Big Bead Sale at Jewelweaver

Jewelweaver is having a big year end clearance sale on everything. I've been a customer there for several years and their prices are very good, as is their quality. Read the descriptions - they're accurate so it's important to note if there are any flaws so you aren't disappointed.

Here's the sale details:

"We are offering a 7.5% discount on all orders over $50, and an additional 7.5% discount on top of the discount you would normally receive for all orders $100 and above. For example, if you place a $350 order, your discount would normally be 15%. For the duration of this sale, your discount for that same purchase would be 22.5%. Check the discount schedule on our home page for further details about how our system works."

I need more beads like I need a hole in my head...but I'm still going to browse. :)

Not Always as They Appear

A few folks have given me wonderful compliments about my photos...which I appreciate a ton. I never quite believe them though... =) I'm very hard on myself and being a perfectionist means that I'm never quite happy with things.

I think my photos are a gazillion times better than they were when I first started making jewelry though. And I think I manage to get some decent shots. I've learned a lot. Like, you don't have to have a "pretty" set up to get good photographs. And using the macro setting is vital.

I use a photo tent that I bought at least three years ago now (time flies) for around $300 (could've been more...I have a horrible memory) and it has paid for itself several times over. They have kits that start at less than $200...and of course there are lots of people out there who spend just a few bucks and make their own. I tried that but never could get the right effect that I wanted.

So, this funky set up in my kitchen....

Can yield this more attractive photo (not a perfect photo, I grant you, but better than many photos I see out there and 1,000 times better than the pictures I used to try to take outside)...

Pictures are the only way you can sell online and a good photo can be the difference between a sale and nothing. I rarely buy anything online if the seller doesn't have good photos that are detailed and show every angle as if I were able to handle the item myself in person.

My photos certainly aren't perfect and I've had a couple of complaints about not being able to tell the size of the item, but I try hard to make sure the photos represent as much detail for each piece as possible.

Mama's Little Helper

So...it's not easy to make jewelry with an infant, but I'm managing to find a way. He doesn't nap during the day and really doesn't like being left alone without being held. *sigh* I'm trying to train him to like the Baby Bjorn facing outward so he can see things. We're having mixed results. But on Saturday and Sunday I managed to get him to give me about an hour before the screaming started.


Here we are taking photographs. Boy is it hard to keep a camera still while juggling an infant on your front! Most of the shots came out okay though.




I've been posting a lot of new work and reposting some older pieces in my Etsy shop. And there are other items listed in my 1000 Markets shop. Items should still arrive in time for Christmas if orders are shipped by this Wednesday.

Glass bead and fringed necklace.

Fine silver and sterling earrings.

CPSIA Is a Nightmare

Government is such an intrusive force in our lives...as Reagan said, "Government is not the solution to our problems. Government IS the problem." That is never more true than these days we live in.

And if affects parts of our lives I never would have imagined...the CPSIA is the insane anti-lead / chemical law that, as usual, was passed with good intentions but has horrible ramifications.

If you aren't yet aware of this law and how it impacts small businesses, including stay at home mom's making children's clothes, consignment shops, even libraries and used book stores, you should really do even just a small amount of research. It doesn't take long to see what a horrible law this is.

There has been a stay on the required testing portion of the law, but there are some in government trying to end it and push forward to implement this ill designed law.

To read about some of the consequences of discontinuing the stay, head over to this blog posting by someone who has been keeping up to date on this issue.

We may be small individuals in comparison to large corporations, but if we come together we can make a difference!

Back in Gear

It has been a while...I went back to work this week and it's been quite an adjustment. Thankfully hubby is at home this whole month to watch the boy. :) It's a lot easier not having to drop him off at daycare yet.

I've also been on a roll listing new items (and relisting some older items) in my Etsy shop. I have a few orders and it's a lot of fun getting gifts ready for people to give.

Here are a couple of newly listed designs.

A tiny version of my fine silver Cherry Tree pendant necklace. I love this miniature style.


I made a fine silver version of this and it's sold (I can make more but just haven't yet). This is made with Bronze clay, which I won't be using anytime in the near future because I don't have a kiln yet...it can't be hand fired. But I have two of these small sea shell pendants that I made this summer. This is one that I made into a necklace with 14k gold filled chain.


I just love the color of these freshwater pearls. This is a simple, but I think elegant, pair of earrings.


I made this pendant ages ago, but this summer decided to add some color. Then it sat for another few months before I finally added it to a chain to complete the necklace. :)


If you're looking for something personalized...like my custom alphabet bracelets...let me know right away. I'm not making a lot of "made to order" items. Most of the items I'm listing are already made. I've got just a little bit going on in my life right now so the simpler this selling season is, the better. =)

New Priorities

Wow...I still can't believe that I'm a mom. Life has changed in ways that I only vaguely expected.

Feel free to visit my other blog to read about the new baby...Marshal Lawrence...born on September 26 - a week and a day early.

I decided not to shut down my Etsy shop at all. It's not like sales have been flying in, so I figured the odds of having any sales were slim.

Lo and behold...I had two sales in my first two weeks home with the baby. I was not ready. Thankfully my family has been incredible in helping out. Mom has stayed the night twice to let me get a full night's sleep and my aunt even drove over an hour just to help out for a few hours. So I did manage to get both orders out.

In less than a month I'll be doing my one and only craft show. I really need to step it up and start getting ready for it. I don't need to make any jewelry, thankfully. But I do need to organize and price things.

We're slowly getting into a sort of routine. The last four nights he seems to have figured out that night time is when we sleep. Though it's not super consistent. His fussiness is getting a bit better - he was super gassy the first two weeks.

And my mental health has gotten better. I knew it would be difficult for me and I was right. I hardly left the bedroom for the first two weeks. And I barely ate (I'm back down to my pre-pregnancy weight already). It was pretty stressful, but again between family and my doctors I made it through.

I have ideas for making jewelry ... now I just need to find time and energy to make it. :) Although I've been wasting lots of time on Facebook games. They are addicting!

Counting Down

It's getting closer and closer to "D" day. :) The doctors have scheduled me to be induced on September 27.

I'm also working at home now...my last day "at" work is tomorrow...and then I'll be in my virtual office until labor time.

My exhaustion level is crazy high. Hubby and I went out to breakfast and then grocery shopping today and even though it's only around 5 p.m. I feel like I could go to bed for the rest of the night.

I did make some new jewelry last weekend and even got photos taken...edited, now that's another story. Here are some basic, barely edited photos...basically just cropped.

I really love the pendants and got them from the Pacific Northwest bead festival this summer from Lillypilly Designs. I've got several more in different colors but of course have no energy to actually use them right now.






I also made a cute pair of earrings with some smaller pendants but forgot to photograph them. I figure the necklaces will each be around $50-$65...the pendants themselves are not cheap, even wholesale (sadly, I didn't buy enough to get wholesale prices). It's probably not high enough of a price for the whole necklace since I'm using freshwater pearls and real gemstones with them. But I mostly just want to get them sold so someone can enjoy them. I really love how they a ll turned out.

They're made with real shells and I have no idea what process they use to create the designs. If I get these listed in my Etsy or 1000 Markets shop it will be a minor miracle.

I'm sure blogging will be as light, or lighter, than it has been lately. Once the little guy is here I'll be sure to post photos...but it might just be on my other blog Amid Clutter. I'll try to link to it here too. :)

So Little Time

Time is running out very quickly... I have less than 5 weeks before I'm due and somehow I have this feeling that I won't even make it that long before he demands to be let out. :)

I have all these ideas for creating new jewelry pieces and yet no time to create them. The baby room is not done - everything is sort of piled up in the middle of the room. We haven't even gotten some of the things we need to have (like a crib mattress and a bassinet).

I did find a few spare moments - last week - to play with the new enamel I'd ordered over a month ago. SO much fun!!! I do want to know why the larger pieces bubbled when I did the second side though (the counter enamel was fine). Any ideas?

As I was pouring the enamel from the ziplock baggies into their new solid canister containers I read the warning label on the Orient Red color...yeah...after I'd already poured it in. It said not to use if you're pregnant because it might harm the fetus. Lovely.

Thankfully I was practicing a small level of safety - wearing a mask and an apron. Hopefully that was enough. I've already had enough issues this pregnancy without causing more on my own. :) And I will not be actually using the Orient Red in anything until after the baby arrives. I'll stick to the "safe" colors (and I will still wear a mask because breathing in ground glass is not my idea of fun).

I'm taking this Friday off and will have a 4 day weekend...I'm hoping that I'll get lots of things done including some jewelry and photos.

SSP Fundraiser Results

I'm so excited to announce that I raised $69.95 during the Etsy sale fund raiser for Saving Shelter Pets. YAY!!! I'm going to round up. *grin*

So $70 is on its way to SSP to help rescue animals from high kill shelters. I love this organization and hope you'll check out what they do and support their efforts.

Cross posting at my other two blogs.

Just Two More Days!

The SSP Fundraiser is still going strong and there are just two more days left. I've sold a few items on Etsy, but I also sold some items to my mom and one of her coworkers and I'm counting those sales toward the fundraiser as well. I'll add up how much I've raised on Thursday.

If you're needing a gift in the near future (or even the far future) please consider shopping one of the participating vendors who will then donate 20% of their sales to SSP.