A Sale on Silks

Now until CyberMonday (29-Nov) at midnight, get 20% off your entire purchase at http://www.expressionsinsilk.etsy.com/. Select from a variety of hand painted silks - scarves, wraps, sarongs, and bellydance veils. At check-out, enter coupon code THANKSGIVING10 to receive your discount.

Share the savings with your friends and family!

Yummy Silk Velvet

. . . get yours before they're all gone . . .

Cyber Monday . . . and free shipping

I'm jumping on the Cyber Monday bandwagon and holding an extra special sale. It's a BUY ONE, GET ONE 1/2 OFF sale. Yep, purchase a colorful silk from my etsy shop and pick out another colorful silk for half off. Of course, it goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway), the half off comes off the silk of equal or lesser value. Sale starts now and end at midnight (EST) on November 30.

And, it gets better. Buy two silks and get 1/2 off two more silks. Buy three silks and get 1/2 off three more silks. You get the idea!

And, even better. Shipping is free on everything in my etsy shop. Yep, free. On everthing.

Once your purchase is made, you can pay via PayPal and I will refund the 1/2 off on all eligible silks. Or, if you prefer, just wait for me to send you a revised invoice via PayPal.

Happy Holiday Shopping!

P.S. - My sister's etsy shop, The Beaded Edge, is also having a Cyber Monday sale. All the details and rules are the same.

Envy in the Spotlight

I love happy customers. And, I truly love happy customers who share lovely photos of them enjoying their new silk! One such customer, Rochelle, shared some amazing shots taken by Ken Jackson. Like a proud mom I want to show-off Envy (the silk veil) and her time in the spotlight. However, I cannot overlook the beautiful, artistic photographs taken by Ken Jackson. I wish I had this much talent with a camera :D

Below are a few of the photographs. For more of his beautiful work, visit his website at http://www.kenjacksonphotographs.com/. Fish Trap Stairs is one of my favorites!

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but these are my top picks!

(I love how the silk veil seems to be standing on its own)

Sunrise, Sunset

The start of the day . . .


Day's end . . .

[of course, not today . . . today's been nothing but rain]

A Colorful Autumn

It's the middle of October. And, I thought I would showcase some of my silks with fall colors. A little something for your Thursday evening viewing pleasure. See more of each silk by clicking on the photo. Purchase one of these silks and mention this blog post to get free shipping on your entire order! Happy Autumn to All!

Pretty in Paisley

Give me some salt and silk, and I'm happy. Drawing with salt is a tricky endeavor. You have to "draw" quickly and precisely. Your mistakes are usually glaringly obvious. Rarely can you correct it, but you can rethink your design and camouflage it. Plus, you have to know your salt and how detailed it will let you be. I personally enjoy it, especially the challenge of drawing with salt.

Pretty in Paisley is a recent silk. She is a deep and colorful combination of sapphire blue, royal purple, and grape purple. And, of course, she has paisleys all over in varying sizes. And, it goes without saying, the paisleys were drawn with salt!

She is a silk wrap, measuring approximately 2-yards (72") long and 22" wide. Drape her around you like a shawl. Wear her like a scarf. She can also be a mini-sarong and worn as a top or skirt. Get creative and use her as decorative wall art.

Drop by my little shop of colors and see more of Pretty in Paisley!

Last Day of The Month Special

It's the last day of September. The sun is shinning. Yay! There is a slight breeze. The humidity is low. Double YAY!! I'm getting a late start to the day, because I had to make some green salsa first (Mama Ninfa's). Then I had to taste test it. Now, I'm feeling giddy, so I dropped in a happy picture.

So, here is the special. All silk items - even the flubs - will be 15% off today (until midnight eastern time). Here's what you need to do to get your discount:

1. Pick out a lovely silk for yourself or as a gift

2. Add it to your cart and proceed thru Etsy's checkout

3. This one is important: In 'note to seller' put LAST DAY. I like to know where you're coming from :)

4. Now, pay (via PayPal) and I will refund the discount via PayPal. OR, wait and I will send you a revised invoice reflecting the discount. If you are paying via cashier's check/money order, please wait for me to send you the revised invoice.

Not a good enough special? Well then, if you purchase (before shipping) $50 or more, I also will refund the shipping cost! Triple YAY!!!

Guess I should now mention that all my yummy silks are located at http://www.expressionsinsilk.etsy.com/

Now for the exceptions. Don't worry it's not bad. Here goes . . . Only completed silk items are included in this sale, meaning custom orders, gift certificates and Silk Addicts Plans are not included. That's it! See, not so bad.

Forecast: A Weekend of Steaming

Monday was a pretty day. A little bit of sunshine, not too humid. So, I stretched some silk and painted. Tuesday, the dripping wet humidity (with rain) moved in. The humidity and rain stayed for Wednesday and Thursday because it was obviously having fun. Although, there was a little bit of sunshine Thursday afternoon . . . but still humid. The kind you can cut with a knife.

Humidity (especially the wet kind) is not a friend to silk painting. The silks I painted on Monday were still wet yesterday. Frustrating! Frustrating because that halts the painting and delays the steaming. The photo to the right shows one of the silks -- still wet, of course.

Thankfully, today still has some sunshine and supposedly will be low humidity and cool temps. That means, I'm back in production! I'm staring at a weekend full of steaming and photographing to get 'em ready to sell.

A relaxing weekend is over-rated anyway . . .

The Festival Is Over . . .

. . . now it's back to work.

Yeah for local festivals! I love seeing the repeat customers. And I love the chance to bring newcomers over to our side. My sister and I (as usual) shared a booth space this past weekend. The weather was perfect and the crowd was wonderful. And our sales were 50.3% over last year's sales at this festival. Very pleasing in a sluggish economy :D

Since I spent last week finishing up a few customs and packing up for the festival, I had no time to spend on replenishing my silk inventory. Hopefully, I'll get back to that later today. In the meantime, I'm sharing a new piece that will be added to The Beaded Edge today. The blue and green one sold this weekend.

Also, be on the lookout for details on an upcoming blog giveaway. The details are currently being ironed out, but I will giving away a hand painted silk scarf and my sister will be giving away a bead woven beauty!

Yes, I'm Cranky . . . but aren't the autum silks so pretty . . .

Another late night . . . and my allergies are killing me! I so want to crawl into bed and drift into dreamland, but I have to stay (at least) semi-upright so I can continue to breathe. It makes me so miserable and cranky. A little bit of shaky juice might help ease my attitude, but I have to stick with the cow juice.

The other day, I pulled some of my autumn-themed silks off the steamer. I'm so very pleased with them. I'm sharing three of them here, but one is already spoken for. Yeah! Hope to get them listed on Etsy this week.

The one on the far left is very similar to "Spice It Up" (See September 4th Blog - A Spicy Showing). Only this one is a 22" x 72" (approximately) silk wrap. The other two are very similar in color with all the hues of the autumn rainbow. The colors remind me of the changing seasons. I love a colorful autumn!

Sapphire Treasury

I have a wonderful customer, cindylouwho2. She included me in her sapphire treasury. She is so wonderful! THANK YOU, CINDYLOUWHO2! Take some time and click over to her Etsy shop. She has some beautiful paua shell jewelry. I'm a big fan of paua shell . . . the colors are so vibrant.

And, now, for that gorgeous sapphire treasury . . . I would so love to design a silk wrap for that amazing dress. And I would love to wear that glass heart pendant.

A Spicy Showing

Some of my fall silks came off the steamer Wednesday, and I'm so very happy with the results. Well, except for one. Her colors are rich and yummy . . loving the copper and burgundy colors . . . but she is the sole victim of a little steaming mishap. Thankfully, everything else came out perfect.

The problem? Small areas on the back side (the non-shiny side) along the rolled hem edge are too pale. Too pale meaning some of the color steamed out. I have no idea how it happened. My guess? She evidently touched the side of the steamer . . . it was a windy day. Until fully steam-set, even the smallest, tiniest droplet of water (or condensation) is damaging.

She is still very lovely. I would even say beautiful, but I'm biased. I listed her as a flub because of her tiny flaw. Just because she's not "Miss America" beautiful, she's still got a great personality. Plus, she's loyal and will do everything within her power to make you look great!

P.S. Want stats? Click on the picture.

Displaying My Amateur Skills

In my spare time (what little I have), I "play" at being a photographer. The camera goes with me many places and sees a lot of beautiful things. I am not a professional photographer. I just like to take pictures. Out of 100 pictures, I usually get a couple that are worthy.

When I'm out with the camera, no butterfly, bird, flower, sunrise, sunset or cute animal is safe. If at all possible, I will capture it. Here are three of my recent sunrises. I rarely miss a sunrise. Can't remember if these three were taken on the same day or different days.

Autumn Rainbow

Started on my fall collection last week. I always get excited about fall and fall colors. Rust. Copper. Bronze. Gold. Olive. Sage. The earthier the better.

Today, we got a little preview of fall with cool weather and rain. From here on out, it is supposed to warm up and clear off. So, steaming is in my future and you'll be able to see some of the fall collection!

Tomorrow, I'm going to try and re-create one of my favorites from last year. When I say re-create, I mean produce something very similar in color. It covers all the colors I mentioned above in various shades. Kinda like an autumn rainbow!

I'm Outa Here!

Should that be 'outa' or 'outta'? Who cares! Either way, I'm still not gonna be here!

As you've read before, it's been years since I've had a real vacation. One where I sit and do nothing . . . for about 20 minutes . . . and where my time is my own. It's only a mini-vacation, but still it's away from life for a few days.

In the meantime, please enjoy this adorable pic of Sweet Pea. No his name is not Sweet Pea, but he's big enough and manly enough to handle the nickname.

What's New?

Well, some colorful hand painted silks, of course! Listed a few days ago is Rosy Outlook on Life. She is shorter than most standard scarves at 45", but she comes with some bling. Bling in the form of Swarovski crystals (my other addiction) in a lovely flower design. I've made this beaded design before (Blooming scarf pendant), and I keep making it because I love how it shows against my silks. I even made this design into a ring (using 4mm instead of 6mm) for my sister. It makes a big, kick-ass ring! If you would like to see more pictures of this silk and get more details, click on the picture to the left.

Just a few minutes ago, I listed Wishing On A Star. I painted this one several weeks ago, but never listed it because I fell in love with it . . . and was going to keep it. Today, I reminded myself that I have a closet full of silks to wear (and I can only wear so many). So I listed it. Get more details on her by clicking the picture to the left.

Shopping Hell

After ten years, I felt it was time to retire my swimsuit. I hate to give up my pretty blues and greens (think sea opal), but with the slowing disintegrating fabric . . . You get the picture.

Shopping for a swimsuit is pure hell. We all know about the terrible lighting and the 'up close and personal' mirrors in the dressing rooms. We all deal with that. I also deal with the fact that, unless I'm willing to pay a small fortune, it is next to impossible to find a swimsuit -- and I'm talking one-piece as I do not complement a two-piece -- in a flattering color. Black seems to always be the color of choice for most swimsuit designers. And, I do not do black. I am a color person. You can take a look at what I paint and tell that I am a color person.

After countless stores (too many to recall), I finally found one that covered the girls (that's another problem I have with swimsuits) and had absolutely no black. None. Nada. Zilch. And, I got it for song!

Everybody Loves A Deal

I know I do!

I'm having an impromptu sale on certain silks this weekend. Those certain silks would be the silk wraps (22" x 72") and silk dance veils. I'm feeling like a lucky number 7 today, so I'm taking $7 off these silks. I'll even call it my Lucky Number Seven Sale!

Anyways, drop on by today (or this weekend) and check them out. The sale price will be reflected in the listing price.

Escape To Exuma

If only I could escape right now. Only two days into my "me time" and I've already been pushed off the wagon! Didn't get any me time today and my head's about ready to explode . . . and I cannot find even a smidgen of chocolate in this house.

Tomorrow, I'm doubling up on my me time. Enough about me.

How about a little look at one of my newest silks? I call her Escape To Exuma, and if you read about her [click on the picture] you'll know why! Basically, the colors of the silk remind me of my little adventure there several years ago. Unfortunately it was not for vacation, but for work -- a site inspection for a reality based travel adventure. Wow, those were the days. Back in the day, I was heavily into (meaning work that I loved) the incentive travel industry.

I wish I could find a way to combine that dream job with my current love (and life) of silk painting. That would be my utopia!