Wedding jewelry - for myself!

In the spirit of my first wedding anniversary coming up this weekend, I figured it would be fun to share with you the first large scale jewelry project I ever did (even before my days on Etsy) --- my own wedding! Finishing my Masters, finding a new job, moving nearly 400 miles away, and working two jobs didn't stop me from creating a very personalized, unique, and, if I say so myself, beautiful wedding. I was having a blast creating everything from the favors, invitations, website, centerpieces, even the flower girl's basket (which I will showcase, whether you like it or not, on Thursday!). But one task was starting to get on my nerves - that of finding the perfect jewelry for everyone involved in the wedding (i.e. 6 bridesmaids, a flower girl, a mom and mother in law, 3 grandmothers, 2 readers, and 3 very special helpers). I searched EVERYWHERE. I visited every online site (except Etsy, as I had yet to hear of it) and trekked all over San Francisco and Louisville with no luck. I finally found myself in the jewelry department at Macy's in San Francisco in tears over what was becoming this impossible task. From there I walked to Chinatown and into one of it's MANY jewelry shops and a light went off. "Duh, you can make it yourself, you OCD crazy lady, you."

(sometimes I felt like this bird - lost at jewelry sea! I took this picture from the boat on the way to Alcatraz... as a visitor, of course!)

I spoke with a lady at Lawrence Trading Company on Grant Street in Chinatown about pearls and crystals. I bought a few string of pearls and commissioned her to make 6 simple pearl necklaces (and managed to talk the price down from her original offer because I knew how much they would have cost me to buy them in China - I swear this is probably the only use my Chinese skills will ever have in my life)! Next I went to Baubles and Beads in Berkeley (say that 5 times fast!) and bought several bags of both real and imitation Swarovski crystals (that way I could tinker with deigns with the fake crystals first). I even asked the lady behind the counter what she thought of putting pearls and crystals together for wedding jewelry. She looked at me blankly. Oh well, lady, I am buying them anyway. Finally I got all the necessary findings at Michael's: silver wire, sterling headpins, sterling clasps, silver crimp beads, etc. I had no clue how I was going to manage to make any of these items, mind you, and half the time I was merely assuming that the supplies I was buying were right for the job. Thus the experimenting began. I was torn between a necklace or earrings for my outfit (I didn't want to clutter myself up and do both). I looked at all kinds of designs online and could only gather that, if I was going to do earrings, that they had to be big, yet elegant. My poor fiance had to watch me try on every design I made for about a week straight and give me feedback on what I am sure looked to him like repeats. "What do you think, fiance? Should I make this 3mm longer?" That poor man... Here are two designs I made yet didn't choose to use for my own wedding - they are now on sale on Etsy (just click on the picture for the link)! Finally I made a design with some briolettes I got from Artbeads (my now favorite bead source - hello free shipping!). The result was perfect - especially since I had the satisfaction of making them myself! I also have them for sale on Etsy because I just couldn't keep it to myself! Next on my list was a bracelet for myself. I had a vague idea that I wanted a funky, bold, yet again, elegant bracelet that I could wear again in the future. I looped ends of silver wire strands with crimp beads and crimped in large and small pearls on about 5 wire strands, and then lots of 3mm - 8mm Swarovski bicone crystals on 5 other strands. To end them, I did the same crimp loop at the end of the wire, and latched them all onto a Sterling heart-shaped clasp. I was very temped to continue adding more and more layers of these strands to the bracelet, but had to remind myself that I needed to save the beads for the remaining 15 other pieces of jewelry on to-do list! (If you look closely, you can see that the non-heart clasp side of the bracelet is a hot mess - the bracelet was too large by the time I was done, but there wasn't enough wire to cut off the crimp bead and re-crimp it... so I ghetto-fied it by wrapping silver wire around the end to tuck it in. Though this totally embarrasses me now - it didn't seem to bother me a year ago - I was just happy I had pulled it off!) Next on the list were my bridesmaids. I duplicated the bracelet I made for myself for them, but instead just had 3 strands of pearl and crystal mixes and only one crimp bead on each side of the beads so as to allow them to more up and down the bracelet rather than just sitting still in one place. (You can also find this bracelet for sale on my Etsy site or by clicking on any of the above pictures!). Since I had the lady in Chinatown make their necklaces (for less money than if I had made them myself, so as to relive my conscious!) all I had left were the earrings. I tinkered again with some ideas, but settled on this simple (yet snowman looking?) 3-pearl design, finished on sterling silver headpins and ear wires. Still not done. I wanted my flower girl to match, of course, so I made her a necklace in the fashion of the bracelet, except with a big glass pendant in the center. I liked it so much that I made one for my mom, mother in law, and grandma. By then I had run out of real crystals, so I used the remaining glass crystals and pearls to make earrings for our readers and bracelets for our helpers. They didn't even notice they were "fake." I of course presented all 25 pieces of jewelry in matching black and white polka dot gift bags with red tissue paper to go with the theme :)

(Notice how Lilly's basket matches her dress, which matched my dress? And the fan as a homage to my love for China? Click on the images to see detail!)

Though I literally spent 90% of my wedding week making all this jewelry, I loved every minute of it! And when someone at the wedding noticed that all my ladies were wearing coordinating jewelry that I made and suggested I sell it, well, the rest is history.

My first interview :)

NOTE: This week I plan to feature pictures and inspiration behind all that I did by hand for my wedding, since my one-year wedding anniversary is this Sunday :) Today's post goes with this theme as I mentioned how I got my start on Etsy (my wedding) and some of the jewelry that came out of it. Last week a fellow Blogger/Etsy seller asked if she could interview me for her "Inspirational Monday" feature. RedRubyonFire, a graphic artist out of Australia, features this weekly interview in order to “motivate and uplift the spirits of less experienced sellers.” I, of course, couldn’t resist, and am humbled that someone considers my shop “experienced!” I not only enjoyed the whole process of the interview, but was really surprised with how I answered the questions of how I see my shop and experience as an Etsy seller after just 3+ months since I “officially” launched my site. Here is the interview (as seen on RebRubyonFire’s blog!) “Today we will be inspired by a lovely shop Beadup and it's owner Christyn. Opened in Aug 2008, Bead up has made 60 sales so far. Besides this Esty business, Christyn is employed fulltime at an LA Studio. For all of you who are questioning your abilities as you need to divide time and attention between your Etsy shop and a full time job, read on! RROF - Firstly tell us something about your shop, how you got started and why you wanted to start an online business? Beadup - It all started with my own wedding, actually (a year ago this Sunday!). I will admit, I am a little OCD, and couldn’t find any jewelry that I thought best suited my dress and that of my bridesmaids. I found myself investigating a piece of jewelry posted online that was wicked expensive and thought to myself “Dude. I could make that.” I went to Chinatown in San Francisco, bought a bunch of pearls, crystals, and findings, and got to work. Not only was I thrilled with how it all turned out, but my bridesmaids and attendants were grateful for the homemade effect of their jewelry. “Why aren’t you selling this stuff, Christyn?” I did a double take and realized, “Yeah, why AREN’T I selling it?” I knew that I didn’t want to make things merely to sell them, but rather to share the joy of affordable, homemade, unique jewelry creations. I chose Etsy as a venue because it’s very user friendly and is such a gift to all artisans out there. I am honored to be considered part of the Etsy family.

(above: bridesmaid Quinn and I rockin' our black, white, and red rose ensembles and some of the first pieces of jewelry I ever made!)

RRoF - Is your Etsy Business your full time job? Or what or who does your Etsy shop shares your time with? Beadup - Etsy is my full time passion, though not my full time job. I actually work a 9-6 job at a movie studio in Los Angeles. I get a lot of my inspiration from the fashion I see walking around the lot!

(Right: the studio in the spring)

RRoF - When you started listing your first few items, was the response what you expected? Beadup - When I posted my first (and for awhile only) item, I sat back thinking “Ok, everyone, come and get it!” And no one did. I think I checked the “item views” at least a dozen times in the first hour. Nothing. I was totally bummed, and thought that perhaps I wasn’t cut out for this whole Etsy thing or that my item was not Etsy-worthy. Come to think of it, that one item has NEVER sold! Maybe it’s been in the cards all along! RRoF - Looking back, what are some of the mistakes you think you've made when you just got started, and how you overcome them. Beadup - I think I expected to a.) get featured on the front page right away, because I had seen some sellers get their start there, and b.) get all sorts of people to “heart” my shop immediately. When neither happened, these two disappointments and my self-expectation of initial interest and success really got in the way of allowing myself to slowly launch and bloom in due time. I still get hard on myself sometimes when I don’t make a sale for awhile, but take delight in the sales and feedback I have received thus far and allow that to motivate me to create more. RRoF - Have you ever felt like giving up? What made you stay? Beadup - So many times I just stare at my work space blankly and think “What have I gotten myself into?” Sometimes I get in a creative black hole and for the life of me can’t produce a new item, or have no energy to take the picture of or post an item I may not be 100% proud of. Comparing myself to other Etsy sellers who do this full time and thus have thousands of sales doesn't help either. In these times one of two things works - either to avoid Etsy for a few days and allow my creativity to come back naturally, or to explore some of the amazing things other sellers have created and find your inspiration in them. In all honesty, I keep creating because I find real joy in the creative process, not because I make any profit (in fact, I am still in the stages of only making back fractions of what I have spent at large - it may be awhile until I start profiting off of my sales in total). Besides, if I ever did want to give up, my husband would remind me that I have invested way too much money in this and that failure is not an option!

(above: new materials can be fun, but often overwhelming!)

RRoF - Share with us some of the things you do daily, weekly and monthly, with regards to your Etsy business. Beadup - Rather than paying for promotional ads in print, I instead have taken full advantage of all that the internet offers for free :) I never really considered myself a bloggin’ kind of girl, but I have really found tangible success in tapping into the blogging and social networking world. I first created a Facebook fan page for my Etsy site and sent an invitation to all my female (and some male!) Facebook friends. Within a week I had almost 100 “fans” and several sales! I also post photo albums of pictures of my recent work and status updates of my Etsy progress on the fan page, which comes up in people’s news feeds and reminds them of what my Etsy shop is up to. After much hesitation, I finally started a Twitter account for my site. Though I am not sure if I have made any sales directly from Twitter, it has been a great way to network with fellow Etsy sellers and at least get my name out there. Finally, and most successfully, I started a blog about my “journey of homemade jewelry.” Here I have posted photos of inspiration, steps behind certain pieces of jewelry, pictures of people wearing my jewelry, and even a giveaway or two! After announcing my blog on Etsy, Facebook, and Twitter, I have at current about 70 blog followers. To further promote my blog, I make sure I visit whatever other Etsy or interesting blogs I can find and comment on posts there, which includes a link to my shop. I track all my site visits with a widget and thus can see that many of my blog visitors have come from other blogs and websites! It’s been like a domino effect and has been unexpectedly fun and rewarding. RRoF - What is your largest hurdle with your shop? Beadup - Finding my “voice” has been a challenge. A co-worker asked me recently, “What is your trademark?” I was embarrassingly left speechless. So many things inspire my work - art, photos, fashion, nature, culture, etc. But let’s be honest - I am limited by what kinds of supplies I can find and how much money I am willing to invest. Thus I sometimes make things that surprise even me, and wonder if they indeed have a place in my shop and fit into the sense of coherency I am trying to achieve. Maybe I will soon just allow eclecticism be my trademark and call it a day! RRoF - How do you promote? And in your opinion, which works best for you? Beadup - One of the best kept secrets I have discovered in terms of promotion is Vistaprint.com. When I “launched” my site in April (i.e. when I started confidently telling others about my site!), I sent out 100 postcards to my family and friends with the announcement and shop address. I got them for free at Vistaprint and only paid for shipping! Vistaprint also offers whole design lines, which I have taken advantage of in order to creative a cohesive look to my Etsy mailing and promotional products. I have mailing labels, business cards, return address labels, stationary, and even cards with the same logo and design (and, again, I only paid for shipping! Vistaprint offers sales daily and mad discounts for their returning customers!). That way when people get my products in the mail they know it’s from me and where they can find my site again. I also include a hand written thank you note in every package I send and have had so many compliments on this simple gesture of gratitude.

(above: the postcard I initially sent out to all my family and friends)

RRoF - If you knew then (when you started) what you know now, what would you have done differently? Beadup - I would have given myself more grace to let things happen in due time. If I allowed money and dollar signs to dictate my creative process and shop, I never would have made a sale. Instead, my attitude of creating for the sake of creating has allowed all subsequent sales be the icing on the cake. RRoF - Any other thing, thoughts, advice, links,... etc you would like to share with the Newbies? Beadup - If you don’t love what you are doing, don’t do it. To me, Etsy is the celebration of creativity, not of profit. When it feels like a chore rather than a pleasure, step back and reevaluate why you are selling in the first place. If you love what you are doing, you will never work a day in your life! :) Thanks again, RedRubyonFire – I am humbled and grateful!

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. Summer is in the air. At least technically. LA has been gloomy and gray for the month of June, also known as "June gloom." People here rejoice because it means a thinner electrical bill at the end of the month. I sign because it reminds me of living in the Midwest and the gray that surrounded the landscape year round there. Call me a snob, or what have you, but I prefer sunshine! With summer comes beautiful flowers and veggies and birdies and insects and weeds. Ugh, weeds. A gardener's bain of existence. Unless you LIKE the way some weeds look. For example, the DANDELION. I HEART this "weed." I heart it because it is a work of geometrical art. It's so architecturally perfect, yet so vulnerable at the same time. I heart dandelions because they represent freedom and youth and letting things go. I heart it because it represents delicacy, yet at the same time it is strong - as soon as you mow it down it comes right back up! I heart dandelions because they represent new life and possibility - it's purpose is to reseed the land and then transform to a yellow pom flower. With a dandelion in my hand as a kid I always felt like I had power - for wherever I blew it's white frills I knew that it would result in a frustrated homeowner the next summer with too many weeds in their front lawn! Call it investing in your future.

(picture is of a screen print I bought at IKEA - I, of course, had to paint my own dancelions on it!)

I don't care what the neighbors think, I am keeping my dandelions this year (and may even blow them into others' yards just to share the joy!). Apparently other Etsy sellers see the beauty in dandelions, too - check out these great products I found!

Blow with the wind over to their shops to see more great creations! ShnookumsStuff, arippke, westwillow, WooHooCrossStitch, barbraziemerphoto, SusannahTucker, flywithme, AliciaBock, dailyvignette, ZephyrWoods, janeymacpress, ScarletBeautiful2, erwinlian, soule.

So, what inspires you today?

I left my ::beading:: heart in San Francisco

They say that you don't know a good thing until it's gone. I can second this saying indefinitely after my weekend in San Francisco. I lived in Berkeley for 3 years (thank you, grad school) and moved from there to LA less than a year ago. I loved San Francisco when I lived there, though was looking forward to moving away to La La Land and away from all the drama that had become my surrounding in SF (isn't that always the case when you are sick of exams and writing papers?). When people ask me if I miss The Bay at all, usually the only things I can list on my "Miss You" list are the stores there (LA's shopping culture is less condensed and quite spread out. LA's Chinatown, for example, is pretty much for local Asians or for tourists who are in the market for faux purses and shoes. In terms of jewelry, I have observed, LA is of a buying culture, as apposed to a making culture. LA's crazy busy highways and lack of stellar public transportation also make it hard to shop - I also miss San Francisco's excellent subway system in which one can easily get to wholesale stores without having to worry about parking or traffic jams!). I especially loved Chinatown when I lived in SF, and frequented it as often as I could for both it's shopping and Chinese language resources (bargaining with the Chinese ladies in Mandarin Chinese is a great way to practice the language outside of the classroom!). I also made a point to always bring my out-of-town guests to Chinatown to both show them this mini-nation within SF's city limits, but also for all the great and cheap souvenirs available with it's crowded, smelly streets. I have always loved Chinatown and felt that, by the time I moved, I knew it better than the average San Franciscan. What I did not know, however, was that San Francisco is TOPS in jewelry supplies wholesale. Don't get me wrong, I always knew there were plenty of jewelry stores that sold beads, jade, gold, etc in Chinatown - I frequented them often and even bought all my wedding jewelry supplies (pearls and findings) in Chinatown. But now that I am actually in the market for such supplies, go figure, I live in LA, which is supposed to be a fashion capital but has NOTHING in terms of jewelry supplies (I met a jewelry designer at an art show here in LA who says that she GOES to Texas to get her supplies. Why has Texas figured this out but not LA?). That said, I truly saw Chinatown with new eyes this weekend. In fact, I saw the whole city with new eyes. I saw things I never noticed before and had such a great time getting around carelessly, without a map and without a prerogative other than taking pictures and finding beads. I returned to LA reporting to my husband that I fell in love with San Francisco all over again -- THOUGH I would never really care to live there as I find its value most potent when experienced in small doses. I love it more now than I did when I could see it's skyscrapers on the other side of the Bay from my window. My friend from grad school, Erin, was kind enough to join me on my crazy and at times quite intense adventure around Chinatown and Berkeley for the best beads we could find - I was a woman on a mission! I visited half a dozen stores within a few hours and walked away with SUCH treasures! I don't want to post pictures of the supplies yet as I want the new items to be a total surprise, but in the meantime you can read the reviews I have written for some of the stores I visited: Lawrence Trading Company, Hoang Jewelry #2, Baubles and Beads, and Scrapbook Territory (a great source for charms - and I used to work here!).

(picture is of Lawrence Trading Company in Chinatown).

Meanwhile, I got to hand deliver a commissioned necklace to my pal Erin while in Berkeley. Erin was in Costa Rica a few months ago and came home with dozens of rad shell beads and figured I could make a few necklaces out of them. I not only made several of starfish necklaces that sold out with a few days of listing, but I also made Erin this fun and abstract necklace:

(Erin took the above photo while in Costa Rica - inspiring or what?!)

And an addendum from last Thursday's post: Chrissy asked me if I had seen Top Chef Masters and if it was brightening up my otherwise reality TV-less Wednesdays. I did watch the first episode and was left feeling "ma ma hu hu" (Chinese for so-so - there is your Chinese lesson for the day!). I will surely give it a few more go's before making a final verdict. Either way, So You Think You Can Dance is up and running, making my Wednesday night routine of making jewelry in front of the tube better (much to my ESPN-loving husband's dismay!). Also, Chroma Lab reminded me that "Bemz and Marimekko have teamed up to offer slipcovers in a range of their fabrics."

H O L Y     M O T H E R   O F    P E A R L.

Watch out, Mr. Wallet. Things might get tight. And, in the spirit of saving the best for last, it seems that Chinatown read my last blog entry. Seriously? No words!

Andy Warhol = <3

A little background: my parents are in town visiting for a month. They drove from Kentucky to Los Angeles to both explore the area and visit the Hubs and myself, see our places of work, our house, etc. My mom likes to think that she gave me her "designer jeans" since she herself is an interior designer and quite the painter/illustrator (my brother also went to art school and is in the film field). That said, yesterday I went home all excited about discovering the name of my beloved fabric (see yesterday's post). I showed my mom my new blog entry and, before I told her the story behind it, she said, "Oh, yeah, that's Marimekko." Turns out she knew it all along. Arugh. Anyway, Mom had a gift waiting for me from her recent trip to the Getty: an Andy Warhol book! You can imagine my excitement, especially since I, as stated yesterday, LOVE big and bold, and REALLY, really love modern and pop art. The book was laying next to a pair of earrings I recently made. My mom and I did a double take when we noticed them next to each other - they went together PERFECTLY! Needless to say, I got a little carried away with the idea of combining pictures in the book with some of my new jewelry items :) Come to think of it, I am pretty sure I have enough Andy Warhol prints, dishes, bags, postcards, etc. to exclusively photograph all my future jewelry on top of Warhol art. I am sure the copyright police wouldn't mind ;) Click on the image to see the corresponding Etsy listing.

My, Liz, what beautiful earrings you have! Liz, 1963

Flowers, © AWF, 1963

Elvis © Andy Warhol, 1963 Daily News, © Andy Warhol, circa 1967 Flowers, © Andy Warhol, 1970 Gee, Merrie Shoes, © Andy Warhol, 1956-57

Flowers, © Andy Warhol, 1970

Whew! On top of that, I had some fun with color today and made an Etsy "poster sketch" around my new Lime and Cherry red Turquoise, Cinnabar, and wood necklace (click here to make your own Etsy collage - this is how treasuries are made, my friends). I love these colors! Can you play Where's Waldo and find my item? I not only made the necklace and the poster in these colors, but have these colors all over my house, too (call me OCD, I'm fine with that!). I never used to care for red and green, but, like your taste buds, visual tastes develop over time! (These roses and Pods were my Christmas centerpiece!) And speaking of taste, ArtGrants has it - she included me in one of her latest treasuries! Thanks, Bari!

(Eye-Spy Bead Up's Chinese Coin earrings!)

I am headed to my alma matter in Berkeley and San Francisco this weekend. Sure, I am going there technically for a conference, but REALLY I am going to do some M A D S H O P P I N G in Chinatown's "going out of business" jewelry stores (they seem to all be going out of business, all the time). Alas, I didn't know the great resource I had in these stores when I lived in Berkeley. We are talking pearls, findings, crystals, beads, etc. Watch out, Chinese ladies, here comes a white Chinese-speaking super shopper! Can't wait to see what kind of things I buy and subsequently create!

(Me and the monkeys at the entrance to Chinatown on Grant Street. Silly, San Francisco).

I love you, Wednesdays.

Ok, I actually don't care for Wednesdays, now that Top Chef and ANTM is over and we are still 2 full days away from the weekend. I do, however, love browsing through other people's blogs and seeing the items and photos they find inspiring. I love pictures and colors and patterns, and putting such images together can be super fun and uplifting! Since Wednesdays are otherwise boring in my life and often find me wordless, I am going to start a new lil' feature on my blog:

I love you, Wednesdays.

Here I will post things I find inspiring outside and perhaps not directly correlated with my own work, whether it be other Etsy sellers, photos, fashion, prints, nature, etc. I think that you will dig this for 3 reasons: 1.) Who wants to hear about just me all the time... I mean, really? 2.) This will be a great way for me to formally define what inspires me in hopes of starting conversations and sharing inspirations with each other. I also think that 3.) this will be a good networking tool, as I am always on the look out for blog lovin' and spreading the word about other great Etsy sellers. So, with no further adu, let the lovin' commence! I LOVE BIG, BOLD PRINTS. Love 'em love 'em love 'em. If you were to look around my house you will find big, bold reds, pinks, blacks, and limes surrounded with splashes of prints. Most of the stuff I buy is either at IKEA or stuff I find along the way (CB2 is one of my favorites. Here is a picture of the edge of my living room leading into my kitchen - we painted the main living room wall red; b/w striped rug is from IKEA's as-is section and the Chinese chopstick plates are from Crate and Barrel - I am proud that I bought them LONG BEFORE either Chinese or lime were "in"). One day, while watching Project Runway (RIP until August, dear friend) I noticed a SUPER SWEET wall canvas on the contestants' apartment wall, I saved the DVR of it for months in hopes that I could one day find the print somewhere and make an acrylic version of it myself. I even bought the colors and the canvas, took a picture of the paused TV screen and was ready to go, but when I moved to LA I thus lost the recording and my inspirational piece. And when my camera pooped out on me, well, let's just say I was more upset about losing the pic of the print than I was of my pictures of family and friends. Yes.

Today on Etsy I happened to stumble upon a product that used the same long-lost material I have gone ga-ga over (visit Kid A Collective to see the rest of her super-cute-kid-clothes Etsy shop!). Thankfully, Maria's shop listed the designer and label of the dress' print: Pieni Unikko. Upon further research (Wiki counts as research, right?), I found out that the print is from the Finish line of textile called Marimekko, and was started by a Finish gal named Maija Isola in the 40's!

It has recently found itself in the spotlight again, and people all over the place are ripping the print off, including car makers (too much for me) and this Charles David shoe (ugh).

Thankfully, Etsians know how to do it better. Check out the amazing uses of this print I found on Etsy (now I just need to figure out which one to purchase!)

(You can find these super awesome items on ModDiva, fieldofroses, mabels, lyyli, and chromalab's Etsy sites!)

Now that I know the name, I have discovered that the label, Marimekko, is everywhere. H&M did a line of Marimekko clothes last Spring (and, to my surprise, I recognized the black and white dress on the left -- it's in my closet! Turns out I have been an official Marimekko fan all along!). Apparently Dolce and Gabbana did a knock-off line a few years ago that doesn't really do the pattern justice, in my opinion, and of course is totally overpriced. I would rather make it myself with IKEA fabric (to read all about it, click here). Either way, I am out to find all the Marimekko I can get (thankfully they have a branch store here in LA!). These pattern make me feel alive and inspire me to surround myself with bold color and bright, lively flowers! So, what inspires you today?

Quotable Jewelry

This week marked an important little landmark in my Etsy journey -- I have sold more items than currently have listed (57 sales; 56 items at the time!). It's always funny to see how giddy I get when I get a message on my (new) Blackberry saying that I sold an item on Etsy! Makes me feel alive and reminds me why I have spent so much time and money in this crazy hobby of mine! I finally added some new items to my Etsy site today. Two new pieces with quotes behind them need particular attention: The first one I especially love. I bought these precious little sterling silver rose charms awhile back and have been waiting to figure out how to use them perfectly. When I was thinking of finding a scripture to go with the rose, I was reminded of the passage from the Sermon on the Mount: "Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them." ~ Jesus (Matthew 6:27-29; The Message translation). Love 'em. Next on the list - this little sparrow resin charm I have had for MONTHS. When I was in Baltimore I found these really cute Czech orange beads that just screamed "Buy Me!" I am glad they go so well with the charm. Happy is the person who not only sings, but feels God's eye is on the sparrow, and knows God watches over me. To be simply ensconced in God is true joy. ~Alfred A. Montapert Also posted several new items on Etsy today (finally). I have been in a rut and have not found the strength nor the time to make jewelry in over a week (long story short - my parents drove all the way to LA from KY to visit for a few weeks, and on the 3rd day here my dad was admitted to the hospital and had to have emergency surgery. He's thankfully fine now, and yesterday when he returned home I was happy enough to finally get back to the creating table. Funny how the two are correlated!). While I was in Chicago I also found some GREAT cinnabar beads, which I really wanted for a reprise to this bracelet:Glad it turned out as envisioned, and this time with nicer materials (nice glass and beautiful, Chinese textured beads!! On an unrelated note, I discovered "Craft Cult's" Heart-o-matic feature today -- a website that tracks your Etsy store site. Why have I never heard of this place before? Now it's easy to see who "hearts" my store and items without having to click on each one, one at a time! Wahoo! Lastly, I got pictures of the sari that my friend Chrissy is wearing to this wedding (she asked me to make a few sets of earrings and necklaces for the wedding eventS - she's on the right). I am thinking crayon green and yellow crystals and gold wire. Thoughts? As always, thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!

Prom Jewelry and Treasury

Well, looks like the bracelet and ring I made for Courtney's prom worked out well. She said she got more compliments on the bracelet than the ring, which is fine by me since it was the first ring I ever made! Glad to have helped. Next on the list is still my friend Kelly's wedding necklace and her bridesmaids necklaces. I have been going back and forth with the design of her necklace in my head for months now, especially since she was on the fence about her dress and then ended up getting a different one with a different neckline. This new one is all lace - beautiful, thick, creamy lace. In my opinion, such detail should be the centerpiece of the outfit, so I am thinking twice about the wrap-around necklace I was envisioning before. Though I am totally inspired by this necklace I noticed in my friend SoMi Speak's wedding picture (click it for a link to her photographer's site): What do you think? I would probably use some kind of a crystal or pearl pendant. I think it's close enough to my first design idea, yet simple enough to not take away from the dress' detail, too. Meanwhile, a high school classmate asked me today via Facebook (an admittedly great marketing tool!) to make her a bracelet for her wedding. Also got asked to do a swap of goods with my friend Chrissy, who needs several pieces of jewelry to go with a Indian wedding bridesmaid's sari. In exchange, she's going to either make me a purse or some screenprinted t-shirts! Me like! Finally, I was informed that I was listed in an Etsy treasury this week -- my first! Thanks, VintageEmbellishment!