It has been over 7 years since I posted something. Why is that? I couldn’t really say...but I will say that I forgot this site existed. Whoops! Guess I’m not cut out for this kind of thing; I’ll stick to creating the circlets.
When I re-found this website, I was absolutely aghast at how horribly atrocious it looked. Not just the design, but the photos I posted as well. Look at what the site looked like this morning:
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This is an essay that I wrote my freshman year of college. I am still really proud of it. It goes back and forth between childhood memories and young adulthood memories of magic!
Believing The wind blows through my hair as I weave in and out between different players. I look around for the golden snitch, hoping to win the game for Gryffindor. I see it glittering over by the goal hoops, and I accelerate as fast as my broomstick will go. I reach out my hand, the small golden ball centimeters away; I stretch and… “Jennifer, mom says get ready, we’re going to dinner in a little while.” I jump, slamming into reality. The sight of my room and the feel of the bed under me remind me that I am not at Hogwarts, but in my own room. For a moment I had lost my sense of self and had become Harry Potter. Sighing, I get up, returning to the real world full of normal things like going to dinner with the family, in a totally magic free world. I can feel the warm seat under me as I slowly dissolve a Werther’s butterscotch candy on my tongue. The gentle bumps from the road make me bounce slightly as my mind drifts out the window. I can see the sky, and I vaguely register that there are trees and foothills, but I am too low to see them clearly. The sky takes up my attention as I daydream about nothing in particular. Suddenly, my eye catches on something, and my breath stops. High in the sky, higher up than I’ve ever seen anything, is something flying. I know it’s not an airplane; it’s too high up, it has no wings, and is too small. I know what it is, though many will not believe me. That object flying so high in the sky is a unicorn, I know it is; it could not be anything else. I watch this regal and magical creature until it flies out of view. I savor the knowledge of what I have just seen, knowing that everyone else is wrong, and that unicorns are real. My hands type furiously, trying to get as many words down as possible before inspiration leaves me; sentences flow onto the screen with an ease that is shocking. The words magically change me into a wizard, my best friend into a warrior, my mother into a dragon, my sister Falon into a pixy, and my sister Nikki into a traveling minstrel. Adventure is around every corner while the characters use their individual skills to defeat an evil magician. My life now seems totally different. What once seemed to be a normal, boring life is now filled with adventure and danger. My character morphs into a different person. I am now more confident and brave, and I wish for a moment that I could be just as brave as my character, that I could help people with just a flick of a wand. I would never be helpless again. Fear is a horrible thing. It prevents me from stepping outside and joining my mom and sisters; if only I wasn’t afraid of my dog Hershey, I could go into the bright sunshine and have fun with my family. But my fear keeps me shelled inside, just like a hermit crab. I sigh heavily and go to my room, sad and depressed. While sitting on the bed I look around the room, trying to distract myself from my misery. My eye is drawn to my dresser, where a small jar filled with water and pink glitter sits. I sit up suddenly and I hurriedly go pick up the jar. I was told that if I shook it and made a wish, my wish would come true. I shake it, watching the glitter swirl around as if it had a life of its own. “I wish I was not afraid of dogs anymore,” I say. With confidence I go outside and I join my family, playing with my dog. I am no longer afraid, my wish has been granted. Dirt gets coated onto the bottom of my feet as my flip-flops stir up the sand, but I don’t care, it is all a part of the experience. The Medieval Faire is more fun than I imagined; there is jousting, sword swallowing, and stalls full of the most brilliant things. My eye is drawn towards all the swords, bows and arrows, and wizards staffs, but I know I can’t have any of these: I only have twelve dollars. Rachael and I go to every stall, admiring the quality and originality of the merchandise. At one stall my eye is caught by a silver necklace shaped into the likeness of a dragon claw, studded with green stones. Like a shark attracted to blood, the seller rushes over, knowing the look of a potential buyer. He explains that the necklace can open, and inside there is a stone used for magical purposes. The price: twelve dollars and no money left to buy food. My rumbling belly reminds me that I have not eaten, but I must have the necklace. I buy it. I turn to Rachael and laugh at my weakness for anything magical. I wake up with a start, feeling alive as I have never before; my heart beats wildly, and my mind is reeling. I am consumed by only one thought, “I can fly!” All my life I have wished that I could fly; I want to visit the castles that float on the clouds, to soar around and have adventures, and now I can! Last night I had flown down the hall. I remember the beige carpet under my feet and the light shinning down on me. All I had done was jump up, and I had taken off, soaring down the hall with ease. I tumbled down the ladder from the top bunk of the bed that my sister Nikki and I share, feeling the cold metal on the bottom of my feet. I stepped out my door and looked down the long hall. Smiling with pure joy, I gleefully jumped forward. I landed on my feet. Immediate knowledge hurdles into my mind, unwanted and devastating; “you can’t fly, it was only a dream,” it says. I want to scream in frustration, to say that I could fly, I could. The wind whips my hair out of my face as I stand with my eyes closed, facing the sun. The breeze is so invigorating that I feel as if I could jump up and fly away; my spirit soars and I feel as though I could accomplish anything. I breathe in, knowing that this is real magic, the magic of feeling as though I could stop wars and eliminate world hunger. I must believe in this magic, for without it I would feel desolate and overwhelmed by everything bad that is happening in the world. I hold on tight to that which does not really exist, knowing that I need it to survive. I hold on to this blissful magic with a strength that will never fail; I will persevere. Usually I am not all that into presents during Christmas. I prefer to send fun quality time with my family. But there are a few things on Etsy that are grabbing by attention, and I just have to share a few! :D Faerie Realms Calendar: You have to see some of Susan Schroders work! She takes her own photography and edits them beautifully to make fairytale scenes. View the calendar and the rest of her work here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/56357909/susan-schroder-2011-faerie-realms Charlemagne Necklace: I love this little shield necklace made out of polymer clay! It has history and is very fashionable. I wish I could have one made with the Hogwarts coat of arms! :)http://www.etsy.com/listing/56025698/charlemagne-necklace Fairy Sign: This one just makes me giggle! http://www.etsy.com/listing/60183799/dont-piss-off-the-fairies-fairy-metal Autumn Fairy Queen: Beautiful fairy silhouettes by Liza Lambertini: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LizasWhimsicalArt I have recently (out of boredom) started to photoshop mself into classic princess characters. So far I have sleeping beauty and snow white, but more will come! Belle:Cinderella:I had a scary dream last night, and I just have to write about it because it might seem less scary written down, you know how it goes. Anyways...this is not suitable for children due to gore and violence.
First off, let me tell you of the things that I "knew" in my dream (don't you think it is strange how we know things without ever being told in a dream?). First of all it was in present times, and it was a world where vampires exist and people knew that vampires existed. There wasn't any other magical creature known to the general population or anything else out of the ordinary. Though magic wasn't known to exist to others, I had my own powers, though I'm not sure of what I was capable of. I knew that I could run really fast because on a little side adventure (the dream sort of split at this time) I was being chased by two vampires who had death on their mind, and I could outrun them (barely) even though they could "flit" (go fast in spurts, but have to stop each time they needed to breathe, though as vampires I don't know why they would need to breathe, whatever.) The dream started out when I saw from the narrators point of view (top of the scene outside my body) two vampire 'brothers' (they weren't really brothers, but lived together like brothers like the Cullen family in Twilight) in a bathroom fighting hard core. Pretty much all I can remember is one of the brothers tearing out the neck of the other with his vampire fangs. Then WHAM! I was back in my body where the deathly injured brother stumbled out of the bathroom and collapsed on the floor bleeding all over the place. I shouted for help, and people poped out of doorways, but were too scared to actually do anything. I think I may have know the two vampires closely, but I can't be sure. Okay, so far it has just been little scenes that don't mean much, creepy and frightening as it was at the time, it is nothing compared to the long part of the dream... Dusk had fallen and a group of us were out in the woods. I was given the task of keeping everyone there from staying in the clearing and not trying to back out of what was going to happen. Even I did not know what was going on, but my 'siblings' trusted me completely. Everyone else there was a vampire, and they all thirsted for blood and violence. i was able to keep people from running because I was quicker than anyone, faster than a cheetah. The reason everyone came was unclear, only a select few were in on what was to happen during the ceremony, the rest only had bits and pieces of what was too happen. A cage was set up, and a young girl of about eighteen came forward, happy to be in this important ceremony. She was plump and had brown hair, not a vampire, and known to be eager for attention and popularity. She got in the cage, a little frightened, but naive to what was really going on. She must have thought this all a sort of sham thing made to frighten the others. The two in charge came and chained themselves to the cage. Then they started chanting, and the girl in the cage started screaming in pain. Suddenly there was a flash of silver and two knives appeared in the hands of the two in chains as they slashed down onto their own arms and poured blood onto the ground around the cage and the girl who was now screaming louder than ever and writhing in pain. Some of the people fled, scared of what was happening, and my task was forgotten in the pure terror of what was going to happen next. The girl in the chains was enveloped by white light, and suddenly her screaming stopped, we could see again. The cage was no longer occupied by the plump girl, but my a small creature who was similar in appearance to a young child, but looked like an angel. She was glowing a soft white color and drifted off the floor. We all stood transfixed at her, I thought she was the sweetest looking thing I had ever seen, but deep down I was terrified, because how could so much pain and blood create something sweet and innocent. Just as these thoughts were crossing my mind, the little creature burst out of her cage, flew at one of the bystanders and slashed her completly in half with no effort. No one stood waiting around. It was clear to the makers that they had done something horrible, for they were supposed to have control over her. The creature flew off after some that had fled, and I next saw her in town. She was casting spells at this time, ruining peoples lives like it was what she was made for. Suddenly she spotted me, and she grinned. It was such a sweet smile from something so evil that my heart nearly burst in terror. And I ran like I had never run before. I made it back to the clearing where it had all started, and by that time she had caught up to me. How could I defeat something that was so powerful? She sliced someone in half like a normal person would flick a fly of their shoulder. My heart was thundering in my chest, and my mind could not settle onto a single thought. But still, when she attacked, I fought. Powers I didn't know I had sprung to life, and lights flashed and danced. And then...I started to wake up, go figure. So I end on the note that I think I won. But anyway, the creature was super creepy, and it freaked me out so much that when I woke up at 5:30 in the morning, I couldn't go back to sleep. Everytime I closed my eyes I saw her slashing people, and I saw vampires ripping out throats. It was gross and disgusting, and I haven't even read or watched anything remotley bloody! Not even anything with Vampires! And I still don't know if I was a good guy or a bad guy to begin with, and I hate to think that I was bad. Hopefully tonight I will dream of something a little more pleasant, like the time I dreamt I was a dragon... I just went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal, and it was amazing! I felt like I really was in Hogsmead. But everything was so expensive! In Zonko's joke shop, they had some of Fred and Georges' inventions, and I thought that I would try my hand at making cute containers in the Weasley fashion (or Beasley in my case) as an alternative. My first creation was the box containing the Daydream charm. I started out with a small cardboard box that I bought for $1, I painted it a cream color, then glued on cream and pink girly paper. Next I found a picture of a "handsome youth and swooning girl on a pirate deck," as is mentioned in the Harry Potter books, and photoshoped it. Then I created the description of the item, which is taken directly from the books. Then I put a glaze over the whole thing. And voila! It is complete and ready to be put on display! I'm starting something new this month, 50% of each item price for anything I sell in the month of September is going to the Light the Night Walk benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! So far I have raised 25 dollars for the fund, and it will go to fund research to find a cure for blood cancers and to help patients. I actually work at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, but this was actually my eldest sisters idea. If anyone wants to view my progress or make their own donation, please visit my fundraising page: http://pages.lightthenight.org/ncfl/Orlando10/JBeasley
The Walk itself should be tons of fun! It's October 2nd during the night, and each walker will get an illuminated balloon. I will be going with my sister Falon, my brother-in-law Touch, and my nephew Parker. Each of us has the goal of raising 100 dollars (even Parker is trying, and he is only five months old!) I stumbled upon a fairy circle the other day, and my curiosity was so great that I was tempted to step inside it and travel to the realm of the fairies. But my mother has always warned me against entering fairy circles, and I can see her reasoning.
For one, time is different in the fairy realm, what seems like only days there is actually years here, so if you do manage to come home, chances are your friends and family are long gone, and the world is a different place. Eating the food of the fairies is a very bad idea, for it will make you forget about your world and everything you love. But most importantly, fairies are mischievous and a little bit evil. They play cruel pranks with no remorse or control. They lure travelers into traps that sometimes lead to their death. They have no concept of right and wrong, and therefore you are in constant danger. They are not fond of humans and so would not welcome you into their world with open arms. So if you stumble across a circle of mushrooms, or even a circle in the grass or one of rocks, DO NOT ENTER, for if you do you are likely never going to return. (pictured above is my Naughty Nymph Circlet, which was inspired from by glimpses of the fae, click here to view: http://www.etsy.com/listing/50675870/naughty-nymph-hair-accessory This is a Photoshop tutorial to fix a regular photo into one that looks professional! It’s just a few things that I like to do with all my photos to enhance the quality. The steps are for the CS2 version of Adobe Photoshop. Enjoy. Crop for an interesting angle. I make my photos as square as possible because that is the format best for Etsy.com Go to “Image” and click individually on “Auto Levels,” “Auto Contrast,” and “Auto Color” Spot Healing Brush. I love using the spot healing brush to get rid of all my blemishes. Choose the band-aid looking tool and click on each blemish. Watch acne, freckles, and moles disappear! To get your skin looking extra smooth, duplicate your original layer(“layer”-“duplicate layer” or right click on “background” layer and choose “duplicate layer”), then select areas of your face with the magic wand tool (looks like a wand), then go to “filter”-“blur”-“gaussian blur,” and choose a low level between 1 and 2. Keep selecting parts of the face and blurring it until you are satisfied. Then choose the eraser tool and erase around the eyes and nose to bring back details so you are not a blurry mess. Right click on your original background layer and choose “merge visible,” or go to “Layer”-“merge visible.” To get a white background: Duplicate your original layer again (“layer”-“duplicate layer” or right click on “background” layer and choose “duplicate layer”). While on the new layer, go up to “select”-“color range”, this will pop up a new window, click anywhere on the background (set fuzziness where you want, I usually have mine from between 40 and 70), click ok. Go to “Image”-“Adjustments”-“Levels.” A window will pop up, go right below the graph, click the little middle triangle, and drag it all the way to the left. This will brighten the background. You may need to repeat the steps (from the selecting color range step) to get the whole background (deselect area first each time). This will most likely make the person in the image have splotchy white areas, so once you are satisfied with the background, choose the eraser tool and erase all the splotchyness away. Right click on your original background layer and choose “merge visible,” or go to “Layer”-“merge visible.” Smooth and lighten photos: Go to “filter”-“distort”-“diffuse glow.” Choose your own settings because each picture needs different amounts. This photo is 0 “graininess”, 1 “glow amoun”t, and 12 “clear amount.” Now to make the eyes pop out! Choose the dodge tool (looks like a lollipop). On the settings, make sure it is set on midtones and about a 25% exposure, then “color” your irises. It should make your eyes look lighter. Do this on the whites of your eyes as well. Next choose the burn tool (hold down on the dodge tool button to pop out a menu and choose the hand), change the settings to that of the dodge settings, but this time only “paint” the outside of the irises (you will need a small brush size). If you want darker eye make-up, go around the outside of the eye (choose a larger brush). Last step! Go to “Image”-“Adjustments”-“Brightness/Contrast” and increase the brightness and contrast a small amount. This is just my unofficial way of enhancing photos. There are many different ways, and you can skip any of the steps if you feel it is not necessary. Come back soon for more simple tutorials that can make a huge difference! It is fascinating that selling handmade items online (such as on Etsy like I do) reaches around the globe. I have sold items to people in Japan, Australia, Greece, and so many other wonderful places, not to mention all the differerent cities in the U.S. I always wonder where people are going to wear the circlets they buy from me. Many will be weddings, but what about the others? There are medieval fairs, masquarade balls, and one customer even said she wears hers as an accessory for everyday wear. And of course, wearing circlets and headpieces is also great for Halloween costumes.
I would ask every single person where they are wearing their headpiece if it didn't make me seem so nosy. Not everyone wants to talk to the seller, and there is no way of knowing who would or would not want to converse. If any of my customers are reading this, then could you please tell me why you bought the circlet? I would love to know a little about you! |
About MeCrafter of wedding circlets, mermaid headdresses, jewelry, wands, and medieval head pieces. Archives
March 2011
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