Deer Mountain Wood Art

Good Heavens! I have a ton of other things I should be doing right now, but I saw this shop by accident and "oh my!" - I swear she pulled images right outta my head!? Not that I could actually put on screen or paper what's up there! lol
You've gotta check out this shop though - talk about 'eye candy'!!!
I rarely get this excited, but Wednesday's payday and you know where I'm gonna be - at

Here's her link;
Nicole Rae Photography - Please go, NOW!! if you love this visual enchantment!!!

Here's just a taste - enjoy! Now I really gotta get back to mommy stuff!!!!

Thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida

Last night I finally managed to get a tutorial done that didn't have my kids' voices in the background! It's still a little glitchy, as I have large vacant pauses and such, but all in all I think it's pretty well done =>

The true test will be in your comments and feedback, so I hope you'll let me know what you think, what you'd like to see in the tutorials, and if you had any trouble in viewing the first one!

There are quite a few bloggers these days with tutorials - most well written and informative.

Here's a link to some I've noticed lately on Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/forums_search.php?search_type=forum_title&search_query=tutorials
- hope you can get something out of them.

I think that tutorials are amazingly helpful and if it weren't for the sites I've gleaned information from, I don't think I ever would've been able to catch up to the new 'computer age'! =>

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday =D and thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida

ugh! That didn't work out too well - my little 8 yr old asked if he could sleep in my bed, as Dad's still outta town, but he also wanted me to cuddle with him.
About 5 minutes or less into the Sponge Bob cartoon, I was out! Woke up at 4am and turned off a ton of lights - thanks boys! - and went back to bed...
Don't get me near a pillow!
F

Things sure have a way of taking you by storm! I guess you might say I hit the ground running when I turned 45! lol

I was just doing a little promoting - really, nothing serious! But now I'm everywhere!! I'm not going to even go there - I don't know if I can remember all I've linked up with, joined, placed ads on, and submitted to?!?

In the meanwhile - I've sold some things, made some things, tried to finish some projects, and write a book! All while I'm doing the graduation thing with my oldest boy, and attending year-end school events. I do believe I might just get that award yet, for SuperMom! nah, not really! I'm sure what I'm doing is pretty typical mom/businesswoman stuff, but it sure feels like I'm everywhere at once! => If I run into myself, then I'll know I'm in trouble!!!

Also, trying to get back in the 'real world' and go to work 'outside' the shop/home - that's the toughest, probably?

Anyway, not been able to devote much time to my poor little blog - I've thought myriad thoughts that I wanted to tell ya'll about, or ask about - but they've remained, just thoughts... Now that I'm finally here, I can't think of a one!? lol

I'm going to make this short tonight though - I am wanting to get a video tute up and work on my new website and get some of my book contributors pages updated and put on that blog, so I'll be 'up, all night', as the famed Jenny McCarthy used to say, and I hope I'll be able to accomplish some more tomorrow... I have an interview with WallyWorld tomorrow at 9:30 PM!? and so I will have to sleep at some point, to look my best ya know =p - so I bid you all adieu for now, but just know that I'm always thinking about you and wishing I could be on here chatting with ya'll!

For now, thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida

I just got off the phone with Kay a little bit ago - you might recognize her name as she buys so much from me and calls me "her own personal wood artist"! She called to tell me that her nephew loved the Seattle Seahawks helmet I'd made for him, and that it was the only thing he'd hung up in his new house, before he died?!? I am so blue, I didn't ever get to meet him, but when I work on something for someone I get a kind of closeness to them - hard to explain. I told her how I'd been lamenting about how I'd not gotten a picture of the piece before I sent it to him, and now that she has it back, I could probably do so - but now I'm not sure I want to... it's not how I wanted to get a picture of it! =< I guess he suffered an aneurism, but he was only 30! Life's just not fair sometimes!!
Anyway, just had to write it down - it's going to be a busy week with all of the graduation stuff, but I'll try to pop in every now and then, and let ya know if anything important is going on...
It's just a dark day, I guess everyone has one.

Thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida

Oh boy! My oldest is graduating high school in a few days - time for the 'ol cap & gown and lots and LOTS of tissues for me!!! I'm so perplexed; where have the years gone?

So many things I've had to do this last week, and so many more things to come. It's an exciting, happy time, but I'm just so darn tired! I just got home from the High School awards banquet and it was so cool to see my 'babies' running up there to accept their awards! It was a hectic day in so many ways, but at least I got one order sent off!

This is my oldest that's graduating, making it an even more stressful event - I'm trying hard not to cry, but I can't believe he's grown!! He even has a girlfriend that he's planning on "living in sin" with after she turns 18. {{{sigh}}}

Anyway, I keep dozing off, and it feels terrible - I'm going to go to bed and try to catchup as much as I can tomorrow....

Thanks for stopping by the shop!

Yesterday I spent almost 14 hours online!?! I'm a little frustrated by this - it's not like I have anything else to do! I wanted to start off spending a couple of hours updating my info on different sites I belong to, but ended up joining others, and responding - a LOT...

Interneting can be extremely addicting, and for a brief moment I thought, "maybe this is what I should be doing?"lol yeah, right....

Indiepublic, for one, is a great place to meet people that are similar in their interests to yours. It has a lot of traffic, so of course I'm going to see if I can get some exposure there. So far, I've met quite a few people and saw many things that I was unaware of - it really made me want to do stories on the folks I met. Hard to keep me down on that one - everyone's so interesting and they're all busy doing what they do, yet they seem to have time to welcome newcomers - that's awesome =D
This led to another site called, "Silkfair". It's another shopping site, a lot like Etsy in some of it's features, but they're new, they're hip, and they've got some of the features that I would've loved to had seen on Etsy. So I joined...
Then, after hanging out there trying to input some of my store info(a little on the complicated side, I must say) AlwaysAmy attracted my eye on Indie - she was "cross-promoting", as she calls it, so it led to other things; I purchased an ad spot on her page with ProjectWonderful, exchanged links, well, added hers... Somewhere in there I found a site called "Blogs by Women Bloggers", joined that... While on ProjectWonderful, I learned some more, so I bid on another, pretty busy site called, "The Coveted", where they didn't have any bids yet, so I got in cheap!

It's so totally not in sync with what I sell, so I might have to remove that one!lol Here's a link to their most recent post; I'm sure you'll see what I mean!lol The bird looks like my babies, and it was hard to look at - although it was another person they were promoting, so I won't hold it against them! =D It blew my mind how many people are into this stuff and think it's fashionably cool - you wouldn't catch me near one!!! lol To each his/her own though, right? Anyway, it's a pretty dark, goth site and I don't think my ad is appropriate there... free advertising? I don't know if it's always the 'right' thing to do....
Let's see, what else did I join... it was a "joiner" type of day - ugh!

Oh, I also worked hard on a new format for my personal blog "three boys and a dog", and ended up once again at "BloggerBuster". Amanda runs a nice blog for helping other bloggers, replete with free templates and tons of customization tips - I kept downloading Hispanic blog templates though and I ended up learning a lot, as well as some more Spanish!

While I was working on various projects while I was 'surfing', I didn't get a whole lot done - it's bad because I have so many clients waiting!? I wish I had more hours in a day - as it is, I'm consistently up until 1 or 2 am and it's starting to take it's tole - I don't how many patterns I've screwed up lately while falling asleep holding my Wacom pen!

I do know, this has to stop! I keep hearing the voice, "don't go near the light!" running through my head - I guess I need to listen!

So for today - this is all you'll see of me - I've gotta go to town and mail orders and pay bills - they keep coming, no matter what I'm doing!? Then I'm going to come home and, dang it!, get some work done!!!
Be careful on here and listen to the voice, "don't go near the light!" The internet is either a blessing or a curse - I hope it will be a blessing for me =D

Thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida

I guess today's going to be one of those days where I just don't "get it"!lol Like this belt buckle that was advertised in the Etsy Finds today...


hummm, now, just what are we trying to say with this one?


"This whale belt buckle would make any outfit an instant showstopper. Guys, go out with this one on and just wait for the ladies to start commenting on it! buncombebuckles's shop $54." May 12, 2008 Today's Find was curated for you by Marymary.

I just found it comical, especially with MaryMary pointing out that the "ladies" would start commenting on it to the wearer...

"Back in the day" I remember my poor little grandma's words about the horribly indecent things she was being subject to -

Most prominent in my memory was her comment about a billboard that read, "A buck well-spent on a Springmade Sheet"! It pictured an Native American male sitting, with his head hanging down, on the edge of a bed that I guess was made using the company "Springmade"'s sheets... she thought the implication was intolerable! I really think she would just die if she saw all the commercials on t.v. now!

There is nothing that can't be said, or done, on these commercials now. Even the animated movies are full of innuendos and profanity.... {sigh} I often wonder if, for the sake of "free speech", that we've lost all dignity, modesty, and self-respect? It still stops me in my tracks to hear these things on t.v. Even "The Bee Movie" was inundated with sexual comments and drug use references!? I think they've decided that kids don't understand the meanings of what they're saying, so it's okay - but I guarantee you that my 8 year old boy understands! Of course, he has an usually high I.Q., but it's not a reach for the average intelligent child to "get it"....
I wish we could go back to the way it was - I just feel like we've lost our commonsense and especially, our morals.

On a more, directly related to me, note - there's a fire up here on the mountain, just a few miles away, so I will probably have to stop work for a bit to pack up some of my more important things. A guy up here decided to not tell anyone, and just go ahead and burn some brush - we have a very strict fire ban on right now, but he didn't care! =< Now my little home is being threatened again, by the carelessness and selfishness of some guy that wanted to clean his stupid yard! Makes me angry to say the least!! Our season is already started to be a bad one - it's going to be precarious living unless we get some moisture soon. The clouds are thick today and a storm is predicted, but the clouds aren't letting loose yet! Maybe I'll have to get some of the deer antler into a necklace and get to makin' a rain dance! lol
Anyway, would appreciate some good thoughts sent our way today =D

Thanks, as always, for "stopping by the Shop!"
Freida

Little Robin on Manzanita Burl - I think he's cute and hope you'll take a look =D Only three days on this one...

I thought I'd pass along something my bil sent me this morning - it's a "Fire Rainbow" and is very rare - The description with the picture states, "This is the rarest of all naturally occurring atmospheric phenomena.
The picture was captured on the Idaho/Washington border and lasted about an hour. Clouds have to be cirrus, at least 20K in the air, with just the right amount of ice crystals, and the sun has to hit the clouds at precisely 58 degrees." That's a LOT of requirements!!lol I guess that's why it's so rare =D enjoy the picture!

The "Antler Tumbling" experiment has been declared a failure this morning =< style="font-style: italic;">did change the surface of most of the assorted junk in there, for the most part, it was very little and I gave up... I guess that's why they make Dremels!?
I do feel bad for my 8 year old son; he gave me his "best" rock to put in the mix - one really ugly rock!! lol - and I guess he'll have to wait until I put on a mix of rocks to polish. I have a feeling it will just fall apart but I have to try to make him happy! =D
Have much on the table this morning, but thought I would share this pretty picture - I don't think I've ever heard of a "Fire Rainbow" let alone seen a picture of one - pretty darn cool.

Thanks for "stopping by the shop!"

Okay, I'm an inpatient tumbler!lol The only thing that the grit affected today was my coffee when I opened the barrel and a bunch of grit flew into the best cuppa' joe I'd ever made!!

There's absolutely no change after several hours of tumbling... I did get a response I noticed a few minutes ago, which prompted me to write in the blog. I think it might work and I'm excited to give it a go! Here's the post;

	nicholasandfelice says:
	I'd probably just tumble with relatively fine (white) sand or aluminum oxide sandblasting media. I wouldn't use silicon carbide as it may stain the antler. I'd check the results every 15 minutes or so just to be safe.

I actually have some aluminum oxide that I was going to use to sandblast - another creative idea that went by the wayside! lol It sounds like it might work...

On another note about experimenting - I've found that I cannot keep going on 3 - 4 hours of sleep and just woke up from a lengthy nap! ugh There's just so much to do and experience! Sleeping has become something I dread as I hate to miss out on the hours that I could be doing something. But my body and mind don't agree and I've decided that falling asleep at the computer or saw is more wasteful, than getting my "8"! That was not a good experiment!lol

Well, will let ya know what happens with the aluminum oxide tomorrow - many thanks to NicholasandFelice for that very helpful idea! They've got a pretty sweet shop too! Click on their name to check them out =D

As always, thanks for "stopping by the shop!"

I spent yesterday working on the Green Jay - looking good! I'm so happy => and cutting new and interesting things out of all the scrap wood, antler, metal, and what ever else I could dig up.

I love recycling and it seems these days that it's been more than enough to keep me busy! I have so much little bits and pieces of stuff everywhere and am going to try this summer to get it all into a project of some type - this week; beads from whatever I can find.... I went into the Etsy forums last night trying to see if anyone knew how to polish/tumble antler beads, there was absolutely no response... so, I will experiment! It's more fun anyway, especially since I have so many antler "sheds"! =D

I went online and found a couple of ideas not related to antler but I will try to incorporate a few of them and see if they work.
The first one this morning will be cutting little squares of sandpaper and adding them to the mix, as well as taping(?) a circle of sandpaper on the top and bottom of the barrel. The mix consists of antler 'buttons', slices, and a couple of tips, as well as scraps of wood that I've cut into little squares (I have a feeling the wood scraps will disintegrate, but it's worth trying!), and a few letters, big and small, from previous projects. I think they will make wonderful beads and ephemera for mixed media projects... My hunch is that they will sand quickly and I need to keep checking to make sure that something remains!
I hope to finish the antler off in a traditional manner, a slurry of progressive grit, but right now there are too few of them to put by themselves... I'm not sure how to do that later on, but, like I said, "it's an experiment"! Little things like this keep me going while I work on the larger projects, and help my 'creative' mind to be satisfied briefly =>lol

Oh, last year the boys and I went Pinon nut hunting - we found a ton of them, out of the cone, laying everywhere! Being the crafter I am, I decided to pick up the cones too. When looking for 'cool stuff' yesterday I remembered the bag of pine cones in the laundry room! They had opened up and I couldn't help but smile when I saw how much like flowers they looked! Don't you think so? =>

So, it's off to "work"... thanks for "stopping by the shop!"

I'm so proud of my little birds =D They are included in a treasury with some incredible things, and seem to fit beautifully - hope it makes the front page!
Thank you Sandra, for adding me to your treasury!! and especially for all the beautiful work that you've done for me =D You are truly amazing, as an artist, friend, and designer!

Please be sure to check out her shop, Share the Love Designs - featured to the right - for all of your graphic designs, as well as special personalized collages, cards, and Mother's Day gifts!

and, as always, thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida

My goodness, being on the Storque can do wonders for one's views!!

Page 1 views increased by 130
Page 2 views increased by 91

Total increase in views is 221

at 11:05.10 pm EST, 05 / 04.

I've been maintaning this count+ for over three days now and I sure hope it doesn't stop anytime soon =D
While it hasn't resulted in any sales, it has added more hearts etc... in every direction - and every good market analyzer will tell you, more volume always leads to more sales.... Keeping my fingers crossed that some of my 'babies' will find good homes soon -

Tomorrow's Monday! Yeah!! I can get back to working fulltime on my projects - I need a tee shirt that reads, "Thank Goodness it's Monday!!" Anxious to show you all what I've been up to and get some more pieces listed - I think it's going to be a VERY good week =>

Thanks for "stopping by the shop!"
Freida

http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/craftivism/article/etsy-pets-worldwide-animals-with-efa/1715/

I love being on a treasury - it's the only way you have a chance to make front page as well as a public statement that somebody loves your pieces! =D Can't get better than that!
So visit the link and enjoy viewing all of the other beautiful wood art, as well, that I share a place on this treasury with!
Thanks to Jeffrey at Smile Moon Woodworks for featuring my earrings! =>