Making the Shoppe

{Don't forget to join the GIVEAWAY! It's over next week!}

I started this blog just over a year ago, because I was cluttering my personal blog with too many art-related posts. Right about the time that I began Shealynns-Faerie-Shoppe, I started learning how to make jewelry. It kinda grew.... and grew.... :)

And I made so many things that I could never possibly wear them all.

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Making the Shoppe.

It took a bit. For one, I had to wait until we moved.Then I had to find time. I still don't think I've got time, but I've got a Shoppe all the same. :) Now maybe my "wasted" time spent on crafts won't be quite so wasted.

Most of the items I made, cluttering my dresser.

I chose Artfire because they have an option for a basic store-- you don't have to pay them a dime. Of course, you miss out on a bajillion awesome features. Etsy is more popular than Artfire, but my goodness! Do they charge you for everything!


Want to know what it takes to make a Shoppe? Before you begin, research, research, research. Figure out what other people did right. Learn about scams. All sorts of good stuff.

You have to have something people want. Something quality, unique, and affordable. Yes, you can make beautiful necklaces strung with beads. But so many other people do that... find your niche. My Shoppe specializes in chainmaille, fantasy, and religious jewelry (but there will always be an eclectic mix of other things!).

Next, make about 40 things.

Now comes a really fun part: designing your "look." Your look is like a brand name-- you know how Google and Coca-Cola have great typography? how you'd recognize the Blogger "B,"r the Yahoo "!" and Macy's "★ " anywhere? Examples of good branding.

This is where my budding inner graphic artist went, "YEAH! YAHOO! I get to go CRAZY and take over Shaylynn's brain!"

I designed my fairy (see how it progressed), who would become the new face of Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe. My logo. The little sprite who won't leave me alone. After the fairy came a whole design theme.

She's sitting on nothing... 'Cause she's magic. :)

Using this "look," I made all the graphics I needed: banners, headers, logos, favicons, buttons, business cards... the list goes on.

A look isn't any good if it's applied only to the store, so I re-did my blog. 

(Want to see what my blog used to look like way back when? Check out this old post.)



 I'd go into all the design details here, but I'd bore you to death. Suffice it to say that I have MANY new features.

I also updated my Facebook page to reflect the new look. (Check it out, I've got a giveaway going there!)


Next up: photography. 

You've really got to be a mini-professional photographer to sell jewelry. Who's going to buy something when it's picture is all blurry?

You don't need a fancy camera. You just need good lighting-- preferably natural-- a camera with a macro setting, and an editing software. But I'm sure if you have a fancy camera that you can take even awesomer pictures. :) My little guy is like 10 years old.

Take 2-4 pictures of every item. Then edit them.

My photography studio. A Tshirt next to a window and a lamp with a sheet of paper taped onto it.

After this it's all boring... Getting a checking account. Getting a PayPal accoun
t. Writing up your policies-- blech. Spending a couple hours writing creative descriptions for some 30 things-- I'd like to see you try. Learning how to ship jewelry safely and nicely... oh. my. goodness. Did you know it's going to cost me almost $3 to securely ship a pair of earrings?

Research prices. Seriously, this is a headache. How much did you spend on supplies? How much is your time worth? How much to other people charge for similar quality items, and how much of a "base" do they have compared to you?

You don't want to overcharge, but then you do have to pay for your supplies and time. Only if you are well known can you really make a large(ish) profit.

Until you make your first sale. Boring-ness = gone.

My friend C. has the honor of being my first customer!

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Question, dear readers: Do you eventually want me to make a couple of posts on how to (or how I) ship jewelry, photography tips, etc.?

The Shoppe and a Giveaway!

***Please scroll to the bottom for info on the giveaway!***

So, dear friends, I have finally opened a Shoppe. As many of you have been telling me to do for quite awhile. :)

Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe is dedicated towards making fun, unique, and quality items. I specialize in chainmaille, fantasy, and religious jewelry.

But I certainly don't limit myself to that! You'll find an assortment of very random things on my Shoppe, just like you have on my blog. :)

By the way, I absolutely love custom orders. Have you seen something on my blog that you really want? If I've made it before, I can make it again. Have an idea in your head and want to see it come to fruition? Let me know! I love to experiment and make things, but I can't justify spending the money on supplies for every whim of mine-- I need an excuse. :)

 Here are some pictures from my first "batch" of jewelries. 

(Not all have been uploaded to the Shoppe yet, and some are for giveaways).

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What does this mean for the blog?

Don't worry. I won't spam you with a new post every time that I list a new item. Once a month I'll include a collage of the various things I have for sale on my Shoppe (see the picture at the beginning of this post).

In the past, I made a new post or two for every item I made. Now that I have a shop and have a "reason" for making a million jewelries... I won't do that.

Every time that I come up with a new design or a great spin on a previous one, I'll make a new post. But if I'm simply making more of the same design, I'll edit the post about that design and make a "gallery" of that design. I'll be sure to let you know when I update posts.

I'm not going to be stingy about how I do what I do. Keep an eye out for new tutorials, tips, and tricks.

And, as always, I'll keep you updated on non-Shoppe projects and hopefully give you lots of inspiration.

(Of course, the start of the Shoppe heralded a new look here at the blog. I hope you enjoy it and have fun with all the new features!)

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And now... what you've all been waiting for...

The Giveaway!

In honor of the start of my shop, I am giving away this lovely pair of earrings:

TO ENTER, please leave a comment on my blog post, telling me what you like best about my blog or Shoppe, along with any comments or suggestions. 1 entry, mandatory.

For additional entries:

• Follow the blog. 1 entry.
• Fan Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe on Facebook. 1 entry.
• Post about my Shoppe, blog, and/or this giveaway on your own blog. 2 entries.

Please be sure to leave a seperate comment for each entry, or they will not be counted.


The giveaway deadline is November 10th.

The Shoppe!

Announcing...

The Shoppe! 

Check out Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe on Artfire!

Visit Shealynns-Faerie-Shoppe's ArtFire Shop

Autumn Whispers

I normally don't put my photography on my blog (aside from craft photos), but Hannah over at Aspire is having a photo challenge: Falling in Love with Autumn.

She inspired me to take my camera outside this morning... and the rest is history.

Even though few of our trees are colorful, our yard yeilded a plethora of photo ops! I've also included a couple pictures taken at the pumpkin patch Saturday and a few I took on a late September evening. Technically the first photo is going to be my entry. But I'm including all of these because I thought you might enjoy them!

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Teaser!

TEASER! This has got something to do with the news I mentioned in my last post.

If you look at my header, you'll see that the fairy is a handdrawn sketch that I scanned in and slapped some Paint Shop effects on.

The fairy at the top of this post is a completely computer-drawn vector image! I spent a few good hours learning the basics of Adobe Illustrator and coming up with this fairy illustration.

Click to enlarge.

1. Here you can see what I started out with-- some basic "flow lines" and shapes to guide me. These got erased as I continued working. 
2. In this second shot, you can start to see the buildup of shapes that replaced the line drawing. Notice how much different the head shape is-- I had to fix each line and curve! Behind the head are some squiggly lines that, when shrunk, became curls.
3. We're getting somewhere, finally! I built up the main body shape and turned everything black. I added more detail and fixed the wing shape.
4. The original silhouette. Notie the curls, book, feather, and FEET. Oh my, drawing feet on the computer is just as hard as drawing feet in real life. I shall never be able to escape the terribleness of drawing feet. :( The feather was very easy-- I just took the feather I built for my Masquerade Graphic and edited it a bit.
5. Mom said that the fairy's bottom looked big... lol... so I changed the skirt's flow. Voila!

Can anyone guess what this fairy is for?  


 Also, I'm changing up the blog's look a bit  a lot!

Exciting News Coming!

Guess what?!

Oh, wait, you already guessed it. There is exciting news coming for Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe! I wonder how you figured that out? I'd really like to borrow some of your mind-reading powers!

I'll only keep you on tenterhooks for a week... 

In the meantime, please check out my previous post and VOTE on what YOU want to see here at the Shoppe!

Shabby Apple Dress Design Entry

Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses.

by: Shaylynn Rackers

A friend told me about this contest awhile ago; I'd completely forgotten about it until I saw the contest mentioned on a blog. I knew I had to enter, it would be too much fun.

This contest is by Shabby Apple. They make some über cute dresses. ^_^

Here is my Spring-inspired dress!

The Front of the dress!

      When I think of spring, the first images that pop into my head are the bright colors splattering the earth and kids playfully romping in the yard. My little sister with a ruffly dress dancing in the grass; my brothers barefoot in the mud.

     This dress is bright, bold, and playful, just like springtime. It's the sort of dress that makes you feel bright and chipper and pretty.

The back

This dress is flattering on any body shape, especially the hourglass and pear. The asymmetrical hemlines and color blocks pull the eye away from any "problem areas" and focuses on a slimmer, taller line. (Don't we all want that? lol!)

The contrasting waistline brings the waist into focus, something which ladies with pear and hourglass figures will love! However, it is not a problem for those with flat waists, either.

I've included gathers on the front bodice and the waistband. I've noticed that just a few gathers in the right places make one look just a little slimmer.

There are no cap sleeves. Instead, the sleeves are looser and longer, a boon for any woman with a larger arm.

The dress has a good neckline, hemline to the knees, and draws attention to the face.

And, of course, the timeless A-line shape is flattering on anyone.

I love ruffles, but so often you find them in overabundance. In this design I toned them down-- they are still there in all their glory, but a little more grown-up in the sparseness.

And then COLOR! Color is so bold and playful and jazzes up anything! In my drawings, I experimented with several different color combinations. The monochromatic green, shown in the very first image of this post, is my favorite and my "official" entry. This dress could easily be done in so many other ways. The darker shade could be on either the contrasting ruffles, or on the "wrap" part of the dress. The color can fade in shade, as seen in the "pink" drawing. Two or even three colors could be used. This dress could be made in monotone for a more sophisticated look!

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Fabric
I checked the tag on a dress with material similar to what I was imagining- it was 95% polyester with some cotton and spandex. The fabric shouldn't have a sheen to it and should lay nicely, especially along the gathers.

Inspiration

The entry guidelines at Shabby Apple ask for design inspiration. Frankly, I didn't have anything in mind except general "springiness. " ^_^ I imagined a dress, sketched it out a few times, and finally decided that "Yes, this is something that I would wear!"

However, I can pick out a few things that inspired this dress-- or rather, things that inspire my imagination. 

The bright colors so popular in the European styles that I've seen.

The classic A-line dress, and RUFFLES!

And, of course, SPRING! 

And I might even go so far as to say that the top, with the front panel that crosses over, was inspired by a beautiful Indian sari that a woman at Wal-Mart was wearing!

I'm working on a fun drawing right now with a girl wearing this dress. :)