Banner Style.

Today I bring tidings of style and providence!

I am happy to report that I found a wonderful alternative to the ever-complicated photo shop and my beloved microsoft editor.  Acorn.  I have to say it has blown me away so far with what I can do with it, and it is really a common-sense program, meaning it is really simple to learn how to use.

After days and hours of agonizing over what I wanted my Etsy shop banner to look like, there was this total lightbulb moment. Eureka!  And I can honestly say I am proud of the outcome.  I took the picture of the books myself.  The little pearl starburst gem is a trinket that belong to a wonderful friend who is now in Heaven.  I love the way it worked out, that I wound up with the darling little pearl earring, and that it belonged to someone so special!  For me it makes the image very sentimental. And I want that to reflect on my business decisions.

I am very excited with the way things are going so far.  I feel like progress is finally being made, and rightly so after such a long time of putting these dreams to the side.  I feel blessed to know that God is still opening up doors for me, and that if I just cool my jets and breathe, He will show me which step to take next.  He showed me which picture to use for my sick banner!  He is so awesome.

The banner for this blog is inspired by the banner on my Etsy shop.  Check it out! I hope you like.

Thanks so much for reading.

Caryn

Photoshop

I have decided after all to take the plunge and try and learn Adobe Photoshop.  I know it is supposed to be one of the best programs out there, but I always figured that if you knew a program really well (no matter what the company was), you could make great art with it.
I know Microsoft Image Suite really well.  I got to the point where I was so comfortable with it and figured out how to make some beautiful work.  That was because I grew up on Windows and Dells, and I never had my own mac until this year.  Thanks to my husband, i received a macbook as a birthday present :)  YAY!

While both of these things sound like good news, they in fact contradict each others' functionality.  I figured out that there is a way to run windows on a mac so that you can run microsoft programs, but you have to purchase windows, the editing software, and an additional software that acts as a mediator to the mac for the Microsoft programs.  Sheesh.  Can't we all just get along?

Anyways. I was always so hesitant about learning photoshop because, well, it is really complex!  I mean it has so much to learn about it, and I already know the Microsoft program.  I have been fighting this outcome for a while, but now I see it is inevitable.  Somehow, some way, I will figure it out.  It just means I have to start from square 1 again.

Since I last wrote, we have moved into our new place, and have a kitty who thinks she's a human, and a puppy who snores like a man.  Lucy the cat and Desi the dog (in reference to one of the best shows of all time).  Our home has three bedrooms, and two bathrooms, a galley kitchen, a breakfast nook,  a formal dining room,  a spacious living room, and an extra room we have been using for storage.  It sits in a cute little suburban neighborhood and everyone here is really nice.

My husband has graciously given me an entire extra bedroom that I am converting into our home office/craft room.  We took a trip to IKEA a couple of weeks ago and splurged on some home office materials, and other things for updating the look of the house.

I am really excited about having a workspace.  It was always a bummer to work on jewelry on our little tiny kitchen table in the dining/living room in our little 500 square foot apartment.  It has been wonderful for us both to have more personal space.  My husband is so patient with me.

So that is the update for now!  I am so excited to keep up the momentum on this business.


God Bless,

Caryn

Just to Catch Up...

Wow! I just realized I haven't updated this blog in almost a year!
That just won't do.
So, here we go...

A couple of years ago, during my junior year of college, a friend and I decided to go to hastings to find something to do (we were both poor, so we had to be creative). We went browsing through the impressive book collection they had there, and came upon a book called Pretty Little Things by Sallie Jean Alexander. I couldn't afford to buy the book at the time, but this friend and I looked through it with awe and wonder. Well, I kept on making jewelry when I could, and kept up my creativity by taking a couple of photography classes just for fun. And before my last class was over, I was again, addicted to making things on a weekly and daily basis. I had to have more!
So, I married an Electrical Engineer, and he taught me how to solder. Yay! I also started doing a lot of research about jewelry making. One day, I happened upon a lovely blog called Art Ego Retro Charms. http://arteego-shop.blogspot.com/ I was inspired by this full-time mom, selling her beautiful charms via email on her blog, and more importantly, how beautiful her work was. Now while they get a bit more romantic than I am hoping to make, they have been truly life changing for me to see! I will try to post a picture of what they look like.

As I mentioned before, it has always been a crucial part of my inmost being to create something. Ever since I was little, I was always playing with playdough and drawing. Even now as a grown woman, I constantly feel the urge to make something with my hands!
For the moment I have to put off everything (except my thirst for art) because we are waiting to close on a house. When we get this house, I will be able to set up a proper workspace! It was so difficult to work in our little college apartment because, well, it was little. I would have to work on the kitchen table, and then I would have to pack up all my tools and collages up after every project. Needless to say, it wasn't the most productive environment. I would love to put some pictures up of some of the charms I have made so far, but they are all packed away in a storage unit for now. But I will put up a picture of what inspired me to start.

Also, I have signed up for an etsy account, and my store is called ElenaBijoux. I have not made it an official store yet because i have no inventory. Plus I need to brush up on my skills, and come up with an official style for my jewelry. One thing after doing a year of research is that I realize my style has a little steampunk edge to it. The other thing is that I want to be eco-friendly and chic. I would love to be able to make pieces from antiques, and jewelry that has been thrown out (with a little updating of course). So, that is what I proverbially lean towards at present.

This is a picture from the art-eego charm shop.

I am someone who is a sucker for instant gratification, perpetual motion, getting the ball rolling. So this trial and error process while building this business more gradually than I would like, is really developing my patience. And looking back, I can see where the Lord was taking this. I am glad because I am going to need patience when I actually put myself out there and start selling some jewelry!

That will do for now... hopefully my blog posts will become less and less wordy and foreshadowing, and more and more about my actual product.

Thanks so much!

Caryn

I took the pledge!

A Willing Artisan

I live, eat and breathe art. Art has always been a part of my life. Artistic genes have been passed down to me and my siblings from both my mother & father's sides. It has always felt very natural for me to create. Ever since I can remember, I was drawing, painting, coloring, and taking pictures. When it came time to start highschool, i took art classes for three years, and learned how to play guitar. When college rolled around, I took photography classes, and had the most helpful professor I could have ever hoped for. I have always made jewelry on the side, mostly earrings and necklaces, always from broken jewelry i had lying around. Right now I am working on a photography business, and a jewelry business as well. It dawned on me, during my last two semesters of college, that I had no clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life. The closer graduation came, the more I was freaking out. Luckily I had found my niche during the fall before i graduated: photography. I knew that if my path led in that direction, I could be happy! But by using art to shape my everyday life, I would need some sort of a game plan. I am starting this blog as a genesis for what I hope lies ahead in my future. I want to sell hand-made goods, and I want to have my own business. First, my posts are going to be mostly dealing with my starting out, getting a feel for everything, and adjusting to the business side of life. Ideally, they will progress into posting actual items that someone would want to take home. I have been praying about this for a while now, and it is what I feel led to do. I want to be like the willing artisans in Exodus. I want to use the wisdom and knowledge that God has given me for craftmanship, in hopes that I only learn more. Here's to the future!