2009: off to a solid start!
With the expected flurry of activity surrounding the holidays, today is my 1st post of 2009 (now that the dust has settled).
I’ve got a few different things in the works. I’m most excited about a collaboration I have going withMarni of Nella Bella Beads. I have an incredible strand of lampwork glass beads that Marni has created, and I’m making them into jewelry. The first piece I made was this gorgeous bangle bracelet:
I have a necklace I’m working on as well, that will be STUNNING when it’s finished.
I’ve made a necklace for myself with a gorgeous cobalt blue lampworked bead also created by Marni.
While I’m aching to create more jewelry, I’m also trying to balance this with expanding my internet presence. I am now selling my jewelry on Handmade Fusion and Art Fire, as well as iCraft, etsy and DaWanda. More on these to come in the near future.
I’ve also started a Twitter page, I have my own business page on Facebook, I have a MySpace profile, I’m on Ning, and I’m trying to figure out Squidoo. Then there are the blogs at WordPress and Blogger. It’s a lot to keep track of!
this one’s for MEEEEEEEE!
I don’t know what it is about jewelry artisans, but we tend to hardly ever make something to keep for ourselves. I wear my own jewelry all the time, but mostly it’s identical to something that’s for sale. I do have my gunmetal tryzantine bracelet that I wear often:
And I also wear a copper & gunmetal flower chain chainmaille bracelet regularly that I sell:
But other than that, I really don’t have much that I’ve made intentionally for myself. I am a nurse for my day job, so I don’t wear a lot of jewelry because of the job. I do have a few pieces of fine jewelry I’ll wear, my current favorite being the 5 carat mystic topaz necklace my parents gave me for Christmas last year.
Maybe it’s because I don’t wear much myself, maybe it’s because I truly enjoy making jewelry but focus on designing for other people…there are several possibilities as to why I don’t make much for myself. I certainly don’t make anything high end to keep.
That is, until this weekend!
I had bought a silver and mother-of-pearl carved flower clasp at a bead expo about 6 months ago. It’s one of those things that I didn’t have a clue what I might do with it, but the style intrigued me so I paid the $12 for it anyway. And, it’s sat in a drawer for 6 months. I’ve taken it out often to admire it, but still never had an idea as to what to do with it.
I’m a seller on etsy, SquareEffects. I’m also a shopper, and have recently bought more than I’ve sold. I found a supply seller who is the co-leader of team ESST, the Etsy Supplies Street Team. Carla of CarDon Creative Designs is the co-leader, and also happens to live near me. I found her shop by browsing for supplies, and I’m glad I did! One thing she had for sale was lava beads, which I’ve wanted to try to do something with but hadn’t bought any. I purchased some from her, along with several other items.
When I got the lava beads, I thought they would go terrific with the mother of pearl clasp. I love the texture of the lava beads, but as they’re solid black in color I wanted to keep the other beads simple. I had the round crocheted beads for months as well; they’re a plastic inner bead with a thread crochet covering in black. They work great along side the lava, keeping with the black color with lots of texture. I wanted something else as well however, and thought sardonyx would be the perfect compliment to finish the bracelet. I’m used to seeing sardonyx as almost all black with the occasional shot of white through it, although when I got to Market Beads in Baldwinsville, I was thrilled to see she had one sardonyx in stock that was in bands of browns and tans, PERFECT for a compliment to the color of the clasp!
Lava, sardonyx, mother of pearl clasp
etsyBEAD theme of the week: Blue Moon
Our new theme for the etsyBEAD Bi-Weekly Theme of the Week (ebtw) is “Blue Moon”, chosen by Anchalee of NewelryJewelry.
etsyBEAD members will select items in their shops (or create brand new ones!) that match this current theme and put them on sale, just for you. Each EBTW item will have the tags “ebtw” and “blue moon”, so you can search for these beautiful blue sale items easily.
So be on the lookout for all these wonderful items, all at special SALE prices for TWO WEEKS only!
This EBTW sale runs from Sunday 9/7 through Saturday 9/20. Check back often as our street team members may add new items throughout the week!
Happy shopping! Here’s the link to the search to get started:
EtsyBEAD theme of the week sale search
and here are my items included in the sale:
EBTW-on SALE-Stunning Swarovski beaded necklace and earrings-elegant cascading crystals in blue
EBTW-on SALE-Pink and Blue beaded necklace, bracelet, earrings set
EBTW-on SALE-Turquoise and hematite circles and stars bracelet
EBTW-on SALE-Blueberries beaded bracelet and earrings
EBTW-on SALE-turquoise blue triangle beaded chainmaille bracelet and earrings
EBTW-on SALE-Blue lined glass triangle beaded chainmaille bracelet and earrings
EBTW-on SALE-Blue cubes beaded chainmaille bracelet and earrings
EBTW-on SALE-Turquoise blue Y necklace and earrings set
EBTW-on SALE-Blue hex necklace, earrings and bracelet set
EBTW-on SALE-Turquoise heart lariat necklace
EBTW-on SALE-Blueberries beaded accessories set-bookmark, keychain, cell phone charm, zipper pull
Happy shopping!
EtsyBEAD Theme of the WEEK (EBTW) sale items
Green hex bracelet, necklace, and earrings set
Our new theme for the etsyBEAD Bi-Weekly Theme of the Week (ebtw) is “Green With Envy”, chosen by Julie-Ann of Julie’s Jewels – http://ljjnjm.etsy.com.
etsyBEAD members will select items in their shops (or create brand new ones!) that match this current theme and put them on sale, just for you. Each EBTW item will have the tags “ebtw” and “green with envy”, so you can search for these beautiful green sale items easily.
So be on the lookout for all these wonderful items, all at special SALE prices for TWO WEEKS only!
This EBTW sale runs from Sunday 8/24 through Saturday 9/6. Check back often as our street team members may add new items throughout the week!
Happy shopping! Here’s the link to the search to get started:
http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=tag_title_all&search_query=ebtw+green+with+envy
These are my particular items for sale:
Circles and Stars Y necklace & earrings
soft green triangle glass beaded chainmaille bracelet and earrings
Spring Moss green beaded bracelet, folding magnetic clasp, matching earrings
Green beaded accessories set-bookmark, keychain, cell phone charm, zipper pull
green glass beaded earrings
the Square Effects support system
My grandmother has had a lifelong fascination with turquoise and Swarovski, and with jewelry in general. She’s also a very generous woman who gives away as much as she keeps. She and my mother have nutured my passion for creating jewelry, and are two of my biggest supporters as well as customers.
Grandma was never one to shy away from spending money on quality jewelry, and I try to model my own pieces after this. I could cut corners, and on some things I opt for less expensive materials (silver-plated wire and findings instead of sterling), but I would rather charge more and put in the extra labor to ensure my pieces will last than rush something through and have it fall apart after 6 months.
New Technique: working with Resin
I’ve been working with new materials for the past few weeks now, and it’s time to share what I’ve achieved. The pendant at the left is a one-of-a-kind, which means I couldn’t replicate it if I tried. I’ve tried to come up with similar looks but haven’t yet. I’m using Easy Cast Casting Epoxy, and I absolutely love it. It allows me a certain creative freedom I don’t get with beads. I adore the swirled look. With the purple colored back this pendant reminds me of clouds. Anyone looking to try their hand at resin should check out http://www.resinobsession.com/. 
The woman who owns the site has a terrific assortment of supplies, and everything I’ve ordered from her has been top quality. Now, this pendant is not for sale (it’s for ME!!), but I do have one currently listed at Etsy:——————————————>
It reminds me of creamsicles or orange sherbert (sherbet?). Maybe I’m anxious for summer to get here….clouds, creamsicles…..
That’s it for now…I will try to post more regularly.
going where the urge takes me
Copper and clay
I started working with polymer clay. There is liquid polymer clay available that will to varying degrees pull a printed image into itself. I’m working on how to do this evenly. It’s difficult just cooking a blob of liquid with the photograph laid over top of it, because the liquid
usually isn’t level on both sides. I began playing around with embedding the liquid clay (and the image) into fabric, as well as some funky copper mesh I found at Michaels Arts & Crafts. I haven’t gotten too far with the process although I have successfully transferred images into workable items. The hard part now is actually working to see what can be done. I did encase the image on copper mesh in black clay, somewhat of a cabachon setting of sorts. My skill with the clay is rudimentary, and the resulting pendant is pretty dark and abstract, although the original photo is also. The copper stick at the top is what I inserted during the curing process (which means baking in the toaster oven) so that I can insert a bail or something else later on to hang it from. I think it’s a promising technique, and I’m fascinated with copper so this works.
I’m also working on how to embed pendants with copper flakes and little pieces of the copper mesh. This is my first attempt. I think adding the white clay was not the best way to go, at least not adding it after the piece was texturized. Still, it’s a work in progress and a good learning experience for me. I’m having fun working with the medium, mixing media together and seeing what the possibilities are.The business end of art
Superbowl Sunday.
The Giants are back in the Super Bowl. The team I was raised to adore above all others. And I can watch it on any one of three televisions in any of the three downstairs rooms in the house.
I’m trying to get the SquareEffects website fine tuned, but I don’t know enough about web design. So, I do the best I can and hope for the best.
My CafePress store has been up and running for not quite a year now. I’ve made some sales to people I don’t actually know, and that makes me happy. I guess it’s a pat on the back for me to know there are people who don’t know me that appreciate my art enough to spend their money on it. I hope I can get the Etsy site up to that level within a few months, although I do expect to gain many customers through my own marketing efforts.
Sometimes I feel torn between photography and jewelry….and then I start an Etsy store which requires me to photograph my jewelry, and all is well.
