New Silk Combo Packs

Today I spent a lot of time photographing silks for my Etsy Shop Silk Update (now completed).

I thought it was time for a change for some of my silk photos...

And tonight made this collage with some of the New Silk Combo packs.
The Silk combo packs are 20 silks (10 ~ 2mm, 5 ~ Silky, 5 ~ Fairy).

And you can pick any of these 6 color palettes!

I have a thing for color and texture.
And I love creating silk knot bundles...

And for those people that love to create with various types of silks, but don't have the time to pick out individual colors - these palettes are pretty helpful.

And of course - there are a ton of projects, challenges and blog hops that inspire me to pick color palettes out, like this month's Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge:

Brandi Hussey's ABS Color Palette Inspiration based on Maurice Utrillo's painting.  

Marsha Neal Studio 2mm Silk Cord Set (Palette #187)

And you can see (& purchase) special palettes that some of my friends picked out:

When it comes down to it, it can be overwhelming to pick out colors and styles while staying within a budget (trust me - I know - I started ordering these silks by a couple hundred, and now I order them by the thousands - talk about addicted...).

I just love it...

Love having all these colors and textures in hand to help you with your next project!

I'm starting to accept that I am a components person.

And I am totally ok with that.

I really enjoy working with people and making things for their creations...

Another thing I love - hanging out with my kids:

For a few hours at the end of the day today, after picking up my little ones from school, then my sister, we headed out on our annual excursion to the Wilmington Flower market for some kiddy rides, carnival food, live music, and lots of cool artwork by local vendors.

It is one of those things that we can look back and see how much they have grown from year to year.
Next year, Chloe will be big enough to get on rides all by herself.
RJ - another two probably...

Where does the time go?

Enjoy the new palettes over on my Etsy shop!

September 3 Saturday Night Specials Team Event...

Every Saturday Night I'm trying to keep up with specials running in my shop that are promoted through the Original Saturday Night Specials Team over on Etsy.com

My Special for tonight is that my clay pieces are all marked down 20% off.

If you are a FaceBook Fan of mine, you can use the coupon code for an extra 10% off.

Here is a treasury I created for the team this evening:

SNS Birds Are Flocking To See What Is On Sale Tonight

Here is one that one of my pieces was featured in:

Whiskey & Gingerbread

Click here to see more SNS Team Treasuries.

Stop on over and check out what is on sale for tonight.

Click here for Sept 3 (5pm EST Sat to 6am EST Sun).

Click Here for future dates of SNS (look every Sat 5pm EST for new SNS shops that are participating).

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday - Call To Order. Sale too!

I so desperately want this upcoming week to be a little easier on me.
Please!

Earthquake, Hurricane, Tornado Warnings - that's my three.
I'm done!

Riley playing with backup light as Light Saber (fake sounds too!).

My Saturday night was spent sleeping in the basement camped out with Dave, Chloe & Riley.

It felt like I was in preparation mode for days before…

Just mentally & physically draining.

Like getting ready for a week or two away from home…

Not that I was worried about the wind and rain from hurricane Irene,

But I was worried rather about the way these huge old trees may drop parts onto our house.

Or how they might come crashing through the house all the way to the street out front...

Riley watching the wind through the trees post Irene.

And I've had nightmares that have woken me with thoughts of these trees coming through the roof in a bad storm and neither Dave or myself not being able to get to the kids. 

The thoughts of their crying terrified voices is enough motivation to drop everything else and get us ready:

cat litter boxes area be damned - steam cleaned carpets, dehumidifier run, fans running, deodorizing spray a plenty, disinfectant cleaned, child proofed my office area where we would be hanging out and sleeping with a 1.5 and 3 year old, tarps to cover the rug, extra twin mattresses brought down from the attic, beds made, lights, batteries, food, water, diapers, potty seat, toys, chargers, must I go on...

Chloe coloring post Irene.

Luckily all the kids knew is that we were having our first family camping night in the basement together. They had a blast! Oh, the bliss of not knowing...

I was a bit worried for my garden.

Nothing that couldn't grow back, but I was expecting something worse than what is pictured above.

Reminded me a bit of Chloe's Rapunzel doll's hair:

Just a bit messy from the winds.

Guess it's like playing and sleeping with a 3.5 year old.

The haphazard life of a doll with very long hair...

And this photo was of the sun breaking through the clouds…

The last of the winds diminishing…

On our way to have Sunday dinner with Dave's family.

Lucky to have Irene treat us not so horribly…

Made it out ok - just a bit stressed…

Today's Cyber Monday Beads-of-Clay Sale:

20% off my Etsy shop retail items with Coupon Code: BOC20

Here is a treasury I created specifically for this event:

I need to pick a winner for my Pre-Bead Fest sale coupon code users…

I have not forgotten about you, just a bit distracted :)

How did you all fare with the Hurricane?

Hope all is well with you and your families!

I Heart Macro...

Welcome to my weekly post to contribute to this weeks 

"I Heart Macro"

Hosted by Studio Waterstone every Sunday.

I've been working a lot on updates for my Etsy shop

(not just the relevancy tags… ugh!)

I love taking macro photos of these pieces…

The way the glazes react over the clay is just yummy!

I'm still working on getting this series of photos into a listing.

I'm such a color and texture freak…

I think I need to print some of these photos and collage with them for color inspirations - what do you think?

Here is another quick link to my in-between I Heart Marcro Sunday posts that had some beautiful colored macro shots that inspired some of my new silk bundle color palettes…

Swing over to Studio Waterstone and check out the other posts for I Heart Macro!

See you next week!

Saturday Night Specials Time!!!

It's Saturday Night Specials time over on the Original SNS team on Etsy.

Here are some treasuries featuring shops on the SNS team that are participating in the event tonight.

Each participating shop runs a "Special" in their store from 5pm EST Saturday - 6am EST Sunday.

This goes on every Saturday night - WHAT FUN!!!

Marsha Neal Studio SNS Special Code for tonight: SNS10 for 10% off your retail order in my Etsy Shop.

Check out all these treasuries featuring great shops that are running specials:

And more SNS treasuries to be added:

Friendship Day...

There seems to be a day for everything,

But never enough time in a day…

And below is the clickable version of the Treasury Collection I've created over on Etsy that I like to call:

Friendship Bracelets

Etsy, Blogs, FB, Twitter, and all kinds of other group sites and the like have allowed my community of friends to grow SO huge & my life to seem more enhanced by the interactions with you all...

So, with today being friendship day, I thought it would be nice to create a treasury with members from the various Etsy Teams I'm on. I would love to do one for my blogging friends, beady friends, etc, but alas… not enough time today (but soon - maybe).

Don't you just love making and wearing bracelets?!

Especially ones that are handmade by friends?!

I know I do…

Happy Friendship Day to all my friends out there!
(yes, I mean you!)

Promotion or Procrastination?

In my heart I feel that creating Etsy Treasuries is helping to promote my Etsy shop.

Beads of Clay Members Treasury for August 2011.

While at the same time helping out fellow Etsians and various teams that I'm on…

It is all about getting out there promoting items right?

Being part of the Etsy community…

Building and promoting and getting fast at it...

Sometimes - like right now - it feels a bit on the procrastination part.

I think I'm a little anxious about firing my little kiln.

The same kiln (the cone actually - it did not melt properly) that did this:

Glazes ran down the beads…

Colors were muddied & not even…

A bunch of these pieces were custom made pieces for Etsy orders…

That took me all last week to work on and get fired…

But it is firing now.

I still am weary.

I think it will pass if this next firing comes out "normal".

So I'm doing all kinds of stuff down here in the basement studio…

To keep an eye and ear out for the kiln as it is firing.

Want to make sure nothing is going on weird with the kiln itself...

A quick little family excursion to the beach helped me get over the depressed feelings of a weeks worth of work into the garbage...

RJ experiencing the waves onto the beach for the first time
(and not freaking out).

Chloe and her favorite drippy sand castles...

Milkweed seed and a secret wish attached...

I have also come to love even more the blowing of secret wishes into the air from atop of seeds that have burst from their protective pods, now that I've got two little ones that enjoy making wishes and catching them as well...
So I'm sending this little one out to Andrew on his blog for the Word of the Week:
Secret
It will be the color inspiration for some new silk bundles I'm going to be pulling for my Etsy shop Silk Knot Bundle Section soon. I am wishing to have an entire blog post designated to some new palettes and the inspirations for them later this week - but that is not the secret ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope you are enjoying this last month of Summer…

Help Me ~ Team & Treasury Frenzy...

I find it interesting to be part of teams over on Etsy - there is such a mix of artists...

For the Etsy Mud Team I just created this treasury:

And for the Delaware Etsy Street Team, this one:

So if you see me posting more treasuries for Beads of Clay and TriState Area Teams before next week - make sure to call my husband and tell him I need help…

I just can't help it sometimes - there is such awesome stuff over there on Etsy and I can't afford it all, so somehow making Treasuries - or rather "personal viewing collections" - I feel like I've shopped without having to come home and hide everything. Or rather, for Etsy shopping - get to the mailbox and hide all the items before Dave sees them…

Man I miss the days of having a car with my own private trunk space…

I'm off to the studio for a bit this week.

Making beads & glazing pieces for orders to be happening…

What are you up to this week?

Front Page On Etsy and SNS Treasury...

My "Sea Shore" silk knot bundle was featured on the front page of Etsy right before midnight last night…

Sea Shore Silk Knot Bundle on Etsy

I've never had anything from my shop up there - so it was such a rush to be online during the SNS (Saturday Night Specials) event and see what happens live…

The beautiful treasury this was featured in is called:

Muted

It was so cool to see all the "hearts" showing up in the activity feed.

I'm so easily amused…

Doesn't take much to make this girl happy sometimes!

I also wanted to get a treasury made for the SNS Team, but I with Riley being a little fussy through the night (Dave took first shift) and me listing the treasuries from SNS on my blog (I didn't even get them all listed - wow!), I didn't pull through until um - 1:30am…

Here is my SNS Team Treasury: 

SNS Saturday Night Specials Gathering

I hope that in upcoming weeks on Saturday I can be a little more on the ball with this and get treasuries done before the peak of the event.

Want more info?

Want to be a part of this or catch some sales?

Every Saturday Night:

Starting Time: 5pm EST Saturday

Ending Time: 6am EST Sunday

Click on the weekly "Original SNS for Saturday's Date" discussion thread and you will see a bunch of shops with links to their shops, their coupon code or sale, and a sample of their item.

It's a lot of fun!

Especially if you're hanging out at home catching a movie on the television...

Saturday Night Special Fun!!!

What Do You Do On Saturday Nights?

We are usually running around a bit crazy until 9 or 10pm with the little ones...

Riley and Marsha Saturday Night...

Once Riley has gone to bed, we settle in for some movie and popcorn time with Chloe and I get some time to "work" on the computer.

I've found a new Team over on Etsy to be a part of:

The Original Saturday Night Specials Team

Etsians that join this team run a "Saturday Night Special" in their shop from 5pm EST Saturday night through 6am EST Sunday and pop in and out over on the team thread to chat (there are two dedicated discussions for each topic).

Want to shop and get a deal on some items over on Etsy?

Click HERE to go to the team discussion thread where shops have listed their coupon code, a sample item from their shop and a link to their shop.

It is like my Etsy family exponentially grew overnight…

I love the energy over on this team!

And the treasuries & exposure is awesome…

SNS Team Treasury by Etsy Seller: Saressa

I love shopping the treasuries, so I decided to add this post to my blog to help promote the team and all the shops participating in this weekly event.
I'm going back over there, and to maybe make some team treasuries to add to the list below.
And of course - To Shop!!!

Favorites Into Treasuries Again...

Do you ever just fall in love with Etsy Treasuries?

I think they can be challenging to make with you have to make one for a team, or something specific…

But if you are able to create them from your favorites list…

Well, that is all together something enjoyable and quite addictive.

Muted Colors Whisper To Me

Circles and Cycles

What do you think?

Do you like these collections?

What about them speaks to you?

Or do they do nothing for you?

Click on them and leave a comment on the treasury if you don't mind...