Tag: etsy

Rings on Etsy

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Etsy, gay pride, Hobby, JewelryLeave a comment

gold ring

I bought a ring mandrel specifically so I could make hemp rings.  I wondered if I could make them with the plastic lace, aka gimp, and I was successful as you can see in the image above, but the success didn’t last too long because I discovered today after wearing my gold ring for 3 days that it wasn’t as strong as I thought.  Well, to be fair I couldn’t stop playing with it.  I was constantly taking it off my finger and squeezing it.  I guess I squeezed it to the point that it broke at the seam.

Someone asked me to make some rings and hoop earrings and I thought how awesome would it be to make and sell rings on Etsy?  Since I had a bad experience, I decided against it.

I bought some steel tigertail beading wire specifically so that I could make candy cane earrings.  My idea was to use the wire to bend the boondoggle into a crook to look like a candy cane, but this wire wasn’t the right wire; it’s too thin and doesn’t hold it’s shape if bent.  I knew that even if it didn’t work, I could still use it for some other project.  Perhaps I could have used it to make a beaded ring, or perhaps make a beaded earring… the possibilities are endless.

As I was deciding against making the rings, I looked at the steel tigertail beading wire and I had an epiphany.  I could weave the wire into the gimp rings so they can’t come apart.  It just might work, or will it?

glow in the dark

One of the rings I was asked to make was with the glow in the dark gimp, so I took that opportunity to use the wire knowing it could be seen through the gimp.  Here it is.  You can clearly see the wire inside the ring.  The wire holds its shape which is a good thing to know because the hoop earrings I made didn’t exactly keep their round shape.  I mean, they are still round, they just aren’t perfectly round like this ring is.

It will probably be awhile before I make the rings and hoop earrings for sale if I do decide to make and sell them.  I want to test them out on myself first.  I am my only beta tester lol.  If I play with it, I am sure someone else will and I would much rather find out if it is going to be worth the price if someone buys it or not.  I would hate to know that someone had paid money for one of these only to have to toss it in the bin.  I like to know I am selling a quality product.

I will make another gold ring for myself because I really liked that color.  It will look exactly like the image at the top, but the only difference is it will have some wire inside which you won’t see because the gold gimp is not translucent.  I am really hoping this works because I got myself excited to wear a new ring, but I also got other people excited.  I also think it would make a cool pride ring necklace to have 6 rainbow colored rings like my own pride ring necklace.  Our gay pride is coming in October so that will be perfect to wear then.

Well I better get started with my new experiment.

Ring Sizer

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Etsy1 Comment

ring sizer

I have been having fun making keychains and earrings with plastic lacing aka gimp, but I also have fun making bracelets, chokers and rings using hemp.  Before making too many rings, I needed to buy a ring sizer so I knew exactly what size the rings were after I made them.

When making a ring using hemp, you have to measure the gimp on something round, like say your finger or a ring sizer, but I have found that the size you start out with, isn’t always the size you end up with.  Like take the 2 rings in the image above for example.  I started making both of these on the size 12 mark, the thicker hemp ended up being a size 9 and the smaller hemp ended up being a size 9.5.  That’s why I wanted a ring sizer.

These rings are specifically made without anything added, they are plain hemp rings.  I would like to make the rings with beads, but the problem that I am facing is that the seed beads that I bought are too tiny for the hemp to go through.  They are the perfect size on the outside, but their holes are way too small for the hemp.  My purpose for wanting to use beads was so I could make rainbow hemp rings with beads.

I am not sure anyone will want to buy plain hemp rings, but I will list them in every size (after I have made them in every size with both thicknesses of course) and see what happens.  If they sell then they sell, if they don’t then they don’t.  I will keep searching for the right size beads so I can keep trying what I wanted to try in the first place.

The ring sizer mandrel only cost $3 with free shipping from Etsy from DarcusTori.  It was a ridiculously low price with free shipping, but I figure I should take advantage while I still can.  Supplies end up costing me a lot more money than I am getting in profit, so the less expensive everything is, the better it is for me to be able to continue making things that probably won’t sell lol.

Anyway, I want to see about getting some better beads and I will go from there.  I think rings with rainbow colors would look awesome.  I’m thinking that I may still get some use out of the beads that I have by beading them alone.  Of course I will have to find a good pattern for beading now lol.  Ugh so many crafts, so little time.

I Recently Bought Lego Star Wars III The Clone Wars for PSP

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, PSPLeave a comment

lego star wars III for psp

When I bought my PSP in 2009, it was because I was taking care of someone and I needed to sit with them which meant I wasn’t able to play EverQuest as often as I would have liked.  In fact, I quit playing EverQuest altogether because of that.  I figured a portable gaming system was a good way to keep me occupied, and I was right.  I got the very first Lego Star Wars which was called “Lego Star Wars II The Original Trilogy.”  What happened to Lego Star Wars I?

I recently received a $35 gift card from Amazon for advertising.  You see that ad on the right?  Someone bought a VERY expensive camera from one of those ads and someone else bought a tv series on DVD and I got paid for it.  I wasn’t even expecting it and I was pleasantly surprised that I even got anything from the ads since I’ve had them for years and never made a dime off of them.

lego star wars III screenshot

Here is a screenshot of the new Lego Star Wars III The Clone Wars for PSP.  It looks just as fun as the original adventures, but I assume this is molded after the cartoon which I’ve never actually seen.  I am a huge Star Wars fan, but I don’t watch the cartoons.  It’s not that I don’t like cartoons because I watch The Simpsons, Family Guy etc., but I just don’t care for watching the cartoon channel.  I’m just not into it.  Maybe one day, but I can’t promise.  Although, now that I will be playing this, I might have to watch the cartoon to get references, if any.

I haven’t actually played with my PSP in a very long time because I got bored with it.  The Lego Games have always held my interest, especially the Lego games, so I am sure I will be staring at my PSP for hours on end for a very long time.  Of course that won’t take away from the other things I like to do like veg out on Facebook or make earrings for Etsy, but it will keep me occupied for at least an hour or so per day.  At least until the battery dies lol.

Check out the other games I have for my PSP.  I can’t say that I have gotten to the end of any of them because I tend to give up when I’m stuck.  Although, I don’t give up immediately, but if I’m stuck for a week, then I give up and move on to another game.  Like Daxter, I got stuck and moved on to another game, but then went back and figured it out, but then got stuck again.  I will give it another chance because I really want to make it to the end of that game eventually.  I have my whole life so I’m not worried.

One of the things I was looking at on the Amazon website was a skin for my PSP.  More specifically a Lego Star Wars related skin, but the one they had was only for the PSP 3000.  I have the PSP Slim 2000.  All the other Star Wars skins they have are either for the PSP 1000 or 3000.  I can’t win :(.  Oh well.  Maybe some day I might get the skin that I want for my PSP.  Until then, I get to look at a silver PSP.

Well I bought my game yesterday on Amazon and I have yet to receive an email notifying me that it was shipped, but the email confirmation of my order said that I should get it from August 12 to August 15, so I have a bit of a wait.  No big deal, I can wait.

Plastic and Stainless Steel Hypoallergenic Stud Earrings

On By Michel McDonaldIn Etsy, Jewelry1 Comment

plastic and stainless steel

Before I only had plastic, but now I have both plastic and stainless steel which is hypoallergenic.  I can say with certainty that they are hypoallergenic because I have worn them for weeks with no problems.  I always test the earrings on my own ears for a day, a few days or until I can’t wear them anymore due to my allergies and I haven’t had any reaction or symptoms of allergies from these metal stems.

The only issue with the hypoallergenic stainless steel studs that I have is that the rubber backings don’t stay on as well as they stay on the rubber stems. They came with rubber, not metal backings, so I don’t have metal backings to go with them. I have been looking for metal backings, but I don’t have any guarantee they will be hypoallergenic. The best bet for a customer is if you have a pair of earrings that you know the backings are hypoallergenic, use those. I love the stainless steel studs, I just don’t want to use them out of fear of losing them if the rubber backings come out. I always suggest to people to buy the plastic ones because the rubber backings hug the plastic stem, so there isn’t a risk of them falling off on their own.

My main reason for wanting to make these earrings was so I could make earrings for myself because earrings are expensive and I can’t always afford them.  Plus I wanted to wear something that I made.  I now have a huge selection of earrings and that is awesome for me lol.  If I get bored with what color I am wearing, I can always make myself another color.  Of course they aren’t sparkly, but I don’t really need them to be.

So if you happen to be looking for a pair of earrings, come to my shop on Etsy called GayNerd and I will hook you up with some at great prices.  Only $5 a pair for the studs. I do have some listings that offer a discount if you buy more than 1 pair, and I also have coupons every month. I love them, so I know you will too.

New Hypoallergenic Hooks from Uncommon Artistry on Amazon

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Daily BlogLeave a comment

michaels hooks vs uncommon artistry hooks

I ordered these “Hypoallergenic” Surgical Steel Ball & Coil Earring Hooks (X100) from Amazon on July 3rd, 2013.  When I bought them, I didn’t realize they were coming from China.  If I had known that, I wouldn’t have bought them.  In fact, I tried to cancel my order right away, but they wouldn’t let me.  I was able to click the link to cancel, but the drop down menu for the reason for returning didn’t have any options, so without a reason to choose from, it was impossible to cancel.  My other reason for wanting to cancel was because of the reviews saying these aren’t actually hypoallergenic which I did not read until after I bought them.

So what I did on July 4th was I went to Michael’s and bought some hooks because I was so excited about making earrings and I wanted to buy the hooks because the sooner I could make them, the sooner I could sell them.  But I found out that they weren’t actually hypoallergenic.  I wore a pair for a couple of days to test them out and my right ear lobe started to get infected.  I decided to just keep making earrings and when I finally got some hypoallergenic hooks from Etsy, I took all the Michael’s hooks out and replaced them with hypoallergenic hooks.

The earrings in the image above are the Michael’s earrings on the left and the “hypoallergenic” surgical steel ball & coil earrings from Uncommon Artistry on the right.  When you are looking at the 2 bags next to each other, you can tell there is a huge difference in the colors.  The Michael’s is like a silver, while the Uncommon Artistry is more of a gray or like a blue gray color.  They actually look exactly alike in the image above with the exception of the curvature of the 2 earrings.

I am testing a pair out on my own ears just like I tested the Michael’s earrings because before I write a review on Amazon, I want to make absolutely sure they are hypoallergenic.  If they aren’t then I can say that they aren’t, but if they are then I can say they are.  If they are hypoallergenic then I can use them and say without a shadow of a doubt in my description that they are indeed hypoallergenic.  Otherwise, I have to note that they aren’t and indeed mention that if you have allergies, don’t buy these, buy the hypoallergenic ones.

So I’ve only been wearing them for like a minute and my right ear is already starting to pulse lol.  It’s like I can feel my heartbeat in my ear lobe.  I’m not quite sure if my ear is still recovering from the infection from the Michael’s earrings.  I haven’t worn anything in my ears for weeks, or since that first test that I did.  I started wearing plastic earrings in those holes yesterday.  When I put the plastic earrings in yesterday, both ears were a bit sore and they were hard to put in at first because I think the holes started closing up or perhaps they were closing because of the (for the lack of a better word) infection juices were causing the holes to close.  LOL I didn’t know how else to say that.  Anyway, I had to clean my ears yesterday because the earring was a little red from forcing it through the back.  They are still sore, so if something is going to happen, it’s probably going to happen fast.

For reference, I finished typing this out at 2:25 p.m. on July 17, 2013.  Will update on my findings…

bent hooksQuality:  I have been reading the reviews and more than a few said there were some that were bent and the coil and ball were missing or whatever.  Well, I was curious to see if there were any like that and as I was putting the normal ones back in the bag, I was counting them.  I counted 112 hooks and there were only supposed to be 100.  But, I think that makes up for the fact that 4 earrings were bent, well, 1 of those wasn’t too badly bent, but well, you see in the picture.  And 2 of them were hooked together and as you can see 1 is missing the ball and coil.  I think I can deal with the loss of 4 earrings and I can unhook those 2 good ones and replace the ball and coil from one of the bad ones.  I still come out on top with 108 good hooks, well 2 of which I am wearing for testing that I cannot actually sell, so 106 good hooks lol.

Update 8:39 p.m.: I had to take them out.  I’m in agony right now.  My head feels tight and my jaw is in a lot of pain, more pain on the right, but in pain on both sides.  These are worse than the Michael’s earrings lol.  At least with the Michael’s earrings I was able to wear them for 40 hours, I couldn’t wear these for more than 6 1/2 hours.  Heck, I was ready to take them out after the first minute because the pain started immediately.  I will not be using these earrings, not even for people who don’t have allergies.  These are going in the trash.  At least it was only $2.32.  Next time I will make sure I read the reviews first.

Earrings for Men

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Etsy, Hobby, NoomLeave a comment

checkered 1

I’ve been so focused on making the keychains and keychain style earrings for women that I totally forgot that I actually wanted to make earrings for men so I could make some for myself.  I finally figured out how to make the studs out of the plastic lanyard “gimp” by only making a couple of stitches before gluing them and sticking them to plastic studs.

black and white 3

This is the pair that I made for myself, I made another pair to sell.  When I was a kid, my parents bought me a pair of Vans with the black and white checkered pattern and for some reason I’ve been a fan of the checkered pattern ever since.  I made one in every color, except for orange because when I mix the orange with black, the orange is translucent so it turns brown.  It’s not pretty.  So I have red, yellow, green, blue, purple and white with black.  I made them in all those colors to sell, but I will be making myself one in each color.

gold and silver I also have a pair in silver and a pair in gold.  The silver is a solid silver ribbon with a mirror finish in clear gimp.  The gold is different though in the sense that it looks gold, but it’s sparkly.  When you look at it and tilt it, you see the little color spots seem to change color with the lighting.  I honestly don’t know how else to explain it.  I would have liked to have bought some solid gold like the solid silver with the mirror finish, but they didn’t have any.  They had the same type of silver as the gold, but I wanted solid silver.

These studs aren’t just for the studs, ladies can wear them too, of course.  I also have the Breast Cancer Awareness pink color in solid pink, pink and white and pink and black.  Anyone can wear those actually.  You don’t have to be a woman to wear them, you can be a man who wears them in solidarity, or whatever reason you have for wanting to wear them.

pink 1

I am quite proud of my ability to make these earrings.  I have listed them on Etsy for a mere $3 a pair.  I didn’t want to ask too much for these earrings because I am not a professional, these are just a hobby and the only reason I am selling them is to help pay for a new bicycle so I can start losing more weight with Noom.  Which reminds me, I’m going to make some solid green earrings for myself for when I start riding my future bike.

So to respond to the men who have asked for earrings, here you go.  If you would like a specific color combination, there is a link in every pair of earrings listed for requesting a custom color.  Just tell me know which two colors you would like and I will make them.

I gained weight this week

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Diet, Food, Noom, Weight1 Comment

week_28-2

Well this sucks.  I actually gained weight this week.  A few weeks ago I hit a plateau at 197lbs, but throughout this whole journey I haven’t once gone up.  This is the first time I’ve actually gained weight.

I’m not worried though because I am confident that my weight will continue going down again next week.  Just the other night I weighed myself and I was 192.8 so this is just a minor setback.

I’ve been feeling a bit off today and yesterday.  I’ve been having dizzy spells and today I was dizzy and my stomach was feeling crappy, so maybe something is happening with my body that is causing me to not lose weight.  The only thing I can think is that perhaps the Michelina’s isn’t agreeing with me.  Who knows, but I am going to be strapped for cash this month so I can’t exactly afford to buy the weight watchers.

Perhaps it’s stress that I am unnecessarily putting on myself because I haven’t had a lot of views or sales on my Etsy shop.  Since I’ve been browsing other peoples shops and their items, things have been picking up for me.  People have been clicking favorite on my keychains and my shop, so perhaps being social will help me get some sales.  I was going to save the money from the keychains and earrings for a new bike so I can exercise, but if I have to use whatever money I get from Etsy for groceries then so be it.  I just put my Nintendo 64 on ebay, so hopefully I can sell that to help me with groceries, who knows if anyone will buy or even bid on it though.

I’m sure things will work out and next week I will have more weight loss.  Who knows, I might be 191 next Saturday.  I’m not going to expect it though, if it happens, then it happens.  If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t.  No big deal.  It’s not like I’m trying to lose weight to fit into a particular outfit by a specific date or anything.  I’ve been fat all these years, what’s a little set back going to do?  Nothing.  I have to be patient and know that the weight WILL come off eventually.  I got this far in such a little amount of time, so I’m happy with the progress I’ve already made.  No worries.

Until next week I guess.

week_28-2 Update July 15: A few hours after I posted this, I… how do I say this without sounding crude?  I found out that the reason I hadn’t lost any weight that day was because I had a couple extra pounds inside of me waiting to get out lol.  As Jessica Simpson put it, I had to drop the kids off at the pool.  I can still say that I gained weight because I was 193.6 last week and this week I weighed in at 193.8.  This morning I weighed myself and I was 193.0 so at least I am progressing.  I’m not losing weight as fast as I was in the beginning of my weight loss journey, but I am still losing weight and that is all that matters.

Exercise

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Exercise, Health, Noom, WeightLeave a comment

may 29 walk

I have really been neglecting my exercise throughout this entire diet that I’ve been on using the Noom app on my Android phone.  I have no excuse, but I really do lol.  With my degenerative disc disease in my spine, it’s difficult to walk long distances and I don’t have a bicycle anymore since my last accident which caused me to break my arm.  So the only thing I can really do is walk, which again is hard on my back.

Yesterday I took a vicodin and went out and just walked as far as I could with my Noom swag on.  I was in pain from the minute I left the house until I came home, except the pain was excruciating by the time I came home.  But, what other options do I have?  As you can see from the picture above, I walked 2.21 miles at an average speed of 3.4 miles per hour for 39 minutes and 30 seconds and I burned a total of 263 calories.  It’s not much, but it’s the best I could do.

I hope to get a new bicycle some day, but money is always tight so it’s really difficult to save anything.  I am selling the keychains on Etsy and whatever I get from that will be saved so I can buy a bike.  Of course, I probably won’t sell very many.  I’ve only sold 1 and the profit from that was like $1.87 or something.  So yeah, I don’t expect that to help me buy a new bike.

Until I can buy a new bicycle, all I can do is walk.  It’s free, although I don’t know how free because it does come with a huge cost, and that’s back pain.

I plan on going out again today because I know I should get SOME exercise lol.