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.