Warrior Salve for Sore Muscles, Strains, Sprains, and Bruises

I've talked about it off and on here at the blog and often on twitter but as of a few weeks ago, my Warrior Salve for Sore Muscles, Strains, Sprains, and Bruises was finally made available in my Artfire Studio and in my Etsy shop!  This salve is perfect for athletes, weekend warriors, and everyone in between primarily for helping relieve sore muscles.

This is a recipe that I developed last year while I was training for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  My training consisted of walking around 500 miles in preparation for the event where I walked 60 miles over the course of three days in order to raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer.  I had a lot of problems with my feet in training and know many walkers who had very, very sore muscles not to mention strains and sprains.  My Warrior Salve was inspired by these walkers that kept going no matter what, knowing that they were walking for something much bigger than themselves and their pain.


I asked some of my 3 Day walker friends to test out my Warrior Salve, knowing that I couldn't find a better group of people to really put it to the test and give me honest feedback.  The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.


-I LOVE this muscle salve! I've been able to use it on a few different types of muscle pain (e.g., tired muscles, sore muscles, and injured muscles) and found the salve to be effective on each type. Most pains were alleviated after one use while more severe injuries felt improvement over a couple days. And best of all...no stinky medicine smell! ~ Jami


-You need some of @AthenasArmoury's sore muscle salve. It's *amazing* and works on everything from torn ligaments to bruises. ~Pam

Pain relieving, anti-spasmodic organic herbs were infused in medicinal olive oil and blended with essential oils and beeswax to create this salve.   Just rub a little in where you feel sore (the rubbing is an added bonus of giving yourself a little massage) and wait for the herbs to work their magic.

Last Minute Holiday Shopping? Priority Mail Upgrade!

I started my holiday shopping early in the hopes that I wouldn't have to deal with the hordes of people in stores and at the post office this late in the game, but alas I'm still there. I've still got two boxes to send out today and possibly one more later on.

So, in honor of those of you still shopping, I'm offering a free upgrade to Domestic Priority Mail shipping until December 20 at Athena's Armoury.

**However, I must have your order in by 10:00am (EST) on December 20 in order for me to have time to package it up and get to the post office before they close.**

Happy Shopping!

Handmade Holiday Bazaar Post Mortem - Better Late Than Never

Post Mortem = After Death. When I went to school for directing, we would have an analysis with our instructors and mentors after each show we would direct. This was called a Post Mortem.

I had such a wonderful time at the Handmade Holiday Bazaar!! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, the live music was so groovy and such a nice extra, the food (from Limey's) was so yummy, and the women in charge (Stacey of ElleBelle & Julie of SewItsForYou) are the BEST (couldn't ask for nicer or more organized). It was so great meeting so many fellow Etsians: both fellow vendors and others stopping by the event to visit: it's nice being able to put a face to the name. I also had a fabulous time chatting with my customers - so many friendly, gracious, and complimentary people! The event was not a huge monetary success for me (I hear the economy is keeping most customers from spending at the craft fairs recently), but I had so much fun anyway it was so worth it.

Scott came with me in the morning to help me set up my tent: it was the first time I was using it. It's a good thing he came, too, I can't imagine how I would have done it alone. As it is, Dan (Stacey of ElleBelle fame's husband) had to help us figure it out (thank you!). I had every intention of having a setup rehearsal before the show, but was never able to get it done. It's super easy now that we know how to do it! Shortly after setup, Scott had to head to work which left me on my own for tear down which was fine until I had to take down the tent. Enter Doug (Mr. Julie of SewItsForYou) who helped me take it down and carry my stuff to my Jeep (thank you!).

I had a plan to make weights for my tent, too: The event was in a parking lot so I figured I might need them since I couldn't use the stakes. I had the plan and Scott put them together for me so that I could focus on inventory and display. The plan: Four lengths (one for each leg) of PVC were filled with sand (Scott's idea, I thought of using quikcrete), add endcaps to them with some adhesive and the weights were all set! They worked like a charm, too: I was at one end of the parking lot and it kind of turned into a wind tunnel late in the day. I watched my display plaques blowing in the breeze and the top of the tent looked like it wanted to take flight, but luckily enough it stayed grounded. I do have to think about a way of securing the display plaques for the future, though. Although nothing happened that day, I can see them hitting someone if I ever have to deal with more wind.

Speaking of wind. . . Between the breeze and the sun going down, by the end of the day it was getting a bit chilly. I didn't want to put on my coat, though, because it would have covered up the majority of the chain maille I was wearing. Problem solved easily enough, though. I had been eying the adorable hats, scarves, and dolls by Wonderland Creations and the cool weather gave my the perfect excuse to grab my own monster scarf (there are pockets in tha paws!):

Nitty gritty self analysis:
I need to work on my tent and display. I love my display plaques and hope to use more of them in my tent display in the future (I used four out of the six I had made). In addition to coming up with new ways of showing items on the tables, I want to have one more table and maybe a rack or just something else interesting to look at. Also, if I plan on doing ren faires and pirate festivals, I will probably wind up using three walls, so I need to work on how to make the inside of the walls look interesting as well as a way to camouflage the top of the tent. I may have to recruit my MIL who has crazy sewing skills to help.

Another plus was my armor: many people were drawn into my tent simply out of curiosity when they saw my coif and mantle. Of course nobody at the craft fair bought armor, but it served the exact purpose I brought it for: to be eye catching. Once they were in, two things happened:
1. They started looking at my other work.
2. They asked questions about the armor which led to a greater appreciation of chain maille.

I loved* it when they asked questions because it gave me the perfect opportunity to take out a piece of wire and explain that every single ring in every single piece in my tent started from that. I explained to them that I coiled and cut all of my own rings before I was able to weave them into the pieces they saw before them.

I also had my pliers with me so that I could demonstrate the weaving process. I was making some more of the samples that I give out with my purchases:
The weave is Tao 3 made with bright aluminum wire and can be used as a pendant, zipper pull, cell phone charm, key chain, thing-a-ma-bob. I had sent in twenty of these biz card/samples for the goody bags given away to the first customers that had shown up that day.

Overall, it was an excellent day and I really hope that Stacey and Julie organize another one!


PS -
Dear Blog,
I know I've been neglecting you. I am sorry. I will update more regularly, I promise. I promise to tell you about more women warriors, I know how much you love to learn about them. I also want to share with you some of the amazing Etsy items I've gotten recently. And maybe more fun than anything else: I've had the good fortune to receive a few giveaways recently (I never win anything and have been graced with a few!). I plan on spreading the good karma and will start to have a blog giveaway soon, too!
Thank you for being so understanding,
Janine

BusyBusyBusy: Stock, Storage, Tent, and Inspiration to Boot!

I have been so incredibly busy lately stocking up my inventory as I get ready to vend at the Handmade Holiday Bazaar in a month! One of the many new items that will be available at the fair will be these adorable (if I may say so myself) little Christmas Tree Ornaments:


They are made using the Japanese 12-2 weave in anodized aluminum. I still have to add a handmade ornament hook and then they are all done. They'll make their debut in my Etsy shop after the fair!

Last weekend, I spent about eight hours one day and another two the next coiling and cutting rings. There were quite literally thousands of various gauges and sizes by the time I was done and my wrists were a little sore, too.

All of this prep work has had me digging through all of the little plastic baggies that I keep my rings in quite a bit. And getting a bit frustrated when I couldn't find what I was looking for only to cut some new rings and then go back to find that I already had some. The plastic baggie system was not working for me. I've known this for quite some time, but just couldn't find a happy alternative. I had been avoiding using tackle boxes for a few reasons: the compartments are rarely big enough for the amount of rings that I usually have on hand in any given size, the separators are usually removable which means that the rings slip under them and get all mixed up, the whole lid opens and thus doesn't seal each compartment well (mixing rings again), plus when the whole lid opens instead of each individual one, a klutz like me can easily spill a few thousand rings all over the place (not fun).

I found these boxes at Joann's yesterday for 40% for their Columbus Day weekend sale. Yeah, the compartments are still a bit small, but each individual compartment opens by itself and they all lock shut! Its so easy to search through my sizes now: they are organized by gauge and increasing ring size in both imperial and metric. Sure, I still have my large baggies full of the rings I use for large projects, but this is sooooooo much easier and more organized.

I only got three to see if I like them (it was hardly enough to organize my stock of bright aluminum rings). . . I may have to get some more.

I also got the makings of my tent weights today. Since this is the first fair I'm using my tent at and it happens to be taking place in a parking lot (no stakes in the ground here!), I found I had to deal with this sooner rather than later. I had been absorbing ideas from various forum threads on Etsy for a while and finally decided to go with sand filled PVC tubes. I thought that this was a great, low-profile way since they will be attached to the legs of the tent and not protrude too terribly much: I was concerned that someone might trip on a water filled milk jug. I still have to cut the PVC, attach the end caps, and fill them but that's a job for another day.

I was talking with a woman I work with the other day about the power of positive thinking. She firmly believes that if you put it out there (not "I wish" or "I want", but rather "I will") it will happen. I thought it strange that while wondering around Joann's I happened upon this vinyl wall art and immediately thought of our conversation. I though the universe was telling me something.

I'm Not Being Sponsored, I Just Really Like These DIY Websites

Just a couple more awesome, DIY websites brought to you by Athena's Armoury. . .

As you may remember, I tried my hand making a sugar scrub for the first time recently. It was so much fun to make and I loved the all natural ingredients. I've always been interested in 'natural' beauty and in recent years have become even more aware of the things I put on my body in addition to into it. Well, today I stumbled upon (literally, not through the Stumble Upon) MakeYourCosmetics.com. There are so many recipes that I can't wait to try: Chocolate Milk Bath (sounds delicious, no?), Tea Tree Facial Lotion (Emu Oil is a natural sunscreen and the Tea Tree Oil helps fight off blemishes), All Natural Disinfectant (non-wood) Surface Cleaner (clean counters with no chemicals!), and so many more.

Plus, check out ThreadBangers for a new episode every Friday for some DIY fashion tips and how-to's so that you can create your own style instead of fashion dictated by the runway. They'll show you how to refashionize (their word) a shirt otherwise deemed ready for Goodwill or a landfill. But, they also have all natural beauty recipes (yup, that's how I got drawn in), jewelry organization techniques, backyard decor DIY style, wall decals. . . I can go on.

Enjoy!

Warrior Women Need to Exfoliate, Too

I made a batch of yummy sugar scrub for Mother's Day last month for not only my mom, but also for my wonderful friend Julie (who's one year old is adorable) and myself (I have a fur baby: Jack). It is so scrum diddy deeelish! It is a combination of sugar (duh), olive oil, honey, lemon rind, green tea, and dead sea salts. Not only is it exfoliating, but so very moisturizing with the olive oil and the antioxidants make the green tea really great for the skin, too.

My mom suggested that I sell this at the faires, too. She's never been to a ren faire before and doesn't know that it's not like a regular craft fair where anything goes. People usually have a 'specialty' to their booth, if you will. But, I admit, I'm still thinking about her suggestion. It is so yummy and was so much fun to make. After all, warrior women need to exfoliate, too. . .

Fun with Power Tools

I spent an enjoyable afternoon yesterday in my theatre's shop. I was busy starting to build some of my display items for my booth. Yes, I have a long way to go still with inventory, but this stuff has to get done at some point, too. I had an idea that I loved and couldn't wait to get started on it.

I needed to create something eye catching that would draw people into my tent, but it also had to appear rustic to fit in at a renaissance festival. I kept being drawn back to using wood; I think it makes a good balance to all of the metal that will be in the tent.

My first stop was to Lowe's to pick up some panels of lovely (looking and smelling) cedar. Once I got to the shop, I drew a couple different sized oval templates (drawing an oval is bit more complicated than you would think!). I've used a band saw before, but this was my first time with a jigsaw. Big difference: with one you move the wood, with the other you move the tool. It took a little getting used to, but I'm proud to say that I didn't screw anything up too terribly in my learning curve. It just took me a bit longer than it would have say Scott who's been using the tool for twenty years. I cut out and sanded six large ovals and twelve that are a couple inches smaller. I plan to make strands of three each, connected with handmade chain, and attached to the pipes of my tent. Step one is complete.

I also have a grand plan to make my own wood burned sign for the outside of my tent, so I played around a little bit with my burner for the first time. Fun! Oh, and I got two compliments that just tickled me: "ooh, pretty girl with power tools" and one of the guys compares me to one of my heroes none other than Rosie the Riveter.

Trying to Make Nice with a Little Sparkly

My blog isn't talking to me right now. She's a little disgruntled that I've been neglecting her lately. I'd like to make it up by sharing a pretty sparkly I finally had time to photograph.

The Feminine Warrior Handflower

I love the way this came out. This versatile piece is part jewelry, part armor. Made using stainless steel jump rings and accented with red glass beads and rosettes in the ring, bracelet, and body; a hammered, hand forged clasp completes the piece. This handflower is delicate and hardcore all at the same time.

Are we friends again?

Athena's Armoury Featured on NeatoStuff.com

Very cool news: Athena's Armoury has been featured on the homepage of a shopping guide website called NeatoStuff.com! It's a ring called Finger Armour. It was made using the Euro 4-1 chain maille weave which is the very same weave used to make armor for centuries. I've been told that the ring will be on their homepage for a full week and then be available in their archives for forever and ever. You can go directly to their listing here.

If you click through on the picture on that last page it will actually bring you to the ring section of my shop, so it shows that I have other ring options available, too. Yay!

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!

Beach Bum Creations is Moving in with Athena's Armoury

Now available in Athena's Armoury.

Many of you may already know that my first shop on Etsy was called Beach Bum Creations. And then chain maille pretty much took over all of the creations and I felt it necessary to open a second shop strictly for my maille. Well, after trying to make a go at maintaining and promoting two different shops, and not being terribly successful at it, I think it's time to try something new. All stock from Beach Bum Creations (mainly semi-precious gemstone jewelry) will be moved over to Athena's Armoury. It will make my life so much easier by only having to promote one shop!! But it will also help round out my shop and give me even more stuff to list as I continue to work on larger scale maille projects that take some more time. But, I'm also hoping that it will give my customers more fun stuff to look at and perhaps encourage cross purchasing.

The first item to make the move is this gorgeous bracelet entitled For a Good Cause - The Nature Conservancy. $5 from the sale of this bracelet will be donated to The Nature Conservancy - the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. Please visit Athena's Armoury for the details about this bracelet and to find out how you can help make a difference for our Planet Earth.

Craft Fair Tomorrow!

Sneak Peek from my living room.

If you happen to be in the area. . .

Athena's Armoury will be participating in the Grand Opening Celebration and Craft Fair for Kids Kottage in downtown Safety Harbor, FL on Saturday, March 7. Kids Kottage is a resource in the community for families, businesses and artists. No child will be charged a fee for accessing any of their services. The celebration includes games, live music, food, archery, and . . . a trapeze act?!

The address is 255 5th Avenue South, one block south of Main Street. The craft fair will be open from 9:00am to 3:00pm with the rest of the event going from 11:00am-3:00pm.

Hope to see you there!

Cramming to Get Ready for Craft Fair on Saturday!

This was my table from a psychic fair a friend from work invited me to show at. This is from a LONG time ago when I was involved with beaded and wire wrapped jewelry, hemp, and candles. I had only just discovered chain maille and only had three pieces of it with me.

I found out yesterday that I can vend (free of charge) at a fair on Saturday. Well, it's really a grand opening of an art and activity center for kids that is hosting a craft fair as part of their grand opening celebration. I had been reluctant to do it because I didn't think it would be my demographic, but the more I thought about it. . .

Well, I'm hurriedly trying to figure out my display and some more kid friendly items. I'm a little stressed out about it because I have so little time to prepare. The way I figure it: worse case scenario, I get to spend the day enjoying being outside which is a luxury I rarely afford myself; best case, well, we all know best case is making some sales and meeting some people. I think I'm going to bring some of my beaded and wire wrapped jewelry, hemp for the kiddies, and my DIY Necklace Kits (with gemstones and sterling silver findings) in addition to my maille to try and tap more people's interest.

I also think I'm going to bring some rings and my pliers and do some demos. I wish I was in the middle of a large project to show and make it more interesting.

My to do list also includes all kinds of businessy kinds of things that need to get done, too, like: price tags, promo stuff, displays, bags for purchases, maybe making some kind of banner.

Here are some awesome fair tips from Amanda (aka MrsDragon) at her blog The Dragon's Wares.

What do you do to get ready for a fair? What's the one fair item you can't live without?

Maille is More Than Just Jewelry

I realize that not everyone knows what chain maille is. What I find to be a continuous source of amusement, however, is that many of the people who have heard of it think that it can only be jewelry. Friends, a good portion of the maillers out there today do, in fact, make jewelry using these centuries old weaves. However, when these weaves originated (as early as the 4th century BCE) they were used to make armour. It wasn't until the 14th century that plate armour began to supplement chain maille.

Modern uses of this ancient armour continue to include protective clothing for people such as butchers, scuba divers and animal control officers, as well as splatter masks used by tank crews in WWI (see left). Maille remained in use as a decorative and possibly high-status symbol with military overtones long after its practical usefulness had passed.


It is only recent trends in chain maille artwork that has allowed for it to be adapted for decorative use in sculpture, jewelry, headdresses, Christmas ornaments, and chess sets. It is thanks to these non-traditional uses and the ingenuity of maillesmiths the world over that hundreds of new weaves have been invented.

In the spirit of using the ancient Euro 4-1 chain maille weave for a modern use, I'd like to introduce a new item in Athena's Armoury:

Napkin Armour

Now available at Athena's Armoury

Trying to add a touch of class to the bawdy great hall? These napkin rings will do the trick! They won't break if a brawl breaks out nor will they rust if a bit of wine spills on them. They were made using extremely strong and durable stainless steel rings; stainless steel is also corrosion and rust resistant. Lovely blue glass beads, reminiscent of sea glass, adorn them with little rosettes on either side. With regular use, stainless steel will remain quite shiny. However, if you notice that they are dulling, just wash them with some hot, soapy water and they'll be shiny once again. 1 1/2" diameter.

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!

More Dice Bag Options Coming Soon!

So, Dice Bags have been quite the belle of the ball in my shop. This past week, I got orders for all three different varieties that I currently have available! In the future, I look forward to being able to offer more color and metal options to meet this growing market!

Traditionally, Dice Bags have been used by gamer geeks who play Dungeons and Dragons. A comment made by Krummenacker (a fellow Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team member) made me start thinking about the characters in D&D and tailoring these bags specifically to them. Keep your eyes out for dice bags with inlays.

Hey all of you bloggers: check out these great tips from Timothy Adams Designs for getting some traffic to your blog. I've been really horrible about updating, so I need to work on that one. BlogRush sounds like a fun idea: I'll have to check it out! Also, I keep thinking about find more groups through Ring Surf for armourers, so that is on my list now, too!

Bags, Bags Everywhere

I'm excited to announce the addition of more styles of Dice Bags in my Etsy shop: Athena's Armoury. During December, I was in a Dice Bag making frenzy: both standard as well as some custom orders.

My standard Dice Bag was quite the craze as a Christmas present to many a geeky significant other (I say that with lots of love since I have one of my own: self-proclaimed no less!).

One of the custom orders I did was for the same size as my standard bag, but with copper cinch rings instead.

When someone saw me working on a Dice Bag at work, I got a custom order for a Crown Royal size Dice Bag.

All of these styles are now available at Athena's Armoury!

Please note that the two standard size style bags both ship within three business days of payment, however, the Uber Dice Bag (Crown Royal size) will be made when I receive your payment and will ship out in approximately two weeks. If time is a concern, contact me first.

I've Been MIA: Here's What I've Been Up To

I've been horrible about updating lately!! The last few weeks have been insane. I'm not sure how it happened, but I was still rushing to wrap and ship Christmas presents even though I started shopping in October.

I finally finished up my custom orders. I had one order for two Dice Bags, one of my standard and the second with copper cinch rings:

I was spotted working on a Dice Bag while at work and got a custom order on the spot for a Crown Royal size bag:

I don't have any in shop at the moment, but if you want a Dice Bag just drop me a Convo through my Etsy shop and I will get back to you with an estimate of how soon one can be ready (usually 3-4 days).

I got to go to the Atomic Holiday Bazaar in Sarasota recently and walked away with all kinds of awesome booty. You can see some it in my flickr Customer Appreciation Set. Also, I finally upgraded to a Pro flickr account! Ooooh, the organization possibilities!

I recently hit 150 Hearts! THANK YOU!


The folks over at Real Simple gave Etsy an awesome shoutout in their December issue:


Need a last minute handmade gift? Check out Etsy's fantastic new feature called Shop Local. It will show you all of the Etsy shops in your neighborhood.

The Fantasy Artists of Etsy (FAE) Street Team's December Newsletter is out! You can sign up to receive our once monthly newsletter here.

You have just 11 more days to check out the FAE Christmas Exhibition. There are many wonderful items here from our members.

We've got another wonderful feature over at our FAE website called the Magic Door. Every single day, it is updated to take you to a different member shop. It's a little happy surprise to go through that door!

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!!

Dice Bag as Evening Purse

I was hanging out in the Etsy forums (I do that a lot at work) and ran across a Promotions thread for a purse. Turns out the woman posting the thread has a formal event coming up (some kind of military dinner) and she was planning on wearing burgundy and silver and wanted a matching bag small enough for her cell, some money, etc. On a whim, I posted my dice bag and she went for it! Woohoo! People tend to think that posting in the forums, particularly the promo section, doesn't work. I tend to agree with that comment, but it sure worked for me this time! As a special little something for her I added this embellishment:

She plans on adding some beads to it that match the jewelry she's making to wear that night too. I asked to see pic's when she's done. I bet it will look fantastic.

On a side note, I caught my new family member drinking water our of one of the fish bowls last night. She didn't seem to be going for the fish, just drinking. We had noticed that the water was getting low very fast lately, but this is the first time we caught her in the act. Looks like I'll have to find another bowl for the fish.

Angel / Devil