Correction: Closed for the holidays

I know I said I would re-open my Etsy shop this week, but this week is finals, and I don't need any additional stress.
The holidays are upon us, and in order to devote my time to family this season I've decided to not re-open the shop until after the new year.

There is still one last chance to shop Funkybella before Christmas; I will be at the OSU-OKC Farmers' Market this Saturday from 10am to 1pm with all the lovely goodies I have left from the Deluxe show (and free gift boxes for them!). I won't be returning to the market until the second week of January.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Etsy shop closed for the week

My Etsy shop is closed for the week as I prepare for the Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar on Saturday, December 12th in Oklahoma City.

The Etsy shop will re-open next week with whatever inventory I have remaining.

(But seriously, you don't want to wait for that!

You need to come see the full selection of Funkybella's lovelies in person!)

If you are in the Oklahoma area, please come to Deluxe on Saturday!

Admission is free, and the first fifty people through the door will receive lovely goodie bags full of free stuff!

Over eighty vendors will be selling their handmade wares;

everything from jewelry to clothes, home goods, fine art,

body products.... an amazing selection.

You'll be able to get all your holiday shopping done in one stop!

Stop supporting the big box stores! Make the ethical choice and shop locally.

Thanksgiving Weekend

This is a reminder that I will NOT be at the OSU-OKC Farmers' Market this weekend.
Not only will my family be in town, but the OU/OSU Bedlam game is that morning, and that pretty much shuts down this half of the state.

I will return to the market next Saturday. The following weekend, December 12th, I will be at the Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar at the state fairgrounds in OKC (see event listing to the right).

Have a wonderful holiday!

Where Have I Been?

The answer is, I've been here all along, just very busy. I decided to go back to school to finish my bachelors degree. Thankfully, OU accepted almost all of my 170 transfer credits, so all I have to do is earn 30 OU credits and I'll have my degree. They offer a multidisciplinary studies option, which basically means they take the courses I've already completed and make a degree just for me. So even though OU does not offer American Sign Language, my degree will be a BA in Sign Language and Society.
I can't wait to be finished!




I've also been doing craft shows; at least one a week! I'm now at the OSU-OKC Farmers' Market every Saturday morning (when there isn't a big show that day). More on those shows later...

"Moo" with me!

Oh, how I love promotional materials!

I recently ordered Moo mini cards for the first time, and they have arrived!

These cards are such a great way to show off my products, and I'm thrilled with the quality and the beauty of them.

For those of you who are not familiar with Moo, they are an online printing company who produce postcards, business cards, even stickers that can be customized with your photos or artwork.

The mini card is an adorable business card option. They come in boxes of 100 cards, and you can upload a different photograph for each card if you like (I used twenty-five different photos).

You can customize the reverse side with your Etsy shop/URL and any other information you like.

Etsy has a partnership with Moo, and often advertises special deals.

For ideas on how to use Moo products, check The Storque.

If you have never ordered from Moo before, use the code 2RB2CK at checkout to get 15% off your first order.

It's a good idea to always have your business card handy for potential customers, but the mini cards don't fit in traditional card cases. There are some Etsians who make products especially for Moo cards.

My favorite is Splatgirl, who makes the best MooPockets. Her pockets hold about 20 cards, and you can get them with a clip or keyring for convenience.

I ordered the MooPocket with a window and an added clip (it is pictured filled with cards above and below). I got to choose my fabrics, and it arrived two days later. She has the fastest shipping of any Etsy seller I have ever ordered from, and her product quality is amazing! She also makes wallets, purses and other durable necessities.

The holiday craft show season is sneaking up on us. Go get yourself some Moo cards, and a cute little pouch to put them in!

New Item: Custom Map Rings

Innovation strikes again!

Last week, I went over to Jemellia's house to pick up some of her merchandise for Live at the Plaza. While I was there, I noticed her fabric buttons. Lately, I find handmade buttons very fascinating. She showed me how to use the simple little kit to cover a metal button in fabric.

I then went to Hobby Lobby and picked out two sizes of kits. Hobby Lobby had them on sale for half off, but they are normally less than $2.00 anyway.

I got home and sat in my craft room, staring at the parts. I covered two with fabric, and they came out lovely; however, that is what everyone does with them. I would hate for someone to copy my merchandise, and I would never knowingly do that to someone else.

What I needed was a new idea.

And then it came to me......

Cover them in PAPER!!!

At first, I didn't think it could be done, that I would tear the paper, but I found that if I crumple the paper it becomes softer and tears less easily.

This can be done with scrapbook paper, too. I've tried it, and ended up with a cute pair of earrings. I just need to remove the button loop with pliers, and glue the button on to whatever I want (ring, earring back, bobby pin).

To protect the paper, I coat the finished product in varnish.

I tested one to see how waterproof it is; while you can not submerge the ring, drops of water will roll off.

So I present to you my newest invention....custom map rings!

Look for select locations at my upcoming craft shows.

Two new, super-cool things

I have two announcements to make!

First, I am happy to be the new co-leader of Disciples of Etsy, Oklahoma's Etsy Street Team. Brigid of Grey Eye Designs is the other wonderful co-leader,I am excited to be able to assist her with our great team!

Secondly, after a lot of sweat and tears (and maybe a little blood), I finally created and launched www.funkybella.com! From my new site, visitors can connect to my Etsy shop as well as this blog and all my Funkybella social networking sources.

I am staying busy this summer indeed!

July 4th in Wichita

For the 4th of July weekend, we traveled North to Wichita, Kansas. Jason's grandmother and uncle live there, and his parents also came up, making it a nice holiday visit with family.

Our uncle said fireworks are illegal in the city, but that didn't stop anyone. Everybody shot off giant displays for an extended period of time. We parked at a strip mall, stood outside of the car and had a 360 degree show for well over an hour. I've seen the best fireworks displays in the country, including good old Las Vegas, and this blew them all away.

In addition, I soon discovered three food-related ways that Wichita is better than OKC.

1. Quick Trip (y'all have 'em in Tulsa; we here do without)
2. Carlos O'Kelly's (I hate to say it, but way more flavorful than Ted's)
3. Village Inn (I had the crepes pictured below; Nutella and fruit. Unbelievable)

We spent some time cleaning the garage of clutter.

I came upon a box full of craft booklets from the '50's, '60's and '70's (Jason's grandma never crafted, so we don't know where these came from).

There are knitting, crochet, macrame, embroidery, weaving and more. I'll be bringing most of them to the supply swap at Downtown DIY on July 25th; make sure to attend if you want some!

In addition to being a habitual crafter, I'm also a lover of all things vintage. I'm having so much fun looking through all the awesome retro photographs.



Which brings me to this photo:

WTH?
"OK. You're going to model the sweaters while feeding peanuts to this squirrel. It will look cute and outdoorsy!" That is not awkward at all!

(please feel free to add your own captions)

Etsy items I adore this week

Custom Map Necklace Giveaway!

Seriously, what’s better than customized jewelry?!?For my first blog giveaway, I will create a one-of-a-kind necklace showcasing your favorite place. Do you long to visit Paris? Did you grow up in Santa Fe? What about that vacation to Fiji?

I have lots of vintage maps, and can make a necklace of just about any location your heart desires. They also make very meaningful gifts.

These necklaces are one of the best-selling items in my Etsy shop. They retail for $18.
Want to get one for FREE?
Here’s how:

How to enter:

For each action below, you will receive one entry. Please leave a separate comment for each one.

• Leave a comment telling me which location you would choose to be on the necklace and why (you can change this if you are the winner).
• Follow my blog, or tell me if you are already following.
• Follow me on Twitter (use the box at right).
• Tweet about this giveaway. Comment with a link to your twitter profile.
• Blog about this giveaway. Leave a link to the post in a comment.

This contest is open to everyone, U.S. and abroad! The giveaway starts now and will end at midnight (U.S. central time) on Sunday, June 28th. I will draw a winner using a random number generator and post the winner on the 29th.

Necklace comes on a 24” ball chain, which can be shortened to any length using scissors.

Good luck!

Eco-Friendly Packaging

I love getting things in the mail, but I cringe every time I find I've been sent another plastic bubble-mailer. When I send out my orders, I like to use mailers that are less harmful on the environment.

These padded mailers by Caremail are made of 90% recycled content and can be recycled with mixed papers.

They are padded with recycled newspapers (instead of plastic bubbles) to cushion the contents.

They come in several sizes, and are available in cases of 25 through Amazon for a very reasonable price (with free shipping on orders over $25). I have had many of my customers thank me for using these mailers.

Remember: Plastic does not go away...ever!

And what about gift boxes?

Nashville Wraps is your best source for all gift packaging materials (they even have food safe biodegradable cello bags).

I use (and adore) these 100% recycled jewelry boxes for all my Etsy orders:

Visit the Nashville Wraps website for a free catalog, or save a tree and shop online!

Do your part for this world we all live in! Sustainability is so important (and it's not that hard).

Trip to Austin

I know, it's been too long. What with teaching swim lessons, summer adventures, and everything else the start of summer entails, I've neglected you, dear blog. Did you miss me?

A few weeks ago, my friend Chelsie from high school in Oregon (and, coincidentally, from Vegas, too) came out to visit for a week. I decided it would be a perfect excuse to hightail it down to Austin, so....ROAD TRIP!!!

There are several things I love about Austin. For one, it's artsy (in the cool, edgy way). Second, there are so many things to do outside, many of them for very cheap (or free!).

I'd love to live there, but Jason says as a true Sooner, he can not be in the same town as UT.

I had to show Chels the amazing event that is the Congress Ave. bats. It took a while for them to figure out the sun had set, but once they started taking flight, it was quite a show.

(These are the bats leaving the bridge for the night)

The most important reason why I love Austin so much, outweighing all others:

Barton Springs

If I lived in Austin, I would never get anything done. I would be at Barton Springs all day, every day, rain or shine. I live for open water swimming, and the long, freshwater pool at the Springs is heavenly; I can swim a long way without coming to a wall and having to turn around.

Look at the clarity of the water! I chased some small fish for a while (I'm easily amused).

I swam twelve lengths of the very long pool. It felt sooooo good.

Chelsie got stung by a bee, and we both got sunburns, but our trip was still wonderful.

Chelsie is preparing to go on The World Race in January, which is an eleven month mission trip adventure. You can read more about it Here.

Dolls for orphans in Nicaragua

I found out about this project through several Oklahoma crafters. The folks over at Craft Hope are currently collecting handmade dolls to deliver to children in an ophanage in Nicaragua.

This is the first doll I've ever made:

Want to make a doll or two? Check out Craft Hope.

Deadline for dolls is June 13th.

Happy sewing!

Favorite item of the week: Avant-Gardener T-shirt

This is my first planting season with a yard to call my own, and I'm attempting to gain control of my land and mold it into the backyard oasis I envision. More often than not, the earth wins the battle; but I still try.

This very cool shirt from Black Sheep Heap adds a little wordplay to your weeding. And it's 100% organic!

Black Sheep Heap also carries shirts, reusable totes and lunch sacks emblazoned with other thoughtful sayings.

Check 'em out!

My new phone!

I'm so excited I just had to share this!

My new phone came today! It was driving me nuts not having a
keyboard for texting. This is a Samsung Gravity. I recently downsized from my Sidekick (the monthly bill was too high).

I put this beautiful hard shell on it; Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Love it!

Thank you, Chelsie!

Deluxe weekend

On Saturday I had my first show, Deluxe, at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. When I get excited I'm unable to sleep, so I was up 'til 4:30 Saturday morning getting everything ready. Friday night rolled around and I had no banner or tablecloth, so I dug through the stash of fabric my grandmother left me, and attempted to learn how to sew. My mom got me a sewing machine for my birthday five years ago that I had never used (I was intimidated), so once I figured it out, I pieced together the hap-hazard tablecloth you see pictured. Now that I have some more free time, I want to practice my sewing and see what I can do.

Anyway, back to Deluxe...

It was a really good first show, I think. I didn't know quite what to expect, so I'm happy with the outcome. I had women of all ages fawning over my jewelry, and the compliments really encouraged me. I hope to do more craft shows in the near future.
It was nice to meet people I've become internet friends with. Pam from Pamela Michelle even bought a necklace from me, which is awesome because I consider her pretty famous. I met Heather from Audrey Eclectic for the first time (her works are even more breathtaking in person!) and the super-sweet Holly of Hollyrocks.
I only wish we all got to hang out more, but we were there to sell, and sell we did.
So, great job everyone!

Welcome a new Etsian: The Beaded Lizard

I would like to introduce y'all to one of my Etsy converts, Kathi of The Beaded Lizard!
Kathi is my cousin by marriage, and she lives in Kansas. She creates wonderful jewelry using semi-precious stones and metals.


She has been selling in local venues for a while, but she just opened her Etsy store this week.

I'm sure her jewelry is going to be a hit;

she's already had her first sale!

Welcome to Etsy, Kathi!

I'm now on Twitter!

Yes, I decide to join everyone else in the entire world and become part of the Twitter civilization.

Follow me by clicking on the feed to the right.

Favorite item of the week: Totally Day Dreaming Anklet

This week my favorite Etsy item is from Oklahoma crafter (and Deluxe Director) JD.
I'm not really a bracelet person, but I just discovered she makes anklets, too!

I love the blues!

And snaps! What a good idea!

Location, location.....

I recently expanded my crafting repetoire to include resin, and now I'm experimenting with what I can do with it. In the crunch time before Deluxe, I'm trying to make everything I can with what supplies I have left.

I must say, these vintage map necklaces look even better using resin than when I use a clear cab (although those are cute, too):
Yes, I made a Tulsa necklace. I've also made OKC, Edmond, Moore/Norman, Austin and Dallas, as well as other cities that I have posted on my Etsy shop. The Oklahoma necklaces won't be posted because I'm saving them for Deluxe. [Although, if one of you really liked one of them, I'm sure something could be arranged :) ]

I also made a few map lockets using the resin, such as this one of New Orleans:

I even made a Tulsa locket for Deluxe!

If you have a city or town that you would like to see, please let me know! I'm still at it!

I make the city necklaces in two versions; sterling silver and the economy model that you see in the first photo. Sterling silver is $26, while the regular ball chain is $14.

Oh, while I have your attention; I'm always looking for old maps/atlases! Even if they are ripped or otherwise in pieces, please keep me in mind!

I hope everyone else is ready/nearly ready for Deluxe! Two weeks left!

Favorite item of the week: Tiny Signet Ring

I fell in love with the idea of a ring with my initials on it last year, right after I got married. I had a new last name, and I wanted to celebrate it. In Key West, I stumbled across the perfect solution (my new initials being KW); but after massive hinting on our honeymoon proved fruitless, I figured out I’d need to get a ring for myself.

Last week on Etsy, I found this beautiful signet ring by Cherry Creek!

I will hopefully be ordering one of these soon! They are so darling!

Don't judge a book by it's cover...

If you haven't seen this video yet, you need to!

It happened Saturday on Britan's Got Talent.

Let this be a lesson to us all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

(embedding was disabled, or I would have)

Etsy on Sunday Morning

I grew up watching Sunday Morning with my grandmother. I consider it the news show for the intellectual and the avant garde, always finding little gems that we need to know about.
These days I always Tivo it (as I'm not going to get up that early on a Sunday) and watch it usually Tuesday night when there is nothing on. Thank you to Buckboardwoodworks for actually watching it on Sunday and letting us know that Mo Rocca did a feature on the world of Etsy.

That was some weekend!

I was surprisingly productive this weekend (yay, go me!)

On Friday I drove to Tulsa and back in the rain to meet Brigid and collect the team promo postcards for some of us OKC-area folks. I like driving long distances, and it was actually a nice afternoon trip; even if there were some cars spun-out and facing the wrong way on the turnpike! On Saturday, the snow came. It wasn't bad here, really. It was the kind of snow that you can easily push off your windshield, and the roads were not slick. In fact, once the sun came up, the snow was melting as it hit the ground. I went to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds to check out the scene and to meet Mathea of NickAnny. Her lovely soaps smelled so wonderful!

So snow yesterday, and today it was almost 70. That's Oklahoma for you. I was able to get a bunch of new items listed today that I think are just lovely. I have a few colors of these vintage jewel earrings:

I also created a simpler version of my favorite vintage blue sparkle ring:

And here is something I'm really excited about; a Victorian-style sparkle choker!

I love it!

Of course, I don't think any of us would make anything we didn't love!

I really do have a special place in my heart for harlequin stones, though.

So here we are about to embark on another week. I'm trying to prepare for the Deluxe show as far ahead as possible; I'll probably get my displays this week, and I'll see what else I need to add to my checklist. Check one thing off the list, add three more....

Need a Chocolate Cake Break?

It's cold in Oklahoma. Spring has crawled back into it's bed, and winter has returned. And just when I was ready to start planting the garden. That's enough to dampen any one's spirits.

So, to make us feel a bit better, I share with you the recipe for happiness:

Instant Chocolate Cake for One

4 Tbsp cake or all purpose flour (not self-rising)

4 Tbsp Splenda (or sugar, if you must)

2 Tbsp baking cocoa

1 egg

3 Tbsp milk

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

3 Tbsp chocolate or carmel chips (optional)

A small dash of vanilla flavoring

and

1 microwaveable coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and the oil and mix again. Add the vanilla and the chips and mix some more.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top, but do not be alarmed!

Allow to cool for a few minutes, and then enjoy.

Take that, Winter!

I'm new to this...

I broke down and created a blog. I figured I had enough technology going on, but it seems everyone has a blog now. Oh well. I'm still resisting Twitter, so at least I have that going for me. Sometimes I feel like I'm twenty-five going on seventy; I truly have no idea how this thing works. Hopefully, I'm a fast learner. We'll see how it goes.

(For example, how do I tab over?) :)

I want this blog to be mainly about the creative aspects of my life, and I'd like to include things I find that I adore as well. I was raised to be a very private person, and it seems all this technology exists to destroy our privacy. Why should we care what a total stranger did over the weekend or what they had for breakfast? It's just human nature to be nosey, I guess.

On the other hand, perhaps this freedom of information can draw people closer. When you read so much about someone, you can't help feeling as if you know them intimately. That could be good, could be dangerous, depending on the people involved.

What I'm trying to say is, if you're not a crazy stalker, please follow my blog...