Week 52- 1 WHOLE YEAR!!!

That's right, I did it- 1 entire year of weekly projects!!! woot woot! So without further ado, these are the final projects for Year 1 of The Xarata Project:

I went to Hobby Lobby this week. It's kind of like my candy store, and I bought some of my favorite things: flowers and fabric!

New Hair Flowers!!!

 

I take pride in choosing silk flowers that look like real flowers; it the difference between my hair flowers and the ones you can get at claire's. I like that people ask me if they're real.

Look at these silk dogwood flowers- so pretty!!!

Little red lillies with perfect yellow stamen

A pink orchid like my other orchids

And some wonderfully adorable daisy hairpins!!! so cute!


New Headbands!!!

I haven't made a new headband in awhile, so it was fun buying headband fabric again.
 The green peacock isn't usually my taste, but I saw it and just knew I needed it for some of the gals that buy my headbands.



Try Try Again...

Remember that glass from last week? This week, I took all the things I learned the first go round, and made one better!

I soldered the wires to the ring instead of just twisting them on so this time they didn't break and they didn't slide around. I also added a silver colored glass bead at every junction...cuz it's pretty...lol. At the bottom, I twisted and turned the ends so they were finished instead of sharp and pointy.


And there you have the end of Year 1 of The Xarata Project.

See the link at the top of the page for what to expect in Year 2!!!

Week 35

This week I played with a multiple stone setting. The overall shape is nice, but I feel it's too wire heavy and could use some work.

Also made some headbands this week. I made 5 out of 2 fabrics. I love the batiks, this one is a sort of green and brown mix and the teal on white damask for some reason makes me think of snowflakes (i don't know why, it's not even cold today) I took pictures of them on, but today is not my most photogenic day so you'll just have to settle for the closeup:

The Headband Video

FINALLY!!!

I know it's not the best in the world, but I think it gets the point across :)

Other ways to finish the ends:

1) Tie a full knot at the back and leave the ends hanging loose

2) Tie a full knot at the back, then flip the knot over and tuck the ends back up the sides of the headband, underneath the main circlet.

Week 15

This week's project was the re-launching of my etsy store. I've done some trading with my headbands and-since they are a relatively easy thing to make and sell- i decided to start delving into the store front world with them. I made roughly 100 headbands, then categorized and listed them on etsy. I also revamped my banner with a pic of the ceiling in my studio- i think it's pretty cute.

There's still about 4 hours left in the day/week and i might do something else, but this was my goal for the week and I'm glad that I made myself complete it.

http://xarata.etsy.com/

I decided I want to start sketching again. There was a point in my life where I really enjoyed doodling- both the process and the tiny picture that resulted, and I'm really not sure why I stopped...Anywho, here's tonight's doodle:

Week 11

In my fit of creativity I missed an awesome dinner with my family so a bit bittersweet...but, as promised, i present to you: the copper feather pen concepted last week!!!



It's not perfect, i ran out of copper wire when i was wrapping the stem, but it's still fun.


A cool thing that has happened recently is that I've been swapping headbands with gals from a forum i frequent for other cool things i want (makeup, fun things from asian shops, puppy treats, etc), which is a step in the right direction. I also made one with elastic this week but i didn't take a picture. It stays on well, but it kind squeezes my head- i like the tied ones better.

No, i still haven't made a youtube video but i have written step-by-step instructions! (Again, a step in the right direction):
Step 1: Find center of headband and center ontop of head. (hair should be pulled back, excepting any bangs you want out, whether your hair is going to be up or down. It's just easier)
Step 2: Tie a half knot at the nape of the neck.
Step 3: Criss cross the ends, wrapping them around each other until you reach the ends
Step 4: Twist this tail until it grows taught- tight enough to start to kink.
Step 5: Go with the kink, twisting the tail into a loop.
Step 6: Reach through the center of the loop and pull the excess through the hole to tighten the loop, leaving the ends inside- like a hairbun.


On a side note in my personal life, I've been doing other things to better my life outside of my art challenge:

-Cooking for myself (i'm really bad about feeding myself because i don't enjoy cooking and i don't like washing dishes-often there aren't any clean dishes to cook with) I'm easing into it with easy things- soups and sweets. Today was a veggie soup with hamburger and homemade french-style fudge. Bob also seems to be on a "make Samantha healthy" kick- he stocked me up on vitamins, viactiv (because every woman needs calcium), gummyvites (because i'll only take a multivitamin if it tastes yummy), glucosamine(for my bad wrist and joints), and folic acid (from my MIL. Bob said it was because I hurt myself all the time and as a metabolism booster it helps you build new cells- i said it was "hint hint- where's my grandkid" Bob's mom said it was both. lol)


-Getting into shape. i am generally considered "slender", but truth be told I am not "fit". When I work, I'm walking and lifting for 6-12 hours at a time, but my body is used to that, so i've started jogging. Nothing fancy, 5-10 minute jogs whenever i feel like it (about 4-6 days a week at random times of day), but it makes me feel better about myself.

-Gardening. This is the first place we have been where we have a yard that i can do something with. It's also the first place we've ever stayed for more than a year. I have a veggie garden, an herb garden, a thriving flower garden, a flower bed waiting on summer bulbs, and an arbor. It's the first time I've had a real tan in probably 5 years. I still have more seeds to add to the veggie garden. Even Bob is kind of getting into it- he planted strawberries. I'd like to issue a personal thanks to last year's halloween pumpkin for birthing a pumpkin plant and therefore the veggie garden around it.

well, that's all folks! til next week ;)

Week 9

I felt like making fabric headbands...so i made 20 fabric headbands- 2 of each one, 1 to keep and 1 to sell. Still need to make a video on how to tie them. I like that they're another multiuse accessory- headband, waist sash, belt (just add buckle), I'm considering making purses that you could add these to as interchangeable straps or decoration.

I am considering the idea of a shop of multi-wear items. I've been meaning to make a few of my own magic wrap dresses (2 layer wraps that can be worn 100 different ways), i already strive to make my pendants wearable as hair decoration, my headbands are hand-tied (yes i know i need to make a how-to video, it's on my list) so they can be repurposed. What other multi-wear items could i make?

Week 3

So it's week 3, and I'd have to say I was productive with my day off (i say day because the first day is for resting and playing and the second is for being productive).

Earlier in the week our neighbor/landlord asked if i would fix a ring for him- it was a big chunky cast silver ring and the band had broken. Since i had very little fear of damaging it and was fairly certain i could fix it i said yes. I did burn myself on my torch (clumsy me- it wasn't even on, just hot), but it was fun taking his extremely tarnished and broken ring and giving it back with a solid band and a mirror-like polish. No pictures- i was too excited to give it back. I didn't ask to be paid for fixing it, but he gave me $20 anyway, and that's just a little exciting.

I always feel kind of awkward asking family/friends to pay me for making them something. I don't feel as awkward about pieces that are already made- i think maybe it's the fear that my work won't meet their standards, and i would hate to be paid for something they really weren't happy with. When the piece already exists, I know that they know what they're getting when they buy it.
I made the above pendant today- nothing special, it was a quick pendant with some wirework- what IS kind of special about it is that i added a stone, which i almost never do. It might be amethyst, it might be tanzanite- it's a deep indigo purple color that came in a lot of mixed gems.
I made this glass for my little sister. Her 21st birthday is on Easter Sunday and I like to give glassware for the big 21. It's painted with tree branches- a style I've done before and she happened to like. Ignore the smudge at the top of the glass- it's a soccer ball in the background.
Headbands! Okay, so headbands aren't really a big deal and I made these 4 for myself (which is part of why i made so many things this week- at least 1 has to be something i'd part with). I've made a few headbands for myself in the past, but this is the first time I bothered to sew the fabric (usually i just press the rough edges under and go), and I can totally see myself adding these to a store/my etsy shop. For roughly $.75 each, I can make a headband out of any fabric i think is pretty(see stripes at top of picture). I wear them a lot at work to keep my bangs out of my face. If/when I experiment with making them for sale, i will make a few with elastic- i currently tie them in a clever way and they're really one size fits all (about 45" long) and can double as a waist sash/belt. I don't mind tying them the way that i do, but I think other people might or just might find it difficult to get the hang of and would appreciate an elastic option.

Well...that's all for week 3 of the Xarata project- haven't lost my steam yet! 49 weeks to go!