Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Paint Shop Pro & Art Slides

I swore I wouldn't rejoin any of the graphics groups I used to belong to but I recently rejoined the Masters Paint Shop Pro yahoo group. I spent/wasted years doing nothing but making graphics using psp and putting them on web pages to share. There were many days I did nothing but make sig tags and was online looking for graphics and tubes to use. It became insane as I started to hate making the tags and other grahics but felt I had to do it to stay in the group. That's when I finally left. That was a little over 2 years ago.


The reason I decided to go back for a short time (I really mean it!) is to help me with some altered art projects. A year and half ago I bought everything I needed to make art slides but I just can't seem to get around to making the paper art to put in them. Then there's the book that I also want to do but again I just can't seem to get my head thinking that way. That's the great thing about groups that use Paint Shop Pro to make and share graphics, they get you thinking about pictures and layers. I'm hoping this won't backfire on me but since I plan on leaving in Oct so I can get ready for holidays sales I guess I won't waste too much time.

Last week I sold one of my cloth dragons and riders at my ebay store! I really like making them with the riders. I'm finishing a two-headed one. The dragon is done but I still have a little to do on the rider.
Here's a picture of Marigold Meadowton and Mataria. Mataria's face shape is based on the dragon from the movie Eragon. Marigold has a bag with scrolls and wired gemstones.


Friday, June 1, 2007

Summer Dreamin'

Hard to believe it's June already. I had planned on having my new pattern done by now but I got side tracked by the tatting book again. Last night I got out the doll and decided to slowly get back to work on her. Today I'm working on the head. I'm making a few so I can get pictures of various steps without having to stop so often. I really like having color pics of most of the steps but it does slow down the process.



To celebrate Summer I thought I'd post a pic of my favorite crochet mini merbear. The tail is fabric but I crocheted the bear body, headband, bracelet, the fringy skirt, and her top. The 'seaweed boa' is crocheted from a fuzzy yarn (it's draped over the rock). I even made the seashell throne she sits in!

This is the second merbear I've made. I sold the first at my ebay store. I plan on putting this one up for sale this month.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The Store's Back Up!

I finally got the eBay store, http://www.stores.ebay.com/heislerscreativestitchery?refid=store ,up and running again last week. I never should have shut it down in the first place. I love the new colors I used now that I've lived with them for a week. I was so worried they were too dark I made new ones in various colors to try out. I love them all so much I'm thinking about changing colors every season.



I found a web site that has so much great info for people who sell at eBay who want to use HTML to enhance their auctions and stores.
http://members.ebay.com/ws2/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=shipscript#hosts The person who runs it goes by the name Shipscript and is a great help! I love the Pretty Borders Coder! It's a lot of fun to play with!



Updates on past posts:

1. Never heard back from the doll magazine. Guessing even though they say they'll accept submissions by email, they don't. Not sure what I'll do with the pattern now.

2. Haven't been in the mood to sit and sew, so the newest pattern is going nowhere. I can report that I've been working on my tatting book again instead. This has been being worked on for over 10 years now. I get tired of all the tatting the samples require. Half of the book has been written but I need to decide just how many patterns to include. Barb at Handy Hands told me I should have about 15 but since this book needs to be in color and there are 4-6 pages of directions with diagrams per pattern I'm tempted to stop at 10. I have 8 samples done, number 9 is almost done, and 10 is drafted.

3. Taking a small break from the Barnes & Noble group. It's just not as good as when it was a class. I've been so busy with the store and the tatting that I haven't had time to fit in writing. Another problem I have with the club is that it's for regular fiction, though that hasn't stopped all the fantasy writers from joining in, but what I really want is a club for mystery writers. Maybe one will start this summer.


Hope you'll have a look at the new store!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

One Dream Coming True

At Last I'm finally ready to reopen my eBay store! I thought I might as well wait until the new postage rates came but then I decided to make new graphics. This is a big problem for me because I love to make them but then can never decide which to use. I really should change them monthly to use all of them. I have graphics with various colors of backgrounds but always stay with my little sewing girl. This time around I thought I'd go for an antique look but then decided that was too boring so I did a whole series in brown and pink. It reminded me of candy but I changed my mind and made them in turquoise and brown. Here's a small preview of the logo and one of the other graphics:



Notice I'm now offering a monthly giveaway! With postage costs going up I thought this would make a great free gift.

My plan is to have most of the store up before the weekend. I'll get a link here to it when it's up. Hope you'll stop by to shop!