30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 9

Day 9

Favorite types of Food and recipes

One of my favorite topics: Food.  I tend to lean more toward savory and salty types of food.  And carbs.  I love carbs: bread, potatoes, pasta.  I’ve recently started to learn how to bake bread.  My favorite bread recipes are for Naan bread and pretzel bread.  I could eat bread and rolls with every meal if I could.

I adore seafood, especially shell fish.  Again another side effect of growing up on the gulf.   Shrimp, crab, oysters, and crawfish I can eat it till I get sick.  I’m not a huge fan of fish unless it’s fried mullet or flounder.  Luckily we have lots of access to fresh seafood on the coast.  My favorite types of seafood restaurants are the little hole in the wall places.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 6

Day 6: Five things I can’t live without.

I’m not going to use people or animals on this list so we’ll keep this strictly to items I keep on me regularly.

Books: for anyone who knows me this one is pretty obvious.  I always carry some around.

My phone: Let’s be honest this is another obvious one.  I use my smartphone for so much, l listen to music and podcast’s, social media and keeping in contact with friends and family.   I do keep it on silence most of the time so I constantly miss calls or take forever to respond to texts but the nagging feeling that something might happen if I don’t have it is enough to keep me twitchy when I forget it at home.

My Scratch Pad:  This is a notebook that I keep on me most of the time.  I use it to put in ideas and sketches of pieces, make daily list’s or reminders, or for doodles when I’m stressed or bored.  It’s not a proper journal or sketchbook, it’s mostly filled with doodles and quicky notes.  Thus the name scratch pad.

My Rings: I have two rings I always wear.  One is my engagement ring from Robert and the other is a ring I got more recently from my mom that used to belong to my great grandmother.  They are both special to me and I wear them all the time.  I have other’s I’ll wear form time to time but these two are constant.  Although I’ll be adding a wedding band to that hand soon.

Tools: My flatnose and round nose plyers are by far my most used tools.  I tend to have them me most of the time. I keep them either in the pocket of my purse or in my bitbag, an old travel makeup bag that I fill with odds and ends I can play with or use to come up with ideas.  I’m a fiddler so it helps to have something I can use to entertain myself at work or behind my booth at market.

Blog Challenge: Day 4 (late)

As mentioned in my introduction I live with my fiancé Robert and our two cat’s Gigi and Khadgar.   We met at our old job and have been together for four years now.    No one in this world knows me better or makes me happier. 

My older cat Gigi came with me when Robert and I moved in together. I’ve had her since she was a kitten. Khadgar is a newer addition, we got him about two weeks ago to be a companion for Gigi. The two of them are still getting used to each other but they are making pretty good progress.

I come from a divorcee family. My parents split up when I was pretty young but I have been lucky that my parents managed to remain civil (at least around my brother and I) and now get along pretty well with each other and our stepfamily. Both my parents remarried and I have two stepbrothers from each side making me the only girl out of five boys. I get my bookish side from my mother and my nerdyness from my dad. I blame them both for my artsy side

Both Sets of parents and by brother at his wedding.

 I have a wonderful Stepmother and stepfather,  and I get along pretty good with most of my stepbrothers and sister in laws.  Three of my brothers are married and I have two nieces and three nephews’ ages 2 to 4, all of whom are completely adorable.

Me playing with said adorable nieces and nephews last Christmas, yes I'm the one on the floor

 From there I have a whole score of aunts, uncles, cousins and soon to be in-laws.

 My father’s side is practically a clan. Even though I’m not able to visit my family as often as I used to but I still care about all of my family.  I love when we get together and spend time with each other.  I have been truly fortunate in the family I have received.

Jewelry Challenge: Day 4 (late

Type:earring 

Material : Wire 

Color : Red

30 Day challenge: Day 2: 10 Facts about me

30 Day challenge:
Day 2: 10 Facts about me

1.  My dad was stationed in Scotland when I was 2 and we lived there till I was 4
2.  I am named after both of my grandmothers.  I get my first name from one and middle name from my other.
3. Faybird was a nickname my mother used to call me when I was little.
4. I am 5”2’ and the shortest of my 14 cousins.  (Even my younger ones)
5. I had to replace my car last year and purchased a Black Kia Soul.  My favorite joke to tell people is that I have a “Black Soul.”  (Robert is getting a bit tired of this one.)
6. I got engaged at Cinderella’s Wishing Well in Disneyworld.
7. I have had to get stitches three times in my life, once on my forehead from an etch sketch accident and twice in my right hand. (Four if you count when I had my wisdom teeth removed.)
8. My favorite color is Green.
9. My favorite animals are Gorillas.  When I was little I wanted to live in the Congo and study them like Diane Fossey.
10. My favorite movie is the Labyrinth (Because I love fairies/goblins, David Bowie and Brian Froud.)

30 Day Jewelry Challenge:

Type: Earrings

Material: Found Objects

Color: Brown

Shop Item of the Day!

Orange Steampunk Pendant

30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 1: Introduction

I’ll keep this brief since I’ve done an introduction before and I’ll be discussing more detailed information about myself as the challenge progresses.   I am 30 years old and live in Florida with my fiancé and our two cats.  For my day job I am an Electronic Service Rep at a credit union.   I’ve been doing Steampunk jewelry for five years now and traveling to conventions for three years.  I’ve always loved history and creating things since I was a little girl.  When I discovered Steampunk I fell in love instantly, it was a mix of both these elements that enjoyed.  At the time I couldn’t find any Steampunk jewelry and accessories in my home town so I decided to start making my own.  My mother was selling beaded jewelry at the time and after a while she suggested that I sell some of my own.  And that’s how I got started.

30 Day Jewelry Challenge:

I'll explain a bit about How I will be doing this challenge.  I've made three numbered lists, One of six, and two of twenty.  Every day I'll roll a D6 dice once to find out what type of piece I am doing and a D20 to find out the material and color of the piece that I am making.  The rules are that the piece must include all three elements and must be posted by the end of the day, whether I am finished or not.

Day 1: 

Type: Bracelet 

Material:Gear/clockpiece

Color:Turquoise

Mobicon 2016

So I’m back from Mobicon!  I had a whale of a time.  It was one of the more vendor friendly convention’s I’ve been to so far.  

I’ll be starting a 30 day challenge tomorrow for the Blog and for new pieces.  I’ll be posting new pieces each night along with a daily shop piece I have available.  So look forward to lots of posts and pictures.  

Until then have some fun con pictures.  

By far one of the best costumes of the weekend.  It was awesome!

This Ariel was so adorable.  

She followed every Link around the Con just yelling "Hey Listen!" Last I saw of her she was being chased by the Fairy Swat Team with Fly swatters.

That pillow XD

This Ruto was amazing.  So well done!

Obligatory Stormtrooper and Kylo Ren!

Another talented and creepy cosplay.

I was so happy to finally see a Chat Noir.  Sadly he had no Ladybug. :(

Great low key Tadashi.

So many emotions in one room.  (And that Ryley!)

This was my bit of Con Swag for my desk at work.  I'll try not to kill this one.

Something New: Resin Quartz Pendant

I've been playing with a mix of wire wrapping and resin lately.  This is the first of many resin that will be showing up soon.

Random Photo Wednesday !

Oh goodness I forgot this one was on my phone.  I saw this at a mall a few years back and the placement of the toys next to the cut outs cracked me up.

Favorite Author Week: Gail Carriger

A book I have been waiting months to come out recently released.  Prudence by Gail Carriger came out the other night.  The sequil/spinoff of her popular steampunk book series: Souless. 

So I thought it would be a good opportunity to begin sharing some of my favorite authors and their works, begining with Ms. Carriger.

I stumbled upon Ms. Carriger’s first book Soulless in the series by the recommendation of a friend who I ran into at the bookstore as we were discussing books.  She recommended this knowing of my love of reading and steampunk.  At the time I had been making jewelry for about a year or so and was learning as much about the steampunk culture as I could.  Book wise aside from some of the classics like HG wells and such, despite my love of reading, had been limited to art books and books on the steampunk culture itself. 

I had noticed the Soulless series before but had been hesitant to read it for a few different reasons.  One I wasn’t sure how I would like the mix of fantasy and steampunk together.  The other was the influence of vampires and werewolves into the books.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have been a big fan of werewolves and vampires since high school, (Vampire Chronicles) it’s just at the time I discovered Ms. Carriger’s works the Vampire/Werewolf revolution started by Twilight and shows like Alpha and True Blood left me a little…well burnt out.  Especially on the tragic angst filled vampire or werewolf hero with a human woman swooning over him.   But the book came recommended so I gave it a chance.  And I am so glad I did.

To start with...  There are no angsty vampires or werewolves (some angst scenes for sure but that makes it good.)  Within the world of the Soulless series vampires and werewolves instead of hiding in the shadow, live openly in society.  This creates a delightful mix of society fancy Vampires and stern, gruff werewolves who work in the military and police, and one awesome lead female.   The series revolves around Alexia Tarrabotti an Englishwoman born with an interesting condition: She has no soul.  This gives her power to render a supernatural creature temporarily human at her touch.  She gets into all sorts of scrapes aided by the stubborn and occasionally loud Lord Maccon (One Word: Scottish Wearwolf.)  All while trying to maintain a good face in English Society and to be home by teatime. The moment that Alexia first spoke in the book admonishing a Vampire for attempting to bite her before they have been properly introduced, I knew that I was going to like her.  Alexia is the type of no-nonsense, stubborn, treacle tart loving woman with parasol swinging skills that I one day hope to have.   I purchased the rest of the series (All five books were already out by then thankfully.)  And finished them within a little less than two weeks.  The problem with it that being that it left me hungry for more.  Happily, little while later I discovered that Ms. Carriger had another series out in the Young Adult section.  

The funny part about finding the second series is that I didn’t notice the author’s name when I first picked it up.  I had finished the Soulless series almost a year prior and hadn’t noticed any news about another series.   The Soulless series also was in the adult sci-fi section so I was not expecting to see any work of hers in the Young Adult.  I also have the bad habit of not looking at the author’s name right away.  It was the title that caught my attention.  Etiquette and Espionage.  Upon reading the synopsis I was interested enough to take it home and give it a try.  This particular series follows Sorophina as she attends finishing school upon Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy.  What makes this series so interesting is that along with learning how to curtsy and pour the proper cup of tea they are also learning the art of how to properly assassinate one without mussing one’s gown or hair.  As I read the first few chapters I began to feel that the style of writing as well as the world that the book seemed to be located was familiar.  Werewolves and vampires mixed into society, steampunk gadgetry and strong minded Englishwomen brought back an air of familiarity.  It wasn’t until Sarophina is greeted by one Elder Madam Lefoux (whose niece plays a heavy roll in the Soulless series) my suspicions were confirmed and I looked at the author’s name.  I hit google and sure enough not only did the books have the same author, the Finishing School Series was a prequel.  Taking place twenty years before Soulless.  Despite being a prequel however this series tells its own separate story outside of the Soulless story line.  This creates an entirely new story while putting in enough cameos of familiar characters to make me happy.  Especially when one of my favorite characters shows up in the second book.

Ms. Carriger’s books are a wonderful mix in humor, adventure, strong female leads, steampunk, food, zany adventures, mad scientists, secret societies, gossip, flamboyant vampires, Scottish werewolves, (I know I’ve already pointed it out but it’s worth pointing out) dirigibles, tea and parasols with weapons in them.  Everything a girl could want.

And if that wasn’t enough there is Ms. Carriger herself.  You get a good idea of her personality by reading her biograph.  

“New York Times Bestselling author Gail Carriger writes to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She resides in the Colonies, surrounded by fantastic shoes, where she insists on tea imported from London. Gail's books are published in over a dozen different languages. She has received the Prix Julia Verlanger and the Elbakin Award from French readers.”

If that’s not enough to convince you of what a wonderful and unique person she is then just head over to her blog here. There she gives you dose of daily Parasol and everyday steampunk tips.  I look forward to any updates on her blog or twitter. 

Ms. Carriger has captured my imagination with her series and shot to the top of the list as one of my favorite authors.  I look forward to the day that I will have the opportunity to meet Ms. Carriger so I can shake her hand and thank her for recruiting me into the Parasol Protectorate.

Photo Sources:

1.) http://www.gailcarriger.com/images/books/PPA1Prudence/PrudenceCover.jpg

2.)"Soulless by Gail Carriger 1st edition cover" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Soulless_by_Gail_Carriger_1st_edition_cover.png#/media

/File:Soulless_by_Gail_Carriger_1st_edition_cover.png 

3.)http://www.gailcarriger.com/images/home/gailphoto.png

4.) http://www.gailcarriger.com/images/books/FS1Etiquette/FS1ARCcovermed.jpg

Random Photo Wednesday

Today’s photo for Random Photo Wendsday I give you a dog on a horse.  This was taken from my last trip to Nashville a few years ago with my mother for the Country Music Festival and I recently rediscovered it when I was going through one of my older memory cards for my camera.  Downtown Nashville had many of these horse and carriages around at night and one year we even rode in one when we traveled up there for my 21st birthday (When I may or may not have danced on the bar at Tootsies Orchid Lounge)  But this was the only one I saw that had a dog so naturally a picture had to be taken.  Sadly the name of the Dog or of the horse has been lost to the ages but I’d like to believe that their friendship still lives on.  Even if only in our memories.

Exciting News all!!   Last week I did something I have wanted to do for a while.  I took part of my profits from the recent Pensacon and invested it in a sweet Nikon camera.  Up until recently I have been taking pictures using my phone, adjusting the lighting via photoshop (neither me, my fiancé or photography friends could figue out how to turn the auto dim on my phonecamera) and regular crying in corners sobbing “I just want the pictures to look nice.”  (Really, it became a tradition almost.)  I managed to get decent quality photos but not to the one’s I liked.  So I decided to invest and do some research and managed to order a camera that would have all my basic needs.  I received it on Friday and after some power charging, playing with the controls (can you say selfie?) and just a bit more sobbing in the corner while I tried to figure out how to adjust the brightness (what can I say old habits die hard)  I now have the first series of pictures of some of my older as well as a few of my newer pieces.  

Come on new camera?  If course it's selfi time.

Most of these I’ll be posting on etsy and on my Tumblr as well but here are a few of the newer pictures.  All of which are now available for sale on here  I am more than excited with my new toy and plan to have lots of fun learning to take better and better pictures.  (Any critics and advice is more than welcome.)  I plan on posting most of them here as well so you can follow my progress.  

Past Favorites: Part 1

Hello there bloggers!  Still getting my blogging legs done so I thought that I would start out with a few getting to know me articles.  And since the main focus of my blog is about promoting my jewelry I thought I would begin by sharing a few of my favorite pieces I've made in the past.  I'm going to start out small with just three pieces to begin with a single piece every week or a top ten list of pieces either I've either made or are from my personal collection or that I desire with every fiber of my being to own or even a collection of vintage pieces.  Please let me know what you would like to see.  And with out further adieu lets get started.  

 Rose Winged Necklace

This one was a bit of a collaboration between me and another friend of mine as a gift for another friend of ours.  She came to me with the rose cameo and the gold heart and asked me to convert it into a necklace for our friend who loves all manner of pretty girly things.  It was a bit of a challenge at first because I wanted the rose to add to it without taking away from the centerpiece.  I came across these wings at a craft store a while ago and thought that it matched well with the gold of the heart pendent which I attached the rose cameo to.  The shell base came from a stack of colored shells that I was given.  (A good deal of what I use to make jewelry I either find, take apart or is given to me.)  The light pink of the shell was just enough to make the pink of the flowers stand pop out and added as a nice base I could attach the wings too.  I'm happy to say our friend loved this piece and still owns it today.  This was a fun pendant to do because of the challenge it presented and because of the opportunity to make not only one but two friends happy.  Making it one of my favorite pieces out of the many I have made.

Please comment and stop by my shop.  I'd love to hear from your and what you would like to know about me or my jewelry.

etsy.com/shop/FaybirdsFinds