A Bookworm Creates

On occasion I get asked why I stopped selling certain items.  Mostly Harry Potter, Supernatural, Walking Dead, etc.  - Why would an Etsy shop owner stop selling her best sellers?  Hmmm.  Excellent question.  I didn't know much about something called Copyright and Trademark Infringement when I posted my "inspired by" pieces.  And then I learned very quickly.  - Do I want to make Harry Potter and other non-public domain book page necklaces?  YES!  A million and ten times yes. However, I'm finding myself in the middle of a gray area.  Can I make these Harry Potter book page necklaces.  Probably.  Minus the Harry Potter tags, names, quotes, etc.  That's the problem with (C) and (T) infringements.  Did you know that Warner Brothers owns a copyright on the character's names?  Yup.  - But you are considering using the books... Thus the gray area.  Do I cut out pieces of the books and enter into that gray area?  Do I sell them on Etsy and run the ris

I was scanning the Etsy discussion board while waiting for my photos to transfer over to my google drive when I saw a post from years ago that somebody had unearthed. It was about destroying books to make items. We all know that I have been making book page necklaces. If you don't know that, go scan my Etsy shop (Shopify has been taken down for... reasons...). You will see book page necklace after book page charm bracelet after book page necklace. Lots and lots of book themed pieces. If you follow my instagram you will know that it's a combination of old and new books. I cringe every single time I use a new book to make jewelry. I cringe and my book loving heart stops as I tearfully scan the pages looking for the word or name I'm looking for. The right scene. The right place. I prefer using old copies. Those old copies that are falling apart and are sitting at the used bookstore waiting for somebody to buy them, but are overlooked because of their condit

Several blog posts ago... Who am I kidding?  It's been months since I've updated this blog.  So many things have happened that have merely kept me moving forward and not thinking about my blogs.   I've updated photos in the etsy shop.  Check them out.  You know where to find the links.   My grandfather had a stroke.   My mother had a mild heart attack.   This heart attack has affected the family in more ways then one.  She currently can't cook - that falls on me.  There are so many restrictions currently in play.  Fats. Sodium. Carbs. Sugar.   A very long time ago I posted a baked salmon dish.   While not perfect (I overcooked it), the spice was on point and have been requested to make this dish again.       What did I do?  I reduced the Parmesan cheese.  Do you know how much sodium is in a mere fourth a cup of Parmesan cheese?  A LOT! Okay.  First I melted unsalted butter and mixed in a dash of lemon juice.  T

Ever wonder what your favorite etsy shops do when they get orders? Probably not.  Some have everything preassembled/made. Some deal with custom orders. As evidenced by the first photo, not everything is preassembled. Most of my charm bracelets are assembled unless it's a repeat order like the Percy Jackson charm bracelets tend to be.   Instead the charms are sorted. A chain is added. It all goes into a small ziplock bag.  Then I wait knowing how many I have available to make and sell. Sometimes I talk in short, choppy sentences.  When one gets ordered I find the relevant baggie and dump everything in my work surface. Charms are lined up in order. Jump rings are pulled out of my supply box. My trusty green mini pilers are located. I settle in for the five minutes it takes to assemble. It takes longer to design the charm bracelet. Hours - literally hours - are gone into planning, finding, and buying charms. These particular charms, and the chain, came f

Most of you are aware that I spent most of last week preparing for the Casey Jones Village Arts and Crafts Festival that is held twice a year in Jackson, TN. Arts. Crafts. Over 50 vendors! (This month was over 80, but one time had over 100! I think several of us were burned by October's dismal weather.)  If you are Sheldon Cooper you get trains! And a buffet restaurant and Old Country Store just steps away!  Push the Mini Putt Putt course.  I really want to go to it some time. The Mini Putt Putt. Not the Arts and Crafts Show. This was my 6th craft show, I think.  I've lost count.  Now, if you are reading this you are probably considering going to one. Or had a bad time at one.    Keep in mind, this works for me and might not work for you.  1st  - have a canopy/awning/really big umbrella.  If you are outside it'll get hot sitting in that sun.  If you are in blacktop it'll get hot sitting in that sun.  In some cases that canopy can also become part of your display. 

For a few months I've been going metal stamp crazy.  When I first attempted it I did everything wrong it felt like. Wrong hammer. My letters were all screwy or not imprinted enough. The ink wouldn't set. So, if you decide to get into the expensive habit of metal stamping here's some things you need to know. 1. Start off with soft - I use aluminum - metal blanks to start off.  The craft stores seem to have them now. 2. Supplies - A decent hammer, a steel block, metal stamps, stamping blanks.  Some stamps need a hole puncher and some already come with a hole in the top. 3. Figure out the best way to line up what you are going to stamp in the disc.  There is lining tape that you can buy.  I use a ruler, graph paper, and a pencil.  Lining the disc up on the paper, I use the pencil and clear ruler to line up on the graph paper and make lines. 4. Secure your blank.  I like clear tape because I can see my pencil lines.  Don't layer too much tape because it can lessen th

*Note* This is my experience and I'm far from a polymer clay professional. We all know I got started because of some polymer clay dragons a friend had posted. I saw that post and thought, 'Challenge accepted.' Over the past couple of years I've learned something... Some clays are harder to work with then others.  If the clay can't be conditioned or softened up it makes it harder to work with. Sometimes harder clay doesn't have the same hold (when attaching other clay pieces) as a softer clay.   Sometimes soft clay becomes too soft therefore too sticky. That's an easy fix.  Let it sit out and stiffen back up or get some more.  Mixing harder clay in never works for me. But hard clay...  You have a few options.  - Translucent Liquid Sculpty (TLS).  A bit of a mess. - Just play with it.  - Add in a softer clay. - Conditioning machine.  It looks like a manual pasta machine. I love my machine.  I cut up the tough clay. Put it in the top. And start cr

In trying to expand, or figure out how to expand, I've worked on various different ideas including on on blog shop front (not associated with Etsy). I've formatted and toyed and downloaded and formatted some more... Before deleting everything I did. Do I really want to start a new branch to my shops less than two weeks before a craft show? What would I even sale on it? At this point I've over thought it so much that I'm going to deal with it all later.  After the 16th.  That's a good place to start. I need to decide what new beginning direction to take before starting in that direction. Suggestions?  Thoughts?  More silence from the masses? A

I became obsessed with macarons a few months ago.  They were everywhere. Facebook. Instagram. Food shows. Macarons. Macarons. Macarons.  But...there isn't a single bakery that I'm aware of in my area that makes them.  Back in June when I went to Houston, Texas to visit my friend, I knew that this was a chance to fulfill this bucket list item. It took me a while to bring up my request and my friend thought I was crazy for spending over $20 on 12 small macarons.  But it was on my bucket list and it's not often that I have enough money to splurge like that.   Yummmmm Enough said. But...for the past couple of weeks I've been wanting to try some more.  Only this time I decided I'd make them.   Easy enough...I have a decent amount of baking skills.  So I went macaron recipe hunting.  That's where my adventure begins.  Step one - find the ingredients. Almond flour.  Okay.  Easy enough...not. My saving grace came with my local Kr

I'll admit that I've neglected my blog far more than I should have.  My apologies, but no excuses. I've been lazy. Any visitors will notice that I have made some changes today.  At the bottom of the page you can see my instagram feed.  To the left there's a preview of my etsy shop including my top sellers.  There's also a tab (if you are on a computer or using a desktop view on your phone) where you can see a few more etsy listings.  Welcome.  Let's see how I can handle 2 blogs.  By the way, there's a link in my social media links that directs you to my author blog. Alicia

It isn't easy. Normally I rely on Etsy for most of my income, but things have really dropped this year.  I wish it made sense.  I really do. Maybe things will pick up. Hopefully.  I'd like to make a living.