Some fun ideas for valentine's day!

Do you feel the spirit of love in the air?  I'm sure you notice whenever you go shopping you are being barraged by hearts, cupids and the color red.  Well it's almost valentine's day.  I thought it would be fun to look for some interesting and unique valentine's day gifts that you can get on Etsy.  Why give your hard earned money to the usual department stores when you could show your support for an individual trying to live their dream by creating what they love?  Let's spread some love Etsy style this valentine's day!

I've always loved stained glass.  I actually took some stained glass classes and created a few pieces myself.  I know what kind of hard work goes into each of these creations.  When I saw these fun stained glass heart earrings from AfricanSand, I thought they were really a unique way to combine stained glass within a piece of jewelry. 

Stained Glass Heart Earrings by AfricanSand

Aren't those adorable?  I think so!  The artist, Angela, also has some eye-catching stained glass panels, candle holders, business card holders and lots more stained glass jewelry available in her Etsy shop. 

You've heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach haven't you?  How about securing your place in your man's heart with one of the gourmet pre-measured mixes available from Kimmi's Etsy shop, LipSmackinCreations?  You can tell her mixes are going to be delicious just by looking at the pictures!

 

Chocolate Luv Pancakes by LipSmackinCreations

What man wouldn't love waking up to the smell of some homemade pancakes with chocolate and peanut butter in the mix?  Yum!  Kimmi has lots of delightful mixes available in her Etsy store including spice mixes, cookies, hot chocolate and even a special treat for your dog. 

Everyone likes sending cards on Valentine's day to show that special someone how much they care.  Why not do it with a unique handmade card from Michelle's Etsy shop, papermichelle?  Check out this one, the Thief of Hearts:

Valentine Card- Thief of Hearts by papermichelle

Isn't that cute?  Michelle's cards are hand drawn and screen printed by her.  She draws small, silly things that make her happy.  She has a great variety of cards in her shop and I think you are sure to find one that makes you smile too!

Lots of men buy flowers for their ladies for valentine's day.  This year, why not get her something different and get a handmade ceramic bud vase for all those flowers instead?  She'll remember your gift all year round with a vase that can be used for a variety of purposes, and looks great all by itself too.  This vase is available in Marietta's shop, blueroompottery:

Ceramic Bud Vase by blueroompottery

I love the wonderful texture and color combination of this vase.  Marietta's Etsy shop is full of lovely and functional pottery that is really a work of art.

My last item to share with you today is actually one of my own pieces, I just adore it and I hope you do too.  It is an adaptable necklace in that it can be worn two different ways, with the heart charm centered in the front, or you can switch it around and have the heart hanging sexily down the back of your neck.

 

Chained to your heart beaded necklace by greygirldesigns

It features sparkling deep red garnet gemstones, faceted black onyx, a faceted black fire agate stone, sterling silver and the rust steel heart charm.  It is a bit goth, a bit modern funky cool all in a one of a kind piece of wearable art.  This beaded necklace is available now in my Etsy store, greygirldesigns, and there is still plenty of time for me to ship it to you for valentine's day.

I hope you saw something you liked from my valentine's day picks!  Of course this is just a small sampling of the wonderful things you can find on Etsy.  Take a look for yourself and see what I mean!  Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog today...I'd just love it if you'd leave me a comment and let me know you were here! 

Infinity scarves...my latest obsession!

Hi everyone!  I should start by saying Happy New Year!  I hope everyone is enjoying 2012 so far.  It has been so lovely here in Missouri, it really doesn't feel like January (not yet anyway, it is supposed to turn colder tomorrow).  Generally by this time of year, it has been cold and blustery for a few weeks already, and we usually have had snow and ice too.  This winter we've been blessed so far with warmer temperatures and as of yet we haven't had any snow or ice here where I live.  I love it!  Today it's in the 50's and I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and ate my lunch outside- trying to soak up a bit of that vit D3 we all miss out on this time of year.  I know it probably won't last long but I'm trying to enjoy every day of it! 
Even though it's been warm, I've been getting ready for the cold blast to hit.  I shared with you a few posts back about the slouchy hat I crocheted from Julie at Gleeful Things website.  I decided to make a scarf to go with it and so I designed my own infinity scarf.  It was so easy and fun to make that I thought I'd share with you how I did it, you can easily design your own or follow my pattern and make one in your favorite color. 
To start off, I used a size J crochet hook and a Lion Brand Yarn called Tweed Stripes in the color Marble.  This yarn comes in 3 oz skeins and it took about 1 1/2 skeins to make one scarf.  Here's my pattern:

Row 1, chain 15.  Chain 2 more- this will be the first stitch of row 2. 
Row 2, double crochet in the fourth chain stitch from your hook (should be the 14th chain stitch from the beginning. Double crochet in each chain to the end.  Count your stitches, there should be 15 counting the two chain stitches at the beginning as one stitch.  Chain 2 and turn. 
Row 3,  the two chain stitches you just made count as the first stitch in this row.  Double crochet in the back loop only of each stitch across, starting with the second to the last stitch.  Chain 2 and turn.
Repeat this for as long as you desire.  I made mine about 75" long, which is long enough to wrap it snuggly 3 times around my neck.  When it is the desired length, hold the two ends together to form a circle and slip stitch the stitches together to join.  Then just weave your yarn ends into the fabric to finish. 

I hope those instructions make sense if someone tries to make their own!  I've never written a crochet pattern out before and I realize it may not be completely clear what I'm trying to say!  If you have experience crocheting it shouldn't be hard for you to understand though. 
Now that I am done with the scarf, I realize that usually you would chain 3 to make a double crochet stitch for the beginning of each row, but I only chained 2 and it turned out fine. If your stitches tend to be real tight, you may want to chain 3 for the beginning of each row. 
I had so much fun making my scarf that I made another one for my boyfriend.  I made his 20 chain stitches across to start, so it would be a bit thicker for him.  It is easy to adjust the pattern to fit your individual needs.  I'm now making another one just like the first one for my sister.  I hope she likes it! 

Two completed infinity scarves and a third in process.

If you decide to try making a scarf and follow my pattern, I hope you'll let me know how it turns out!  You could also leave the ends free and just have a regular scarf.  I have decided that the infinity scarf is definitely the thing for me though, I love how it stays nice and warm and where you want it without having to constantly adjust it.  I should be giving mine a lot of use before this winter is over.

Happy birthday Grey Girl Designs!!

One year ago today I opened my little Etsy store and embarked on a new adventure.  I am proud of myself for taking that first big step.  I really love making jewelry and Etsy is a great way to share it with the world.  I've made some wonderful new friends on Etsy too and learned so much about SEO and internet marketing.  I know I still have a lot to learn and a lot to improve on but it has been a good experience for me.  I wonder what year 2 on Etsy will bring my way?
I decided to share my Etsyversary with all my friends and fans by having a special sale, today only 12/8/2011.  Please use the coupon code "ETSYBIRTHDAY15" for 15% off anything in my Etsy store.  I have lots of unique one of a kind beaded jewelry that would make a perfect gift for a special lady in your life! 
Thanks for stopping by- have a delicious cake pop on your way out! I've never actually had a cake pop but I thought they might be fun to try for my Etsy birthday... I picked these ice cream sundae cake pops from CakePopFusion...don't you want one?  Me too!!

Let's celebrate with these so delicious looking cake pops from CakePopFusion!

The Grey Girl Designs 2011 Holiday Collection

I thought I'd share with you what I've been busy creating lately.  I wanted to make a collection of jewelry that would be perfect to wear for the holidays.  Dark and smoky with a hint of sparkle, perfect to compliment modern holiday party attire or even everyday wear if you want to be noticed.  These are all pieces that I would definitely wear myself, my favorite color palette mixed with lots of shining sterling silver.  I may have trouble parting with these pieces- I really love them all!

Polaris beaded necklace and earrings by Grey Girl Designs

The Polaris beaded necklace and earrings feature soft silver cultured freshwater pearls and lots of sterling silver.  The necklace is accented with faceted labradorite that really sparkles.  I think you can see why I named it for the North Star!
This necklace is also a Madcap Charity item. I have chosen the charity Heifer International to donate to with the sale of this necklace. If you are unfamiliar with Heifer International, they help hungry families all over the world in need become more self-reliant by giving them livestock and training. When this necklace is sold, I will donate a Flock of chicks ($20.00) to Heifer International in the buyer's name. "Your gift of chicks helps provide a family in need with a starter flock of 10 to 50 chicks and the training that will enpower them to turn your generosity into a lifetime of opportunity. A good hen can lay more than 200 eggs a year, so your gift will provide a family with a steady source of both nutrition and income." If you want more info on Heifer Int'l check out their website here: www.heifer.org I think this is a great way to help those around the world in need!

Wish beaded necklace by Grey Girl Designs

The Wish beaded necklace also reminds me of stars.  I always used to love making a wish on a falling star or the first star I saw in the night sky.  The Wish necklace sparkles with the brilliance of faceted amethyst, faceted smoky quartz and labradorite heishe.  Silver adds to the shine and magical quality of this necklace.  It ends with a delicate sterling silver feather charm.  The Wish necklace is also a Madcap Charity item and I will be donating $20.00 to Heifer International with the sale of it as well. 

Midnight Kiss beaded necklace and earrings from Grey Girl Designs

I was thinking of New Year's Eve when I designed the Midnight Kiss set.  Have you heard that whatever you are doing at midnight on New Year's Eve sets the tone for the rest of your year?  Well, that midnight kiss with the one you love is oh-so-romantic and sure to fill the rest of your year with lots of love!  This jewelry set features blue labradorite in shades of smoky grey and black with lots of fire.  I complimented the blue labradorite with deep red faceted garnet and sterling silver. 

My favorite piece in the Holiday Collection was inspired by my African greys.  I wanted to make a bracelet that captures a bit of their beauty so I used the colors found in their feathers- deep grey and dark red.  I added a gorgeous detailed sterling silver feather and created this charm bracelet:

I'll Fly Away charm bracelet by Grey Girl Designs

The I'll Fly Away charm bracelet features faceted black fire agate rounds, black onyx, grey freshwater cultured pearl, garnet and sterling silver.  You can wear it as is, or even add on more charms later if you so desired. 

The Dragon Heart beaded necklace and bracelet are real show stoppers!  I love the combination of bright fiery red quartz with the sable freshwater cultured pearls and black fire agate.  It also features a bit of black onyx and sterling silver. 

Dragon Heart beaded necklace by Grey Girl Designs

I think this set would be perfect with a little black dress, or a v-necked cashmere sweater... in fact, you could even wear it with a plain black tank and really stand out in the crowd.  Here's the matching bracelet:

Dragon Heart beaded bracelet by Grey Girl Designs

So, what do you think?  All these pieces are one of a kind, handmade by me and perfect for a gift for your favorite lady (or to treat yourself!)  this Christmas.  If you want to see more details about any piece just click on the name. I am busy creating a few more designs to add to my Holiday Collection so be sure to check my Etsy store to see what I come up with!  Thanks for stopping by!  I'd just love it if you'd leave a message and let me know your thoughts about my jewelry.

Great Gift Ideas for the Music Lover

Hi! Thanksgiving is just right around the corner and before we know it we'll all be scrambling to find the perfect holiday gift for those special people in our lives.  I've talked about great gift ideas for the animal lover but today I thought I'd focus on those that have a special place for music in their hearts.  All these ideas come from Etsy, a great place to shop and find unique and handmade items.  Why not show your support for craftsmen and artists who work long and hard to come up with these great ideas? 

Check out this cool brass cuff bracelet from Kate's shop JezebelCharms.  I'm not sure what piece of music is portrayed on this bracelet but I think it's very charming and would look great on! 

Love Music Brass Cuff Bracelet by JezebelCharms

The brass will age with time taking on a patina that will add to the beauty of this piece.  This bracelet is handmade in England so please take this into consideration and leave adequate time for it to arrive if you are purchasing for Christmas!

Here's a custom designed t-shirt for the guitar lover out there.  I don't think you'll find another one just like it as Bruno makes all his own designs and prints the t's himself in his shop MyPersonaliTs:

Guitar Tshirt screenprinted by MyPersonaliTs

It's a cool design, isn't it?  There is also a custom shirt with drums, as well as many funny shirts with different sayings.  If unique t-shirts are on your gift buying list then check out this shop!

Do you know someone who is always making their own music?  Look at this African Thumb Piano from LepelstatCrafts:

African Thumb Piano from LepelstatCrafts

Now your music loving friend can take along their own instrument wherever they go!  This handcrafted African Thumb Piano is made by Michael from recycled materials in the African tradition and small enough to be carried around easily for musical fun on the go.  It's a real beauty too!

Do you know anyone who collects vintage rock and roll memorabilia?  You can't get much more vintage or collectible than these vintage Rock and Roll Beatles Trading Cards from Carrie's shop BadCatBoutique:

Vintage Rock and Roll Beatles Trading Cards set from BadCatBoutique

This is a set of four different Beatles Trading Cards from the 1960's.  Isn't that awesome?  The set of cards is only $20.00 too so it's an affordable gift for the collector on your list. 
Here's a really cool handmade leather wallet for the music fan.  This slim bi-fold leather wallet Music and Me is from Joe V.'s shop, joevleather:

Slim BiFold Leather Wallet Music and Me by joevleather

The musical notes design is unique and perfect for any music lover in your life.  Joe has some really excellent leather Ipad cases, phone cases, belts, wallets and even handcrafted bracelets in his Etsy store. 

This is just a quick glimpse of some of the music related finds on Etsy.  You can search for anything (and probably find it too!) and a long list of related items will come up for you to look through.  I hope you'll take a look and see what treasures you can find waiting for you there!  Have fun doing your shopping this holiday season...stay warm and cozy inside your house while everyone else deals with crowds and cold weather to look for the perfect gift.  If you have someone on your list that likes unique one of a kind jewelry I hope you'll take a peek inside my Etsy store as well...Grey Girl Designs. I'm busy creating my nature inspired necklaces, bracelets and earrings and would love to have one of my creations thrill a lucky lady in your life! 

More beads and a hat...

This past weekend I did two craft related things I'd like to share with you.  On Saturday I attended the Fall Bead Renaissance Show in Overland Park, KS, with my mom and sister.  We had a really lovely day and as usual I spent way more than I should have on beads I just couldn't live without.  But really, there is no better inspiration than seeing all those beautiful sparkling beads and coming home with some of them.  They are just waiting for me to create some fantastic new jewelry...and I'm really hoping to have a bit of free time soon to get to sit and play with them all! 
The other thing I did was crochet a new hat for winter.  As soon as the cold weather starts creeping in I always have the strongest desire to sit with a crochet hook in hand and a lap full of warm and fuzzy yarn.  I really love to crochet- I find it so comforting and peaceful.  If you are like me and you enjoy either crochet or knitting I hope you have found the Ravelry website.  You can check it out here:  http://www.ravelry.com  It is a free website that is a real treasure trove for the fiber artist.  You can find all sorts of patterns on the site and many of them are even free.  I just did a search for hat patterns for crochet and looked through the many options that came up until I saw one that was just what I was looking for.  The one I found on Ravelry was actually a free pattern that was offered on Julie's Gleeful Things blog as her Christmas present to her readers last year.  Here is the link to the pattern I used on her delightful blog:  http://www.gleefulthings.com/blog/?p=640  It is called the Gumdrop Slouchy Hat.  She has great pictures of it in different colors, some are solid one color and others she did in two colors.  I liked the way it looked so I decided to give her pattern a try. 
I used a size J crochet hook per her instructions and the yarn I used was Lion Brand Yarn, Tweed Stripes in Marble.  After checking the gauge I was about a half an inch bigger than what Julie recommended but I decided to just keep going and tried to make my stitches a bit tighter from that point on.  Since it is a slouchy hat, I didn't think having it a little bit big would make too much difference.  Here's the hat and the yarn I used to create it:

I love the way it turns out striped without the work of changing yarn!  The less ends you have to work in when you are finished the better off you are, I think!  It took me probably around 4 hours to make the whole hat, that's an estimate because I didn't sit and make the whole thing straight through.  Plus, I hadn't crocheted anything for over a year so I may have been a bit slow starting off.  I did alter the pattern just a bit at the end.  I had some yarn left in my skein so I did an extra row of single crochet at the very end, and I also did the last rows of single crochet in both loops instead of just the back loop as the rest of the pattern was made.  I did this so the brim around my head would fit a bit more snug and just to be a bit of a rebel...Here's my new winter hat!

Modeling my new Gumdrop Slouchy Hat!

I love it!  Of course, I love the color too, and it will look just so perfect with my grey coat this winter.  I may even get more ambitious and make a scarf to match.  So here's a big thank you to the wonderful people who run the Ravelry website and a thank you to Julie at Gleeful Things too!  Here's a link to the cool patterns you can buy from Julie on Ravelry's site:  http://www.ravelry.com/stores/gleeful-things-2  She has some adorable crocheted critters on there as well as other hats and Ipod cozies.  I'm really loving the "feathered family" which is a little family of bluebirds along with a nest to tuck them into.  I hope you'll stop by her Ravelry store and see what she offers there! 

Happy Halloween

Halloween is definitely one of my very favorite holidays.  An excuse to get all dressed up, pretend to be someone else and run around eating candy?  Sounds like a great idea to me!  My love of halloween surely goes back to my childhood days, spending evenings of the nights leading up to halloween creating magical paper mache masks with my dad, mom and sister.  We had so much fun, my dad loves halloween too and always made it memorable for us.  It wasn't so much about the candy (although that was a welcome treat) but about the time spent together, getting creative and letting our artistic visions come to life. 
I'm still just a kid at heart.  I love obsessing about the perfect costume, thinking about how it should all come together and watching my imagination come to life.  The last few years I've been thinking about making a Medusa costume.  In my mind's eye I pictured the way I would create it and how it would look.  Well, after discovering the perfect rubber snakes on a shopping trip earlier this month, I decided it was time to give my Medusa costume a chance to come to life. 
Here's how it looked when I first began:

The beginnings of Medusa!

I started off with eight black snakes, a long black haired wig, and various and assorted forms of wire and cable ties.  I cut the snakes in half and attached them in strategic places all around the wig, using the cable ties and floral wire to secure them to the base of the wig.  It was a time consuming process and I'll admit, when I was done it wasn't the picture of Medusa that I had imagined, but I decided it would do. 
For my face, I read about a technique to use fishnet stockings to paint over and create the look of scales.  I covered my face with powder, applied a thin layer of white face paint to the areas I wanted to look scaled, pulled the fishnet stockings down over my face and painted black face paint on top.  I wasn't sure the black was giving me the look I wanted, so I had some gold glitter face paint and used that on top of the black.  When I pulled the fishnet stocking off, the effect was definitely what I was going for.  There were some areas that I wished I had applied more of the gold glitter, but my forehead looked very interesting and had a scaled affect.  I put heavy eyeliner around my eyes and used some green eyeshadow and mascara to finish off the makeup. 
I debated and debated over what to wear.  I decided at last that I would not go for the classic Greek dressed Medusa but a more modern (comfortable) version.  Since my hair and snakes were black, I decided to just dress all in black and add my favorite black cape on top for warmth.  Really, the focal point of my costume was supposed to be the snake wig and makeup anyway so I might as well be comfortable.  In the end, I was glad I'd decided to go that route.
The finished look:

Striking a pose as Medusa!

I was happy with the outcome.  Most everyone who talked to me at the halloween parties we attended knew right off I was Medusa so I consider that a success.  And, I had a great time seeing the other costumes and being Medusa for a short time.  What a fun holiday!  I hope you all have fond halloween memories too.  What was your favorite costume you ever made or wore?  I need ideas for next year!