New Felting!

Felted Neck Warmer--Antoinette Gold and Blue on Etsy

I was pretty productive this weekend with the felting! I made 4 new pieces and added some to another one I had already worked on. The four new pieces are all on the ide of the one above. Of course they never come out exactly the same, which is most of the fun! I had a ball making them, and I love how many ways they can be worn. If you don't know already, I really like to make pieces that are versatile/convertible! I'm thinking I may have to make myself one of these, and I hardly ever keep anything! Check out the other new handmade items just listed at Frost on Etsy!

I can't wait to buy some more felting supplies! They are the most fun to browse through on Etsy, all those gorgeous colors and textures and all the ways to combine them. . . heavenly! I'll probably wait for some more sales before I go drop a big chunk of change on new supplies--I still need to get a new flyer for my spinning wheel because my son broke my current one! :(

And yes, I am totally procrastinating on packing things to move. It really shouldn't take that much, because so much of our stuff is already in boxes, but it's just so not fun! Oh, well--better sooner than later, because my husband has to work this week, and I don't want to be doing it with just Sage! :)

Collection Notes

Something Savage This way Comes
I have had SO MANY things swirling around in my head lately, but they're sort of coalescing into a collection of dark romance and slightly refined savagery. I'm hoping I can do these ideas justice--some attempts turn out to be offensive to the original idea.

Here's one portion of the inspiration. Right around 3:35 it gets really intense for me.


For this new collection, it's not really anything visual that's inspiring me--it's been more music. I've also been listening to "Disturbia" by Rihanna and "She Wolf" by Shakira lately, which intersects with this somehow--still raw, but it's kind of the industrial, insidious side of this imagined girl that this collection is made for--a contrast to her melancholy, wandering, earthy self. . . Needless to say, there will be leather, but there will be gauze; there will be metal, but there will be bone; black, but also brights. . . I'm really excited about this. Even more excited than I was about Haute Electro, maybe because I feel this collection will be saying something more personal.

Speaking of saying something more personal, here's some stuff I jotted around this idea as well. It's interesting to create in more than one medium--if I can't express the idea properly in one, I can try another!


The Hunter

The desert is the fulcrum of despair.
I ride my horse bareback, the wind
braided into my hair. From dark mesas

in the moonlight I see your horns, shadows
of your jaw--my love, my myth. Your mystery
whispers around the rocks, hushes

in a mountain stream. You twist out
of my grasp, wind through feathers. My father
warned me this journey was waste. I packed

my saddle anyway, packed my fur boots,
a wedding headdress. My wedding clothes
I rolled and left under my sister's pillow--

when I find you, you'll take me naked
in the river. I trust this truth. The wind
trails fingers through my hair.


So these are some of my seeds--we'll see what they grow to be.

Long Time No Blog

Wow, I have just gone missing lately, haven't I? Well the other part of my identity is assistant extraordinaire to my mother, who is the adviser to the senior class at our local high school. This week was their graduation and all the events that go along with it, and my time has been totally sucked up by that. But I have returned from the land of the graduates, and I just listed some new things at Frost on Etsy!


Hand Dyed Felted Gauze Scarf--Green Citrus

Cotton Gauze Adventures
I ordered some cotton gauze a week or 2 ago and I spent a lot of time ripping it and dyeing it--once that part of the process was done, I started felting on some of it, adding beading and embroidery. They're really summery, lightweight scarves, which is nice--plus, I just love doing anything with details and embellishments. That's the thing I enjoy the most about making any pieces, whether they be jewelry, scarves, or clothing.

I hope to have some new scarves and jewelry up soon--I've got some colorful ideas blooming in these parts and after I clean up from the whirlwind week, I'll be all over that!

Vintage Lucite!

Midway Brights Vintage Lucite Necklace


This is probably my favorite out of the seven new vintage Lucite necklaces I posted last week. I love the purple-ish color with the turquoise and that orange stripey bead is just awesome!!! I have some other great color combos going on in the necklaces in the shop--check em out at Frost on Etsy!

New Cuffs and Bracelets and Knitting vs. Crochet

I listed some new things in Frost on Etsy yesterday, and I have some more to do today! Lots of fiber jewelry--mostly cuffs and bracelets.

Adventures in Knitting
I'm thinking about breaking out the knitting needles today too--call me crazy. I don't have the best relationship with knitting. I mean, obviously keeping the proper tension isn't a problem, so evenness isn't an issue. But I just hate how slow it goes! And I don't know a lot of stitches, so I don't feel quite as adept. Like I couldn't sit down and make an improvised item like I can with crochet. I know how to increase, decrease, add in a variety of stitches--but with knitting I am a noob. Yep. A knitting noob. So I don't do it much. But I just love how you can get such an airy garment with knitting. With crochet, you can get a pretty lace pattern going, but if you want a light airy fabric with a really nice drape but fairly solid construction, you gotta knit.

And don't all the pretty yarns seem to be marketed to knitters? It's like crochet is the red-headed stepchild of the fiber arts. . . Despite that, I enjoy it a lot--I just want to have more versatility and options in creating my work. I taught myself to knit using the first Stitch n' Bitch book; luckily Debbie Stoller writes some pretty easy-to-understand directions. Some books I just look at them and I feel all tangled up even though I'm not even holding any yarn! So that's my endeavor for today, I guess--working on the knitting.

Sage News
Sage's surgery on his cleft palate is scheduled for tomorrow, but of course he woke up with a little runny nose and I had to call his plastic surgeon and let her know. Hopefully he gets better by the middle of the day, when she calls again. Otherwise, the surgery will be rescheduled. Which sucks! But I'd much rather have the wait for a safe surgery. I loaded him up on orange juice to rock that Vitamin C, and now I need to find out if there are baby vitamins! :) Hopefully everything will proceed as scheduled!

Scallop Headbands and Bursting with Ideas

I have been positively blooming with ideas lately! Which is nice, considering I was in quite the imagination-rut recently. For someone whose major enjoyment comes from writing poetry and creating things, when there's nothin' goin' on upstairs and that goes on for a while, I become a pretty miserable lady! But I made some headbands at the end of last week that I really like--that's them up above there. And also, a pretty Victorian-esque cuff that's made out of some jersey remnants from Salaam in Montpelier, VT. Plus a few little felted bits, some beads, some embroidery, and a trim remnant.

Yesterday it was all new yellows and greens on Frost, but today it's multi-color and bright (those headbands were new yesterday)! I am a total sucker for color even though I typically wear black and season with colorful accessories. In fact, that should be a post sometime-- "what to wear with your all-black wardrobe!" But it's getting warm up here in the Northeast and I am ready for raspberries and lime greens, aquas and oranges! I expect there will be a whole lot of color going on in the future for Atelier Frost on Etsy.

My ideas involve embroidered collars, patchwork scarves, and maybe even some garments!!! Up to this point I have only ever made clothing for myself, but I've been wanting to do some embellishment and reconstruction (and deconstruction) and even some making-from-scratch! So we'll see what comes of that. I'll be sure to keep you posted! Ideas are a balm for the soul!

New items, and I just bought 2 Main Showcase spots!

Yes, I totally babysat the Showcase Gateway on Etsy to buy two Main Showcase spots--one in a week, and one in two weeks! I figured I'd let myself get my stock up a bit before that. I've made a few new additions to my shop, and I'm working on more at the moment!

Take a peek at Frost to see my new items, including this one:



I've also got a great idea for a series of pieces--mostly necklaces, bracelets, and rings--inspired by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs most recent album It's Blitz. I'm in the "feeling the music/sketching ideas" phase right now, but there should be a few new things from that in the next week or so.

Shop Update: Just three items, but long overdue!

I have just added two sets of new crochet bangles I've just started making. This is the "Atlantic" set; the other is a bright aqua, red, and gold set. I also listed a cuff with a dichroic glass focal piece and some beading. To check out the new stuff, visit my shop!

I'm hoping for a productive week and some more new items added! I am bursting with ideas--it's just a matter of sitting down and working them out! I also have plans for some new stoneware pendants and other pieces. Stay tuned!