blog

three years on Neocities

Wed . 12/03/2021 . 14:27

Today, December 1st 2021, marks three years since I started this website! Doot doot!

here is the first blog post I published, short & sweet:

I don't really have much else to say; I feel a bit mentally burned out if i'm honest and consumed with Life Stuff(tm), trying to stay creative in small ways—I started making (free!) digital graphic patterns again, as you might have noticed—but I wanted to at least mark the occasion : - )

Okay just kidding actually now that I've fully switched the ol brain on I do have some stuff to say. Turns out I was talking with a friend recently about my feelings RE: what the internet has become, about how everything is one giant wall of advertisement, about how tech bros write infuriating algorithms that decide what we see and when we see it instead of presenting the content we chose to follow in a fair chronological feed, having to then beg for engagement like crumbs of food for a sliver of a chance to be seen at all, feeling guilty about being part of a wholly over-saturated "market" of things competing for dwindling attention spans, and already having my own struggles with a "social media presence". I won't go more into that stuff but I will talk about what I DO like about using Neocities!

I guess what it amounts to is: this experience has been a really refreshing "internet reset". Without getting lost in the nostalgia (too tempting sometimes) and just being like "wow cool it's like a time machine haha neato twinkly star gifs", I very much like this self-managed system of community networks. It's one that I feel good about interacting with! So many cool creators here are making and sharing all sorts of stuff: multimedia interactive collage, a new writing system, Game Boy Camera photography, a junk food time & place capsule, a manifesto against carpet ... eager to curate their own internet experience. Where webmasters themselves choose exactly how they craft their sites(s) and what content they share, while not being coerced into uploading every detail of their lives into a handful of different platforms owned by the same one and a half companies with interfaces & features that all blend together. Boom. Roasted. Watch out Bo Burnham I'm coming for your gig.
We can be content-focused bare bones like this masterpiece, go all out with fonts and graphics and colors and layouts like this other masterpiece, or any number of in-betweens. We can be as in/visible as we want AND creative with the presentation. Also, like, I have all the files and documents and code for my site. I happily utilize Neocities as a service, am happy to be supporter because it's more than worth it, but the content, layout, etc is mine. I wrote it, I can take it with me, and I have it so long as I keep it and nothing happens to all my back-ups at once. :`)

I don't know if I saw myself doing a ton with this site initially because it began as more-or-less a coding exercise. I'm very glad now it wasn't just a one-off novelty project, and that, not only have I maintained it as a dynamic hub for my varied creative endeavors, but InternetBee.Neocities is also one of those in-and-of-itself? Designing, styling, and coding your own website really gives you a sense of ownership and pride.

I'm gonna end this entry here as it's time for a walk and a podcast.
Here's to the internet, carving out my own place in it, and what it can be when it's good.

---

making stuff and selling it online in the year 2021, aka Here Is My Storefront Please Be Nice

Sun . 09/12/2021 . 18:16

*this entry was started in July of this year but i forgot to post it so i've updated the dates and numbers*

well folks, well pals, well dudes, in case you haven't heard I am making arts & crafts!! which is something I am basically always doing in some form or another--personal projects and also things for my friends and family. However, also, in addition, I am selling arts & crafts... which is NOT something I have ever really done regularly... but... I am doing it!

As of today, my shop has been open for 182 days! I have listed a total of 59 items--including variations, multiples, and sets--and made ten sales. Fascinating. The stats don't look great lol BUT i have told myself that i am here to make what i like, to like what i make, and see how things shake out. Regardless, I have a nice stash of products that I can take to things like craft fairs, to include in my portfolio, and so on.

Having a storefront is a big step for me since I have been prone to extreme demotivation when making things professionally... like to the point where it makes me uncomfortable. And the anxiety, oh the anxiety. The pressure... . .. . everyone is watchING ME!!! am i right, ladies

In the same vein, I am also cultivating my official arts & crafts brand presence online and that is: A Struggle! As a millenial, spoiler alert, and being as perpetually online as a teen as was possible back then, there's still some of that residue from being so very, very careful and protective of my identity on the internet so attaching my name to my BrAnD still feels a bit scary if i'm honest! but here i am.

Etsy

my Etsy shop is being stocked with new handmade items every weekend

A Bee Wares, Etsy

Instagram

I also have a super official Instagram account, @ABeeWares, for my arts & crafts wares. I'll be using it as a digital scrapbook for my creative process, to showcase my wares, and maybe even for fun promos, raffles, and giveaways

@ABeeWares, Instagram

please do peruse, patronize, follow, like, subscribe, and share to your hearts content

as a related footnote, I have added a NEWS menu in my navigation and a whole page with my RSS feed displayed in stunning, gorgeous html. writing blog posts like this can be a bit of a chore for me so count on my feed for more timely and frequent updates.

laser cutter bonanza

sun . 02/28/2021 . 21:09

Y'ALL

ok so at work we have a laser cutter, it's mainly used to etch name plates for clients

but guess what

GUESS WHAT. I've somehow only just realized the potential of me having access to a laser cutter? my managers are super cool and they've been helping me figure out how to etch and cut custom designs into acrylic sheets! at a glance it's a super simple process: design vector file, differentiate between raster (etching) and vector (cutting), send file to printer, printer does the thing, object is created. but the results??? are the COOLEST i am ASTOUNDED

I made these clear babies initially just for testing n practicing but they're just so darn shiny and neat! so naturally i'm putting them to good use as jewelry, keychains, and zipper pulls:

my big idea, inspired by these absolutely sick custom iridescent sword earrings, is to make Sting, the dagger Bilbo finds among the Trolls' hoarde in The Hobbit. I'm kinda a lil bit of a Hobbit/LotR nerd fyi and i've been particularly taken with the design and concept of Sting; a short-sword, perfectly sized for a halfling, glows blue in the presence of orcs so you know it's time to either hide, run, or fight, and i just love the shape and look of it overall. Plus Samwise uses it to completely wreck Shelob's shit in the name of his bestie and that's badass

I took a photo of a prop from the Weta Workshop and translated it using lines & shapes into a vector image file. then we did a test using scrap plastic which just kind of melted around the sharp edges, but i used that information to go back and increase the outer margin so the laser wasn't cutting such tiny little corners

(shoutout to Delvie's plastics)

After some more troubleshooting w/the laser focus, some teeny tiny hole drilling, and adding jump rings etc i am now very pleased to announce that I have FIVE (5) pairs of Sting earrings that will go on sale in my Etsy store... SOON!! watch this space and stay tuned for a new featured page

I already have my eye on a sheet of gorgeous fluorescent yellow and am cooking up some new ideas for that hehe... . .. . well, bye!

twinkly star GIFs forever

mon . 11/09/2020 . 19:28

one of my podcasts, 99pi, released an episode last week called "The Lost Cities of Geo" (a good listen & read, relevant to us here in ~The Cities of Neo~ )
anyways they talk about the aesthetics of Internet 1.0 and how, as people were exploring the seemingly boundless limits of coding their little webpages by hand, they may have made some... . . questionable design choices like neon green font on a yellow background, "under construction" signs, twinkly star gifs, etc,,... .

well pals i just wanted to briefly say..

bits n bobs

sun . 10/04/2020 . 15:53

hello! i am here, just chuggin thru life
wanted to pop in and share a few artsy endeavors from here n there:

some fanart for one of my fave podcasts, Scary Stories To Tell On The Pod, a horror/comedy show hosted by two funny pals who read scary stories and dive into urban legends and it is very enjoyable and relatable

Quaranzine issue 3 is still... . under construction lol

a series of coloring pages i did for my church kiddos early in lockdown. i want to make more! they are fun and also i get to stretch my creative brain with questions like "what are good coloring page practices?"

some of these you can download, print, and color for free bc i do not own the commercial license for fonts i used, some of them you can buy for $1.50 to support your local friendly Internet Bee : ~ ) please click each page for more info!

in no particular order:

1. draw your outfit right now, i wear that large ridic tye-dye 75% of the time at home
2. a 2020 moodboard using clipart from a late 1990s graphic design program
3. self-portrait as Tokitama who is the mascot of Tokiwa Shopping Street in Kagawa, Japan
4. a friend's request to turn her friend's baby into a yogurt-eating cryptid lol
5. beautiful Amabie who wants you to look at her and wear your mask for good health
6. "Due to an inability to support a high-quality free digital service that derives 100% of its revenue from ever declining on-site revenues, ɔıdʎuıʇ has shut down its operations."
7. good old fashioned
8. radial rainbow eye-strain!!!
9. in the before times my gal pal, my sister from another mister, & i had craft Sundays and i was making a GOBLIN out of polymer clay!! i'm really pleased with the skeleton i built, it looks like a naked chicken and it was very important they have a butt lmao, he lives at her house until such time as we can interACT AGAIN!!! WEAR YOUR MASKS AND STAY HOME PEOPLE!!! please.. . . for our & the goblin's sake... i miss my friends : ' ( and my crafts... .

yknow, it's easy to wallow in the "weehhhhh i'm not being creative enough lately waaaahhhh" funk but upon reflection? i've done some stuff! look at all my stuff!!

~*~*~ creativity is a practice, friends ~*~*~

zine time

thu . 06/11/2020 . 20:42

well i've been thinkin bout

zines

again!

I was poking around for some kind of online zine generator tool? something easy that just let me goof around for a bit yknow; whet (sp?) my appetite. I found a bloated over-designed super Corporate Brand $$ drag-n-drop WYSIWYG and thought "ok i'll get away with a rinky-dink free account", BUT ALAS (butt a lass heh) they put the export featured under paywall. anyways i'm gonna share a screenshot of my 1page zine and nobody can stop me

well i did find this actual masterpiece: Electric Zine Maker by alienmelon on itch.io, which might i just say has a beautiful landing page. i haven't actually DONE ANYTHING WITH IT YET but wow yes it is exactamento what i was looking for, great work alienmelon i will hug it often and whisper words of affirmation

what i HAVE DONE is some rl arts & crafts cut + paste collage zines using scraps from work (sign shop); went so far as to use discarded proofs from the recycle bin as print media

my plans are to:

1. scan
2. save digital file
3. publish my NEW INTERNETBEE.NEOCITIES PAGE: ZINES
4. submit: Quarantine Zine Club
5. distribute physical zines (safely & cleanly; plastic baggies?)
6. use my zines page to showcase my work, provide digital copies for printing & folding, infostructions, share links to zine content on the web

I sat down just now and started working on my "How-To" infostructional document--making some changes according to rl experience--but honestly i'm just.. . tired. work has been pretty exhausting these past few weeks with just lil ol me out on the floor. the irony is that i've been daydreaming about doing fun cool creative zine stuff all day while working but now i'm done i'm just. DONE

okay, signing off!

freesh staart

tue . 04/21/2020 . 19:41

hello and welcome to my blog

here i will write about: website updates, arty & designy endeavors that i want to share, etc etc relevent to my internet presence. don't expect any hot juicy celebrity gossip sorry folks

I have a comment box attached to the most recent blog entry so as to get feedback about things n stuff

okay! thanks! bye!