DivaDea

the christians and the pagans

2009-11-24T11:24:00.005-05:00

I've been listening to the Dar Williams song, The Christians and the Pagans, and thinking about the holiday season and how it's really OK that not everyone celebrates Christmas. Given the choice, I probably wouldn't. But we all do stuff to keep the family peace, don't we? And of course there's not much work for a choral musician who doesn't do Christmas! Anyway, as generally non-religious as I

speaking of whatever...

2009-11-23T13:00:00.002-05:00

I've re-opened my card shop on etsy, thepaperwhisperer. I'm starting with holiday humor - simple designs, large attitude. I'm not a huge fan of Christmas, or holidays in general. Some years I get into it a bit, some years not. This year I'm making lots of cards. The nice collage ones recycled from old cards are at my main shop, and these are getting their own home. Perfect greetings to keep in

about Glee

2009-11-21T00:57:00.002-05:00

So I am a television junkie. My favorites to rewatch are Buffy, Firefly, The West Wing, Six Feet Under, and a few others. The ones I watch (or rent as soon as they come out) are Big Love, Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, Weeds, and a whole bunch of others. Just started The 4400 - has potential.Anyway, I've been watching Glee since it started. I absolutely loved the first episode, but I feel like it went

In the beginning...

2009-11-19T10:07:00.000-05:00

It be EART Thursday blog ring time again, and the question is How did you get started doing your art/craft? Well, I'll tell you.It all started with a friend named Miss Cathy. We saw some of those polymer clay cane work beads, the dolphins and smiles and things like that, knotted into hemp jewelry. We thought, hey, we could make those. Yeah, let's make those...Then we got this book and started

I love the comic book store

2009-11-18T13:27:00.003-05:00

Despite the fact that I had never entered a comic book store until Buffy Season 8, I find that I feel very at home there. The little comic book store in my town is owned and run by one guy named Jim, who is sweet as pie.I was very pleased to take some stuff over there for consignment/display - stake earrings, Firefly necklace, slayer ornament, and of course the vampire slayer penguin. I'm

had to share

2009-11-17T11:24:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you come across an artist that makes you so happy that you can't resist sharing! This is the work of Tenika of Velvet Morning on etsy.She makes collages in several layers, including antique handwritten letters and texts, ephemera, textures, vintage portraits, acetate, photography, digital effects, etc. She often uses a travel theme, which is partly why it feels like the woman in each

Thanksgiving table

2009-11-16T11:42:00.002-05:00

Polymer clay pretties for the Thanksgiving table or autumn dinner party:Napkin rings, set of 8 Filigree-style vaseTall vase in rich fall colors Adorable, tiny salt and pepper shakers

Scavenger Hunt - lots of prizes!

2009-11-12T19:00:00.002-05:00

The Eclectic Artisans Team has a new team shop. Check it out! To celebrate our new shop and the beginning of the holiday season, we're having a scavenger hunt, and everyone is invited to participate!Here's how to play: Visit the participating etsy shops (scroll down for the list of shops) and search their items for this photo: When you find it, send the shop owner an etsy convo letting them know

EART blog ring: holiday specials!

2009-11-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

The Thursday EART question of the week is: Do you have any good sales/deals coming up for holiday shoppers?My recycled holiday cards are a great deal at only $2 each because they're made of old greeting cards and leftover card stock from a wedding. Good deal!Another good deal to consider is shipping. In my etsy shop, you pay shipping on the first item only, and after that there's no extra charge

penguins, what else is new...

2009-11-11T15:17:00.004-05:00

I've started pulling penguin ideas out of a hat. Well, plastic bag, actually. Here are the first few: red hat penguin (oh, the irony of the red hat, but that's a post for another day...), stars and stripes penguin, and baseball penguin.Here they are before baking.And here they are after baking. It's like a penguin costume party.Or a joke. "Three penguins waddle into an elevator..."

2009-11-10T10:28:00.001-05:00

The penguins are living at the Palmyra Public Library for the holidays!

Already?

2009-11-09T12:03:00.002-05:00

Yep, already. It's time for holiday cards. This year, I'm making recycled collage cards out of used cards from holidays past.Mostly the cards are turning out colorful and cute, but occasionally they lean toward elegant - depends whether I'm at the country craft snowmen or the nature scene section of the old cards pile.The cards are being uploaded to my etsy shop over the next several days.

2009-11-09T00:19:00.002-05:00

So in the continuing effort to make the penguins on my list of penguin personality ideas, I built good old Dorothy and her trusty dog Toto. I knew before baking that the hair wasn't quite right, but turns out that was the least of my problems. The whole deal fell over in the oven, thus squashing the ruby slippers and the hair and severing poor Toto's head. Now I have a better idea of how to put

autumn necklace

2009-11-06T12:13:00.002-05:00

This is a necklace I made as a gift this week. I made these vibrant fall beads a couple of years ago and made them into necklaces in bracelets that didn't sell. So I took them apart and made this custom one. In addition to the polymer clay beads, it's also got glass, plastic, wood and stone beads.

Thursday EART blog ring: Holiday Planning

2009-11-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

The question for this week's EART blog ring is How far in advance do you start planning for holidays?Well, my answer is NEVER FAR ENOUGH!Seriously, I always wish I'd started sooner. Usually I only make stuff for two holidays - Halloween and Christmas. Ideally, I'd like to be planning and creating about 8 months in advance. I'll let you know when that starts happening...Usually, I'm cramming at

You want to make Buffy ornaments, I know you do...

2009-11-04T12:49:00.002-05:00

From the Buffyfest blog: "The purpose of this event is to craft 4-6 ornaments with a Whedonverse theme and send them to 4-6 different recipients. In return you will receive 4-6 completely different handmade ornaments..."Clicky the picture to read about and join the Whedonverse ornament swap. It's fun. I'm not sure what I'm making this year - possibly something from Dollhouse. Or not. Hmmm. Anyway

Support the Arts!

2009-11-03T12:54:00.003-05:00

This is the Cumberland Singers. Our concerts are scheduled for December 11, 12 and 13, 2009, in Mechanicsburg, PA, and we could use your help.Support the arts by purchasing a program booklet advertisement. Details and rates here.

Live long and prosper

2009-11-02T11:47:00.003-05:00

Here's the penguin getting mailed to the winner of PenguinPalooza. Can you tell who he is? I hope she likes it!Here's the list of all the ideas I got. Hope to be making a bunch of these soon!penguin dressed up as a turtle.penguin holding a jack-o-lantern.bluetooth/cellphone penguin.raking fall leaves penguin.penguin in a space suit.penguin in raincoat/boots.penguin with a waistcoat & a watch! (

Behold the cute!

2009-11-02T01:04:00.001-05:00

Halloween destash sale

2009-10-29T15:24:00.003-04:00

Cards, jewelry, penguins... All Halloween stuff is on sale at reduced prices to make room for holiday inventory!

PenguinPalooza winner

2009-10-26T14:09:00.007-04:00

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my blog, livejournal or facebook with penguin personality ideas!Normally for a drawing, I would use an online random number generator to choose a winner, but this time I actually cut and pasted all the entries into a document, printed them out, cut them apart and physically pulled a random one from the middle of the pile. Why? Because I plan to put them

Still with the penguins...

2009-10-20T11:51:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm not doing too well with the blogging this month, am I? Meh.Anyway, this is the last week for PenguinPalooza! Leave an idea on this post to be entered in a drawing to win a fabulous polymer clay penguin ornament.

what to buy what to buy...

2009-10-08T11:33:00.003-04:00

The Thursday EART blog ring topic is: what's next on the purchase list for your business?Good question.What I'd like best right now I think is to save my hands from blisters and my wrists from aching with a motorized pasta machine, like this one.To see what my EART friends have on their lists, continue to Michelle's blog here.

free card deal in October

2009-10-02T14:03:00.001-04:00

FREE Halloween or fall greeting card with the purchase of $5 or more from divadeaHappy October!

Packaging

2009-10-01T10:17:00.001-04:00

It's Thursday - time for the EART blog ring. Our topic is packaging this week. I'm going to make this a short one :)I use recycled materials as much as possible, as in reusing boxes, bubble wrap, packing stuffs, etc. I like to use as little packaging as possible and re-use as much as possible. Of course, if someone requests new materials, for instance if it's being sent as a gift, then I am happy