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Magnificent Masks & Quaint Curiosities
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| Rat Queen Mask |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|07:24 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  pleased | ] |
This was a fun project. I was contacted about three weeks ago by The director of the Community Nutcracker Ballet production in Jacksonville Fl...they needed a new Rat Queen mask. This is their old rat queen from last year...
The director thought it looked like a cat, & wanted something more "rat-like". So, I gave them this.
 
Basically, a realistic-looking Norway rat with bling. I added a head decoration that wouldn't interfere with the crown they already have & studded the ears & forehead with Swarovski crystals that'll sparkle on stage.
It ended up being a challenge...which is always fun! Plus, I love it when my masks are used in the theater. I hope she's a big hit with the kids. ^_^
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| Seller Beware |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|01:48 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  annoyed | ] |
Whoa. I've been chasing around all morning after a suspicious buyer and it's pretty scary, how a sale can seem so innocent and suddenly turn bad.
I got a big sale...one person bought my Fennec, the black fox, and the Siamese cat all in one go. Then, no payment (Paypal was the selected method). This happens ALL the time. New Etsy buyers just don't know that they have to click & sign in at Paypal to finish the transaction. Also, occasionally, it's fraud & they're just trying to get you to send the items without paying for them. *shrug* I never send anything until Paypal tells me to, so I just send 'em an e-mail that tells them nicely how to finish the transaction correctly. If they do, then it was never an issue. If they don't, well, seller beware. Right? Gotta stay on your toes when you do internet sales.
But with this sale I didn't even get the chance to send an informative "let me tell you how to use Paypal on Etsy" e-mail 'cause this guy sent me an e-mail informing ME that he knew he was having problems and this happens all the time. I told him how to use his credit card securely on Paypal. He sent back this e-mail:
paypal does offer the option, but that credit card is linked to my paypal account so it wont let me use it, ive had this problem with paypal on numerous occassions.
perhaps you can provide me with your bank account details , and IBAN,
and i can transfer the money to your account?
Did I mention that he's an international buyer??
So the answer is NO. No no no you may not do business at my shop. And I sent EtsyAbuse a notification and I cancelled the sale and I even left a bit of feedback (neutral because I REALLY want to hope that this guy is not a criminal but just exceedingly stupid) detailing that he'd asked for my IBAN and account and you NEVER DO THAT. EVER.
Sellers beware. Holy crap people. :-/ |
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| Custom Masks |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|04:39 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  calm | ] |
I've been working on some custom orders that turned out pretty cool. This one was finished today...
A Persian Raven in custom colors. It's for a Black & White formal ball (there seem to be a lot of those lately...or perhaps I'm just moving in different circles now). A little red added for panache. Ordered through my Etsy shop.
Also, some really fun oak leaf masks that I made for![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) charismitaineas part of a special request.
Meanwhile (more shop talk) I took an emergency "must have it!" order last night in my shop. It was lucky that I was online at the time & was able to respond right away. The buyer needed the mask tomorrow so I had to ship overnight (which she paid extra for...I know that on average my masks cost about $20 to send Express USPS, give or take a few bucks).
Well, it turns out this person lives in SUCH a rural area that there is no Express USPS for her...it'd be 2 day at best. So I went to UPS and learned that I could send it overnight...it'd just cost me $50.
I sent it & ate the extra cost...that means I got about $30 for the mask. *sigh* I could get upset, but I guess it's a waste of emotion and energy. I'm considering it my good deed for the day.
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| New Etsy Store |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|12:27 am] |
I just started my own Etsy store. The interface takes a little getting used to, but I like the over all results. I will be selling my more high end work here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/mrsoles
Thanks Anita for the encouragement!
Ann, don't worry, no Catalyst regular items... I don't want you to burn down my house. I will be putting up the marble and bronze skulls when I get the chance though. |
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| Birthday Art...Girl Power |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|02:05 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | calm | ] |
Perhaps you've noticed; I have a new default icon. It's based on a lovely piece of birthday art that moko_mokomade for me. Since she said it is mine to use as I please, then it pleases me to show it to you. ^_^
I freaking love it. That's moko_moko's version of Human Amaterasu from my (our!) favorite video game, Okami. Ammy has her Celestial Brush and is painting herself with Shiranui's markings (Shiranui is Ammy's ancient warrior wolf form & she kicks ass). A symbol of powerful womanhood if there ever was one. It pleases me mightily to think of myself as Ammy, painting herself with a warrior's mask & getting ready to set things right in the world. Somehow, it makes me feel strong & happy. ^_^
So YAY for moko_moko, who has a very powerful Celestial Brush of her own. Thank you hon.
EDIT: Okay...LJ is being perverse again with LJ cut. I notice that feature is mighty touchy sometimes...if you edit your entry or remove a link or do ANYthing to it while you're writing, you mess up the code & end up with a wreck. *shrug* Oh well. I'll show off my new bronze oak masks tomorrow. One pretty piece of artwork per entry is enough. |
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| Fennec Fox |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|12:11 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  artistic | ] |
Fennec foxes are possibly the cutest little animals that aren't anime but look like they ought to be. They're desert critters so they have these enormous ears (to disperse body heat) and I mean really big ears. They are tiny and friendly and funny as heck, and they scream when they are happy.
Charlotte wants one for a pet. Apparently they make great pets. Unfortunately, Charlotte is not as good at maintaining pets as I am (she tires of them quickly), and since I do NOT want a fox for a pet, we are never getting one.
But! They are awfully cute.
I looked on line for a stuffed toy Fennec (to give to Char for Christmas, in lieu of the real thing) and there are a few, but none truly capture the unmitigated dainty cuteness of these tiny foxes. So, I decided to make my own Fennec.
I only wish I had some kind of desert-looking background to photograph against...like Red Rocks out in Vegas where my brother lives.
The first mask (Fennec #1) is for Charlotte...I already stashed it in the "Christmas Closet". The second sold on Etsy five minutes after I listed it...a new record for me. The third is up in my shop right now.
There's not a lot of Fennec stuff out there (not a lot that's any good, anyway) so I have a feeling these will do well. At least I hope so. If anyone knows of any Fennec fancier sites & would like to send them a link to my shop, I'd be grateful. ^_^
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| More update |
[Nov. 8th, 2009|07:33 pm] |
Looks like the hard drive is just fried and compy won't be coming back soon. This is seriously cramping my style. My computer is downstairs with all my crafting stuff, it has all my music on it and it has the internets which I use to look things up and chat with people while I'm crafting. And Photoshop, and the few games I like to play, and all my bookmarks, and the list I keep of the movies I watch. Not having my regular computer has been really depressing. Sure, I could bring the lappy downstairs but it's not the same. It's clunky and can hardly stream last.fm. It's uncomfortable to type on and I hate the track pad. Bitch bitch bitch. Whine whine whine.
I saw An Education today with the mom and the Josh and the Emily. It was good. The end got a little bit twee for me. Once the montage started I knew a turn had been taken but it was still enjoyable. Then we had Thai food. Mom gave me a purse with sparkly bees and octopus plates because that's the kind of awesome mom she is. She also brought a bunch of our childhood books. Be jealous of my Serendipity books!
Tomorrow I'm seeing the Pixies with Josie.
I'm still not very hungry. People keep telling me that's totally normal. If you're one of those people I probably think you have food issues. Not wanting to eat is not normal.
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| Informal Poll: Dark History (Park City) |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|03:40 pm] |
Hi, everyone!
I've been talking with the Park City Historical Society and Museum about a dark history tour, in keeping with the ghost tours we've had at several previous Convergences. They are excited and think this sounds fun. They even offered to do an evening tour instead of their usual 2pm tour. Their usual tour is $5 / person, and I assume that we'd pay the same.
Informally speaking, how many people are interested in a walking tour complete with ghost stories, tentatively running around 8pm, one or more nights. This would most likely cover the mining and wild west portions of the town's history.
(Expect to see this cross-posted to alt.gothic and the new Facebook community; you only need to respond one place. Social networking is getting more complicated all the time!) |
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| Some masks... |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|03:24 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  cold | ] |
I don't really feel like making LJ entries these days. Too much going on here, & it's depressing to re-visit it all in entries so...I'm being a bad blogger, I know. I'm sure I should be just spilling my guts, in the hope that it'd be cathartic or something. Every time I start to do so, I stop myself because...eh. I'm just not feeling it.
However, since life marches on and I'm still making things like crazy, I guess I'll just do a quick "new mask" dump.
This is a custom Persian mask in all-metallic colors.
Pewter instead of black, bronze instead of brown, plus silver, copper, gold and copper-verdigris. It didn't really photograph well. I mean, it just looks shiny to me in the picture there. But in person it's pretty neat. It looks Steampunk and Bohemian at the same time.
A white fox.
Not a new mask, but a new picture of an older design so, there's that. This one's available at my Etsy shop.
So. There it is. My entry for November 6th, 2009.
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| Update! |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|11:49 am] |
1. Josie and I were just talking about body issues and I showed her the Normal Breasts Gallery (it's breasts, please use your best judgment about the work safeness) which I think every woman and man and other should look at.
2. Not to call benchiladaa slacker or anything, but we did visit over a year ago and he just put up pictures on his flickr. You should go look at the cuteness. There's a cute ben and a cute Sara and a cute Will and some monstrous blonde.
3. My computer is still ill but Best Will Ever is working on it.
4. My bike is ready to be picked up. It now has a wheel that cost twice as much as the bike.
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| A Old Blanket and a Withered Garden Doll |
[Nov. 5th, 2009|05:56 pm] |
New Art Doll on Etsy:A Old Blanket and a Withered Garden I should also be listing her on my website soon.
She is up for sale on my etsy here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33907701
TITLE: A Old Blanket and a Withered Garden
MEDIUM:Paper clay,ceramic,clear glass eyes,cotton,string and a wooden base.The costume is made from one of my rotted childhood blankets which I allowed to decay in my garden where my pets who have passed on are buried.
SIZE: 16 X 12 inches.
STATUS: For sale 500.00
NOTE: Doll portrays the way we sometimes feel choked up and tied down to certain situations.The doll comes with it's base and is sitting on a latched,hinged trinket box that can be open and closed with the doll on top.The box also contains a secret message pasted on the inside only the buyer will see.There are also trinkets inside the hole in the dolls head.
Because of the eyes being clear glass depending on the way the light hits her,her eyes can sometimes look like they are following you.
Payment Plan is available:Doll is available for a payment plan.For around 80.00 each consecutive month,with a down payment of 50.00.A payment must be made EVERY month or you forfeit your item and are charged a 30.00 relisting fee.Also if you skip 3 months of payments you forfeit what you have paid on the time.I hate to be so strict about it but past experience have demanded it.E-mail me for info if you wish to purchase her on a payment plan.
Ugly Shyla
Ugly Art Dolls Myspace
My Execution Style Clothing Design Etsy Shop
Uglyshyla.com
Ugly Art Dolls
Follow me on Twitter
Add me on facebook |
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| New masks... |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|02:42 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  anxious | ] |
My life grows more complicated daily. Hourly. But it's good to have work, & so I'm making masks like crazy again. Some for orders and some for fun, like this golden lion here.
Available at my Etsy shop.
( Clockwork Fox and white dragon... )
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| Sharing the goodness. |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|04:08 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  blessed | ] |
My day started kind of crappy & got wonderful in a hurry.
First of all, two awesome birthday gifts in the mail today. A beautiful hand-painted wooden box fromrumdiculous (thank you SO much hon!)...just lovely. A stormy-blue-gray box with a blue heron flying on it; my favorite bird. I'll treasure it always. ^_^
Also, a box full of sweet, thoughtful gifts from a_hollow_year...each accompanied by its own hilarious birthday card, so I have a table full of presents and cards and it looks like I had a party.
And...AND. She also gave me the best birthday Inuyasha fanfic. EVAR. In the history of fluffy adorable fanfics, this one is the most perfect because there's a touch of realism and pathos to it, too. I think I requested a drabble at some time or other, & somehow she remembered, &, well...this.
I totally made her post it & I hope that's okay, but it was too good not to share. These things are even better, when shared. In my opinion.
I have the sweetest, best friends a person could possibly have. Sometimes I'm sad that they all live far from me. On the other hand...it does lead to packages of fun stuff in the mail & tangible evidence of said friends, so there's that. I only wish my *hugs* were real hugs, today. ^_^
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