3DCranes

Check out this article on this Amazing Artist!

2009-10-06T04:31:00.002-04:00

I found this article posted by the UK's Daily Mail, on an artist named Sipho Mabona. He creates amazing, lifelike origami animals out of single sheets of paper, including really intricate insects like the praying mantis.

I have to agree with the writer of this article, who refers to Mabona as an "Origami Master." Check out the full article here.

Just created a Facebook Fan Page for 3D Cranes

2009-10-03T01:05:00.001-04:00

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/3D-Cranes/170582405258

Hope I did it right...

What is this bird?

2009-10-01T23:09:00.004-04:00

Looks like this piece may end up in the "Oops" file...

Okay, I was trying to make a bald eagle, here, but right now it's looking a lot more like a parakeet. So. What the heck is this bird, and what do I call it?

Shop Improvements -- Suggesting Matching Items

2009-09-18T02:03:00.003-04:00

I'm in the process of hopefully making it easier to shop for matching, or similar items in my shop. I picked up the tip from muyinmolly, through the Full Time Etsy Crafters Blog. I'm adding links to shop search results, instead of to a specific listing, or shop section. For example, in my red bridal bouquet listing, I added a link to the search results for the terms "red wedding."

There are a lot of other great tips in that article, from full-time sellers that have reached major "milestone" sales numbers. The article can be found here.

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go....

2009-09-18T01:31:00.009-04:00

My latest Treasury, featuring the work of (from left to right, top to bottom):
Row 1: orsinimedici1951, FantasyPeriodCostume, chicallure
Row 2: MysticDragyn, amyburgessjewelry, annesophietoniazzi
Row 3: KristieGK, bellanovia, jacksdaughter
Row 4: KealaLegacy, handcraftedjewels, isabellaslittleshop(aka IsabellaSmiles)

I know I should have posted the direct links of the shops I featured in previous treasuries, but did not think of it until now.

Computer vs. Camera

2009-09-17T03:41:00.006-04:00

I meant to write about this earlier, but didn't get around to it until now...

Hubby got me a new Dell laptop back in July. It's the first computer I've had with Windows Vista, and I mainly use it for working on my Etsy shop. That means uploading a lot of pictures... Well about the end of August, I began to notice something weird: The "safely remove hardware" icon was missing when I had my camera plugged in to the USB port, and if I tried to remove it anyway (not a technique I recommend) I got the dreaded "blue screen of death," which is what happens when Windows apparently shuts down and restarts itself automatically "in order to protect your computer," as it says.

Fortunately, I have in-house tech support (aka Hubby) and he found out that it was a recent automatic update that my computer had downloaded for Vista which was causing the problem. It was update KB973879 that apparently did something screwy to the Dell USB drivers. Anyway, once it was removed, my computer and my camera decided to get along again =)

He didn't tell me exactly how he did it, but I did find directions on how to take care of this problem on techerator. Supposedly Windows has since stopped putting out this update, but just in case anyone else still has a problem with this, the link in the previous sentence may just help solve it.

Dragon Fire

2009-09-10T23:24:00.003-04:00

Created another Treasury collection, this time dedicated to dragons: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=81097

I made the front page!

2009-09-04T00:41:00.002-04:00

Well, the treasury that I made did, anyway! It was the red origami collection I put together, I only found out about it through a Google alert when it was posted on the Etsy Front Pagers on Flickr. Here's the link to the Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28488923@N05/3883926741/ if you would like to check it out... or if you don't really believe me ;-)

I'm still having a hard time believing it myself. Was it beginner's luck, maybe?

Octopus

2009-09-03T19:14:00.004-04:00

This is the newest art piece I've created, based on a photo I took at the Waikiki aquarium while "playing tourist" earlier this year. The octopus is made up of two different size cranes, folded from 2-inch and 3-inch paper -- for a total of 145 in all.

Oops!

2009-09-02T21:00:00.001-04:00

Just noticed my blog was still set on Hawaii time... It's been changed over now.

September Goals

2009-09-02T00:50:00.000-04:00

I'm a day late writing these down, but these are the things I want to achieve this month:
1. List, re-list, and renew at least 5 times a day on weekdays, and 3 times a day on weekends.
2. Add at least 1 new item a day.
3. Have 175 items available for sale in my shop.
4. Blog 3-4 times a week.

I was kind of tempted to make a sales goal, but decided to stick to things that I can actually control.

Origami Addiction

2009-08-31T17:45:00.004-04:00

And I guess you could say I'm becoming addicted to making treasuries as well. This one began with the fine silver origami honu by Hapa. This treasury is located at: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=79276

Created my First Treasury!

2009-08-29T01:48:00.004-04:00

I just curated my first Treasury ever! I had been thinking about it for a while, and as I was browsing through my favorites, I came across laurali's work, and her creamsicle kitten print really struck me for some reason, even though I'm normally more of a dog person ;) It became the inspiration for the color scheme that I used for my collection. Please check it out, and I hope you enjoy it! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=78791

Customized...

2009-08-24T20:49:00.003-04:00

This is one of two custom orders I've done lately -- both for weddings!

The customer liked my red bridal bouquet that I had posted on Etsy, but she wanted a couple of changes. One, was to replace the small gold cranes I used as "filler" with silver, to match her wedding colors. The second was to change out the white ribbon that was wrapped around the stems of the original, with a ribbon that better matched the bouquet. This was the result.

I'm Back!

2009-08-23T01:16:00.002-04:00

And this blog is starting to bear a disturbing resemblance to my old childhood diaries...the ones that can have up to 5 years or more between entries. At least I didn't wait 5 years to make a new blog post.
Well, I officially re-opened shop on August 1st, after making sure that all of my inventory made the trip safely. My things probably had a better trip than I did! Crazy weather forced hubby and I to make an unexpected overnighter in Dallas (we landed right after some tornadoes struck) and when we finally got onto our rescheduled flight to Atlanta, we ended up running into more crazy weather -- a thunderstorm -- and were forced to go into a holding pattern over the Atlanta airport for almost an hour.
I miss Hawaii like crazy. We played tourist a bit at Turtle Bay and in Waikiki before we left, so I have a lot of great pictures, including a few that I will probably end up using as inspiration for some future artwork. I just have to figure out which computer they are all stored on, but I think it will be a lot easier to look at when I'm not feeling so emotional about it.

Name Change

2009-05-14T21:48:00.003-04:00

Well, it's official. The business has officially been changed from Millenium Tsuru to 3D Cranes. There were a few reasons for the change. One, I misspelled "millennium" in my registration so I was stuck with the misspelling on everything and it was driving me crazy. Two, it was way too difficult to pronounce, even for me.

Another big change (which I thought I already mentioned here but I guess I didn't) is that my husband is getting transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia, so I and my business are going along for the ride. I'm not looking forward to moving away from home -- I've never lived anywhere except for here in Hawaii -- but when the Army says you have to move, you move.

I have decided not to do craft fairs in Georgia, at least for the time being until I get more familiar with the area, and my business will be moving to strictly on-line only. My Etsy shop will be going into vacation mode on June 1st, with a tentative re-open date of August 15th, as I have no idea how long it will take to get legally set up to do business in the state.

Featured....

2009-05-14T21:09:00.005-04:00

Thanks to Krishenka for featuring my new carnations in her treasury!

Also, one of my bouquets was recently featured on the foundhandmade blog, in an entry titled "Handmade Wedding Bouquets and Bouts" as an alternative to real flowers. There is no direct link to the entry, but if you go to the blog, it's the one that was posted on May 5.

Goodbye, Dawanda

2008-12-28T19:18:00.002-05:00

Well, my Dawanda experiment officially ended today, when I e-mailed support to cancel my account. I know that some will say that 4 months is not a long time to experiment with a venue, but I need the time to concentrate on my own website and my Etsy shop. Especially my website, which has been seriously neglected for a long time. Dawanda is probably a pretty good venue for those who can list and communicate in French and German, as their English site is known for not getting as much traffic as the others. I appreciate the fact that they had selling/traffic stats available to individual shops, as well as the ability to use a previous listing as a template for a new one (helpful when listing new colors of previous items), but the overall store and site just were not right for me.

I may choose to branch out onto another selling site sometime in the future, but for the time being, I will be staying on Etsy.

100 Items!

2008-11-13T17:47:00.002-05:00

Silver with Green -- On Tree
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

Yes, I've finally achieved that long-time Etsy goal of having 100 items listed in my shop. This is the 100th -- a set of my origami crane star ornaments in silver with green.

I still have several items to list before the month is over, though. I have at least 3 items finished and photographed, but not listed, and I have 1 finished item that isn't photographed yet. All of them are art pieces. I plan to complete a few more sets of Christmas ornaments in different colors -- those should be ready to go up into my shop next week.

Experimenting with Shop Sections -- Again

2008-11-11T03:20:00.002-05:00

It doesn't seem all that long ago that I revised my Etsy shop sections. At the time, I had two art sections: Framed and Unframed. Later, I added an ACEO section.

Recently, it occurred to me that this might not be the best way for customers to be able to find things in my shop. So I changed the Art sections to reflect the subject of the pieces. Now, there is "Animal and Nature Art," which includes my ever expanding origami zoo, and then there is the "Kanji Art," which includes all of the different kanji characters that I've done so far.

For the time being, because ACEOs are often searched for by their size, they will be staying in their own section.

Crane Trio, Lime Green

2008-11-04T17:58:00.002-05:00

Crane Trio, Lime Green
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

Three cranes strung together, mixed with beads. I used faux pearls and Czech Fire Polished Half-Metallic glass beads. I made a few of these last year, but I'm adding a few new color combinations this year. I admit I wasn't too sure about using the lime green color, but I've seen a lot of people saying that they're decorating their entire Christmas tree in this shade, so I thought I'd try it out.

Building a New Light Box

2008-11-04T03:11:00.011-05:00

A few weeks ago, my light box that I had constructed out of pieces of white foam board finally collapsed on me. The interior was badly scratched and warped. I had known it was on it's "last legs" for a while, so I saved the box from my miter saw purchase earlier this year with the intention of building a new one with instructions acquired through the internet. You can find the complete instructions here.

This is how the box looked when I started:

Then I measured, marked and cut out the openings as instructed:

I lined the interior with white poster board, and used another sheet of poster board to create a curved backdrop:

Finally, I used thin white cotton fabric to cover the sides and top to finish the box. This is what it looks like:
It's a little smaller than I sometimes need, but it works well for the majority of my photos.

83 Items and Counting!

2008-10-16T04:11:00.002-04:00

This is the most recent "new" listing in my shop (not counting the renewal that came after it.) Just 17 more new items to reach my longtime-Etsy goal of 100 shop items...

How to Create a Web Image Ad

2008-09-24T06:53:00.005-04:00

I've touched briefly on this subject when I wrote a post on how to make a website banner using MS Paint last year. And though I've happily used the services of a professional when it came to making an ad, being able to make a basic one on my own means I have that much more available in advertising funds.

There are two places that I know of that will help you place an image ad: Project Wonderful and Google AdWords. Project Wonderful is generally less expensive, and is considered to be a good starting place for those who haven't done paid advertising before. The down side is that a lot of the more affordable ad spaces are for blogs or websites that don't have a great deal of traffic -- you really have to choose wisely. Plus, the sites there tend to be less well-known than the ones on AdWords.

AdWords used to be only for text ads, but now they also place image/banner ads as well. I used their text ad service before and didn't do so well, I think with my work it's a lot easier to get clicks when people can see it -- either that, or I'm just not much of an ad-writer. I also like their new "placements" option, where you can choose the sites your ads appear on.

These are instructions on how to make a square ad (125x125 pixels for Project Wonderful, or a 200x200 pixel "small square" for Google) with a single photograph as the image. I'll be doing another post on how to do the other size/multiple photo ads as soon as I get a little better with the technique myself.

1. After opening Paint, go to Edit, and select "Paste From." Choose the image you want to use for your ad and click "open."

2. Move your cursor over one corner of your image until you see a diagonal, two-pointed arrow. When you see this, this means you can resize, rather than just move the image around.

3. Resize your image. As you move the cursor, you will see the dimensions displayed at the bottom of your screen. You can leave the image slightly larger than the size of the ad you're making, for example, when I was making a 125x125 ad, I sized the image to 127x127. Do not click away from the image during this time, otherwise it will be set at whatever size/position you were in at the moment, and you will be unable to make any corrections without deleting the image and having to start all over again.

4. Using your mouse, drag the image over to the top right corner of the page, next to the menu. If you don't do this, when you resize the overall file, you could potentially "lose" your image.

5. Click on "Image," then choose "Attributes." Make sure that the "unit" selected is pixels, then enter the size you want in the width and height boxes.

6. To add text to your image, click on the text button (the one that looks like an "A") and use your cursor to create a box where you want your words to go. Two new buttons will appear on the side of your screen. The first is the "Draw Opaque" button -- it has three shapes, with the green square appearing on a white background. If you choose this option, your text will appear on a white cut-out over your image. The second button is the one that will allow you to type text onto your ad, but keep the image you've uploaded as the background, rather than reverting to the white screen. Personally, I like having the background showing through, so I choose that second option. Select the color and font style of your type and add the words you want to say. You can also create text areas in other portions of your image if your words don't fit in the original space, and if you want to avoid having text over certain areas.

7. When you've finished click on "File" then choose "Save As." Type in a file name, and select the ".png" file type. You may also want to check under "Properties" to double-check that the size of the finished file is within the limits of the ad-placement service you're using.

The only drawback to using Paint as compared to a fancier program is that your choice of fonts/font colors is pretty limited. Also, you can't create animations, or add special effects. But for a basic web ad, I think it's a pretty decent -- not to mention, free -- option.

Cleaning Up My Inventory

2008-09-10T04:09:00.004-04:00

I have decided to a little "house cleaning" of my inventory by adding a "Sale and Clearance" section to my Etsy shop. The first design to go into this section is shown above. It's the kanji character for "Seimei," meaning "Life."

Although I've always liked the way this particular character looks, the majority of my customers have asked for "Long Life" rather than just "Life." I am still in the process of researching the new character, but I have several copies of the current design in my Etsy and craft show inventory.

The regular price was $34 (without frame), and I marked it down 20%. The new sale price is now $27.20 plus shipping.

New Additions to Shop

2008-09-02T04:41:00.002-04:00

Midori bridal bouquet -- top
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

Finally uploaded a couple of things that have been on my to-do list for a long time. One was this bouquet, which I've named Midori, the Japanese word for "green" or "spring." It also happens to be the name of a couple of my favorite relatives... I came across these paper colors while searching for a "honeydew" paper for a custom order. Though the order itself never was finalized, I liked the look of the two different shades of green, and that was how this bouquet was born.

The other item I've uploaded recently is the "Seahorse." It contains 95 cranes. It's one of the few designs I've done that was mostly "freehand." In other words, I didn't create a sketch for this one until it was absolutely necessary. The last time I used the freehand method was with my hammerhead ACEO, which I wasn't really happy with and ultimately ended up pulling out of my Etsy shop.

A Blue Treasury

2008-09-01T05:51:00.012-04:00

A big thanks to LDPhotography for including my "Ready for a Close-Up" ACEO in her blue-themed Treasury! We 'met' in that never-ending thread in the forums that inspired my earlier blog post: "A Whale Tail and a Monster Thread." Oh, and that thread, by the way, is now
almost triple the size it was at the time of the original blog post. It's now 892 forum pages long!

Preparing for the Holidays

2008-08-23T04:17:00.002-04:00

How many cranes?
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

Yes, it is "only" August.

But it's time to start building up my holiday season inventory. That means buying supplies in bulk (you should see the 25lb. box of glue sticks I just bought) and lots and lots of folding. This bag alone contains over 600 cranes.

I hope to hit a minor milestone in the process -- having 100 items in my Etsy shop. They say that more variety in a shop helps with sales, but I don't want to repeat last year's mistake, letting my shop become overwhelmed by Christmas ornaments. I haven't added a lot of new art designs or wedding bouquets lately, but I plan for that to change.

Dragons, seahorses, and the Year of the Ox. That's just a tiny hint of what's on my mile-long "to-do" list for the next couple of months.

Only time will tell what will actually be completed...

The Evolution of an Idea -- Part 2

2008-08-21T23:21:00.004-04:00

These are the mini sunflower vines I mentioned in my last post on this project. I originally intended for them to be exact replicas of the larger sunflowers in the bouquet, complete with green cranes between the center and the petals (as well as on the backs of the flowers), but to do that, the "mini" sunflowers would have ended up much too large. So I made circles out of green scrapbooking paper instead, topped with slightly smaller circles of gold foil., and used my smallest gold cranes, folded out of the 2-inch paper, for the "petals."

Coming up soon: Part 3, which will cover the actual arranging of the different elements of the bouquet.

Yakudoshi

2008-08-20T03:23:00.003-04:00

Good Luck Charm for my Yakudoshi
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

A "yakudoshi," in Japanese culture, is basically a bad-luck year in a person's life. There are actually three, but for each gender, there is one year that is supposed to be particularly bad. For women, it's their 33rd year. If you go by the lunar calendar (which apparently considers you a year old on the day of your birth), it starts on your 32nd birthday. That's the traditional version. But since I was raised with the Western style calendar, I thought it was going to be my 33rd -- this year. I'm not particularly a superstitious person, but seeing how a friend of mine went through a real streak of bad luck during her 33rd year -- I guess I wasn't that surprised when I had my own unlucky streak starting from around my birthday.

My mother took me to a Shinto shrine in Nuuanu, where she used to go with my (paternal) grandparents every New Year's, and we picked up this "omamori" or good luck charm for my yakudoshi.

International? Me?

2008-08-18T18:41:00.003-04:00

Yes, I've finally "gone global." Though I've been offering international shipping in my Etsy shop for a while, Etsy itself is still a U.S.-based site. So last week, I opened a shop on Dawanda. It was originally created in Germany, and like Etsy, is focused on handmade. It has three different sites, one in German, one in French, and one in English(shown as their "U.K." site) and sellers have the option of which of the sites (either one or two or all three) they want their items to be displayed in. A lot of Etsy sellers who also have Dawanda shops often say that the best one to be on is the German site, but since I don't know German, and have heard less than spectacular reviews of the online "translation" sites that are available, I chose to stay strictly on the English site, at least for now. I would hate to list something in a language I'm not familiar with -- even if the online translation was done for me -- because it would give the customers who use that language a false sense that I would be able to communicate fluently in their language should a problem/question crop up -- and I wouldn't be able to do that.

I must admit it's a little strange seeing the price for my work in Euros. I used an online currency calculator, to figure out my pricing and I guess I'll be watching the exchange rates regularly from now on.

My main focus will still continue to be my Etsy shop, because that's where I'm most comfortable with, but with the weakness of the U.S. dollar lately, it would be foolish not to reach out to the international market as much as possible. Besides, it's really not wise to leave all of one's eggs in a single basket...

I love Picasa!

2008-08-17T21:54:00.004-04:00

Once again, thanks to the Etsy forums, I found something useful for my shop. I downloaded Picasa2 -- a photo editing software from Google -- about 2 weeks ago. I had noticed how dark the photos of some of my "expired" Christmas ornament listings were, especially when viewed on a different computer than I normally look at them with, so I decided to try it out.

I've only done a few photos, I'm slowly working my way through the bunch, but here's an example of the difference.

Before:
And After:
Now, I just need to get to work on the rest of the photos!

Hawaii Bridal Expo -- July 2008

2008-08-16T20:26:00.002-04:00

I wish I had more time to prepare for this -- but then again, I say that about every show I do.

I ended up taking two complete displays (my cascading bridal bouquet and my large rose display) to the expo, along with one display that was a work in progress. I've found that working on projects will often draw attention to my booth.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much of a crowd. I don't know if it was the time of year, or all of the news about local companies going bankrupt, etc., but I was told by repeat vendors that the show was unusually slow. And we noticed that a lot of the people were "window-shopping" instead of seriously looking. Makes me think that budgets are tight -- they still want to get married, but things like cranes and d.j.'s and other "non-essential to the actual ceremony" things are pretty low on their list of priorities.

Overall, though, I gave out a lot of business cards and flyers, and received quite a bit of favorable feedback on my designs. Hopefully things will get better economy-wise and people will still remember me when it does.

One good thing about most shows, even when they're slow, is the chance to make contact with other people/businesses. I was lucky enough to have some great booth neighbors, but the ones who definitely stood out was the booth directly across from mine, belonging to Paper Island. Not only was the staff friendly, but their invitations were really eye-catching, especially the ones that they had collaborated with Hawaiian Moon to create. Hawaiian Moon creates beautiful Aloha wear that a lot of people choose to outfit their bridal party with, and Paper Island created invitations that matched specific print designs. Wish I'd remembered to bring my camera with me...

The ultimate show-stopper of the whole expo, though, was a booth in the next row over from mine, belonging to Showtime DJs and Grand Finale Productions. They not only provide music for wedding receptions, but do performances as well. Their dance demonstrations were absolutely amazing, performed by Phillip Duong, Natalie Ho, and Teley Brandon. I'm not an expert on dance styles, but I think they did some Salsa, and others... though the move that took everyone's breath away was when Teley would spin with Phillip balanced on top of his head. Yes, I said on his head! The first time I saw the move my heart literally stopped as I was sure he would go flying off into someone's display, or worse, end up face first on the hard floor. But every time it was performed, it was nothing but perfection.

All in all, I'm glad I did this Expo. It was definitely a good experience for me, business wise, and I definitely have ideas on how to do it better next time. I know that the size of the crowd is part of the gamble I take every time I do a show, so that won't be much of a factor in my decision when it comes to the next one.

Besides, all of my fellow vendors told me that the January expo is much better than the July one, crowd-wise. Hmmmm.....

Is it real?

2008-08-02T15:16:00.003-04:00

Stuffed or not?
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

I was planning to do a long overdue update to my work-in-progress series. Plus I wanted to write about my experience at the Hawaii Bridal Expo last weekend. But this was such an unexpected sight this morning that I had to share it.

I let my dog out into the back yard, when I noticed this "owl." I knew that there were owls in Hawaii but this looked like one I'd seen on Animal Planet recently (in other words, not 'native.') It didn't move. At all. So I started to think it was fake.

Took some photos. Posted them on Flickr, then started an opinion thread on the Etsy forums. Went back outside to try to get a better shot.

It moved.

Wow.

Yes, it is real, after all.

I'm thinking it's time to make an owl-themed piece for my work. What do you think?

The Evolution of an Idea -- Part 1

2008-05-21T22:14:00.008-04:00

After I finished my first "1001 crane" bouquet, I started looking for another bouquet idea that would also use the same amount of cranes. I knew I didn't want to do roses again, so I chose to do sunflowers. Since it was ultimately supposed to be a sample, and that anyone who ordered it would potentially be the one folding the cranes, I had to make sure that any papers I used would be readily available to the general public.

I designed another cascading bouquet, with two different sizes of sunflowers. The main flowers would be the "regular" sized sunflowers I already made to be sold on the stem. Mini sunflowers would be featured on wire "vines" branching down from the base of the bouquet.

I had created these gold foil sunflowers for the 2006 Holiday Season, and I decided that they would work for this particular bouquet. The "petals" were made from regular gold foil paper, the "center" was made from a textured gold foil paper, called "Hosoyo." I liked the contrast of the two different types of gold, but since the Hosoyo was lighter than the regular gold, it never quite seemed to look right. And I couldn't switch the colors around, because the Hosoyo paper wasn't available in the larger size that was needed for the "petals."

The first change from the original design for the bouquet was for the sunflowers themselves. I decided to go with only one type of gold foil paper, adding a mostly hidden band of green foil cranes so that the center could be distinguished from the petals.

That first alteration made me realize just how different the final product may turn out from my original sketch. Which is why I've decided to document the progress of this project here on the blog.

Next Step: Creating the mini sunflowers on the wire vines.

Thinking Outside the Box

2008-05-16T05:52:00.002-04:00

ACEO Shadowbox Set
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

Alchemy: A section on Etsy where buyers can request custom handmade items that they are unable to find anywhere else. Sellers "bid" for the job by describing how they would fulfill the request, and the buyer selects the one that best matches his/her wishes.

My very first "bid" on Alchemy was definitely out of the norm for me -- it was a request for three ACEO-sized shadow boxes. Though I'm mainly an origami person, not a woodworker, I had just finished a similar shadow box for the ACEOs in my shop. I wrote up a bid, and was fortunate enough to have it accepted.

I routed out the bottom edge of lengths of 1/2 inch by 1-1/2 inch fir, to create a shallow rabbet (so that the bottom would be completely "flush" with the sides). After putting the boxes together using miter joints, I cut pieces of 1/4 inch plywood to fit into the space at the bottom of the box. The customer requested that they be unfinished, so I didn't stain or paint, only sanded them.

I have to admit, I really enjoyed making these. In fact, I'm now looking for excuses to make them again...

Bitter-Sweet Memories

2008-05-13T08:18:00.005-04:00

I normally don't like to put anything personal in this blog -- this is a business blog, not my personal diary. But something happened recently that made me realize just how tightly intertwined every part of my life is.

I recently was asked to do a wedding bouquet for a very special young woman I'll forever only know as Wendy. A 20-year old battling cancer, but still determined to go forward with her wedding plans, even if she had to be married in the hospital. Her friends and family were working together to fold 1000 origami cranes for her, and a friend of her aunt had come across my work. She asked me to create one of my origami crane bouquets in Wendy's wedding colors -- cobalt blue and yellow. I was very moved by the story, and excited about working on the project. I thought it was such a beautiful combination, and I couldn't wait to see how it turned out.

Unfortunately, Wendy would never get to see the bouquet. Less than a week ago, I received word that she had passed away, just a month before her wedding.

It hit me hard. Not because I knew her, or would ever know her.

It was the memories.

You see, it was a very near case of deja vu. It was 12 years -- almost to the day, it seemed -- since I'd heard the same news about someone I knew. Yoshio Lamansky was my high school classmate, and an almost-friend. Though we were never close in any way, we had many of the same friends and acquaintances. He plays a starring role in many of my memories.

Yoshi was less than a month away from his 21st birthday when he passed away. I was told he had a brain tumor. Like Wendy, he was engaged to be married at the time -- his fiance was one of the many people he'd left behind.

I have to admit, when I first heard about his passing, I felt guilty. It's funny how the first memories that came that day were the guilty ones -- I used to kick him under the table and helped another friend of mine pick on him during our seventh grade English class. He never got mad, just laughed it off.

He was so shy and quiet back then, but not for long. Going through my memories of him is like a watching a slide show of a flower bursting from being just a dull bud into a dazzling display.

I remember the time he was the one of only two boys at a party. It was the summer before our eighth grade year. When he started cracking jokes about our adolescent experimentations with make-up, we dared him to go through the same kind of makeover, and to "do it better." We did him up in full drag, fixing up his hair, put on lipstick and eyeshadow and all that, and wrapped him in a bed sheet to serve as his "dress." Then we presented him to the parents of the party hosts.

I remember watching his ears turn red when I teased him about his trumpet solo he was going to perform in a concert --- just before we started playing the song. I was a trombone player, and we sat in the row right behind the trumpets. The song was, "Through the Eyes of Love -- The Theme from the movie 'Ice Castles.'" I still can't hear that song on the radio without thinking of him.

He taught me how to read a book for the "good parts."

Then there's a few other stories, stories that would have turned our parents' hair pure white back then if they'd only known. Like that one particularly memorable game of "Truth or Dare" at Leadership Camp . . .

He made so many of us laugh when we were nervous or scared. As the years went on, he seemed to have a knack for finding just the off-beat thing to say to throw us off-guard. Though the outside had become outgoing and almost flashy at times, I think at heart he was still the same guy who took every obstacle in stride, never getting mad. Always viewing life with a laugh.

Yes, I still miss him on occasion. Though I rarely run into classmates (we seem to have dispersed pretty far and wide), part of me keeps thinking one day I'll turn around and he'll be there. I know logically that he's gone -- I attended his funeral -- and yet he really isn't gone.

I think the people who are taken from the world so young, like Yoshi -- and Wendy -- are ultimately like shooting stars. The time we see them is all-too brief, yet their brilliant beauty will stay etched into our hearts and memories forever . . .

My "Official" Clumsy Crafting Day

2008-03-21T21:38:00.003-04:00

"Ma'am, put the glue gun down and step away from the paper."

No, there is no "crafting police," but sometimes I think there should be, if only to save me from myself.

Less than an hour into my workday, and I was feeling as if I'd acquired the crafting equivalent of "two left feet." You know, when I'm more likely to glue my arm to my ankle than to attach the crane to the desired spot on the work-in-progress.

I did glue my fingers together. Twice. Hot glue and unprotected skin do not work well together.

Every mistake I made, I only made worse when I tried to fix it.

So, it's time to change gears. Work on something else. But not on my picture frames. Oh, no. Bad idea.

Power tools (aka my router) plus today's clumsy mode could result in blood. And a trip to the emergency room.

Definitely not good.

So I'm thinking today will have to be a bookkeeping plus internet promotion and advertising type of work day. After all, I can't hurt myself or anyone else by just sifting through receipts and sitting in front of a computer.

Or can I?

Do What Scares You

2008-03-15T05:45:00.003-04:00

I've admitted several times that I was intimidated by MySpace. It always struck me as a type of exclusive club where you had to know everything about it before joining, but the only way to learn was to join. And I have to admit, seeing some of the wild messages friends and family have received on their pages definitely scared me. (Um, who in their right mind offers to send naked photos of themselves to someone they don't know? Especially to a married man whose space is covered with photos of his wedding?)

However, I've always heard of Etsy sellers using MySpace to promote their shops and find new customers. Yes, some of them had some pretty wild "message" stories, too, but it was beginning to seem like the good might outweigh the bad. But it was a forum post created by BattleMaiden-- who has an Etsy shop for her fantasy illustrations -- on how to use MySpace as a marketing tool that finally gave me the push I needed to take the leap into that world. It was very detailed on exactly how to get started, something I definitely needed to keep me from feeling quite so lost there.

So, a little over a week ago, I created a MySpace page. I quickly found how easy it is to get wrapped up in the little details, plus it's just as distracting as some of the Etsy forums can be. It's easy to get sucked into just checking out page after page... So I had to put a definite limit on my MySpace time, otherwise I'd never have any new work to show off there and in my Etsy shop!

The first two days, I spent about 2 hours each. Most of that was figuring out what background I wanted, as well as uploading pictures and my Etsy Mini (similar to what I have here on my blog, showing the latest items from my shop.) Almost every day since I've set aside at least an hour to join groups and search for people who I want to add. I try not to do this randomly, I choose people who have an interest in my type of work and/or are local business I'd like to network with. Especially wedding businesses. I wanted to focus more on weddings this year, and less on craft fairs.

Only time will tell if the decision to jump into MySpace was the right one . . .

A Whale Tail and a Monster Thread

2008-03-09T21:43:00.005-04:00

Whale Tail ACEO
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

One of the things I've always loved best about Etsy (besides having the things I make seen all over the world) is the community in the forums. Yes, like any forum, it can get nasty at times, but for the most part, it's supportive and entertaining.

One particular forum thread I have been participating in started on January 26th of this year, and yes, it's still going strong. It was supposed to be a discussion among ACEO artists about what sells on Etsy, but has since evolved into a place to ask for advice or critiques on anything related to ACEOs, as well as to show off our latest creations, and for motivation among its members. There are now nearly 300 forum pages to this thread. A monster, indeed...

It was this thread that renewed my interest in creating ACEOs. The first result was my new ACEO title "Whale Tail." The second was that I finally finished one of my long overdue shadowbox frames for ACEOs.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. The only requirement is that they be limited in size to 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches. They originally evolved out of Artist Trading Cards(ATC) -- cards that artists would trade amongst themselves like baseball cards. But when, due to request from non-artists, people began selling them, the term ACEO was coined to differentiate them from the ones that were strictly for trade.

So, what else will that monster thread inspire me to produce? And just how long can it become? We'll just have to wait and see...

I'm in a Treasury!

2008-03-02T02:09:00.006-05:00

Woohoo! And I've finally learned how to take a screen-shot of a web page, too.

Big thanks to birose, one of the terrific Big Island based members of the Hawaii street team. There's a lot of beautiful things in this treasury, and I'm definitely flattered to be a part of it -- that's one of my bridal bouquets in the third row.

The Treasury is one of the cool features on Etsy. It's a place where members can create lists of their favorite items. Often, the curator of the particular Treasury will choose the items by theme -- in this case, by color. I've also seen them done by medium(art), inspired by famous -- or infamous! -- people, by members of the many Street Teams on Etsy to showcase members of their team. The possibilities are nearly as endless as the virtual line of people waiting to make one. They're supposed to be limited to only 333 lists, but if a whole bunch of people pounce on an open slot at exactly the same moment, the number of lists often shoots up much, much higher. Especially since a Treasury is how the Etsy admin find the items featured on the home page... they will choose a list that catches their eyes, and it will be on the "front page," giving great exposure to both the artists featured as well as the curator of the list.

"Happiness" is in the Eye of the Beholder

2008-02-29T03:59:00.002-05:00

kanji, fuku, silver
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

I've received multiple requests to add the character for "happiness" to my shop and craft fair inventory. When I was doing the research, I found several different versions -- some with completely different kanji characters from the one I've got here. So I have no idea if this is the one that people were actually looking for.

Happy New Year

2008-01-04T03:25:00.001-05:00

Nezumi, gold
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

2008 is the Year of the Rat in the Chinese Zodiac so I decided to make some pieces representing the new year. This kanji represents the Japanese word "Nezumi" which means mouse, or rat. I ended up doing this character in both silver and gold. I also made an ACEO (art cards, originals and editions) of a little mouse for the same reason.

To kick off the new year I will be at the New Year's Ohana Festival at the Japanese Cultural Center in Moilili. It will be held on Sunday, January 13th. This will be my third year there. The craft fair is actually across the street from the Cultural Center, on the large baseball field, and they will also be having food booths, kids' activities, and a stage -- they usually have dance performances, mochi pounding demonstrations, and taiko drumming.

It's a lot of fun. Last year there was even a shuttle that ran between the Center and the University of Hawaii, because the parking structure next to the Stan Sheriff Center was open to festival-goers, which is great because the street parking in the area is pretty limited.

If you're in the area that day, stop on by and say, "Hello!"

Creative Challenge # 77

2007-12-19T04:19:00.001-05:00

Winging It
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

It's been a long, long time since I participated in one of these challenges in the Etsy forums, but I'm glad I took on this one. The challenge was to be inspired by the word, "Flight."

"Winging It" was inspired by photos I've seen of Japanese cranes dancing and flying in the wild.

It contains 139 cranes.

Swap Meet -- Update on What Actually Happened

2007-11-03T04:47:00.002-04:00

Swap Meet Set-Up
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

Here's the photo of our swap meet booth -- before the wind really kicked up and played havoc with all of our set-ups. Our spot wasn't so great . . . only one other booth on our row as far as the eye could see, so we missed out on a lot of the foot traffic. It was great practice, though. And we did manage to educate a few new people (including one very nice man who bought something from almost every one of us-- and he also took some of the buttons and stickers that Etsy labs sent us to promote the site) -- about the handmade movement.

It was a lot of fun, more of a learning experience than anything else. I don't think any of us are ready to abandon the idea after only one try, and if nothing else, we learned how to set up a group booth!

Etsy Hawaii Street Team -- Swap Meet Sale!

2007-10-26T21:24:00.000-04:00

Well, it's finally happening this weekend, we're going to the Aloha Stadium Swap meet on Saturday to spread the word about Etsy (and maybe sell a few things). Martha from AmorDePlata has made a wonderful sign, I hope to have pictures of everything afterward.

We'll be there from about 6 am or so, won't know the exact location until we get there. And there's a University of Hawaii football game that evening, so the swap meet will be closing at 1pm to clear out for the tailgaters. If you're in the area, stop on by and check us out!

3DCranes is Now on IndiePublic.com

2007-10-01T19:09:00.000-04:00

After hearing so much about this site through the Etsy forums, I finally took the plunge and made a page. Indiepublic is a social networking site, kind of like MySpace for artists, designers, and people who like the "independent" arts. Personally, everything I've heard about MySpace makes it sound kind of scary, even though it's another promotion tool frequently recommended in the Etsy forums. I like IndiePublic, though, I received several welcoming messages within 24 hours of creating my page, and I now have more "friends" there than "contacts" on Flickr. Go figure. Oh, and I've already found a few of my fellow Hawaii Street Teamers there : Isabella Smiles, Keala Legacy, and Puppets and Pals.

I'll be running a separate blog on that site, and trying to keep some of the photos different from what is found on the Flickr site. Now, if there were just a few more hours in the day, so I can spend more time online as well as creating . . .

Speaking of creating, I've just listed my first new "art" piece for my Etsy shop in some time. And here it is:

So Many Things to Talk About, So Little Time

2007-09-25T03:23:00.001-04:00

That could have been the theme of our latest Hawaii Street Team meeting. I guess that's just what happens when people have something in common -- something they love! This photo was taken near the end of the meeting, and a few people had already left. From left to right: Keala of Keala Legacy Creations, Martha of AmorDePlata Jewelery, Kathi of IsabellaSmiles, and Angela of AMK Stitches. Missing from the photo are: Barb and Earl Sasaki from SasakiCreations and Wendi from YarnConfections.

This is the very cool bookmark I got from Wendi. I know it's not the best photo (my fault). It's made from a very thin yarn, includes beads, and is "gently hand washable" according to her tag. Hmm . . . looks like I may have found something for a couple of impossible to shop for people on my Christmas list after all . . .

We discussed how to better promote our shops and Etsy, of course, and it was interesting to hear all of the different perspectives. I was able to drop off my contribution to the thank-you baskets (boxes?) that Kathi was putting together for Cindy Cha -- the reporter from the KHNL interview, and for the Etsy admin in New York -- their gift was our thank-you for putting the story of our interview up on the Etsy newsletter, the "Storque."

For Cindy's thank-you, I included one of my origami crane star ornaments, in the turquoise/silver combination. I chose that one because it closely matched a bag that Angela had brought to the interview, one that Cindy kept admiring.

For Admin, that was a little more effort. I know the theme was kind of "island stuff" like macadamia nuts, coffee, that sort of thing, but I wanted to make something a little more special. I had a little left over orange foil origami paper from my graduation leis, so I made "Etsy orange" crane star ornaments. The color scheme was inspired by the Etsy.com logo, orange with white lettering. I used the silver rhinestones and a thicker, white ribbon instead of the 1/8" silver or gold rattail ribbon I usually use on the ornaments.

The "Etsy Orange" ornaments got such a great response at the meeting, I've made up a few extra that I will be listing in my store, eventually. For now, though, I'm waiting to hear when the Admin gift actually ships out -- I didn't want to post the listing, or photos of their "gift" until around the time they receive it. Not that I think they're going to come across this blog . . . lots of Etsians have blogs. But you never know who might see something you put out into the wide, wild world of the internet.

What's in a name?

2007-09-17T22:29:00.001-04:00

Red, Pink Purple Bouquet -- Top
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

Not much, I hope. I can't seem to think of a name for this particular combination.

This is the first wedding bouquet I've made in some time. I was having trouble finding the right ribbon color to use. Then I managed to convince myself I really needed a name for it before I could complete it. When I listed it on Etsy, I just included all three main colors in the title -- taking the easy way out.

The bouquet is the same size as my other hand-tied bridal bouquets, and contains 265 origami cranes. I'm planning to add more color combinations soon, hopefully they'll come along easier than this one.

I'm also finally getting to work on the matching bridesmaid's bouquet for the all-red bouquet I listed last month.

Oh, Christmas Tree

2007-09-13T22:05:00.001-04:00

Turquoise with Silver Origami Crane Star on Tree
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

Fortunately this is online and no one can actually hear me singing (or maybe slaughtering is a better description) that particular Christmas carol.

After the interview at KHNL (which aired last night and this morning) , I spent some time with Kathi and Angela, eating lunch and talking about, what else? Etsy! Their suggestions and comments were very useful, and have led me to begin making several changes in my shop. The retaking of the crane star ornament photos was one of them.

I love how this photo turned out. Usually I'm very critical of my photography skills, but I have to say this one is now one of my all-time favorites. I had a 4 foot artificial tree I'd purchased last year at Longs to use as decoration for holiday craft fairs, so I dragged it and the string of lights out of storage and used it for this shot.

By Special Request . . .

2007-09-12T16:33:00.001-04:00

Kanji, Believe
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes

This is another result of the Mililani Hongwanji Bon Dance/Craft Fair last month. A customer there liked the look of my "Dream" kanji but wanted one that meant either "believe" or "imagine." During my research, I found "believe," but the closest I could find to imagine was "imagination." I received the go-ahead from the customer on "believe," and completed the piece on Aug. 29th.

It took 201 origami cranes using the ex-small (from 2 inch paper) size. After I finished it, I realized I probably should have used the next size up in cranes, the ones folded from the 3-inch paper. Oh, well. I like how it came out, and more importantly, so did my customer.

Television Cameras, Nerves, and Etsy

2007-09-08T16:19:00.000-04:00

Well, I can't believe I actually agreed to it, much less did it. Kathi (IsabellaSmiles.etsy.com) managed to get an interview with KHNL (Hawaii's NBC affiliate) for their "Let's Talk Story" segment on their news, about our Hawaii Street Team. The reporter, Cindy Cha, choose to interview 3 team members: Kathi, Angela (AMKStitches.etsy.com), and myself.

The three of us carpooled to the station yesterday and it turned out to be a good idea, since we were all pretty nervous. None of us had managed to eat much, and I think we were all a little worried that we'd do something embarrassing, like pass out, or get sick on the air. (Good thing it wasn't a live broadcast.) We also wanted to make sure we represented our team well, especially for all of the terrific members who were unable to be on the broadcast.

It was great to see everyone's items in person, too. SasakiCreations, from the Big Island, sent in some of their work for a display of merchandise that was shot. It was amazing, beautiful jewelry and gorgeous woodwork (their ikebana vase was my favorite.)

Kathi's jewelry was just as eye-catching as ever, and Angela's blankets and bibs and baby bundles were just adorable. Her Wahiawa Dole Plantation Blanket was great (even to someone like me, who doesn't like pineapples), and the lining of the blanket was super-soft. It reminded me of an old blanket I used to have as a child, the soft , snuggly "security blanket."

The reporter asked each of us different questions, and we tried our best to highlight the many wonderful aspects of Etsy, but of course, we couldn't mention them all! And we did individual product segments in addition to the group display mentioned earlier.

Anyway, none of us passed out, and Kathi has already posted a few pictures taken at the studio on her Flickr page. I forgot to take my camera with me, so I don't have any shots .

I don't know yet when the segment will air, but when it does, it will probably be on the KHNL website as well as on tv.

Re-Organization

2007-08-31T12:10:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess it's time. My Etsy shop has grown to three pages long -- and the four sections I had been using were no longer working to keep it really organized. I had split the shop into the most basic sections I could think of: weddings, Christmas, art, and flowers. The Christmas section in particular was getting way too large, and with the addition of the unframed art, the framed pieces in the art section were getting lost.

So, here are the new sections. Unframed Art, Framed Art, Ornament Sets, Single Ornaments, Christmas (Non-Ornament), Weddings, and Flowers.

On the to-do list is the offering of customized framing "upgrades" for the unframed pieces, that will probably get it's own section as well. I'm still working out the last details on exactly what I will be offering, so it's not on Etsy yet, but hopefully I will be able to put it up before the holiday season.

I am also working on a couple of new art pieces, and a new ornament design.

Which came first? The Crane or the Egg?

2007-08-30T07:57:00.002-04:00

I'm paraphrasing a bit here. But in my case, it was definitely the crane first. After seeing the Faberge eggs on a History Channel special last Christmas season, I was inspired to create my own versions, using the origami cranes, of course. The first was one that used Swarovski crystal flatbacks, inspired directly by the "Coronation" Imperial Easter egg. This was the second design. As I build up to another Christmas season, I've been slowly creating different color combinations of this design.

Finding my way around Flickr

2007-08-21T22:26:00.000-04:00

I'm still learning, I'll admit that much. I only have one "contact." It's Kathi from IsabellaSmiles (one of the co-founders of the Etsy Hawaii Street Team), and she was the one who found me first. I just joined my first group: "3D Paper Art." I'm definitely not taking full advantage of all of Flickr's benefits, but I'm learning. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear them!

Update: On the Mililani Hongwanji Obon/Craft Fair
I'm glad I attended this one! Not only was it a lot of fun, but I got an early andagi fix -- usually I wait until the annual Okinawan Festival in order to indulge. Sure, there are places that sell andagi (like Napoleon's Bakery at Zippy's), but there's nothing quite like it when it's hot and fresh, just minutes out of the oil! Ooh, I know they're bad for me, but they taste so very good.

Another result of the craft fair is that I am working on a design for another kanji, this time, the one that translates into the word, "believe." I'm not sure what the Japanese word is, yet, I'm still in the research phase, but I did manage to find images of what the kanji is supposed to look like.

Christmas Ornaments are Taking Over My Shop!

2007-08-11T23:11:00.001-04:00

Well, maybe not "taking over," but close. I now have more items in the "Christmas" section of my etsy shop than in any other, as many as the next two sections (Weddings and Art) combined. Some might think I'm rushing the season, but in truth, it's just that the ornaments are much faster to put together than the other pieces, and so get finished that much faster.

Maybe I just have to stop working on the ornaments completely, to let the others catch up. Hmmm.

On another front, I'm waiting for the rain to clear up so I can work on more picture frames. Even though my workspace is sheltered, something about working out of doors with power tools makes me a little more hesitant when the weather turns. Or maybe I'm just grasping at any excuse to procrastinate a little more . . .

Mililani Hongwanji Obon Dance/Craft Fair

2007-08-06T01:34:00.000-04:00

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've never been to a bon dance in my life (unless you count the one time I happened to be at the Okinawan Festival when the dance started.) And, of all things, it's taking a craft fair to get me there . . .

For the last 2 years, I've been doing the Made in Hawaii Festival at the Blaisdell, but this year I decided to do something different. I had always seen the Mililani Obon/Craft fair on the calendar, but because it's always on the same weekend as Made in Hawaii, I never had a chance to attend.

The event will be held on August 17 & 18, Friday & Saturday, starting at 6:30 pm. The lantern parade and the opening ceremony will be at 7:15 Friday, with the dance itself running from 7:30-11:00. On Saturday, there will be a taiko performance 7:00-7:30, followed by the dance. The craft fair will be indoors, so if you're in the area, please stop by!

Mililani Hongwanji
95-257 Kaloapau St.
Mililani, Hawaii

Check out the new 3DCranes on Flickr

2007-08-02T02:21:00.000-04:00

I've been hearing a lot about Flickr on Etsy, and I finally took the plunge the other day and created an account (thanks to encouragement received at the Hawaii Street Team meeting last month). But I only started posting pictures today, partly because I've been a bit scatter-brained lately and couldn't find my thumb drive which contained my photos -- which, of course, turned out to be right where it was supposed to be the whole time. Oh, well.

Anyway, feel free to leave any comments on Flickr, and check back as I'll be updating with more photos, including shots of my "creative chaos," aka, what my husband calls my work space.

Here's the link: www.flickr.com/photos/3d-cranes

Etsy Hawaii Street Team

2007-07-30T11:57:00.001-04:00

I'm proud to say I'm now an official member of the Etsy Hawaii Street Team! This is a group of Hawaii sellers on Etsy.com that are "On a mission to spread Aloha to the world one creation at a time," as it says on the team blog, hi808etsy.blogspot.com. Our first meeting was on July 14th at Borders Bookstore in Pearlridge Center, and it was great to meet some of my fellow sellers.

Kathi (IsabellaSmiles.etsy.com) is one of the co-founders of the team. She makes amazing jewelry that really draws the eye -- just stunning. Another co-founder, (oops, I forgot her first name) is dmollison. She makes sock puppies, sock kids, and more, all very cute. The other member that was at the meeting was Angela (AMKStitches.etsy.com). She makes all kinds of baby items, like bibs, slippery blankets, onesies (my personal favorite on her site is the one that says "Green food equals green poop"), and more, including totes.

It was great to be able to put faces (rather than Etsy member avatars) to the names. All of them were great fun to chat with, and I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more from this team in the future.

Unfortunately, I guess the place we picked for the meeting wasn't the best (plus we forgot to describe ourselves, what we look like in real life), and so a couple of street teamers didn't make it to the meeting. I was especially disappointed that I couldn't meet Keala from KealaLegacy.etsy.com, and Holly from HollyvisionArt.etsy.com. Keala is another amazing jewelry maker (including some terrific island-inspired pieces) and I've been coveting Holly's vivid, whimsical paintings for some time -- I may just have to break down and buy one soon.

Please stop by the shops and check them out, and to find more from other members of the Hawaii Street Team, you can do a search for the tag "hi808" in the Etsy.com search.

Now Available: Art Unframed

2007-07-30T03:05:00.000-04:00

I've decided to list some of my art without frames on Etsy.com. I've done this for a couple of reasons. 1) It gives my customers the option of picking out their own frame, locally, if the black lacquer frame I normally provide wouldn't work with their home's decor. 2) It saves them on shipping costs, as well as item costs.

The first unframed art I added is the Kanji "Yume", or "Dream," in silver foil on an 8x10 velvet background. More will be coming soon.

Google Checkout

2007-07-21T09:55:00.000-04:00

I've finally added the option for Google Checkout to my Etsy shop. Google checkout is similar to PayPal, it's a service through which an online retailer can accept payments. To celebrate the change, I've decided to run a special: 10% of any purchase $20 or more, not including shipping (One item or a combination of items) -- if you opt to pay through Google.

Google is a little more involved than PayPal, mainly because it's not yet integrated with the Etsy website. To use it, you select "Other" as a payment method, then wait for me to send you an invoice.

I know that a lot of international shoppers think they can't use Google, but it's only the sellers that are limited. Sellers have to live within the U.S. or the U.K. There's a long list of countries where buyers can sign up for the (free) service. It's on the Google Checkout website.

I've always been told that it's never good to put all of one's eggs in one basket. That was the main reason I've decided to add another checkout option. I don't want to remain completely dependent on Paypal only. Only time will tell how it works out.

How to Create a Website Banner

2007-07-10T19:45:00.001-04:00

Hmm, the title should probably say, "How to create a website banner when you're a computer dummy (Like me!)" I've been meaning to get a banner for my Etsy.com store for a while now, but I couldn't think of anything I actually wanted to put on the banner, especially if I took advantage of one of the services that uses your photo files to create a banner for you (Several of these services are available on Etsy, as well). Then I was playing around with the "Paint" program on my computer, trying to create a business card, when I noticed that it could be used to create a jpeg image. So with a little experimentation, this is what I came up with:

1. Under the "Images" Heading, click on "Attributes". Here you can specify what units (inches, centimeters, or pixels) will be used to size your image. Choose pixels. Then enter a size that will fit on your website. For my Etsy banner, I put in the width of 760 pixels by a length of 100 pixels. Check your website provider for the correct size for your website.

2. "Draw" your images. This does take some practice if you're not used to using Paint. If you have photos you wish to use, you can add them in by going to "Edit" then selecting, "Paste From".

3. Click on "Save As" and type in your title. Then set the file type to JPEG.

4. Save, then upload to your website.

The Etsy banner I created is now at the top of this blog, as well.

SNS and a personal milestone

2007-06-30T16:45:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since i participated in the Saturday Night Special promotion in the Etsy.com forums. Now, I probably shouldn't be spending a whole lot of time online -- I mean, today is my wedding anniversary (5 years. Wow, has it really been that long?) -- so I should be spending it with my very patient husband. But I wanted to celebrate in my store as well as in real life. So, here goes:

Saturday Night Special (SNS). Good from 5pm (EDT) to
Free shipping on all items in my shop.

Super SNS (this is where the celebration part comes in)
In addition to the free shipping, I am adding the following: Buy (or custom order) any bridal bouquet, and I will take an additional 5% off every matching bridesmaid's bouquet bought or ordered at the same time.

The Great Etsy Experiment

2007-05-27T12:30:00.000-04:00

I've always heard that the best way to get exposure for my items on etsy.com is to list frequently -- something I've never done. But since it will be a while before I go to another craft fair, I have the time to try out this method. The plan is to list, or re-list, or renew an item in my Etsy store 2x a day. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon. We'll see if it helps. I plan to keep to this schedule for a full month.

Newest Projects

2007-04-19T01:30:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to listing my kanji in frame in my Etsy store. Kanji is a chinese character used to represent a Japanese word or phrase, in this case, it represents "Ai", or love. I didn't want to make it completely flat, so I used layers of cranes to help indicate what would be the proper stroke order if it were being done in ink.

I plan to continue this particular series, and next up will be the character "Yume", meaning dream. I tried to do "Heiwa", or peace, but somehow it just didn't look right. I think were just too many overlapping "strokes" that were hard to represent in the cranes.

Also in the works is a new series of leis, made from mulberry paper. I've had some comments that my regular origami cranes leis are a bit uncomfortable to wear for those with sensitive necks, so I wanted to make something a little softer. The sheets of mulberry tissue paper are cut down to size, then folded into cranes. I haven't decided yet where it will be listed online, in my Etsy store or on my regular website.

Saturday Night Special

2007-04-14T18:16:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've joined in the madness that is the Saturday Night Special (aka SNS) in the Etsy forums. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's a group of Etsy.com sellers that choose to host special sales in their shops from 5pm Eastern Time on Saturday until midnight Hawaii Time (6am Eastern.) Since I'm about an hour late at posting my sale, I think I'm on page 16 of the thread . . . shows just how many sellers do participate in this!

The details of my special are posted both in the forums and in the welcome announcement on my shop page, 3DCranes.etsy.com

Unfinished business

2007-04-10T05:24:00.000-04:00

Oh, what a procastinator I 've become! I participated in my first Creative Challenge on Etsy.com with #44, and #45 certainly seemed like it would be right up my alley. All I had to do was reveal a secret, or little known fact about myself in one of my works.
Okay. First thought: I don't have any secrets, not any that I'd want revealed for the whole wide world to see. Secrets . . . I was wracking my brain when the song "Masquerade" from Phantom of the Opera began playing through my head (shows what a music geek I am, but that wasn't the secret, it's a pretty well known fact).
"Masquerade! Paper faces on parade. Masquerade . . . Hide your face so the world will never find you . . ." -- from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera.
That was it! I'd make a masquerade mask from gold origami cranes. A venetian style mask that might have been worn during that scene. It would still be a secret, I thought, even though it wasn't exactly my secret.
So here it is. Already 24 hours after Challlenge #46 has been posted on the forums and I still haven't listed my mask on Etsy. It's done. I think. But it still feels like something is missing . . .

While I'm on the subject of unfinished business, I need to give a long overdue shout out to the very first customer to purchase from me: Whimsywool. I've included her address in my "Interesting Links" section below. She has the most amazing shop, full of beautiful, handspun yarn that I've been admiring from some time. Unfortunately, I could never do any of it justice. I don't know how to knit and it's much too good for mere "experimenting." Not to mention, anything made from yarn wouldn't get much use for as long as I'm living in Hawaii -- it's just too hot!