200 custom made-to-order necklaces in 5 days!

It goes without saying that, by the looks of my blog, I have been quite MIA. Ask my craft room and new home in Kansas city if I have been MIA and they would give you a quite different answer! A few days before my husband and I packed up the car to move from Los Angeles to Kansas City, I got an e-mail from someone on Etsy asking if I could create 30 copies of my "Hope" necklace for a graduation her institution was hosting. Wow - 30! That was perhaps my largest order to date! Though I knew I wouldn't be able to make 30 of the exact same necklace, I searched around a found some comparable components and offered a wholesale price to the buyer. 30 soon turned into 50, and not only that, but the buyer wanted to substitute the pink bead for a purple trumpet bead. After adding trumpet beads to my to-buy list for the project, the buyer asked that we up the number of necklaces again to 100! WOWZA! I frantically tried to find the chain and charms that I needed, and as I was on the road to my new home, the buyer asked for 200 necklaces! HOLY JUNK! Sign me up - I think?!

So in addition to trying to move into my new home and prepare for a return trip to LA for the husband's ordination, I searched far and wide for the materials I needed to make these bad boys. In the past when I have made custom jewelry I have had little problem finding the amount of components I need. That was before I was looking for 200-800 of certain pieces. When I went to order 200 of the HOPE charms from one of my favorite sites, FusionBeads, turns out they only had 14 in stock. Ooooh. Next, when I went to order the heart charms I had offered to include on the necklaces, Artbeads only had 25 in stock. Hmmm. Next when I went to Michael's to buy 50 (yes, 50) packets of chain, they of course only had 3. So what's a girl to do? Whine to her husband and have him help! While I searched frantically online for other distributors of the Hope charms, the hubs called EVERY Michael's store in 3 counties and 2 states in and around Kansas City to see who had them in stock. I then spent a whole day driving around my new city and visited 5 Michael's stores within 3 hours - whew. Thankfully I found the bulk of what I needed, though had to settle on a few packets of chains in a slightly different style. AND my VistaPrint order of new business cards was not going to arrive before I needed them because, oh, did I mention that the buyer needed these all within 5 days? 


The factory worker in me got to work with whatever I had in stock as I waited for the supplies I ordered online arrived. I first cut 200 18" strands from 50 packets of 4' chain and attached them each to spring rings from Artbeads (click on the link to read my review of the product). 

Anxiously waiting daily for my supplies to arrive in the mail, I went to work on the purple trumpet beads that I bought on Etsy from Allthingsbeaded:

Each one needed special attention, so I lined them up and put a head pin in each. Of course they each needed to be trimmed,

And then curled...

The next day the Hope charms I ordered on from Fusion Beads and HipChickBeads came in the mail (thanks to a nudging call to the distributor by the hubs!)...

And finally, the day before I needed to mail the finished products (and the day before I was to fly back to California), the heart beads I ordered from Etsy seller CLBeads in Canada arrived - whew! That was close!

The buyer wanted 160 of the necklaces partially packaged so she could easily put them around the necks of the graduates at the ceremony. The hubs painstakingly punched, prepared, taped, and packaged each kit while I finished the necklaces until 2am that night. That's love, I guess!

So, 4 roles of tape,

5 internet orders,

5 Michael's store visits,

50 packets of chain, 

200 spring rings,

200 Hope charms, 

200 head pins,

200 business cards, 

200 trumpet beads,

200 heart charms,

400 hole punches,

410 ziploc bags, and

800 jump rings later, we had these:

We rushed to the nearest Post Office (I had to google map it since I had yet to search out my local post office!) to mail the finished box of necklaces off to the buyer in Colorado. While in LA, I was thrilled to get an e-mail from her stating that she not only received them in time, but also loved them. Whew! I can sleep now!

So, there you have it folks - how Bead Up (and her husband!) made 200 necklaces in less than 5 days. Hope to do it again soon - no lyin!

I exist - I promise!

It's been far too long since I have blogged, and I hate it :( I knew that moving cross-country was going to get in the way of my schedule and, more importantly, my Etsy-ing. Now that we have landed safely in Kansas City, things are starting to get back to normal... sort of! I have been super busy unpacking boxes, trying to find a job, and make this very new place feel like home. Furthermore, I am still working on details for my husband's ordination, which includes the programs for the service and also my necklace for my outfit!

But most interestingly, I have been working like crazy on my most massive Etsy order yet -- 200 custom necklaces! A few weeks ago, a gal messaged me on Etsy and asked if I could make 30 of my "Hope" necklace. I told her that I don't have 30 of any of the components in stock, though I could find something comparable. Well, 30 turned into 50, which turned into 100, which turned into 200! So I have spent the last week trying to find all the supplies on the internet and get them shipped promptly, since these are due next week! Good thing I am unemployed! 


I will be back in touch soon - and with pictures of my 200 creations! Here we go!

I love you, Wednesdays.

Because, seriously, Friday is still 2 days away. I love you, Wednesdays is my bloggin' attempt at a.) shutting up about my products and sharing the love of others' with others! and b.) sharing sources of inspiration that often stands behind my jewelry and creative process. As announced yesterday, I've teamed up with Danielle of DesignGirl for a giveaway this week! I allowed Danielle to chose which item she would like to give away, and she chose one of my Silver Ring word necklaces. Danielle had this to say about the product: I love these necklaces. They are so simple, pretty, and affordable. I think they'd make such a perfect gift! I also love that you can choose the word for your necklace. So, if you haven't had the chance to enter yet, make your way over to DesignGirl's blog and try your chances out! Also, if you purchase anything from my Etsy shop this week and mention DesignGirl's blog, I will throw in a free pair of earrings! That said, today's I love you, Wednesdays has to do with my love for one-worded inspirations, much like the necklace in the giveaway! However, I need to warn you, I don't mean to get preachy with this post, but if talking about faith and religion offends you, I suggest you go right to the giveaway and skip my commentary below! Last week I got the super awful news that my grandma died. She was the last of my remaining grandparents and raised my brother and me growing up so both my parents could work. Though I have mentally been preparing myself for her death since my grandpa died 8 years ago, she was in very good health and had just visited me here in LA 3 weeks ago to see the life my husband and I have recently created for ourselves. As soon as I heard the news, I took the first plane to Kentucky to be with my family, help clean up her apartment, and prepare for her memorial service (and ignored my blog, sadly!). Though I was totally heartbroken that she died so unexpectedly (in her sleep), at the same time I took such comfort in all the support we received from friends of hers and our own, both near and far (even some blogging buddies!). Throughout the whole thing I kept thinking: "What would Grandma think of this?" or "What would Grandma say to comfort us?" She was a hilarious woman from Jersey with a great sense of faith and joy. Though there were so many reasons to cry and be angry at her passing, there were and are more reasons to rejoice in the life she shared with us and how she changed my life forever. Both my husband and dad are pastors. I went to seminary. I've only ever known being part of a solid, caring Christian community (though I have lived and studied in Asia and have a fondness for Buddhism). I could not imagine what my last week (and these still somber weeks that follow) without the support I get from not only caring people (both Christian and non-Christian), but also from scriptures. 1 Corinthians 13 (the chapter that includes the wedding-friendly "Love is patient, love is kind...") says,

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

I think this is something my Grandma would remind me of if she saw my grief. Though she is "gone," her greatest aspects are imprinted on my life forever and remain such a part of me - faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these, love, makes it worth the ride. It's amazing how such little words can have such big meanings:

typetypetype, NumericDesign, artsharkdesigns, elenagrace Uturn385, hazelnutcottage, mortiedoodles, PianoBenchDesigns pinkpalmstudio, tiffysart, circlelinestudio, agraceunlimited Don't hesitate to click on the links to the corresponding Etsy shops to see the items in close up - they are all inspiring!

So, what inspires, or even comforts, you today?