Phoenix

This is the first time in a long time I have made one of these.  Its a frame for a phoenix kanzashi.  I should be further along by now, but a stomach flu swept through the house and it has not been a fun week. 

New kanzashi

I've been dropping notes about these three all week, so here they are. 

Not a single person actualy reads this blog. :(

Just SPEAK!

 So I suddenly realized I had not posted my progess on this piece in some time!  And such a long way it has come! With the top leaf finished, I have started the second leaf.  This yellow portion is finished, and the rest will be in shades of green. 

Then I have to purchase some couching thread! I have decided to couch gold memory thread on top of the stems of the leaves.  I think orange would be the most traditional, so I'm shooting for that.

Kanzashi is going well, I had planned to finish up that rose tonight, with the icy weather possibly cancelling school in the morning.  No driving kids to school means sleep in time!!!  And that means I can work as long as I need to get it done.

Good things, all around.  Progress.  And my health is, well, not going downhill and seems to have leveled out in a perpetual state of suck I have grown accustomed to.  I am strongly considering putting myself out on a site called Patreon, where people can donate to my craft and to expand my business. I would never consider it normally, but I have gotten to a point that I can do no more on my own.  Between my perpetually failing health and my son who is on the Autism spectrum, all my money is gone.  I have been working off stored supplies for some time.  Sales have been down, and I have nothing left to reinvest into the shop. Five dollars could mean another bottle of glue, 30 means a fabric order, one hundred could mean a camera for doing video tutorials, or table fees for the local anime convention. I'm not asking for a kickstarter. Expenses come up and are not always planned.  Like name changes. 
  I would not normally ask for somehting like this.  I have never considered it before, and i still have not decided.  Honestly this site is so new and niche it probably wont work.  And not to mention how am i going to explain it to the tax office.  But this is a very diffcult period for me and i am coming to grips with myself about asking for help.  Considering i only get 30 hits a month on this site, I am left to wonder who is out there? Is anyone listening to my little rants, updates, statuses, whatever you call this site.  I don't know. 

So speak up! Those of you who read, those of you who listen, i want to know you are there! You are important. YOU keep me going. You small group of readers, you matter to me!  Let me know who you are! Through DeviantART, through Facebook, through Etsy, through here! It can be a note, you can tell me to shut up, just speak.  

Custom Orders are Back!

The title says it all.

Custom Orders are available again.  And as always, that goes for anything in my shop.

I am working on some new graphics for the store.  I hate the mauve/pink with gold.  I am going to get a professional to make a new logo, and having some professional quality pics taken of some of the new pieces.  Especially the ever-so-popular wisteria piece, and the rose piece I am working on.

Good things.

Pink Rose

Still working out the details on this pretty girl, but she will be finished in the next day or so if I can help it.  THIS is the last one before they all go in the shop. 

I am also building a tutorial for this kanzashi.  BIG tutorial, on 8.5x11 jpgs for printing purposes!!  Posting it to DeviantART when it's done.