Behind the door of Room 3

Breaking the spell....announcing Mourning Market this October 13th at El Corazon!

2013-09-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

What better way to rejoin the living by vending at my favorite market....Mourning Market. For those of you not familiar with Mourning Market, it is a dark artist's collective featuring the Northwest's spookiest artists, crafters, vendors & performers. The market has a new home at El Corazon and I hope to see you there on October 13th!

Fired Up February - Day 13

2012-02-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

Okay...back on track. Love the matte black and the jet black mixed with touches of hot pink in this one.

Black and Pink Embellished Herringbone Bracelet

Fired Up February - Day 12

2012-02-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

Bad Tiffy......not fired up. Finished nothing. Hide in corner.

Fired Up February - Day 11

2012-02-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

A double row embellished herringbone stitch bracelet.

Embellished Herringbone Bracelet in Blues

Fired Up February - Day 10

2012-02-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

Egads.....I find myself running terribly behind....so I'm going to just do quick posts to catch up

Herringbone stitched bracelet with a single row of faceted amethyst fire-polished Czech glass beads.

Blue and Purple Embellished Herringbone Bracelet

Fired up February - Day 9

2012-02-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

As I found out from yesterday's project, my finger tips have become prissy little bitches when it comes to wire wrapping. To toughen them up I whipped out this bracelet and pair earrings.

The Amethyst vintage style triangle Czech fire polish beads look great with the jet black bicones and silver wire. Tempted as I was to keep them for myself, I ended up listing them.

Black and Purple Bracelet

Black and Purple Earrings

Fired up February - Day 8

2012-02-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

The last couple days have been hell. Mere days after getting new tabs and new tires for my car, it decided to repay me with a horrible horrible engine chatter and loss of power. What a wanker. Not sure if it is going to be fixable, but I have a bad feeling that it is serious.

Fired up February is already starting to be F#@k it February. What F#@ked up February doesn't know is that I'm done with my two years of hell. I'm taking back my reality with a vengeance (though it might take me a little longer since I'm walking now).

On that note, I decided that perhaps I should get back to basics for today's project. Before I became addicted to the needle (beading needle that is), I mainly did bead and wire work. I dug out my secret stash of sterling silver wire, gathered some beads, did a few wrapping warm ups and then proceeded to make this:

Faceted Ruby Red fire-polished rounds and Jet black bicones wrapped with sterling silver wire make links for a Classic Goth Bracelet. My fingers were almost too sore to list it on Etsy, but I pushed though the pain.

Red and Black Bracelet by Room3designs

Fired Up February - Day 7

2012-02-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

Lazy, lazy, lazy day...........
Somehow managed to whip up these earrings to match yesterday's bracelet. Indicolite colored Toho seed beads and Jet AB fire-polished glass beads woven using the St. Petersburg stitch. Added some nice Jet Black glass drops at the bottom and hung them from sterling silver ear wires.

Teal Blue and Jet Black St. Petersburg earrings

Fired Up February - Day 6

2012-02-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I met the incredibly talented and lovely Olga Dillow and she taught me this simple yet delicate chain stitch. At the time I was unaware that it is called the St. Petersburg stitch, as Olga spoke mainly Russian and I did not. She does have great communication and teaching skills and taught me quite a bit in a short amount of time. Actually, her beadwork inspired me so much, I lay some of the blame of my descent into beadweaving madness onto her.

Anyway, I knew that I wanted to use these beautiful Indicolite colored seed beads I recently picked up. Jet AB faceted fire-polished Czech glass beads seemed like the way to go for the larger middle beads.

Here is the finished bracelet, which I have listed in my Etsy shop, Room3designs.

The technique I used for this bracelet is the double stitch St. Petersburg chain. There is also the single stitch and other variations. If you are interested in learning this stitch, I found some great tutorials around the web, or you may contact me.

Teal Blue and Black St. Petersburg Bracelet

Fired up February - Day 5

2012-02-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

Internet connection has been spotty as of late....looks like a new router in the future. Loading the posts may be sporadic - but I will try to keep on schedule.

I do a lot of repair work for people - from antique beadwoven works to modern jewelry. The project for today is a necklace that I have been asked to repair by Leon Jones, a fellow Suquamish Farmer's Market vendor.

Apparently he picked this up at a flea market (garage sale?) and would like to give it too his wife. As you can see, it looks as though it went through a cat fight.

After a few tries, I ended up taking off all the fringe and doing a complete reconstruction of them. I think that I did a quite a decent job - and I know that it will definitely last through a cat fight now.

Fired up February - Day 4

2012-02-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today is the birthday of my new beau, Rich. We had big plans to head over to the city to celebrate......whoo hoo!.....but, alas, this was not to be. A doctor's appointment on Wednesday brought the news that no alcohol would be in Rich's future (yikes!) and on Thursday my car decided that it was no longer willing to go anywhere until it gets a new engine.

Down and out, yet determined to get out of the house, we ventured out for a walk around our little town of Suquamish and wound up dropping in on some friends. The fellas ended up making a big dinner, the girls ended up getting tequila'd up. I know dinner was yums, after dinner smoke was enjoyed, Ice Cream cake was devoured and then it gets a bit faded. For this reason, I'm glad that I finished today's piece before venturing out for the walk....

I chose amethyst for a couple of reasons - it is February's birthstone and, besides it's many other properties, is thought to guard against drunkenness and to instill a sober mind. The word amethyst comes from the Greek meaning "without drunkenness."

Amethyst Triple Strand Bracelet

Fired up February - Day 3

2012-02-03T23:18:00.000-08:00

For the third day I made a new version of the Abigail necklace. The Abigail necklace is one of my popular necklaces - black, romantic, goth with a little Victorian edge to it.

The Abigail Necklace

Fired up February - Day 2

2012-02-02T03:46:00.000-08:00

Picking two cherries with one hand.....

My box of unfinished projects has been giving me the mean eye for quite a while now. I even think I heard some of the pieces whispering about me. The loudest were the cherries.

Last summer I decided to make beaded cherries.After a few frustrating attempts to make perfect little beaded spheres on my own, I broke down and purchased a great tutorial from The Crimson Moon.

Here I must pause to give an appreciatory nod to The Crimson Moon. As some of you may already know, I prefer to figure things out myself. Persons close to me have alluded to it being stubbornness - though I prefer to think of myself as dedicated. The moment I realize that am in need of a tutorial is the moment I admit defeat. The tutorial I received from the Crimson Moon was so clear and concise I almost enjoyed not knowing something.

I promptly began working on the first set.......and then stopped.

Have you ever felt mocked by an inanimate object? Today was the day these cherries would mock me no more! Below is my finished design. The two 10 mm cherries are so sweet, I decided to hang them from a very delicate vintage gold chain necklace.

Retro Rockabilly Pinup Cherry Pendant Necklace

Fired Up in February - Day 1

2012-02-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

The color RED symbolizes action, confidence and courage. It is thought to boost mental and physical energy. Red is associated with passionate love, sex, great energy, impulse, adventure.

Ambition and drive with a need for personal freedom.

Seemed perfect sense to create my first piece for my Fired Up in February challenge out of red seed beads. Valentine's Day be damned.

I wove this netted cuff bracelet using dark ruby glass seed beads. Normally I would add some kind of embellishments - either along the edges or through the netting, but the more I worked on it, the more I like it basic.

When I finished the body of the bracelet, I realized I would like to incorporate metal and perhaps some chain. This led to using tibetan silver end connectors along with a lobster clasp and chain. Still looked a little stark - so I incorporated faceted Czech glass beads on dangles to the chain.

Desire - Red Beadwoven Net Cuff Bracelet

Getting all FIRED UP in February

2012-02-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

Somehow, in the last year, I let myself wander (or let myself be pushed) off my path. Yes, I could chalk it up to situations beyond my control, but that would be a cop out. The tough economic conditions have affected most everyone. Children grow up and start a life of their own. Friends move away, start families, become busy. I, myself, seem like I have been busier, working harder to make less, two steps forward three steps back.

The end of 2010 found me suddenly without a job or a place to live. Thankfully, the most wonderful family I know put me up through the fall and winter. Spring found me a home (next to a graveyard no less), but a job is still elusive.

Consequently, last year I did more festivals and markets than I have in the past. I also started two other ventures - I co-opened a new etsy shop, T&M Metalworks, and I started selling corsets. The metal shop really took off towards the end of the year. When I wasn't creating jewelry, I was busy with that. Though I created more jewelry than ever, hardly any made it to my etsy shop. My online time, blogging, and focus on my real passion took a backseat.

I'd like to take this time to apologize to the Etsy Dark Side Team, the Etsy Steam Team,

the Etsy BeadWeavers and Team Etsy Rain for my dismal participation this past year.

SO....to get back on freakin' track, I've dedicated the month of February to FIRE IT UP. Inspired by the lovely Miss Victoria, I'm challenging my self to create an item a day and posting about it everyday for the month. Nothing like jumping in head first to get the blood flowing.

TotusMel's Wunderkammer

2010-12-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

Not only is she a lovely and creative woman....her keen eye and discerning taste has made her Wunderkammer blog one of my favorites.

TotusMel's Wunderkammer

How tickled pink do you think I must be to be featured in it? A most marvelous way to come back to society.

I have made several more beaded ornament covers and will take pictures and post soon.

It seems like it's been forever......

2010-12-10T14:06:00.000-08:00

After many months, I have finally returned from my Walkabout. A little disheveled....yet anxious to get back to life. I might have stayed away longer, but I was starting to get reports that not only was the TiffyTemp2000 failing to watch the shop, she was starting to destroy it.

Well, let me make some coffee and freshen up a bit. Though I would like nothing more than to meet you for cocktails and catch up with the real world, I must dismiss the TiffyTemp2000 and straighten up a bit. I just wanted to let you know I was back....I missed you all....and start chilling the Vodka.

Suquamish Farmer's Market HARVEST FAIR

2010-09-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Oh the best laid plans.....I am so many months behind in my blogging, catching up seems impossible. To that extent, I'll just jump right in.

Today is the last day of the Suquamish Farmer's Market, which I've been vending at almost every Wednesday since mid-July. Though small in size, the people involved and the goods available are marvelous. Hoping to see you there today.

Suquamish Farmer's Market

Fall Harvest Fair!

September 22, Wednesday 3:00 to 7 p.m.

Come on out for the beautiful sunny fall afternoon! Free pumpkins for kids at the pumpkin decorating tent and every 20 minutes we’ll do a raffle draw for a gift of your choosing from one of this week’s vendors. This week’s lineup:

Farmers
Hand Sown Homegrown: Sara & Jared Hankins will have lettuce, squashes, cherry and big tomatoes, garlic, artichokes, carrots, beets, beans, and more: http://www.buylocalfoodinkitsap.org/HH_2010_CSA.pdf

Some Like It Hott: Charlie Bodony grows pepper varieties in his 600 foot greenhouse, smokes them over an alder fire, and grinds them to powder seasoning. http://www.aldersmoked.com/

Gregory Farm: Paul Gregory both grows produce west of Bangor as well is imports Yakima fruit. This week he’ll have Yakima’s Johnson Orchards peaches, nectarines, pluots, and honeycrisp, gala, and gravenstein apples. Yakima’s Jim Blonde will supply blueberries, and Paul will bring his large, sweet onions, green beans, and leeks.

Larry Hile: Larry will have Chanterelle mushrooms, purple potatoes, beets, red cabbage, zucchini, and Swiss Chard.

Finn Hill Farm: Andrea Wigglesworth, will have both summer and winter squash varieties, onions, pie pumpkins, beans, zuchinni, tomatoes, and scallions: http://www.buylocalfoodinkitsap.org/farmers-and-farms/finn-hill-farm

Weaving, Sewing, Carving, Knitting, and Soap Makers
WashSoaps: Mary Coupland makes natural glycerince soaps with organic essential oils: http://www.washsoaps.com/

Halfshell Arts: Ellen Peterson paints watercolors, makes picture collages, and more!

Leon Jones: Makes peeled branch walking canes with woven string top parts.

A Stitch Above: Bobby Weiler and family, makes earrings, badgeholders, eyeglassholders, various beaded items, dreamcatchers, pillow and blanket sets, decorative pillows, catnip bags and other sewn items.

Made In Manette: Carolee Valentine, makes soap and knits baby hats, dish towels, pot holders, and sews apron and clothespin bags.

Steve Old Coyote: Carves masks, flutes, and emblems of Northwest coast traditions, Southwest peoples traditions, and the Plains.

Ready to Go Food
New Vendor!: Li’l Lumpia Shack: Melanie Ives-Griggs will be making delicious, crispy beef rolls

Stonehouse Breads and New York Style Bagels: The Stones will have their bagel kinds of plain Sourdough, whole wheat, sunflower, carmelized onion, garlic, poppyseed, sesame seed, everything, salt, and cinnamon raisin: http://www.stonehousebreads.com/

Viking Ice Cream: Thormod and Asta will make the ice cream flavors of Arctic Vanilla, Lemon Meringue, Raspberry Cream, Blackberry of Mordor and Sea Monster (Lemon, Lime and Orange combined).

Jones Family Farm: Serving barbecue ribs and chicken, pulled pork, using ingredients from grocery stores, local farmers, and their own garden produce.

Chebon Tiger: Oklahoma Style Fry Bread and Indian Tacos

Salmon
Crimson Cove Smoked Salmon & Cheese: Jody & Mark DeSalvo: The DeSalvos use alder and apple to smoke their sockeye salmon and cheeses. They smoke their signature Alder Smoked Blue , Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Gouda, Swiss, and Goat (Jack, Cheddar) http://www.crimsoncove.com/

Jewelry
Mels Bells Jewelry: Melanie Delker creates hand-beaded jewelry, glassware accessories, and prayer beads including custom rosaries: http://www.melsbellsjewelry.etsy.com/

Room3Designs: Tiffany Westlund works with beads in jewelry and numerous accessories: http://www.room3designs.etsy.com/ and http://www.room3designs.blogspot.com/

Winner of the Eva Necklace Giveaway

2010-07-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who entered my Giveaway to celebrate the Etsy Dark Side team. The winner chosen by random.org was Kitrona. There are still more giveaways and other Dark Side goodness going on throughout the month - you can find out more on the Etsy Dark Team blog.

Giveaway to Celebrate the Etsy Dark Side!

2010-07-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

The Etsy Dark Team has reached 1000 fans! In celebration, I'm running this fun Giveaway to thank Dark Side fans for their support!

You will win this lovely Room 3 Designs ORIGINAL

- The Eva Necklace -

The perfect little black necklace - made with Toho Japanese seed beads and Glass Fire Polished Czech beads.

Ends July 21, 2010

♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦

Requirements to enter:

*
Have a blog that I can contact you through by clicking the username in your reply post(s) ~or~ leave me an email with each entry.

*
Visit Room3designs, come back here, and leave a comment about your favorite item. (=entry #1)

For extra entries in this giveaway, you can do one or more of the following. A separate comment for each is not required but leave an "Enter" key space or two between each action/link so I can be sure to count them!:

*
+2 entries each (for a total of six max) - Write about this giveaway on your blog, Myspace or LiveJournal. Include the URL to each post in your comment for it to count.
*
+1 entry (1 per day & a comment for each) - Twitter the following message: RT @Room3designs Visit room3designs.blogspot.com to enter their 1k+ EDT Fans giveaway!
*
+1 entry - Be or become a follower on Twitter of @Room3designs
*
+1 entry - Be or become a follower on Twitter of @EtsysDarkSide
*
+1 entry - Be or become a fan of the Room3design's Facebook page
*
+1 entry - Be or become a fan of the Etsy Dark Team's Facebook page
*
+1 entry - Be or become a Follower of this blog

Much luck! ♥ ~ Lady Miss Tiff (Room3designs) and the EtsyDarkTeam

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Please note:

*
Due to Facebook's current ToU, Facebook posts can NOT be used as an entry for giveaways. However, become a fan/liking a page and "sharing" links to blog posts, such as this one, is okay *nudgenudgewinkwink*
*
If the blog linked to your username is private then we can not contact you, so leave an email. If you do not leave an email... you guessed it, we can not contact you. If we can not contact you, your entry can not be counted, can it? Nope.
*
Do not mush all you entries into one continuous sentence. Leave an "Enter" key space or two between each entry/action!
*
Any comments or links not relevant to this giveaway will be deleted. Please do not make our lives difficult. Don't make me send an angry horde of incendiary-poo-flinging flying monkeys at you.
*
All entries are put into a list and then randomized and numbered with the help of random.org. Then, a random number is chosen, also via random.org, and we have our name out of the e-hat, so to speak!
*
Did you read all of this? You're awesome. +1 entry if you write "monkey" at the end of your comment.

Come over here, I want to introduce you to the Etsy Beadweavers team.

2010-01-16T01:39:00.000-08:00

So, unless you're familiar with Etsy, I've seen your eyes glaze over when I mention my teams. I was going to take this opportunity to give a brief explanation what the teams are, what they do, etc... but I just changed my mind. Or maybe it's because I don't know how to describe in words the awesomeness of the teams that I'm on.

Instead, I'm going to introduce them to you over the next couple of posts, starting right now with the Etsy Beadweavers. A collective of incredibly talented artists that can whips some beads into submission like you can't even imagine. I am so honored to be a part of this team because, though I am confident of my skills, I have yet to produce pieces that are on the level as many of my teammates. Throw genuine kindness, the open sharing of knowledge & techniques and the sincere pursuit and appreciation of beadweaving as an art on top of all the talent and you have the Etsy Beadweavers.

Here's a great compilation video that Good Quill Hunting put together.

Good Quill Hunting is also sponsoring the Haute Couture Beading Contest....which has had my panties all in a bunch for the last couple of weeks.

And I'll wrap this up with a fellow EBW team member, Cielo Design, who is one of my absolute favorite bead artists.

Kicking Grumpies to the Curb

2010-01-12T21:40:00.000-08:00

So, my darling friends, as many of you might have noticed, from about Thanksgiving on I was feeling a lot like this

and like this

and I couldn't quite shake it. Usually I'm pretty optimistic, but I was seriously in the downs. I finally figured it out...I was having a bad case of the sads - mostly due to missing people. My mom usually worked on Thanksgiving, so from a young age I always had Thanksgiving dinner at my house for friends & family. Many of you have been there in the past. Not having this for the last couple of years has left me with a void that I couldn't quite put my finger on until now. Not living in the city, I don't get to socialize as much, so I miss my friends. I miss my brother, Josh (RIP), something awful. I miss my friends that have passed on much, along with my father. And I also miss my son, Sol. As he is 16 now and spends the majority of time with his friends. All this missing left me a very grumpy Tiffy.

Then, after a couple days of spending too much time in my bed (never thought I'd say that), I jumped up, grabbed the scissors, rushed to the bathroom & chopped my bangs. You all know the look...the Tiffy just cut her bangs look - a little too short & not quite straight. I then threw on my favorite big black boots. All of a sudden I felt like this

Though this is probably more accurate

Anyway, the whole point is...I feel better and a lot of it is due to my friends and family. For that reason, I want to tell you all that I appreciate you sticking by me, I love you and I hope we all have a fucking fantastic year!!!!!

Noms Sweet Noms

2009-12-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

So…I moved into my place last May and I still haven't fully unpacked or decorated. For a couple months I ~~chalked it up to~~ deluded myself that it was due to being busy, but the truth of the matter is that I’m just tired of moving.

“Why bother – you’re just going to have to take it down, pack it all up and haul it somewhere else”

Well, after a couple of months it was not only embarrassing, it was uncomfortable. Even more so when company came over.

“I’ll tell why – because this is home now and I want to be comfortable. So you better get busy with those boxes Bitch”

So now I’m almost done – just have to hang artwork/pictures and get some kind seating for the living room.

“They call it a couch Dumbass”

“Okay…that’s about enough with the interjections. I’ll never get this finished if you all don’t shut the hell up.”

Where was I? Oh yeah, since the living room isn’t full of boxes anymore, I jumped at the chance when my dear friend, Lorri, offered to come over and cook me dinner. Lorri is one of the best cooks I’ve ever known and I’ll take a meal cooked by her over eating out in a restaurant anytime. She has also taught me an awful lot through the years – from tips and tricks to killer meals on a serious budget.

Last Tuesday she took the ferry over and I picked her (and shopping bags) up after work. While we chatted and drank wine, she deftly prepared this delicious dinner:

Bread and Balsamic Vinegar/Olive Oil for dipping

Salad - Mixed Greens with Pear, caramelized Pecans and Roquefort Cheese with Basalmic Dressing.

Easy as pie and one of the best salads I've ever had. Here's how you do the
Carmelized Pecans: This is the tricky part. You place the pecans in a hot pan on high heat and you have to stay with it, constantly turning them around. Once you start to smell the pecans (you are going to love this smell), then you add the 1/4 cup sugar. Constantly stirring once again. Watch the sugar turn to a liquid state and toss the pecans all around in the syrupy goodness, until they are all coated. Then remove them from the hot pan and let them cool. Keep them at room temp and then add them in at the very end, just right before tossing.

Main Dish - Spaghetti with Spicy Garlic Shrimp in an Arrabiata Sauce

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients

6 ounces fresh linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup prechopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with salt; add shrimp to pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done. Transfer shrimp to a bowl. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan. Add onion, minced garlic, basil, and crushed red pepper to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or just until sauce begins to thicken. Return shrimp to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Add parsley to the pan, stirring well to combine. Serve over pasta.

Dessert - the best damn Chocolate Eclairs in town from Beard Papa's.
I cannot describe how good these eclairs are - you must try and get one yourself. Check the page for locations near you....OMG! I'm still in heaven thinking about them.

After a marvelous dinner (with a couple of bottles of wine), Lorri was safely on her way back to Seattle on the ferry. I returned home to do a little clean up and while doing the dishes I realized that for the first time my house felt like home. I guess it really needed a good dinner and friends to truly complete the housebreaking.

Breaking my Giveaway Cherry - Updated

2009-11-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

And the winner was I'm So Pretty, I Fart Fairy Dust! I want to thank all who entered for the great comment and the Most Marvelous Mrs. B for hosting this on her site Confesstions of a Pagan Soccer Mom.

I give away a lot of my work (after a couple of cocktails my profit margin plummets). But this is my first REAL giveaway. Better yet, the lovely Mrs. B is generously hosting a Giveaway of my Abigail necklace on her blog Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom.
Here's your chance to win one of my best selling necklaces that is flattering on all necklines - perfect for you or a great gift.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom is one of my favorite blogs and full of great stuff...so after you enter make sure to go exploring.

Deliciously Dark Drinkware - Tiffany bugs festishghost and skeletaldropkick for you

2009-11-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

With the onslaught of the gift giving season, I thought I would start sharing some of my favorite artists/shops with you. The cracked and chipped coffee cup from which I drink is not the reason I decided to start with fetishghost and skeletaldropkick. I have admired (and desired) the work of each for quite some time - that they both do ceramics is just a coincidence.

When I was brand new on Etsy, I was lured into fetishghost’s shop by this bracelet.

This inanimate object reached through the screen and wrapped itself around my wrist. I felt like crying. It didn't matter that I would never own it or wear it; I loved it so much it felt like it was mine.

When I was finally able to tear myself away, I found not only more intriguing and beautiful silver jewelry, but exquisite ceramics also. “BoneOrchard Teaware & Gothic Sterling Noir” is right! When I later joined the Etsy Steam Team, I was thrilled to find fetishghost was a teammate.

I caught fetishghost peeking out of his silversmithing and ceramics studio long enough to answer three questions for me:

Do you listen to music while you create? If so, what were the last three things you listened to?

This one is easy… Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie…not necessarily in that order.

If you could time travel to three other times in history, what would they be?

This one is a bit harder. I'm rather content with the time I live in, although I was a bit shocked, myself, when I realized that. I'd like to go back to the 1940's to hang out with a few favorite artists and musicians... people like Wassily Kandinsky, Sohji Hamada, and Louis Armstrong. I don't really have any itching to go back any further in time than that; things seem to get pretty hairy the further back you go.

What are three things you would like still like to accomplish in life?

Now that my kids are old enough, I'd love to get back to traveling the world. I've always wanted to spend a year in Morocco.
I would like to help establish a successful community art center, (who wouldn't).
Maybe go back to art school for another spell...

I fully suggest a good browse through fetishghost’s shop…make sure to read his profile.

When you’re finished there, head on over to Skeletaldropkick’s shop for dark ceramics with a heavier feel. I wish I was drinking a Coffee Nudge out of this cup right now!

I was so enchanted with skeletaldropkick that I practically begged her to join the Etsy Dark Side team….and I am happy to say the she did. I also got her to answer the same three questions for me:

Do you listen to music while you create? If so, what were the last three things you listened to?

I have my iPod on whenever I throw, but the rest of the work is kinda when I can make time for it, so I don’t get to listen to much for that. The last 2 things I listened to were: “TV on the Radio”, “You Say Party, We Say Die” and Radio Lab (podcast from NPR)

If you could time travel to three other times in history, what would they be?
Likely to where California is before the Europeans arrived. I would love to see the area I live in the way it was before massive amounts of humans trashed it.
To the ancient Mayan or Aztec eras.
Can I go into the future? I really want a flying car….

Name three things you would like to accomplish yet in life.
Ride in a dirigible. Might be even more fun than saying, “dirigible.”
Travel - New Zealand, Australia, Europe, Ireland, etc…
hmmm… solve the human population problem in a peaceable and ethical way. No big deal, really.

Well Cris, if I see you hitchhiking while I’m cruising in my dirigible, I’ll pick you up & we’ll go off adventuring... Until then, I’m off to make a Coffee Nudge in my old and cracked mug. Yes, dear friends, that was a hint.

Coffee Nudge
1/4 oz dark crème de cacao
3/4 oz coffee liqueur “I stopped drinking, but only when I sleep” - George Best
1/2 oz brandy
6 - 8 oz hot coffee
1 1/2 oz whipped cream