and professional seamstress)

and Bentley's leather doublet and shirt are by: Ravens Wood Leather (he also wanted me to note that he did actual have pirate boots that he did end up wearing, they were just in the car and he hadn't gone and gotten them yet)

So, those were the costumes of this year, and those are all the etsy sellers who helped me put together these looks. And you know I'll be looking for more for next year!!

Also, one last thing. They aren't etsy sellers, but I love it so much I have to brag. DragonCon weekend always falls on Labor Day weekend, which is always my Birthday weekend (9/4), so while the whole trip is kind of a birthday present, this was my actual tangible birthday present from Bentley, from Brute Force Leather

DragonCon Prep

Also, getting ready for DragonCon! I go Wednesday to crash at a friend's place so we can take the bus together to the air port Thursday to Atlanta for a whole extended weekend of Geekish Fun!

I found this seller on etsy yesterday, as I had just realized that I hadn't even thought about what to do with my hair for my new steampunk costume. I love her stuff, unfortunately, I do not have time to buy anything and have it shipped before I leave. Maybe next time. This stuff is awesome, though!

Antickquities is a shop that focuses almost exclusively on steampunk hair adornments. They range in price from $5.00 to $20.00 and are made at various levels of ornamentation and in a few different colors. Mostly, watch hands are her base, but I absolutely love the way she creates different shapes with basically straight lines. If only I had found her in time, I'd probably be wearing these at DragonCon!