Z-O-M-G!

... We've been busy, guys. Like.. really, really busy; both Sandy and I got real day jobs that take up a lot of our weekdays, and the weekends are full of everything we're not getting done during the week. The GOOD news is that we're still working on TPD.... which means that if you want us to make something, all you have to do is ORDER! :D

I actually just finished making some beautiful memorial charms for my ex-sister in law's family, and I've been working on simplifying the webpage order form for Awareness Bracelets! Before, I had everything separated by type and color, and pretty much just repeated every page 100 times with different colors.... which was HIGHLY annoying, and very hard to take care of from a web designer point of view. So I did away with that!! Now, there is ONE page for ALL of the bracelets, and you pick and choose from a list of pull down options and go! 1-2-3, That's enough for me!!

"Memorial Baby Charm Necklace with Birthstone"
Soon to be added to the webpage!

A couple of weeks ago I decided to rip all of the yarn out of the blanket I had been crocheting for almost 2 years, and started over again. I've added in some white, and it looks quite a bit different. Nicer, cleaner. Here's hoping it doesn't take me another 2 years to decide that I hate it, and rip it all out, and start over again. haha That's kind of the problem with me and crochet: I have finished a total of TWO projects..... ever. Everything else I've ripped out over and over and over again. I know it sounds silly, but I always find something wrong with the piece I work on. It's too small, it's too large, it doesn't look the way I wanted, it's the wrong color, or I've run out of yarn and don't have the money to get more. So.. out it comes, back into a ball of yarn to one day make something else! I tell my husband constantly that I don't really like to crochet, I just like to count things... over and over and over again. :D It's kind of nice to see the blanket progressing the way it was originally supposed to, though. And it's SOOOO warm when I'm working on it, at only 1 foot wide... I'm sure it will be *amazing* when it's finished. (I hope!)

"Crocodile Stitch Crochet Blanket"
Basically an abnormally large amount of double crochets
with a slip stitch thrown in  every once in a while for fun. 

I've also been coming up with some new jewelry pieces. I had a friend challenge me to make my own professional jewelry (after attending a Premier Jewelry function and stating "I make my own jewelry, and I could probably make MOST of this as well!")... so I'm going to give it a go! We'll see if any of it ends up for sale.... or if I just keep it in my own jewelry box of shame. haha

What have you been up to? Anything crafty to keep you entertained during the long winter months? Share your projects in the comments! I'd love to see them! :)

-Lanine

New Happenings

Happy Monday! I hope everyone in the US had a great Independence Day, everyone in Canada had a great Canada Day, and everyone else in the world had an awesome weekend (Or anything else you may have celebrated! Feel free to clue us in under the comments... We'd love to hear your stories!) Between the torrential downpour we had here in Colorado last night, and the lightning and thunder, my family chose to stay inside and watch the fireworks from our balcony. :)

So! Back to work. :D As many of you may know, as you are fans of our Facebook page, I joined a group on Facebook called It's Better Handmade Group. They have a really awesome goal... which is to connect people who make handmade goods to new customer bases via OTHER people who make handmade goods. The idea is basically that you can post your goods to the group's wall... but you have to share someone else's link on your own wall in return. It can be a little bothersome to some people on your friend's list that really don't want to see a constant slew of advertisements... and so I promise that.. unless I REALLY REALLY like something and REALLY REALLY want to show it to you.... I will only post ONE link per day... if I even get around to that much. :)

On that same note.... because Sandy and I can't afford the listing price on Etsy at this moment (yes.. I know it's only like 30c per item... but trust me, it's out of our budgets right now), all of our sales go through the webpage. And because of the coding that I use (frames, and ancient debunked HTML mostly) linking to individual pieces while preserving the whole webpage is not exactly possible right now. I'm working on it.. and researching some new codes (and trying to figure out how I can make my husband go back to Computer Graphic Design school, so that he can relearn Java and Flash for me. hehe), but it may take me some time to figure out and implement. SO... I'm going to start spotlighting different pieces here, on the blog. Not only will this give me a linkable place that I can share with others, with a direct link to the main webpage... but it will also give me a place to TALK about the pieces; what they are made of, why I love how they look or feel, what I did to make them.. and it will allow YOU to give ME feedback on each piece as well! AND It will keep my procrastinating lazy bones hard at work on this blog, instead of letting whole weeks go by without a post. :D

In parting news, the cancer bracelets were a hit at Sandy's office, and we had to order some new findings in order to make more! So as soon as those arrive, look forward to some new merchandise on the webpage. I hope you all have a great Monday!

Cancer Bracelets Amongst Other Things...

Wow! It's been quite some time since I've posted! We've had a lot going on recently, including family being in town, and my husband's birthday, plus father's day to contend with! But finally, things have (hopefully) slowed down to a normal pace again, and other than dealing with the summer heat I should be all set and ready to spend some more (much needed) time with TPD!

So, by now you should know I've been working on some Cancer Bracelets for Sandy's office. After a LOT of thought (More than I should have spent, but for some reason my brain wasn't working right..) I've come up with a look, feel, and cost that I'm comfortable with.

I'll sell these pretties for $5.00; they are made mostly out of plastic and pewter, and are strung on an elastic cord. They supply that less expensive option that was lacking from the supply out there, while still looking nice enough to wear with almost any outfit. I'm also working on some Chinese Crystal bracelets that will run between $10.00 and $15.00, and those are the ones I'm going to be able to offer a donation from.

While I'm originally only making these for the cancer patients at Sandy's office... Look forward to the option to purchase these (and many other) awareness bracelets on the webpage, soon!

Also, don't forget to friend us on Facebook, or if you're reading this from Facebook, make an account and join us on here! It always makes it easier to keep up with projects when you know someone is paying attention. :D For those of you on Twitter, we also have an account @ThePrismDragon! (And to give you a hint on my OCD Perfectionism... I seriously just spent the past 10 minutes trying to come up with a way to fill this space so that my blog post wouldn't look so weird under this picture. No wonder these bracelets took so long to come up with!! In other news: Hah! Mission Accomplished. :D hahaha)

International Gem and Jewelry Show

Last Weekend, Lanine and I had a horde of family come in and invade my brother-in-law & sister-in-law's home. Yes, we really did brave the rain and wind and cold and head down to Larkspur to the Colorado Renaissance Festival. At one point we could see our breath as the temperature plummented before noon. The sun tried valiantly to push through several times but the clouds won in the end. It wasn't muddy until later in the day. I ended up with a new hat to help keep the water off my head halfway through the day but tucked the feathers away for later. Like Lanine said little weather couldn't stop a family tradition. We had a blast.

So back on topic for this post. Lanine and I are headed to the International Gem and Jewelry Show today. We are going to look for some more beads and findings for our old and new projects. One of our new ones is way more expensive than I had planned so we are looking for the best options without being low quality. Who knows, we might even attend a beading class as we will have no tagalongs with us. Of course we will probably have a bizillion phone calls asking "aren't you done yet?" unless I confiscate my daughter's phone. hehehe In March I found a great deal on some beads that are angel wings and dragonfly wings.
I will have some time in July to do some more organizing of my items so I can get them online for you to purchase. Last week, I found some of my gemstones, leather goods, and assorted other items while unpacking clothes for the renaissance faire. More and more goodies will be appearing on our website so be sure to check back at least once a week in July. We will be certain to announce them here as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

So, for now we are off and running to the gem & jewelry show! We'll be sure to share the treasures we have found! After all, I promised to share my photographing techniques .... which reminds me .... what did I do with that silver colored, satin piece of cloth/drape/sheet I bought a few weeks ago ........

Exciting new things...

Exciting new happenings! Yesterday I went out to the local Hobby Lobby with my Mom, Dad, and the Boychild to pick up some new organizers for the large amount of beads Mom had picked up a couple of weekends ago. Soon after walking in to the store, I happened upon this lovely black hand figurine. It was in the glass section so I didn't figure it was going to be affordable, but then I noticed the 50% off sign right next to it. Really???? 50% off, you say?? I looked at the price tag, and my heart sang with joy. It was TOTALLY affordable.

So why in the world would I want something like this, and how does it pertain to TPD (The Prism Dragon)????? Other than the fact that it's just plain AWESOME... it's a jewelry display. That's right... it's something to hang jewelry from, and then take awesome pictures of it. Or just to set on my desk and stare at every once in a while. Whatever!

Now, I *could* use this for the bookthongs, but really it's designed for jewelry. "But Lanine," you say "You don't HAVE Jewelry to display!" And that would only be partially true. True, I don't have anything up on the website, but that doesn't mean I don't have anything laying around waiting to be photographed. AND that doesn't mean that I don't have piles and piles of beads that can't be used for bookthongs because the holes are too small! Just lying around... staring at me forlornly, making us both wish that I could make something with them. But now I have a display, so you will probably be seeing much more of this little hand. :)

On the same note.. (backwardsly speaking) a co-worker of Sandy's (Mom's) saw my bookthongs, and asked her if I could also make necklaces. You see, her son liked the LOOK of those little hemp necklaces, but just couldn't handle the scratchiness. So I thought about it, and researched the different knots and beads and materials, and finally settled on black waxed cotton as an alternative. I made several 'experiments' in order to figure out length and bead placement, and then I got to work. And guess what?? Her son loved it so much, she ordered a SECOND one (shown on the right. The first one was blue in a similar pattern, which was only supposed to be a guideline because I hadn't really measured it, but she liked it so much she wouldn't let me have it back. haha) So, kind reader... is this something you might be interested in? Something I should be making more of?

Welcome!

Welcome to the official blog for The Prism Dragon.

What IS The Prism Dragon, you ask? (or maybe you didn't. Doesn't matter, I'll tell you either way. :D) Why, it's a store. Well, sort of. It's really more of an outlet with vague dreams of occasionally making money.

You see, once there was a Mother and her Daughter. They did the usual girly things like Girl Scouts and crafts, and both grew to love pretty shiny things, while still enjoying the tom boy side of life with horseback riding and camping with the whole family. For (almost) all of the Daughter's school life they were involved in Girl Scouts. The Daughter, of course, hated it. But that's the way of children.

All of those years of the Mother being first an assistant, and then a Leader, and then a Camp Director led to having a whole bunch of 'stuff' lying around the house. Beads, and cloth, and glue, and glitter, and popsicle sticks, and pom poms, and BELLS, and paper, and stamps, and markers, and.. well, you get the point. There was a LOT of stuff. Of course, after the Daughter turned 18, there wasn't a need for it anymore, since finally she was able to leave the Girl Scouts forever (or so she thought, until the Mother decided that the perfect graduation present would be a Life Time Membership to said Girl Scouts. This didn't make the Daughter very happy, but she still carries the card in her wallet for some unknown reason.) And now the daughter is grown, and has a boychild of her own. So the stuff just sat there, collecting dust. Occasionally pulled out for special occasions like special meetups with Girl Scouts and Girl Guides who happened to be in town, the Daughter's baby shower, and baby's first Christmas.

Until one fateful day when one of the Mother's favorite book authors blogged about a neat little bookmark idea called a "Book Thong". As both the Mother and the Daughter were avid readers, this sounded like a cute little project they could do. And of course, we all know that crafting leaves it's mark. The Daughter also braided. Everything. Anything she could get her hands on. A gift from her Grandmother who used to braid horse hair for jewelry, before arthritis had set in. So the Daughter made a book thong. It was rainbow colored though it showed more red and pink than anything, and the beads were very expensive and mismatched. It was sparse in decoration and highly simple. But it's the bookmark she still uses today. So the Mother decided to pull out the beads, and they sorted through them until they found just the right ones, and then the Daughter made some more. And some more. And then she gave some away; to family members, for a baby shower, a wedding, and a couple of birthdays. She had so many she didn't know what to do with them all, but she absolutely loved making them, so she was happy. They kept her entertained while the boychild napped or played by himself, and she was finally stretching creative muscles that had begun to atrophy over the years.

But then someone bought one. Suddenly the Mother and Daughter were buying more beads, and more floss, and more buttons, and more tools, and making more custom orders for people, and making a webpage (http://www.dragonroseadoptions.net/store/prismdragon.html which is still only partially finished), and coming up with more ideas, and making new plans. Thus The Prism Dragon was born.

And then.. the Mother also happened to see a post from someone online, asking how they should go about making a blog for their beads... and WOW, that sounded like a great idea. Thus this blog was born. And hopefully everyone will live happily ever after... but I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out. :)

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So what is this BLOG about? Yes it's a craft blog, and yes it's specifically for The Prism Dragon... but it's not just to sell you things. It's where we can tell you about each item that we make, Mother AND Daughter, because we enjoyed making it so much. It's about where we can teach you how to make some of these yourself. It's an outlet for the scars that being all crafty and girl scouty have left on our psyche. But best of all.... it gives us something to do. :D