Friday, May 25, 2012

MOVING!!

Hello everyone!
As wonderful as this blog has been, it's time to move! We can now be found at melissadawnmakes.wordpress.com!

Thanks, and see you there!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Month of April Giveaway!

Yay giveaways! Who doesn't like free stuff? It starts on April 1, and will end on April 30. The winner gets a free pair of Simply Bold Infinity Twist Fake Gauges in the color of their choice, and if you refer the winner, you also get a pair of Twists in the color of your choice! So, share away, good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor! (I had to...I really really like those books...)


Monday, March 5, 2012

KiraKira Con 2012

KiraKira Con was fun! I got to meet some awesome, fun people, and one of my best friends in the world came with me to help run the table.
Here are some photos of the table! I'll be putting up more pictures of people later!






Monday, February 27, 2012

Look! An ongoing $20 gift certificate giveaway!

HOW TO WIN STUFF!


 *ahem* now that I have your attention, I'd like to announce the "Customer Appreciation Photo Drawing" where you can tag Lyssa's Stuff on a photo on Facebook of you in your Lyssa's Stuff jewelry, and be entered to win a $20 gift certificate for Lyssa's Stuff! Every time 20 photos have been tagged, I will draw a name from that pool using a random number generator. So, you always have a pretty good chance at winning!



**Rules**
The jewelry has to be from Lyssa's Stuff
You can't tag the same jewelry twice
You may tag each piece of purchased jewelry once (If you bought two pairs of earrings, you get two chances to win if you tag both photos!)


Like us on Facebook!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Sick days

For the past couple days, I've been valiantly fighting against a really nasty cold. And by "valiantly fighting," I mean sleeping. And drinking plenty of lemon juice and honey. Lemon juice to kill the stuff that's hurting my throat, and honey to make swallowing not painful; what's not to love?

In my ditzy sick mind, the honey makes a "bloop" noise when it goes in the lemon juice.

Now there's no more honey.

But that got me thinking (what else am I going to do when just getting up is exhausting?) about keeping bees. I really like bees. The fact that commercial bees, the kind that are shipped around the country to pollenate fields, are being fed nothing but sugar water on the trip is just sad! It's like feeding a baby Mountain Dew and expecting it to turn out healthy.

If I were to get a house in a neighborhood, I'd love to be able to keep bees. They'd be able to pollenate nearby plants, and produce honey. Now, honey isn't just helpful for sweetening things. Apparently, taking a tablespoon of local honey a day before allergy season can help reduce allergies! No, it's not proven, but I'd be willing to give it a shot!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Books Galore!

So in preparation for my new shop, I've been reading many, many books, and I wanted to share with you some great titles! Many of these are considered children's books, but I feel like they still have special meaning and significance when read at any level of maturity.

My list this far since January!
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Cinderella Henry W. Hewet's version
The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura
As You Like It by William Shakespeare (I know, it's a play, but still!)
Beauty and the Beast Unknown (but the beast is such a gentleman!)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Little Prince by Antoine du Saint-Exupery

I've included links to all these books on Amazon so you can read about them! Also, don't be fooled; many of these books have movies. The books are NOT like the movies. I always encourage people to read the book, view the movie, and find what's good about each as an individual art form. :)

Right now, I'm making my way through Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (we've run aground in Torres Straits).

As intimated in my last post, I'm making jewelry designs (pendants and/or earrings) based on books. I don't have designs for all of them yet, but a good few! And I've decided I'm going to make smaller bookmark necklaces in white bronze, with the children's book themes.

Every time I switch books, I've been marveling at my bookshelf; it holds about fifty different worlds on it, and still stands strong!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Back From Break!

Hello everyone!
Hope you had a wonderful break, I did! My parents and boyfriend and I went up to Boston to see Peter Pan 360. OH my goodness did I love that performance! Not to mention that Peter Pan is one of my all time favorite books.

So, some New Year's News!
This year, I will be opening up a new shop, as well as getting a website up and running!

I am excited to announce the impending opening of my new store, Towee, this spring! Those of you who are familiar with Lyssa's Stuff (and those of you who are not) will find that Towee takes my jewelry collection in a new direction. Every piece in Towee is inspired by a literary quote. Some are quotes about books, but most are quotes from books. The quotes from books are those that have stuck in my head for years and have in some cases caused no end of contemplation.


The pendant pictured above provides an example of the sort of thing you can expect to find in Towee. The image on it is inspired from a passage in Peter Pan, one of my all time favorite books. Remember how Peter and Wendy exchange kisses (his an acorn, hers a thimble)?
I drew the image of the kisses, then hand carved a stamp to impress the design on PMC (precious metal clay). The back of the pendant has the chapter number where the image reference can be found, and my maker's mark. Once fired, the clay turns into fine silver to which I apply a patina for a weathered, well-loved look. I have many other pendants of the sort coming to the shop. I will also work with my clients on commissioned pieces, just as I have in the past.

By the way, note that this pendant style is not just any old pendant. If you are reading your favorite book and are called away, you may remove the pendant from its necklace and hook it onto your page as a book mark! I expect this will make it an inspired gift for your well-read friends, especially if accompanied by the book referred to.

Now you may wonder why on earth I have named the shop “Towee.” No, the inspiration was not the bird, nor the boat. The story comes from my earliest days of speaking, when I was not yet two years old. I was in the baby seat in the back of the car, my dad was driving. According to him, I said, “Daddy, towee.” He tried several times to guess what I was trying to say, but never succeeded. He quit, and we both traveled in silence a while until I said, “Daddy, li-bu-rary, book, towee.” He finally understood that I wanted him to tell me a story while we traveled along. That moment has become family lore, and “story” has been “towee” ever since.