Busy day

I got some pennies together and bought a drill. This means I can use some stampings I have in my jewelry! I almost drilled through my finger on my first attempt but I have now mastered it and hopefully this opens up a whole new style of jewelry for me :)

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

A snowy morning in the Spring.

My cat woke me at 6am the other morning by jumping onto my face and grumbling. He normally does this to be let out, but I'd already been downstairs at 5am to do this. I got up again and looked out the window to discover it was snowing!! He hates the snow so imagine he woke me up in a fit of disgust.

Normally, snow would be exciting but we had the coldest winter in almost 50 years and my heating was broken for the whole thing. The sight of snow made me want to burst into tears. The house was just starting to warm up and then snow came out of nowhere. Disaster.

I was wide awake with nothing to do so I decided to walk into work. It takes about an hour to walk into the city from my house. I took a few detours and went the pretty way. I like wandering around before everyone else gets up, it's so quiet. I took some photos on my travels. I sometimes use pictured of old Dublin as inspiration for some of my jewelry.

I've had 2 weeks from hell so I haven't been making that much. Believe me, all I want to do is curl up in my chair at my table and make some stuff but just before St. Patricks day everything went crazy, and then got crazier, and I just haven't had time. Everything seems to be settling down for the time being but I have a funny feeling it will all kick off again soon. I suppose I better make as much as I can before this happens :)

XX MM

Killing Time....In a good way!

I have been a buyer on Etsy for a couple of years. It was only a few months ago that I decided to start making things again. I suppose it is because I am working way less hours now than I have been in the last 6 years. I'm normally super busy so having so much free time made me a bit antsy. I decided to start making jewelry/ embroidery again. I loved doing this when I was a teenager and it really burns up time and energy which is just what I need right now. It has always been my dream to have my own store and I figured an online store is the closest I'm going to get so I set up shop on Etsy!

I tend to go through phases of making one particular style of item. For instance, right now I can't stop making lacy brooches! I have made about 15 of them at this point. Despite being small (about 5 inches circumference) they take HOURS. This because I do them totally from scratch. It involves lots of fiddly stitching and if I decide to add some tassles I hand make the chain which involves lots of wire bending and pricked fingers! The end result is worth the bleeding thumbs though :)

I think I can spot my next phase- hair accessories. I made a headband for the first time the other day, I also made a hair comb, you know the ones that you can place on the side of your head when you have a lovely up do? I can't wait to make some more. I just have to wait until the next flea market is on so I can pick up some antique castings or broken vintage jewelry that I can add to them to make them special.

XX MM

My "Studio"

This is where I do my work. My camera is dying a slow and painful death and refuses to unblurred picures anymore but you get the idea. I'll post better pictures of my workplace when I buy my dream camera! I prefer working at night time, I am so much more productive after 8pm!

And so it begins....

Hello friends! My name is Madame Mortalitas (well, not really but it's more interesting than my real name). I am from Ireland, a small country in Europe, best know for leprechauns and U2. I'm starting this blog so that I can hopefully make new friends in the Etsy community and let people who have hearted my shop know when I have new things and see what I'm working on. I opened my Etsy shop a few months ago. I only have a small number of sales but I am hoping with time that I will learn some new skills and make pieces that people will fall in love with :)

My main inspiration comes from my love of the Art Deco and Victorian eras. I collect everything I can find from these time periods. I have built up quite a hefty collection of teapots, sugar cube pickers, button openers and post mortem/mourning photographs! I spend a lot of my time reading about Medieval history. My favorite aspects to read about are witch hunts and the plague. I hope to have some of my newer handmade items reflect my interest in these.

I'm quite awful at writing about myself so I'll keep it short. Please drop by my store and my facebook and keep in touch.

XX MM

Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MadameMortalitas

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Madame-Mortalitas/103666202999549