I Have Arrived!

I just completed the transfer of my blog to Wordpress. :-) The process was quite simple. You can now visit my new website:

LissaBee Creations

I am thrilled that I can finally get going on my website. My goal is a more interactive site for my visitors. Hooray!

Sailing On to Wordpress

Sailing on Sydney Harbour
© 2006 Melissa Prell

It's time for some moving and shaking! I am in the process of moving this blog as well as my website to Wordpress. So if you have tried to get to my website this week, you will see an error message. As soon as the transfer of my domain is complete, I will begin building my new website. My goal is to make my website and blog more interactive and fun for my visitors. Stay tuned!

Blast Off!!

Space Shuttle Endeavor by NASA

Today is the grand opening of my etsy shop! I am excited about this adventure. I am looking forward to meeting new people and bringing a bit of beauty into their lives. A peek into my shop:

My plan is to continue to add to my shop. Right now I am working on holiday ornaments.

Thank you for your continued support. It means the world to me!!

Melissa

Preparing to Launch!

Space Shuttle Endeavor by Steve Jurvetson

I am getting ready to soar into the wild blue yonder of etsy. I have been working on my shop profile, announcement and policies this week. The planned date for lift-off? November 1, 2010. Here's a peek:

I am really thrilled to have this opportunity. I love crochet! I have noticed many gorgeous crocheted items in the etsy treasuries lately. I definitely want to be a part of that trend. I am also looking forward to joining the sellers on etsy and learning from them. Wow, this is exciting!

Crochet Inspiration from An Area Rug

I saw an ad in the September issue of House Beautiful magazine for this rug:

I liked the use of brown and turquoise and used this inspiration for two new crochet designs. I used simple stripes this time and also created a bowl with a lid. A lid comes in handy for keeping items cleverly hidden. :-)

Brown and turquoise striped crochet bowl.

Brown and turquoise striped crochet bowl with lid.

The button on the lid.

My big news is that I plan to open my etsy shop to sell my bowls in the next couple of weeks. I will post an announcement here on my blog.

Let's get some conversation going. Any questions, comments or suggestions? I'd love to read them. Have a wonderful day!

Crochet Inspiration from Etsy

While perusing the crochet category on etsy, I discovered some lovely and fun designs.

1. Sabahnur 2. Modern Needlepoint  3. Gsakowskidesigns

4. Sweetpeatoadtots  5. Aminfriends 

It is a joy to see crochet being used in modern and innovative ways. It has played second fiddle to knitting for long enough!!

Dainty Crochet Earrings

A quick and fun crochet jewelry project! I used this pattern from Julie Bolduc to make gifts last Christmas. I customized the pattern by adding 4 mm bicone Swarovski crystal beads.

Pink crochet earrings.

Purple crochet earrings.

Yellow crochet earrings.

It was such a joy to make these gifts for my friends. I have yet to decide if I will be making any Christmas gifts this year. I do want to support my fellow handmade artists, which is why I am participating in A Crafty Holiday. Angela Flicker is hosting a blog hop for bloggers to visit each other with ideas and inspiration for handmade gifts made by other artists. There is still time to contact Angela (deadline is October 14) if you are interested in participating. I'll bet we're going to be blown away by the beautiful wares!!

So, what are your plans for holiday shopping this year? Making your own? Buying handmade? Buying online? Braving the shopping centers? I'd love to know!

The Galah Crochet Basket

My latest crochet basket was inspired by one of my favorite Australian birds, the galah, or rose-breasted cockatoo. We had many of them visit us during our two years in Canberra. Our nickname for them was "Lovelies". I really admired the gray and rose of their feathers. Such a beautiful bird!

Gorgeous Galah

Close-up of satin cord crochet basket

Silver and rose pink satin cord crochet basket

I can picture this color combination in an entry hall for keys and sunglasses. Or how about a lady's dressing table to contain those beauty supplies?

A Larger Crochet Basket Design

Hello, everyone! How about a glimpse of a larger crochet basket I created? The wavy stitch design is the same one that I used on the baskets in my previous post. This time the dimensions are 7" x 3 1/2".

Toffee and Light Blue Satin Cord Crochet Basket

Close-up of my crochet stitches

Bottom of basket showing my label and embroidered edge

Picture a lovely beach house, with this basket filled with shells or starfish on the coffee table. I can also see it in a bathroom, filled with hand towels or wash cloths. How do you envision using it in your own home?

Wishing everyone a beautiful Friday and a lovely weekend. I can feel fall in the air!

My Latest Crochet Creations

I took some time today to work on my photography. I practiced on my latest design which is a wave stitch. I like the fluidity of these bowls, the way the satin cord makes me want to sculpt it once it is completed. I also used the wave stitch on a hemp twine acorn bowl. The shape of it is very fun.

Coral and light blue satin cord crochet bowl.

Doesn't my prop look delicious?

Fuchsia and apple green satin cord crochet bowl.

Close-up of my stitches.

Turquoise and black satin cord crochet bowl.

Turquoise and white hemp cord acorn crochet bowl.

Another view.

View of the lid.

What do you think? I do feel like my photos are starting to show improvement. I know I have been told many times to take lots of shots, but I skimped a bit because it was hot outside and the gnats were gnawing on me.

The next series of designs I am going to work with softer colors of the satin cord. As much as I love the brights, I want to be able to offer muted tones as well.

Making Friends for the World to See

I dedicate this beautiful video to all of my friends, past, present and future. This is one of my favorite songs by Elton John.

"Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver, the others are gold."
-Joseph Parry

A Hive of Colorful Crochet

Here we are at the end of another week. I spent most of my creative time working on my website and logo. I enjoy Photoshop and am even getting the hang of Illustrator! I had a great time designing my "bee" and my "hive". I even made a button, as you can see on the left. I would love it if you grabbed one!

I am really thrilled to be a part of this online artistic community. I feel like I am part of something very special and very genuine. I don't feel like I have to do anything other than be myself to fit in. I love that! There has been so much support and activity that it makes me feel like no mountain is insurmountable. After two years of bitter heartache and pain, I am ready for healing and growth. I also want to put some positive energy into this world by supporting everyone that crosses my path.

Last week I was in the flow of creativity. I still feel it, and am ready to start working on new basket designs. I am concentrating on color and design in my crochet and it is really inspiring me to try new stitches. Here are my latest creations. What do you think?

Black and red basket using long single stitch.

Aqua and apple green basket using the long single stitch.

Red and aqua basket with diamond pattern.

Apple green and purple basket with diamond pattern.

Close-up of green and purple basket.

Goals and a Rose

Last week's goal list:

1. Set up website on squarespace.com. I decided to try bigblackbag.com instead, thanks to a tip from my new friend, Jo. I did start my home page, but want to use different photos.

2. Update social networking sites (blog, facebook, twitter) about the process. Since I didn't do much work on my website, I really had nothing to write about. I did continue to use facebook and twitter to support and encourage my fellow artists.

3. Continue to develop brand. Hmm, I have had this on my mind for a bit. I did ask my husband how he would describe my baskets. His reply? "Traditional, with a modern twist." I like that!

3. Continue to develop lines of inventory. I did make some new baskets, two with a new design. I will upload photos of them soon.

4. Work on pricing strategy. I began work on this last night. There is a lot to consider, and I want to be conscious of the time and effort I am putting into the construction of my baskets.

So for this week, I hope to get at least the bare bones version of my website up and running. I decided to break this goal out into smaller steps:

1. Take photos for the home page.

2. Write my bio for an "About Me" page.

3. Link my website to my blog.

4. Develop my home page with photos and logo.

5. Make my own logo in Illustrator. This could be tricky, but I am going to give it a try.

6. Develop my tagline. I want it to declare my intentions for my creations.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, creative and playful week!

My Mardi Gras rose. Such a beauty!

Magic Monday Goals

As a way to get going on my creative business goals, I will be posting them every Monday and then linking them to My Creative Business Goals blog set up by fellow flyer, Cathy Giles. I think it will be helpful for me to actually write out my goals and then be accountable to the group for accomplishing them. So here we go:

My big goal is to open and run a successful etsy shop. Steps to reach that goal that I am going to concentrate on this week are:

1. Set up website on squarespace.

2. Update social networking sites (blog, facebook, twitter) about the process.

3. Continue to develop brand.

3. Continue to develop lines of inventory.

4. Work on pricing strategy.

That's probably more than enough to keep me busy. I am also working on organizing and decluttering my studio, as well as the rest of the house.

This photo is from our visit to the Emerald Isle back in 2004. It's for Cathy for starting My Creative Business Goals blog.

Ladies View, Ring of Kerry, Ireland

A Long Week

The first week of summer vacation and the temps have been in the 90's. My kids are swimming for our community team and have practice every week day starting at 8 a.m. It is a little adjustment for us. Mainly it means that I cannot do any kind of creative activity until after 10:30. That is, if I am feeling motivated. I must admit that my mojo was nowhere in sight. I tried to fake it, but it was not until yesterday that I felt that spark again. One big problem: I had the hives Wednesday night. I am fairly sure it was caused by a tick bite. I had found one of those nasty things on my foot last week. It itched terribly. Wednesday night I was checking it and must have hit the "hives" button. It started with the palms of my hands itching. Then gradually it crept over my whole body. It was a terrible experience! I also felt very nauseated and thought I would faint. I practically coated myself in cortisone and finally fell asleep. What an ordeal! I looked up hives the next morning and found out that it is really nothing to worry about unless you have trouble breathing. But I thought I might need a trip to the ER. I was glad when I woke up and the itching was gone.

I have been working on new ideas for my crocheted baskets. I have been adding felt to the bottoms to protect them. I am also working on some embellishments. I went to our library this afternoon for some inspiration and hope to get some time this weekend to get creative. The kids do have a swim meet tomorrow morning. Other than that, the calendar is pretty open.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Purple and orange basket inspired by my garden.

New Zealand Inspiration

What inspires me? Nature, color, texture. Today I decided to write about a very special place. New Zealand. We took one of our school holidays while we were living in Australia to visit the South Island. One of the places we visited was the Franz Joseph Glacier. The walk out to the glacier was full of raw beauty and texture. I felt as though I had stepped back millions of years, watching the earth be formed by the slow movement of the glaciers. I saw the beginnings of new life.

The glacier.

Mossy boulder.

Lovely layers of rock.

Close-up of the glacier.

Scraping the glacier, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

It was such a magical trip. And I'm not talking about Disney World. I am talking about the real world, the natural world. 

Doe a Deer

She ran across our path and stood in the woods, about ten feet away. She stared at me while I gently talked to her. I admired those big eyes and ears and compared her red fur to my greyhound's fur. She decided to move across the path again. Then she just stared as we walked away.

She was a whitetail deer. I know so many people consider them garden enemy number one, but I do not, and I do love my garden. Perhaps they know of my adoration because they rarely nibble my plants. Or maybe my neighbors have a better buffet.

I do wish I had taken my camera for this morning's walk. But I will always have that image of that lovely doe in my mind.

I did take photos in my garden, as well as photos of my new crocheted bowl.

Old-fashioned orange daylily.

Bee on a sunflower.

Mountain bluet.

Strange bug on Shasta Daisy. 

Scabiosa beginning to open, with seedpod in background.

First butterfly photo of the season. A cabbage white.

The cabbage white in flight!

The hot pink and black basket I created this weekend. 

I started work on it outside and loved how the pink shimmered in the sun.

My child has mistaken my bowl for a hat! Both of my children have this habit.  :-)