Custom Orders

 I love getting custom orders!

My most recent was from a friend who is working in a chocolate store. The store is brightly colored and she wanted tie dyed shirts that matched (as close as possible) the color theme of the store. 

Matching colors from a photo is really hard. The lighting, the exposure, the camera, the skill of the photographer all play into the factors of the quality and realism of the image. 

She sent me these images. 

Orange, hot pink, green and purple. Where is the purple?

She wanted four shirts, all the same with these colors. That is easy enough, but wait. Where is the purple. 

I studied the pictures and told her I would have to play mad scientist and try and custom create that "purple" because it looks gray. She said not to worry about that purple, go with something brighter. Thank goodness!!!

My biggest concern is what am I gonna do with that green. Now that I have the ok to use a different purple, the purple can go next to the pink. They will co exist perfectly. The orange and the pink will play very well together. But that green. It will make mud if it mingles with the purple or the orange or the pink. Well, now that the purple will be darker,  I might be able to get away with the green and the purple  but still, in the pieces of the pie, that green is going to touch something and it has the potential to be ugly. 

I try to explain this to people who want custom colors. While the colors look great together in a design or even as complementaries on the color wheel, there is not a boundary or boarder between the colors in tie dye and they will mix with each other. Not all colors are meant to mix. they make browns, grays, and ugly muddy colors that can ruin a color pallet for a tie dye design. 

We are going to lean into it. I'm going to make one shirt, see how it turns out and go from there. If we have success, I'll continue on with the order. If it makes mud, I'll send pics and explain what is happening and see if we can revamp this order. 

For these shirts I used dye powders from Dharma Trading Co. The colors I chose were tangerine and dragon fruit mixed at full strength and chartreuse and lilac mixed at half strength.  I used a 100% cotton Gildan HD shirt that was soaked in soda ash solution 20 mins or more and then spun out in the washing machine until damp. I used a spiral twist on the shirt and laid down the colors in a pie pattern for distinct spiral arms. 

Here was the outcome:

Success!!

My biggest concern was the green and where it landed next to the orange or the pink, and it didn't get muddy at all!!! What I had meant to do was change the spiral color order on each shirt, as you can see I did on two of them.   

*sigh* 

Regardless, SHE LOVED THEM!

I am very grateful that she was so happy with her shirts, the colors are gorge! I will be adding this color palette to my inventory for sure!

Thanks for hanging out!

Till next time!

When Leigh Comes to Visit

When my daughter comes to visit we always have the best time!

I made her several tie dyed items because we were going to a music festival in NY. 

I had her help me make Reels for Instagram and Shorts for YouTube while she was here. 

Here is a little bit of what we did!!

What Was I Thinking!!

 I have been at this a long time! 20 years in fact. I have had a lot of fun over the years and had my share of recognition when this medium was new.  Last year things changed. All of this that I loved turned into a grind and I entertained the idea of retiring.  I dumped most of my social media, didn't renew any of my items on Etsy, didn't apply to any shows and I got a job!!

That lasted about five months and I got the itch again. I have a studio full of tie dye, jewelry, crochet and I just couldn't let it sit there. I didn't know what to do with it all. I crept back on to social media, but at a different pace this time, on my terms, where I wasn't in a grind. I think all the social media pressure is what pushed me over the edge. I was already in burn out from family care and loss and I didn't let myself grieve, I just kept pushing, kept creating. 

So here I am, back at my blog, dusting off the keyboard and settling back in to where it all started. Does anyone blog anymore? Let's bring it back shall we!

I want to use my blog to share with you my latest projects, where I am showing, what is the newest items in my stores (yes plural, I have three), vacations, ups and downs, just all of it. 

Back to the title, "What was I Thinking" I have accepted the challenge of separating my Etsy store into three stores of my work. My original store JustATish Designs for jewelry will stay the same. I have also added JustATish Tie Dye and JustATish Crochets. I found having all of my items in one store was just to cluttered and hard to navigate. I also got feedback from shoppers that conveyed the same.  I honestly feel like I can breathe a little easier and I am not as overwhelmed by doing this. (Well overwhelmed re posting all of the items, but it is a labor of love, right??)

Here is the first of many posts that may take a minute for me to get into a rhythm on when to post, but I am excited again, and that feels good. While I am working out my schedule, check the links to the right for links to my store, my social media and where I will be showing. 

In the meantime, check out my latest "Tie Dye Along With Me" upload to my YouTube Channel!

And remember. Be peaceful. Be kind. It's important!

Talk to you soon!!! 

Reinventing Myself

 Before the social media craze, back in the days of MySpace, I blogged. I would share stories about what I was working on, what was my inspiration and the creative process behind my pieces. 

Wow did things change. 

Then came Facebook, Instagram, Pintrest and the list continues. I was on all of the social media, yopping my brand, my ideas, my creations to the faceless masses and loosing footing fast. 

I spent more time trying to be creative on social media than creating my art, my passions. The love of my medium faded quickly, forced out by the urgent need to create content, be relevant and to go viral. 

Now here I am in 2025 reinventing myself again.

It was not a hard decision to dump my social media, and I did at the beginning of the year. That was phase one. I had to get over the fear that I was going to be forgotten if I dropped my social media. Next step was to revamp my Etsy store. I have too much going on in my Etsy shop. I love to make jewelry, tie dye and crochet, and all of that was crammed into one shop. My vision was to make it like a boutique, but in all honesty, it was just a catch all for all of my work. It was too overwhelming. 

Sticking with Just A Tish - I now am working on Just A Tish Designs, the OG jewelry storefront, Just A Tish Tie Dye and Just A Tish Crochet. Each store will focus on the one medium and make it easier to shop, and keeping the name format the same, easier for my customers to find me. 

Now how do we get the word out that I am still doing what I do. Blogging and YouTube.  I am going back to what I love. Keeping it simple. Blogging about what I am making, where I am selling, what processes I am using, and following up with how to's on YouTube for my followers that need a visual. I am a visual learner too!

I feel such a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, and this relief is the validation that I am doing the right thing. I am excited now! I am excited to build my new Etsy stores, make new things, explore new processes and share them with you!

Stay tuned! 

I can't wait to share what is going on with you!