I'm thinking of starting a blog party featuring... quotes!
Would you be interested?
I've wanted to start a blog hop for awhile now, but am aware that my readers have all sorts of interests. Plus, there are already so many art/craft/writing specific blog hops out there.
This linky would allow you to share your own interests... you'll just have to be creative and use a quote! Anything will go... photography, calligraphy, art, crafts, or even writing about what a quote means to you. The only rule would be that it is made by you!
Sound interesting? Leave a comment here on the Faerie blog!
Sharpies and Eggs
I've always loved Urkrainian eggs. A few weeks ago, Suzy'sSitcom blog featured some Ukrainian eggs and got my wheels turning...
Traditional eggs are made with a pysanky set, using beeswax, toxic dyes, and several hours per egg. I didn't have any of those.
So I improvised.
(I like improvising, don't I?)
And I found the easiest way ever to decorate Easter eggs with intricate designs.
Behold, the supplies I found! Acrylic paints, small brushes, and.... Sharpies. I saw a big box of multi-colored sharpies sitting on the school table (my mom has a thing with pens), and grabbed them.
I didn't use the acrylic paints at all. Sharpies are the ultimate egg-decorating-tool-cheats.
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| Addie blowing an egg-- actually, attempting to, because she couldn't do it. |
You use a thick needle to gently poke a hole in the top and bottom of the egg. Wiggle it around so that the bottom hole is thicker, about the width of a #2 pencil lead. Use the needle to stir up the yolk.
Then blow through the smaller, top hole. Blow until you are red in the face. Roll your eyes when your brothers gleefully exclaim how disgusting it is.
You can use the egg insides to make scrambled eggs, or just toss it.
When the egg is empty, fill it up with water and vinegar. You can use the needle to hold the "film" away from the large bottom hole and use a faucet to fill the egg. We discovered that the best way to get a vinegar/water mixture into the egg is to use a medicine squinter (the kind you get for baby medicine). My friend said that a medical syringe would be even better.
Blow the water/vinegar out of the egg and get started decorating!
Draw the design in pencil (lightly).
Then, go CRAZY with the SHARPIES!
I spent almost an hour per egg, because I'm crazy like that. I get all caught up in art and get more and more and more and more detailed.
I didn't use any dye on my eggs before decorating them, but I did discover that Sharpies can make a very beautiful dye/marbled effect.
Scribble on a small portion of an egg with a Sharpie, then use the tip of a paper towel or a Q-tip to rub the ink around on the egg. Do it in sections so the ink can't dry until it has been marbled.
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| This egg was made by my friend. Didn't she do a beautiful job? She loves Asian culture, and the writing on the edges of her egg is copied from a Miraculous Medal my grandma gave me. I really want to learn the story behind the medal. It's really old and the writing is some kind of Asian language. |
While I went crazy with Sharpies, my siblings dyed their hard-boiled eggs the "normal" way.
My brother saw that the Sharpies said "Non-Toxic," so he decided to draw on hard-boiled eggs with Sharpies. He made a Harry and a Voldemort. They had an epic battle at our breakfast table, and William had a wee bit too much fun squishing the yolk from Voldemort's egg to a pulp.
Next year, I'll try:
Dyeing the egg beforhand
Stringing string through the egg to make an ornament (I don't have a big enough needle now)
Painting eggs with acrylics
Or maybe I'll even be able to try real pysanky.
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| photo from Suzys Artsy Craftsy Sitcom |
You know what? I only made four eggs. And the Easter seasons lasts a whole lot longer than just Easter Sunday. I might go and make some more... there's a whole world waiting inside of those eggs and Sharpies... So many new designs to discover...
Linking to THESE wonderful blog hops! Check them out!
This Makes Me Feel Sad
I am a very, very bad blogger.
Over the past few weeks, I completely filled up our computer with files for 15-20 new blog posts, vlogs, Shoppe info, etc. (Dad had to set me up on my own harddrive!).
I certainly had a very productive Lent, and certainly as far as creativity goes! :) Stepping away from my computer time gave me unexpected time for art and school, in addition to more time with the Lord. I am only behind in one subject, math, and I am a full week ahead in History, Literature, and Theology! (This after being behind by 2 weeks in everything!)
All throughout Lent, I continually promised you "great and wonderful" posts coming in the future. I fully intended to write 3-4 posts a week, starting directly after Easter.
I did not expect this week to go the way it is!
I am in a play with a homeschool co-op. Of course, I knew that the play was this week. I knew we had tech week this week.
I totally didn't account for the fact that tech week is more than just tech, we are literally putting the show together in this one week (long story), and once you account for the driving, visiting afterwards, etc, I am spending 8+ hours each day away from home, schoolwork, and (of course!) the Internet.
Not to mention the fact that two different friends are spending two seperate days at our house between rehersals. Even though we homeschool, I've never had friends over during the schoolday. Don't get me wrong-- I LOVE having friends over, but this week it means no free time. Plus, we've got more unexpected things going on the next couple of days. Mom uncharacterically gave me a free pass on schoolwork this week. That worries me. She's usually big on deadlines! :)
Right now I'm functionining on four hours of sleep and a fried brain. Life's really not as bad as I make it out to be. I just get pessimistic when tired. Don't worry if you can't read this post. It just means that I'm a sleeptyper, a zombie of sorts, and I tend to misspell things at 11 at night!
In any case, I wanted you give you a heads-up on why you still don't have any of those awesome posts yet. It's unfair to you, who I've been promising them to! I feel really bad about this, believe me, but blogging isn't the greatest of my priorities at this moment. Next week... I tentatively promise. I'll do by absolute best.
Just to let you know, I've got several custom orders I'm working on in my oh-so-much-freetime, which is where all of my computer time this week is going. One of this is my biggest order ever. I'm excited. :)
__________________
I would like to ask for some prayers! Firstly, please pray for the people in a nearby town. Several very large tornados caused huge amounts of destruction (as I understand it, there are well over 2,000 homes damaged). Thankfully my friends there (and their property) are safe-- actually, it is an Easter miracle in my opinion. No one died or was seriously injured, at all by this big storm.
Please pray for the play, which is going much better than it was but still needs alot of work before preformances in 3 days. Also that I can figure out what is wrong with my software (I can't edit pictures or videos!!!).
Over the past few weeks, I completely filled up our computer with files for 15-20 new blog posts, vlogs, Shoppe info, etc. (Dad had to set me up on my own harddrive!).
I certainly had a very productive Lent, and certainly as far as creativity goes! :) Stepping away from my computer time gave me unexpected time for art and school, in addition to more time with the Lord. I am only behind in one subject, math, and I am a full week ahead in History, Literature, and Theology! (This after being behind by 2 weeks in everything!)
All throughout Lent, I continually promised you "great and wonderful" posts coming in the future. I fully intended to write 3-4 posts a week, starting directly after Easter.
I did not expect this week to go the way it is!
I am in a play with a homeschool co-op. Of course, I knew that the play was this week. I knew we had tech week this week.
I totally didn't account for the fact that tech week is more than just tech, we are literally putting the show together in this one week (long story), and once you account for the driving, visiting afterwards, etc, I am spending 8+ hours each day away from home, schoolwork, and (of course!) the Internet.
Not to mention the fact that two different friends are spending two seperate days at our house between rehersals. Even though we homeschool, I've never had friends over during the schoolday. Don't get me wrong-- I LOVE having friends over, but this week it means no free time. Plus, we've got more unexpected things going on the next couple of days. Mom uncharacterically gave me a free pass on schoolwork this week. That worries me. She's usually big on deadlines! :)
Right now I'm functionining on four hours of sleep and a fried brain. Life's really not as bad as I make it out to be. I just get pessimistic when tired. Don't worry if you can't read this post. It just means that I'm a sleeptyper, a zombie of sorts, and I tend to misspell things at 11 at night!
In any case, I wanted you give you a heads-up on why you still don't have any of those awesome posts yet. It's unfair to you, who I've been promising them to! I feel really bad about this, believe me, but blogging isn't the greatest of my priorities at this moment. Next week... I tentatively promise. I'll do by absolute best.
Just to let you know, I've got several custom orders I'm working on in my oh-so-much-freetime, which is where all of my computer time this week is going. One of this is my biggest order ever. I'm excited. :)
__________________
I would like to ask for some prayers! Firstly, please pray for the people in a nearby town. Several very large tornados caused huge amounts of destruction (as I understand it, there are well over 2,000 homes damaged). Thankfully my friends there (and their property) are safe-- actually, it is an Easter miracle in my opinion. No one died or was seriously injured, at all by this big storm.
Please pray for the play, which is going much better than it was but still needs alot of work before preformances in 3 days. Also that I can figure out what is wrong with my software (I can't edit pictures or videos!!!).
See y'all after Easter!
I know that blogging has been slow. But, hey, I warned you!
I know I mentioned this in my first vlog, but I've been asked several times why I use the name "Shealynn." It seems to have thrown many of my new friends for a loop, because my real name is not spelled that way.
Long story short, once upon a time I thought I'd start a blog to share my art on. I was trying to be safe on the internet, but I love my name like crazy (thank you, Mom and Dad!) and didn't want to use anything else. So I turned Shaylynn into Shealynn.
Originally, that was the way my name was going to be spelt. However, my parents recognized that people would be likely to say "Shee-ah-lynn" rather than "Shay-lynn..." So Shaylynn it is!
In case you were wondering, Shealynn is NOT pronounced "Shee-ah-lynn." It's still "Shay-lynn."
The whole "its-not-my-real-name-and-is-therefore-safer-online" logic doesn't work for me anymore. Ever since I began working on the Ink and Fairydust magazine, I've decided to use my real name online. It's a good way to "get the word out" for the future-- I hope to be a graphics designer. :) The best way to be safe online is never to give away personal information, which I never do.
I still love "Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe." It's so olde-fashioned and fairylike.
(By the way, do you know what the etymology for Shaylynn is? It means "fairy of the deep pond," or "fairy of the palace." How cool is that? It's way too appropriate).
Does that clear up some confusion? Hopefully? Maybe? Not really...? Bummer. I always do a terrible job of explaining things.
____________
Long story short, once upon a time I thought I'd start a blog to share my art on. I was trying to be safe on the internet, but I love my name like crazy (thank you, Mom and Dad!) and didn't want to use anything else. So I turned Shaylynn into Shealynn.
Originally, that was the way my name was going to be spelt. However, my parents recognized that people would be likely to say "Shee-ah-lynn" rather than "Shay-lynn..." So Shaylynn it is!
In case you were wondering, Shealynn is NOT pronounced "Shee-ah-lynn." It's still "Shay-lynn."
The whole "its-not-my-real-name-and-is-therefore-safer-online" logic doesn't work for me anymore. Ever since I began working on the Ink and Fairydust magazine, I've decided to use my real name online. It's a good way to "get the word out" for the future-- I hope to be a graphics designer. :) The best way to be safe online is never to give away personal information, which I never do.
I still love "Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe." It's so olde-fashioned and fairylike.
(By the way, do you know what the etymology for Shaylynn is? It means "fairy of the deep pond," or "fairy of the palace." How cool is that? It's way too appropriate).
Does that clear up some confusion? Hopefully? Maybe? Not really...? Bummer. I always do a terrible job of explaining things.
____________
SNEAK PEAKS!
These are just a few of the posts that will begin shooting up around the blog like mushrooms in a fairy ring.
Guess away. ^_^
Wire Knots and Buttons
Guess what I've been up to?
I've made some rings before (check out the fairy "vine rings"), but recently decided that I was lacking in the ring-making-skills-department.
So I taught myself how to make some 8 different styles of rings! It took a couple hours of experimentation (not to mention about 3 foot of twisted, ruined wire), but I think I've got it down now.
Here's a ring that I've been wearing constantly for about 3 weeks. It was my first "success." :) I've actually been surprised at just how well it it holding up.
UPDATE: Check out the ring follow-up, 6 months later.
UPDATE: Check out the ring follow-up, 6 months later.
I've considered selling these on my Shoppe... however, since I am not using a ring mandrel (hello, cheap dry-erase marker), I really have no way of knowing the exact sizes. And that's not the best for online selling. :D
(I've made about twice this many rings...)
AND... guess what? I filmed tutorials for 4 different styles of rings! Look for the videos after Easter. :) {Find the tutorials HERE!}
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Sidenote #1: You know that I'm not blogging much until Lent is over... but as soon as Easter comes, you guys are in for a treat. I've got nine new tutorials lined up and about ten other projects to share. :)
Sidenote #2: Another thing to look for after Easter-- a blog re-do! I'm keeping the main graphics, but there will be much more color. Perhaps an entirely new background, too. And much more organization.
Sidenote #3: I don't really have anything to share here... I just like using the word sidenote. :D
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