chimesblog

I recently underwent massive reconstructive hair surgery. By that I mean, I was forced under a stripper for a couple of hours to remove the red crap from my hair and I was then colored and highlighted and cut into something a bit different. And by a bit different, I mean my natural color (gasp!).

NO MORE BOX COLOR. Period. At least not for a verrrrry long time. And definitely not red. It took almost 5 hours (including lunch at the Cork and Fork) to remove the nasty red box color crap from my hair. Needless to say, I’m giving it a LOT of TLC.

This is the color my hair was underneath all the red. Pretty gross, eh?

And the end result. It will probably lighten up a bit after I’ve washed it, but this sandy blonde is pretty close to my natural color.

And after all that, I went home and hacked at my hair in a couple of different places to give it some more texture.  Usually I’m pretty anal about the cut and my friend Lora who does my hair does an AMAZING job, but I think we were both ready to be done with the whole thing by the time we got to cutting it.  It looks pretty effing amazing though now.

I kind of miss the red, but it’s such a pain to constantly color it and it’s even more of a pain to get rid of the color.

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I’ve not been creating anything fabulous and new lately. And that’s because my etsy store has been pretty well stocked and I don’t have room for anything else in my apartment.

SO … I’m having a January Blowout Sale!

For my retail shop (www.chimes.etsy.com) use the code JANUARYBLOWOUT to receive 30% off any item in the store.

I have a couple of things listed at 50% off in my wholesale shop — my little birdies bowls and little birdies plates. Both are normally priced $35 for 5 bowls or plates (one bowl/plate is $10 on its own) but they’re $17 for 5 now.

Spread the word! And happy etsy-ing!

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I hadn’t cut my hair since sometime this summer so I figured it was time for a new do. I kind of feel like I cheated on my favorite hair lady, but my friend recommended somebody nearby so I got it cut over work yesterday.

I feel like it’s a bit too mom-like. Specifically MY mom.  So I might dye it more red or 2-3 shades darker.

My inspiration was Carey Mulligan. We watched Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps over break and I loved her hair (it’s safe to say that’s about all I loved about that movie). She talked me into keeping my side-swept bangs instead of cutting little shorties because I’ve got a mega-cowlick in the front and she didn’t want me having sticky-outie hair.

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Here’s 21-40 of my thankful list …

1. coworkers that make your life easier
2. car insurance
3. knowing how to knit (and make warm winter apparel!)
4. knowing you’ve got people that have your back
5. MPR — the current
6. Having a 5-day weekend
7. my twitter peeps
8. friends with amazing music taste — introduced to the Screaming Females last weekend.
9. barbecue sauce
10. sugar cookies — not soft ones. and ones with lots of frosting
11. wearing jeans to work on a Tuesday (whoops!)
12. getting to use fun paper to print some cool holiday projects
13. post-it notes
14. having a family member that owns a truck
15. getting to work out for free at the Bell Center at Drake (even though the hours aren’t ideal)
16. Jillian Michaels
17. French paper
18. Skype!
19. a working cell phone
20. did I mention my fabulous beau?

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Hello bloglings!

I realized that I forgot to advertise EVERYWHERE and not just on my etsy that my deadline for Christmas commissions was September 30th. I made that policy in 2009 as I received entirely too many commission requests in November the year before.

I will be sure to advertise this a LOT more blatantly next year so you can get your requests in earlier.

Unfortunately, I cannot take any commission requests for Christmas at this point.

However, I will still be taking requests for commissions that are due after Christmas. And a VERY SMALL handful that are due between now and Christmas.

I hope this doesn’t make me sound like a jerk — but I just can’t do EVERYTHING. Crafting is not my full-time job, so unfortunately I have a limited amount of time to devote to it.

ALSO —

How do you go about getting a commission in the first place? WELL, just ask. You can e-mail me, facebook me, tweet at me, convo me on etsy or comment here on the blog.  Once I have enough details, I will create a custom listing for you on etsy.

Work will begin on your piece once you’ve completed the transaction on Etsy.  Some people do commissioned work the other way around — produce the item, then have the customer pay for it.  I’ve had too many people back out on a request once I’ve created the item or items, so to alleviate that problem, I’ve asked for payment up front. Since I have a limited amount of time to create things, this is the best policy.  Of course, there will always be special cases, but for most commisions, payment is required up front.

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here’s a small handful of things I’ve been digging around the internet recently …

beautiful earrings from The Opulent Project

blackboard rings from twinklyspangle

trippy photography

amazing graffiti by artist, Aske

handpainted ceramics … much more exciting than mine … by Nina Invorm

a most-original halloween costume — comic book drawing girl

fashion band-aids by Cynthia Rowley

For more fabulous finds, you really should check out Pinterest.com. I’m chimes (of course).

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Hey all, just wanted to let you know that I can mark another project off my list: wallets!

I finished a bunch just in time for last week’s craft show, and they sold like hot cakes! I’m slowly listing the rest on my etsy store.

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… Steph and Steph!

I’ve got 3 more invites if anybody would like them. Just drop me an e-mail.

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I may or may not have stolen this idea from my friend at Domestica.

Regardless, I’m doing it.

Recently I was invited to a wonderful community where people can curate and share things that they love with one another. It’s called Pinterest. It was pretty much what I used to use tumblr for, but better. It’s like visual bookmarks for things I want to come back to. Not to mention, it’s helped me find all sorts of new things that I love to look at.

Here’s something lovely I found and posted on my designy board.

However, Pinterest is invite-only for now. BUT: I have 5 invites to give away!

Interested yet?  I know I would be.  How do you win?

Well … let’s see here … how about we make this contest about social networking — since that’s what Pinterest is about. To enter, comment on this post and tell me your favorite social networking site and why I should use it.

Good luck! I’m closing the comments at midnight on August 15 and a winner will be posted that day (winner chosen with the random integer generator).

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I’ve been looking for a necklace or a pair of earrings that match my lovely jade ring that Mark brought me from Antigua when he visited for his sister’s wedding in February.

Finally … I found something!

… and it was from a Cedar Rapids vendor, to boot! (HeatherBerry) So that’s pretty cool. I love it. And I’ve put in an inquiry about matching earrings and another necklace  in these styles …

I’m pretty excited. And I’m anxiously awaiting a response from her.

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