Black Friday Sale!!!

So, as most of you know, I have an etsy account (picpictewlikitpe.etsy.com) and they just instituted the possibility of COUPONS! This will be a limited-time thing and just in time for Black Friday.

In honor of Black Friday (and in a desperate effort to boost sales) I have created a coupon that will give 10% off your ENTIRE ORDER (minus shipping and handling) for the duration of the Black Friday Sale...

I am debating one day only or two days right now.

THE COUPON WILL NOT BE USABLE UNTIL THURSDAY AT 11PM, OR BLACK FRIDAY (for those who don't get to see this), NO MATTER HOW OFTEN YOU TRY!

They have this nifty "choose when to make active" thingy.

Here is the code, being posted only on Facebook, twitter, and DeviantArt for the early-birds, it will be posted on my etsy during Black Friday for everyone else. (Okay, I buckled down and posted it on my blog, too.)

The code is: B1KFR1D4Y

Enjoy the 10% off!

Please don't feel so neglected!

Again it has been a long time since my last post... I have been extremely busy launching myself off into the post-Graduation world. Still looking for a job, working my current job (ends in December!!!), and trying to work on my artwork.

In recent art-news, I have worked hard on creating a team on etsy for all First Nations people, (it can be found at http://www.etsy.com/teams/5948/first-nationsndn, but you have to be a member to see it).

I have also bee working on artwork for an art show happening in just two days! Busy, busy, busy. Really, how do you adult people do all this? And some with children in the mix?


NOW for some features!

Here are some really pretty earrings. This artist makes a lot of wonderful things out of wood (this particular listing can be found at Cripplecreekwoodwork's Etsy.com shop ). I would really recommend you go check this person out! There is not only jewelry on this site, but also a good amount of furniture and other fine crafts.

I really love the beautiful colors on this piece. I like the contrast of bright blue with dark purple heartwood. I hope you like them, too.

Looking for something colorful and bright? These beautiful floral pictures, listed here, on BackyardNaturePhotos' etsy site are divine. Looking for images of critters? Guess what? BackyardNaturePhotos has those too!

I picked this particular set because it put me in the mindset of warm days in the woods, something I would love to do now that chilly winds and drab, rainy November is upon me.

Looking for something fun and funky to decorate your place? In the midst of all the holidays that seem to congregate in the fall and winter months, these adorable, Victorian-inspired Owl Ornamens, found on this listing in lepetitreve's site are perfect. Each one is unique and you can get not only this set of four that I linked to, but a set of 12 of these cute little critters.

Why did I choose to feature these? Well, they definitely caught my eye when looking for Christmas stuff on Etsy. I love when people get creative like that!



I will be posting my own work soon, so don't go too far... or if you do, please come back soon!

~Picpic Tewlikitpe

End of Hiatus

I am greatly sorry for such a long hiatus. I have a billion (very true) excuses, but the fact remains that I have neglected you, dear reader. It has long since gone from pretty spring, through a very busy summer, and into the shivering dismal temperature and brilliant colours of fall. During spring and early summer I feverishly worked on my thesis (Passed with a "B"!) and then de-fragmenting after working in overdrive for so long. And my personal blog consumed me recently, posting recipes and random thoughts (which have nothing to do with art and thus are not posted here)....

Anywho, I have picked back up my art and basketry and am in process of twining another basket. I will be selling at an art show in Portland, OR in November. That is all for this brief update!

My Etsy

My DeviantArt

My Twitter

Back in the Swing of Things! Or, Today is a Japan day.

Now that my thesis and college days are through I am back in the swing of things. I am back to working full-time, not having homework to stress over, working on my art, and cruising Etsy.com for awesome things! Here are my most recent finds:

This adorable sleep mask was found at a lovely little shop, currently featured on Etsy. The artist makes demure lingerie, the kind of thing that is comfortable and is nice to wear. I read that she likes to use natural fabrics like silk and linen, which is an extra plus! The artist is based out of Japan, so international rates may apply.

You can find this artist at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Naomilingerie

This is one of many finds on etsy. A friend of mine is going to Japan soon for a teaching job. She is going to be an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in a Japanese school on the smallest of the four islands. I am looking at fun stuff related to Japan.

Speaking of which, here is my next find: Sushi candles.

Aren't they great? They are made of beeswax and look totally adorable. Yep, one of those things that I think are fantastic. I know I wouldn't have thought of making sushi out of beesewax. This artist has all sorts of other things up her (?) sleeve.

Another fun thing? You can actually burn these! They will only last about 1-2 hours, but still! It struck me as oddly humorous, though, to burn sushi. I guess people burn candles in all sorts of shapes, so it really shouldn't be weird. You know?

This fun artist can be found at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftycollegegirls

That is it for now. I am really excited to be back at my blog here! Soon I shall make and post new items.

A gray and cloudy Spring day

So I must think of brightly colored things. I like brightly colored things in general, unless they are violent green, burn your eyes out blue, safety cone orange, or such colours. I also like warm colours. So, to fight of the annoyances of gray cloudy days, I decided to blog about pretties.

Here is a wonderful example of bright, fun, warm colours.

I also love how the blue works really well with the red, and the white tips of the ends of the fins. I am a fan of the Beta Fish, also known alternately as Japanese Fighting Fish and Chinese Fighting Fish. I actually used to own a few that were really fun colored.

I am not sure if I would actually wear this mask... I would probably mount it on the wall so it can be seen. I wouldn't have many occassions to wear something this fun, colorful, or flashy.  That thought actually kind of makes me sad. I wish I had occasion to wear such a lovely thing.. and genuine leather, too!


You should take a look at her shop and her masks. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40582298 is the listing for this particular mask.


Another fun-colored thing to look at is basketry. Not my own, here, but a very talented lady who makes pine-needle baskets. Something I lack the patience for!

It doesn't show how warm the colors are in this photo, but it shows the pretty bottom to this basket, which must have taken so many hours that I wouldn't be able to sit still long enough to do it.

The stitchwork is lovely, creating beautiful patterns while carefully coiling the piece. This basket makes me feel all warm inside just looking at it!

This piece can be found and purchased online at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25312550



For Something a little different, here is an obsidian knife. It is the red in the obsidian that I am liking here. Something about it and the red bead with it just make me smile. May also involve the sunshine filtering into the background of the image.

This appears to be an obsidian with almost pink in it, but I think it is just the lighting on the red. A lovely knife that would look great in any household. The hilt is antler, I believe, and is also pretty, but I wanted a closeup of the blade.

This item is for sale, too! Because lots of the things I feature on this blog are. This one is, guess what, also listed on etsy.com.

Here is the listing for this particular item: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40892137

Happy spring, and may the rest of your day and your week be less cloudy than mine. Hopefully the weather will clear up enough to go flower-gazing at all the blossoming trees around here.

Picpic Tewlikitpe

Spring Is Here! :: Today is Purple

Hey!
It has been spring-y and sunny lately (though today there was a downpour) and it made me think of all the pretty things that I could be wearing in warm weather were I to try to dress up. These are the items I thought of.

Yes, this is my own necklace/choker. It is a really nice piece with a really lovely purple to it that makes me think of all the gorgeous flowers in bloom right now. There are purple hyacinths blooming and those are my absolute favourite flowers! Though not quite the same color as the beads, here is a picture of my favourite flower: the hyacinth in a lovely purple.

I hope you will agree that those are an inspiring flower. If not, that is okay. As a friend once told me, "Opinions are like noses, everyone has one and they are all different.

So after I looked at the pretty choker with purple that I am posting, I decided to take a look around at other pretty jewelry and items on etsy. There are an abundant amount of purple things, but I tend to like featuring artists that I find particularly interesting in my blog. Here are a few things that I liked and hope you will enjoy. It is an arrangement of things that, while not all jewelry, fit the color scheme of the day and the festive spring mood that I am in (despite the downpour I was in earlier).



The first is a floral-based design on a hairclip. I have stolen the following quote from the person's etsy listing for the piece and am including it here because she can describe better than I the design, background and care of such a lovely item.

"This one is a personal favorite of mine! I have one of my own and it's one of my favorite things to wear. It's a super adorable blend of colors - pale violet petals with barely blue tips, sea foam green leaves and an iridescent crystal center, all mounted on a black french clip.

Every single petal is made of habotai silk - hand dyed, hand folded and hand mounted by me with love, care and skill.
The bloom is just over 1.5" wide and the French clip is about 1.5" long.


---Kanzashi Background & Care---
Kanzashi are hair ornaments worn in traditional Japanese hair styles, most often seen adorning geisha or maiko. Flower kanzashi are called 'hana kanzashi' and the traditional technique used to make this type is called 'tsumami'.
All of my kanzashi are made using as many traditional Japanese techniques and materials as is possible. The few modern materials I use are only done so to make the assembly stronger for more liberal wear.
Even though these Kanzashi are tougher than they look and hold up very well, they are still a bit delicate by nature and shouldn't be worn out in the rain or high humidity."

You can find this description, more information, and this item online at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40565629. It is a really lovely piece and I kind of wish, had I money, I could buy it.



As I was stumbling and bumbling across the site, I noticed a really neat feather ear-cuff that I kind of really want but wonder when I would ever wear... It is a gorgeous purple and very vibrant. Looks like a lot of fun!

I don't think the purple cushion is included in the purchase, but if funds turn up this feather ear cuff may end up being mine. The shop has a lot of other really shiny, pretty things in a variety of beautiful colours. I picked this one because it looks amazing and I want it and the color happens to be the color of the day of this blog entry.

It can be found online at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40446713 and if you buy it before me I will just have to request my own version of it.


So looking at feathers and purple, I stumbled across this really funky and fun hair clip that I also want.

And what is not to want? Brightly colored, shiny, and definitely different, this piece is amazing! It says in the listing it is custom order and you have to specify if you want to wear it on the left or the right because I guess it only goes one way. Or at least by design.

Another person who makes a number of pretty and fun things to wear using feathers. It is a really pretty piece, and the others are too. This artist has everything from headbands to earrings to hairclips and more!

So you can go buy this one, or another one, at the etsy shop. This exact piece can be found at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41853952.


So this has been another long, vaguely rambling post in which Picpic Tewlikitpe talks about various beautiful, amazing, astonishing things and hopes that you read about it.

Happy Spring!
~Picpic Tewlikitpe

Check this out!

So, one of the artists I adore on Etsy is having a giveaway for one of their projects!

http://nighbluey.blogspot.com/2010/02/plaid-giveaway.html

It would be a great addition to any household and is a wonderful unique piece of work! If you wanna jump on it, this ends the 28th of February!

~Picpic Tewlikitpe

I hate Dress Shopping

 I am 5'3" and I am a size 22. Most of this is from medication that causes weight gain, three years of bad and greasy foods at the cafeteria, and sitting on my butt all day for the past four years (college, you know). However, because I am getting married this summer and for general health I am trying to change my lifestyle and loose weight.  But the fact of the matter is that most dresses that I think are cute are definitely not in my size and I dislike most of the ones that come in my size. Tragedy.  Thus  I hate dress shopping.

And because I hate dress shopping I have taken time from my normally scheduled basketry and studies to make one. It costs less, which is always nice, and it will be made to my liking and size without the embarrassment of the "big girl" issue.

 It was supposed to look like this:

But I wanted to make it without the pink tippets or the rows of tedious buttons. Tippets are the  funky sleeve things she has on them, and I have no patience for that kind of thing. Seriously, it would take a while.  Those take more precision. Aaaand the buttons are very tedious work to sew on as well as to button up when I wear the dress.

I  asked my mother, who has made one before, how I shuld go about doing it. She said "make it in panels," so I thought, okay...  make the skirt in panels and make the top with panels, too, so that it looks cool.


I realized about halfway through that it was not what my mother meant at all. She meant make the entire front one or two panels, and each side is a panel and the back is one or two panels. Oops. well, you have to learn sometime and you have to get things wrong to figure out how to do it right.


So, long story short it is NOT this dress, which I think is gorgeous, but it is The Disaster.





I made the brilliant decision to make the dress with no pattern, no pins, and no measurements. And with a fabric that shows every darn wrinkle... So The Disaster was born. It took me hours and I did the skirt and top separately. So far so good. Then I tried to stitch them together and add sleeves. Sleeve attachment is kind of really hard...

So THIS is The Disaster.

Note that all wrinkles are visible and every mis-stitch is in your face. It was not very exciting I am also making a frustrated face because I KNOW it looks like the kind of thing you give a kid for dressup when you know they are not leaving the house.

Or perhaps it is the dress you let them play with and tell them that it sucks. Any way you put it, even ironed out it was bad...


So, after failing, I had my moment of despair where nothings feels right and I thought I couldn't do it and I was frustrated beyound all belief. And went to bed.




The next day I felt a little better. But at the same time not because I had made myself sick with upset-ness. It was the morning of the dance and I had nothing to wear. So after taking a deep breath, making a smoothie, and looking online, I decided to try again.


I purchased some red suede at a cheap price, as well as some pins and a measuring tape (which helped IMMENSELY, and I cannot figure out why I was so foolish to try it without either). I ate a small breakfast and got to work.

It took me five hours of constant effort to get this done, but when I was done I was very pleased.

This picture was taken, of course, after the dance when I had taken off all of my jewelry and the jingly belt I was wearing.  The belt helped, really. It made it look better at my waist. Okay, at least I think so. The trim on the sleeves are a little off and they were weird. Yes, they are bell sleeves, but I like bell sleeves better than close sleeves. As for the off-ness: I notice, but everyone else said that you cannot notice.... I really really do notice. And the hem at the bottom is crooked, but with a long dress like this it is harder to tell that the length near the floor is uneven.

The dress was a hit at the dance. Everyone was really happy with it and were all "You MADE this?!" and Japanese students kept saying "sugoi," which means "cool," or "amazing" in Japanese. I was amused. I don't think it is praiseworthy, myself. It looks like a shift with bell sleeves, but looks a lot closer to what it was intended to look like! And (from when I started measuring to when the dress was finished) it only took me five hours. All in one continuous block.

Now that I have ventured somewhat into clothing, my friends want me to help make them costumes for an anime convention coming up. I hope I will be able to have fun and not die of everything... Yes. I hope those clothes will turn out better. I am no great seamstress

However, I think that I will not make clothing as a career path. I will stick to my jewelry and being a basket case.

~Picpic Tewlikitpe

Yay features

So, I like to check out the cool things on Etsy. It is a great distraction from Thesis, school, homework, job, and doing my artwork. The artwork I do takes forever, so one of these days will seriously be about the process of making what i do. A.K.A. basketry.

So this is a nice piece. It takes Victorian Lace and makes it something new and beautiful. If I could pull something like this off I would totally buy this. I think it is really really pretty! :)



Check this artist out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/hankietankie.







Here is an innovative person who makes fun wallets in bright colors! I think it is amazing to be able to do so with fabrics that would otherwise drive people insane.

This is one of the most tame of the patterns. They are beautiful, in all of their innovative glory. It can hold a ton of credit cards, a checkbook, and money. All in one place! :)


Check this person out! http://www.etsy.com/shop/KrazyFashion






Here is some beautiful Wedding Jewelry. I was cruising for ideas for my upcoming wedding and saw this beautiful necklace.

Something just feels classy. I like it. I don't know how to better explain it, it is just gorgeous!! The pearl works well with the crystals.



http://www.etsy.com/shop/liliswan








So there you have it, my latest scopes on etsy.com.

~Picpic Tewlikitpe

Features

So I am going to post more features before posting more of my own work.

This person makes amazing-looking soap that tempts me very much! Though they look edible and might very well be, as with pretty much all soaps I do not recommend you eat them!

These Mini Dessert Assortment Soaps, which look like delectable desserts, are made of goats milk soap and rumored to smell like they look. I would suggest keeping them away from children or scatter-brains like I am, or they will be eaten.

You can visit her at http://www.etsy.com/shop/soapopotamus.







Another artist to take note of makes some really neat antler carving. I am particularly fond of the carved rose in the image.

In the image to the right is the carved rose I was talking about. It is carved from genuine deer antler. By hand. I think it is absolutely beautiful! The other cool thing is that a deer was not hunted to make this item, but the antlers of the animal were taken after they were naturally shed. Which makes this immediately better in my book. Check this artist out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AntlerQLWear







Looking for a nice gift for someone who likes unique things? How about someone who likes small, adorable things? This next vendor is good at making adorable little miniatures! So jump right into the world of minis!

So I chose to show the sushi because my friends and I like to go out on "sushi nights" relatively frequently. And my fiance is obsessed with sushi. So this miniature is sure to please them, at least! Definitely a unique thing, yes? The artist even has an entire list of what to do with these miniatures.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/Snickerbug





So concludes this feature. Yup, the three are people on http://www.etsy.com, maybe next time I will feature DeviantArt friends or other fun things I have found.

~Picpic Tewlikitpe

First Feature!

These are amazing artists on Etsy, whom I have enjoyed their work and now want to share it!



The first is a ceramicist who focuses on masks. He found me and faved my mask on http://picpictewlikitpe.etsy.com and so I have decided to feature my favourite pieces of his. He can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaveBowen

I particularly enjoy the offset of warm/cool colors. I also enjoy how, while not symmetrical, it is balanced. I also think this mask is amking a fun, funky face that I can't help but smile at when I see it.







This artist, who is also found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/jstinson, makes all sorts of beautiful beaded Native jewelry. Her designs are lovely and I like the color choices that she uses. She is an amazing artist and here are a few of her pieces that I enjoyed. 

These earrings are adorable! They come in different colors, too, if pink is not your fancy.











 For my third feature, I picked an artist that has made a Native prayer fan that I adore. You can find her at http://www.etsy.com/shop/SeaMySoul.

This fan makes me smile. It has a lovely copper-colored face so at peace that I feel peaceful just looking at it. The beadwork compliments rather than detracting from the copper piece and all beads and metal work well with the wooden base.







I hope you take the time to visit these artists and look at the rest of their work!
Have a wonderful Friday and a great Weekend!

~Picpic Tewlikitpe

Welcome!

Hello,
I am Picpic Tewlikitpe. I am a Niimiipuu artist that specializes in Native Basketry, Jewelry and Fine Crafts. I love to weave and am inspired by the Old Ones who have come before. I particularly use Wasco and Niimiipuu designs, though altered a bit. My favourite pattern to weave is the "family" pattern with adult and child figures on it. My baskets are mostly made of yarn and hemp. Jewelry is strung on jewelry wire and any large beads are stone beads. I dislike most large glass beads...

The purpose of this blog is to write about my art, my projects, my ideas as well as other artist I find interesting. Most of these will be found on http://etsy.com and http://deviantart.com, as well as a few other sources.

To start this blog I am going to post images that are already on my site http://picpictewlikitpe.etsy.com, as well as http://picpic-tewlikitpe.deviantart.com.

This is an example of my work:

Lapis Basket Necklace: Lapis Lazuli on the beaded 'chain,' blue basket of blue homespun yarn on hemp warps.

 

Choker: White bone, amber horn, green marble, red coral on jewelry wire with leather ties.

Basket: "Sisters" from the basket collection. Tan and black yarn on hemp.

 

That is a taste of what I have made so far. You can view more at:
http://picpic-tewlikitpe.deviantart.com

You can view and buy your own pieces (including requesting custom pieces) at:
http://picpictewlikitpe.etsy.com

~Picpic Tewlikitpe