Chainmailler's Guild Street Team on Etsy

I'm very excited that we finally have a street team on Etsy just for us maillers! It's a very talented and supportive group that I'm proud to be a part of.

We have our very first contest open for voting right now, so go check it out! You can vote for your two favorites (ironically, I have two entires in this contest. . . hint, hint) and if you leave your contact info in the comment section, you have the chance to win a prize just for voting. There really are some amazing pieces in the contest. The entries are anonymous, so check back in two weeks to find out who won and which shop (besides the Armoury, of course. . . hint, hint) has your favorite pieces. Click here to vote.

Another exciting happening with the guild is a trunk show this weekend in the Etsy virtual labs. I'm hoping to be able to show not just examples of my work, but also some pictures of how to coil and cut rings by hand. Check out the info below. Can't wait to see you there

Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team Charity Event

I am a proud member of the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team: it is a fantastic group full of friendly and supportive as well as amazingly talented fantasy artists. Right now, we're trying to support one of our team members who is going through an extremely trying time. Nora of the Etsy shop Nora Blansett has undergone some very serious surgeries and continues to undergo treatment and further surgery. It is hard to explain just how much she has been through without disclosing details, but suffice to say my heart goes out to her and her family.

A long, long time ago, our team endeavored to do a round robin project. We had two teams working on two separate fairy dolls: a Light Doll and a Dark Doll. We decided that we wanted to auction off the Dark Doll (I contributed a chain maille breastplate to her) in honor of Nora. All proceeds from the sale of the Dark Doll will go straight to Nora to help pay her doctor's bills. Right now, the Dark Doll is getting some finishing touches put on her by a team member, but once she's done, I'll post some pictures and tell you how you can place a bid.

In the meantime, the amazingly talented Valorie of Battlemaiden Studios has done an original watercolor called Brief Respite which is currently up for auction at her blog. The auction will end at 11:59PM July 15th. At that time, Valorie will list the painting in her Etsy shop for sale to the high bidder. Shipping to the US is $5. To win, just comment at her blog with your bid. Be sure to check back and make sure you haven't been out-bid. Be sure to include your E-mail address so she can contact you if you're the high bidder. Want to contribute, but can't necessarily afford an original? You can also buy a print or bookmark from the Nora Section of Battlemaiden's Etsy shop.

Thank you so very much in advance!

Summer Solstice Shopping

In honor of the Summer Solstice tomorrow, I'd like to share with you the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team's Midsummer Night's Dream Exhibition! There's a little something for everyone here: art, jewelry, art dolls, hair accessories, statues, ritual oil, bags, vases. . . I've got three items featured including my For a Good Cause: The Nature Conservancy Bracelet: $5 from your purchase of this bracelet will be donated to the Nature Conservancy. It's a gorgeous exhibition full of beautiful items from some very talented folks. The exhibition is maintained by the tremendously talented Kristin of the Etsy shop aquariann.

Check Out Athena's Armoury in TWO Places!

I'm pleased to share with you that three items from Athena's Armoury are being featured in the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team's Spring Fever Exhibition! There are all kinds of fun goodies included in the exhibition, such as: artwork, jewelry, ritual oil, dolls, sculpture, accessories, housewares, masks, and more. Items from the Armoury include:

Napkin Armour for that spring picnic:

A Beaded Daisies Bracelet to wear to the picnic:


And the Katie Collar for your pup:


Athena's Armoury has also been featured at MyFairyBabies, a blog run by Hyla with the Etsy shop of the same name. This shop contains all kinds of fun kiddie items, fairy dolls, and dragon ornaments. I actually love Hyla's other shop: Steampunk Box Books. It is thanks to her that I was introduced to this fabulous genre. And finally, Faewood Creations houses her fingerless gloves, tote bags, and jewelry. She's a busy lady!

Playing Catch Up in Pictures

Last week I received such a phenomenal wire order! All kinds of yummy stuff including a sampler of anodized aluminum rings, a sampler of scale maille, 2 pounds each of 16 gauge and 18 gauge bright aluminum (BA) wire, and 10 pounds* of 14 gauge BA wire. I already finished a custom dice bag with some of the anodized aluminum rings and am starting on an Uber bag (yup, that's the Crown Royal size) for a friend. Part of my mom's birthday present this year is a pouch for her iPod with the green (her favorite color) anodized aluminum rings. Then, I have so many plans for more armour and some production line jewelry. So much metal to play with!!

I've been talking about the fact that I'm working on the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team's Round Robin for FOREVER now!! Come Hell or high water, I will finish my part for this doll! Here's a work in progress picture so you know I'm not lying. . .

<== Scott recently bought me this fabulous tool chest, I just had to share with you. It's beautiful!





On a side note, I'm so excited to finally have my taillight guards on my Jeep! I've had these things for probably a year and a half and have been searching for the correct hardware for them ever since. ==>

Lastly, Jack wanted to say hi. Here he is "overseeing" my maille work:

Athena's Armoury is Featured

The Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team's March Madness Exhibition is now live! It includes many different forms of art that contain themes of moons (for lunacy!), Alice in Wonderland (March Hare), dark fantasy, and more. Helen, from the Etsy shop krummenacker, explained where the phrase "March Madness" is derived:

"It began with Spring Fever and Mad as a March Hare-- the apparent insanity of animals and young people, even, eager to get outdoors, play, mate, and run wild. Rabbits in particular do incredibly dangerous things when their hormones are surging. And so the March Hare was at the Mad Hatter's tea party..."

Helen is just a font of information, especially stories of myth and legend.

Anyway, please check out our exhibition! There are many wonderful items and I'm sure you'll find something or someone that catches your fancy. Happy shopping!


I am honored to share with you that Cathy from AllChic has featured my Chain Maille Dice Bag on her blog. The post is called Medieval Look and features a dress by Stella McCartney. Cathy recommends using my Dice Bag as a purse (I actually have had a customer do the very thing once!). Also featured is a killer knit collar by Ellita's Flying Snail. Thank you so much for featuring me, Cathy, and in such amazing company. To think, I was in the same article as Stella McCartney. . . Glorious!

Celtic Myth and Legend Contest

The Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team's Celtic Myth and Legend Contest is open for voting! You can vote between now and February 28th with the winner being announced on February 29th (leap year!). Unfortunately, I was unable to participate in this contest (so sad!), but I already cast my vote. It was so hard to choose only one favorite among so many absolutely amazing pieces. Just in time for St. Patty's Day, come choose your favorite!

Jennifer from faeryspellcreations is hosting this contest and offering this beautiful doll as the prize:

FAE Storybook Romance Exhibition

In honor of this romantic time of year, the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team is sponsoring the Storybook Romance Exhibition. There are some really amazing items from some very talented artists. Three items from my VDay for Women Warriors shop section are included. Check it out!

FAE Contest Voting Is Open!

I'm mentioned this a few times recently, but the FAE (Fantasy Artists of Etsy) Street Team is having a Snowflake Fantasy themed contest. It's official: the polls are up and running. Well, sort of. Some entrants are still adding their items, but mine is up. Which means you can go vote for it! In fact, you can vote once a day everyday between now and Sunday, December 9 at midnight. Hint, hint, hint. . . Vote here.

Even if you don't vote for me (sad) definitely check it out! There are so many amazing artists with beautiful entries and all items in the contest are available for sale in the entrant's shop. You're bound to find something you'll love!

Thanks for voting!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Lately, I've been a Dice Bag making machine! Who knew there would be such a draw for them on Etsy?! It's quite fantastic, really. I've sold five on Etsy already, am working on a custom order for multiple bags for a fellow Etsian, have had two requests for bags for two other Etsians which I'm in the process of making, as well as a custom job for a Crown Royal size bag for someone outside of Etsy that saw me working on one. Whew! It's awesome! I currently have a Dice Bag disclaimer in my shop announcement, too. Due to the high demand of Dice Bags, there is not one currently listed in my shop. However, if you're interested, please drop me a convo through my shop and I'll give you an estimated time of when one can be ready.

I also just listed the final entry to my Snowflake Collection section in my shop: a Snowflake Ornament.

The Snowflake Collection was inspired by the FAE Street Team contest theme Snowflake Fantasy. My entry into the contest is the Snowflake Necklace.

Contest voting will start soon, so I'm counting on all of you!! I'll be sure to post the link to the voting page as soon as it's available. Thanks!!

The FAE Calendar is Available!

One of the Etsy Street Teams I belong to is called Fantasy Artists of Etsy, otherwise known as FAE. This is a fantastic group of artists and, in general, some really nice and supportive people. FAE includes the traditional fantasy fare: fairies, dragons, and unicorns as well as other themes such as medieval and celtic items, invented creatures, LARP/Ren Faire costumes or accessories. Our members sell everything from clothing and accessories to artwork, sculptures, art dolls and stationary. We're a very active group with contests being held, round robins creating fairies, calendars being made, and even discussions to create a book.

Our brand new calendar is a collection of artwork from many of our members (including yours truly in March). It was created by the insanely talented Sarah Pittman over at artca.

It is available for $16.99 (at cost) through CafePress.

Women's Contributions Blog Column

I am proud to announce that I just posted my first column about Women's Contributions at the Women's Empowerment (WE) Etsy Street Team Blog! When the WE Street Team was just organizing, the idea of including this column came up and I was immediately drawn to it. I absolutely love learning about these amazing women (both historical and contemporary) who have made a difference in the lives of women, men, children, humanity at large. My favorite genre book to read is historical fiction with strong female characters. Needless to say, I signed on.

Choosing the first woman to feature was a daunting task, so I hope I did good! You'll have to check it out in order to find out who she is. The hardest part of the whole thing was really limiting the amount of information to give. I kept finding out more and more and wanting to tell her whole story, but had to remind myself that it's a blog post, not a biography. I only hope that there's enough of a snippet of information that it peaks the interest of others to learn more about her and all of the other women I plan to feature.

The Most Amazing Wand Ever

I got home from work very, very late last night and was super tired, but found myself thrilled beyond words when I opened my package from my fellow FAE Street Team member Kathryn at Interior Glass Designs. Kathryn custom made this amazing wand just for me!! She included lots of chain, metal, and silver because she knows of my slight* metal obsession and made sure it had a girl's touch by adding the lovely flower. I love this wand SO much! There was obviously so much thought, care, and attention to detail that went into the making of it. It is truly special and I'll have to find a very special place of honor to display it. Kathryn really does amazing work, do yourself a favor and check out her Etsy shop.

FAE Street Team Fairy Contest Entry

I'm so excited that I finally got something done! All of my time for the past month or so has been dedicated to the moving experience: cleaning, repairing, packing boxes, unpacking boxes, you get the idea. Unfortunately, I don't have my office/studio/workshop (weeeeee!) set up yet either. I know it should take a priority, but I might be getting a real jeweler's workbench so I've been putting off setting things up until I know where I want it to go.

In any event, I'm a member of the FAE (Fantasy Artists of Etsy) Street Team and we're having a member contest right now based on fairies. Kathryn of Interior Glass Designs is hosting this contest and offering a prize for the winner. Her work is just gorgeous, so I can't wait to see what she's giving away! Even though she's not entering it herself, she designed a gorgeous fairy, too.

I'm so excited to have been able to participate because it gave me an excuse to play with my pliers again. I designed this Fairy Lariat Necklace:


There is an adorably whimsical flower fairy pendant featured on this necklace. She's sterling silver with a small garnet towards the bottom. She measures 1 1/2" long and 3/4" wide. There are three beads wire wrapped and connecting her to the byzantine chain. These beads represent the flowers she dwells among: the bottom bead is wood for the stems, the middle bead is an emerald green Swarovski crystal for the leaves, and the top bead is garnet for the petals and to match the stone on the pendant.


The byzantine chain is one of the oldest chain maille weaves in existence. All of the jump rings that the chain is comprised of, were coiled, cut, and woven by me. There are approximately 1100 bright aluminum rings in this chain, measuring 36" long (including the fairy pendant).


It can be worn double wrapped around your neck, as a super long necklace, or even as a multi-strand bracelet. She is available for purchase through my Etsy shop.

WE & Women's Equality Day

WE Etsy: Women's Empowerment Street Team

Recently, there was much discussion on the Etsy forums of starting a Women's Empowerment Street Team and I, of course, immediately jumped on board. We are not yet recognized by Etsy as being an official team yet, but there is already so much good stuff going on. You can check out our mission statement at our official blog. I am so excited about this team and look forward to all of the good that will come of it.

As a member of WE, I have volunteered to do a once monthly (probably mid-month) blog profile of a notable woman (either historical or contemporary) who has made contributions to the lives of women. You can look for the first installment mid September at the WE Blog.

Sunday, August 26 is Women's Equality Day

It took women 72 years of ceaseless campaigning to finally win the right to vote in 1920. This Sunday, August 26, Women's Equality Day, marks that anniversary.

I am forever grateful to our foremothers and suffrage leaders such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, Victoria Woodhull, Frances Wright, Ernestine Rose, Lucretia Mott, Margaret Fuller, Virginia Minor, Paulina Kellog Wright Davis, and so many others. Through much hardship, these amazing women led the way to secure our right to vote and gave us our voice in our democracy today.

The WE blog will feature these women who gave so much of themselves to secure our freedoms as well as many others who have made enormous contributions to many other aspects of women's lives. I look forward to exploring these women and their lives with all of you as a source of inspiration and, of course, empowerment.

My Work Space, AKA My Dining Room Table

There are as many unique work spaces out there as there are unique artists who occupy them. Some use their kitchen/dining room table (like me), some their couch and coffee table, some a tray on their lap, some are even lucky enough to have a work bench or even a studio. I love getting a sneak peek into everyone's "studio." I know it's kind of voyeuristic, but I truly love to see how everyone works, get ideas for my own space (if I'm ever lucky enough), see their tools and materials.

For now, my work space is my dining room table. As many of you in a similar situation knows, sometimes you're lucky enough to be able to leave your materials and tools out and set up mid-project. Then there are those times that your boyfriend wants to have his friends over for a full day of gaming. Well, maybe not exactly that situation, but I think you get the idea. Mid-project or not, you have to clean everything up.

The above photo is of my kitchen table which in actuality is in my dining room, aka my work space. The plain wood table top you see is something that Scott (the boyfriend) built to give us a bigger table space: it's basically a piece of plywood that sits on top of the actual table with a frame so it doesn' t move; it also folds in half for storage. On the bottom left is Scott's Dremel tool which I have kind of pirated away from him to use with my Koil Kutter for cutting jump rings. You can see a batch of freshly cut rings as well as a strainer in which I rinse all of the lube off of them. My Craftsman pliers are out (this pic is obviously from before Scott gave me my beautiful Lindstroms) as well as some mandrels used for coiling. In the background, you can see my light box. This was not one of my more organized days, but then it's always difficult to stay organized in a temporary space.

Here's another shot of my work space. You can see in the background the storage cabinet that Scott and I share and a set of plastic drawers that contain some more jewelry making supplies; my tackle box with even more supplies and tools is on the floor between the two.

On top of the cabinet are two projects: one belonging to me and one belonging to Scott. The grey box laying down is his: it's a dice tower that he built from scratch with wood and felt. You throw dice in and it tumbles them up and then they come pouring out the bottom. It's really quite neat.

The other project is mine, of course: a work in progress coif. In this photo it looks kind of like a wig and I'm thinking of making more like this except in fun colors for all of those punk girls out there. Since this picture has been taken, I've finished it off and must admit, I've been slow to get pictures posted of her all done up.

Scott and I are in the process of trying to buy a house and if any of you have not been through that experience, imagine the most stressful time of your life and multiply it by a thousand. In any event, if all goes well, our new house will have three bedrooms. One of course is for us to sleep, and we were originally planning on having an office for us both in one and a guest bedroom in the other. Recently, we've been playing with a new idea that I think we've both fallen in love with: we're each going to get a room to do with as we please. If we decide to go this route, I'm going to have my own office/studio/workspace!! And then, of course, I'll have to add a new post with more pic's!

Florida Etsy Street Team is Being Organized!

I was reading through the Etsy Forums yesterday and saw a shout out to any Floridians in the Street Team Section. As we got to talking, we realized that there are currently street teams for Northern, Central, and Southern FL, but none of them really seem to be active. This led PaperScissorsArt to call for a chat last night to discuss how we would all like to go about organizing a Street Team that covers all of Florida. Check out Paper's Street Team Section post as well as her blog entry for an update on last night's chat and details if you're interested in taking part in the team. There's lots of great stuff planned already!

Personally, I'm very excited about this opportunity. I'm very much interested in being involved with the Etsy community as well as the opportunity to network, support, and get to know other Etsians around me. Plus, I'm in Clearwater, so it works out well!

I'm also a member of the fairly new Etsy Bloggers Street Team and am having a blast with that one, too. Check out the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Blog (of course we have one!) and the Etsy Bloggers Street Team Profile at Etsy if you're interested in joining that group. So far, we've had one group writing project (orange for Etsy) and are starting to do a weekly blog carnival with this week's writing project (subject: your studio/workspace).