Not Slacking, I Swear!

Nope, I've just been a really, really busy girl. My day job keeps me occupied and sometimes it exercises my brain so much that I run out of creativity (not to mention, energy)!

Over the past month or so, I've been slowly building up some stock, working on some new pieces, and fulfilling custom orders. Earlier this week I also got sick and had to shut down the shop for a few days, but I think I really made some progress this weekend. It's a relief, I tell you.

To prove I'm not lying, here's a little peak at what I've been working on...freshly oxidized and laid out to dry, but not yet tumbled or polished. Some you'll see in my Etsy shop, and some you'll just see on my Flickr when they're done, since they're based on orders (especially that super-sweet piece with the Egyptian Coils at the top left!). I plan to get them photographed and listed over the next month, so stay tuned. A couple pieces will also be listed at a really awesome price because they just didn't come out how I wanted them. LOL.

For all of you wondering about the pieces and the types of stones in the pic...I'll describe as best I can...here goes:

• Top left: As mentioned, Egyptian Coils and turquoise nuggets.
• Top right: Some lavender chalcedony faceted briolettes.
• To the left of the lavender chalcedony: All of those ear wires contain a different bead, wrapped or with a bead cap. Includes sterling silver with prehnite, smoky quartz, or a spiral design. Some copper ones are included as well, and feature prehnite as well as carnelian wrapped teardrop beads.
• Below the lavender chalcedony: A new piece that incorporates labradorite and garnet, as well as another new piece that includes vintage lucite beads (purchased from blacksheepbeads; awesome shop!).
• Right: Wire wrapped focal pendants.
• Bottom: A peak at a remake of my Egyptian Goddess necklace, a custom order from a customer.

So...keep your eye on the shop and you'll see most of these pretty soon. Thanks for looking!

Coming Today...New Stuff!

A quick post on some new items coming to Etsy today.

The first is one of my rings I have pictured in my May Giveaway...except I oxidized it and polished it. It'll be titled "Aglow," named after a Sarah Harmer song. A discount will be offered if the ring is purchased with my Warmth in Turquoise earrings.

Also coming to my shop, Cherry Chocolate earrings. YUM. I had a special request from a customer to make these based on my Pink Chocolate earrings. The 8mm red garnet beads are so absolutely luscious I just had to make an extra pair for sale. I'm also going to be making a necklace to match, which will be titled "Cherry Chocolate Overdose," and will feature a "waterfall" of smoky quartz teardrop beads and red garnets dangling freely from sterling silver chain. I hope to finish it up this week.

Here are the photos of the earrings...tell me, dear readers, which one catches your eye first? This is always a dilemma of mine...white background or brown?

Cherry Chocolate on White

Cherry Chocolate on Brown

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May Giveaway -- A Ring!

Greetings, dear readers.

Today's post comes with my May Giveaway announcement -- a wire wrapped ring! As an added bonus, the winner gets to pick which one she wants from the group of rings shown here.

From top to bottom, left to right, they include:

• Chalk turquoise (not yet titled)
• Float (jasper)
• Flora (unakite)
• Delicate (peach moonstone)
• Renewal (garnet)
• Peach moonstone (a little different than Delicate; not yet titled)
• Blush (rhodonite)

Also available, but not pictured: Cultured freshwater pearl (7mm); cranberry colored pearl (5-6mm); amber (6mm); lapis lazuli (6mm). Finally, you'll have options for the metal used (sterling silver or copper), as well as whether you want the ring antiqued or not.

So, here's what to do:

1. Leave a comment on my blog that includes your contact info (Etsy address, e-mail address, whatevah)
2. Include in the comment what gemstone(s) you would like to have included in any future rings I create.

On May 17th, I'll have a drawing. I'll then contact the winner and you can let me know which ring you want and your size. Please keep in mind the gemstones I have available are the ones listed above.

Have fun, folks, and thanks for participating! As usual, the fine print is listed below.

(oh...and psssst...when you're done here, head on over to Bonghi Natura's blog, where you can enter into a contest to win soap! One of my favorite things to shop for! Here's the link: http://bonghinatura.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-giveaway-time-again.html)

The Fine Print
One entry per person. Winner will be announced before noon EST on May 17, 2008, and will have three days to contact me with their ring preference, size, and mailing address. If no response, another name will be drawn. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on May 16, 2008.

Some Notes on What's Comin'

Many things, readers. Many, many things.

I put together a "Beneath the Moon" necklace last weekend, but it's comprised of garnets and pearls rather than smoky quartz and moonstone. I'm hoping it will be a Valentine's Day favorite, given its lovely red colors. Other Beneath the Moon items will include amazonite, serpentine (maybe), and some other beautiful colors of quartz.

I have some earrings coming, which are quite simple in design yet lovely nonetheless. One pair is comprised of smoky quartz briolettes (small ones), and the other pair is labradorite teardrops (the colors in them are amazing!). Another pair will feature red coral beads, another Valentine favorite.

An additional "Paint It" is in the works, which will be titled "Paint It Pomegranate." The name is inspired by my friend's feedback on her "Paint It Cherry Red" brooch, where, upon receipt, she e-mailed me with the phrase "I'm thinkin' pomegranates!" I'm hoping to incorporate all beautiful shades of red, purples, and pinks (thanks Deb!).

Labradorite faceted teardrops are on their way to my home, which means that I can list the items that are included in the Jonelle series, with some slight variations.

Finally, I completed the acquisition of all tools and materials required to start doing some metalsmithing. I hope to create my first project next weekend, after I get back from my trip for work. I also plan to enroll in a class during the March-April timeframe.

So...keep your eyes and ears open, dear readers. I promise to keep you informed.

One final note: I need to close the shop from 1/14-1/16, as I'll be traveling for work. Access to Etsy and e-mail will be minimal (if at all) during this time frame; all orders will be filled/created upon my return.

Phew! I Made It!

Alas, readers, another Christmas has gone by. And I made it. All of the shopping, the baking, the planning, the gift wrapping, the get-togethering, and the stressing is nearly over. Honestly, I don't know why I get so busy at this time of the year, it's not like I don't know how to plan for it! However, this one was a bit different, and the reason was my Etsy shop.

Let me just tell you, as mentioned in my previous post, I definitely wasn't prepared for the holiday rush. I really didn't think I'd be a part of it, being a fairly new seller and all! It was exciting though, and it kept me very busy. Luckily, I did have nearly all of my shopping done at the beginning of December, which helped quite a bit. I'll also have you know that at least 60% of my gifts came from Etsy, or were handmade by me. I also received some handmade goodies--a birdhouse, some coasters and some hot pads, and a painting--as well as items that PROMOTE doing handmade activities (a gift certificate from Fire Mountain Gems and a kit to make my own incense!).

In '08 I'm going to be a busy, busy girl. Today I did a bit of shopping for my belated birthday (December 19), and it included some metalsmithing tools--a jeweler's saw, a torch and some solder, a ring clamp, some new tweezers and needle files, and of course some new beads and wire. In late Jan, or perhaps March or April, I'm going to be attending a private session with a metalsmith in State College, PA to learn some additional skills. Most of what I've been doing is self-taught, but from what I've read it seems that once you get into soldering and the like, it helps to do some one-one-one instruction. I can't wait!

Over Christmas I took a little break from the shop, but I still got some orders. I'll be working over the next few days to fill them, as well as try to come up with a few new designs for earrings. I'm also waiting on materials to continue developing my Beneath the Moon necklace and earrings (smoky quartz smooth teardrops are becoming hard to come by these days!). I'm also working on variations of this design...changing up the stones and whatnot. For instance, my up-and-coming "Beneath the Blood Moon" necklace will feature garnet teardrops and freshwater pearls in place of smoky quartz and peach moonstone. I'm hoping for a nice outcome on that one! The garnets I purchased are big and gorgeous and perfect for someone to show off. I'm also going to be doing a made-to-order piece called the Jonelle necklace, made after the person I made it for this Christmas. :oD I haven't talked to her yet, so I hope she liked it! I'll be putting pics of it on my Flickr page soon.

Well, I'm off for now, gotta get to work in the studio. Have a nice breather before New Year's!

Dyed Beads: A No-No in the Tumbler!

So last night during an anal retentive phase, I decided to throw my "Paint it Cherry Red" brooches into the tumbler. The one that is now available for sale as of this evening made it through OK (see pic); however, the one that was supposed to go out the door this week is history. Yap. Gone and redone. I used red coral beads in these, and totally forgot that they were dyed. The one that was to be mailed out...the custom order for my friend, had a few marks on the wire from my pliers, so I figured I'd just throw it back in there and the tumbler would polish them out. When I took out the brooch, the poor little red coral beads were a very dull pink color. Ugh.

So anyway, I got up this morning early and wound, wound, wound another one. Here's a photo of it...all nice 'n shiny 'n new looking. The good thing is I'm starting to become proficient at the technique. Another good thing is that my friend will get a better product, as hers was the very first one I made and as I mentioned it had some slight scratches. I thought everything was a goner last night though. But...after asking for some help in the Etsy Forums, I got the encouragement to at least salvage some of it, and I did. I was able to keep the frame, as well as all of the beads that weren't red coral. So...chalk it up to a lesson learned.

I also took some additional pics tonight of my new products, but they turned out crappy due to the colors of the beads. I'll need to mess around with my settings...and there might be a lot of Photoshop going on this week! Expect some labradorite, some moonstone, some smoky quartz, some pearls, and some garnets. Most are earrings, but I have a new necklace/earring set on its way, too.

Peace out.

Paint It Cherry Red

Well, even without my camera, I gotta put something up that I'm working on, so readers, you'll have to deal with the less-than-perfect photo for now.

I introduce you to: Paint It Cherry Red, a brooch that incorporates the lovely colors of red (red garnet, red coral, and red Czech glass) into a mosaic technique against a hand forged sterling silver frame. In case you missed it, you can see the draft version of this brooch here.

These were quite fun, and took up most of my weekend! I made the frame out of 16g wire, and then hammered it to flatten it. Then, I used 18g wire to wrap the ends together tightly and form the pin. On the opposite side is also an 18g wrap that holds the hook for the pin to fit in.

Notice the one on the left has a defined set of Czech glass beads going up the middle, from the bottom left to the top right. I designed this one a little differently--I added this strip first, and then "mosaiced" (I think I just made up that word) each side of the brooch separately. I hope to post these next week in my Etsy shop.

Speaking of Etsy, have you started to put together your shopping list yet? Here's a few pointers: Check out my post on shopping picks for the holidays. You might also want to read up on this "Handmade Pledge" that's going around, especially in light of all of the recent toy recalls we've been seeing on the front pages. Need a quick refresher on the recalls? Check out fellow Etsy Blogger AliciaMae's article at: http://www.quazen.com/Shopping/Gifts/Christmas-Gift-Alternatives-to-Recalled-Toys.57776.

That's all for now...four days 'til I get my camera back!

Can't wait to click click click...