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!

Pearls a Plenty!

I love me some pearls. Not only do I love wearing them, but I love creating with them because they are an affordable luxury. A few weeks ago when I was in Quartzsite, AZ I bought more pearls that I usually buy in China (in fact, I bought the kinds of pearls that up until then I had only ever found IN China)! 
This first necklace in particular is inspired by the FIRST pearl necklace I ever made for myself. I bought these green pearls at "The Dirt Market" in Beijing in 2004 and, not knowing any better, strung them on fishing wire and a lame-o twist-it clasp. I love wearing it with another similar green necklace in layers (as seen here in a picture of me back in 2007 right before seeing Phantom on Broadway) :)


So here is the new and improved version, available on Etsy:

Purple Pearl Princess Necklace

I also bought some pearl balls, which I used to make necklaces back when I first opened my Etsy shop in 2008 - they sold so fast but I couldn't get more charms to re-stock them! Should have known I would find them in Quartzsite -- and in different colors!

Cream and Silver Pearl Cluster Necklace

Gold and Salmon Pearl Cluster Necklace

I also had some fun creating custom jewelry with pearls this week. My sorority Big, Katie, e-mailed awhile back asking for some custom jewelry as a gift for her cousin at her graduation. Katie said: "She likes purple and funky, though not really chunky... plus she has dark skin and dark hair, so a deep purple would really flatter her features." I suggested to Katie that I play with some of the deep purple pearls I bought last week, in addition to a stash of purple seed beads I have had sitting around the house. She and I agreed on a long necklace that could be wrapped around the neck and be worn long or short, in addition to a coordinating (not matching!) bracelet (aiming for funky but not chunky). Here is what I came up with:

(bracelet pays homage to one of my favorite bracelets to sell, though most time consuming to make, from when I first opened my shop)

And here is what Katie had to say:
"*MOUTH WIDE OPEN* Man, I love them!!!  You have done an amazing job, Christyn.  Seriously, these are sooooo gorgeous!!!  I am thrilled with them-- I can't wait to give them to my high-style cousin.  I think she is going to love them! I have to show these to my husband.  They are awesome!  Thank you soooooooo much!"

::pats self on back...!::

Katie also asked for a somewhat simple, single pearl necklace to go with the pearl earrings she wearing everyday. She said, "I really want a simple necklace that has a twist to it -- possibly a single pearl with wire wrapped around the top in a cone formation?" I thought and thought about how to go about making this, and finally sat myself down and went to town -- and on the first try came up with this...!

Katie liked it: "Ah!  Score again.... geez, Christyn, you're good!  I really like it a lot!!!  Perfect for what I want-- everyday wear, with something a little special.  I love that it's made by you and not something generic I picked up on sale at Kohls!"

I will be posting more custom creations later this week... in the meantime, I better get back to creating my Summer Line!

Trading Jewelry for Makeup

It's Monday, which means time to share more Bead Up projects with y'all! I have been so blessed with a great community at church that has really taken a liking to Bead Up. When I look around the women in my congregation, I smile because I have made jewelry for a good 50% of them! One of my favorite customers from church bought one of my favorite little sterling silver necklaces at my jewelry show last October: A few weeks ago she told me that she wears the necklace often, though would love a matching set of earrings to accompany the coral, pearl, and turquoise beads of the necklace. She also requested earring that were about 1.5" long and that I use ear hoops that clasp in the back so she doesn't lose them. Done and done! One of the unexpected joys of making jewelry is that I have been able to use what I have created as gifts, payment, or items to trade for others! A gal pal of mine from high school is a Bare Escentuals consultant and has been proving me with at-cost make up since I switched to the line last summer. This shipment around, she asked if I could pay her back in Bead Up goods! She was hoping that I could make her future mother-in-law a birthday gift of wine charms. My pal said that her F-M-I-L was super girlie, likes glitz and sparkle, and loves wine! I rushed to Michael's to buy some sterling silver "girlie" charms and came up with these: The charms include a stiletto heel, decorated heart, purse, and Eiffel tower ('cause what can get more feminine that that?!). I also added several different colors and sized of pink crystal beads on the little silver ear-hoops. Here is what my gal pal had to say about them: "Omg love the charms...... They are perfect. The Eiffel tower couldn't be more on target, there whole house is decorated 'country French' and has a couple rooms with Eiffel tower stuff in them!" Glad that worked out - I thought I was taking a gamble on the Eiffel tower charm! Finally, thanks to everyone who participated in Nilsa and my GIVEAWAY last week! We had 52 entries! The winner was actually a Bead Up client who originally found my Etsy shop through Nilsa's blog a few months ago! Now I must get to work - there were many outfits on the red carpet and I have much to discuss on this week's Fashionably Friday: Oscar Style post! Have a great week! In the meantime, if you are the Bible Devotional type, check out my contribution to my friend's blog as she aims to study the whole Bible through blog posts in a year!

Custom Cowgirl Bracelet

I got a lot of custom orders during my jewelry party. Though this was totally thrilling, I will admit it was a bit overwhelming as the main thing I wanted to do after the months of preparation going into the party was to take a break from creating for a week or two! No rest for the weary! When my co-worker Melissa saw a Chinese-themed charm bracelet I had on display at the jewelry party, she immediately said "I want one like this!" I at first figured she wanted me to create a bracelet from scratch for her, though after meeting with her for breakfast one morning to discuss the bracelet (my first "consultation" of sorts!), Melissa explained that she had a sterling silver charm bracelet that she wanted to spice up. She presented me with 7 necklaces and bracelets from her "hippie days," all adorned with silver beads, turquoise, teek-wood, and coral. She had envisioned that I could take the beads from the necklaces and put them on the existing sterling bracelet. She found this picture as her inspiration: "The funky-chunkier, the better!" Melissa instructed. I'll see what I can do! I ordered some sterling ball-headed pins and a rustic looking sterling silver toggle clasp and went to work. I tore apart the necklaces and bracelets and took an inventory of what I had to work with: Here is the "before" picture of the sterling silver bracelet Melissa provided - with two headpins worth of beads for starters...And here is the after! Melissa LOVED the bracelet when I gave it to her at our company Christmas party - and went on to show and explain to EVERYONE at our table the story behind the piece! I will admit, this is not something I would think up to do on my own, but with the help of all the materials Melissa provided and the inspiration piece's picture, I think we hit the nail on the head! Check back on Wednesday for stories of how I commissioned others to make custom-pieces for me this week!

Mission: Wedding Jewelry - Accomplished

Let's be honest. Sometimes you are allowed to be super proud of yourself. Exhibit A: I am SO thrilled with how the jewelry for Kelly's wedding turned out, especially considering the story behind it. Kelly asked me several months ago to make necklaces for herself and her bridesmaid sisters. I have been blogging about how I had been going back and forth on ideas for each outfit, and finally allowed the lack of time left to be my final deciding factor. Based on the pictures of Kelly's dress (as posted here), I figured that letting the very lacy and beaded dress do the talking would be the best route to go. This meant sticking with a simple design that could coordinate with a somewhat antique-looking gown. While in San Francisco, I bought a few strands of super cute and dainty 2mm fresh water pearls (that I also used in the bridesmaids necklace, thus achieving some sense of cohesion). My plan was to wire wrap these and bond them between wire wrapped 4mm pearls. This would have worked marvelously if the holes in the 2mm pearls weren't so stinkin' teeny tiny! I couldn't even get my 24 gauge sterling silver wire into them. Darn. So instead I tried out the 4mm pearls along side larger 6-7mm pearls, wrapping them in Sterling Silver wire and positioning them two 4mm for every one 6-7mm pearl. After wrapping about two 7 inch-long collections of mentioned pearls, I connected them together and ended them with wire wrapped freshwater pearl coin disc beads. I remembered Kelly mentioning that her dress had a dramatic back, so I added about a dozen more of the 4mm pearls to the back of the necklace and ended the addition with a larger pearl. The necklace finished with a sterling silver clasp and wire ring. I was grateful that Kelly said she liked the necklace when I gave it to her at the rehearsal dinner, though still didn't know if it would go well enough with her dress. When I saw her before the wedding ceremony, I literally cried - both because she looked so pretty, and because the necklace turned out so well! The bridesmaids necklaces turned out perfectly, too, if I do say so myself. The girls even said they would wear them again, as they seemed to fit their style.

Wedding mission Accomplished!