Spooky Stuff Incoming!

It’s been a bit of a busy week.  I’ve been working on a custom Renaissance shirt for an Etsy customer, who made the request to have a shirt made for a wedding.  That’s kept me pretty me busy for most of last week, so I didn’t get as much sketching done as I should have.  The shirt was mailed off on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday I got creative.

I decided to take some leftover shirt fabric and put it together in an interesting way.  Add a few buttons, and some hand sewing, and this little guy was the result:

He’s stuffed with polyfil, and I think he makes a great addition to anybody’s Halloween decor.  I’ve listed him in my Etsy shop here for $15:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/82759757/spooky-ghost-plushie

I may try my hand at other, similar little stuffed creations – they’re fun to make, and I enjoy putting everything together to get something cute as a result.  Maybe cats or mice will be next…

I’ve also been working on some miniatures for Warmachine.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and a lot of the Warmachine community gets really involved, some going so far as to paint entire armies in pink to raise awareness.  There is a contest called Paint It Pink that I’m going to try participating in, and to that end I’ll be painting two miniatures in pink and submitting some images.  The contest has some great prize support, including some army transport bags.  It’s a huge chore to lug my miniatures to the game store right now, because I need two separate carrying cases, and I really do need a new bag to consolidate everything into one easy to carry transport bag.  I have my eye on a brand called Portable Warfare, which run around $80 for a great bag filled with foam trays for keeping your miniatures safe.  Not a bad price, considering that you’re essentially protecting potentially hundreds of dollars worth of miniatures in your transport.  I may try to show some progress pictures along the way, to show of my painting.

For my Etsy shop, Greyed Out, I’m currently working on inking a fairy forest scene, and once that’s done I’ll get it scanned and list prints in the store.  I’m also considering making a pdf file of my drawstring bag pattern, because I’ve noticed that it occasionally comes up in the search terms when I check my shop stats.  One piece of good news; I’ve managed to sell another Renaissance shirt!  This one will be going to someone as part of his first SCA costume, so I’m proud that I can help out.  This means that from now on, I’ll be making these shirts to order, which means that custom orders are a possibility.  I’m also working on another miniature fairy house with a really cool roof design, and I’m excited to see what it will look like when finished.

I’ll more than likely post again in a few days; thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment!

Here Be Dragons.

Dragons are magic.  There’s no other way to put it.  I’ve been fascinated by the big scaly things for as long as I could remember.  I can’t recall when I first found out about them, but it was at a really young age, because I’ve been enjoying stories about dragons since I was a tiny child.  Whether your dragons are winged with four legs, or winged with only two, or even with no legs or wings at all… they’re incredible.

One of the first books I remember reading about dragons was called The Book of Dragons, by E. Nesbit.  It’s a tiny, slim little volume.  Collected inside are stories of dragons from myth and legend, with enough fire to spark any boy’s imagination.  Then, in fourth grade, at a school book fair, I picked up Bruce Coville’s Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.  The book is about a young kid who, running from bullies one day, gets lost in a fog and finds a magic shop.  There he buys a dragon’s egg, and hatches it, and gets to watch the young dragon(whom he names Tiamat) grow up.  It’s completely magical and wonderful.  In high school, I read the Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman.  That led me to Dungeons and Dragons, and in my time around the gaming table I’ve killed a dragon or two.

The other day, inspired by my long love of the dragon, I sat down to do some inking.  I sketched a few ideas first, and when I was satisfied, I broke out the steel nibs and black ink.  I didn’t want to do this project in Micron pens.  I wanted the old-fashioned method.  A while later, I had a dragon skull sitting on paper in front of me.  I’m not quite sure it’s done yet, but it was fun to do, and I can’t wait to try further projects with the steel nibs and ink.

Here are a few pictures:

Dragon*Con Musings: Pre-convention Thoughts

I’m not sure I’ll be able to attend Dragon*Con this year – I’ve been wanting to go for a really long time, but have never been able to make it to Atlanta to attend.  This year, when I’m actually living in Atlanta, I can’t afford to go.  Oh, life.

I’m glad that the convention happens here, because from everything I hear it is one of the biggest, best, most incredible conventions for gaming, fantasy, sci-fi, etc that you could imagine.  Thousands of people flock to Atlanta every year just for a chance to attend Dragon*con, and who can blame them?  I have heard from some friends of my wife’s that they attend every year and just walk around in costume to see everything and everyone.  I’m not sure they even buy tickets or passes.  If that’s the case, I may try something similar, and attend without attending anything.

I feel that a lot of the products I make for my Etsy store would work really well for convention attendees – particularly the dice bags.  I make each one with a belt loop, so that you can carry them around without having to hold them or store them in other bags/pouches.  The double drawstring lends itself to a tight closure, which I feel is important – it not only keeps your dice safe, but also your other small change and loose items.  I have a variety of colors, but would be very open to custom choices – just talk to me!  If anyone is interested, email me at greylikestorms(at)gmail.com or convo me on Etsy to discuss other fabrics.  It’s not too late to get your stuff in time for Dragon*con, and I’m always happy to use a faster service than USPS.

I’ve also got a costume shirt listed that I feel is timeless enough to work for a variety of costumes, ranging from the late Renaissance to the early 20th century.  Steampunk, anyone?

For the curious, my Etsy store can be found at:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/greyedout

Etsy Regretsy… Zibbet?

Last year I decided to start an Etsy shop to sell some of the smaller items that I like crafting.  It was a fairly easy process to set up, and listing items is simple and clear.  I listed several items, and then waited.  And waited.  And waited.  It wasn’t until January, four months after starting my shop, that I had my first sale, and it was a great experience waking up in the morning to the “you made a sale!” email.  I’ve had several sales since then, but by the end of February things had dried up.  I listed more items, and renewed my current listings to bring them to the top of the queue, with no luck.  Even now I’m still trying to make more sales.  It’s a bit disheartening, to say the least.  But I’m keeping at it, because it’s important to me and because I like the feeling of giving customers what they want to the best of my ability.

Recently, though, I’ve come across several instances of resellers on Etsy.  For those unfamiliar with the website or the term, Etsy is a place for selling handmade and vintage items.  A “reseller” is someone who takes mass-produced items bought very cheaply in bulk and resells them listed in his/her shop as their own creations.  It’s against Etsy rules, although from what I have seen and heard the Etsy administrators are willing to let resellers slide… because they bring in a lot of money.

It was one such instance that prompted me to look at other places online for selling items, and I found a place called Zibbet.  Much like Etsy, it’s a website where sellers can list homemade, crafted items and sell them to internet customers.  Its setup is slightly different from Etsy’s, in that it’s free to list your items and you take all profit, whereas Etsy takes a small fee from your sold items.  On Zibbet, you can sign up for various types of seller accounts, from the free basic account all the way up to the Premium account.  I’ve since created a free Zibbet shop in hopes of increasing sales a bit more.

The Zibbet community is also very friendly and open compared to Etsy’s.  Etsy recently changed their forums, and created what they call “Teams”, which are inclusive groups focused on specific crafting items, themes, and so on.  It used to be simple to go on Etsy’s forums and ask for help regarding crafting techniques, materials, how-to’s, and so on.  The creation of Teams makes that much more difficult, because now you have to search for a team dealing with your situation, and then apply to join that particular team before you can even ask for help.  It’s part of what frustrates me about the recent Etsy changes.  I’ve found the Zibbet forums to be helpful and welcoming so far.

One site that Kathryn likes to check for updates is Regretsy – a site that often pokes fun at ridiculous Etsy listing.  They have their own forums, and a team on Etsy itself, and I’ve also joined efforts there.  Regretsy is what ties everyone together, and they are also a tight-knit community.  I’ve already gotten a bunch of helpful advice, and I plan to take steps to improve the quality of several of my item pictures and listings.

What I would really like to focus my efforts on are period costumes, ranging from the medieval to the Renaissance to the Victorian, and including subcultures like steampunk.  However, at the moment I craft mainly smaller items like dice bags, purses, smaller messenger bags, and decorative houses.  I have a Youtube channel dedicated to showcase videos of my products, and a Facebook page as well – look up Greyed Out Productions for more information.  To find my shops on Etsy and Zibbet, simply search for “Greyedout”.  That’s the name of the shop.

Thoughts on a Green Revolution

It’s Thursday night, and my fiancée and other roommate are having a 90′s night – Clueless, Beverly Hills 90210, Smirnoff Ice, Lunchables, Gushers Fruit Snacks.  It’s a Girl Thing, I’m told.  I’m content to pen down a new blog post and relax with the little black kitten cat that is nice enough to share our home with us.

My fiancée and I have been talking about undergoing a Green Revolution together.  What does that mean?  Well, it involves making our own toothpaste, our own deodorant, and so on.  Moving away from highly processed chemicals where we can, and instead opting for natural alternatives.  I haven’t been able to contribute much – she’s the one who is willing to dive in and create and mix and become an alchemist for us.  But I am happy to use the products, and I think it’s a great idea.  I feel that there is something to be gained by moving a step away from using items in which you can’t pronounce any of the ingredients.

She recently ordered a book on soapmaking, with an eye on making our own soaps for use at home, and potentially selling extra bars on our Etsy.  A book on canning fruits and vegetables came along with the soapmaking book, and I have to say, I’m very much looking forward to making our own pickles, and experimenting with jams and jellies.  There is a customer at my dad’s restaurant who makes his own pickles, and is always dropping off jars for us to try.  While I don’t think we’ll go to those lengths, it will certainly be an adventure!

I’m not an alchemist by any means, but I can sew – which means that I’ve been spending time thinking about sewing my own shirts, based loosely on a “Renaissance Faire” design, but with sleeves that are more fitted, and more like modern shirts, or even late-19th century working man’s shirts.  It’s all still in the planning stages, but I’d also like to sew my own waistcoats and vests if and when I get the chance.  It’s the ultimate way to control my wardrobe.  On the subject of sewing, I feel I should put in a quick plug for our Etsy shop here, since it’s currently featuring a number of smaller sewn items that I’ve designed.  Our Etsy shop name is Greyedout.  Look us up, and say hello!