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Brandi did some test paints on dragons too… they look grand! ‘specially the Lap with the silver horns…
OMG, that sounds awesome!
Here is my two I just got in the mail. Melody and Brandi did a great job on these Mini Keepers.
Looks like they saved some of the best keepers for last. Seems like the second restock had a lot of the keepers from the store sample picture. 😉
They’re both lovely keepers. Congrats! :bigsmile:
I’m a paleontologist.
That’s awesome! 🙂
Anyhow, my opinion is that it’s much more important to like what you do than to do something you really don’t like or aren’t good at for more money. A lot of times, people that make more money are no happier and can be worse at managing their money.
If there’s something that you love and are good at, you should definitely pursue it.I work as a dog handler at a dog boarding and daycare establishment. The money I make isn’t much by some people’s standards, but hey I make more than minimum wage and I’m enjoying what I do. I’m really appreciative of it after my last job, where I worked as a housekeeper in a healthcare center/nursing home and completely worked my tail off for minimum wage for a company that was crappy to its employees in many ways.
I went to a couple years of college after high school, but I really had nothing I wanted to pursue with it so I stopped after doing 2 years of general ed plus some classes I wanted to take. I’m thankful for those 2 years and I’m also thankful that I didn’t push myself to pursue something I didn’t want to do and get into all kinds of student aid debt or something. Student debt can be so crazy.You don’t have to make a lot of money to collect Windstones. It’s about how you manage your money. Of course, making more money could help you afford to buy more Windstones, but although sometimes I find myself disappointed at not being able to buy some that I want, I’m glad I can’t afford to buy as many as I want. When the purchases are fewer and farther between, they’re a lot more special, and I also think a lot about what I want the most. Sometimes my mind changes and I end up being glad I hadn’t made the purchase I’d been thinking about a little while ago. I have no desire to get Windstones and then sell or trade them, nor to collect multiple colors of the same sculpt.
Not to mention space would be a problem if I bought a lot more Windstones. It’s already kind of a problem.
As for how you could afford that secret keeper you want? Put money away! Even if it’s $10 at a time. You could try to make a goal to always set aside a certain amount from each paycheck, and when you can put more, put more. Even if it takes a few years or several years, you can work towards your goal of buying one and then when you’re ready, it will be epic. If the color you want isn’t available at the time, you very well may be able to find one by posting a “wanted” ad in the classifieds on here, or maybe it will be available in another color you want even more by then.I used to think I’d never buy an emperor dragon because of the price, but I ended up purchasing a beautiful white emperor off e-bay for a bit cheaper than the store price a while back.
Yeah sometimes I feel college just isn’t worth it these days when everyone has a degree. It’s more abut who you know vs what you know that determines how you get a job in the professional fields, imo. College isn’t for everyone. I’m sticking it out because I’m half way there and I’ll always wonder “what if” if I don’t finish.
Very right about purchase being few and far between being more special. I feel that way about the collection I have. And thanks for the advice. :bigsmile: I’ll meet my goal someday.
I don’t know how to post pics on here yet, but I got one of my favs thanks to a seller on ebay. In the class photo, it’s the 3rd photo, top row and 4th from the right. The black and blue one.
http://windstoneeditions.com/blog/grab-bag-minikeeper-class-photo-3-2014#comments
If the seller that sold me this little guy is on here, I can’t thank you enough. I love this little one. I’m so happy to have one of my top 10 favs.
It’s so cool to see all of these grab bag dragons close up in detail.
Hey Dragoneer! I’ve been collecting little by little since my late teens in college (I’m 32 now). Almost all my production pieces came to me second hand with damage. But I have fixed them up, and love them even more for the work I put in. As time goes by you’ll find more opportunities for bargains at thrift stores, garage sales, and good old eBay, as well as get hooked into plenty of grab bags and new sculpts here on the website! I don’t have a large collection, partly because of budget and partly because I don’t have the space 🙂
I’m a paleontologist. It’s a pretty darn specialized job and took me many years to land a stable position. My father went through the college struggle of dream job vs. profitable job (he wanted to be meteorologist but went for a business degree instead), and so I got used to thinking about that from a very early age. Though my career choice doesn’t bring in a lot of money, I love what I do. For my husband and I, it’s meant second hand furniture, no vacations to speak of, and not eating out at restaurants, but we can still live comfortably and focus on paying off student loans and saving up for owning our own house someday. One thing that helps me spring for Windstones every now and then is that I make and sell things on Etsy. I love sewing and crafting as a hobby, and running a shop has been a lot of fun, as well as a good excuse to set aside time to keep crafting.
I hear you when you say the only thing that holds your concentration is art – when I was in school the only way I could absorb things from textbooks and lectures was if I was doodling to keep the other part of my brain occupied 🙂 Now I almost never draw, and my ability to do so has gone through the floor for lack of practice!
I’m glad you found a job you’re happy with Zelda. :bigsmile: I think your job is cool. It was in my top ten “what I want to be when I grow up list”. It’s true what they say about money and happiness. Why work your butt off doing something you don’t love to pay for expensive “toys” you can never use because you’re too busy working? It’s not always easy to find balance. I hope one day I’ll be lucky enough to find my own balance. Great idea with Etsy too! good to know there’s people out there that still sew. Sewing it a dying art. :(( Lord knows I can’t do it. 😀
Thanks for the link Melody. :bigsmile: Jennifer your art is awesome! I hope someday I’ll be at least half as skilled as you.
Another cute pose could be a fledgling dragon lying on his/her back and rolling around trying to scratch, kicking his/her feet in the air. I see horses do it all the time. My dog does it too. It’s so funny to watch. (Sorry, if this has been mentioned before. I’m new.)
Hey, fellow deviants. I must saw I’m blown away by everyone’s galleries. I hope everyone doesn’t mind if I follow your deviations. Looking at work from skilled artists motivates me to stop being lazy, sit down, and start doing my own. I’m not very active on deviantart, but I do post things time to time.
Thanks everyone! I’m learning a lot. It’s very interesting to here these stories and the advice. I think it’ll help me down the road. Very true about working a job just for the money. My sister-in-law works for an energy company. She get paid a nice salary, but she hates her job so much. Same story with my sister. She’s an RN.
@ Kim. I think it’s cool how you’ve tried different things. I hope one of these days you’ll get into something that’ll you’ll really love and will earn you a nice paycheck. :bigsmile:
@ Falcolf. You’ve given me a lot to think about, but that’s good thing. It’s funny, I was very, very close to going to the Art Institute and even closer to going to the Academy of Art in San Francisco back in 2007. I’m glad I was talked out of it in hindsight (I’m and introvert too). I also found out I was not as skilled as an artist as I thought, but I can only get better. As far as schooling goes…there’s not a lot of options in my area. I have to drive two hours to get to my university. I live in a small city that’s in the middle of nowhere and unfortunately I don’t have the resources to move. I guess there’s always online classes from other universities as mine does not offer online art classes even though most are on the computer! I haven’t done a lot research on those yet.
It’s interesting to hear from someone who has done an animation degree and your experience at school. I know what I can look forward to now. Very cool you want to write for a living. I wish you the best of luck and hope you get published as a New York Times Best Seller. My best friend has a similar goal. I’ve always wanted to try writing a scifi book or at least a super hero comic book (don’t laugh :bigsmile: ) Remember, even Stephen King did a lot of sucky jobs before he got his big break. His bio is interesting even if you don’t like his books. Everybody knows J. K. Rowlings story. 🙂
Hmmm, guess I could try Medieval Times or this Enchanted Forest place in Fort Worth looks interesting. Thanks
Thanks again everyone for making me feel welcome! Excited to be here with fellow windstone fans (aka all the cool people.) :party:
@ Barrdwing…Thanks for the info. Feel a little better about trying a PYO. :bigsmile:
A squeak from me for more natural colors! I love the butterfly/moth looking mini’s with the spots on the wings. Of course, those ice blue mini’s and black mini’s are fantastic too!. My personal fav. is the ice blue mini with the white belly and white wingtips.
Some neat color ideas could be luna moths, tiger swallowtail butterflies, mourning cloak butterflies, monarch butterflies, more betta fish colors and even black and yellow garden spider colored mini SK’s. Could be interesting (if they haven’t already been made.)
On a side note…will there anymore BVP secret keepers? Sorry, had to ask. I’m new here.
Thanks for the replies and advice everyone. This will really help me put things into perspective and figure things out. You all have offered great advice I will take into consideration. I should mention there’s NO WAY I would want a huge collection. It would make me nervous to have so many pieces. Having 9 pieces, I feel like I have a lot already. Really, I only want 2 more (a BVP secret keeper and a red fire fledgling.) I want a secret keeper more than anything. That was another reason for asking the questions. I’m trying to figure out what I can do to save up enough $. I’m afraid I’ll miss out on the color I really want. It’s not like I NEED one, but WANTING is a powerful thing (as we all know I’m sure). Still, I wouldn’t starve myself or not pay bills to buy one.
I might consider buying small OOAK pieces if I like them enough, but I’m really picky when it comes to those. I bought a grab bag mini keeper. It hasn’t arrived yet. I’m nervous and at the same time excited about what it will look like.
@Jennifer…Do you have an online gallery with your work? Like on deviantart.com or anything?
As a tourist, San Francisco is super fun, but as a resident I imagine it can get a little rough from time to time. Like others have mentioned, you’ll need some deep pockets. I think this may apply to the whole state actually. Some think there’s another tech bubble waiting to burst in SF, not to mention the earthquakes! The weather is fairly nice most of the time. Personally, I like the cold and foggy weather of August. Also, SF and surrounding areas can be really tight in space, congested, and SF has a considerable homeless population. I’m not trying to beat up on SF. I must confess I’ve wanted to live there since I was 16. The cost of living has kept me away, but I’ve been able to visit a few times at least. Of course I’m no expert on SF. If there are some forum members that live in the area that are offended by this, forgive me! I just wanted to mention a few rough points you might encounter if you decide to live there. On the other side of the coin, SF has a lot of fun, unique things that no other place in the country has. The variety of food and shopping is great. Plus, the surrounding areas such as Napa, Sonoma, etc. are fun to visit.
Personally, I would recommend Oregon as a place to live. My cousins live in Portland and they love it!
