Archive for the 'etsy' Category

Day Fourteen - Bunting Flag Stationery Set

Published
by
robayre
on August 23, 2010
in General Update, Projects and etsy
. 1 Comment

On Friday I got a message from someone through Etsy inquiring if I could make my bunting notepads larger. She wanted to use them as stationery actually, so I didn’t need to pad them. Then she asked me if I had envelopes as well. It was funny because it had not even occurred to me to even make such a thing, even though one of my best selling items is my recycled stationery sets. I’m so excited about making this custom set that I plan on offering them as another regular item in my shop. They will listed for a few dollars more than the recycled sets because the paper used for these envelopes aren’t recycled, but will probably be made up of mostly art, scrapbooking and high quality patterned papers (think: Paper-source).

I think I’ll also list some larger pads (5.5×8.5″) just because I’m having fun padding :)

Day Two - mini books

Published
by
robayre
on August 3, 2010
in General Update, Projects and etsy
. 3 Comments

For Day Two I made a small handful of mini books. I’ve been wanting to make books like these for a very-very long time.  I always carry around those mini moleskine cahiers, and these are my answer, or should I say version, of the moleskine cahier. Each book is 4.5×5″ roughly.

At work we get our printing plates in big boxes, and each box always has many large sheets of this flat cardboard strictly for packaging and serve no other purpose. I often pick up a stack to use for various things and one of the projects I’ve been wanting to do for a long time was to use it for book covers. Each book is staple bound with an industrial commercial stapler (using metal wire, rather than precut staples).

For the inside pages I gathered a variety of papers from my personal collection, similar to my handbound journals. They might have watercolor paper, graph paper, lined paper, linen paper, marbled paper, even paper doilies. I am in serious love with these books right now. If I could, I would make a living constructing and selling these books and I don’t think I would ever get tired. All the different papers, all the different alterations to the covers, all the whimsical additions. Once again, similar to my grass journals, I think it comes down to my obsession with school supplies and the ultimate design in notebooks, back from when I was a kid.

Each book is entirely unique with different individual special touches. Each book also has its very own rubber-band to keep it shut tight. I think these books would be perfect for the creative type who loves to draw, sketch, doodle, write, journal, scrap, etc. And I will be adding them to my etsy shop later today, so keep your eye out.

♥ Black & Whites Stipes ♥

Published
by
robayre
on June 15, 2010
in Cool Links, General Update and etsy
. 0 Comments

Come visit the black and white themed Etsy Treasury I made recently.

I have a long lasting, never ending crush on black and white stripes. One time in college I did an intaglio print that was entirely thick black and white stripes. The black was entirely scratched in line-by-line, by hand, on the metal plate, until it was solid. I thought of the piece being more of a tribute to my love for stripes as well as a process piece, where the action of creating is more important than the piece itself. I think my teacher was less than inspired by the piece. Oh well, you can’t win them all, especially if you go to NIU art school and don’t try to suck up by recreating your teacher’s exact same style for every piece. Bitter still? Does it show?

To me black and white stripes are classic, vintage, timeless, Picasso, Tim Burton, Edward Gorey, & little boys from the 50s like Dennis the Menace and my dad when he was little. I can never get enough of black and white stripes.

Earlier today Bri showed me this awesome striped Pavillion. AND if that wasn’t awesome enough, we both recently purchased the exact same black and white upholstery fabric from IKEA. She actually has some super awesome plans for hers and I can’t wait to see pictures of it.

I’m a nerd

Published
by
robayre
on May 28, 2010
in Cool Links, My Artwork, Projects, etsy and shop update
. 4 Comments

Here is my second animated gif for number 2 on my to-do list. Here’s number one from earlier this year.  This time I made it bigger so you can actually see what’s going on.

Last week I was walking from my car to our house when I saw the brightest yellow finch. It’s been so long since I’ve seen one, I thought it was an escaped pet bird at first. The very next day I was at a BBQ birthday party and saw the boldest Indigo Bunting. It kept flying up to the bird feeder just a few feet away from us. THEN the very next day I was on a bike ride and a bright red Cardinal swooped right in front of me. I view brightly colored birds as a sign, and remembered this mail art piece I made and decided to list it for sale in my Etsy shop.

I recently discovered the coolest (new-to-me) artist through flickr. Alyn Carlson is a very talented artist, graphic designer and actress. She makes the most wonderful art hats, and they can be found in her Etsy shop here. I love how she posts often about colors, often in a Pantone theme, which really speaks to the graphic designer in me too. Well, lo and behold, this week she featured a photograph I took of my tootsie in grass, on this post. And then today, she shared my silver cast and handspun yarn Grass Ring. A woman who also loves grass is a woman after my own heart.

New Series - Blades of Grass

Published
by
robayre
on May 3, 2010
in My Artwork, Projects, etsy and shop update
. 1 Comment

I think I mentioned last week how I’ve been working on a new series of paintings. As usual, I continue with my love for the grass image. I have two complete and I’m pretty excited about the whole series. It’s all I can think of, and when I’m not painting I’m scribbling down notes and sketches for more pieces. I can’t create as fast as the inspiration comes, and that’s a good thing. Today I listed the one above in my Etsy shop.

Here is a progress picture from last week. My drawing table was a complete mess. I like how, even though it is entirely painting, it almost looks like collage or mixed media because of all the lines and details.

This particular piece is 12 inches square, so a pretty decent size to hang on a wall. Lately I’ve been wanting to go bigger and I think it stems from my desire to hang larger pieces on my own walls. In this series I plan on creating pieces of all different sizes, from small canvases (like my artomat pieces) to BIG BIG BIG. We will see how that goes :)

Woodlandbelle

Published
by
robayre
on April 28, 2010
in Artists, Cool Links and etsy
. 2 Comments

Have you seen the shop Woodlandbelle?  I have a crush. I want one of each.

Three things

Published
by
robayre
on April 21, 2010
in Coverage, General Update, etsy, life and shop update
. 1 Comment

I saw this “three things” list on Leethal’s blog and decided to participate myself.
Three names I go by:
1. Rob
2. Robbie
3. Robs

Three jobs I have had:
1. Night audit/ front desk clerk at a hotel
2. Nursery supervisor at a church
3. Study hall aide for 7th and 8th graders

Three places I have lived:
1. at my parents house (residential neighborhood)
2. In a farmhouse out in the country
3. In an apartment building, next door to a murderer (really, not kidding at all)

Three favorite drinks:
1. Slurpees
2. Thai iced tea
3. Boba drinks

Three TV shows I watch:
1. Lost
2. 30 Rock
3. Check Please (chicago pbs)

Three places I have been:
1. Juneau, Alaska (not on a cruise, thank-you-very-much)
2. Blarney Castle in Ireland (and yes I kissed the Blarney stone)
3. Breaking for “REAL BEEF JERKY” in Texas (I also break for cheese curds in Wisconsin)

Three places I would like to visit:
1. Japan
2. The East coast of the United States
3. Seattle (I’ve been, but only stayed overnight and didn’t get to see anything really)

Three favorite old TV shows:
1. Six Feet Under
2. Arrested Development
3. My So Called Life (but, I can’t watch it anymore. It’s like looking at old awkward pictures of yourself, it’s embarrasing and makes you start reflecting on a time you’d rather forget.)

Three favorite dishes:
1. Home cooked in the crock pot - Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana
2. Tuna Casserole (my mom’s dish)
3. Sausage & Rotini (my mom’s dish)

Three makeup/beauty products I cannot live without:
1. soap
2. deoderant
3. toothpaste (other than that, I really can’t think of anything I couldn’t live without. I won’t die if I can’t find my mascara.)

Three things I’m looking forward to:
1. This kind of makes me sad because a thing I’ve been hopefully looking forward to, will most likely not happen
2. I’ve been dealing with this today
3. And, it’s hard for me to think of anything else to look forward to right now.

Wow, that didn’t really end on an uplifting note. I think I will add another category just so it doesn’t seem so sad.

Three songs that make me happy:
1. As Is - Ani Difranco
2. Halloweenhead - Ryan Adams
3. Breakin’ Up - Rilo Kiley

And then just for fun, A bonus round: 3 things I made and added to my Etsy shop recently:


This handbound journal that I’m in love with. It’s similar to one of the very first items I made and sold on Etsy, eons ago. The inside pages are an assortment of different papers, and each page is next to a different kind of paper. There is watercolor paper, graph paper, and even some papers I designed and printed myself. I really need to make one for myself, because describing it right now, I want to take it out of my shop and just keep it. Control yourself, Robyn. lol.

This orange and aqua spiral stratum ring. I actually made it as a custom order for a customer who apparently decided they didn’t like it because it still sits there days later. booo. Oh well, I like it and I probably wouldn’t have thought to use those colors if they hadn’t requested it.

Lastly, here is one of the 3 or 4 alphabet badges I made. It’s also being featured in this alphabet inspired treasury. Cute!

Please play along! Let me know if you posted three things too, I’d love to read them.

What I’ve done today

Published
by
robayre
on April 2, 2010
in General Update, My Artwork, etsy and shop update
. 1 Comment

I’ve listed two new paintings to my Etsy shop today. The first one can be found here. They are in the same style as my Artomat pieces, which can be seen here. These paintings are based on collages I did during Thing A Day in February.

The second painting can be found here.

Also, I sold these miniature books that were commissioned. I LOVE the smaller one. It looks like it’s leather bound, but really it’s a fancy textured paper. I’ll have to keep my eye out for more papers similar to these. I have another one to list in my etsy shop, but I’ve been thinking of turning it into a necklace.

New Paper Wrapped/Coiled Rings

Published
by
robayre
on March 22, 2010
in etsy and shop update
. 1 Comment

I’ve added 4 new paper wrapped spiral/stratum rings to my Etsy shop, click on the images to take you to their listing.
I am in love with the one above. It’s made from a world map.

And this one is made from a road map. I think they are so beautiful from afar, and if you look up close you can see that it actually map pages.

 

I also made these two, an orange and a pink ring. They are equally stunning. I just love the details.

new additions

Published
by
robayre
on March 21, 2010
in General Update, etsy and shop update
. 2 Comments

 

 

Today I added 4 new leaf style rings to my Etsy shop.  I also have a few more rings in the paper spiral/coiled style that I’m going to add tomorrow. I’m excited. They are so pretty.

How was your weekend? I had one of those rare weekends which are packed full, and yet seem long, stretched out and productive, as opposed to rushed and stressed. A relaxed, stress free weekend. I got to visit with my brother and sister in law and their new addition, I attended a wedding, AND made it to my friend Tom’s birthday party. Oh, also, I’m very excited that I scored a bike on ebay, just like my old one that was destroyed last year, but the female version. I was even able to test ride it around our cul-de-sac a few times before the snow hit this weekend.

I’m so so so excited for spring. I even got to walk home from work on Thursday. It was so nice to just get sun and fresh air. I carried my camera with me and took a bunch of pictures. After hectic months like February, it feels like such a blessing to be leisurely and take the time to enjoy the simple things. Last week was a perfect sample of what’s to come, temps in the 50’s even reaching the 60s a day or two. Saturday we woke up to a snow covered ground. No one was happy about that, but it’s pretty typical for spring time in northern Illinois.

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