Thependragonseye Crafts

Holding place

2010-05-20T09:25:00.003-07:00

Removing it from my swapbot profile but don't want to lose it.
I have done (and know how to do) the following crafts:
Sewing - by hand and machine;
Cross stitch;
Redwork embroidery;
Scrapbooking and other paper craft including ATC/ACEO;
Drawing/Sketching;
Watercolor Painting;
Pysanki - ukranian easter eggs;
Knitting;
Spinning;
Chocolate Molding;
Origami;
Floral Design;
Stenciling;
Block and silkscreen printing;
Small scuplture - with fibers and with Crayola Model Magic;
Collage;
Quilting;
photography;
food decorating (I'm newly into bento and love to have fun with icing.)

Making Pysanki

2009-04-20T11:03:00.001-07:00

Around easter time, I get the urge to haul out the Pysanki supplies and subject friends, family and aquaintances to the joy of wax resist egg dying. This year, I finally remembered to get photos of the process so I can inflict it on everyone!
First - you need the right tools. Empty egg shells, permanent pysanki dyes (this year's colors of choice: truquoise, scarlet and yellow), protection for your table (like my ugly and cheap blue table cloth), and a kitska - a metal drawing tool that holds the wax. Here you can see it being heated over a flame - that allows the wax to flow freely.

Next - plan your design. Pencils are helpful. Rubber bands can help give you nice straight lines.

Now for the wax resist process. Anything you put wax on will stay the color it is now.
White:

Then you dye it - light colors first.
Blue:

And add more wax and dye again.
Red:

If your colors are close in value, you can sometimes get them to dye combination colors. This year we managed a nice purple:

Finally, Melt off the wax and polish the egg. Be careful not to burn anything!
Isn't it beautiful?

2009-03-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

I hate when things get lost in the mail. The latest loss to the post office monsters was a mushroom themed apron with embroidery and applique. It's too sad that it's gone so I'm memorializing it here in photo form.

Kith's Crafts!

2008-08-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

Kith's chainmail is officially up for sale on ThePendragonsEye!
You can now buy his handcrafted keychains!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14660145

Tea time!

2008-08-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Isn't this awesome??
The tea comes out of the teacups so you can have either black or green tea. The cake in the top right is reversable - marble on this side and plain white on the other. And cookies and cupcakes. And tea sandwiches with cheese and pb&j.
The cross stitched menu was probably going overboard but it was fun.

Sent out for a Swap bot swap.

NEW CRAFT!

2008-07-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with felt food!
New in the shop: Felt Donuts
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13223526

Also played with mushrooms:
(these are NFS, they were mailed out for swapbot. But if you're interested, I'll make more!)

2008-04-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I updated. Been making ATC's for Swapbot.

Snowmen (atc's #13, 14, 15)

Teacups! Atc's 16, 17, 18, 19

Teapot atc's (#20, 21)

A 2007 Calendar swap (#22, 23, 24, 25, 26)

Metrocard (for a Used Cards swap) #27

Turtle #28

Pierced Fan #29

Spiderweb #30

El Geckito "Don't Panic" #31

Picnic basket #32

The Bamboo Cutter's Tale ATC's

2008-01-31T19:06:00.000-08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Japanese: 竹取物語; Taketori Monogatari) is a 10th century Japanese folktale, details the life of a mysterious girl called Kaguya-hime who was discovered, as a baby, inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant.
Thereafter, Taketori-no-Okina found that whenever he cut down a stalk of bamboo, inside he found a small nugget of gold. Soon he is rich, and Kaguya-hime grew from a small baby into a woman of usual size and extraordinary beauty.

Eventually, five princes come to Taketori-no-Okina's residence to ask for Kaguya-hime's hand in marriage. Though reluctant, she will agree to marry the prince who manages to bring her a specified item.

The first is told to bring her the stone begging bowl of the Buddha.

The second is told to retrieve a jeweled branch from the island of Hourai.

The third is told to seek the legendary robe of the fire-rat of China.

The fourth must retrieve a colored jewel from a dragon's neck.

The final prince is told to find the seashell treasure of the swallows.

101 ATC's #7,8,9,10,11 and 12

ATC update.

2007-12-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

101 ATC's:
#4 "I saw three ships"
#5 "Do not open till x-mas"
#6 "Christmas Wishes"

2007-10-03T11:14:00.001-07:00

Good Lord! International shipping through the US post is INSANE. I just nearly spent more shipping an item than I received for the item. Sadly, I'm going to have to remove international shipping from my shop until I can find a better alternative. I refuse to charge more for shipping than I'm charging for the item.

New Worry Dolls

2007-09-25T15:44:00.001-07:00

Three new ones that will be going up over the next few days!

#14 - WorryDoll Angel with white ponytail.

#15 - WorryDoll angel with curly hair!

#16 - Surfer Worry Doll - the surfboard is a plastic bead, but it turned out quite nice

New Product!

2007-09-05T11:22:00.001-07:00

New to thependragonseye.etsy.com - Origami party favors! Comes complete with hand stenciled cards with your party information on them.

I'm also submitting to The Sampler in October this year. (http://www.homeofthesampler.com/)

2007-07-25T07:52:00.001-07:00

The wedding worry dolls finally sold yesterday. Now I need to make more! I think this time I might just make the bride and skip the bridesmaids though.

ATC Swaps

2007-06-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

Someone on the etsy forums mentioned www.atcards.com a while ago and I signed up and got interested in the themed swaps. These are some of the ones I sent out!
Behind Doors #1, 2 &3 - the rule was that the card had to have a door which opened. These are "It's a nice day out", "In the Closet" and "puppy door".Next was the Teacups, teapots, coffee pots and mugs swap which went to Australia!
And today, I'm sending out the "I still love to read books" cards:
These are drawings on actual book pages (from a history of Hawaii that is being turned into a booksafe). These also count for my 101 ATCs: #1, 2 &3 of 101.

FAE Interview

2007-05-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

For the Fantasy Art on Etsy Street team:

ABOUT YOU
Name: L. Pendragon
Location: Hershey-Harrisburg, PA (Come to Hershey - We have chocolate)
Fun Fact: I am a Tea Snob. I refuse to drink coffee and am picky about what tea brands I drink - for the record: Celestial Seasonings, Stash, Twinnings and Teatley are on the OK list. Bigelow and Lipton are on the Not ok list.
What is your workspace like? A mess. Always. I can't remember that I have something unless I can see it so I don't use boxes or drawers much. Also, I'm operating out of a one bedroom apartment so there isn't much space.
What makes you happy? I'm making an effort to be optimistic and happy about something new everyday. My (private) nightly journal always ends with the phrase "today was magical because...".

FANTASY
What sparked your love for fantasy? How old were you? - The first chapter book I remember reading with my mother was The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. I was pretty little. I have no idea if that sparked my love of fantasy or not, but I don't remember a time when I wasn't fascinated with fantasy.
What do you like most about the fantasy genre? - I love the fact that fantasy uses your imagination. Nothing is against the rules in fantasy!
What is your favorite fantasy book/movie/series? - Now, that's just asking for a list. There are too many that are my favorites. But right now, I'm reading through Diane Duane's Young wizard's series (I highly recommend it, it's fascinating.) and if SciFi counts, I'm watching Star Trek: the next generation on DVD.

ART
Are you formally trained or self-taught? - mostly self taught. I took a couple of art classes in College (Drawing and Print-making) but I mostly learned how to do stuff on my own.
Any artists who inspire you? - My Mom (who does amazing calligraphy, paints beautiful watercolors and quilts) and my grandfather (who does woodworking). Both of them do art because it's what they love and don't make any profit from it.
What do you hope people will feel when they see your art? - I hope people will look at my art and think "that's interesting!" and "I know someone who would Love that!".

ETSY AND SELLING
What advice would you give to other artists/Etsy sellers? -Etsy takes Time, outside of what you use to make your art or craft. You need to spend lots of time advertising and talking up your work.
How do you handle criticism? - Sadly, not real well. I'm glad for the chance to improve, but I tend to take things personally.
What motivates you? - I'm still trying to figure that out... I'm pretty sure it's a complex equation involving the weather, the last piece of fabric that caught my eye, the book I'm currently reading and my husband's newest research topic.

Mail

2007-05-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

I came home today to a strange letter in my mailbox. It had a fairy on the back, but no return address. It turned out to be a bunch of business cards from the FAE (Fantasy Art of Etsy) business card swap. It made me quite happy.

Birthstone Worry Dolls

2007-04-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

Finally, the birthstone set is finished!
I am quite fond of the hair style on May.

101 things: worry dolls #2 thru 13.

2007-04-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

In process:
Birthstone inspired Worry dolls. Half way done. Hopefully I'll have them up here by mid-week.

101 Things (and new doll)

2007-04-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to join the 101 things in 1001 days gang. My list can be seen here: http://kaypendragon.livejournal.com/65800.html
I have some stuff on the list that's gonna get posted here. Like this:
#1 Worry doll. Shayla is a wizard. A female wizard but a wizard none the less. You can tell because of her staff. As everyone knows, "a wizard's staff has a knob on the end".

You can purchase Shayla here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5849779

DMC Mentor

2007-04-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

Whee! I had forgotten about signing up for this, and then there it was sitting on my doorstep today!
I am officially a DMC cross stitch Mentor. What this really means is that I told DMC that I know how to cross stitch and gave them my address. They sent me a nifty pin and a packet with sample products and instructions on teaching. Best of all, it was free!

Materials!

2007-04-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Found new worry doll head beads so I can continue making dolls. I also found the angel wings at the rag shop again! More Angels!
As per etsy user HollysRainbow's request, I will add pins to some of the new angels for wearing.

New Book

2007-04-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

I purchased a new cross stitch book. Admittedly, I've wanted it for over a year and I will use it and I did have a 40% off coupon but the hankies just don't sell on etsy.

Anyway, I now own a copy of 365 Tiny cross stitch designs. I *heart* the designs in this book.

This is not from that book. But it's cute anyway.

Downtime

2007-04-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

The Etsy site was down for most of today (server repairs or maintenance or something) so I crafted (and played Animal Crossing but that's a different story).
I'm in a pirate mood.

Pirate Red, Pirate Hook and Arabella will all go up probably tomorow on Etsy.

Craft Corner

2007-04-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

My craft corner is finally (somewhat) tidy. I really should have taken before and after photos since this really doesn't look as good as I'm claiming. Oh well. Still, stuff is in boxes and separated and organized. And is no longer in the living room. Or the kitchen. Or the dining room.... So, I think I'm winning.

It's highly depressing that this tiny space has to serve for my craft room. I really wish there was more room...

Craft cleaning

2007-04-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

In a rare fit of productiveness (likely caused by the fact that my mother is visiting next week), I actually cleaned up my beads and embroidery floss today! They are now in tidy little containers. It's shocking.

4 little known facts about me

2007-04-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

So, there were supposed to be five (like for the meme) but the last one didn't work out. #1-3 are going up for trade at ATcards.com and #4 is going up for sale at thependragonseye.etsy.com#1. Yes, I regularly read romances. Especially paranormal and historical ones.

#2 - I haven't had cable in my house since early high school. My mom and I got mad at the cable company for being stupid (they refused to show up when they said they would and then were jerks about the bill) so we told them to cancel it. Then we found out how much extra time it gave us! I never went back. I am one of those people who can't do anything else if the TV is on and anyway, there's nothing on that I want to watch. I must admit though, I do rent episodes of Star Trek on DvD and watch them.

#3. I've had around 5 years of professional voice training between high school and college.

#4. I admit it. I am a tea snob. I am highly picky about tea brands and the appropriate manner of serving the tea. I am unhappy if the tea is not perfect.

New Worry dolls!

2007-04-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

And this week, I made a fairy house to go with the two most recent fairy dolls.
I'll probably put them up on etsy tomorrow.

And with that, (and working out this morning with Kith and getting the start of a cold) I've used up all of my HP for the day. Anyone got a healing spell to spare? Or a potion?

My Cloak.

2007-03-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

I'm blaming it on the Rain. It rained today, so Of Course, nothing could be easy.

A while ago, I put a cloak up for sale in my etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5420464) because so many people ask about mine when I wear it. Admittedly, mine is trimmed in fake fur and is stunning but seriously, every time I wear it someone asked where I got it. So now, instead of saying that I got it on sale at one of the chain stores (because I couldn't buy the fabric for the $11 that I paid for it) I can tell folks that they too can have a beautiful cape. Here's my card!

Except today, when I was stopped at Walmart with a "Miss? Miss? Where'd you get your coat?" I couldn't find my business cards in my purse. My darling husband, had he been there, would have blamed it on the fact that my purse holds enough stuff to sustain life on a desert island for at least a week. However, I usually don't have the problem of not being able to locate business cards. In the end, I wrote out the web address on a piece of notepaper and went on my merry way. At check out, 5 minutes later, I found my business card holder. In my purse. Where I thought it was.

I think the Dryer Network is out to get me again.

Six Months

2007-03-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

So, last summer, I was spending 8 hours a day in Harrisburg with nothing to do. (This was before we moved into Harrisburg and were commuting for my husband's job. He doesn't drive so I had to go as well.) I thought, I have all this time, I should try to make a cross stitched quilt! Right. Brilliant Idea. Now, Six months later, I have finally finished it.

Now this is impressive in it's own right, because I have never actually finished a quilt before (as long as you don't count the mini ACEO.)
However, this is also an impressive project because I have never seen a quilt like this. Unique and one of a kind! (Don't you need it for your next baby/baby shower/art investment?) 23 individual cross stitched icons and three layers of fuzzy fleece. Ideal as a playmat - baby would have tons of stuff to examine and the cross stitching is textured!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5579831

Today's ACEO

2007-03-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of this one! I finally finished a quilt! (Never mind that it's only 2.5 by 3.5 inches. It's a finished quilt. This is new for me.)
And it's so darn cute! (check it out at: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5562262_ )